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March 5

Runaway radio button in infobox

Any idea why the radio button for "Show map of Tamaulipas" shows up near the upper left corner of the map in the infobox at 2010 San Fernando massacre? Seems to occur on Firefox and Chrome. Is this a template problem? Thanks, Brycehughes (talk) 04:09, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

@Brycehughes: Hi there! I see the same issue with Chrome. If you don't receive a good answer here, you might want to post your question at Module talk:Location map. Happy editing! GoingBatty (talk) 04:35, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

@Brycehughes: It can be fixed with {{location map|Tamaulipas#Mexico|float=center}}. The default is float=right to work with stand-alone maps. Apart from the button issue, it also gives poor alignment of the map in the infobox. Maybe all uses in infoboxes should have float=center and the documentation should say so, but I don't know the template well enough. PrimeHunter (talk) 08:37, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

To write information

Hi, Pls let me know how to write articles — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2409:4040:D18:6C09:C575:5837:D935:A8B0 (talk) 08:30, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Writing a WP-article that isn't quickly deleted is difficult if you have no experience in how to edit and what is demanded per WP:s rules (there are quite a lot.) WP:TUTORIAL is a good place to start. On how to start an article, pick a topic that meets the demands here: WP:GNG, otherwise you are wasting you're time. Then move on to Help:Your first article. Good luck! Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 09:40, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Featured picture

I am not exactly sure where the discussion of Featured Picture nominations takes place, I do not see a link at Wikipedia:Featured pictures. But anyway, how was there a consensus, in the current geopolitical situation, to show a picture of a Soviet rocket? I am not saying that showing the picture means Wikipedia is taking a stance on this issue, of course, NPOV also applies to controversial topics. But then, I guess, NPOV does not necessarily apply to the selection of content for the main page. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 09:52, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

@Toshio Yamaguchi: Pictures are nominated for featured status at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates, but you apparently refer to "Today's featured picture" on Main Page. Wikipedia:Picture of the day#Guidelines says: "Featured pictures are currently selected in roughly the order in which they were promoted". File:Soyuz TMA-13 Edit.jpg was promoted to featured picture status 9 July 2020‎ at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Soyuz TMA-13. It was added to Template:POTD/2022-03-05 on 20 February 2022, four days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The timing is just a coincidence. The March schedule is at Wikipedia:Picture of the day/March 2022. I don't know whether pictures are sometimes removed due to the timing. PrimeHunter (talk) 10:32, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Does seem like a bad coincidence though, maybe we should have considered pulling it before it went live (and running it at some point in the future instead). I can definitely see why a photo of a Russian rocket wouldn't be popular right now... Joseph2302 (talk) 10:33, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

It may be too late but Wikipedia:Main Page/Errors is the place to request changes to content which is already on the main page. PrimeHunter (talk) 10:41, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Seems I am not the only one who finds this choice kind of poor, see Template talk:POTD protected/2022-03-05. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 20:13, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Yes, me too, a very inopportune time for a photo like this, How can someone be so . . . I dunna want to say it . . . . so ill-advised. And I suspect it is not a single person decision, so who all thought this would be good???!!!???? Dr.gregory.retzlaff (talk) 20:49, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Slipped through all volunteers, I guess. We're all volunteers here. On Feb. 20, there were 0 issues. Skarmory (talk • contribs) 00:35, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Help required

I'm a brand-new user who just signed up today. Could someone possibly give me some pointers on how to get started? It will not be difficult for me to manage the web because I am a computer engineering student. Just point me in the right direction. Signing PlayOboe (talk) 11:06, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

PlayOboe If you need a tutorial, you may use the new user tutorial. If you want to look for areas to help out, the Community Portal is a good place to start. 331dot (talk) 11:08, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Thank you! Another query: for my semester study, I need to do some extra-curricular assignments. Is it possible for me to write some Wikipedia content and submit it as a university assignment? Is it possible to have a senior editor assist me? Signing PlayOboe (talk) 11:11, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

PlayOboe If that is your motivation in creating Wikipedia content, that is up to you, but you would have to ask your professor if they would accept Wikipedia writing as an assignment. You are welcome to continue to ask for assistance on this page or at the Teahouse; if you want a mentor to advise you specifically, you may be able to find one at Wikipedia:Adopt-a-user. 331dot (talk) 11:17, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Thank you for your help and time. I'll take my time to understand everything and will do all you say. See you again. Signing PlayOboe (talk) 11:28, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Just a word of caution PlayOboe - some tutors expect assignments to include original research and/or your comments on/analysis of the subject, which are NOT acceptable on Wikipedia. Please read No original research, Synthesis and Neutral point of view. Furthermore, Wikipedia is Not a web-host - articles are OK but essays are not - best of luck - Arjayay (talk) 21:06, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

@PlayOboe: If your tutor/teacher accepts the principle of Wikipedia edits for extra-curricular credit, please direct them to Wikipedia:Student_assignments#Advice_for_instructors. (The rest of the page may be of interest to you, too.) It is a bit long; the most important parts are (1) to not ask students to do edits that go against Wikipedia policy (that will not end well for anyone involved) and (2) to grade students based on what edits they made, not on what part of those edits eventually stuck (the latter part is somewhat random: it depends a lot of who is watching which articles and how they react). Tigraan^{Click here for my talk page ("private" contact)} 13:11, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

@PlayOboe Further more, to test your editing skills or when ready to create an article please use your Sandbox and Drafts. SoyokoAnis - talk 16:05, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

File upload on en.wikipedia vs Wikimedia Commons

Hi all, I've used the last few days to look around and try to familiarize myself with this place, and so far, it's been going alright. Nevertheless, one thing that does confuse me is that there seem to be separate systems for picture (or media file in general) upload on both the English Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Commons. Could someone shed some light on this for me? I can only assume that this is at least in part due to international copyright law, but I'm not really an expert on the matter, once things go beyond the obvious ground rules.

Thanks in advance! Doctor Duh (talk) 16:41, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

@Doctor Duh: Your speculation is correct. Oversimplifying, to be placed on Commons, a file must be "free to use" anywhere in the world by our definition of "free to use": this means it may be restricted by a copyright license that is no more restrictive than CC-BY-SA. Almost all WMF projects (separate language Wikipedias, etc.) permit the use of Commons files, but technically each WMF project is governed separately and sets it's own rules. The English-language Wikipedia permits the use of any Commons file, but it also permits the use of files under a "fair use" justification under US law as we interpret it. These files cannot be placed on Commons, so we have a separate repository for them. Our "fair use" rules are conservative to make sure we stay well within the boundaries of "fair use" practice in the US. The WMF servers for these files are in the US. -Arch dude (talk) 17:06, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

@Doctor Duh, good question. Basically, Commons is the place to put "free" (per license or age) images, like images you take yourself with your own camera and are willing to "donate". Some images published by governments fall into this category, hence all the nice pics of US presidents. WP, on the the other hand, is the place for "fair use" (WP:NFCI) images, like a book cover, a logo, a fictional character, people that are dead but not since a very long time, etc. Hope this helps. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 17:07, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Thank you both for your very helpful responses. Creative Commons licensing and the broader concept of how blatant plagiarism will get one into trouble aren't totally foreign concepts to me, but the duality of systems tripped me up a little. Doctor Duh (talk) 17:12, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

@Doctor Duh: Please be careful. Plagiarism and Copyright violation are two different things and are only loosely related. Copvio is copying of copyrighted material without permission. It is a violation of copyright law whether or not you attribute the source. Plagiarism is copying without attributing the source, whether or not the material is copyrighted. It is not by itself illegal, but depending on circumstances may be fraud, and is a violation of academic norms that can result in academic sanctions. So: always attribute your source, and always check the copyright. -Arch dude (talk) 18:50, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

@Arch dude: Noted, thanks. I guess WP:COPYRIGHT would be the place to start reading up about it some more, correct? Doctor Duh (talk) 18:55, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

@Doctor Duh: Only if you are desperately interested in the details or if you are unsure in a particular situation. Our rules are complicated because we try very hard to follow the law, and copyright law is an absolute nightmare. -Arch dude (talk) 19:00, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Oh yes, this much I do know about it. Your advice is welcomed, and I will proceed with care. Doctor Duh (talk) 19:03, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Do different language versions of wikipedia 'vastly' have entirely different articles?

Is it different articles for different language versions of wikipedia? Not translations relative to most spoken language of same article bulk? I am needing to back up articles about lots of different nations and I already have english wikipedia backed up, I am now wondering about these questions because I want to get the other ones backed up too if the other languages include more on each of those pertaining nation territories. Please confirm this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.158.73.141 (talk) 17:47, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Articles on the different encyclopedias are developed independently: there is no particular intent for them to contain identical information. Even when isn article starts out as a translation from one Wikipedia to another, the articles will generally diverge as they are modified independently. -Arch dude (talk) 18:54, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

The same subject can have very different articles across languages due to each project's policies and guidelines. For example, what might be permissible on the French Wikipedia may not be allowed on the English Wikipedia, which is one of the things translators need to be aware of when translating across different languages. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 19:17, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

@Tenryuu Yes, of course. Different languages may have different articles depending on what is allowed on that Wikipedia or what a lot of users interests are. SoyokoAnis - talk 16:00, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Of course. Just don't rely on the languages section to the left to provide you with different versions of the article. You have to be creative and skilled to find native articles from other languages. For example if you search for Falkland Islands and you then look for Falkland Islands and you look for the spanish version on the navbar to the left, you'll be directed to [1] . But if you look for Islas Malvinas on the spanish wiki, you will find [2]. The explanation here is related to the WikiData attempt to unify articles across languages, and an incompatibility between English and Spanish visions, which led to a split into two articles, one of the isles according to the English and one of the isles according to the Spanish speaking nation. This is the most egregious example, but you will find more subtle cases everywhere.

Similarly if you look for Blue in English, or Celeste on Spanish wiki, none of them will redirect you to italian's Azurro. Instead, each three of these colours will redirect to their own page, creating 9 pages total. In order to find out the concept azurro if you were not already familiar with it, you would have to do something like lookup Sky, then look for the italian version, and then look for references to its colour in the page. If you do this for some languages, you will also find out that some versions will describe the sky in a greenish colour.

In short, there are vastly different articles mostly because the boundaries of what articles cover are usually not exactly the same, so don't look for exactly equivalent concepts, keep an open mind, and you will find these vastly different articles.--TZubiri (talk) 23:20, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Is it different articles for different language versions of wikipedia? Much more discussions pertaining to different nations each relative to english version alone by getting the others?

Is it different articles for different language versions of wikipedia? Much more discussions pertaining to different nations each relative to english version alone by getting the others? Not translations relative to most spoken language of same article bulk? I am needing to back up articles about lots of different nations and I already have english wikipedia backed up, I am now wondering about these questions because I want to get the other ones backed up too if the other languages include more on each of those pertaining nation territories. Please confirm this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.158.73.141 (talk) 17:49, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Different language-editions of Wikipedia have different articles, and the Wikipediae are not segregated by nation, but by language. —Jéské Couriano v^_^v ^{a little blue Bori} 19:03, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

RefToolbar Autofill causes blank screen

Anyone else having issue with RefToolbars autofill options? Everytime I try to use them it breaks the tab, everything below the address bar is just blank and I have to back out of editting. I've posted at WT:RefToolbar as well. LCU ActivelyDisinterested ∆transmission∆ °co-ords° 20:40, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Ignore me. After playing around, and just about to write another comment it's started working again. LCU ActivelyDisinterested ∆transmission∆ °co-ords° 21:16, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

writeing a story

how do i write a story to be published on wiki — Preceding unsigned comment added by Porterbowman28496967 (talk • contribs) 21:37, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Hello, Porterbowman28496967. This is possibly just a matter of nomenclature, but: we don't have "stories" on Wikipedia, whether you mean fiction or news reports. What we have is encyclopaedia articles: neutrally written summaries of what independent reliable sources have published about a subject. Since every article should be based almost entirely on such sources, if there are no suitable sources then an article is not possible: the Wikipedia jargon for this is that the subject is not notable. So writing an article begins with finding suitable sources - only when have they been found is there any point in even trying to create a draft.

Since finding and identifying suitable sources is something that new editors typically do not have the skill to do easily, I always advise new editors to spend a few months improving some of our existing six million articles, and learning about sources, before they try it. But when you think you are ready to try, please start by reading your first article, which will show you how to create a draft that you can work on and get it in shape before submitting it for review. ColinFine (talk) 22:14, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Reference list without usage.

Hello, I typically add references to articles inline. But I also see some articles where there is just a list of references in the references section. Since I am creating a stub, this might be especially useful, since not all references are used, I'm just marking them as relevant for expansion.

I would appreciate an edit into the article Draft:Maria Mendeleeva to make the references presentable in this fashion.

Thanks!--TZubiri (talk) 21:49, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Hello TZubin. While Wikipedia policy does not strictly require references to be inline, in my experience reviewers require this. You can see why: if the references are not inline, then the reviewer must do much more work finding where particular information comes from - work that the writer could have done before submitting.

Personally, I don't understand why anybody would create a stub in 2022: to my mind they are a feature of the early days of Wikipedia, before we had drafts and AFC. I would rather see a draft remain a draft and get expanded before submitting it. But I don't think everybody agrees with me. ColinFine (talk) 22:21, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

I agree, the goal would be to mine those references and inline them. Perhaps the header could be changed to "further reading" to highlight the lack of inline references.

I remember an argument from the Cebuano Wikipedia mass editor Lsjbot, who proposed that creating stubs would encourage users to edit, as it is simpler to edit an existing article than to create it. Aside from the technical difficulties of creating an article, precreating a stub (and filling it with references), prehandles any policy blockers that new users might have a harder time navigating, like notability arguments.

So yeah, at least for that reason, I think stubs are still very useful to increase beginner collaboration.--TZubiri (talk) 22:31, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

I think that argument is seriously bad. If creating a stub encourages editors to expand it, why do we still have thousands and thousands of stubs? I would actually like us ot have measures that discourage people from creating new articles, and funnel themn into improving - or deleting - existing ones. ColinFine (talk) 23:02, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

This wiki wide discussion is already well documented in the lsjbot page and Cebuano Wikipedia page, check that out if you are interested. It's out of scope to debate it here. I just removed the <ref> tags and changed it to "Further reading." Thanks.--TZubiri (talk) 23:29, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

TZubiri, please can you add inline citations and a references section, see Wikipedia:Verifiability#Responsibility for providing citations. You need to show that Maria Mendeleeva was notable in her own right, see Wikipedia:Notability (people)#Invalid criteria. I agree with ColinFine's opinion that creating stubs is of limited value in en Wikipedia, Cebuano Wikipedia is a much smaller community. TSventon (talk) 09:00, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Also note that we have a template, {{no footnotes}}, that is likely to be slapped on any article that contains "just a list of references in the references section". I can't imagine that a draft would be approved by any AfC reviwer without inline citations. Deor (talk) 16:47, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

I wouldn't outright decline it, but I would leave a comment. I think the thing here is that they're going to use some sources inline and others as future; a draft purely with general references would be a pain to go through manually, however. Skarmory (talk • contribs) 00:47, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

March 6

Is there a way to see how much articles have grown in a specific time span?

I want to filter articles in a category (optimal with deepscan) by the growing page length in a specific time range. For example showing me all articles in Category:2022 that have grown over +1000 Bytes in the last week. Optimal would be a pagehistory connnection (or a similar ui) that show me what is new. I tried it with the quarry but it doesn't work like I thought about it and maybe more experienced users here know some better tools to do it. Thanks for helping --Noobius2 (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 00:27, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Error on Ken Griffey Jr. Infobox - unsure how to fix it

Hello, I just wanted to point out that there is an error on the page for Ken Griffey Jr., as the infobox is not formatted correctly and only displays as text. Both {{ }} brackets are present, and I was unsure how to approach fixing it without reverting an edit. Thanks. – GriegMachine8

@GriegMachine8: There was some vandalism that broke it. I undid the bad edit and it is looking better now. Thanks for the report. RudolfRed (talk) 00:52, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Question about editing the page about Ian Alexander (actor)

Hi. A little while back I added a category on the page Ian Alexander (actor) saying they are of Vietnamese descent due to their mother being Vietnamese and also the category of LGBT American people of Asian descent. For some reason those 2 categories were removed. Is it appropriate for those 2 categories to be on their page? I'm simply asking. Thank you! 2001:569:5262:A00:203F:7C80:2874:FAA2 (talk) 06:06, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

WP:COPHERITAGE is the relevant guideline. In addition to the requirement of verifiability, living people must have self-identified as a particular heritage. You would need to find reliable sources saying that Ian Alexander identifies themself as being of Vietnamese descent and as being Asian descent; how they identify ethnically/racially can’t be inferred on the basis of their mother, per se. but if you find such sources then you can add those categories. Umimmak (talk) 06:22, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Merge draft incubation back to main

Hi there! I've been trying to improve C. J. Cregg's article, but since I wanted to be able to plan it out, I incubated my improvements in a user sandbox. Do I need to request that all the history be merged back to the main article, and if so, where? theleekycauldron (talk • contribs) (she/they) 11:24, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Since you are (effectively) the only editor to User:Theleekycauldron/C. J. Cregg you may copy and paste the current contents back to C. J. Cregg and restore the categories and whatever else you didn't copy at the time. Normally you would need to restore any changes other editors had made to the main article after you had taken your copy but it this case no changes seem to have been made. In this slightly unusual case all attribution will be maintained. Thincat (talk) 15:37, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Thanks, Thincat! copied back :) theleekycauldron (talk • contribs) (she/they) 08:29, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Visibility of Formulae

Dear Wikipedia Team,

I have some eye issues so I prefer using desktop in high contrast theme. But in high contrast theme, the formulae on our site become invisible against background, I am inserting

An example of the bug

some screenshot from Green's theorem page. Please can you fix this, as I have to turn on and off theme again and again causing inconvenience.

Thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by Freakstarrr (talk • contribs) 11:34, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

It seems that the image has a transparent background, and the high contrast mode did not invert colors in the images. Anpang01 (talk) 11:35, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

@Freakstarrr: Hi there! WP:VPT might be a better place to report this issue. Be sure to state which browser and which "high contrast theme" you're using. Good luck! GoingBatty (talk) 15:34, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Actor Dane Clark

To whom this may concern My question is Wasn't Actor above in the movie AIRPORT 75? Didn't he act as private plane pilot that crashed into Commercial Airliner?? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.186.219.238 (talk) 13:18, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Hi there! The Wikipedia Help desk is for questions about using Wikipedia, not for general knowledge questions. For factual questions like this, please post them on the Wikipedia:Reference desk. GoingBatty (talk) 15:36, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Hello. I suspect that this is about our article Dane Clark. If so, you can post a suggestion at the talk page Dane Clark. But to be honest, I think that the filmography is already too long (and unreferenced) and should be trimmed to his major appearances, preferably those for whom there is a source such as a review that mentions him. ColinFine (talk) 16:10, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

That role was played by Dana Andrews, not Dane Clark, as described here. Cullen328 (talk) 19:27, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

ACUPUNCTURE

It is an absolute disgrace that when the first thing that pops up when typing in Acupuncture is a wikipedia page stating that it is a psedoscience and quackery. There is an incredible amount of studies proving HOW it works and showcasing the therapeutic effects. I am surprised you guys have not been sued for posting something that quite literally bashes a HEALTH PROFESSION!

This needs to be taken down ASAP. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.188.70.43 (talk) 19:08, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Hello IP! First, I don't think something like this is enough to be sued over (but I"m not a lawyer so who knows). Second, if you have enough studies then please bring them up at the articles talk page. ― Blaze Wolf^Talk_{Blaze Wolf#6545} 19:15, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

We haven't been sued because there's no trustworthy evidence that it's any better than a placebo. Maproom (talk) 19:41, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Need "inches" in a template

At Lambert friction gearing disk drive transmission#Toothless gearing on the article I am improving I wrote 18 inches in diameter with a working face of 1.5-inch (38 mm). I believe what I want is 1.5 inches (plural) but don't know how to make the template do that. Can someone help me. Thanks.--Doug Coldwell (talk) 19:54, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Hi Doug Coldwell. If you set "|adj=off" you should see inches rather than inch. Currently you're using {{convert|1.5|in|mm|adj=on}}, you should change that to be {{convert|1.5|in|mm|adj=off}}. LCU ActivelyDisinterested ∆transmission∆ °co-ords° 20:07, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

• @ActivelyDisinterested: Yup! Thanks..... --Doug Coldwell (talk) 21:58, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Highlighting a street on a map for use in Wikipedia

I'm trying to add a map for a street in Wikipedia. I can't find how to do it other than screenshotting a map and drawing the road manually, but that would probably be imprecise.

How are maps in articles, like the one in Broadway made?

 Courtesy link: Alemany Boulevard

I.hate.spam.mail.here (talk | contributions) 22:50, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

@I.hate.spam.mail.here There seem to already be 3 links to online maps on that page, but not enough citations. So you would be better focusing on that, in my view. If you really felt a map is necessary, you could, as you say, upload a .svg image, or you could try to define a zoomable Open Street Map using {{Template:Maplink}}. Nick Moyes (talk) 23:33, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

March 7

Syntax Question

I don't think 'govt' is an acceptable shorthand for government. I've seen this in several pages; would it be nitpicky to change it to government or just leave it as is? Beansohgod (talk) 00:52, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

It certainly is a standard abbreviation: Chambers, American Heritage, Collins, Merriam-Webster. But do you have specific examples of where govt. is being used? That would make it easier to see if it conforms to MOS:ABBR. Umimmak (talk) 01:05, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

@Umimmak: Here are 613 instances of lowercase " govt. " Those within references are probably quoting the title of a magazine/newspaper/web article. GoingBatty (talk) 03:57, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

The one that caught my attention was on Lukashenko's page, but I've seen it on at least half a dozen other pages. I was just wondering because I've seen the non-abbreviated version more often.

Also, I know that if it's in a quote then I don't mess with it. Beansohgod (talk) 12:43, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

@Beansohgod: "govt." is not in the standard list of WP abbreviations so I think, subject to the notes about not messing with quotes and references above, you would be doing a service in replacing any occurrences you find in normal text with "government". Any which others find troublesome can be dealt with by WP:BRD. Bazza (talk) 14:02, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

@Beansohgod: Your Lukashenko example is in a sentence copied directly from the source [3] but it's not in quotation marks so it seems OK to change govt to government. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:18, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Alright, thanks, I just replaced it. Time to start my crusade against govt shorthand! Beansohgod (talk) 16:22, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

@Beansohgod: I just added a typo fixing rule at WP:AWB/T to change "govt." to "government" only when immediately followed with a space and a lowercase word. These typo rules ignore quotes and references. GoingBatty (talk) 17:58, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

@Beansohgod: We're now down to Here are 401 instances of lowercase " govt. " GoingBatty (talk) 21:31, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Wayne Cotter

Hi! Does anyone know how to close this malformed AfD? It was created by a blocked sock, so no need to discuss with nominator. I can G6 it since it doesn't have any contributions and was never technically available for discussion, but not sure how to record the AfD in the article history. Thanks! Star Mississippi 02:31, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

never mind, @Liz: took care of it (thanks!). Feel free to close/archive. Star Mississippi 03:14, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Official website template

I’m trying to figure out how to use the official website template, and I don’t know how to add the url to wikidata. I know there is a more simpler way to add the url by just adding the parameters to the template, but I want to know how to add the url to wikidata. ― Kaleeb18^Talk_Caleb 14:13, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

@Kaleeb18: You can go to https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Tours and scroll down to the "Items" section, and click the "Start this tutorial" button. Happy editing! GoingBatty (talk) 14:23, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Thank you @GoingBatty: that helped. ― Kaleeb18^Talk_Caleb 14:37, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

@Kaleeb18: Please always say which page a post is about. If it's about User:Kaleeb18/sandbox then userspace pages are not connected to Wikidata so {{Official website}} cannot be used without parameters. If it's about Space 220 Restaurant#External links then the url is already at Wikidata so you can just say {{Official website}}. If it's about the infobox in Space 220 Restaurant then infoboxes should display the url as information so {{Official website}} should not be used. Use {{URL}} instead as shown at Template:Infobox restaurant. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:33, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

@PrimeHunter: Yes, I figured that out when I took the tutorial. ― Kaleeb18^Talk_Caleb 14:38, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

What are the notability requirements for a list of protected areas in a country?

Hi all

Are a list of protected areas recognised either by a national government or internationally inherently notable? E.g List of protected areas of South Africa. I want to write a similar list for Malta however I'm finding it difficult to find more than two references.

Thanks

John Cummings (talk) 14:22, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

@John Cummings: Hi there! The notability requirements for a stand-alone list article are at WP:NLIST. GoingBatty (talk) 14:24, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Table formatting issues

I've been having troubles with the formatting of tables for a while now and figured I had had enough and would ask here. The question is basically this: are there certain formatting aspects that cannot be done in the visual editor? I'm talking about text appearance, cell appearance, etc. I've been able to fix things once I go into source editor, but frankly that isn't the most intuitive system for me as of now, and the help pages, while helpful, haven't quite gotten to the core of the issues I'm seeing.

An example of what I mean: mau5trap discography - (I know this page has a LOT of issues and is severely out of date. I recently just found a source that will help; don't worry about it) How do I make the later tables match the style of the earlier ones while using VE? Superlucer (talk) 18:44, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

@Superlucer, you can copy one of the earlier tables and replace with the new table content. That should give you the same appearance. StarryGrandma (talk) 19:37, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

@Superlucer, Visual Editor is a work in progress. Help:Table#Tables and the Visual Editor (VE) provides some explanation of what can and can't be done. Also see the work board for VE development. StarryGrandma (talk) 20:04, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

I've created an article for every plant species in Malta, could someone help me with some tasks using an automated tool?

Hi all

As the title says I've completed articles for every species listed at Flora of Malta. I think I created about 300 of them in total. I'd really appreciate some help with some tasks that I think can be done with AWB or similar, they include adding images, adding categories and creating redirects for synonyms. I've listed them at Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical)#I've_created_an_article_for_every_plant_species_in_Malta,_could_someone_help_me_with_some_tasks_using_an_automated_tool?

Wasn't sure which place was best to ask for help.

Thanks

John Cummings (talk) 20:02, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

@User:John Cummings I'm wondering one thing. Although Malta is an island, I would have thought that most of its plant species would be found somewhere else around the Mediterranean. I'm wondering how there happen to be so many species that didn't have articles here before. P.S. I fixed a redlink in a category; you're welcome. Uporządnicki (talk) 20:15, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Hi AzseicsoK, thanks, yes you're right, many species are also in other countries, although Malta has a few subspecies which are unique. The reason so many are missing is that English Wikipedia 'only' has around 400,000 species articles, a species database like Encyclopedia of Life lists about 2,000,000. So English Wikipedia has an article for about 20% of all species. John Cummings (talk) 20:24, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

@John Cummings: Wikipedia:AutoWikiBrowser/Tasks is one place you could ask. GoingBatty (talk) 21:35, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

(ส่วนใหม่) คุณ

แก้ไขWikipedia:Help desk (ส่วนใหม่)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 223.24.95.133 (talk) 21:33, 7 March 2022 (UTC) 

Hi there! Did you have a question for the Help desk? GoingBatty (talk) 21:37, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

How do I get my Parapsychology Group listed on Wikipedia

I am trying to get our Parapsychology group that has existed since 2000 listed. Currently when you google our name a picture of a painting at the statehouse comes up as the first portion of our name is shared by the painting. I can provide all the relevant information and history needed?70.225.22.148 (talk) 22:15, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Useful reading: WP:COI, WP:N, WP:FRINGE. If you are here to try to promote a 'Parapsychology Group', your experience here is unlikely to be a happy one. AndyTheGrump (talk) 22:20, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Please read about conflict of interest. You seem to have a misunderstanding of what Wikipedia is. Wikipedia has no interest in affecting or enhancing search results for your organization, and is not a place where organizations list themselves or tell the world about themselves. An organization merits a Wikipedia article if it receives significant coverage in independent reliable sources, showing how it meets Wikipedia's special definition of a notable organization. Please read Your First Article. 331dot (talk) 22:21, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Hi, have you seen the What Wikipedia is not policy? Is says (under the section WP:NOTDIRECTORY) that Wikipedia is not a place to just LIST things, so your intention seems missed and not compatible with Wikipedia rules. Additionally, the linked policy also says (under WP:PROMOTION) that Wikipedia is not a place to PROMOTE yourself, your organization, your community or anything else. If the subject is notable enough (in a specific, Wikipedia-defined sense), it probably will get described in a separate article. But that will have to be supported by appropriate references to reliable sources, written by people unconnected with the subject. First-hand information, provided by you about your group, is not acceptable in general and if you write an article yourself you will appear in Conflict of interest, which is hard to maintain properly for most editors (and certainly for all new editors).

You may visit Wikipedia:Requested articles instead, find appropriate general topic area there and add a proposed topic at a specific sub-page. Please be sure to read the notes at the top of the Requested Articles page before adding your request. --CiaPan (talk) 13:56, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

I've lost count of the number of times that someone complained about how something did or didn't appear in search engine results, as though this was somehow Wikipedia's fault. Wikipedia has no control over this, and it is a common misconception.--♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 17:50, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Undeletion process - how are all relevant articles restored?

I've never paid much attention until Naveen Jain (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) was deleted and overturned (Wikipedia:Deletion_review/Log/2022_February_24). The restoration process seemed slow, and I'm unclear if everything was restored or what the process is supposed to be for restoration of all associated files, links, etc. --Hipal (talk) 22:55, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

@Hipal: The article was restored. You can see in the deletion review that one file was not restored due to copyright problems. What do you see missing? RudolfRed (talk) 00:17, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

I notified multiple admins that the talk pages hadn't been restored right away (User_talk:Spartaz#Naveen_Jain_article_undeleted).

I went ahead and restored multiple links to the article (eg [4]).

I don't know what to search for to see if anything further needs to be restored. --Hipal (talk) 01:27, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

@Hipal: generally, when an article is undeleted, all associated talk pages and files are also undeleted. from the deletion log at 24 February, I can gather that the only thing not yet restored are the two redirects Naveen jain and Naveen K. Jain. The former is probbably not going to be undeleted (as far as I am aware it would be a {{R from misspelling}}, after all, and it doesn't appear to have any uses), however, I will request that the latter will be undeleted. Victor Schmidt (talk) 07:46, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

How did you determine those two files were remaining? --Hipal (talk) 15:53, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

March 8

How do I change the name of this page?

I mistakenley named this page draft: Louis Sandoval

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Louis_Sandoval

It should read Louis (Lou) Sandoval. How do I make that change? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tenacity4life (talk • contribs) 04:21, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

@Tenacity4life: You will probably have to explain why you want a diminutive of Sandoval's first name in parentheses. Policy is to title an article of a subject by its most common name. If the title is already taken, it will be disambiguated by the reviewer should the draft be accepted. Feel free to leave a comment on the draft's talk page (Draft talk:Louis Sandoval) explaining your rationale. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 04:50, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Thank you. I added the dimunitive in the body, so that may suffice. Tenacity4life (talk) 05:29, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

@Tenacity4life: The title (pagename) of the article should be the subject's commonname. I.e. 'Lou' if that is what he's most commonly known as and / or how most sources refer to him, or 'Louis' if more applicable. The 'boldname' should be the sunject's fullname without any diminutive or hypocorism and where a nickname *is* included it would go within quotes (which themselves would go outside bold) and not within parenthesis. I.e. '''Louis''' "'''Lou'''" '''Sandoval''' would be the markup which renders as Louis "Lou" Sandoval, but any diminutive of a given name should not be included; an example of this can be seen at Bill Clinton. See MOS:NICK for more information. Eagleash (talk) 05:57, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

@Eagleash: Probable typo: sunject → subject. --CiaPan (talk) 13:33, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

@CiaPan: Yes, saw it just too late and didn't get around to changing it; fairly obvious what was meant I'd say... Eagleash (talk) 14:07, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

How to know if a page existed?

Hello, I’m told there was a page for the Forest and Stream Club in Montreal and that it has apparently been deleted repeatedly. How can I confirm and resolve?

Thank you

Montrealer5000Montrealer5000 (talk) 07:08, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

You can check the deletion log: Special:Log/delete gives you a form where you can input a page to check the deletion log. A deletion log looks like this. I.hate.spam.mail.here (talk | contributions) 07:13, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

@Montrealer5000: I can find no sign of such a page at the English Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 10:11, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

How to filter revisions by tag filter

I reverted some of my edits. However, when checking my contributions, when I input Reverted in the tag filter box, it says "No changes were found matching these criteria." Why? I.hate.spam.mail.here (talk | contributions) 07:15, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Try mw-reverted. See the first column at Special:Tags. Suffusion of Yellow (talk) 07:22, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Coordinates on Wikidata but not on Wikipedia?

On Kestel, I wanted to add missing coords, than saw that Wikidata already has them. Shouldn't the data migrate to WP automatically?

trespassers william (talk) 10:19, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Wikidata isn't a reliable source. AndyTheGrump (talk) 11:47, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Hello @trespassers william, they should but they don't. The Wiki-project is incomplete and always will be. There are many things in Wikidate that should be automated and moved to WP. Dutchy45 (talk) 12:23, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

@Dutchy45, you mean the migration depends on manual (and bot-assisted) edits ? Why?? trespassers william (talk) 14:20, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

@trespassers william, because of limitations on bots and because there are not enough editors capable of, or interested in, creating those bots. If you are capable and interested...have at it! Your edit count and impact on WP will skyrocket. Dutchy45 (talk) 14:33, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

The Wikidata item has no reference for the coordinates, and the map provided is essentially blank in the purported area of the tin mine. Why should we believe it? Jc3s5h (talk) 14:30, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

@Danny lost: You can add {{WikidataCoord}} to a Wikipedia article to display the coordinates listed in Wikidata. However, the lack of a reference is still an issue. GoingBatty (talk) 15:02, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for the template. Regarding Kestel, the coords are also a bit off, as seen on OSM topo. The locations at vici.org (that have WD statements) have better data. I am trying to find a definite ref from the excavators. trespassers william (talk) 17:21, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

how to link to older revision

Hi guys,
For a discussion over a requested move, I would like to give a link to an older revision in the history of another article. How do I do this? Dutchy45 (talk) 12:12, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

See Help:Permanent link for different ways to do it. {{Oldid2}} looks to be the easiest way. ColinFine (talk) 12:33, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Thanks Dutchy45 (talk) 13:29, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

List of my GAN fails

Is there a way I can get a listing of articles of my failed GANs? --Doug Coldwell (talk) 14:50, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

I don't think we keep a list like this, but xtools keeps a list of all talk pages you've edited. You could then do a search for all the /GA pages. This wouldn't list which ones passed, and which ones failed, but it would be a start. I'm sure this could be done via a query on the contributions page, but I'm not sure how to do this.

The other way, is to check your talk page archives for the failed GA notifications. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 14:56, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Thanks. I like the check your talk page archives for the failed GA notifications idea. That works for me.--Doug Coldwell (talk) 15:16, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Want to log in to old account

I set up 2FA some time ago and have forgotten my password. The login process asks me "Please enter a verification code from your authentication device." I have literally no idea what that means. I do remember that when I set up 2FA, I was given some "scratch codes" and miraculously I have found them. Can someone advise me how to get an "authentication device" to give me a "verification code"? Cheers --109.158.77.28 (talk) 15:35, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

WP:2FA may have more information. Skarmory (talk • contribs) 15:41, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

It had loads more information, but I'm still hopelessly confused, as it mostly deals with people setting up 2FA, not trying to access things again having long since forgotten how it all works. I downloaded the Win Authenticator. Can I use a 'scratch code' as the "verification code" to get into Wikipedia, or can I use a scratch code as a "Secret code" to get into Authenticator? It's confusing that none of the language seems to match. --109.158.77.28 (talk) 16:12, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

I'm not a 2FA user, so I haven't done this before, but this help page section appears to give the most specific advice. Yes, you enter the scratch code where you'd usually enter your verification code. Once you're logged in, you'll need to turn off 2FA at Special:Manage_Two-factor_authentication. If you then want to re-enable 2FA and re-generate scratch codes, you can. Firefangledfeathers (talk | contribs) 16:22, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

You can simply take one of the scratch codes and enter it when it asks you for a verification code. Then immediately remove the 2FA in Preferences -> User profile -> 2-Factor authentication -> Manage (this will require another scratch code). They are called scratch codes, because each of them can only be used once! (So you can 'scratch them from the list' after use). —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 16:29, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Very helpful, thank you all. I'll try this later. --109.158.77.28 (talk) 16:53, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

where to post?

hello,
I want to rename a lot (possibly hundreds!) of article and category names per WP:TITLECON. But before I do that I feel I need consensus. Where and how do I do this? At WP:RM I can only add 1 article at a time. Obviously that's to cumbersome a process. While WP:RFC/STYLE leaves me with the problem of where to place the tag. (or if everywhere; again to cumbersome) Dutchy45 (talk) 15:53, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

@Dutchy45: Hi there! WP:RMPM gives some guidance on this. If you provide more details about the articles/categories you want to rename, we can hopefully provide a more detailed suggestion. GoingBatty (talk) 15:59, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Thanks, I'll ping you here if I need a more detailed suggestion. Dutchy45 (talk) 16:32, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Why are the help desk people so against comedy?

But seriously, I mean, putting "we're not a comedy club, if you're not serious, take it elsewhere." I hate to break it to you, but we all happen to be humans here, and Wikipedia is not a business. Formality is great! But so is a little bit of humor. If you don't want to answer a funny request (and I assure you, you probably don't get 100 a day), you can scroll past. It is bothering truly nobody, and I think a single funny help desk request is fine, and if you decide to delete this comment, please at least tell me where "elsewhere" is? Although, this is an actual request, not a joke one. Telefocus (talk) 16:17, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

@Telefocus: The issue with having "joke questions" is that they can waste the time of editors who think it's a legit question. Wikipedia is also not a webhost. See WP:JOKE for what is and isn't acceptable humor. ― Blaze Wolf^Talk_{Blaze Wolf#6545} 16:20, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Also, "elsewhere" would be something that is not Wikipedia. ― Blaze Wolf^Talk_{Blaze Wolf#6545} 16:20, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

@Blaze Wolf:Oh yeah I understand, I guess we should put up all humorous articles in AfD, and forget about me properly using the template, made so that people scroll past if they don't want a joke, after all, it's an encyclopedia! We should probably get rid of those pesky user and talk pages too... Telefocus (talk) 17:37, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Quick side note, the webhost link says nothing about no humor. Telefocus (talk) 17:42, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

@Telefocus: I never said anything about that. Humor is fine on Wikipedia in small amounts. It's not appropriate on the help desk where people are asking legitimate questions looking for legitimate answers. ― Blaze Wolf^Talk_{Blaze Wolf#6545} 17:55, 8 March 2022 (UTC)