Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 September 14

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September 14[edit]

Military intelligence[edit]

As you will see on my user page, I am a member of the US Army, military intelligence to be exact. Is there any box that can show I am?--Dale S. Satre 01:36, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

Try one of these:
Twas Now ( talkcontribse-mail ) 01:41, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Not sure that there is an MI box, but you can create your own boxes. See User:Gadget850/about for some examples of custom military boxes. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 12:46, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Replacements[edit]

Can somebody help me with these two problems?: 1.) Right next to my military aircraft portal, there is the "I}" or "{I" or something like that. When I edit my page, it doesn't show up so I can delete it. Can somebody show me where it is? 2.) Even though on my user pages' edit page has the portals in alligned order, the portals are in random placements. Can somebody allign them into columns for me, or show me how?--Dale S. Satre 01:57, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Dale_S._Satre"

You had an unpaired {{boxboxbottom}}. Is [1] what you want? PrimeHunter (talk) 02:11, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Right to vanish, and not "vanished"[edit]

What, if anything, is to be done in a case when a user has invoked his/her "right to vanish" and seems to have reappeared almost immediately under a new username? (I think that I might have identified such a user through the style of argument given at AfD.) I ask because it's clearly stated that the 'The "right to vanish" is not a "right to a fresh start" under a new identity'. --Craw-daddy | T | 12:00, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Use of a fresh account is discouraged rather than forbidden. Do you need to do anything so long as he is not using the account abusively? Kittybrewster 13:25, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I would politely ask the user whether they have previously edited under a different account name, especially if their edits show more familiarity with Wikpedia procedures than the age of their account would suggest. An honest and above board user should not object to being asked about any previous Wikipedia history. WP:SOCK makes allowance for the use of alternative accounts, but says "If someone uses alternative accounts, it is recommended that he or she provide links between the accounts in most cases to make it easy to determine that one individual shares them, or at least disclose this information in confidence" and "When an account is discontinued, it is recommended that the old account be noted on its user page as being inactive, in order to prevent the switch being interpreted as an attempt to abusively sock puppet ... Note that the "right to vanish" does not cover this, and repeated switching of accounts is usually seen as a way of avoiding scrutiny and considered as a breach of this policy". Gandalf61 (talk) 13:43, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
This is now being discussed at WP:AN. Stifle (talk) 16:27, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Signature[edit]

Sorry about this I would just like know if somebody can give me the Wikilink to the page where I can learn about how to change the font of my signature(Username). I know I have seen the page before I am having trouble finding it right now.--Theoneintraining (talk) 12:09, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It's Wikipedia:How to fix your signature. You might also want to read Wikipedia:Signature#Customizing_your_signature. Cheers. Chamal Talk ± 12:33, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Thankyou.--Theoneintraining (talk) 12:44, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Defining notability[edit]

A recently created project seem to stretch WP:NOTABILITY to include a large number of football coaches who are not notable under the normal rules of WP:BIO and WP:ATHLETE. The arguments are set out at Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Walter_J._West. How do I set about extending the afd to embrace all such non-notables without falling foul of WP:FORUMSHOPPING ? Kittybrewster 13:19, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

An AfD can only cover those articles that are listed as within its ambit. It can set a precedent that can be referred to in the future, but your request at the end of this particular AfD debate that all similar pages be deleted can't be done by that process. What you can do is a combined AfD for other similarly situated articles (see Template:AfD footer (multiple)) and, in addition to adding a rationale there, point to the prior debate as a good place to look at for past discussion of similar issues. My experience with mass AfDs is that you shouldn't do them in too large bites. If there are 8 similar articles, for example, that might work, but don't try to nominate 30 at one time. As for forum shopping, I don't see how it's applicable. The accusation made against Fram at the AfD appears to me to be baseless.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:10, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Text align[edit]

Here's a simple question that I couldn't find anywhere: how do you right-align wikipedia text? Is this even possible on Wikipedia? Wikipedia defaults to left-aligned, and <center> can be used to center-align. But how can you right-align text? Thanks for your help, αЯβιτЯαЯιŁΨθ (talk) 13:53, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This works. Algebraist 13:58, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
:D thanks, αЯβιτЯαЯιŁΨθ (talk) 14:47, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Help with a wikiproject banner[edit]

Resolved

{{WPBiography |living=no |class=FA |british-royalty=yes }}

How do I make my own version of the above template? I need to make one for WP:EROY but it needs to be able to display the class section too. Thanks for any help! ;) --Cameron* 15:30, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You may find Template:WPBannerMeta useful. You can make a test page at User:Cameron/EROY template before moving it to template space (e.g. Template:WP English Royalty). If you need further help, I could even set it up for you. — Twas Now ( talkcontribse-mail ) 17:52, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I think I want one more in the style of WPBiography. Any ideas? --Cameron* 19:54, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
What you can do is go to Template:WPBiography, click on "view source" (which replaces the normal edit button because the page is protected), and copy that to your user space page as suggested by Twas Now. Then all you have to do is work out what all that code means and change the bits that are appropriate :S Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 23:28, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
This has been resolved. The template can be found at Template:WP English Royalty. — Twas Now ( talkcontribse-mail ) 23:30, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Should I add WikiProject templates if I'm not part of the project?[edit]

For example, a biographical article that is missing the {{WPBiography}} talk page template. Thank you Louis Waweru  Talk  16:26, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. If you think the article is within the scope of the WikiProject, by all means add the template! — Twas Now ( talkcontribse-mail ) 17:47, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Good to know, thanks Louis Waweru  Talk  18:34, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Check required for moved image?[edit]

The picture in the Paula Creamer article, which I monitor, was recently transferred to the Commons. There is now a template saying that the image needs to be reviewed. I'm still learning about our image policies. What does this mean and what needs to be done? Giants2008 (17-14) 17:00, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I think it's supposed to mean that you have to check the image descriptions with the en.wikipedia version, because the bot used in the transfer isn't reliable. I'm pretty sure the information there is all correct, but in order to verify, the original image here would have to be undeleted. Calvin 1998 (t·c) 18:59, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I know the information is all correct, because I've seen the original in the past and even fixed a typo on it. I would guess that an administrator is supposed to check the original and remove the tag if it checks out, but I'm not certain. I just want to know if it's all right to use the picture. Giants2008 (17-14) 20:13, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm trying to edit Leeds[edit]

Dear Wikipedia,

I have been trying to edit the page 'Leeds'. Every time I've tried my edits have always been deleted.

What I want to do is edit in the table on the right hand side of the page where it says population, I want it to say

Primary Urban Area: 443,247 Metro: 715,402 Urban:1,499,465 Leeds City Region: 2,831,800

It already says the Primary Urban Area is 443,247

My reference for the Metro population is http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/pyramids/pages/00da.asp a national statistics website. The population is near the bottom of that page.

My reference for the Urban population is http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/fom2005/03_FOPM_UrbanAreas.pdf which is official. Leeds is the centre of the West Yorkshire Urban Area which is ranked fourth.

My reference for the Leeds city region is a government website for Leeds. In the form of a pdf and the address is http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/2007/week23/inter__57D2D01DD38142A580256E00004160E8_c8f64408-be1e-490a-908a-56a5bd6a4abe.pdf

I have tried to change the table but I just can't... I'm so awful at wikipedia. I do try. Can you please help me?

Yours sincerely Tom Learoyd —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tubs uk (talkcontribs) 19:17, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Go to Talk:Leeds, start a new section and copy the above. Concerned editors will discuss it and let you know if there is a problem. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 22:19, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hyperlinks[edit]

How do you put a hyperlink onto a wikipedia page in order to edit it —Preceding unsigned comment added by Muldore (talkcontribs) 19:35, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You can add a link to another Wikipedia page like [[Link Title]] LegoKontribsTalkM 19:53, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Accounts on other wikis[edit]

I want to make an account on the pt and el wikis, but is there a way to do that so they are linked or should i just put an interwikilink on the user page? Grk1011/Stephen (talk) 20:14, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You can find help at m:Help:Unified login LegoKontribsTalkM 20:19, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Unified login does not unify your user pages; so it is probably a good idea to put an interwikilink on the user page. —teb728 t c 20:29, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

texas flag[edit]

can the texas flag fly the same height as the USA flag? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.133.13.179 (talk) 22:09, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. Algebraist 22:12, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You seem to be referring to an old urban legend debunked at Snopes. [2] --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 22:39, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Mario Superstar Baseball[edit]

Do you know if there are any mario superstar sluggers card links hidden somewhere in this website? This is for an online card collection game on www.mariosupersluggers.com, and I am trying to collect them all. The moderator gave us a hint that there may be some rare cards in here.If there are, can you please tell me where to find them? Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.193.7.40 (talk) 23:19, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Probably not. If someone was found using their accounts to play a game, they would most certainly be blocked. Xenon54 10:10, 15 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Sarah Palin:[edit]

I have received e-mail indicating the subject is anti-Semitic, very close with Jews for Jesus and against the current existence of the State of Israel. Can any of this be verified?

MLF —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.71.57.57 (talk) 23:47, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No, it cannot. Grsztalk 23:56, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Also note that this page is for questions regarding using Wikipedia. Perhaps you would be better to ask at Talk:Sarah Palin. Grsztalk 23:58, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
No, that would be an inappropriate place. Article Talk pages are to discuss how to edit the article, not general questions about the subject of the article. Corvus cornixtalk 03:23, 16 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia:Reference desk. — Twas Now ( talkcontribse-mail ) 03:37, 16 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]