Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 May 6

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May 6

Quantum theory relating to wikipedia

When people edit or create articles, they behave like little atoms trying to put their point across, so we can only hope that logic wins as opposed to conflict. In essence, so called moderators of wikipedia can prevent an article or edit being made just as much as another person who edits or creates an article can make a change, we can only hope that logic wins.

Is this page still used?

Just found this page again where I posted a proposal some time ago: WP:IB/Proposed. Is this page still actively used or maintained? At least to me, this page appears nearly abandoned. So what exactly is the benefit of posting an infobox proposal there? Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 01:04, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

The page was last updated on May 5th from when I checked. I don't know if people are just posting infobox templates on there and not getting any reply, but it seems to still be used...? FUTURI (talk) 21:00, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

A few things I need to discuss

1. Why was category List_of_fictional_characters_who_can_manipulate_wind deleted? 2. Should The_No._1_Ladies'_Detective_Agency_(TV_series) be listed in List_of_dramatic_television_series_with_LGBT_characters because BK a main character is gay: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ladies/characters/bk.shtml Thanks! Neptunekh2 (talk) 02:23, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

As far as #1, you can see it's listed twice in the logs here. Oh, and there's a difference between a category and list. Dismas|^(talk) 02:27, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Somebody actually created Category:List of fictional characters who can manipulate wind. See Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2008 August 5#Category:List of fictional characters who can manipulate wind and Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2007 March 14#Fictional characters by power. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:42, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Fictional characters by power

1. Can Fictional characters by power be created again? I think it's relevent. 2. Should The_No._1_Ladies'_Detective_Agency_(TV_series) be listed in List_of_dramatic_television_series_with_LGBT_characters because BK a main character is gay: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ladies/characters/bk.shtml Neptunekh2 (talk) 03:41, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

I'm not sure what your #1 is referring to. As for #2, you can be bold and add the show to the LGBT character list. If you did, and there was a disagreement with another user, it would be best to discuss it on the user's or article's talk page, and then if that doesn't work you could WP:3O or WP:DR CTJF83 07:31, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

In the future you may get better results if you create separate sections for unrelated questions. That way it will be clearer to responders whether all your questions have been addressed. —teb728 t c 12:17, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Message on My talk page

Hi

I have a message in red on my talk page - "This template should be substituted on the article talk page" and I am unsure what it means. I have tried to submit but when I try to submit the article it shows the previuos page which needed lots of work, which I have since corrected as advised.

How do I progress from here please.

brian —Preceding unsigned comment added by Brian water dodd (talk • contribs) 05:08, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

You're probably substituting a template that is meant for talk pages. Some templates have namespace detection and will transclude a warning if you're in the wrong one. Which template did you use? — Bility (talk) 06:53, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Looks like a peer review and yes, a WP:PR needs to go on the articles talk page. CTJF83 07:24, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

anikkattilammakshethram

why this article is delected. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.49.60.246 (talk) 05:34, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

According to here, there isn't enough to indicate the topic is important enough for an article. CTJF83 07:16, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Template unreferenced section

Can someone have a look at Template talk:Unreferenced section#Possible improvement and tell me if this would make sense? Thanks. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 07:11, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Responded. CTJF83 07:19, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

I commented to your response. Your argument there doesn't seem to make sense to me. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 07:34, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Thank you, I have that page on my watchlist, so we can continue back and forth there. CTJF83 07:36, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

old garden planters

I AM TRYING TO FIND OUT ABOUT OLD GARDEN PLANTERS CALLED ARVECT PRODUCTS WITH A CARVED OWL IN THE BOTTOM LORRAINE —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lorrylap (talk • contribs) 10:39, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 3.5 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. CaptRik (talk) 11:07, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Suicide methods

A complaint and not a question due to the article posted on this website titled suicide methods a very special person has died due to reading this article. The information about suffication and all other methods is a disgrace and should not be avaliable for people to read. I have always been a fan of this website but never again will i use it and will be telling everyone not to use this website ever. You should be disgusted in putting such an article on your website. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Blackc4trocks (talk • contribs) 10:39, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

I am sorry for your loss. I do have to say though no one has died because they read an article on Wikipedia. No one has even killed themselves because they read an article on wikipedia. All the information in that article is freely available on the web in multiple locations and if someone is going to commit suicide they will find the information they need to do it. GB fan (talk) 11:32, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

I would just like to point out that people have been hanging, gassing, poisoning, suffocating and otherwise killing themselves for hundreds of years, using well-established techniques, and none of these people felt it necessary to await the invention of the World Wide Web or the creation of a Wikipedia article on the subject to carry out the act. Captain Screebo (talk) 14:44, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Also, Wikipedia is not censored. BurtAlert (talk) 22:55, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Fair Use for historical photos

I have added some pictures from Popular Science and Popular Mechanics of a model car made only for a 1955 GM car show. I put them in an article I wrote up on the Sunmobile. Are these pictures properly used (uploaded) in Fair Use of a historical item that no longer exists?--Doug Coldwell ^talk 11:37, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

If it verifiably does not exist and is not just off in some GM archives next to the Ark of the Covenant, I think you could get away with [[File:Sunmobile 15 inch model.jpg]]. I don't think you could justify three images like that. The rationale looked OK on that. I would do licensing similar to here, that is a much better tag, of course change all the names.--Wehwalt (talk) 15:04, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Changed the License to the different Fair Use tag. Does that now look like what you had in mind?--Doug Coldwell ^talk 15:42, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Apparently thumbnails are alright according to this court ruling.--Doug Coldwell ^talk 16:05, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Looks good to me! I can't tell you about thumbnails, all I know is hard and fast experience from being around here. I should note, however, that Wikimedia's servers in Florida are not in the Ninth Circuit ...--Wehwalt (talk) 16:11, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

The Seventh Coin

Would this article called The Seventh Coin be considered a stub? Neptunekh2 (talk) 12:00, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

My interpretation of the film grading scheme is that it is more than a stub. I have removed the stub templates and reassessed on the talk page to start class. GB fan (talk) 12:35, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Could an admin pop by?

Resolved

And delete this userspace page:

I had just created it when I realised that the use of by is a bit inflammatory as all the spam was for City Journal articles but we have no proof that the person concerned worked for them (some chance!).

I have moved it to here, I guess the deletion will automatically rub out the redirect?

Thanks. Captain Screebo (talk) 14:52, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

It'll be removed shortly. Meph^talk 14:55, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Don't bother, got it. I have to keep my tool count up.--Wehwalt (talk) 14:56, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear enough, I wanted to keep the content of the page and have it under User:Captain_Screebo/External_links_spamming_concerning_City_Journal and just get rid of the original page title and the redirect, can you fix this for me? Next time, I will pay more attention to naming the pages correctly in the first place, btw I have removed the {{resolved}} template for the moment. Please bring my page back, hangs head in shame ;-) Captain Screebo (talk) 15:17, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Fixed, I think. Let me know if I missed anything. TNXMan 15:20, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, that's perfect. Captain Screebo (talk) 15:34, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Sorry about that! Deleting pages is like eating pistachio nuts, it's hard to keep it to one.--Wehwalt (talk) 15:41, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

No worries, all's well that ends well. Captain Screebo (talk) 17:21, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

You can use {{db-u1}} next time you want to delete one of your userpages. This isn't really the right place to request admin assistance. — Bility (talk) 16:14, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Okay, noted for next time but it wasn't as simple as that, I had moved the page to its new title but this was simply a redirect from the original page, I didn't want to lose the content I had created, just the first title. This is a help page, is it not? Captain Screebo (talk) 17:21, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Could an admin pop by? (2)

Please close proposed move of Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor. Kittybrewster ☎ 16:30, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

 Not done I'm not an admin, but admins aren't required to close requested moves, and more importantly it has only been going on for 2 days, and it should be listed for 7. CTJF83 17:05, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Unless it is snowing. Kittybrewster ☎ 17:18, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

That is true...if someone else wants to close it, I have no problem with that. CTJF83 17:20, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Thank you. Kittybrewster ☎ 17:32, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

If this is going to be closed now it will need to be done by an admin, since it will take admin rights to complete the move. GB fan (talk) 17:39, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

... Hence the heading. Meanwhile non-admins can contribute their penny-worth. Kittybrewster ☎ 18:08, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Note Wikipedia:Requested moves/Closing instructions#Non-admin closure. I drafted much of the current language but with input from multiple editors. If you think the admin closing instructions are too strict (I think so), proposing new language would be good at WT:RM.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 21:36, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Discussion Page Guidelines

Is an article's discussion page the correct place to make WP:3RR claims, as is done here? If not, is it permitted to remove these comments if they are not one's own? ThatSaved (talk) 17:03, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

No, WP:AN3 is the correct place to report 3RR violations. See WP:TPO for when you should edit other's comments. It's over 4 years old, so there is really no reason to remove it. It would be better to WP:ARCHIVE it. CTJF83 17:07, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

What do I have to do to be a writer here?

I am facinated by Wikipedia and would like to write about indian topics and people and share it with the world. But uunfortunately i am not able to find the right place to talk about it.\

I would also like you to tell me that what is to be done to be a translator.

Kindly see to it.

Karan Arora A/c name: k.arora.bk —Preceding unsigned comment added by K.arora.bk (talk • contribs) 17:23, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Barring a specific question, you might find Help:Contents/Getting started, Wikipedia:Translation, and Wikipedia:WikiProject India useful. If you have a specific question, please feel free to respond here. CTJF83 17:27, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Start small and learn. Each of us made our first edit here once, nothing stops you from doing the same.--Wehwalt (talk) 17:30, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

k.arora.bk, please sign your comments with four tildes. Kittybrewster ☎ 18:14, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Image help

I tried to make a lo res version of File:Comedy Death-Ray Radio.jpg (source) but it sucks. I only have access to the Paint program that comes with Windows XP. Can someone help me by creating a better lo res version? The Hero of This Nation (talk) 17:46, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Is it a little cleaner now? — Bility (talk) 17:51, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

You'll still get those compression artifacts on the article though, since it's being displayed at 250px. You could either change the image width to 300px in the infobox or I can reupload at 250px if you want. — Bility (talk) 17:55, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for your help. If you don't mind, would you please reupload at 250px? The Hero of This Nation (talk) 18:01, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Done! — Bility (talk) 18:46, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Thanks again! The Hero of This Nation (talk) 18:50, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Wouldn't it be easier to convert a high res version of the JPG file to SVG format? Then it can be scaled much more easily by the Mediawiki software. – ukexpat (talk) 20:42, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Even converting to PNG would probably get rid of the artifacts from scaling, and SVG would be even better, but I wouldn't say it's easy (for whoever has to do it). They take requests at the Graphic Lab, but I'm not sure if anyone would care to work on a non-free image. — Bility (talk) 21:25, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

It's also non-free, so we don't want to host a high resolution image. Buddy431 (talk) 03:11, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

playing my windows mediaplayer

Can you help media to recover windows mediaplayer —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.49.40.167 (talk) 20:56, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Computing reference desk. They specialize in answering computer 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 and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. -- John of Reading (talk) 21:25, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Attraction Info Box

I've been trying to add a 'status' line to the WindSeeker pages info box. When ever I try to add it, it never works. Is there something that I'm doing wrong... and is there a way that I can add it to the page? Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dom497 (talk • contribs) 22:45, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

You can only use the parameters documented at {{Infobox attraction}}. I see you have attempted to edit the template documentation at Template:Infobox attraction/doc. If you want other parameters then you have to edit the template itself with the Edit tab at Template:Infobox attraction, but it's complicated and I'm not sure a status parameter is worth the extra complication. Editors often have to make due with the available parameters in infoboxes which are used in many articles. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:48, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

Holly_Marie_Combs

There is a few things I would like add in Holly_Marie_Combs article. According to tv tome, Holly's mother, has worked as an actress and a singer. Her stepfather is a musician. Mother and daughter lived near the beach in San Diego until Holly was eight. and According to this website: http://hollymcombspiperhalliwell.webs.com/hollysfunfactsquotes.htm She was a vegetarian for seven years. Can that be added in her article? And according to NNDB and IMDB Eli Wallach is Polish Jewish descent. And can you tell User:Nymf to stop deleting my edits? He/she is so annoying! Neptunekh2 (talk) 22:56, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Sorry, no, these things cannot be added unless properly sourced and User:Nymf was right to revert your edits; please see reliable sources, the whole article, and, more specifically, the section I have linked to. IMDB is mentioned as an unreliable source so I do not think that "Fun facts about Holly" is likely to make the grade either.

If you are confused, please see verifiability and concerning living people's biographies. CaptainScreebo ^Parley! 00:21, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

Wikkipida looks differnt to me

I am on the classic skin and I have IE 8 and a few days ago when I looked tried to Edit something I looked at Difference between revisions and it dose not show the Differnce all the text is Black Jena (talk) 23:19, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

I'm having the same problem. I assumed it was going to be fixed. --Orange Mike | Talk 00:18, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

I haven't experienced it myself. Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)#Edit view problem says: "This'll be the same problem as #No colour shading on diffs above; there are some edge cases or something that are still being worked out. --brion (talk) 21:11, 6 May 2011 (UTC)". PrimeHunter (talk) 00:30, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

I am having a similar problem and just posted about it...see below (May 8) ~~redjme —Preceding unsigned comment added by Redjme (talk • contribs) 03:15, 8 May 2011 (UTC)