Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2013 December 17

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December 17

Franklin D. Roosevelt's page needs a major fix

The article has been entirely changed by someone trying to get followers on twitter. They also posted inappropriate content such as nudity and offensive symbols. If this could be fixed immediately since I do not feel qualified to change the article back i figured i should let the help page know. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.10.6.100 (talk) 02:14, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Thank you for the heads up. Someone vandalized a template that was on a lot of pages, causing the same thing to appear on all the pages with that template. The template is now fixed, and the user who vandalized it is blocked. The articles are back to normal. Howicus (Did I mess up?) 02:26, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

QUEBECOIS FRENCH - need a little help with translation

I would like to post a few - well, actually quite a few - photos I took on vacation in Quebec City last summer (particularly some at Circe du Soleil) on Wikimedia Commons.

Can somebody help me with the translation of the two titles in the text below. I'm not sure that I've got them right.

Thanks in advance!

- Asilverstein

(My) version of the proposed text follows. Please correct or verify that it is already correct:

July 2013 - Circe du Soleil continued its free summer open-air performances in its home town of Quebec City with "Le Hangar des Oublies" (The Hanger of Forgotten Things), Chapter 5 of a larger story arc, "Les Chemins Invisibles" (The Unseen Paths). This photograph was take at one of these performances.

```` — Preceding unsigned comment added by Asilverstein (talk • contribs) 04:50, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

I fixed the format of your question so it would display. My version would be (my changes in caps) "July 2013 - CIRQUE du Soleil continued its free summer open-air performances in its home town of Quebec City with Le Hangar des OUBLIÉS (The HARBOR OF LOST SOULS) ..." etc. Note that CDS themselves appear to translate Le Hangar des Oubliés in that way, even though it literally means something like "The Shed of the Forgotten Ones". It is already rendered this way in our article Les Chemins invisibles. - Karenjc (talk) 08:21, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

If you need more assistance, Category:Translators fr-en lists Wikipedians who translate from French to English and Wikipedia:Translation provides additional information. -- Jreferee (talk) 12:47, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Perry's law and similar

Dear editors: This submission (and others like it from time to time) at Afc doesn't appear to be a serious attempt at an article. There doesn't seem to be any benefit to leaving it in the Afc for six months. However, it doesn't seem to fit any of the speedy deletion reasons for non-article space. Would an MFD be appropriate? Or should it just be ignored? —Anne Delong (talk) 05:38, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Probably not in the right spirit but you could move it to mainspace and nominate it for speedy deletion under one of the A criteria. Hack (talk) 06:37, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

It's tempting, but I wouldn't feel right in doing that. —Anne Delong (talk) 06:46, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Indeed, Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Kafziel suggests that such actions tend to cause drama. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 06:49, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

MfD is supposed to be for pages that fall outside existing deletion processes. Arguably, AFC pages like this are subject to CSD and pass. This seems more like an issue for reform of the CSD and/or AFC processes to allow no-hope articles to be deleted. Hack (talk) 07:00, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

In my view, submissions like this that are not a serious attempt to make an article can be speedied per {{db-g3}}. Ritchie333 <sup>(talk) (cont)</sup> 08:39, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

(edit conflict)Are AfC submissions not subject to other "G" reasons? I understand if something like G11 is not, but this looks like something that could theoretically be G1 (though perhaps not?) or G3? Or maybe not. I'm tired... - Purplewowies (talk) 08:41, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

I struggle to see how G3 applies - maybe G2. Hack (talk) 08:51, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Looks like the page was speedy deleted. There's no harm in listing such a page for speedy deletion. WP:NOBAN discusses editing of other editors' user pages. If you move someone's user page to AfC, you may want to include a link to the policy/guideline that supports such a move in the edit summary. I would think there is no problem with moving an unregistered user's subpage to AfC, but I did not find the policy/guideline that supports such a move. -- Jreferee (talk) 12:21, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

I don't think that an unregistered user can have a subpage. The above was definitely not a WP:CSD#G1, that is very specific. WP:CSD#G3 was used, and I can see why, but I wouldn't have done it. I would have used WP:CSD#G2 (test page). Vandalism (G3) implies an intent to harm, while G2 is merly a lack of a serious attempt to help which this was. DES <sup>(talk)</sup> 13:10, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for all of the advice. About moving the user page: When a user submits a page for review, this indicates that the page is intended to be moved out of their user space and into Afc, then hopefully into article space. )The submission template says "This page should probably be located at Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/pagename". Usually this is done before the review takes place, in which case the move process automatically inserts the edit summary "Preferred location for Articles for creation". For some reason this one was reviewed without being moved, so I moved it afterwards with the same edit summary. —Anne Delong (talk) 13:34, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

The page was created at User:67.194.118.140/Perry's law by a registered user (I don't know why). IP's cannot create pages in their non-talk userspace or any other non-talk namespace (except the coming draft namespace), but others can create such pages and IP's can then edit them. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:53, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Reflinks

Dear editors: I have seen lots of people using Reflinks to add titles to reference URLs, but whenever I try it it does nothing. (Here's the last one I tried: [1]. Am I doing something wrong? I've tried several articles with multiple bare URLs, and not had one improvement yet. —Anne Delong (talk) 07:19, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Does it only work if the links are inside ref tags? Barbara Gordon (filmmaker) has no bare links within references. - Purplewowies (talk) 07:50, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

I wondered about that. The instruction page just says it adds titles to bare URLs. —Anne Delong (talk) 08:12, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Purplewowies has it right - Reflinks only looks for bare URLs between <ref> tags. Stick a few of them in and it'll run like a charm. Yunshui 雲‍水 08:15, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

The instructiosn say "Reflinks is a python script in the pywikipedia collection which adds title to bare references in the forms of <ref>[http://example.com]</ref>..." (emphasis added). DES <sup>(talk)</sup> 13:13, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Okay; I will add ref tags, although these make the page look messy when they are on general references, and try again. —Anne Delong (talk) 17:18, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Those don't look like real references. If they were references, they should follow the text for which they form the reference. If they are just external links, they should be in an appropriate section, and should be there only if they meet the criteria of WP:EL. That's why the article has the {{external links}} tag. - David Biddulph (talk) 17:31, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Tanveer Alam

i have seen that this page has been deleted. i think he is a notable person and he done so much in entertainment industry of India. so please republish his page, if you need more information about him than i will add as per my sources and knowledge. regards — Preceding unsigned comment added by 14.141.50.130 (talk) 12:09, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Earlier this month, the discussion at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Tanveer Alam found that the sources failed to meet the basic requirements for establishing a stand alone article: that the coverage is from independent sources, and that it is significant. If there has been additional coverage in mainstream independent news sources in those two weeks, you can provide those new sources at WP:RA.-- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 12:24, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Your knowledge is not a Wikipedia reliable sources and your sources need to be independent of Tanveer Alam as well as be Wikipedia reliable sources. Tanveer Alam works behind the scenes in the entertainment industry (e.g., Assistant Director, Supervising Producer), which usually does not result in independent reliable sources writing about such individuals. Tanveer Alam is a common name with several individuals named Tanveer Alam being Wikipedia notable. However, I did not find any information on entertainment industry Tanveer Alam. The Tanveer Alam is protected from creation,[2] so you would need to post any request to recreate the article at WP:DRV. -- Jreferee (talk) 12:41, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Note also that any editor recreating the page is likely to come under scrutiny as a result of Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Tanveer Alam. Yunshui 雲‍水 12:43, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Copying from an existing website

Hello everyone

I am currently writing a article (British schools smallbore rifle association). After writing it was immediately flagged for copying from another website, www.bssra.rog. The only thing I copied was the definitions of the competitions. Is this OK? Surely the names and conditions of the competitions should be as they appear of the official website? Could someone please clarify?

Thanks very much GBA (talk) 13:05, 17 December 2013 (UTC)GBA136

If you are quoting the official descriptions. then they should be marked as quotes and cited to the source. DES <sup>(talk)</sup> 13:16, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

question about company profile

hi there - i would like to set up a wiki page for the company i work for, as we are asked quite frequently if we could have a presence on there so that people can find information on our history, where we are based and so on. I have read the guidelines and am i right in thinking that as long as the information is factual rather than promotional i can create an entrey? I have also seen that many businesses like ours have a wiki presence. Could you let me know where i go from here? many thanks, Becky — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.194.195.149 (talk) 14:29, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Wikipedia doesn't have company profiles; it has articles on subjects which are notable (which means having received significant coverage in published reliable sources independent of the subject). There are specific guidelines on notability for companies. As you are connected with the company, you also need to read the guidelines on conflict of interest and follow the advice there. It sounds as if you need to set up a company website, rather than a Wikipedia page. - David Biddulph (talk) 14:57, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

KNMI Vertical Radio

in regards to the knmi vertical radio page....our slogan is no longer "keeping you pointed in the right direction".........our new slogan is now..."more than music"....thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.42.115.86 (talk) 16:43, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Added a title and a link, and updated the article's infobox. Rojomoke (talk) 17:03, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

(edit conflict) You could mention this on Talk:KNMI (FM). Do you have a citeable source for this change? it doesn't seem to appear on the station web site, at least not its front page. DES <sup>(talk)</sup> 17:05, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

DES, it's right there at the top right corner of http://www.verticalradio.org Rojomoke (talk) 23:56, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Now I see it, somehow I missed before. {{cn}} removed from infobox. DES <sup>(talk)</sup> 01:23, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

Samraj

Samraj is tamil film director. born on novamber 18, 1989. He was worked in two tamil movie. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 101.222.239.184 (talk) 17:42, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

If you wish to make a suggestion for an article, please bring sources which cover the subject to WP:RA. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 18:12, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Wiki page has been spammed

Maya civilization

When I go to this link the background picture is pornographic. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.86.157.123 (talk) 18:01, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

I can't see any pornography, so I think the problem may be on your end. Samwalton9 (talk) 18:10, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

I can see no 'pornographic image' in the article - and it doesn't have a 'background picture'. Are you sure you've linked the right article? AndyTheGrump (talk) 18:11, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Thank you for this report. This article, and others, was damaged by vandalism to Template:Library link about earlier today. If you are still seeing a bad version, you may need to bypass your browser cache. -- John of Reading (talk) 18:19, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

A puzzling new Icon

Recently a new icon appeared in the top right corner of the the editing page – just to the right of the log out. It appears to be a pencil with its point on a piece of paper. Wikipedia has become so vast now, with its help and documentation pages, that I can't navigate through it all and find out what it this icon is for, nor how I should take advantage of it. I have tried toggling it off and on but it I still can't understand its purpose (I'm am very old now and have found converting over from my slide rule to the computer very difficult – so, if any one here knows the answer, please explain in simple terms).--Aspro (talk) 18:05, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

what browser are you using? are you using the visual editor? I dont see anything like that in my editing on Chrome. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 18:15, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

I suspect Aspro is referring to the Search and replace icon: (useful for finding and replacing multiple errors). But it is not "new" -- probably just "newly noticed" (?) Sorry, see below

~E: 71.20.250.51 (talk) 18:29, 17 December 2013 (UTC) Modified:71.20.250.51 (talk)

The icon you describe ( or ) should have a mouseover text saying wikEd. See User:Cacycle/wikEd. It can be enabled at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-gadgets. You also have some old code in User:Aspro/monobook.js which is activated if your skin at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-rendering is MonoBook. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:31, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Thanks--Aspro (talk) 17:02, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

Conflict of interest question

An editor recently placed this alert on one of my pages, and information about it on my talk page. This is one of the pieces of information:

"People with a close connection to a subject *are not absolutely prohibited from editing about that subject*, but they need to be especially careful about ensuring their edits are verified by reliable sources and writing with as little bias as possible."

Aren't *all* pages supposed to be neutral and unbiased? Therefore, the "Conflict of Interest" alert is really a moot point. Shouldn't the alert on a page be whether or not the page is unbiased, since, as the instructions themselves say, someone with a Conflict of Interest can still edit a page! (It's just a question for info, by the way. I had hoped by restricting myself from now on to dead artists, I could avoid such acccusations, but apparently that's not the case!)Chiascuro (talk) 19:00, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Yes, all pages are supposed to have a neutral point of view with unbiased content. To give a clear example: I work in a prison, so naturally I will know a lot about how prisons works. I would be a good candidate to contribute to articles about prison. However, as an employee of a prison, I should heed with caution when editing the article about the particular prison I work for. Why? Because as an employee of this particular prison my viewpoints MAY possibly have a biased slant to them and will not be encyclopedic. Skarz (talk) 19:29, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Using easy to understand terminology

Where can I read Wikipedia's policy/guideline on using terminology that is not overly technical and easy for the average reader to understand? Skarz (talk) 19:52, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Are you looking for Wikipedia:Make technical articles understandable or something more like WP:WTF? OMG! TMD TLA. ARG!? - Purplewowies (talk) 19:59, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

First one, thank you! Skarz (talk) 20:09, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Jared Leto

The Wikipedia article/page concerning Mr. Leto contains erroneous information. Jared Leto It states that he was born Jared Bryant, which is not correct. We respectfully request that you please edit the page (and all other articles, including in the article regarding Shannon Leto, Jared’s brother) to correct this information as soon as possible. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Legal Representative (talk • contribs) 20:06, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

The information provided in the article appears to be reliably sourced, though I can't say for certain as it's not in English (I looked at a translated copy). Do you have access to a reliable source that contradicts the existing source? DonIago (talk) 20:53, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

I have removed it from Jared Leto [3] with edit summary: remove "Jared Bryant" claim , the source only says his father is Tony Bryant, my Google hits are Wikipedia mirrors. We shouldn't assume he got his fathers last name if no source says it. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:28, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

What is the difference between undoing an edit and reverting an edit?

What is the difference between undoing an edit and reverting an edit? Or are they the same thing? AmericanLemming (talk) 21:37, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

for the purpose of determining whether or not edit warring is occurring, there is not one bit of difference. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 21:39, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Then, is "reverting" an edit just when you undo an edit and change the "undid revision #n by User:X" edit summary to "reverted revision #n by User:X"? AmericanLemming (talk) 21:51, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

I'm nervous about the TheRedPenOfDoom's answer, depending on why you are asking. Reverting is a broader concept than simply undoing. They are not the same thing. Can you share the context?--S Philbrick(Talk) 21:58, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

See Help:Reverting. If I make an edit, and you make a change to my edit, even if you did not undo all of it, you have reverted. I missed that distinction early in my WP career. I mistkenly thought reverting mean reverting. The terminology is unfortunate.--S Philbrick(Talk) 22:01, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

I undid a revision by an IP editor on Carolina Panthers and asked them to join the discussion on the talk page before removing the restored content again. I didn't see a button on the "History" tab that said "revert", just one saying "undo", and I was wondering how to revert an edit. AmericanLemming (talk) 22:03, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Undoing can be a form of reverting, but reverting can be done in many ways, like undoing, going to an older version of the page and editing it so that any changes after said version are removed, and rollback (along with other semi-automated tools). - Purplewowies (talk) 22:34, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Well, thanks for the help, everyone. I think I understand the distinction now. AmericanLemming (talk) 09:39, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

Early in the morning when i start editing i'll check my watchlist. Some days i'll have an article that has been vandalised multiple times in succession by a person. I'll use Rollback on that to remove every edit in one quick action. If there was only one edit by a person and some of it was terrible, and the other half useful, i'd undo it, but only so that i can remove the half i don't consider useful (saving some time as i don't have to revert and then add half back in). You can also Restore to a previous version if you feel the need, like if there are multiple unhelpful edits to the article in a row. It's all reverting, but for different reasons. Hopefully that helps a bit. Thanks ツ Jenova20 <sup>(email)</sup> 10:00, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

web site

Can I create a business/services web site using wikipedia from my own home office computer. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.74.144.210 (talk) 21:45, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

No, I'm afraid not. Wikipedia is a non-profit website, and its server space is dedicated to creating a compendium of all human knowledge, not hosting business websites. You can create a website using GoogleSites or Wikia, I think. AmericanLemming (talk) 21:53, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

One could use MediaWiki to create a website on your own domain. If you are asking about writing an article about your company here, please see WP:COI. - Purplewowies (talk) 00:30, 18 December 2013 (UTC)