Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2018 July 13

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July 13[edit]

Exclude subpages in search[edit]

Is there a way to search for a topic in top-level pages only? This would be useful if you wanted to exclude archived discussions. (Please {{ping}} me when replying.), YBG (talk) 00:40, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

YBG: If you click on Wikipedia's search facility without entering any text, you get to a page where you can do a search while specifying what types of page to search; so you can select "(Article)" only, with no discussion pages etc. Alternatively you can use Google to search within Wikipedia, it only indexes articles so it shouldn't find you anything from Wikipedia discussion pages. Maproom (talk) 08:12, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Maproom: That doesn't really help. I was trying to find current stuff in MOS or WP without the clutter of old discussions. YBG (talk) 21:07, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know a general method but adding -intitle:Archive to the search may be good enough for your purpose. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:32, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@PrimeHunter: That's a great idea, and may be event better for the purpose I wanted than what I tried: -intitle:/ which didn't seem to work. YBG (talk) 21:07, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Kevin Stocker page has false info under post playing career[edit]

Could you please delete the info under the Post Playing Career of Kevin Stocker. None of the info about the Kruk and towel stuff ever happened. All false. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1003:B002:D512:F0B7:FA7D:BC2C:87CF (talk) 01:59, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Looks like it was only put up in the last day or so. Anyways, its gone now, as there was no reference and a quick google didnt bring anything up. Curdle (talk) 03:20, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Well this is embarrasing[edit]

So this genius reset his password a couple months ago, and has managed to forget the passwords to both his Wikipedia account and associated e-mail. While I chose the option to stay logged in for 365 days, which gives me several months still, I'd love to figure out how to resolve this before I'm locked out of my account. Any way to remove my associated e-mail address? The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 02:09, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Presumably you have already explored options for recovering access to the email? Monty845 02:16, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
AFAIK, Blade, you've screwed the pooch. Seriously, though, you have my sincere sympathy. --Orange Mike | Talk 02:18, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Perhaps. I do have a different e-mail I used with this account from 2012 through most of 2014 which I can still access, and if all else fails I can keep trying to get into this one. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 02:22, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Certainly not a great option, but if all else fails, you should probably be able to convince a crat to transfer your user rights to a new account. Monty845 02:40, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
There's that. But it still seems like there should be a less drastic solution. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 02:46, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
If I can create an account using this one, and use an attached e-mail, maybe that'd work? Plus I have a committed identity. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 03:12, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Since you have advanced user rights, you can create a phab: request for a new email address to be stored for your account. They want proof you are the real user but that should be possible when you are already logged in. The only example request I could find is phab:T176480 but there are others. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:28, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Since for some reason I'm only logged in on enwiki I did it via e-mail, from the address I used to use with this account. Hopefully that sets things into motion. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 12:59, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I'd forgotten how confusing I find the interface there, so I have no idea if it went through, but at least I tried. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 15:29, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Is the email account a paid for one? Their support is usually more helpful because it means retaining a customer. I know how you feel though, it took me five years to get one account back, after the company involved killed the free email account it was tied to. - X201 (talk) 13:13, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I wish I had been smart enough to do that, but it's a free Gmail. The old one associated with my account, which I used for Phabricator, is an AOL. Awaiting a response there, hoping I did it right. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 13:30, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry - please restore the info. etc that I accidently removed when trying to replace a file. 203.39.128.90 (talk) 04:14, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

 Done Please be more careful next time. ~ Abelmoschus Esculentus (talk to me) 04:15, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Can I annotate my contributions list?[edit]

Is there any way I can add publicly-viewable notes to edits on my contributions page? Sort of like edit summaries, but added after the fact? It's just that I made some edits when I was really young (as early as 11 years old) that I'm kind of embarrassed to leave there without context because, besides being against Wikipedia policies (which I didn't know back then), they're clearly motivated by something so counter to how I feel now. I don't want the edits removed from my page (if that's even possible), as I'd rather leave them there for posterity, plus they are pretty funny and quite ironic. But I would like anyone who looks at them to see the proper context behind it. If there's no way I can add notes to my previous contributions myself, would there be any way for an admin or sysop to retroactively modify my edit summaries or something? All I really need is some way to publicly post something that will be visible on my contribs page when sorted by "oldest".

Oh, and don't think I don't know exactly where you're headed right now. Here's a link, to save you the trouble. Specifically, the edits I'm referring to are the ones that removed things like profanity and nudity, with descriptions that made it sound like I'm greatly in favor of censorship. Which of course, now, I'm quite against. I think my motivation was that I was paranoid my parents would see that stuff and tell me I'm not allowed to use Wikipedia, so I wanted to remove the stuff from Wikipedia. XD

flarn2006 [u t c] time: 04:30, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

  • I know of no way to annotate your contributions. I suspect that anyone who cared about them would likely visit you user page, so your best approach would be to write a little history there of your experiences of growing up as a Wikipedia editor. -Arch dude (talk) 04:57, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • It's possible for admins to hide edits and/or their summaries in the histories of articles, but the circumstances are quite specific, such as copyright infringements, and wouldn't cover your situation. I think Arch dude's suggestion is the best way forward. Jimfbleak - talk to me? 05:42, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • Okay, that's what I'll do. Thank you. flarn2006 [u t c] time: 17:58, 14 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Please remove the "dubious" after ref number 51 - I have added a valid citation. I have done it now - I hope it is OK; it ties in well with the current text. Thanks 203.39.128.90 (talk) 04:44, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This has been  Fixed by the OP. Eagleash (talk) 08:49, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Changes won't save[edit]

I'm obviously doing something wrong and ready to tear my hair out. I've now spent hours trying to update a bio. I've followed all instructions, made the changes, everything looked good. I clicked the PUBLISH box. When I tried to leave the page to READ the article, a pop-up window said "Changes may not be saved" if I left the window. Sure enough--they weren't. I tried editing again. After I made all the changes again and tried to PUBLISH, I got a message that someone else was trying to edit the article at the same time (probably me), and I had to compare my changes to what was currently published and merge my changes into the current article in order for them to be saved. I did that and clicked PUBLISH. Same thing--nothing updated. What do I need to do to save the updates? — Preceding unsigned comment added by AbbyMcClure (talkcontribs) 07:01, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I've had an edit conflict with myself in the past (possibly because of my slow internet connection), but you did successfully make two edits. These were reverted. Please find WP:Reliable sources for your changes. I note that you have not declared your WP:Conflict of interest in the article you were editing. It might be better to suggest the changes on the talk page of Doris Day. Dbfirs 07:06, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Where to put an abbreviation definition[edit]

So I come across a mysterious abbreviation, EIIN, in an article about a school. I've established to my own satisfaction that this stands for "Educational Institute Identification Number" and is assigned by the Bangladeshi government to schools there. Several articles reference either 'EIIN' or variations of the fuller name.

Neither the Ministry of Education (Bangladesh) and Education in Bangladesh talk about this EIIN, and unfortunately the Bangladesh Ministry of Education site is all in Bengali.

Refs:

The ministry said the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BENBEIS) would not provide the Educational Institute Identification Number (EIIN) to an institution set up without prior permission. [1]
Dhaka, Sep 25 (UNB)- Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (Banbeis) on Monday launched a service through which Educational Institute Identification Number (EIIN) could be collected through online application. [2]
The upazila or thana education officers have been assigned to open institution wise Educational Institute Identification Number (EIIN) and Monthly Payment Order (MPO) Institute Code for preservation of necessary application documents. [3]

I would really like to point all the uses of EIIN in articles here to some definition. Should that be a separate page that is essentially a stub? Should I create a stub section within Ministry of Education (Bangladesh)? Other suggestions? Shenme (talk) 07:07, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

  • In my opinion (which is thoroughly uninformed about Bengladeshi topics) the refs you showed are enough to support a short section at Ministry of Education (Bangladesh), to which you can then redirect EEIN; you can then wikilink EEIN appearances in other articles. I doubt a standalone article would hold water, as EEIN does not seem notable to me (again, based on the sources you presented); but a short section need not be about a notable topic, the bar of WP:DUEWEIGHT is much lower. As for the location, since EEIN is an administrative concept, I would argue it belongs to the "ministry" rather than the "education" article. TigraanClick here to contact me 08:36, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The three-revert rule[edit]

where do I complain when a user breaks "The three-revert rule"? How do I notify admin?Τζερόνυμο (talk) 08:49, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Τζερόνυμο Hi, I believe this is about Souliotes article. 3RRR could be reported at WP:AN3. Please You must notify any user you have reported by inserting {{subst:an3-notice}} on the user talk page. Thank you. CASSIOPEIA(talk) 11:26, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Non-free image[edit]

Recently, I uploaded a non-free image of a living Pakistani politician but it was tagged for deletion by ZI Jony who says the file should be replaceable with a free licensed image because it is of a living person. I tried to explain him on my talk page that there is no free equivalent available yet and the copyright holder is not willing to release it under the Wikipedia compatible license. Please suggest if this non-free image can be kept in the absence of free-licensed image? --Saqib (talk) 13:07, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

  • @Saqib: Unfortunately, no. The fine print of WP:NFCC #1 says Non-free content is used only where no free equivalent is available, or could be created (...) which has long been understood here to mean that no photography of a living person will be accepted (since someone could in theory go ask the subject, take their photo, and release the rights). In my minority opinion, that rule should be relaxed in certain cases, but here I would think that a (former) Pakistani MP is not a recluse hermit who cannot be approached. TigraanClick here to contact me 16:43, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Question about page mover[edit]

Hello. I was planning on request the page mover permission once I get to 3,000 edits. As I am involved with WP:Requested moves, and also has moved some pages myself. Just one question though. Does consensus have to go my way in the votes that I propose in order to get the permission? I know quite a few of my RM's have not been unsuccessful, but my RM's are all good faith, so I was just wondering. Your help will be appreciated. Thanks. The Duke of NonsenseWhat is necessary for thee?. 16:51, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

My Archive[edit]

My archive on my talk page only shows 1 archive. I have a second archive which I originally called "2" but I renamed it to "2017". It's not showing up. How can it be fixed to show as "2017"? And can you fix it so that my first archive which is named "1" shows up as "2012 - 2016"? Thank You...

Roberto221 (talk) 19:40, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@Roberto221: I'm pretty sure the auto parameter only detects numbers. The first archive (2012 - 2016) shows up because User talk:Roberto221/Archive 1 redirects to it. The second archive, 2017, doesn't - but you can solve this by creating User talk:Roberto211/Archive 2 as a redirect to that page, or moving the page to the /Archive 2 title. Hope this helps!--SkyGazer 512 Oh no, what did I do this time? 19:55, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Roberto221: I have used Template:Archives#Archive list to create User talk:Roberto221/archivelist and use it in User talk:Roberto221.[4] I see you have now created User talk:Roberto221/Archive 2012 and User:Roberto221/Archive 2012. Talk page archives should be subpages of the talk page. Can I delete User:Roberto221/Archive 2012? If you want User talk:Roberto221/Archive 2012 to be linked in the archive box then you must manually edit User talk:Roberto221/archivelist. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:17, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Wrong Museum Title[edit]

The museum recently changed its name from Old Coast Guard Station to Virginia Beach Surf & Rescue Museum. We are unable to edit/fix the name to show the correct name. The info in the article is correct in using Virginia Beach Surf & Rescue Museum. The photo is also incorrect, as it shows the older sign.

Please help us edit the name? Thank You. Virginia Beach Surf & Rescue Museum staff. — Preceding unsigned comment added by VBSRM (talkcontribs) 20:18, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@VBSRM: Old Coast Guard Station Museum has been moved to Virginia Beach Surf & Rescue Museum. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:38, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I have just tagged the article as a WP:COATRACK as it contains very little information about the museum itself. Meanwhile it has fairly detailed sections about topics such as the history of the USCG and related organizations. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 22:27, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

hostile and misleading information placed in my biography[edit]

Niall O'Dowd biography: Incorrect and hostile information entered into my biography I discussed this with a volunteer this am who was helpful.The person who entered the edit gave an Irish language handle that literally means "Man without a name" I am accused of being a racist, after 25 years working with many ethnic groups on immigration reform.I recently consulted with the Haitian News newspaper in NYC on how to improve their publication. I am proud to have hired African American employees.I am accused of being an unofficial mouthpiece for the IRA which is ridiculous and dangerous and I am attacked by an anti-Irish immigrant woman. Here is some of what I said and your volunteer's response [email address redacted] 8:45 AM (8 hours ago) to me

[08:17] <Thomond> the people quoted in this new version are Ed Moloney an implacable enemy of the Irish peace process as he wanted the mayhem to continue and he deeply resented my work. 2, Liam Hogan a man with no academic credentials whatever even though he tries to invent them and Trina Vargo an outspoken critic of migrants from Ireland [08:19] <Thomond> Its like asking Donald Trump his opinion of Hillary Clinton and then presenting it as authoritative [08:19] <@slakr> right; those are editorial problems. It's quite likely unacceptable if the sources are that severely biased, but that's a decision that's made via research and in-depth knowledge of the topic, which isn't clear-cut defamatory issues [08:20] <Thomond> so what can i do short of trying to remove my page which Ii hate to do but I am not recognizable in this new and very damaging portrayal of me [08:21] <Thomond> can I add the following paragraphs were inserted by and say known biased sources ? [08:22] <@slakr> I think the main thing is that several of those sections/issues are probably inappropriate to have on the BLP unless they're directly covering you — Preceding unsigned comment added by Thurles2 (talkcontribs) 22:22, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

What article are we talking about here? Do you claim to be Kieran McLoughlin, or Niall O'Dowd, or who? Why have you not been discussing this on the talk page of the article, with (of course) full disclosure of your identity if you are the subject of the article? --Orange Mike | Talk 22:32, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • Please see our policy on biographies of living people: WP:BLP. Unreferenced assertions should be removed immediately. You appear to meet our definition of having a conflict of interest: please see WP:COI. Therefore, you should not edit the article yourself, but instead add a new section to the article's talk page suggesting recommended changes, with references to reliable sources (WP:RS) for any new material. A mere assertion that unreferenced existing material is incorrect is all we need to remove it for you, but we will not in general remove material that is referenced to a reliable source. You may dispute the reliability of a source, or point to another reliable source that disputes a referenced assertion. Please place the magic incantation {{edit request}} (with the brackets) on your new section in the article's talk page: this will attract the attention of an editor who will come along and edit the article for you. -Arch dude (talk) 00:49, 14 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]