Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2015 May 4

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May 4

Distances as time

Every so often, I come across an article which denotes the distance one place is from another in terms of driving time, rather than in miles or kilometers. (An example: "Keystone College is located 25 minutes from Scranton, and two hours and twenty minutes from New York City and Philadelphia".) To me, this seems awkward and inaccurate. Driving time can vary with any number of conditions, while distance is constant. When I see these in articles, should I change them?    → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 01:42, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Very definitely; and thanks for caring. --Orange Mike | Talk 03:15, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Thank you, Orange Mike. I have corrected it on that article, and I will do so on others that I find.    → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 14:55, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Help:Cite errors/Cite error ref no key

Done (i think) in 1111 Lincoln Road - the ref tag had no ending ">" character. Help:Referencing for beginners has some good basic information, if you are new in Wikipedia referencing. Regards. GermanJoe (talk) 01:51, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

phrase search tool

Is there a tool somewhere that would allow me to find all articles that contain a specific phrase or word? For instance, if I wanted to find all instances of the word "irregardless" in order to replace them with "regardless" or find all instances of a certain idiom so that I could rewrite it to exclude that idiom. Is there a tool out there that can do that?— Preceding unsigned comment added by Sesamehoneytart (talk • contribs)

Frankly, when doing something like that I use an external search engine restricted to page results at wikipedia.org. --Orange Mike | Talk 02:52, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

@Sesamehoneytart: The "Search" box in the top right will find all uses of the word irregardless and by putting a phrase in double quote marks you can get all uses of a "specific phrase" using those words in that order. If you are looking to automate the change you suggest, there's AutoWikiBrowser. It requires registration before use because it has the potential to cause a lot of havoc. Using that you could quickly go through the whole encyclopedia changing irregardless to regardless, but you can't do that because sometimes the former is the intended word. Does that answer your question?  SchreiberBike | ⌨  03:38, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

I was hoping there was something out there in the tools lab, but I think the double quotes could work for my purpose, which is to find uses of certain idioms and replace them with a more proper description. For instance, a search for "tip of the iceberg" brings up legitimate uses for the phrase, such as an explanation of the origin of the phrase in the Iceberg article and certain musical albums given that name, but it also brings up articles where the phrase is used as an idiom, such as Culture of Sarajevo article that states that certain pop rock bands are "arguably the greatest Yugoslav rock bands of all time but are only the tip of the iceberg."Sesamehoneytart 16:06, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Fixing clusters of problems

I took out some unneeded spaces at Zemitāni–Skulte Railway and a template that it uses (by similar name but with spaces around the dash). Then I noticed that in its category there are 6 or so other Railway articles that have unneeded spaces around dashes in their titles. Is there some good way to do a consistent bulk operation to fix all of these at once, including the templates and links connected to them? Also, I don't see why "Railway" is capitalized on these. These do not appear to be proper nouns (at least, I can't find them anywhere on the web other than wikipedia and its copies). How should I proceed to make these more consistent with how Wikipedia usually does things? Timmeredgar (talk) 02:59, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

@Timmeredgar: Wikipedia has its own rules for writing style, but if you are confident that you understand our Manual of Style in general and MOS:DASH in particular, be bold and make corrections. You may be interested in copy editing and that's great because there are a lot (understatement) of writing errors in Wikipedia. There are tools like AutoWikiBrowser which assist with making changes in bulk, but their use is restricted to experienced editors.  SchreiberBike | ⌨  03:50, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

I am not that confident yet, but so far what I am doing seems to be meeting with approval, or at least acceptance. Are there editors who know how to use AWB who would be interested in hearing about problem clusters to work on? Timmeredgar (talk) 04:10, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

@Timmeredgar: If there are many of them, then it might be worth figuring out how to do it with automation, but if there are fewer, it might be easier to do manually. I don't know how hard it would be to automate, but if you can define the problem pretty well, the place to ask would be Wikipedia:AutoWikiBrowser/Tasks. Keep up the good work.  SchreiberBike | ⌨  04:34, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

@Timmeredgar: it can be useful to raise questions at the talk page of the relevant WikiProjects, in this case WT:TWP. Mjroots (talk) 20:36, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Snake River (Massachusetts)

This is a report of sophomoric vandalism event: Names of people (perhaps real) in off-topic &/or fabricated activities (eg: shitting in river causes fish die-off) have been added to this page: Snake River (Massachusetts) Tickerhead (talk) 03:11, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

18 April edit reverted. Thank you. You can do this yourself, btw. ―Mandruss ☎ 03:16, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Misuse of Wikipedia as a web host

hai
my name is vincy stephen.i got a message showing that

"This page has been deleted. The deletion and move log for the page are provided below for reference.

• 14:29, 2 May 2015 RHaworth (talk | contribs) deleted page User:Vincy stephen (U5: Blatant misuse of Wikipedia as a web host)"

what should i do to upload my content — Preceding unsigned comment added by Vincy stephen (talk • contribs)

See your own talk page for an explanation. Maproom (talk) 06:11, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

A better explanation is that U5 is typically cited when a user uses their user page to create an autobiography. Please see Wikipedia:User pages for acceptable use of user pages.

I see that you have now created a sandbox draft at User:Vincy stephen/sandbox. Please see Wikipedia:Your first article for guidelines on creating articles. Although writing about yourself is not absolutely forbidden, it is a frustrating experience. —teb728 t c 08:15, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Why isn't Media Viewer working?

I've tried to use Media viewer on some images in different pages, but all it shows is a black screen and I have to reload the page. Can you please help? IllogicMink (talk) 07:33, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

It's OK, it's fine now. IllogicMink (talk) 07:56, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

How do I remove the word Sandbox after my site address?

Can anyone please suggest me How to remove the word Sandbox after the site address...? eg : xxxyyyzzz/sandbox - wikipedia.com is displayed if I type xxxyyyzzz in google Thanks in Advance.. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.166.210.150 (talk) 10:12, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Hello, 122.166.210.150. It's a bit hard to tell what's going on because you haven't given us the real name, so we can't look at it, so I'll have to answer in general terms. "Sandbox" is not "after the site address", it is part of the name of the page, and it is probably a user sandbox - a page that a user has created to develop an article in. So for example, I could have a user sandbox and it would be User:ColinFine/sandbox (I haven't got one, which is why that is in red). When a draft article in a sandbox is ready to go into the main encyclopaedia, the page needs to be moved; or, better, submitted for review. If that's your situation, please come back here and ask for more help with the specific page identified.

However, your question seems to imply that you are expecting the bit before the /sandbox - what you've referred to as xxxyyyzzz - to be the target name for the article. It isn't. It is (almost certainly) the name of the Wikipedia account that created the sandbox. If it is a draft article about the writer, please read autobiography for why it is very strongly discouraged to write about yourself. --ColinFine (talk) 11:01, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Repeated links to a given page

If for example an author is mentioned several times in different paragraphs, how many time can we link to the author's page, once per page, once per paragraph ? Is there policy about it ?--lxndr (talk) 10:17, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Generally it's once per article (see WP:OVERLINK). However, there may be a link in the infobox and a link in the article, and if it is a long article, more than one link might be warranted. As a rule of thumb, never two links to the same page in a paragraph, or in paragraphs that are close together. Johnuniq (talk) 10:31, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Captcha

Why did I have to go through a captcha in order for http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Maxwell_Hetherington&type=revision&diff=660760720&oldid=659599787 to work? 65.210.65.16 (talk) 13:03, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Probably because a GND identifier in a Wikidata edit [1] had not propagated to the Authority control template at the bottom of the article where it causes an external link. The whole article is rerendered when it's edited and the software compares all external links after the edit to the last time the article was rendered. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:42, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

To put it another way: It wasn't anything you did in that edit. It was just a weird side effect of the complexity of Wikipedia. Yaris678 (talk) 17:18, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Mechanical work

Hello! When filling images of stamps on the Commons there is a need for a set of cross references. Perhaps, they can be divided into 3 groups: 1) galleries of versions; 2) templates of series; 3) archives and miniatures. It is purely mechanical work. With pleasure I will look after the volunteer, temporary or constant. --Matsievsky (talk) 13:27, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Hello @Matsievsky:, I am not entirely sure what you are suggesting. But if your idea is about stamp images hosted on Commons, you should post your suggestion, or requests for help, at Commons:Commons:Help desk. Commons and English Wikipedia (and all other Wiki projects as well) are separate projects with separate rules and forums. GermanJoe (talk) 17:30, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Archiving Talk:Data comparison

Does anyone know why the archiving at Talk:Data comparison isn't working? I think I must've configured it wrong, but I can't see the mistake. Yaris678 (talk) 17:00, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Hello @Yaris678:, it looks like an algo of 1,600d (days) is defined. That value should be a lot lower to get the archive going (something between 1 month or 2-3 months is common). GermanJoe (talk) 17:04, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

(edit conflict) @Yaris678: Potentially the 1600d value in a parameter. Reduce it to within living memory, perhaps Fiddle Faddle 17:06, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the suggestion, guys. The talk page is infrequently used. Any idea what the maximum age I can specify is? Yaris678 (talk) 17:13, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

@Yaris678: Look at it differently. What is the age after which you want to archive the page? And remember that the bot runs when it runs. This is not instant gratification. Fiddle Faddle 17:16, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

I think you can work out the answer to that question: it's 1600 days. I'm not expecting anything instant, but I'm pretty sure the bot is ignoring the page as it's done lots of other archiving since I set up archiving on this one. If no one knows the maximum age, I'm going to try 999 days. It could be a character limit. Yaris678 (talk) 17:27, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

In general there is a requirement/tacit agreement for a consensus to be reached on the archiving of article talk pages. Usually the process is applied to busy pages where there is a genuine need to declutter and archive old conversations. Looking this talk page it seems to me that there is no obvious rationale for archival. So, gosh, yes, I can see that you want 1600 days. I am not entirely stupid. It was easy to work out. I suppose you have done the arithmetic. But I do not see a reason to archive the talk page of that article. Fiddle Faddle 17:32, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Michael Deacon (Journalist)

I have received a message alleging interference with an entry about Michael Deacon (Journalist). This was not done by me, nor do I share my computer. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.65.55.154 (talk • contribs) 17:05, 4 May 2015‎

It seems you allowed access to your machine, in that case, or have a variable IP address. The contributions record from your IP address is likely to be correct. Fiddle Faddle 17:09, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

The unregistered editor almost certainly has a dynamic IP address; most IP addresses are dynamic. The edit was almost certainly made from that IP address. What many unregistered editors and some registered editors do not know is that most IP addresses are dynamic. (To be sure, many unregistered editors are certain that their IP addresses are static, but most of them are mistaken. In particular, IPv4 addresses are usually dynamic, because IPv4 addresses have been exhausted.) The edit in question to Michael Deacon (journalist) was made a month ago, and most ISPs reassign IP addresses after an interval of time. I have some advice for the Original Poster / IP. First, register an account. It has several advantages, and many of the reasons why unregistered editors choose not to register are based on misconceptions. Second, if, after being advised to register an account, you choose not to do so, but to edit from an IP address, understand that your IP address may change, and, for that reason, you may either get template messages for edits you did not make, or even be blocked due to vandalism from an IP address that has been reassigned to you. You state that you did not make the edit and do not share the computer. However, you are, possibly without your knowledge, sharing the IP address, because it doesn't belong to you or your computer, but to your ISP. If you have problems due to being an unregistered editor, they are due to being an unregistered editor, and can, in general, be avoided by registration. Robert McClenon (talk) 17:23, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

captcha

Hi, how can I get rid of the capthca? It is really annoying that I have to type it after every single edit I do... --Vince (talk) 19:29, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Make one more edit. You have made nine edits. You will be auto-confirmed after making ten edits. Robert McClenon (talk) 20:04, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

However, if a new registered user has to pass captcha, why can unregistered users avoid captcha? Is it only certain edits where this new user is having to do captcha? Robert McClenon (talk) 20:06, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

I'm guessing Vince hasn't had to do CAPTCHA for all edits. For example, this edit has no external link in it and so won't attract CAPTCHA, unlike this edit.

I think newly registered and unregistered users are treated the same in that they both are asked to do CAPTCHA if their edit adds an external link.

Yaris678 (talk) 06:11, 5 May 2015 (UTC)

I've registered about 9 years ago on the Hungarian Wikipedia. It is just SUL that makes me a newby here :) (it took a little time to complete) --Vince (talk) 10:33, 5 May 2015 (UTC)

Estas Tonne on Wiki

Dear Wikipedia Editing team, This is a representative of Estas Tonne (musician) writing. An article about Estas was set up in Wiki in Portuguese by one of his fans - http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estas_Tonne (Title: "Estas Tonne").

Estas is not approving of the text and the picture used. Could you please suspend the article until we publish a proper one (with the content agreed with Estas Tonne himself) in English - then to be translated in Portuguese?

If not possible, could you at least change the picture used in the article since it is very outdated. New photo: https://pp.vk.me/c607930/v607930683/5f0/tnWDzJ3n0AA.jpg

Lithuania, 2013. Photo by Gary Dagys

File:Estas Tonne photo for the article

Lithuania, 2013. Photo by Gary Dagys

Thank you very much, kind regards, Naya ETMusic— Preceding unsigned comment added by EstasTonne (talk • contribs)

We're not the Portuguese Wikipedia. We have no control over them. If we did, the article would probably be deleted for not having adequately supported with independent and professional journalistic or academic sources. We would also ask you to avoid editing the article due to your conflict of interest. Also, the photo would need to be donated by the copyright holder of the photo (which is probably Gary Dagys), or otherwise released for all kinds of public uses. Ian.thomson (talk) 19:55, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Also, if you are not Estas Tonne, your user name is a violation of the user name policy which prohibits the use of the name of a real person unless you are that person.--ukexpat (talk) 21:05, 4 May 2015 (UTC)