Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 January 19

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January 19[edit]

indention![edit]

ok i need help theres this poem O Captain! My Captain! and the page for the poem has the poem right? and the indentions are not consistant and when i try to fix it, the indentions are too large. how do you make them smaller? like the one here http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/O_Captain!_My_Captain!.


The good names are taken (talk) 00:39, 19 January 2011 (UTC) The good names are taken[reply]

Just remove or add the :'s on the lines that need to be fixed. By the way, you don't have to fill the title with !!!!'s, we can notice it fine without them, no big deal. Sumsum2010·T·C·Review me! 00:47, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Here is a working link: wikisource:O Captain! My Captain! The page uses the <poem> tag with normal spaces and no :'s to make indentation. Just make the same number of spaces in each line if you want the same indentation. The current indentation is very systematic and probably intentional but I don't know wikisource guidelines. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:31, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I think the indentation is intentional: barleby has the same indentation, although wikisource:Leaves of Grass/Book XXII#O Captain! My Captain! has different. —teb728 t c 01:42, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
See H:POEM. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 05:44, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Chinese version of Wikipedia and Wapedia[edit]

Dear Wikipedia: I've been reviewing that your Chinese version of Wapedia is outdated than what information of the Chinese version of Wikipedia is having. You propably want to fix this.--NeoBatfreak (talk) 01:47, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the note, you can help to! Don't hesitate, if you see something that is outdated, by all means, fix it! Happy Editing. Tofutwitch11 (TALK) 01:48, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I tried. But everytime I tried to edit that Wapedia (Chinese version), the page just not working, saying "Oops! Internet Explorer could not find zhsimp.wikipedia.org". I am afraid that the Chinese version of Wapedia isn't working properly. --NeoBatfreak (talk) 01:50, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I believe Chinese Wapedia is http://wapedia.mobi/zhsimp/teb728 t c 02:03, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I tried to edit a Chinese Wapedia article, but it is still saying "Oops! Internet Explorer could not find zhsimp.wikipedia.org" everytime after I ckick on edit link. Is the editing link is disabled or something? --NeoBatfreak (talk) 02:17, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

zhsimp.wikipedia.org is not Wapedia: anything ending wikipedia.org can only be Wikipedia. BTW, Wikipedia is not responsible for the content of Wapedia except that they mirror our content. And I don’t believe Wapedia is a site that the public can change independent of the content of Wikipedia. —teb728 t c 02:46, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

want to add link to web page[edit]

On this page about Patient abuse - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_abuse , in the references is listed my book Without Due care by Therese Mackay. I now have a web page - how do I add the web page to the book name so people can search further please... the web-page is www.withoutduecare.com.au Thank you Therese Mackay — Preceding unsigned comment added by Flenithganthry (talkcontribs) 03:05, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Is your book text availible online, or is the web content just an advertisement to sell the book? It makes a difference as to whether or not an external link is appropriate. --Jayron32 03:28, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Someone's already added it. Dismas|(talk) 04:03, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Lost user name[edit]

Hello, i have lost my user account and I think that I believe that it may be hacked. What should I do to recover my account? Cheers, TOm —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.0.157.201 (talk) 08:37, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Could you clarify please - if you've lost your user name, what makes you think the account might have been hacked? For ideas on remembering the name, see What if I forget the username? -- John of Reading (talk) 11:39, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Help desk volunteers: I've just added that section. Please amend as you see fit -- John of Reading (talk) 11:39, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Reporting abusive IP hoppers[edit]

Two questions really. There's an IP-hopping editor who appears to have a 3-year history of abusing other editors on an article talk page — personal attacks, obscenities, overt ethnic slurs, and most recently, a violent death threat against another editor. It's pretty horrible. First question: where is the best place to report that kind of behavior? And secondly: is it worth reporting, given that it's next to impossible to block editors who don't log in and who randomize their IP address? AtticusX (talk) 09:44, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I think the place you're looking for is WP:ANI. IP hoppers can be stopped, so long as they are under a narrow enough IP range for us to block. If the range is too large, we would be blocking good faith users from editing. You can read WP:RANGE for more information. Goodvac (talk) 09:48, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. The editor's IP addresses are not confined to a blockable range — they're effectively random. So, assuming the technical impossibility of blocking this twit, I'm wondering if it will actually do anyone any good for me to report the death threats, etc. AtticusX (talk) 10:19, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
For example, would the documentation trail from such a report make it easier for other editors to deal with the abusive editor in the future? AtticusX (talk) 11:53, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I'll take that 12-hour silence as a sort of collective shrug. AtticusX (talk) 00:28, 20 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
With no details, there is nothing for admins to investigate. Consider posting at ANI, and identify the editor you are talking about. If this person is mainly interested in a specific page, there are things that can be done. EdJohnston (talk) 17:43, 20 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

External links instead of references[edit]

How should an article be marked if it uses (direct) external links instead of references? (Wikipedia:External links: "Wikipedia articles may include links to web pages outside Wikipedia (external links), but they should not normally be used in the body of an article.")

Example 1: Widgetbox

Example 2: Wavelet packet decomposition

Would it be {{external links|date=January 2011}}?

--Mortense (talk) 09:52, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

For details of what that template is for, look at Template:External links. - David Biddulph (talk) 09:59, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I am sorry, but I consider that an RTFM answer. Template:External links does not answer that question. I already looked at it before I posed this question. And my main question is not about a template. --Mortense (talk) 13:36, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Looking through Category:Citation and verifiability maintenance templates, how about {{Citation style}} or {{More footnotes}}? -- John of Reading (talk) 13:45, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
{{Citation style}} is probably good enough if the free form details parameter is used to specify that there are no citations, only external links. --Mortense (talk) 17:43, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Isn't it {{nofootnotes}}? --ColinFine (talk) 22:04, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Widgetbox does have one inline citation so the message needs to ask for more. -- John of Reading (talk) 22:36, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Highlighting the best language for each article[edit]

Most Wikipedia articles are declined in several languages. However, one of those versions is often better and more complete than the others.

Thus, in order to improve significantly the quality and the speed of searches, you should establish a system of highlighting of the most complete version of each page.

Moreover, people suggestions could help you improve the site but I could not find any place dedicated. Such a field could be very useful !

Thank you for attention —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.226.189.93 (talk) 10:02, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Each language Wiki have their own standards; however, we do already try to highlight the equivalent of good articles and featured articles with special symbols in the interwiki links.
For example, if you look at Michael Jackson, you'll see indicators showing it is equivalent to a featured article in Armenian and a 'Good article' in Polish.  Chzz  ►  10:21, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I can see two practical problems with your suggestion:
  1. I don't believe that this is something which could be done automatically: it would require people to do it (just because an article is longer, doesn't mean it is necessarily better), and people that understood both or all the languages they were comparing. I think this would take a lot of effort for not obviously a large gain.
  2. it would also need to be kept up to date, as articles change in any of their languages.
The place for suggestions which don't relate to particular articles is WP:Village Pump. --ColinFine (talk) 22:29, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Please Help/Review - Company Article[edit]

Hi,

As I mentioned earlier, I represent a company called Allied Worldwide. And I noticed that information appearing on Wikipedia is incorrect and not up to date.
It is not linking to the relevant page.

Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_Worldwide
It is linking to - SIRVA, Inc.

About Allied Worldwide - Allied Worldwide has over 18 years of experience in IT Outsourcing services for UK companies & business.

Based on the inputs from other Wikipedia members, I created an article on my company details with a neutral point of view & keeping COI in mind.

Please review my article - Wikitech001 Sandbox.

Any additional inputs/guidance/suggestions would be great. And please let me know the next steps.

I would be really happy if someone can help me in taking this article live. Please assist!

Thanks for your help.

--Wikitech001 (talk) 10:16, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Not notable on the face of it. And a totally different company. Kittybrewster 11:24, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
A company is notable if it has been the subject of significant coverage in secondary sources. Such sources must be reliable, and independent of the subject. Please read WP:ORG for Wikipedia’s notability standards for articles about companies. —teb728 t c 11:59, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]


Hi Kittybrewster & teb728,

Thanks for taking out time and reviewing it.

Yes it's a different company established in the UK in 1992.

Please could you elaborate on the notability part. As per me, the key points for notability are:

  1. Established in 1992 and its headquarters is located in Bucks, High Wycombe.
  2. Reliable & published sources have mentioned about Allied Worldwide like European communications, Computerweekly.com & The Hindu Business Line etc.
  3. Secondary sources directly support the information as it is presented in this article.
  4. Web research helps to support this information. (Please see below)

Other references:

For more information, I would also recommend you to go through the Allied Worldwide website: http://www.alliedworldwide.com/

Please assist and provide your feedback.

Thanks

--Wikitech001 (talk) 12:47, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Mentions really aren't enough. Nor being on a list or putting out a press release or being established 1992 or headquarters in High Wycombe. Nobody doubts the truth of what you say but that doesn't achieve WP:NOTABILITY. Kittybrewster 13:13, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Kittybrewster,

I already read the WP Notability guidelines and I am not able to understand the missing part.
Please could you specify the missing points.

Thanks

--Wikitech001 (talk) 13:50, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

To answer for Kittybrewster, the missing points is depth of coverage. It is not enough for an entity to be mentioned or named in an independent source, there needs to be extensive information availible in those sources. Take an eminently notable company like Microsoft as an example. There have been millions of pages of text dedicated solely to Microsoft. You could fill a small library with books and magazine articles and the like with nothing but works which deal with Microsoft, its organization, its history, its business practices, its product lines, etc. etc. What an article at Wikipedia needs in order to exist is the same sort of thing for EVERY article. While Microsoft represents an extreme example, at minimum there needs to be some sort of deep coverage of a company before it merits a Wikipedia article. That is someone has independently researched and written about the company in some in-depth manner; books or magazine articles or similar, need to exist. So far, every reference you have provided is either a) written by the company itself or b) contains nothing more than a bare mention of the company, and is not actually about the company itself. I hope that helps. --Jayron32 16:57, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
The basis for notability is significant coverage in sources independent of the subject. As stated above, mentions, regurgitations of press releases, directory-type listings etc do not demonstrate notability. You need multiple independent sources that discuss in depth the company and its actvities. You may find that WikiCompany is a better outlet for your needs as it has no notability requirements. – ukexpat (talk) 17:00, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Tata Nano[edit]

Sir,

I have to prepare a project on " A STUDY ON CUSTOMER PREFERENCE IN USING TATA NANO". I dont know how to prepare a project, and what all informations should be included in it.Pls help me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.196.140.33 (talk) 10:27, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 6 million articles and thought we were affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. Also please do not use ALL CAPS; it is considered rude, like shouting. —teb728 t c 10:53, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Please have a look...[edit]

and say if your monitor displaying it normally: here. Thank you.-- ♫Greatorangepumpkin♫ T 12:36, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Looks fine to me. Tofutwitch11 (TALK) 12:38, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
And me, both on 19" normal, and 22" widescreen. CaptRik (talk) 12:58, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
And me - What sort of display issue are you having? Darigan (talk) 13:01, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I have a 16" monitor (laptop), width 35 cm (13.78 inch)and height 20 cm (7.87 inch).-- ♫Greatorangepumpkin♫ T 13:30, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Could it be a browser issue, or the window minimized to be smaller?., Im running IE on a 15" and it looks fine on my screen. How is it displaying improperly (if it is)? Ottawa4ever (talk) 14:08, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Check your browser zoom. If I zoom out in FireFox, the bottom line on the bottom table disappears. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 17:31, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Broken shortcut/redirect?[edit]

This page...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requests_for_medication

Contains this info:

Shortcut: WP:MEDS

but when I try to use that shortcut, I end up at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:MEDS

which is a redirect to

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Medicine

Which says

"WP:MED" and "WP:MEDS" redirect here

Am I doing something wrong, or is the shortcut and/or the redirect broken?

Guy Macon 16:42, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This diff changed the redirection (in 2008). - I'll remove the now erroneous note about the shortcut. - David Biddulph (talk) 16:49, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
For the record, we probably should keepo the WP:MEDS redirect going to WikiProject Medicine. The humor page "Request for Medication" is kinda funny, but many more users are going to be looking for the WikiProject instead. --Jayron32 16:50, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Could we replace WP:MEDS on the Request for Medication with WP:TAKEYOURMEDS? Unlike a three-letter-shortcut, WP:TAKEYOURMEDS seems like it would be unlikely to be used elsewhere sometime in the future. I do have a redirect to Request for Medication on one page, but I fully agree that the shortcut to the WikiProject is much more important and should not be disturbed. Guy Macon 17:11, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

XFD Red link[edit]

This article has an xfd template with a red link that isn't a red link. Bug? --Perseus, Son of Zeus 16:51, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Sometimes you need to WP:PURGE so that the servers all catch up. It's blue now. – ukexpat (talk) 16:54, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

How to review a good article candidate[edit]

Hello, this is Perseus, Son of Zeus. I've decided to get involved with GAN and I would like some tips on how to review a good article nom. Thanks! --Perseus, Son of Zeus 17:44, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

There is a section at Wikipedia:Good article nominations that explains... – ukexpat (talk) 17:56, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I'm thinking of doing that too. I read that you can contact a good article mentor.--Physics is all gnomes (talk) 19:17, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Try Wikipedia:Reviewing good articles. It's pretty comprehensive. --Jayron32 19:27, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Cities With Black Mayors 2010[edit]

After the Census of 2010, what specific United States Cities, were listed as having Black Mayors? I understand there is a Census report on this subject? Do you have a list that reflects the after November 2010 election, U.S. Cities with Black Mayor by name of city and state.

Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.70.196.84 (talk) 17:50, 19 January 2011 (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. But note that we will not do your homework for you if this is related to a school or college assignment. – ukexpat (talk) 17:54, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
What cities have black mayors is not a 10-year census question. As well, not all cities use November elections or 2010 elections at all. There is simply no relation to the November 2010 national election. Also remember that city is a term defined by each states (if it is defined at all). Do you care if Omer, Michigan, population 326 has a black mayor but not if Hilo, Hawaii, population 47,000 does? (Michigan has no population requirement for legal city recognition while Hawaii has no legal definition of cities at all.) In their role as statistics gatherer, the Census Department may have produced a list of "cities" with black mayors but it is not related to the 2010 census and you will need to carefully consider how they defined "city". Rmhermen (talk) 18:06, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Infobox issue[edit]

Hello, I cannot seem to get the "spouse" information to show up in the info box here: Albert Szent-Györgyi : I tried copying both the formatting on Nicole Kidman and Albert Einstein (I know, first people who popped into my head.) What am I doing wrong? love, Saudade7 18:16, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

{{Infobox person}} is coded with a spouse parameter, {{Infobox scientist}} isn't. – ukexpat (talk) 18:19, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
It was suggested at Template talk:Infobox scientist#Request that spouse be added. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:21, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I see. I thought that might be the problem after I tried it the Nicole Kidman way, which is why I then tried it the Albert Einstein way. Hmm. I guess scientists are lone wolves! lol. Thanks anyway! Saudade7 18:54, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Good Article Nominations[edit]

I just had V for Vendetta (film) pass GAN. The article is not listed as a good article when viewing the page as it says "A B-class article from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Currently a good article nominee. A former featured article."

This makes no sense because in the article milestones "January 17, 2011 Good article nominee Listed". Also the wikiprojects list it as a GAN.

If it is something that should be done manually, a bot should be doing it.

Thanks --Iankap99 (talk) 23:07, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

When I visit, with the same code in my monobook, I am told it is a good article, so I suspect you just need to purge your cache. BencherliteTalk 23:11, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks sorry for the mess-up--Iankap99 (talk) 23:50, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Works for me in Vector and monobook. Tofutwitch11 (TALK) 23:26, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]