Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2019 October 16

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October 16

When you see a typo, then what?

Sometimes when I am using wikipedia to gather data, I come across typos in the content. Most often it is simply a misspelled word.

I would like to report the errors. Although I frequent the site, I must admit that I am not familiar with the protocol when finding errors.

I would like to help make the experience better for all those who use the site. What is the best course of action?

Click 'edit source', either at the top of the page or the section you are viewing. Correct it and put 'typo' in the edit summary. Then click 'preview' to make sure it has rendered correctly and then click 'publish' to save the page. If you don't wish to do this, that's OK, these errors usually get picked up reasonably quickly (surprisingly). Thanks for wanting to help out! (Please remember to sign your posts on talk pages by typing four keyboard tildes like this: ~~~~. Or, you can use the [ reply ] button, which automatically signs posts.) Thank you. Eagleash (talk) 01:06, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

However also be aware 2600:1011:b11e:f3ea:3089:e309:a249:3bd3 that some articles stylize in the form of English the article is best suited to. Such as Game of Thrones being American English, while Queen Elizabeth II being British English etc. with differences in many common words like color, mom, centre' etc. Most large articles will include which is used above the edit box, for those that don't, a bit of logic is required — IVORK _Discuss 03:19, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Hi and welcome! Feel free generally to jump right in to fix any obvious spelling or language errors you see.

Some pages are protected because they attract abuse or are the subjects of disputes. If you find you can’t edit one of these then we can advise you on how to proceed. (Usually the answer will be to leave a note on the article's discussion page.)

As an alternative to editing the whole page, you can use the Edit links that’re next to section headings (pencil icon on mobile). Editing a single section can make it easier to find the part you want to change.

We have millions of articles with varying numbers of eyes on them. As Eagleash said, it can be surprising how quickly errors can get fixed, but it can also be surprising how long some errors hang around. We retain previous versions, so you can see in a page's History when things have changed.

Best wishes, Pelagic (talk) 03:10, 17 October 2019 (UTC)

Alerts, Notices, VPN

I don't edit much anymore. Anyways, I want my alerts and notices to go to 0, so I can tell when I get a new one. Also, I use a VPN, and WP won't let me edit with it. I'm logged in, so it's not like I'm an IP trying to evade a ban or whatever. Thanks. Peregrine Fisher (talk) 02:24, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

@Peregrine Fisher: you should be able to mark all your notifications as read from Special:Notifications. You can also click the red number (or the bell-shaped icon if there are no alerts), and that should activate a drop-down menu. From there, select the option to mark all notifications as read. To edit from a blocked VPN, you'll need IP block exemption. You should email the functionaries and briefly explain why you'd like to use a VPN. Privacy concerns are a valid reason. NinjaRobotPirate (talk) 06:41, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Help with yesno and TH in Template:Sydney Trains patronage by line

I have help editing the table in this template. I want to make "T9=yes" highlight the first three (3) rows and the bottom row, total of 4 rows.

• Article that requires "T9=yes": Northern Line (Sydney) - table currently only highlights the last row.
• Article that requites "T1=yes": North Shore & Western Line - table works properly, where first two rows are highlighted and last row is not.

Marcnut1996 (talk) 03:09, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

What if you write the template at Northern Line (Sydney) § Patronage like this:

{{Sydney Trains patronage by line|T1=y|SL=y|T9=y}}

Doesn't that do what it is that you want?

—Trappist the monk (talk) 11:42, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

I beat you to it [1] and got an edit conflict when I tried to ask if it does as wanted. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:47, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Were we racing?

—Trappist the monk (talk) 11:58, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

My apologies, what I meant was for Northern Line (Sydney) to highlight first, third and last row. I wrongly stated for the second row to also be highlighted. The second row should not be highlighted. The problem with just putting T1=y means that the second row is also highlighted. Marcnut1996 (talk) 22:15, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

If I understand the purpose of that template, it displays patronage for the period 1 July 2018 – 30 June 2019. According to the footnotes, it appears to me that T1 (old), T1 (new), SL, and T9 were all in use during the 1 July 2018 – 30 June 2019 period. If this template uses a data set that shows the patronage of those lines in the period, then shouldn't the highlighted rows be T1 (old), T1 (new), SL, and T9? The non-zero T1 (new) patronage tally seems to indicate that it should be included. What am I not understanding?

The obvious change that I think should be made to the template is a footnote identifying the period for which the graph and table in the template apply rather than free-floating text outside of the template. And, define: 'Opal tap on and tap off'.

—Trappist the monk (talk) 22:43, 16 October 2019 (UTC

The Northern Line (T9) was previously part of the old T1 until April 2019. The new T1 is basically the old T1, without the Northern Line (now T9). So the Northern Line page should not highlight T1 (new) as it is not part of the latter. Also, 'Opal tap on and tap off data' is the data of passenger usage based on usage of Opal card, tapping on and off at boarding and alighting stations respectively. This is understood to the context of a person living in Sydney. Marcnut1996 (talk) 01:19, 18 October 2019 (UTC)

You used the existing {{{T1}}} when you added the second row to the template. You could say {{{T1new}}} instead and control the rows independently with |T1=y and |T1new=y. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:44, 18 October 2019 (UTC)

So you expect that only people living in Sydney will read this article? Somehow I doubt that. Locally understood jargon that is undefined in a globally-read encyclopedia has no business being in that encyclopedia. At the very least, the template must link to Opal card to explain the tap-on-tap-off jargon.

Until 28 April 2019, T9 did not exist so if this article is about T9 and the template is using data that has T9-specific ridership numbers, why are T1 (old), T1 (new), and SL highlighted on the T9 page? The article isn't about them except to the extent that T9 track and stations etc was once part of T1. The T1 (old), T1 (new) and T9 data issue will go away when the next data are published. At that time, I think that the template will require editing to remove T1 (old).

—Trappist the monk (talk) 15:10, 18 October 2019 (UTC)

Should i ask someone to write an article on my behalf?

Hi there, I actually wrote the article for a company. And contacted you guys and one of your team members said that this article will not be approved as it looks promotional. My question is "should I ask someone/professional writer to write the article so that it does not look promotional? as English is not my first language thus not that good in it. If I get a professional English speaker/writer to write about this company then can the article be published on Wikipedia? and I will inform him not to write like a promotional article. I need your comment/reply on this question so that I can pay someone else to write it on my behalf.

Is there any link where everything is mentioned about what to take care if we want to write for Wikipedia? if yes, please do share that link with me too. Thank you very much. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Daljit Singh Khalsa (talk • contribs) 08:54, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Hello, Daljit Singh Khalsa. Trying to use Wikipedia to promote anybody or anything is a fundamental mismatch with the purposes and goals of Wikipedia. Please don't do it, in any way. If you try it (whether you do it yourself, or get somebody else to) you are likely to have frustration and upset - and even if you succeed in getting an article created about you, you may not be happy with the result. Please find other outlets to tell the world about your company. --ColinFine (talk) 09:02, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

@Daljit Singh Khalsa: Please read WP:YFA. Note especially: if the subject is not notable, then no article is appropriate, no matter who writes the article. Any other shortcoming can be fixed, but no amount of editing can overcome a lack of notability. Don't even try. Your article will fail to be accepted, and if it is forced onto Wikipedia it will immediately be deleted. If, after you carefully read and understand our definition of notability, you still feel that most reviewers will agree that your subject is notable, then come back here and we can try again. -Arch dude (talk) 04:38, 17 October 2019 (UTC)

What is Insurance Cosumer Service Department

Dear sir

What is Insurance Cosumer Service Department and it is approved by IRDA. What is the function.

This area is for asking questions about using Wikipedia, not general questions. 331dot (talk) 11:40, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Help:No content cite tags IBBS

I got the message that the draft page International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation Society contains cite tags with no content, but I cannot find any. Please can you help? doktorchris — Preceding unsigned comment added by Doktorcris (talk • contribs)

Looks like it was fixed by Trappist the monk. ~ ONUnicorn^{(Talk|Contribs)}problem solving 14:04, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

I need help requesting an article

Hello,

I need help requesting an article be made. I can't seem to find the form I need to fill out. Please help.

Ashlie.Pollard (talk) 13:52, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Ashlie.Pollard Try Requested articles. Your request is more likely to be picked up if you include links to reliable, 3rd party sources about the subject. ~ ONUnicorn^{(Talk|Contribs)}problem solving 14:01, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

But please note Ashlie.Pollard, that

1. ) Wikipedia is created by volunteers, who work on what they choose: there is no guarantee that anybody will pick up your request. As ONUnicorn says, if you find and cite some high-quality sources about (not deriving from) the subject, that may make it more attractive to a volunteer editor
2. ) Unless such independent sources exist, then the subject is not notable in the special sense that Wikipedia uses that word, and no article on it can be accepted; so it is unlikely that anybody will waste their time trying.
3. ) If the article is about you, or something closely associated with you, then thank you for looking to request an article, rather than trying to create it yourself; but you might not necessarily be pleased with the result. --ColinFine (talk) 14:23, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Loading Pics to the area I updated

I tried to update pictures that I personally took, and they did not load. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_African_Americans_in_Houston&oldid=920937552 Commerce section.DeRoLoc Lives (talk) 19:51, 16 October 2019 (UTC)DeRoLoc Lives

DeRoLoc Lives You must be autoconfirmed to be able to upload images. I would suggest becoming familiar with WP:UPIMAGE if you aren't already. 331dot (talk) 20:17, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

But if you took them yourself, DeRoLoo Lives, so you're releasing them as free images, then it's better to upload them to Commons anyway, and you don't need to be autoconfirmed for that. --ColinFine (talk) 20:30, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Pippa Middleton

Please fix ref number 3 - it is in red. thanks Srbernadette (talk) 22:10, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

 Done (by another editor) MB 22:32, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Done, it is an italics problem. Italics (''text'') and bold ('''text''') are not permitted in {{cite web}} templates for referencing, which gives the red error you saw. I have removed the italics from the reference. Marcnut1996 (talk) 22:34, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Badges and editing

I hear there are badges I can achieve. How can I achieve them? Also I want to have a good user page but I don't know how to edit so can you help me with editing please? Porygon-Z (talk) 23:44, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Maybe wikipedia:The Wikipedia Adventure? Pelagic (talk) 04:29, 17 October 2019 (UTC)