Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2012 September 29

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September 29[edit]

Character entity references[edit]

Which character entity references work here? Obviously things such as & nbsp; work, as do & gt; and& #91;, but the thread up above regarding DuBois, Pennsylvania shows that {{val}} does not produce {{val}}. Do we have a chart of working and non-working references? Nyttend (talk) 00:52, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I have tested that everything at List of XML and HTML character entity references works:

" & ' < >   ¡ ¢ £ ¤ ¥ ¦ § ¨ © ª « ¬ ­ ® ¯ ° ± ² ³ ´ µ ¶ · ¸ ¹ º » ¼ ½ ¾ ¿ À Á Â Ã Ä Å Æ Ç È É Ê Ë Ì Í Î Ï Ð Ñ Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö × Ø Ù Ú Û Ü Ý Þ ß à á â ã ä å æ ç è é ê ë ì í î ï ð ñ ò ó ô õ ö ÷ ø ù ú û ü ý þ ÿ Œ œ Š š Ÿ ƒ ˆ ˜ Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ ς σ τ υ φ χ ψ ω ϑ ϒ ϖ       ‌ ‍ ‎ ‏ – — ‘ ’ ‚ “ ” „ † ‡ • … ‰ ′ ″ ‹ › ‾ ⁄ € ℑ ℘ ℜ ™ ℵ ← ↑ → ↓ ↔ ↵ ⇐ ⇑ ⇒ ⇓ ⇔ ∀ ∂ ∃ ∅ ∇ ∈ ∉ ∋ ∏ ∑ − ∗ √ ∝ ∞ ∠ ∧ ∨ ∩ ∪ ∫ ∴ ∼ ≅ ≈ ≠ ≡ ≤ ≥ ⊂ ⊃ ⊄ ⊆ ⊇ ⊕ ⊗ ⊥ ⋅ ⌈ ⌉ ⌊ ⌋ ⟨ ⟩ ◊ ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦

I don't know whether any others work. { and } are not shown there. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:29, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki Mark Up not showing?[edit]

When I am editing pages, I can no longer see the "wiki mark-up" section underneath the edit box, so the box that has also the symbols (like [[]]) and dashes etc. Sometimes when I refresh the page it will pop up for a second or two and then disappear again. I have tried changing my settings, e.g. accept cookies but nothing's worked. Any thoughts? JayJ47 (talk) 03:45, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Does Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)#Edit window changes answer your question? —teb728 t c 04:35, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
And if that's far too long to cope with, I found that the key suggestion is "Go to Preferences, Editing, and Switch OFF the Enhanced editing toolbar". Good luck. PamD 07:28, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the helps guys. Glad to have all those useful editing tools back. JayJ47 (talk) 08:45, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Yes thanks - that worked..Offender9000 19:29, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

Colin Ratushniak wiki page[edit]

I created this article earlier in the year and it was given a Grace C listing and published. Someone has now gone and merged the page with another page citing "lack of ice skater notoriety". I dispute this as the person has a significant following on twitter and is widely known after appearing on Dancing on Ice. Please can you help me get this page back up in its own right. Karendawes (talk) 07:24, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The problem was notability (not notoriety). Please see Wikipedia:WikiProject Figure Skating/Notability.--Shantavira|feed me 07:33, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

adding a photo to an actresses page (my own)[edit]

Hello, what is the best way to add a photo to the page that speaks about me (Sitara Hewitt) THanks! Sitara — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sitarahewitt (talkcontribs) 01:59, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved
I see you have done so. But please make sure you read about conflict of interest before you make any more edits to Sitara Hewitt. --ColinFine (talk) 12:45, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Unification of my usernames on it.wikipedia and en.wikipedia[edit]

Hi everybody, I would like to use the same username (Gab.pr) on the italian and english wiki. I know this is possible, but after looking at the procedure I wasn't able to complete the process. Is there somone willing to help me to do it? Thank you and greetings from Italy, --Gabodon (talk) 12:25, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Only bureaucrats can make username changes. You haven't placed a request at the page where they do that, but you can place it now at Wikipedia:Changing username/Simple. A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 12:54, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Published source is wrong?[edit]

Resolved

Is there a way to mark a statement coming from a published (I guess peer-reviewed) paper that is wrong, but where no other published source has pointed out that error? I believe that if I as a Wikipedia editor and non-expert on the subject area call that wrong that has few to no weight, so what should I do? Is there a way to mark a statement to probably be erroneous? I am talking about a statement in the section Wieferich prime#Periods of Wieferich primes (see also Wikipedia:Reference desk/Mathematics#Error in published paper? where I already brought that up). -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlkctb) 13:20, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Unless the statement is contradicted by a published item in a reliable source, it must stand. What you are offering is what is termed "original research" and has no place in Wikipedia. --Orange Mike | Talk 19:35, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I understand and accept that. -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlkctb) 19:47, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
If a source is wrong it is by definition not a reliable source. Roger (talk) 20:00, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
And what source are you going to cite for it being 'wrong'? AndyTheGrump (talk)
There's the rub! This situation is a perfect example of why "verifiability, not truth" is one of our core principles - despite attempts by many "haters" to get rid of it. Roger (talk) 20:33, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict) I was going to ask the same thing. I agree that the claim of a source being false would have to come again from a reliable source. I.e. if an author of a published paper points out an error in a previous paper, then that's obviously a reliable source for that claim. I guess I have to make a paper pointing out that error and get that published in a mathematical journal then.... =P -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlkctb) 20:34, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
A solution short of publishing a counter-paper (which I am probably not qualified to do) would be to just reformulate the statement, like "Garza and Young claim that the period p of a number x is the smallest number p for which bp ≡ 1 (mod x), that the period of is 1092 and that this is the same as that of ". -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlkctb) 20:46, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I simply reformulated the statement for now (diff). -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlkctb) 21:06, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Antoune Molden[edit]

Love the site! Just wanted to let someone know that you might want to check into adding Antoune Molden to the list. He used to play for , I believe, the Titans, and now is currently on the New York Giants. Not sure if I spelled his 1st name correctly though. Thanks for this fantastic site! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.61.76.123 (talk) 15:08, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

What list are you referring to? Please post a link. Roger (talk) 15:48, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
We have an article at the correct spelling Antwaun Molden. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:18, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Is simply being on the roster of an NFL team enough for notability?Naraht (talk) 22:38, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Only if he played, which he did. See WP:NGRIDIRON. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:48, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

HI[edit]

? كيف استطيع تتبع شخنة ارسلت الى قبرص — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.245.6.218 (talk) 16:06, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

هذا هو ويكيبيديا الإنجليزية. يرجى الكتابة باللغة الإنجليزية. Cresix (talk) 16:10, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

page I veiwed to print[edit]

hello there,

I looked up russel watson on your site I have regestered with you and have had so much trouble trying to print the information my paper comes out blank and my printer is fine I looked up printable version I wanted to print details from his early years date of birth school he attended where he lived as a child and grew up his illness career all on the printable version please help thank you --Maryd9007 (talk) 20:12, 29 September 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Maryd9007 (talkcontribs) 20:10, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
What is your browser? Help:Printable#Blank pages in Internet Explorer mentions a problem in Internet Explorer 7. You can also try to click the link "Download as PDF" right above "Printable version", and then print the PDF. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:22, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

corrcetion[edit]

Dear Sir Thanks for your information about school in Sri Lanka. Still there is a err in this information of school list of Northern Prov. St.Patrick's College in (NP) is first school which Started English Medium in NP. But this information is only on Medium that is Tamil (Ta). Please corrcet or add this data with the basic original information thanks A student in Uk — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.98.254.211 (talk) 22:22, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, I don't understand what information you want to change. Are we talking about St. Patrick's College, Jaffna? You can add information to that article yourself, but remember to cite it to a reliable source. - Karenjc 16:16, 30 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Moving an image[edit]

I've been editing this page, and notice that on the Talk page there is an objection to the 'romanticised painting' of Henry Percy and his wife placed at the top right hand side of the page by an earlier editor:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Percy_%28Hotspur%29

I tried replacing it with the image of Henry Percy's pennon which is lower down on the left side, but couldn't get the latter image to fit properly. I have no experience with editing images, and help with this would be much appreciated. NinaGreen (talk) 23:15, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure what your fitting problem is. You can replace image = Harry Hotspur Percy.jpg with another file name, for example image = Pennon of Sir Henry (Hotspur) Percy, Battle of Otterburn.jpg (also replace the caption). PrimeHunter (talk) 01:06, 30 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for your help. I've replaced the image, and I can now see that there were two problems. Firstly, the pennon image originally appeared as shown on the left:
The pennon of Sir Henry Percy as captured by James Douglas, Earl of Douglas.

I was trying to put that image into an Infobox, and I finally realized I had to remove the word 'left', after which it fit properly. I also had to remove the 'File' data, which links to the image in Wikipedia Commons. I'd like to have retained the 'File' link as it has additional information about the image, but couldn't figure out how to do that. If someone can advise on that point, I'll put the link back in. NinaGreen (talk) 16:20, 30 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Infoboxes usually add their own image formatting code. Only write image = Pennon of Sir Henry (Hotspur) Percy, Battle of Otterburn.jpg as I did above. |200px|thumb doesn't belong in the infobox either. I'm not sure what you mean by "I'd like to have retained the 'File' link". Clicking on the image leads to the file page File:Pennon of Sir Henry (Hotspur) Percy, Battle of Otterburn.jpg, both before and now. That's how all images work unless code is added to prevent the link. The only difference I can see is that before (the version displayed here) there is also a small clickable icon [1] with two overlapping rectangles of different size to the lower right of the image. Did you think that was the only way to get to the file page? PrimeHunter (talk) 16:42, 30 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
You're right. I'd didn't realize that one could click on an image and get to the file page. I've also deleted the superfluous code as per your recommendation. Thanks again for your help. NinaGreen (talk) 18:12, 30 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Chastised for an edit I never made[edit]

I'm not sure at all what's going on. I don't think I've ever made a change to a Wikipedia change in my life -- perhaps once on a typographical error months ago, maybe, but maybe I dreamed that. Today I click on an article and see a message I've never seen that I have a "new message." The best I can tell is that Wikipedia somehow thinks I made a change to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trunks_(Dragon_Ball) (I have NO IDEA what a Dragon Ball is or what/who "Trunks" is, for the record) and has reverted the change ... or something? I don't understand. I can't get rid of the message on the Wikipedia page, and I confess part of me is a little offended I've been accused of doing something wrong, when I didn't do the thing to begin with! What gives, and/or what can I do about this? My apologies if this is in the wrong place - this whole user aspect of Wikipedia is VERY confusing and intimidating. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Anniesisk (talkcontribs) 23:47, 29 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Your account's talk page doesn't have any such message on it, and your account has never edited anything to do with Dragon Ball as far as I can see. Most likely is that your ISP has allocated an IP address to you that they previously allocated to someone that made the problematic change. (And therefore, as you suspect, the message has nothing to do with you.) If you log into your account, you shouldn't see the message. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 00:08, 30 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I see your account was created four minutes before posting here. I assume you saw the message before creating an account. If you didn't make the edit mentioned in the message then just ignore the message, or log in to avoid such messages. We cannot see your IP address but User talk:89.142.162.153 shows an example of the type of message you probably got. Note the box at the bottom which says:
"This is the discussion page for an IP user, identified by the user's numerical IP address. Some IP addresses change periodically, and may be shared by several users. If you are an IP user, you may create an account or log in to avoid future confusion with other IP users. Registering also hides your IP address."
Wikipedia allows people to edit without logging in. The only way we can contact them is to post a message to the talk page for the IP address. We are aware that such messages may be seen by random people who happen to be assigned the same IP address later. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:44, 30 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]