Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 November 1

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November 1[edit]

Please help me find correct copyright tag[edit]

Hi there, I want to upload an image of a street sign - I'm guessing nobody really "owns" the image as a street sign is in a public place. Could somebody help me to upload it to wiki commons without it being deleted? The sign can be found at this link....http://www.seenmag.co.uk/news-and-features/sign-up-for-gay-village.phuse Many Thanks x

Richie wright1980 (talk) 12:36, 05 November 2011 (GMT)

Letterman Current Singers[edit]

the current article above says " and the combination of Butala, Tea and Preston is the current line-up." but Preston is no longer with them. He is replaced by Bobbie someone who I saw at the Southpoint in Las Vegas this week.. I believe they said Bobbie was with the Letterman in 1988 so you might want to update your site... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.70.145.165 (talk) 00:01, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

What are you talking about? You need to be more specific. CTJF83 00:18, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I think it is in reference to The Lettermen (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)teb728 t c 00:23, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Ahh, ok...of course I was thinking of David Letterman CTJF83 00:24, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Must be Bobby Poynton who is on their home page. CTJF83 00:28, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
 Fixed CTJF83 00:31, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Deletion[edit]

Totally having a brain fart on what it's called to permanently remove an edit, like if it has personal info in it. CTJF83 00:39, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Oversight. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:56, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks! CTJF83 00:59, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Uploading Photos to Wikipedia Articles[edit]

Wikipedia-

is it possible for someone such as I to upload new photos onto your articles?

Sincerely, Samuel Redick

Samuelredick (talk) 00:48, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Yep, WP:UPLOAD also see WP:NFC if you don't own the image. CTJF83 00:50, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Disambiguation question[edit]

I've just created a new article, Seymour College (Victoria). It's about a school newly formed by the merger of four other schools in Seymour, Victoria, Australia. (And yes, I know it needs more work.)

My problem is that there is another Seymour College in South Australia, another state of Australia. It has existed for decades and had a Wikipedia article for a long time.

Searchers for my new article are likely to encounter the older established one. What is the best approach to directing such users to the newer article? HiLo48 (talk) 01:39, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

If there are just the two instances of "Seymour College", you can use a {{for}} template at the top of the current Seymour College article. Dismas|(talk) 01:47, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
(e/c) I suggest you place a hatnote on the existing article, such as {{About|the college in South Australia|the college in Victoria|Seymour College (Victoria)}} which will format as:.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:52, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you. That looks like it will do the trick. HiLo48 (talk) 02:21, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Kris Humphries article says he graduated from Hopkins High School, Minnetonka, Mn[edit]

I lived in Hopkins, Mn. I lives about 1/2 mile from that high school, Hopkins High School is in Hopkins, Mn, not Minnetonka. Hopkins is an official town/suburb of Mpls. This is a error. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.162.180.212 (talk) 02:45, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

According to its website [1] it is in Minnetonka. --FormerIP (talk) 02:52, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Question about Article Creation[edit]

How come anonymous users are not allowed to create Wikipedia articles or even upload pictures? 14.99.17.48 (talk) 03:00, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Because, if articles are created or pictures are uploaded as part of a spree of vandalism they require a special user known as an administrator to delete them. Because of this complication, users are required to register to create articles or upload pictures. The extra step seems to cut down on the creation of vandalism articles and vandalism uploads, so the administrators can keep up easier. Simple vandalism to existing articles can be undone by any other user, so because the fix is easier, Wikipedia doesn't require the extra hurdle of registration to allow simple editing. --Jayron32 04:13, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia:Why create an account? mentions several other benefits of having an account. It is free and easy to create an account and you don't have to give any email address, name, age or other information. Anonymous users can ask for article creations and picture uploads at Wikipedia:Articles for creation and Wikipedia:Files for upload. PrimeHunter (talk) 04:25, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

please replace with accurate photo[edit]

My cousin David Freese deserves to have an updated correct image #23 not #12. Please attend to this matter at your earliest convenience. Thank you, Kelly Knickerbocker — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.54.40.141 (talk) 04:52, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

David Freese (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)
If we had an updated photo, we'd likely use it. But until someone donates one to Wikipedia, we'll continue using the one that is in the article. Dismas|(talk) 06:03, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Kelly, if you have a good photo of your cousin that you took yourself, please create an account on WikiMedia Commons and upload the photo there. Then it could be used on the article. —teb728 t c 13:06, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Freidoune Sahebjam[edit]

Freidoune Sahebjam has the birth and death date where the Persian name should be but due to the Persian I can't seem to backspace or delete my way to success in fixing this. Jesanj (talk) 05:45, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Ya, that page is messed up! CTJF83 08:03, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Fixed, after a fashion, with this edit, but I have no idea why the standard template didn't work. -- John of Reading (talk) 08:11, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I've posted at Template talk:Lang-fa. -- John of Reading (talk) 12:51, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

table conversion[edit]

How do I convert an Open Office .odt table to a Wikitable to insert on a page? Warderb01 (talk) 05:54, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I've not tried it, but apparently there's an Open Office Extension that adds an "Export as MediaWiki" function to Open Office. Some other options are listed at Commons:Convert tables and charts to wiki code or image files. -- John of Reading (talk) 08:19, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Setting up specialised recent changes template[edit]

I use the template {{Special:Recentchanges/10}} on my usepage to give me convenient visibility of the last ten recent changes on Wikipedia. However, what I'd also like to include is a customised list such as the"Most vandalised" recent changes list. Is there a template that exists - or could be adapted - to provide this? Yunshui  10:22, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

{{Special:RecentChangesLinked/Wikipedia:Most vandalized pages}} seems to work, but I don't see any easy way to restrict the display to just ten changes. You will always see the number of changes that you have configured in your preferences. -- John of Reading (talk) 10:53, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

MOS question about arabic names[edit]

How would this name be presented in an article - Alaa Abd El-Fatah - I notice in the article, the article refers to Alaa should it not be El-Fatah or is Alaa actually his surname? I'm not familar with what conventions we use for non-western names. --Cameron Scott (talk) 10:43, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

IP block exemption[edit]

I'm frequently logged in at school but unfortunately my school utilises a proxy internet connection in which I understand that the IPs are automatically blocked but is there any possible method where I may be exempted from being blocked even after being logged in. YuMaNuMa (talk) 11:43, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:IP block exemption. I'm not familiar with the details, but when the software tells you that you cannot edit, there should be some instructions there for requesting an unblock. -- John of Reading (talk) 11:51, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Question about EDIT page[edit]

On the page for Conifer CO- (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conifer,_Colorado) I went to add the original community website addy. On the edit page, I see it's listed:

However, it does not show up on the actual page....?

Is there something else that need to be done from this end?

Thank you in advance for your time & knowledge! Lo-bay Lady Board member Pinecam.com Pinecam (talk) 12:00, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Conifer, Colorado (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)
I can see the link, near the bottom of the page under the "External links" heading. However, Wikipedia's content guideline on external links is much stricter than many editors realise, so I will be removing it shortly. I have left you a message on your talk page about some other issues. -- John of Reading (talk) 12:41, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Usage of the help me template[edit]

Is {{help me}} only for new users or are more experienced users also supposed to use it? I mean I know when to go to WP:HD, WP:MCQ etc and can track those pages for an answer, so I perhaps would most likely use it due to laziness. So what types of questions is this template supposed to be used with? Is it only for questions that would belong here at the help desk or also for questions concerning other types of questions, such as copyright or say stuff that would belong at WP:THIRD? The phrase "If you need help, you can place this template on your own user talk page, and write your question below it." is not very illuminating in this respect, although it seems to indicate that it is really only intended to be used by new users, given exactly that generic formulation of this instruction. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 12:03, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I think anyone can use it, though experienced users are more likely to know about the specialised forums. It's just like this Help desk, really - any Wikipedia-related question can be asked here, and either the volunteers here will know how to answer it, or they should be able to point the way to one of the specialised forums. -- John of Reading (talk) 12:16, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

What does this mean?[edit]

Hello All,

I have just received this email:

Halamang Wikipedia Pembicaraan Pengguna:Kiltpin ni dibuat pada
1 November 2011 iaro Berpersatuan, ita
http://bug.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pembicaraan_Pengguna:Kiltpin untuk versi
tanappa.
édé halamang nappa.
Komentar editor: Leppa baru: 'SimpleDiff--Kiltpin (talk) 12:18, 1 November 2011 (UTC)'[reply]
Hubungi editor:
imil: http://bug.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istimewa:Surel_pengguna/Berpersatuan
wiki: http://bug.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pengguna:Berpersatuan
There will be no other notifications in case of further changes unless
you visit this page. You could also reset the notification flags for all
your watched pages on your watchlist.
Your friendly Wikipedia notification system
--
To change your watchlist settings, visit
http://bug.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istimewa:Watchlist/edit
Feedback and further assistance:
http://bug.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantuan:Contents


To the best of my knowledge, I have made no contributions in this area. Can someone please shed some light? Am I supposed to do something? Kiltpin (talk) 12:18, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

How curious. Someone posted a welcome message on your user talk page at the Buginese language Wikipedia, and this triggered an email. Just ignore it. It is unlikely that any further posts will be made there. -- John of Reading (talk) 12:28, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
This is actually common. You viewed a page at the Buginese Wikipedia 11 September 2011 and your account was created automatically.[2] Perhaps you were trying to get to bugzilla: with bug:. Today a Buginese editor posted welcome messages to the talk page of many new accounts. The default setting there is to email users when their user talk page is changed. You can disable this at the bottom of http://bug.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istimewa:Preferensi?uselang=en. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:01, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks John of Reading and PrimeHunter. I am a relatively new wikipedian and am still learning. I thought that I had broken something. Kiltpin (talk) 16:12, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia box at the top of an article[edit]

How do you have your article approved by wikipedia? My article has a box at the top from Wikipedia saying it needs to be cleaned up, I have edited it, how do I get the box at the top removed? Benson Comma N (talk) 12:36, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Of course, technically, it's not your article, it's Wikipedia's. That said: what's the article? Maybe we can help. --Orange Mike | Talk 14:03, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I think the article in question is Bloc Festival. The template {{Cleanup}} was removed by User:Alpha Quadrant here. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 14:08, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Mistake about my authorship[edit]

Resolved
 – change made to article Choyoołʼįįhí:Seb az86556 > haneʼ 15:52, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

There is information attributed solely to me in an article and wrongly omits the fact that a co-author contributed to this information. The article is protected so I can't edit it. How can I make this change?

Thanks,

Peter Gottschalk Peter Gottschalk (talk) 13:14, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

If there is an error in the article, put the details on the article's talk page, and include a reference to a reliable source to confirm what you are saying. - David Biddulph (talk) 13:20, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Watchlist[edit]

Hello. I have a problem with the addition of pages to my watchlist. In my Special:Preferences, I unchecked the option "Add pages I edit to my watchlist" but still the pages I edit especially those from the Special:RecentChanges page are automatically adding up. Can I prevent this in any way? Secret of success Talk to me 13:58, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Is "Add pages I review to my watchlist" also disabled at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-watchlist? You use Twinkle. Wikipedia:Twinkle/doc mentions some default Twinkle settings to automatically add a page to your watchlist if you nominate for deletion. Is that it? PrimeHunter (talk) 14:11, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I forgot to uncheck that. Hope it'll work now. Thanks a lot! :) Secret of success Talk to me 11:55, 3 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Disambiguation page statistics[edit]

Is there a tool that would let one see, once a user lands on a disambiguatioon page, which article they click on (in aggregate)? --TimL (talk) 15:02, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Random Article[edit]

There is no "random article" on mobile view. What is the proper channel for suggesting this feature (if this isn't it)? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.82.68.33 (talk) 15:21, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I have no mobile device but http://en.m.wikipedia.org/ has a "Random" button near the top. Is this not shown on mobile devices? You can enter special:random in the search box but this requries more wrrk. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:31, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Viewing the mobile site on my BlackBerry Torch, the "Random" button is revealed if I click on the "W" in front of the search box.--ukexpat (talk) 15:54, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

What happens if you discover dozens of reliable sources incorect?[edit]

I worked on creating the Wilson desk article, which has made it to DYK today, but I have just realized that DYK fact may be inaccurate. A user with out a username (it was 209.137.134.61) pointed out that the dates of when the desk was in use do not include the time that Henry Wilson was Vice President. Now every reliable source I could find stated that the desk was used by Henry Wilson and Nixon mistakenly thought it was used by Woodrow Wilson. After more investigating I found here [3] that the desk was purchased by Garret Augustus Hobart, who was a Vice President after Henry Wilson died in office. Does this mean that all of the sources are incorrect? Is this me coming to conclusions that reliable sources do not state or synthesizing sources in a way that is not supposed to be done on wiki? Should I ask for the fact to be removed from DYK? How do i fix the article if every source says someone used the desk that there is no way they could have? Any help would be amazing.--Found5dollar (talk) 15:58, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I see you have also posted to Wikipedia:Main Page/Errors where it belongs if you want to change the main page mention. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:07, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Why can't I embed my imge?[edit]

Hello,

I followed all the instructions to upload an image, and it uploaded successfully. I would now like to embed the image in the astrobiology article that I have been contributing to, and I used the same format as you describe above: "\[\[File:Example.png|thumb|Caption text]]" but this did not work. I also modified the format to match some of the other images in the article, trying lines such as "\[\[Image:Example.png|thumb|right|Caption text]]" but this did not work either. Do I not yet have the proper status to embed pictures yet? I am presently a member of the group "Users". Do I need to post more to attain a higher rank in order to embed images?

Thanks in Advance, Dieter. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dieter1234 (talkcontribs) 16:14, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The file File:MSLCheMin2.jpg doesn't exist. It will have to be uploaded before it can be used.--ukexpat (talk) 16:26, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
The image has now been uploaded and added to the article.--ukexpat (talk) 18:06, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Changing the User: name at the top of the article[edit]

How do I change the User: title that appears at the top of the article? It automatically uses by user name instead of the article name. Thanks for your help. Elearning201 (talk) 19:39, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Your userpage is not for the creation of draft articles; it is where you tell us about YOU, the human being behind the username Elearning201. I have moved the draft article to Richard M. Perloff, where it should have been created in the first place. --Orange Mike | Talk 19:47, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
But it needs a lot more work, particularly some citations to reliable sources to demonstrate the subject's notability.--ukexpat (talk) 19:52, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
It's already got a Speedy tag! Orangemike I'm afraid your moving it to mainspace was really not helpful. It should be in a draft folder in Elearning201's userspace. Roger (talk) 21:13, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
It's a BLPPROD actually, not a speedy. – ukexpat (talk) 19:08, 3 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Can't work out how to put the article on Wikipedia[edit]

Help, I wrote a short article some time ago and am unable to work out how to upload it.

You can see the article on my page, username: michaelgphillips

Thanks

Michael — Preceding unsigned comment added by Michaelgphillips (talkcontribs) 20:07, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You are presumably referring to User:Michaelgphillips/Blackfriars Press Limited? You should refer to WP:1st and WP:SYMUD, but a lot of work would need doing before the article would be acceptable to be published. Look at WP:CORP for guidelines on notability of coompanies. - David Biddulph (talk) 20:12, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
It's been moved; all you had to do was click the "move" tab at the top of the page. --Orange Mike | Talk 20:18, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Mike, that wouldn't have worked as Michaelgphillips has not made enough edits for their account to be autoconfirmed.--ukexpat (talk) 20:22, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Excellent point. --Orange Mike | Talk 20:23, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
The move was very premature, if I was a gambler I'd put money on the page getting a speedy tag within the next 24 hours. It should be moved back to Michaelgphillips's userspace so that he can work on it some more before "publication". Roger (talk) 21:07, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I tagged it for speedy deletion just after it was moved, but it was declined. – ukexpat (talk) 13:15, 2 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

All Magazines List[edit]

Coastal Living Magazine is not on this list. It is published in the US and is an excellent source for coastal life fans. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.54.85.214 (talk) 20:54, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This page is for asking questions on how to use Wikipedia. CTJF83 22:03, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Edit tool info request[edit]

What is the edit tool that will clean up a References section by taking multiple citations from a single source and lumping them together as one entry under References (with the little carrot thingy)? I was wondering if I could find it and use it on an article. Any tutorials on Wikipedia for using editing tools would also be a help. Thank you!! OttawaAC (talk) 21:49, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

User:Dispenser/Reflinks? CTJF83 22:19, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Error[edit]

Can someone tell me why there is a cite error even though I have a {{reflist}} Effeminacy#See_also CTJF83 22:01, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I can, there's a <ref> tagged reference in the "Sources" section (placed after the reflist template, so it's looking for another after the "Sources" section). Яehevkor 22:06, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I see User:We hope already fixed this. Яehevkor 22:07, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you both. CTJF83 22:14, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

writing help - meeting ntibil;ity rquirements[edit]

A page that is of interst to me has been notified it is not meeting notibilty requirments. We are not really able to understand or facilitate these modifications. Do you staff or volunteers who can help me meet the needed requirements?

thank you for your help — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pms166 (talkcontribs) 22:17, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

What is the page? CTJF83 22:20, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Judging by their contributions, it's likely Steven Braley. Dismas|(talk) 01:08, 2 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Dunno why I never do that....anyway, if that's the case, you need reliable 3rd party sources showing why he is notable as a golfer. CTJF83 01:14, 2 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Other than pointing you to Wikipedia’s notability standards, I don’t think we can help you meet those standards. Having read the article, I can’t tell why you think Braley is notable, and I suspect he is not. If his notability is as a golfer, the standard is described at Wikipedia:Notability (sports)#Golf. If it is as Senior Director of the PGA of America, try to find something applicable at WP:BIO. —teb728 t c 04:06, 2 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Citing a pamphlet[edit]

What is the preferred way to cite a pamphlet like source? This pamphlet was distributed together with a larger book. Is there a specific template for such a case? Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 22:35, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm no expert, but Template:Cite book is probably the closest. Category:Citation templates is a complete listing of other cite templates. CTJF83 00:41, 2 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the reply. Having thought about it again, I believe using {{Citation}} is probably the best solution. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 01:20, 2 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Regarding a website on reliable source noticeboard.[edit]

An issue was raised few days back Regarding the Reliability of the source http://www.pakdef.info/mission.html on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Noticeboard#Pakdef.info . the issue only had comments from the involved editors (with 1 single comment from a neutral editor), the issue is not yet resolved and i feel soon this will be archived bu the bot due to delay. The issue is important as the claims of the source are unreferenced and questionable and its use on wiki article will lead to several disputes, and questions on reliability. Is there a way to get mediation on this (i am asking this here as on of the editor in the discussion wrongly infers it is resolved and is wrongly accusing me of wp:canvassing and wp:forum shop) . My intention is to get the issue resolved to its logical conclusion, suggestions welcome. --ÐℬigXЯaɣ 22:38, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]