Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2009 April 9

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April 9[edit]

Request for assistance due to my own stupid mistake[edit]

Resolved

Justin (koavf)TCM☯ 22:50, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks I just tried to make Template:Infobox Bibliography and it didn't go quite right:

  • Two sections - Pamphlets and Scripts - won't display the number, but rather their name surrounded by curly brackets
  • For several sections - but not all - the "link" text appears in the infobox instead of the number
  • When I actually inserted it into a page, the caption and image fields do not work properly, although they show up just fine in the documentation.

Clearly, I am not a templates whiz, but I was even worse at making one than I thought. If someone wants to help me fix this, I'd appreciate it. —Justin (koavf)TCM☯ 00:50, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Parameter names shouldn't have spaces in them, or you'll get trouble. Updated the template. Doc needs to reflect changes, as well as any place where the template is used. Good luck! Equendil Talk 14:58, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I'll have to correct myself here, parameter names are fine with spaces in them, what caused havoc was specifying the size parameter without a value. Equendil Talk 18:06, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

CAL photo transfer[edit]

Resolved

Under22Entreprenuer (talk) 22:39, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hello. I am working on the article Capital Allocation Line (CAL), which has no pictures. However, There is a picture @ Wikimedia Commons here: [1]. I wish to transfer this file to the article. How can this be done? --Under22Entreprenuer (talk) 02:38, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Place anywhere in the article [[File:Capitalallocationline.jpg|thumb|caption text]]. For more information see Wikipedia:Images. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 02:40, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks! --Under22Entreprenuer (talk) 02:43, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Anytime.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 02:44, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Alright, so I added the photo. Any other suggestions? --Under22Entreprenuer (talk) 02:48, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I moved the article to Capital allocation line - sentence case in accordance with Wikipedia's naming conventions - did a little more clean up of the formatting, and added a stub template. – ukexpat (talk) 15:24, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thankyou ukexpat for doing do!--Under22Entreprenuer (talk) 22:39, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Suggestion to make 'cancel' button more noticeable for newbies[edit]

Hi, Is this the right place to make a technical-ish suggestion?
Mine is as follows:
When I was first using Wikipedia (it can be overwhelmingly confusing at first if you're not used to looking at lots of mark-up!) I used to accidentally miss the cancel button quite frequently, and sometimes ended up clicking on 'save page' or 'show preview' instead! (Then having to undo it, I think. It's all a bit of a blur, honestly, but I know I kept missing the cancel button.) So I think it might be helpful if the cancel button was as noticeable as the 'save page' and 'show preview' buttons. Probably leave it where it is, but perhaps change the color to red or pink or something &/or put it in a box like the 3 currently to its left? Just a thought. Thanks very much. (p.s. Wikipedia is great! I love it! Go Wikipedia!)--Tyranny Sue (talk) 03:10, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Sue. A better place for this is at the proposals section of the Village Pump. We answer questions here mostly and the page I referred you to is exactly for suggestions such as this. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 03:38, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Can you tell us why you didn't you just navigate away from the page instead of hitting a button to avoid a save? - Mgm|(talk) 10:35, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I think I got quite confused & overwhelmed by all the new info (mark-up, boxes, symbols, etc) that I kind of panicked or something. (It was a steep learning curve for me, I guess. Yes, I was, & possibly still am, a total mark-up reetard.)--Tyranny Sue (talk) 02:59, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
    • I think Sue is making a good point that may explain a portion of the non-malicious but otherwise bad edits by newcomers. It's possible that some non-technical newcomers are afraid that they will delete an article they are editing if they don't save it. ike9898 (talk)
The word "save" has a somewhat different implication on Wikipedia than on most other application software people are used to. This can certainly confuse the new user. It's too bad we don't conduct Wikipedia training classes with live or videoconferenced human teachers in every town. A glance at Special:ListUsers shows that only a tiny percentage of our 47,336,953 registered users have managed more than a few edits. Evidently the new user faces a very high hurdle to get started here. However, a comment to the original poster: from reading between the lines in your suggestion, it sounds as if you were making test edits to Wikipedia and previewing them. This is fine, but to avoid the accidental save problem, it's best to make your test edits in what we call the "sandbox", or in your own user subpage. For example, you could make your own user sandbox by clicking this link: User:Tyranny Sue/Sandbox, and then edit and save (almost) whatever you like, without fear of wrecking someone else's work. --Teratornis (talk) 18:43, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for that, Ike9898 & Teratornis. I never really understood how the sandbox was supposed to work & assumed I wouldn't be able to save my work there (thinking it was like a communal page or something - I just realised that this assumption of mine was based on how a 'sandbox' in a mud game I used to play worked). Maybe if the sentence "For testing, please use the sandbox instead" said "your sandbox", that might help with that? (Assuming I understand it correctly now.)--Tyranny Sue (talk) 03:13, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The sandbox Teatronis is talking about is a private sandbox at a subpage of your userspace. It sounds like you may be thinking that this is the same as the Wikipedia:Sandbox; that is a public sandbox which is cleared every 12 hours and other users will be overwriting your material with their own test edits, which will not happen in a sandbox you make in your userspace. Any material you made in the public sandbox can be retrieved using the page history, but you will not be able to build a stable version of anything there given the overwriting.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 05:23, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

James Cawley[edit]

I have tried to add corrections to James Cawley page and at this point the article is locked. When I showed proof, I was told it was not good enough. Now I found an article where James Cawley himself says that he is an extra in the new Star Trek movie and the same person will not add it. Will someone unblock the article or add that James Cawley is an extra in the new Star Trek movie. His statement can be found at:

http://trekmovie.com/2008/11/12/editorial-james-cawley-on-the-new-star-trek-movie/

121. James Cawley - November 12, 2008 To those of you who feel I have sold out etc. You are dead wrong. NO ONE loves The Orignal Star Trek more than me. No one is more devoted to it’s look and feel, for Christ’s sake, I own a full scale bridge set and play Kirk in my spare time! I have poured more of my life into classic Trek than I care to discuss. Being an extra in the film has nothing to do with my opinion either.173.55.27.133 (talk) 11:54, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

No. I, and I dare say most regulars here will agree with the multiple users who have reverted your edits and explained to you the requirement that you cite to reliable sources (not blogs or fan wikis) that verify the information you are seeking to add and remove from this article. This is all the more true since the content you are pushing is to some extent negative and the article is a biography of a living person. Please also see WP:BURDEN ("The burden of evidence lies with the editor who adds or restores material. All quotations and any material challenged or likely to be challenged must be attributed to a reliable, published source using an inline citation") and Wikipedia:Canvassing regarding your appeal to people here.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:21, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Article about a greek author[edit]

Dear Wikipedians

I would like to ask you if it is acceptable to write an article about a greek Author. He has received various awarsd for his work but his books are not translated. Is this something that can be included in the english Wikipedia?

Thanks in advance Jianmarin (talk) 12:44, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.
Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.
If you still think an article is appropriate, see Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. TNXMan 12:50, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Also note that the inclusion guidelines for English Wikipedia do not depend on the language of the sources. If someone is notable in Greek, he is also notable in English. Calliopejen1 (talk) 15:24, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Tables[edit]

Resolved
 – ZooFari 22:41, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, I've looked everywhere, but how can I get tables to sit next to each other? Currently If I use wiki markup they automatically go underneath each other like this:

Table 1
row 1
row 2
Table 2
row 1
row 2

I want them like this:

Table 1 Table 2
row 1, Table 1 row 1, Table 2
row 2, Table 1 row 2, Table 2

But as two separate tables. Thanks in advance VJ (talk) 13:29, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It's not terribly orthodox, but you can achieve that using "div" HTML markers to encapsulate your tables, I edited your sandbox for an example. Equendil Talk 14:11, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, you can just set the styles directly in the table headers, updated the sandbox. Equendil Talk 14:16, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Table 1
row 1
row 2
Table 2
row 1
row 2
You can also use a blank column which is quite inelegant in table code like so -
Table 1 Table 2
row 1, Table 1 row 1, Table 2
row 2, Table 1 row 2, Table 2
Nanonic (talk) 14:13, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks guys VJ (talk) 15:21, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Patrolling new pages, second opinion[edit]

Resolved

Thank you! Thrane (talk) 23:49, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

When patrolling new pages, I sometimes need a second opinion before taking direct action, e.g. proposing for deletion. Is there anyway I can tag an article so other editors know a second opinion is needed before marking as patrolled, or should I simply leave the article unpatrolled, taking no further action? --Thrane (talk) 14:29, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

My feeling is, if you're not sure what (if any) action needs to be taken, then take none. If you leave it unpatrolled, another patroller will come along. ArakunemTalk 14:38, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
That said, there's usually no harm in placing a maintenance template on an article if you're not sure what to do. That's part of what New Page Patrol is anyway... not always delete-or-keep. If you think an article may not be notable, but aren't sure if you should prod or csd, then tag with {{notability}}, for example, which states there may be an issue, but doesn't call for its outright deletion. A full list of those sort of templates can be found at Wikipedia:Templates#Article-related_namespace. Hope this helps! ArakunemTalk 14:43, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The fairly general {{cleanup}} tag may serve your purpose.Livewireo (talk) 20:43, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Army CAC Card[edit]

Hi,

Would you please let me know where we go to fill this form and how we get the card.

Your help is really appricated

Regards Fahrudin Nuhic —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sidekick002 (talkcontribs) 14:55, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about 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.ArakunemTalk 15:01, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Editing the TITLE of an article[edit]

Resolved
 – TNXMan 15:27, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The following article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Brothers_and_Sisters_of_Canada

should be entered as "Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada"

("Big Sisters" not "and Sisters")

I cannot see a way to correct the title. The title as-is makes the search term "Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada" come up blank.

Can anyone help with this change or explain how to make the change?

ref: http://www.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca website —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.124.199.68 (talk) 15:15, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You click on "move" at the top of the page, but I'm not sure you can do it without creating an account. TastyCakes (talk) 15:18, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Correct, in order to rename a page, you have to "Move" it to the new title. As an un-registered user, you do not have that button. I went ahead and moved it for you. Please confirm that all is well with the new title. The old title will redirect to the new, in case anyone does search for the old title. Thanks! ArakunemTalk 15:19, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you so much guys. I feel a little bad as I found the Help area about being logged in to MOVE the page in order to change the title (after I posted this). By the time I created my account, you'd already fixed it! Talk about a fast response!—Preceding unsigned comment added by BBBSC (talkcontribs)

The article needs work, please see the issues tags that I have added. – ukexpat (talk) 15:30, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Wierd things happening when I edit[edit]

Resolved
 – tempodivalse [☎] 19:56, 11 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

For several months two things have been happening when I edit an article:

  • sometimes when I paste text into an edit window, the pasted text is in a huge font
  • sometimes when I'm working in and edit window, the cursor will disappear and I can't type; this problem is resolved (at least temporarily) by hitting preview

This has happened on three different computers, so I think it's a problem local to the machine I'm using. Ever heard of these problems? ike9898 (talk) 16:15, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You probably have WikED enabled. To disable, you can either remove the gadget by going to your preferences > gadgets > editing gadgets and uncheck the box or just by simply clicking on the icon at the top right corner next to "log out". I would do the second method because it allows you to enable it the same way when you need it. ZooFari 16:38, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Yep, this is one of the side effects of WikiEd. If you want to avoid the big text when you paste stuff, just remove the space at the very beginning of the text you pasted and things should be back to normal (at least that's been my experience with it). As ZooFari said above, if you want to temporarily disable it, just click the WikiEd logo at the top of the screen, near the "log out" button. Hoped this helped, tempodivalse [☎] 15:24, 11 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

PhD dissertation[edit]

Who is the publisher of a dissertation? The individual or the university? I suppose originally the author, but if it is now hosted on that university's website, is it them? Grsz11 17:14, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I guess you are asking what to put in the publisher parameter of a citation template such as {{Cite web}}. Before citing the dissertation, try searching for refereed journal papers by the same author, which sometimes you can find by searching with {{Google scholar cite}} and then cite with {{Cite journal}}. If the material in the dissertation has not appeared in a journal, then I guess you could use the university as the publisher. This probably isn't a big deal. The publisher parameter is optional, and lots of editors omit it, although I agree it's better to include a citation parameter if you know the value. Having more complete citations makes them easier to repair in the case of link rot. --Teratornis (talk) 18:30, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Why was the Declaration of Independence written in the first place?[edit]

Please put answer in fourth grade form of understanding. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.195.30.159 (talk) 18:01, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hello. This is the Wikipedia Help Desk, where we answer questions on using Wikipedia. While we would typically refer you to the Reference Desk, your question appears to be a homework question, and they will not do your homework for you. You may wish to read our article on the United States Declaration of Independence to answer your question or head on over to the Simple Wikipedia and search there. If you have any other questions, please let us know! Livewireo (talk) 18:12, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
But please note, we will not do your homework for you. – ukexpat (talk) 18:19, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Please do your own homework. Welcome to the Wikipedia Help desk. Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misevaluation, but it is our policy here to not do people's homework for them, but to merely aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn how to solve such problems.
Please attempt to solve the problem yourself first. You can search Wikipedia or search the Web.
If you need help with a specific part of your homework, the Reference desk can help you grasp the concept. Do not ask knowledge questions here, just those about using Wikipedia. MathCool10 Sign here! 00:18, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Note: Simple English Wikipedia article at simple:United States Declaration of Independence. MathCool10 Sign here! 18:31, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

missing links to files[edit]

here on this page 1900 Summer Olympics medal_table there is a missing picture of the mexico flag..which is here..[File:Flag of Mexico.svg] and I want to repair it.. how do you do something like this?(Off2riorob (talk) 18:08, 9 April 2009 (UTC))[reply]

It looks like this version would be acceptable, as far as I can tell from some quick research. Grsz11 18:15, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Actually all those flags are produced by the {{flagIOCteam}} template. There is no documentation for that template so I have no idea how to fix it. Maybe the Olympics Wikiproject folks can help. – ukexpat (talk) 18:18, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
A little drilling down indicates that {{flagIOCteam}} is just a wrapper that calls individual templates for each country. In this case you evidently need to edit {{Country flag IOC alias MEX}}. The template code looks straightforward, as it has an entry for a flag file name for each Olympic year. --Teratornis (talk) 18:22, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Resolved

thanks..not really sure how but it works.(Off2riorob (talk) 18:37, 9 April 2009 (UTC))[reply]

To understand how it works, you would need to read Help:Template and possibly some of the help pages it links to. Template coding on Wikipedia can be difficult to learn if you have not previously learned another programming language. If you are an experienced computer programmer, then template coding on Wikipedia is fairly straightforward, once you get used to the extremely compact syntax. Most modern programming languages are designed to be easier for humans to read, by using wordier structured programming constructs. Wikitext chops everything down to the fewest possible characters. This makes wikitext easier to type fast (the word "wiki" means "quick"), but not always so pretty to read. --Teratornis (talk) 18:52, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
thank you User:Teratornis I'll have a little read of those links to understand a bit more (Off2riorob (talk) 19:02, 9 April 2009 (UTC))[reply]
The {{flagIOCteam}} template in this situation illustrates how on Wikipedia, we simulate having subroutine calls by making one template transclude other templates. If you examine the source of the {{flagIOCteam}} template, you can see how the template uses its parameter values to construct the name of the country-specific template to transclude (i.e. "call" in most other programming languages) to get the name of the flag file for the country and year. There are several layers of abstraction going on here, so it's sure to be confusing. Unfortunately, we don't have a template debugger, which you could use to "single step" through each transclusion and parameter substitution. If you learn a scripting language such as Perl, the debugger is a vital tool for observing how a computer executes a Perl script, step by step. For more about templates, see the links under WP:EIW#Template, and don't expect this to make sense quickly. Computer science is a highly developed profession, like engineering, medicine, law, etc. However, to get started with computer science, all you need is a computer, some spare time, and the willingness to read manuals and try stuff. I recommend keeping notes on a user subpage with links to what you are studying, otherwise you are likely to overwhelm your short term memory if you try to do it all in your head. --Teratornis (talk) 19:12, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Resending question on uploading map of K street[edit]

I feel the article on K street, Washington DC should have a map. I slightly edited a small section of MapQuest as a .JPG file, but I am unable to upload it or even send it to someone who is allowed to do so. I've kept the MapQuest logo on the map : does that still violate any copyrights? What's the position? 19:31, 9 April 2009 (UTC)19:31, 9 April 2009 (UTC)~~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Piercan (talkcontribs)

The Mapquest website bears a copyright notice (©2009 MapQuest, Inc. All rights reserved.), so yes, irrespective the presence of the logo, I think it would be a copyvio. – ukexpat (talk) 20:15, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
What do you mean unable to upload are you sure you saved it to your PC, if you haven't it can't be uploaded... Assuming you do have the file, you have to go to either Wikipedia:Upload or Special:Upload and use that to upload the file. But before doing that, I suggest you read Wikipedia's copyright policy and non free content policy. I hope this helps. 143.43.10.143 (talk) 20:20, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
What 143.43.10.143 says is generally how you upload an image to Wikipedia. But since your image is non-free, and since as a map it is replaceable with a free map, Wikipedia cannot accept it. —teb728 t c 20:42, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Why don't you use OpenStreetMap instead? That's a collection of free street maps. Calliopejen1 (talk) 15:21, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

How do I make a quotation box?[edit]

Resolved
 – TNXMan 20:53, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I would like to create a box with a quote in it. I would like the regular text of the article to be printed around it. Where can I find out how to do this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nbahn (talkcontribs) 19:42, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

--NBahn (talk) 19:44, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I think you may be referring to <blockquote>, which does pretty much exactly what it says. You can see more at Help:Wikitext examples. TNXMan 19:49, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
See also Category:Quotation templates.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 19:53, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the info!
--NBahn (talk) 20:50, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Additional information on existing widipedia site[edit]

This site (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Saunders) mentions Clarence Saunders' patent for a self-service grocery store.

I know of a lawsuit filed by Piggly Wiggly Stores, to whom Sauders assigned his patent rights.

I know the details surrounding that suit, including its outcome. However, the only source for my information is word of mouth from my father, who was the founder and majority holder in the defendant coroporation. He is now deceased.

Is this source of information sufficient to tell the story as an addition to the above Wikipedia site? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Manerewski (talkcontribs) 19:51, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, no. Wikipedia only properly publishes material that is able to be checked by our readers against already published sources. The policy for this is at Wikipedia:Verifiability. However, many lawsuits leave quite a paper trail in their wake. Sometimes this is accessible to the public, and sometimes it is not. If you were to post to the article's talk page, disclosing when the lawsuit was commenced, in what court and where, a user might be able to dig up a reliable source that is accessible. Note, though, that just because information exists doesn't necessarily mean it belongs in the article. One policy that speaks to this is WP:WEIGHT. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 19:59, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

How[edit]

Resolved
 – ukexpat (talk) 20:11, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Do I cite a book? Which template do I use? 143.43.10.143 (talk) 20:02, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I believe {{cite book}} is the template for which you are looking. TNXMan 20:04, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for your assistance. 143.43.10.143 (talk) 20:06, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Height of a table[edit]

Hi,
I would like to know if it's possible to fix the height of a table (or a cell) without filling someting inside the cell ? Thanks. — Riba (talk) 20:45, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • For me it usually works to include & nbsp ; in the empty cell (a non-breaking space)? Get rid of the spaces and you should have an empty cell with the same height as the one next to it. - Mgm|(talk) 20:56, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • adding something like style="height:100px" to the table/cell markers should do the trick. Example (table forced to 200 pixels, first raw to 100 pixels):
Table

Equendil Talk 21:04, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thank! But I want to do is to put a table in another table and to fix the height of the little one at 100% of the space of the cell. As if in this table I wanted that the cell "a" took all the place :
a
 
b
 
c

Riba (talk) 21:13, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

There is no HTML or style to do it . . . but you can make it look like it is happening, for example(?):

Table
Inner Table
a1 a2 a3 a4
b1 c
b2
b3

If you cannot get the above to work in your context, create some more explanation here and I will see what I can do. Peet Ern (talk) 13:24, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Broken links in an article[edit]

Resolved

Spotter223 (talk) 20:25, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

If I find a link that is broken, what is the proper way to fix it? Edit it and remove it, or somehow note the broken link (possibly using strikeout) and allow others to test the validity of the link before removing it in the event it is a local and not a global situation? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Spotter223 (talkcontribs) 22:40, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Fix it. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 22:41, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
If the webpage existed a few months ago or earlier, you could link to its archive on the Wayback Machine. There's also the possibility that the external website has been reorganised. If so, you might be able to search for the new URL or an equivalent page to be linked instead. Otherwise, just remove the link. Tra (Talk) 23:07, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
If you are talking about links to external websites then you can follow the guidelines at Wikipedia:Dead external links and WP:DEADREF, for dead internal links see Wikipedia:Red link. Nanonic (talk) 23:10, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for your responses! I made the corrections using the Dead Link and Wayback templates. Great advise! Spotter223 (talk) 20:25, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

sabotage[edit]

i am trying to find a new job and i think my ex employer is sabotaging my future applications. i need to find articles on this issue —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tbutterfly (talkcontribs) 23:03, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

This is an encyclopedia. You won't find how-to articles or methods/tips to deal with personal problems. See Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not ZooFari 23:06, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Interestingly, Fred Brooks wrote about what he calls "negatively productive people" and advised employers to place such people with competing companies (a strategy similar to Fidel Castro's Mariel boatlift). Conversely, if your ex-employer is trying to sabotage your applications to other companies, and if your ex-employer is as smart as Fred Brooks and Fidel Castro, perhaps your ex-employer sees you as an asset of such great value that they don't want you to be helping the competition. That's what you might mention in job interviews. Why else would your ex-employer not want you to work for the competition? --Teratornis (talk) 06:29, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Problem with Template:Convert/to(-)/AonSoffAnd[edit]

Resolved

You have a problem with Template:Convert/to(-)/AonSoffAnd in Sea of Azov#Hydrology and hydrochemistry. I don't know what that template does so I can't fix it. Thanks, someone from the Hebrew Wikipedia :-) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.179.22.124 (talk) 23:45, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed, thank you. Equendil Talk 23:51, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]