Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2023 January 21

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January 21

Random Search function missing

Why is the random search function unavailable? 70.190.93.30 (talk) 01:48, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Potentially it has been moved by the new skin design of the website, next to the Wikipedia logo at the top left corner of the screen click the 3 bars and a drop-down menu should appear and then you can click Random article to be taken to a randomly chosen page. -- StarryNightSky11 ☎ 01:59, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Alternatively, you can use the key combination Alt+⇧ Shift+X to go to a random article. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 02:27, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

That works on a Windows computer. If you're using a Mac, the shortcut is Ctrl+⌥ Option+X. CodeTalker (talk) 17:29, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Requested articles

What's the deal with Wikipedia:Requested articles? Do guidelines and policies like WP:NOT apply to it? I mean, it's arguably in violation of WP:NOTREPOSITORY and WP:INDISCRIMINATE. There are also plenty of entries that appear to violate WP:PROMO. What are the expectations for removing entries? Would I need to do a thorough WP:BEFORE? What about just removing useless primary sources, blog posts, PR sources, etc. I've made a couple of requested articles, but for the sake of cleaning up some of the lists of requested articles I'm curious what the expectations are. TipsyElephant (talk) 02:24, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Hi, TipsyElephant. I don't believe there are any checks on what people add to WP:RM, so it's inevitable that there will be many requests for articles that are impossible because their subjects aren't notable.

In my opinion, it will be to everybody's benefit if you are willing to put in the work to weed out some of the clearly non-notable requests: If an article is never going to be possible, remove it from clogging up the list. (It would be a kindness to inform the editor who raised the request, at least if they are still active, and explain why their suggestion is never going to be taken up). ColinFine (talk) 17:28, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Did you perhaps mean WP:RA, rather than WP:RM? - David Biddulph (talk) 17:49, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Thank you. That is what I meant, of course ColinFine (talk) 11:54, 24 January 2023 (UTC)

@ColinFine I didn't know that anyone was allowed to remove things from RA. I thought it was just a dumping ground for wishes. :-) Is this documented anywhere? David10244 (talk) 11:13, 24 January 2023 (UTC)

You may be right, David. WT:WikiProject Requested articles/Archive 1#Archives discussed this ten years ago, and there seemed to be a consensus to archive rather than delete declined requests. But that's the only reference I find to declining requests, and there don't seem to be any archives of RA, so I think that's probably historical now.

I suggest you go ahead and remove them, with suitable edit summaries. This edit gives a precedent, and if anybody disagrees, they can restore them.

You might open a new discussion at WT:WikiProject Requested articles, with a view to getting instructions for declining articles into the documentation somewhere. ColinFine (talk) 12:25, 24 January 2023 (UTC)

FONT SIZE

Dear Sir/Madam:

I'm not normally one for change, although realize it normal and healthy. Therefore let me commend Wikipedia on its' new layout - love it. That said, is there anyway I can enlarge the font?

Dianne 2600:1700:E3BC:21F0:A915:6960:7654:D447 (talk) 09:37, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Hi, Dianne. As on most websites, font size on Wikipedia is actually controlled by your own computer and web browser. For me (using Firefox) holding down the Control [Ctrl] key and hitting plus [+] on the number pad makes text bigger in successive increments, while Control and minus [-] makes it smaller: your browser may differ. I believe one of the function keys works similarly. {The poster formerly known as 87.91.230.195} 90.197.179.175 (talk) 10:14, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

long time user

why is my eye focused on the whitespace? respect the laptop user because you just extended the mobile version to us. at least left justify the page. I stopped giving you money years ago, so I dont feel justified in really giving it to you, but have some respect for the users. 98.33.88.227 (talk) 10:51, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Are you asking about a sudden change to Wikipedia's appearance? It is because the default skin has changed from the Vector legacy (2010) skin to the new Vector (2022) skin. If you would like to change back to the old one, you can, as a registered user, click on the in the top-right corner and choose Preferences. Once there, go to Preferences → Appearance → Skins → Vector legacy (2010).
If you would like to leave feedback, you can do so at Wikipedia talk:Vector 2022. - David Biddulph (talk) 10:55, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

There's an option to expand the content to full screen width: it's a cross-shaped item at the bottom right. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 14:36, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

The might not necessarily appear at certain zoom levels in the corner, so you may have to zoom out to see it. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 16:53, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

This thing you describe is not visible to IP users, as far as this one can tell. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.197.179.175 (talk) 20:26, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

I went on my browser's private browsing mode (i.e., signed out) and I saw it, though I had to zoom out quite a bit. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 20:31, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Twinkle

Can someone twinkle these edits? Corey Harrison History I would if I knew how. Thanks. They keep happening on this BLP's page for some reason. Obviously vandalism. Perhaps semi-protection? Maineartists (talk) 14:57, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Hello, Maineartists. The vandalism has been reverted. I do not think that it is serious enough for semi-protection at this time. Cullen328 (talk) 17:55, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Thanks, Cullen328. Please note: new edit at Corey Harrison Talk Page. Maineartists (talk) 02:48, 22 January 2023 (UTC)

If he has passed away, the lede doesn't have the date of death. I don't usually fiddle with those, and I don't know the source. David10244 (talk) 08:39, 22 January 2023 (UTC)

He hasn't passed. That's the point. The vandalism is that it keeps being added: current history. Maineartists (talk) 14:54, 22 January 2023 (UTC)

Watchlist on IOS app

On the IOS app is there a way to view your watchlist without searching Special:Watchlist Aaron106 (talk) 17:40, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

The new Wikipedia format

I don't like the new Wikipedia format. The column on the left side is too wide and the middle area with all the important info is too narrow and small. It seems there is a lot of wasted space on the page. Go back to the old format. 50.35.93.221 (talk) 17:58, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

I agree, but you'll have to raise this at Wikipedia talk:Vector 2022.--♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 18:02, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Using a Photo for My Article

Hello, and thank you for your attention. I have written an article about Sarah, a person my family enslaved in late 1700s Georgia. I have spent decades researching the article and it is going to be published in the County in which she was raised. I am a journalist and am not going to be making any money or other benefits for this article. I saw a painting by Winslow Homer I would like to use for the submission featured by Wikipedia. May I have permission to use it for my article? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cotton_Pickers Thank you, Lewis HelloResearcher (talk) 18:09, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

@HelloResearcher: Many images used on Wikipedia can be used freely with proper attribution. Just click on the image in question to open the image information page, e.g. File:Winslow Homer - The Cotton Pickers - Google Art Project.jpg (<= click me). There you will find a section entitled "Licensing" or similar, which in this case informs you that the image is in the public domain and thus can be used by anyone without attribution (see Commons:Reuse of PD-Art photographs for more details). Regards SoWhy 18:15, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

@SoWhy Aren't PD images usually held at Commons? David10244 (talk) 08:41, 22 January 2023 (UTC)

@David10244: They are and this one is as well, which is why the image page I linked to says "This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons." Because of how Commons is integrated into all other Wikimedia projects, you can access every Commons file locally if no other file with the same name exists on the project in question. The drawback is of course that links appear in blue (like they are local pages) despite the page not actually existing locally. Regards SoWhy 12:42, 22 January 2023 (UTC)

Thank you all. 216.78.173.125 (talk) 17:26, 22 January 2023 (UTC)

@SoWhy I got confused by the link pointing to en:wp, but you explained it. Thanks! David10244 (talk) 11:20, 24 January 2023 (UTC)

Thank you. HelloResearcher (talk) 18:20, 22 January 2023 (UTC)

Thank you. 216.78.173.125 (talk) 16:04, 24 January 2023 (UTC)

Contents Lists

I've returned to Wikipedia for a while, after quite a long break. When I used to edit here, contents lists automatically appeared on articles when the headings in the article got above a certain number. But I don't see a contents list on the article I'm working on (Othello) even though its headings are quite complicated. Has that changed and if so how? AndyJones (talk) 18:39, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Are you asking about a sudden change to Wikipedia's appearance? It is because the default skin has changed from the Vector legacy (2010) skin to the new Vector (2022) skin. If you would like to change back to the old one, you can, as a registered user, click on the in the top-right corner and choose Preferences. Once there, go to Preferences → Appearance → Skins → Vector legacy (2010).
If you would like to leave feedback, you can do so at Wikipedia talk:Vector 2022. Arch dude (talk) 19:10, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

@AndyJones Hi there! If you look at the top of the article, you won't see the table of contents where you used to see it. Scroll down through the article, and you'll see the table of contents underneath the left side toolbar. Hope this helps, and happy editing! GoingBatty (talk) 23:19, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Brilliant, yes, I see it. Thank you. AndyJones (talk) 09:31, 22 January 2023 (UTC)

Authority control

Hi, I've just moved a new page into the mainspace, but the authority control template is not working, even when I add the Wikidata identifier. Does anybody know why this is? Thanks, Max263 (talk • contribs) 19:37, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

The authority control template is only visible if the wikidata page actually has identifiers: If there is no information in Wikidata for the specific subject, an empty instance of this template will be dormant, meaning it will be invisible on the rendered page. Thus, using this template on a page with no authority information is harmless. An empty instance of this template stays dormant in an article, until values are added to Wikidata, when it will then display them. If he hasn’t written any books or produced any other physical media, he probably won’t be in any library catalogues. Umimmak (talk) 19:57, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

In that case, should I add his MusicBrainz entry to his Wikidata entry? Max263 (talk • contribs) 20:00, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Don't worry – worked it out now. Thanks for your help. Max263 (talk • contribs) 20:26, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Why does wikipedia look like shit now?

The old interface looked really good and I was a very big fan of it. Why was it changed in a way that makes it look bad? It looks like it was made for 5 year olds. Respectfully, me. Danilbig69 (talk) 22:23, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

You may return to the old skin in your account preferences. Please see WP:VECTOR2022 for more information. 331dot (talk) 22:34, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Danilbig69 Are you asking about a sudden change to Wikipedia's appearance? It is because the default skin has changed from the Vector legacy (2010) skin to the new Vector (2022) skin. If you would like to change back to the old one, you can, as a registered user, click on the in the top-right corner and choose Preferences. Once there, go to Preferences → Appearance → Skins → Vector legacy (2010).
If you would like to leave feedback, you can do so at Wikipedia talk:Vector 2022. Cullen328 (talk) 23:26, 21 January 2023 (UTC)