Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2023 December 6

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December 6[edit]

In the paragraph "Projects for the valorization of Sicily" of the Sibat Tomarchio page there is a quote, could someone please format it correctly? JackkBrown (talk) 01:27, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@JackkBrown: You can use {{Blockquote}} to format it, but that section seems very promotional and I'm not sure including that quote is encyclopedic. RudolfRed (talk) 01:37, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The Cuisine of Sardinia page is literally unpresentable. I know I'm Italian, but here we are faced with a mission that not even an Italian could do (and I'm sorry to leave it as it's): references that don't exist (for example, "[10]"), it's not clear when to use italics and when not to, page in my opinion unnecessarily long, aesthetically unpleasant, etc. I'm complaining, and I shouldn't, but it's a pain to see something like this (even an Italian couldn't put it right, I can't). JackkBrown (talk) 01:58, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@JackkBrown: Find something you are interested in, and work on that instead. If you are up for it, post some improvement suggestions on the article's talk page. RudolfRed (talk) 02:02, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
The [10] references are clearly from another wiki or part of Wikipedia – in this case, my guess is it's just a straight rip and machine translation off Italian Wikipedia, given the citation number for the [10] quote on there is [11]. Skarmory (talk • contribs) 07:12, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Is Tim Brilley notable. MagicalPrince863 (talk) 03:07, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@MagicalPrince863: Which Tim Brilley? Googling shows at least two of them. You should read WP:N, and then if appropriate read the more specific notability guidelines for the Tim Brilley of your choice. -Arch dude (talk) 03:21, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Need telephonic assistance[edit]

Need to post about our company, need guidance for the same on phone call if possible Kgyanesh (talk) 04:37, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

If this is what you mean, generally you should not write an article about your company on Wikipedia, as it constitutes a conflict of interest. Remsense 04:51, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Kgyanesh: We don't answer questions by telephone. If you don't want to post here at the help desk, you can use IRC (live chat). Instructions are at the top of the page. You will need to read and comply with WP:PAID RudolfRed (talk) 05:05, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thankyou for reverting, I am unable to use the IRC(live chat) Option, Please help me with further assistance. Kgyanesh (talk) 06:13, 7 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
To reiterate, generally you should not write an article about your company on Wikipedia, as it constitutes a conflict of interest. Other than that, article topics need to be notable and verifiable to reliable sources. Do you have questions regarding any of these things? Remsense 06:30, 7 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

template issue in Mainspace[edit]

Hello! Our group attempted to move our Wikipedia article into the Mainspace, but this notificiation came up:

This template is not to be used in article space.

This is the sandbox page where you will draft your initial Wikipedia contribution.

If you're starting a new article, you can develop it here until it's ready to go live.

If you're working on improvements to an existing article, copy only one section at a time of the article to this sandbox to work on, and be sure to use an edit summary linking to the article you copied from. Do not copy over the entire article. You can find additional instructions here.

Remember to save your work regularly using the "Publish page" button. (It just means 'save'; it will still be in the sandbox.) You can add bold formatting to your additions to differentiate them from existing content.


If possible can you help us understand what we did wrong as we had worked on our wiki article in the sandbox and simply wanted to move it into the mainspace Acbruin2024 (talk) 08:35, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, Acbruin2024. The first mistake you have made here is to use plural terminology like "our" and "we". Group editing is not permitted and each Wikipedia account is for the use of one person and one person only. Each member of your group must have their own account. and comment as "I" rather than "we". Cullen328 (talk) 09:07, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
User:Acbruin2024, you should remove {{Dashboard.wikiedu.org sandbox}} from that article now that it's been moved to mainspace. Editing and reviewing articles in groups as it's clear your class has been doing is not at all problematic since yall each seem to operate an individual account. Folly Mox (talk) 09:11, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
As for Zhang Hanying, you or one of your "we" colleagues seems to be trying to use an inappropriate template in a mainspace article, which results in numerous technical issues. Please do not make such edits without knowing what you are doing. Please also take a few minutes to check whether such an edit is appropriate before making it. Cullen328 (talk) 09:19, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Loosing credentials for Wikipedia account[edit]

My institution lost the credentials for the Wikipedia account. How could we retrieve it? 86.60.119.66 (talk) 09:28, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Your institution should not have the credentials to an account to give to anyone- accounts on the English Wikipedia must exclusively be used by a single person who may not give others access, they cannot be associated with a job. (other language Wikipedias permit accounts that represent an organization, but we do not.)
That said, to answer your question, if you do not have the login information and did not attach an email to the account preferences to reset your password, there is no way to regain access. In any event, you should create an account for your personal use for the reasons I stated. 331dot (talk) 09:34, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Some people falsely assume that Wikipedia articles about organizations are made and maintained by the organization. I wonder whether this is the case here and there was never such an account. See Wikipedia:Conflict of interest if you want to change an article about your institution. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:14, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Edit a page content that is not true[edit]

Hi, My boss's wikipedia page showing some wrong information. I have to get it edit. Please help me doing that. 115.245.193.46 (talk) 10:30, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

You should make an edit request(click for instructions) on the article talk page associated with the article about your boss. You will first need to declare as a paid editor. That is easier to do with an account, but even if you choose not to create an account, you must disclose. You and your boss should also be aware of WP:BOSS. 331dot (talk) 10:32, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

In this article, before the various regions, there are no descriptions. Do you think I was right to add descriptions for two types of vegetables? Is this necessary? JackkBrown (talk) 13:15, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

If no-one disagrees with your 'Bold' edits, they're fine. If anyone does disagree with one or more of them, they will 'Revert' them, hopefully giving a reason in their edit summary, and then you can 'Discuss' the matter directly with them, in a civil fashion, on the Article Talk page or either of your own Talk pages.
This is called the Wikipedia:BOLD, revert, discuss cycle and is a standard procedure for editing on Wikipedia. There is no need to come and ask for a second opinion at the Help desk or Teahouse every time you make an edit you're unsure of.
Nearly all articles are on the Watchlists of a number of editors with an interest in that subject, so it's unlikely that any edits you make (whether erroneous or not) will go entirely unnoticed. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 51.194.245.32 (talk) 13:47, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Deletion of the Cuisine of Sardinia page[edit]

I propose the deletion of the Sardinian cuisine page. It has been translated (very very badly) in full from the it.wiki page (as can be seen from the wrong references "[10]", etc.), it's too long, it's confusing, in a nutshell it needs to be redone from scratch. I'll work on recreating it, but I can't work on such a horribly badly translated page, I'd rather create one from scratch. JackkBrown (talk) 13:20, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

  • I always think proposing something for deletion is the wrong approach if there's scope for a decent article with that title. Instead, just do what you say: blank the page, replacing it with a stub, then start working on it yourself. This used to be expressed as "deletion is not cleanup". AndyJones (talk) 13:31, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
    An alternative that is even less likely to generate pushback is to start work on a better version of the article somewhere else (your own userspace, an offline app, or wherever), and when you're satisfied with your work, just copypaste it over top of the existing article. There's no pressing need to stubbify a terrible article that's been terrible for five years, and if interested editors see you replacing the content with a significantly improved version in a giant monolithic edit, they're more likely to express gratitude than something along the lines of "the old content was better than nothing". Folly Mox (talk) 14:00, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
An article being poorly written is literally never an acceptable reason to delete it. Remsense 06:32, 7 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

question[edit]

Hi, I did step 1 here Wikipedia:Videowiki/Tick-borne encephalitis however step 2 (to complete the video)does not seem to work, any help is appreciated, thank you--Ozzie10aaaa (talk) 15:48, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Ozzie10aaaa: Wikipedia:WikiProject Videowiki Appears to be an obscure and moribund project, and I doubt that anyone here at the help desk can help. Try to ask on the project's talk page. Maybe someone is still monitoring it. -Arch dude (talk) 21:15, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

How to create a person's page[edit]

How to create a person's page Yasiriliyaskhan (talk) 17:12, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Yasiriliyaskhan: Check out WP:YFA Creating an article is not easy for new editors. Consider working on improving existing articles instead. RudolfRed (talk) 17:16, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Wierd namespaces for search[edit]

When I go to the search page, my default spaces for search have four numbered spaces at the end: 108, 109, 446 and 447, which are Book (& its talk) and Education Program (& its talk). How do I either remove these from the list *or* get them changed to text? (I flipped a coin between here and WP:VPT and it came down HD.Naraht (talk) Naraht (talk) 18:46, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Naraht: I haven't seen that anywhere and all those namespaces have been removed. Do you mean the "Search in" box at Special:Search here at the English Wikipedia? Neither the numbers nor names appear for me. If "Remember selection for future searches" is checked then try to uncheck it, make two searches, and check it again. If it still happens then does it happen if you log out? What is your skin at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-rendering? What is your language at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-personal? PrimeHunter (talk) 21:34, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Naraht: Would you please take a screenshot first? If it's the checkbox which remembers removed namespaces then it can be filed as a bug report but if the issue can only be reproduced by users who used the checkbox before a namespace was removed then a screenshot would be good to document the problem. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:42, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Remember Selection isn't checked. Vector 2022, English. Where should a screenshot be shared? It sounds my coin flip came down the wrong way and I should have started this on WP:VPT. :(Naraht (talk) 21:47, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Logging out gives only Article space in the search. Logging in restores 108, 109, 446 and 447.Naraht (talk) 21:49, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Naraht: Does it happen at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?safemode=1? Does it happen at simple:Special:Search? Maybe they never had Education Program at simple but I think they had Book. Are the namespaces in the "Add namespaces" drop-down list and/or the box above it? PrimeHunter (talk) 22:38, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
PrimeHunter Yes on safemode, and No on Simple (and no on German or Chinese, which in fact only show one lozenge which I believe is mainspace. They are in the "Search in" Box where each of the name spaces are in Lozenges. (rectangles with semi-circular caps and the "X" to remove them on the right side)Naraht (talk) 02:13, 7 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Stadium (geometry)
Trappist the monk (talk) 02:39, 7 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Trappist the monk Thank you, a Stadium.Naraht (talk) 03:46, 7 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Naraht: Can you remove the namespaces on the X? If so, do that first, then check "Remember selection for future searches" and make a search. Do the namespaces come back later? If they are still there then what is your browser? Try to bypass your cache on Special:Search with Ctrl+F5 in Windows browsers, not with F5 or the reload button alone. Can you try another browser? PrimeHunter (talk) 10:30, 7 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@PrimeHunter: I'm less worried about fixing it than I am helping debugging it and if I do that, it might actually fix things.(1/2 :), I'm a software developer for a living)Naraht (talk) 14:32, 7 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Chrome screenshots
I'm not Naraht, but I've been getting identical symptoms for months. It does happen in different browsers from my usual (including Chrome, which I use only for last-resort testing; I'm reasonably certain I've never visited Special:Search before with it). I don't get these on other Wikipediae or MediaWiki wikis, or if I visit with a private window; the extra namespaces don't appear if I expand the box to get the add-other-namespaces dropdown; they do disappear if I click the X's before expanding the box; and they reappear if I go to Special:Search later. No difference with the Remember-selection checkbox. —Cryptic 11:07, 7 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the details and screenshot. I'm unable to reproduce this, also after flipping nearly all preferences in an alternative account. I'm out of ideas. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:25, 7 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Post from Boudicca3[edit]

 – Added header Sincerely, Novo Tape (She/Her)My Talk Page 19:46, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki is posting propaganda about Hamas raping women on 7 October. There is NO evidence to support this and it has taken 2 months for Israel to make this claim, coincidentally when the United Nations has condemned Israel's atrocities in Gaza. Pages like this make Wikipedia disreputable. There is no forensic evidence to support these claims. Hamas has denied any rape took place - ironically they are asked to provide evidence - How do you provide evidence of NOT doing something? This page is truly scandalous and should be removed by Wikipedia, at least until FACTS (remember those?) are verified. Boudicca3 (talk) 19:44, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Boudicca3: Please discuss issues with articles on their talk pages. Sincerely, Novo Tape (She/Her)My Talk Page 19:46, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Boudicca3 You should discuss your concerns on the appropriate article talk page(perhaps Talk:Hamas), but Wikipedia articles summarize what independent reliable sources state about a topic. Wikipedia- though we strive for accuracy- isn't necessarily about the facts or truth, but what can be verified- see WP:TRUTH. If independent sources make that claim about Hamas, and do so in error, you will need to speak to the sources, not us. If the sources are not being accurately summarized, that is something we can address. Also be aware that contributing about articles related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has its own special rules, I will notify you of these on your user talk page. 331dot (talk) 19:50, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
This is complete nonsense. So Biden or Netanyahu state some opinion and you regard that as a source even though every media outlet has said, where's the evidence because there isn't any. And No. I am not going to discuss propaganda with those creating propaganda. I know the Americans love fake-facts but to subscribe to Israeli propaganda and I'm not saying it anywhere else. Wikipedia should delete this nonsense. Boudicca3 (talk) 19:58, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
No, Wikipedia doesn't (or should not) say that those opinions are true, merely that they were expressed by those sources. If there are opinions/evidence to the contrary from other "reliable sources", those should also be added to the article to provide balance – I urge you to find some and give their bibliographic details on the article's Talk page so that disinterested editors can assess and add them. However, to pretend that such allegations (even if false) have never been made would be misleading.
You may recall that during the Iraqui invasion of Kuwait, it was claimed that babies had been dumped out of incubators, but this was later shown to be false. In conflicts, propaganda happens, and it often takes some time to sift it out. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 51.194.245.32 (talk) 22:06, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Boudicca3 If your views prevent you from civilly collaborating with other editors about this topic, then Wikipedia isn't the website for you. If you have sources saying that claims about Hamas are false, please offer them on the article talk page.331dot (talk) 22:11, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Appealing an editing restriction[edit]

How do you appeal an editing restriction, specifically to have one altered rather than removed? Dronebogus (talk) 20:34, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Yours looks to be community-imposed, so WP:AN would be the way to go. -- Maddy from Celeste (WAVEDASH) 20:35, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you Dronebogus (talk) 07:59, 7 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

how to help wikipedia -- i don't have money to contribute[edit]

wikipedia has helped me all throughout my life, and as a senior in hs now, i want to know how i can help. i don't have a job, so i can't donate, but is there anything else i can do? 2601:240:4D81:2490:94C3:BCA6:869B:54E2 (talk) 22:55, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hey there! You can help Wikipedia by visiting the Wikipedia:Community portal and help/improve articles that have maintenance tags. 🛧Midori No Sora♪🛪 ( ☁=☁=✈) 23:21, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]