Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 July 2

Help desk
< July 1	<< Jun | July | Aug >>	July 3 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Help Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current Help Desk pages.

July 2

Help adding a new version of an image

I'm trying to update the second image on Antipodes (Antipodes_LAEA_inverted.png) with a colourblind compatible version. I managed to do this for the first image (Antipodes_LAEA.png) as there was a 'Upload a new version of this file' link somewhere but I can't find one for the other image and if I try the Toolbox > Upload file it says I'm unauthorised… Jkirkuslamont (talk) 02:41, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

You were able to do it for Antipodes_LAEA.png because it is on Commons. Antipodes_LAEA_inverted.png, however, is here on English Wikipedia, and you need to be autoconfirmed to upload a file here. You need four more edits. —teb728 t c 04:35, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Ah I see - thanks for clearing that up. It's a bit of an inconvenience because most of the edits I'd like to make are changes to images – like helping replacing images flagged as unsuitable for the colour blind. I guess I'll have to go and find some text to edit… — Preceding unsigned comment added by 115.188.219.33 (talk) 06:14, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

If you had been logged in when you posted that, it would have been one of them. —teb728 t c 06:41, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

mis-categorized page

So, the facebook community page for my wikipedia article 'shuvatara school' was mis-categorized to 'interest' section of facebook. Is there any possible way to change it into a 'school' page? that would be really helpful. Thank you

sam — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.82.98.84 (talk) 04:22, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Take it up with Facebook. Wikipedia is not responsible for the way that Facebook mirrors our content. —teb728 t c 04:39, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Facebook community pages may incorporate content from Wikipedia— such use complies with Wikipedia policies on reuse of content. We at Wikipedia have no control over how the content is included nor can we help to remove it. Facebook does have a topic on Community pages and profile connections on their Help Center. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 15:38, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Is there a way to left justify an Infobox?

Is there a way to left justify an Infobox?--Jax 0677 (talk) 04:33, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Any reason why? If you're planning to add it in a mainspace article, don't. Infoboxes should always be on the top-right. See Wikipedia:Manual of Style (infoboxes). -- Obsidi♠n^Soul 05:02, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Being Threatened Or Harrassed.

I have been receiving threats from an individual that our article for the band Wedlock is going to be intentionally libeled. Damaged, harmed with non-sense and obscenities. Even though they are banned for doing this before, they said they are going to circumvent the system and continue. What should we do?AnotherGenericUser (talk) 12:31, 2 July 2011 (UTC)— AnotherGenericUser (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.

I think you must be talking about this article, Wedlock (band). You are going to have to give more information if you want advice, such as who have you received threats from? I have added the article to my watchlist so if edits are made I will see them. GB fan (talk) 12:45, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Sorry for forgetting to sign.AnotherGenericUser (talk) 13:19, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

In response to GBfan53. He would be editing from a banned IP address. The threats involved are obscenities, nonsense, and libelous tags like purposely putting notability tags and paid article tags on our work as we're trying to improve this article so it can stay. He claims he also gets "paid to delete" articles from Wikipedia. This is our first time out, and I don't want any trouble. What is the right way to handle this situation. I am only committed to a good quality article. Thank you.AnotherGenericUser (talk) 13:07, 2 July 2011 (UTC)— AnotherGenericUser (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.

If you can point us to specific instances, we may be able to give specific advice, but generally one would take something like that to WP:ANI. I have to ask, you are using "we're" and "our", which suggests your account represents a group, is that the case? --Nuujinn (talk) 16:41, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

In fact, User:AnotherGenericUser is a single-purpose account which has only been used to write and edit articles about this band, its records, etc. --Orange Mike | Talk 17:30, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Looking at the edit history of the article, I see just 3 edits sessions by anon/IP editors. This one seems like normal cleanup to me, this was also OK but was immediately reverted by the save editor, and this seems OK too with the possible exception of the addition of Category:Bisexual musicians which is probably a poor assumption based on the existing category Category:LGBT-themed musical groups and mention of a "...bisexually themed single ...". I really see nothing that indicates the band is being "intentionally libeled. Damaged, harmed with non-sense and obscenities" or any evidence that the IP editor has been "...banned for doing this before" nor any (on-Wiki) evidence that you have "...been receiving threats..." I note a few of the articles related to the band have been proposed for deleteion, usually citing notability issues. That is just part of he normal editing process here to ensure that such articles meet our notability criteria for bands, musicians and their music. Astronaut (talk) 17:38, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Don't mean to intervene, but you still haven't solved the problem. If you could provide the user name/IP we will help. Thanks, A comment by a person who has been editing Wikipedia since October 28, 2010. (talk) 05:40, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

Thecla Gumbo

I would like to contact Thecla Gumbo of former employee of Radio Tanzania...please give me her mobil or fone number. you will find me in Facebook by the name of Mkwaya or Solomon/Naomi — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.158.7.108 (talk) 14:02, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 3.6 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. -- John of Reading (talk) 14:20, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

First, personal info should not be provided here.

Second, please sign your comment with four tildes (~~~~).

Third, please read Wikipedia:NOTFACEBOOK.

Fourth, this is not a pay phone station/chat room.

Fifth, please look that up yourself.

Sixth, please do not ask for personal info, it may constitute an attack or block, as shown in #1.

Seventh, this is not the place to ask such questions. Please use the public logs for referencing info, or this.

Eighth, again, Wikipedia does not provide, receive or relate to personal info, or facebook. Again this is not a public chat room.

Also 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. A comment by a person who has been editing Wikipedia since October 28, 2010. (talk) 05:37, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

This is a very bitey response ending with a repeat of a response already provided.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 05:47, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

Yes. Since 10.28.2010, I know you're trying to help, but Wikipedia:NOTFACEBOOK is not relevant here, as this person is asking an honest question, not socializing. Also there's no reason to talk about attacks or blocks to someone who's just asked a question in good faith. I was almost going to {{collapse}} your post, but I thought the external links might be helpful to the questioner. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 05:59, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

MIT GAR

The article on Massachusetts Institute of Technology is listed as a good social science article. However, the page is outdated and there's been a template since 2010-06 requesting it be updated. I think it should be delisted from good social science articles. The good article reassessment page says I should place the {{Talk:Massachusetts Institute of Technology/GAn}} at the bottom of the talk page. I suppose this means create a new section? Also, the template's n character is for the subpage number. What is this, and what is MIT's?--DSbanker (talk) 14:38, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Oops, it should say the template's been on by 2011-06.--DSbanker (talk) 14:40, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Resolved

 – Article nominated for GAR2.

--DSbanker (talk) 15:09, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Who is able to see my watchlist?

Hi. Are administrators or other more powerful user groups able to see what articles are in my watchlist? --Capim Dourado (talk) 15:07, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Neither other users nor administrators can view your watchlist. Developers who have access to the server database itself could obtain this information.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 16:18, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Thank you but this sounds not so good...'Cause my privacy may be peeped by developers...though most of them won't do that. --Capim Dourado (talk) 02:16, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

See also Help:Watching pages#Privacy of watchlists. It has to be stored somewhere so it would be hard to keep it from developers with direct database access. I don't know whether they have a feature to display it or would have to put work into retrieving it. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:30, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

In theory, denvelopers can see everything connected with your account, but they wouldn't have a reason to. If you are worried about your privacy, then your only option is to clear your watchlist and not use Wikipedia. As a rule, your watchlist will show your editing areas, which anyone can see in your contributions. However, unless you edit in a very narrow field, they can't tell too much about you from that. People looking at mine will see a varied history in a large number of areas! -- PhantomSteve.alt/talk\^{[alternative account of Phantomsteve]} 05:57, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

Thank you. Another question is, can administrators or more powerful user groups see how many people are watching a certain article ? --Capim Dourado (talk) 02:48, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

Adding to PrimeHunter's reply, I'm not a developer but it would seem pretty slim chance of a Wikimedia developer picking one user out of 47,337,883 that they probably don't know..... Mlpearc powwow 03:00, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

Well, they have to pick one, right? A comment by a person who has been editing Wikipedia since October 28, 2010. (talk) 05:30, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

I don't have a link to hand, but there is a utility to see how many people are watching - admins see the number of watchers if it's less than 10 (I think) while non-admins just see "10 or less". Admins can also see a list of unwatched pages -- PhantomSteve.alt/talk\^{[alternative account of Phantomsteve]} 05:50, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

(e/c) No, developers do not have to pick any. Why would you think they would? Regarding the second question, this is not an administrative power. However, anyone can use this tool to check how many watchers an article has (though it will only show results if there are more than 30 watchers).--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 05:53, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

That's the one I was thinking about, thanks! PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 15:30, 5 July 2011 (UTC)

Reference styling

The scientific community uses Chicago style to list references, while for humanities writers use MLA citation. Does this apply to Wikipedia too? Does it have certain guidelines over how it wishes us to cite sources? I see Chicago style used mostly.--DSbanker (talk) 15:16, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

See WP:CITE for the citation methods we allow here. --Orange Mike | Talk 17:30, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

I tend to prefer Harvard referencing but that is mostly because I'm required to use it in my academic writing at university. I find using cite templates such as citebook or citeweb rather tedious. BTW Harvard Referencing is AFAIK the only style prescribed by all universities in South Africa. Roger (talk) 13:18, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

Heart icon

Is there a way to remove the heart icon from the top of my user and talk pages? I believe it's new, or at least I never noticed it until today. Feels weird, like I'm soliciting praise, not that it's working. :-) --Bbb23 (talk) 17:46, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

What heart icon? I don't see one on either page. --Orange Mike | Talk 17:52, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

On the not quite top right, next to the star which is next to View history.--Bbb23 (talk) 17:55, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Hmmmm... I'm not seeing it; but of course, I'm not using the ugly new skin, either. --Orange Mike | Talk 18:04, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Heh. I haven't changed my skin. I use the default (Vector). Is that the "ugly" one? What do you use?--Bbb23 (talk) 18:13, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

I'm seeing this too, on every user talk page. What the hell? I saw it a couple of days ago on someone's talk page but I presumed it was a personal thing. Vector/Firefox here. Rehevkor ✉ 18:21, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

It's a new feature mw:WikiLove. You can avoid seeing it at "Enable showing appreciation for other users with the WikiLove tab (experimental)" under Special:Preferences#preftab-3. I don't know whether you can prevent others from seeing it on your user and talk page, but those who see it should see it everywhere and not think it's something you set up. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:24, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Whoa no language man. I can't find the link for policy Wiki. Thanks, A comment by a person who has been editing Wikipedia since October 28, 2010. (talk) 05:29, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, I've gone back to heartless. I would like to find out whether other users still see it on my pages and, if so, whether there's a way to prevent that. My initial point was I didn't want others to think I was asking for a compliment.--Bbb23 (talk) 18:30, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

WikiLove? My cynicism sense is tingling. Rehevkor ✉ 18:34, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Yeah, but it's "experimental" love, so that makes it less syrupy. Who thinks of these things, and why doesn't anyone tell us? It was probably in some tiny announcement at the top of the page that I didn't see (there are so many).--Bbb23 (talk) 18:42, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Facebook like button, Google+1, and now WikiLove..... finally, something for people like me Darigan (talk) 18:48, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Gahhh! Thought we had a policy that should have prevented this sort of thing - Wikipedia is not Facebook. Astronaut (talk) 19:07, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

See discussion at Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals)#Limit the Wikilove feature to specific user groups and Wikipedia:Village pump (miscellaneous)#Thoughts on WikiLove?--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 19:12, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the pointers, but I still have two questions. First, whose idea was it? Second, now that I've "disabled" it, does that mean that other users will see an icon on my user and talk pages?--Bbb23 (talk) 22:02, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

You can see more about it here, mw:WikiLove and yes people still see it on your page if they have it turned on. I had mine turned off but turned it back on and I see it on your talk page. GB fan (talk) 22:08, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, now I know who to blame. :-) --Bbb23 (talk) 22:16, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Oops. I saw it on someone's page, assumed they put it there, and used it to give them a kitten award for being a good wikipedian. A bit like giving them "tea" or a "donut" but not quite the barnstar. Oh well, I will brace myself for heart ops instead. Manytexts (talk) 22:54, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Ocean Rowing

Although you correctly referred to the 2011 fastest crossings you have not mentioned the Woodvale Alum Challenge boat, the Brittania - Suzanne Marie Pinto at 58 years old is the oldest woman to row any ocean. Shawn Pedley in the same boat crossing became the youngest male ever to row the Atlantic at the age of 19. We also had the first Arab to ever row an ocean. Please contact me or Woodvale for this information. thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.171.106.97 (talk) 22:59, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

What? A comment by a person who has been editing Wikipedia since October 28, 2010. (talk) 05:27, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

Thank you for your suggestion regarding Ocean rowing. When you feel an article needs improvement, please feel free to make those changes. Wikipedia is a wiki, so anyone can edit almost any article by simply following the edit this page link at the top. The Wikipedia community encourages you to be bold in updating pages. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes — they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. If you're not sure how editing works, check out how to edit a page, or use the sandbox to try out your editing skills. New contributors are always welcome. You don't even need to log in (although there are many reasons why you might want to). -- PhantomSteve.alt/talk\^{[alternative account of Phantomsteve]} 05:34, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

Incidentally, any information you add should have reliable sources which are independent of the subject so the information can be verified. -- PhantomSteve.alt/talk\^{[alternative account of Phantomsteve]} 05:45, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

very long citation style

Hi, I wondered if this kind of reference is encouraged as wikistyle or not. I get eyestrain just finding the next sentence. My question is, is it still acceptable to use the short version i.e., url + article or book details + any relevant note, without the heavily detailed template-looking thing such as this from Pierce Brosnan—

Brosnan was raised in a [[Roman Catholic]]<ref name=dt>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3555499/Pierce-Brosnan-James-who.html|title=Pierce Brosnan: James who?|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|date=January 29, 2008|accessdate=September 11, 2010|first=Nigel|last=Farndale}}</ref><ref name=dn>{{cite web|last=Louie|first=Rebbeca|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/2005/12/29/2005-12-29_eyes_that_pierce__after_bond.html|title=Eyes that Pierce. After Bond, Brosnan looks to future with a killer role|work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|date=2005-12-25|accessdate=2010-09-13}}</ref><ref name=rd>{{cite news|url=http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/pierce-brosnan-interview/article75228.html|title=Pierce Brosnan Interview: Not the James Bond You Remember|publisher=[[Reader's Digest]]|date=July, 2008|accessdate=September 19, 2010|first=Meg|last=Grant}}</ref>

Thanks in advance, Manytexts (talk) 23:07, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Personally, I believe the longer citation style is better. It looks much better and provides much more information in the references section of the page. I doubt the statement needs 3 citations, remove the two poorer references and leave the best one. Ryan Vesey (talk) 23:10, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, I take it the Is the shorter style is still acceptable when editing though? Inflated references for small data can overload an article imho. Manytexts (talk) 23:25, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

One thing that can be done is to use a ref name to shorten the reference information if the reference is used more than once. Ryan Vesey (talk) 23:33, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

True, but in this case it's three starting refs & becomes a clunkfest. Went there just now & found the cites contain intialising ref names & if removed will have to find the next ones & set them up with initial ref names. A lot of bother for small data & someone editing on the fly. Will leave it looking clunky & move on. Thanks anyway, Manytexts (talk) 23:36, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

You can also try using the wikEd. It's useful in that it highlights portions of the text in the edit window. Plain text in one color, references, images/files, etc. in other colors, making it easier for you to pick them out. Granted it can slow down loading pages significantly when you edit if you're on a slow connection as it requires javascript. You can activate and deactivate it easily enough from your preferences, under the Gadgets tab.

And yeah, I too actually prefer using citation templates. The more details in the ref (especially if it does not contain a url), the better.-- Obsidi♠n^Soul 06:28, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

Note that you can put newlines between the arguments of a template:

Brosnan was raised in a [[Roman Catholic]]<ref name=dt>{{cite news|
 url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3555499/Pierce-Brosnan-James-who.html|
 title=Pierce Brosnan: James who?|
 publisher=The Daily Telegraph|
 date=January 29, 2008|
 accessdate=September 11, 2010|
 first=Nigel|last=Farndale}}</ref>
 <ref name=dn>{{cite web|
 last=Louie|
 first=Rebbeca|
 url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/2005/12/29/2005-12-29_eyes_that_pierce__after_bond.html|
 title=Eyes that Pierce. After Bond, Brosnan looks to future with a killer role|
 work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|
 date=2005-12-25|accessdate=2010-09-13}}</ref>
 <ref name=rd>{{cite news|
 url=http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/pierce-brosnan-interview/article75228.html|
 title=Pierce Brosnan Interview: Not the James Bond You Remember|
 publisher=[[Reader's Digest]]|
 date=July, 2008|
 accessdate=September 19, 2010|
 first=Meg|
 last=Grant}}</ref>

(without the spaces I've put on the front of the lines). It does break up the text even more, but it can be easier to navigate. --ColinFine (talk) 20:39, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

Thanks all, Manytexts (talk) 10:18, 6 July 2011 (UTC)