Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2010 April 5

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April 5[edit]

WikiPetrol[edit]

Resolved
 –  – ukexpat (talk) 02:36, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Hello. I have very keen interest in petroleum and drilling engineering, and the management of energy companies. (Unusual and odd, I know.) Is there any WikiProject(s) associated with these interests?--LastLived 01:38, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Will chemicals and energy do? Kayau Voting IS evil 01:46, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The Oil Megaprojects task force of the Energy project might also interest you. ≈ Chamal talk ¤ 01:52, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
(e/c*2) WikiProjects generally deal with broad topics, rather than the narrower topics you describe. I suggest checking out WikiProject Energy and WikiProject Companies to see if they meet your interests. Sometimes, a WikiProject will have a "subproject" or "task force" dedicated to a narrower topic -- check the project pages for this as well. If neither of those projects sufficiently cover your interests, consider taking a look at the talk page of an article that deals with a topic you are interested in. Editors that have tagged the article as being "of interest" to a WikiProject will usually place a template notifying others of this fact at the top of the talkpage. Xenon54 / talk / 01:53, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
As for Kayau, yes it will do!--LastLived 01:55, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
We especially need more images: photographs of energy-related equipment, maps, charts, and diagrams. See Commons:Category:Petroleum, Commons:Category:Oil, and Commons:Category:Peak oil. For example, a chart like: File:Alaska Oil Production 1975 to 2005.png needs to be updated, and converted to SVG which you could do with a program such as Gnuplot. Some energy articles are undeveloped in relation to the scope of their topics, such as Petroleum in the United States, which needs a lot more content as the US is the world's largest importer and consumer of petroleum, and has arguably been central to the development of the modern petroleum industry. There is no Natural gas in the United States article yet. But before making heavy edits, first see List of energy topics to get the "lay of the land" on our energy topics. --Teratornis (talk) 20:25, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

NPOV for fictional characters?[edit]

Resolved
 – Kayau Voting IS evil 05:35, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I always see people putting up non-neutral adjectives like clever, lazy, or unwise on articles about fictional characters. Is that acceptable? Kayau Voting IS evil 02:23, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, if they are supported by reliable sources that discuss the character. – ukexpat (talk) 02:37, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Even a primary source? Kayau Voting IS evil 03:26, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Secondary sources such as reviews of the fictional work. – ukexpat (talk) 03:39, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Read our policy on this >> WP:ASF ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ ―Œ ♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣ 05:23, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

"Edit" links to wrong page[edit]

Resolved
 – ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ ―Œ ♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣ 05:19, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I was going to edit the template at the bottom of this page, but for some reason, instead of sending me to the Threshold template edit page, it sent me to Judas Priests instead. No idea how to fix this --Repner1 (talk) 02:47, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The |name = parameter was incorrect in the template; it's now fixed. – ukexpat (talk) 02:57, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Great. Thanks ukexpat :) --Repner1 (talk) 04:01, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Is there a List of logged in users with idle-time less than 40minutes?[edit]

The headline says it all.
If yes, then is there also one showing administrators only?
--Seren-dipper (talk) 02:47, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Special:ListAdmins shows all admins. Kayau Voting IS evil 03:22, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Seren, why would you want to know the 40 minute idle time stuff? ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ ―Œ ♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣ 05:18, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
In any case there isn't. Prodego talk 05:19, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Is there a list of all currently logged in users then? (disregarding idletime). Or may I at least find out whether one specific user is currently logged in or not? (With or without idle time).
(This would be useful when I am cooperating with someone on developing an article!)
--Seren-dipper (talk) 05:49, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Some users update their status on their userpage. Others don't. See mine for an example. (though I never bother to update it.) Kayau Voting IS evil 05:57, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry Seren, only checkusers can see log on and log off time. Otherwise, by clicking on user contributions, you could easily find out whether the particular user is editing around that particular time or not. For example, the link Special:Contributions/Wifione links up to my contributions. You could replace my name with any user's name and get an idea. The link 'user contributions' is generally given on the left vertical menu bar. ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ ―Œ ♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣ 07:06, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Sienna Miller[edit]

Why is it that Jude Law cheating with the nanny has anything to do with why Sienna Miller is "notable as an actress". It made her more famous so it's worth posting here? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Agentkelton (talk • contribs) 03:33, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The talk page of the relevant article(s) is the place to discuss this. – ukexpat (talk) 03:37, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
And to help you, here's the talk page of the Sienna Miller article. Regards ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ ―Œ ♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣ 05:13, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Problems with the Pirates of the Caribbean template[edit]

It seems that last two rows of the template[1] refused to display themselves properly.--PCPP (talk) 13:08, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

That's because {{Navbox with columns}} only allows for six lists underneath the columns. You could a) ask to have that template expanded to allow more lists; b) use a different navbox template that doesn't use the columnar format (which is used for the four films in this case); or c) find a way to use just 6 lists. Powers T 13:49, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

source tag[edit]

Resolved
 –  – ukexpat (talk) 21:02, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

How can I use the <source>{{{1}}}</source> wiki tag in a template? I tried to use it but the {{{1}}} was copied without processing or passing the argument.--Email4mobile (talk) 13:46, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Where is the template? Kayau Voting IS evil 13:56, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The template is in the Arabic Wikipedia, still in progress. The aim was to reduce complexity of the language names and add some Arabic names bside (Arabic is distinguished from right to left which causes some difficulties during editing. I think it will be easier to give you the equivalent source code here, whichever easier you can check:

Assume the Template syntax: {{source|lang|code}} 

{{#switch: {{{1}}}
| html4strict
| ويب =
<source lang="html4strict">{{{2}}}</source>
| بيسك
| كيوبيسك
| basic
| qbasic=<source lang="qbasic">{{{2}}}</source>
| سي
| c
| c=<source lang="c">{{{2}}}</source>
| #default <source lang="html4strict">{{{2}}}</source>
}}

Thanks.--Email4mobile (talk) 17:33, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You can't include variables inside extension tags unless you use the #tag magic word. Try:
{{#tag:source|lang="html4strict"|{{{2|}}} }}
---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 19:37, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you very much :) --Email4mobile (talk) 20:50, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia Mobile[edit]

I find a lot of actual editing power is lost when using the existing iPhone Application, but does any Wikipedia technician have plans to build a lossless experience iPad Application? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Iceman444k (talk • contribs) 14:07, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I have no idea about that. I suspect if other editors out here would have too... ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ ―Œ ♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣ 02:57, 6 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Centered caption[edit]

How do I center a caption under an image thumbnail? Dr. Kamarei (talk) 14:41, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

<center>caption text</center>. – ukexpat (talk) 14:57, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

My page not visable[edit]

Hi,

I just created my page for Rest2U, and when I saved the page it says that "when you save hte page it will be visible for all others". But after I saved it, I can not se it when I search in Wikipedia.

What can the problem be ?

BR BirgerRest2U AB Birger (talk) 16:30, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

User:Rest2U AB Birger was deleted per Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion#G11. See Wikipedia:FAQ/Organizations. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:42, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Fair-use license questions[edit]

I am going to upload a file that is a screenshot of the title screen of a computer game. I don't know what to put in each of these fields: 

|Source            = 
|Portion           = 
|Low_resolution    = 
|Purpose           = 
|Replaceability    = 
|other_information =

Help, please. The directions were unclear. 2D Backfire Master ¿Por que,señor? 16:31, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Have you read the documentation at Template:Non-free use rationale? --Mysdaao talk 18:59, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Unrequested Password request?[edit]

Is there anything useful to do (e.g., send the originating IP or email to Wikipedia) when receiving a password reset which was not requested? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.110.153.182 (talk) 18:01, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately, no. It's a prank that's been going on for a few months and can safely be ignored. Your password is in no way affected. TNXMan 18:03, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Vanishing footnotes using Microsoft word[edit]

I am trying to transfer a text in Microsoft Word, including endnotes and citations, on the place where it may be submitted to Wikipedia. I did so by copying and pasting the document. To my horror when it appeared all of the endnotes had been stripped away as had all the endnote numbers in the "notes" section of the article, and all of the bold letters.

Is there some trick to transfering a word document, complete with notes, into the Wilipedia program? What am I missing.

Elkmilok (talk) 19:18, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Microsoft Word's document format is not inherently compatible with MediaWiki, the software that runs Wikipedia. MediaWiki uses a markup language very different from Word's formatting codes. If you want to compose text in Word, you should copy and paste it as plaintext, then add any formatting and citation markup manually within the MediaWiki edit window. Powers T 20:00, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Also note that if you are new to editing on Wikipedia, you may be choosing a path with low probability of success. If you are trying to edit a complete new article on Wikipedia from scratch, be aware that Wikipedia deletes thousands of new articles for a variety of reasons. See WP:NOT, WP:YFA, WP:LAYOUT, WP:NOTABLE, WP:V, WP:FOOT, and WP:RS - until you are familiar with the instructions on at least those pages, you will be lucky to write a new article here that "sticks". A more reliable approach to Wikipedia is to start by editing existing articles first, and see what happens to your edits, while you read the manuals to understand what other editors are doing. --Teratornis (talk) 20:10, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Assuming we are talking about Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Gustavus Sidenberg, this was declined, as you didn't provide much in the way of sources other than his obituary in the N.Y. Times, which is not in and of itself very much of an assertion of notability. What made this guy noteworthy enough to have his own entry in Wikipedia? --Orange Mike | Talk 20:33, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

suicide bombings list[edit]

This list is wildly inaccurate - under reporting massively. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.53.153.64 (talk) 21:42, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia has many pages with lists of suicide bombings in different areas and periods. Which one are you referring to? It may have stated or unstated criteria for which suicide bombings to include. If the page name starts with "Category" then it is not considered a list but a category and categories only contain links to subjects with their own page. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:55, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Removal of Primarysources box[edit]

I have been working on the Central Bank and Trust page, trying to clean it up to be in compliace with the Primarysources box listed on that page. When will that box be removed, or are there still issues with the references given? Can I just delete it? Can someone please point me in the right direction? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Josuenielson (talk • contribs) 21:54, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Any user or IP can remove page maintenance tags if they feel that the article issue(s) in question has been resolved. If you feel that you have resolved the issue feel free to remove the tag. Jeffrey Mall (talk • contribs) - 22:09, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
And please explain why you are removing it, either in your edit summary or on the talk page. – ukexpat (talk) 01:51, 6 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Might I suggest Josuenielson, kindly do not remove primary sources which provide non-controversial information (like the bank's location, etc). An article should not be made up of only primary sources, but that does not mean that you should delete all primary sources from any article. Please read our guidelines on verifiability of sources and reliability of sources. Give marked attention to the usage of primary, secondary (and tertiary) sources. ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ ―Œ ♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣ 03:35, 6 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Almonte -- Re the Almonte Train Disaster[edit]

There is a link in the Summary section of the Almonte Train Disaster about "personal recollections" that is not correct. It goes to my blog but not the correct post. This is the correct link: http://theretirededucator.com/?p=92 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.226.94.133 (talk) 21:58, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, I fixed the link.[2] PrimeHunter (talk) 22:45, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Import XML dump[edit]

Resolved
 – JPMcGrath (talk) 12:39, 7 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I am looking for a mechanism to apply edits to pages from a Special:Export XML dump file. What I am looking for is not the same as Special:Import, which is oriented toward importing pages with revision histories from other wikis. What I want is to take the page text from the XML dump for each page and apply it as an edit to the page it was created from.

The use case I have in mind is as follows:

  • Use Special:Export to download a number of pages (most recent revision only) as an XML file.
  • Modify the text of the pages in the XML file, using whatever tools are appropriate.
  • Apply the changes back to the Wiki from the modified XML files.

Is such a tool available? -- JPMcGrath (talk) 22:31, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Might I suggest you post your query at either of the two links (the first one being more preferable)? You'll get faster responses surely.

In case you still fail to get a response, leave a new note out here and we'll see what can be done. Best. ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ ―Œ ♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣ 05:22, 7 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, I'll try the Wikipedia:Village pump (technical). I thought of that first, but then decided this was more appropriate, in case such a tool already existed. -- JPMcGrath (talk) 12:35, 7 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Jump button?[edit]

Would it be possible to add a Jump to the Top button on the bottom of each page? It would be handy, frequently, to be able to get back up to where the search button is, in a hurry. TIA for any assistance. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.177.255.241 (talk) 23:27, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This would certainly be possible, but since most keyboards have a "home" button which does the exact same thing, i don't think many people will appreciate the extra interface clutter. —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 23:36, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict) Does your keyboard have a "Home" key which does this in your browser? I don't think a link is needed for everybody but users with an account may be able to do something optional in their account settings to get such a link when they are logged in. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:39, 5 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I have a Home key but for some reason it seldom does anything. Thanks for answering, anyway.76.177.255.241 (talk) 01:53, 6 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The home key will probably only work if the focus is in the client area of the browser, and not in the address bar, search field, or some other area. Try clicking on the client area, not within a field or edit box, and then press the home key. -- JPMcGrath (talk) 02:17, 6 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
If there is a '7' on the Home key (your keyboard may have another Home key without a '7') then the Home function will only be activated when Num lock is in the right state. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:39, 6 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
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