Help desk
< November 19	<< Oct \| November \| Dec >>	November 21 >

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.

November 20[edit]

Purpose of editing[edit]

Hello: What is the point in editing Wikipedia? What do we get out of making appropriate corrections and adding content? Stapmoshun (talk) 01:24, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

☞ Question duplicated at Wikipedia:Teahouse#Purpose of editing – Thjarkur (talk) 02:10, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia is a place where people should be able to learn various things (since it is an encyclopedia), and we need to use good grammar because otherwise professional people using this Wiki will get confused. The more we edit this place, the more info and the more knowledge for the world. Good grammar is just something that's necessary in any writing to make it less confusing. Nambaseking01 (talk) 11:19, 23 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Need some quick help, please![edit]

I've just taken ages to compile a whole lot of evidence to start an SPI, typed into the box provided by Twinkle, but just got the message "Retrieving discussion page: Failed to save edit: ⧼titleblacklist-custom-SPI⧽". I've tried to get onto the online IRC help, but its just whirring away and not loading. Can anyone advise if there's a way to save that data I submitted? Laterthanyouthink (talk) 05:52, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, ignore that - I've just discovered the other Twinkle option, using Sockpuppeteer, which seems to have a better interface, and I'm just painstakingly copying and pasting from my very useful Clipdiary app... Laterthanyouthink (talk) 06:00, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

How to create/register a new WIKIPEDIA page[edit]

Hi,

I want to create a new WIKIPWDIA page for my great grandfather Seth Mai Dayal on WIKIPEDIA. He has reference of his name in below Wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maham

Can you please let me know how can i create the same? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.220.230.151 (talk) 08:37, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

You'll find advice at WP:Your first article. As you are related (though rather distantly) to the subject you also ought to read about conflict of interest. --David Biddulph (talk) 09:08, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

If your subject Seth Mai Dayal is notable by our specific definition (see:WP:N) then we want a Wikipedia article, and we will help you make it better. If he is not notable, we will delete any such article, no matter how good it is otherwise, so please start by finding reliable sources (WP:RS) that establish his notability before you waste your time and ours on a futile effort. Good luck! I hope you succeed. -Arch dude (talk) 14:08, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Referencing[edit]

Dear Everybody

I submitted an article by means of "paste and copy". The article was extensively referenced (74 endnotes. To my dismay I discovered that all references (numbers in text at the appropriate places) disappeared from the text on the Wiki page. I then "pasted and copied" all my references in the section "References", but there was (of course) no connection to the main text. I then got a message from one of your editors to the effect that my text was not acceptable because it lacked references. Is there a way to insert the text with references into the Wiki, or do I really need to go through the (complex) process of referencing you outline on your "help pages" all over again? I should like to add that I hold a PhD in Philosophy and have published some books, so am very familiar with the process of and need for referencing.

MBM5427 (talk) 14:28, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Courtesy link: Draft:Robert M. Walter. MBM5427, is your original text saved in a Word document or in some other format? – Thjarkur (talk) 14:59, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed – Automatically converting Endnote citations to Wikipedia citations isn't supported yet, but it can be done with some scripting. You may find it easier to use the VisualEditor directly next time, but it is up to you. – Thjarkur (talk) 16:47, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Donations[edit]

I am more than willing to help Wikipedia.org remain completely free of external influences, but I would like to know that this organization will remain 100% unbiased concerning any and all information it posts. I also understand that all people are biased to some extent, but I believe that having to oppositely biased people proofread an article is another way to remain unbiased. Free information is the greatest gift we can give our children, and that information’s accuracy is my greatest concern.

-respectfully, Taft J. Green of NC — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1004:B03E:6347:BC91:50D1:7F73:191C (talk) 15:13, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Article editors are all volunteers, the Wikimedia Organization mainly covers legal and hosting and does not intervene in content matters. The foundation has enough money as it is and does not need more donations, the best way you can help would be to become an editor yourself :) – Thjarkur (talk) 15:19, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, Taft. I'm not quite clear what response you are looking for, but if you are wanting to make a suggestion for improving how Wikipedia operates, the best place to do that is the Village Pump - probably the "Proposals" section. --ColinFine (talk) 16:00, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

100% unbiased is an impossible standard for pretty much everything. Clarityfiend (talk) 21:01, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

All Wikipedia editors (about 100,000 of us in the last 30 days) are unpaid volunteers, each of whom does whatever they wish to do, subject only to review by other editors who try to correct any breach of our policies and guidelines by reverting edits and discussing them to reach consensus (WP:BOD). This chaotic process is surprisingly effective. You are an editor, and you wish to counter bias in articles. You will be most effective by actually editing biased articles to add reliably sourced (WP:RS) opposing views and by removing unsourced biased statements. You can also add {{npov}} tags, but that is the lazy approach: you are merely asking other editors to do the work. You can also join the WP:Countering systematic bias project if you feel it addresses the sort of bias that concerns you. -Arch dude (talk) 16:01, 21 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Sectarian content that attempts to depict Dr Waiton as anti-Semitic or transphobic has been removed.[edit]

Someone has created a page about me - Stuart Waiton. It has been created with the sole purpose of depicting me as anti-Semitic and transphobic. I am neither of these things. I have tried to edit it but the original returns. Is there anything I can do? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Stopsectarians (talk • contribs) 15:29, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Stopsectarians. I am one of the editors who undid your edit. First, the resason why I undid your edit was because you removed sourced content. Since it is sourced, it can stay, the artical appeaers to be netural to me. Second, you have what is called a Conflict of Intrest. You need to decalre this on your userpage and follow the guidelines outlined on WP:COI. I hope I was able to answer your question to your satisfaction. LakesideMiners^{Come Talk To Me!} 15:39, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Link: Stuart Waiton. You can for example start a discussion at Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons/Noticeboard and request input on whether this is valid for inclusion, but since Wikipedia summarizes what reliable sources have said and reliable sources give disproportionate attention to "controversies", our articles do sadly often end up just summarizing whatever controversies people may have been involved in (Wikipedia:An article about yourself isn't necessarily a good thing). – Thjarkur (talk) 15:42, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

All right, the first insinuation was a WP:BLP violation since it did not involve you directly. The second insinuation is reliably sourced, but I've reworded it in sentence form rather than as a collection of quotes. I don't believe collections of quotes belong in any BLP, collections of quotes always sound like attacks or ridicule even when they include the same information as the prose form. – Thjarkur (talk) 16:08, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Polls on Scottish Independence[edit]

The Herald poll released in late October 2019 showing support for Independence at close to 60% and showing high support for the SNP is not listed. It should. Why isn't it??? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.151.158.201 (talk • contribs) 2019-11-20T17:29:36 (UTC)

I presume this is about the article Proposed second Scottish independence referendum#Opinion polling? (It would be very helpful if people asking about details in a particular article told us which of our six million articles they were referring to, instead of leaving us to guess). The usual answer to "Why isn't X in Wikipedia" is "Because nobody has put it in". If you have a reliable source for the Herald Poll, you are welcome to add it to the article; or if you are not sure how, suggest it (preferably with a citation to the source) at Talk:Proposed second Scottish independence referendum. --ColinFine (talk) 17:45, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Table transclusion formatting trouble[edit]

Hello, does anybody have an idea how to avoid having an excess line spacing rendered here above the transcluded table from Help:CS1 errors#Cite uses deprecated parameter |<param> (← for some reasons, even by using nowiki tags, linking that doesn't work)?--Hildeoc (talk) 19:46, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I don't have an answer for the extraneous new-line but for the link:

[[Help:CS1 errors#Cite uses deprecated parameter {{pipe}}<param>]] → Help:CS1 errors#Cite uses deprecated parameter |<param>

or, because there is a <span id=deprecated_params>...</span> tag in that header:

[[Help:CS1 errors#deprecated_params]] → Help:CS1 errors#deprecated_params

—Trappist the monk (talk) 20:05, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

{{!}} is used to simulate a pipe in these circumstances, but I'm not sure if that's applicable to your situation. – John M Wolfson (talk • contribs) 05:20, 21 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
No, that doesn't work:
[[Help:CS1 errors#Cite uses deprecated parameter {{!}}<param>]] → <param>

—Trappist the monk (talk) 16:04, 21 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Quick question about pings[edit]

If I wanted to ping CASSIOPEIA, would {{ping|Cassiopeia}} work? In other words, I'm asking if pings are case sensitive. I read WP:PING, but it doesn't say much about this. Interstellarity (talk) 21:50, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Interstellarity, when you hover over someone's sig, it shows you their exact user name. I believe this is what you need to use. ----valereee (talk) 21:56, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Valereee, It seems like you're telling me that pings are case sensitive. Is that correct? Interstellarity (talk) 21:58, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Interstellarity, yes, I believe so. Our usernames require exact rendering for everything, as far as I know. My actual username is Valereee. You can try pinging me at valereee if you like, and I'll let you know if it works. :) ----valereee (talk) 22:05, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

valereee, Does this work? Interstellarity (talk) 22:26, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict)They are indeed. Realistically all you are doing is posting [[user:Example|Example]] so any link that works will ping. Usernames are case sensitive to an extent as we know. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 22:06, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

It did seem to work! That's very interesting. 22:31, 20 November 2019 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Valereee (talk • contribs)

Isn't there something somewhere along the lines that names are case sensitive after the first letter? What happens with @ValereeE:? (which in preview is red) Martin of Sheffield (talk) 22:48, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, Wikipedia auto-capitalizes the first letter of all pages. User:martin of sheffield isn't a link to your userpage while User:martin of Sheffield is. The ping system looks for new links to userpages. – Thjarkur (talk) 23:09, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

In passing, I have a small CSS setting that highlights my name on pages. Your example of "martin of Sheffield" highlights, just as "Martin of Sheffield" does. "martin of sheffield" remains a redlink with no highlighting. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 23:26, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Þjarkur: Thank you for your answer. I understand how pings work now. Interstellarity (talk) 23:30, 20 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]