Help desk
< August 15	<< Jul \| August \| Sep >>	August 17 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Help Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current Help Desk pages.

August 16[edit]

“Reception” section best practices[edit]

Do we have a set of best practices for the structure of “Reception” sections, for subjects like media properties? I’ve seen articles that discuss the subject’s reception in general terms with citations reused throughout, and I’ve seen articles that devote a paragraph to discussing each source individually, and I was wondering if there’s any preference or style guidelines about this. Or is it down to local consensus? Thanks. —67.14.236.50 (talk) 01:53, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Like most of Wikipedia, it's mostly left to local consensus. Wikipedia has generic advice about writing better articles, and you can see some more guides at User:Tony1/How to improve your writing. However, I'm not aware of any specific guides for reception sections. Sometimes you can find advice in project-specific style guides, such as MOS:FILM and MOS:VG. Discussing a work's reception in general terms often gives the best overview, but it's difficult to do so without synthesis. It takes practice to train yourself out of saying stuff like, "The film received mixed reviews." On any site other than Wikipedia, this would probably be an obvious statement, but here it's forbidden unless explicitly sourced. NinjaRobotPirate (talk) 04:10, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Lists of sources from the same author?[edit]

When using shortened citations, the sources are given in a list at the end. I seem to remember reading somewhere in the MoS that when we have several works by the same author, Wikipedia prefers to give the name again, rather than ---. For example (MLA author-date): In an academic dissertation, we'd use:

Bloggs, Joe. 2011. How to Cite. London: Methuen.
---. 2016. Citations. London: Penguin.

But I think Wikipedia prefers:

Bloggs, Joe. 2011. How to Cite. London: Methuen.
Bloggs, Joe. 2016. Citations. London: Penguin.

Could someone please point me to the MoS section/article that says which is preferable? Many thanks, • DP • ^{huh?} 03:46, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The most applicable guideline would be WP:IBID. The problem is that you don't know whether someone else will insert text between your two sources. NinjaRobotPirate (talk) 04:22, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for the response, but it doesn't answer my question and it's not there in the section linked to. It's not a quetion about citations, but about the list of sources at the end of the article: should I use ---. or not? Many thanks, • DP • ^{huh?} 18:56, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

That's what my response was about. WP:IBID advises against the use of abbreviations in citations because you don't know whether the "ibid" will remain where you originally placed it. Similarly, you don't know whether someone will remove one of your sources, sort the list by date, or insert something between your sources. In a PDF document, you don't have to worry about people modifying your list of sources, but it's a real possibility on Wikipedia. Sometimes you have to use your best judgment and interpret the spirit of the guidelines instead of looking for bureaucratic rules. NinjaRobotPirate (talk) 20:19, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I see -- I didn't understand that the references to ibid were a comparison. Thanks for that, and yes, of course, in lieu of specific guidance. But I am pretty sure that I have read specific guidance on it somewhere, only it's been a few years since I last edited and can't recall/find where. • DP • ^{huh?} 20:30, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Portal:Military of India[edit]

What's happened out there?? Can someone correct it? Varun FEB2003 ^{I am Online} 12:30, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I don't see an issue, the portal is in the same unfinished state it's been for the last 5 years and none of the major template pages it uses have been edited in the last month. What is the problem you are experiencing? Nanonic (talk) 13:08, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Special:PrefixIndex/Portal:Military of India shows the portal doesn't have the pages needed for a selected article/biography/picture feature. The page histories indicate this is an abandoned one-man project from 2009. The portal does not seem suited for links from mainspace so I have removed the link in {{Military of India}}. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:47, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Help[edit]

Hi there, i would like to ask if some wants to help me with this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Acrotec_Group — Preceding unsigned comment added by Swissfrance (talk • contribs) 15:11, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I would suggest asking at WP:COMPANIES or WP:BUSINESS for this as they are the experts douts (talk) 20:57, 17 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

HSBC Bank Bermuda Limited - requires editing[edit]

August 16th, 2016

Please note that the information as it relates to HSBC Bank Bermuda Limited is not current. For current information, please refer to www.hsbc.bm > About HSBC.

Angela Cotterill, Communications Manager, HSBC Bank Bermuda Limited. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 161.113.20.135 (talk) 15:41, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, Angela. Thank you for raising this here, and for not going in and editing it yourself. I assume you are talking about HSBC Bank Bermuda (it would have been helpful if you had identified the article). The best way of getting it updated is by starting a new section on the article's Talk page Talk:HSBC Bank Bermuda, requesting the changes you would like to see made. Be as specific as you can (even suggesting the text), and give citations to reliable published sources, preferably sources independent of the bank, for every piece of information you give. Since there is little traffic to that article, it would be worth adding {{edit request}} (with the double curly brackets) to your suggestion: that will bring it to more people's attention. In time a volunteer unconnected with the bank will see your suggestions, and will decide whether and how to apply them to the article, bearing in mind our policies of verifiability and neutral point of view. --ColinFine (talk) 18:48, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Copied to WT:COMPANIES douts (talk) 21:15, 17 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Help! I need a file revived![edit]

I need a file that was deleted from Wikipedia after being published. I forgot to save it to my pc documents. I need it for school work. It was called The Double Alternative. I had an argument with the admin that deleted it and he said he gave it back but he didn't. Then I was banned from responding. Any help's appreciated. This published work is an unmatched alternative to creation. The Big Bang Theory doesn't really compare. Thank you very much.

*9HSE2* (talk) 20:46, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Hi *9HSE2* are you the same user as HSO922016 who asked about the same article at User talk:Widr? If so, as that account is blocked, you must not create more accounts, as this is sockpuppetry- instead, go back to your original account and request an unblock. Joseph2302 20:56, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Also, please refrain from using Wikipedia as a host for unrelated stuff, we don't host schoolwork here. Nitpick: Widr, http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html is not copyrighted ({{PD-USGov}} or {{PD-laws}}, either applies) and thus an article copied from there is not eligible for G12. Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk, contributions) 21:01, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Traducción del ingles[edit]

Hay una tema cuyo contenido esta en la versión del idioma ingles, yo lo veo traducido al castellano mediante el navegador, pero hago a editar o sugerir si la pagina no existe en español ?..... puedo guardar una copia de ese tema, traducida y corregida?

Saludo y gracias de antemano. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Richard R Richard (talk • contribs) 22:21, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

According to Google Translate, the above text reads:

There is a topic whose content is in the English language version, I see it translated into Castilian by the browser, but I suggest editing or if the page does not exist in Spanish? ..... I save a copy of that issue, translated and edited?

Greeting and thanks in advance.

And I would say that you want to take a look at WP:TRANSLATE. †Dismas†|^(talk) 00:22, 17 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

You could also try this page: [1], which I believe is spanish wikipedia help desk. RudolfRed (talk) 00:45, 17 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]