Latest comment: 14 years ago7 comments2 people in discussion
Please don't put non-breaking spaces into OS grid refs - they cause the wrong coordinates to be generated. See Talk:Jumbles Reservoir#Grid refs, click on the examples I have given. The correct form is two letters and then four, six, eight or ten digits (depending on whether the accuracy is to be shown to 1 km, 100 m, 10 m or 1 m), with no spaces or punctuation. --Redrose64 (talk) 14:22, 7 February 2010 (UTC)Reply
The UK Grid Reference Finder site [1] generates the grid reference with spaces. This is the correct way to display the coordinates. It seems to be a problem with Wikipedia that it can't handle the spaces. •• Fly by Night (talk) 14:25, 7 February 2010 (UTC)Reply
It does generate them with spaces - but spaces (whether non-breaking or normal) cannot be handled by the Wikipedia templates which permit an Ordnance Survey grid reference. There is documentation on valid forms of grid ref at {{Oscoor}}, this template being the last stage within Wikipedia before the grid ref is passed on to an external site for further processing. I cannot control how Wikipedia/that site handle grid references: if you believe that the inability to handle spaces is a bug, I suggest taking it up at Template talk:Oscoor; it may well be a limitation within the external site. --Redrose64 (talk) 15:00, 7 February 2010 (UTC)Reply
Latest comment: 14 years ago10 comments3 people in discussion
Hello Fly by Night,
Thanks for your contributions on places straddling the West Pennine Moors. Just a nudge that reservoirs should use {{Infobox lake}} and country parks, {{Infobox park}}. I converted the Jumbles Reservoir with this change, but it will need further input. You may need to check through your contributions in the last few days to ensure the right templates are used. Thanks again, --Jza84 | Talk 18:51, 7 February 2010 (UTC)Reply
Thanks a lot for the advice. I didn't know there were different infoboxes. I can't get the river one working. There seems to be some convention for the conversion of coordinates, e.g. (53.6253,-2.4025) became {{coord|53|37|31|N|2|24|9|W|region:ZZ_type:waterbody|display =inline,title}}. I have only written three reservoir articles, and you've alreay corrected one of them. I would really appreciate the help of such an experienced user as yourself. Could you please help me by making the changes? I promise to study the changes. The other two were Wayoh Reservoir and Turton and Entwistle Reservoir. •• Fly by Night (talk) 19:06, 7 February 2010 (UTC)Reply
Hello there! We had a slight edit clash then - I think we posted one-another at the same time! :)
You seem very keen on Wikipedia, which is refreshing. It is good to see new editors joining up, particularly from the North West! I'm not sure if your on the urban or rural side of things, but we have the Wikipedia:WikiProject Greater Manchester, the Wikipedia:WikiProject Merseyside, the Wikipedia:WikiProject Cheshire, and (the one which I suspect you will be interested in from your contributions) the Wikipedia:WikiProject Lancashire and Cumbria. These are kind of like forums, or communities of editors who can share interests, goals, experience and advise - they are very good for getting input and/or solving problems.
I can't promise I'll get through them all (especially unlikely tonight), but I'll do my best to have a wizz through your additions and try to catch the basic infobox swaps where I can. Feel free to join one (or more) of our local WikiProjects in the mean time - I'm sure you will be welcomed warmly. Thanks ever so much again for your contributions - they are important articles that have been overlooked for too long. --Jza84 | Talk 19:20, 7 February 2010 (UTC)Reply
With regards to the WikiProject importance scale, Wikipedia:WikiProject Greater Manchester/Assessment is the most comprehensive resource on the matter, but in short, it's mostly a subjective decision. The importance of the article can be determined by any editor, but common sense, consensus and the assessment guidelines are elements that can be considered.
To be truthful, I hadn't noticed I'd used mid for one, and low for another - I'd say the parks straddle the mid to low importance line and I wouldn't oppose any change (I trust your judgement entirely). Also, it doesn't mean the article is not important or that the edits are not valued, its more to do with prioritising editing time and objectives for the WikiProject's team. Does that help at all? --Jza84 | Talk 19:37, 7 February 2010 (UTC)Reply
That does help, thanks. I'll try and read the link you gave me. Could I come back to you if I were to need any clarification? I wouldn't even think about changing any of the ratings: I'm still finding my feet around here. I appreciate your patience and the help you're giving me. Sorry to be such a nuisance. •• Fly by Night (talk) 19:45, 7 February 2010 (UTC)Reply
Of course you can - that's no problem at all. You're doing great! Much much better than I was doing at your stage in editting! The relevant WikiProject would be the better option though for all queries, especially if I'm not able to get back to you quickly. --Jza84 | Talk 20:04, 7 February 2010 (UTC)Reply
My motto seems to have become "Copy and paste, paste and copy." I was doing alright with the UK infobox. That's why I've found the river one so hard to use: I need an example to "Copy and paste, paste and copy." :-) •• Fly by Night (talk) 20:07, 7 February 2010 (UTC)Reply
When I create an article, I try and pop one or two relevant WikiProject banners on its talk page straight away. Choosing suitable ones can be difficult: but for a fixed subject - a village, reservoir, park etc., a subject-related banner and a geographical banner are usually adequate. It's not a bad idea to find an existing article dealing with the same subject, and in the same area, and pinch the banners from that. One thing to be careful of is not to apply an inappropriate importance or class. I believe that it's fairest if I didn't assess my own contributions, so when copying a banner, I blank out class and any importance parameters, and remove all the other parameters except those which are obviously correct. So, if I were writing (say) Bromley Cross railway station (which already exists), then I'd look at Talk:Bolton Interchange, which has these:
Sorry for the late reply; I went to cook after my last post. Thanks for the tips. I'll try to put banners on all of my new articles. And if I can't find the right one then I know who to ask. •• Fly by Night (talk) 17:38, 8 February 2010 (UTC)Reply
Latest comment: 14 years ago2 comments2 people in discussion
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Hello. In case you didn't know, when you add content to talk pages and Wikipedia pages that have open discussion, you should sign your posts by typing four tildes ( ~~~~ ) at the end of your comment. You may also click on the signature button 
located above the edit window. This will automatically insert a signature with your username or IP address and the time you posted the comment. This information is useful because other editors will be able to tell who said what, and when. Thank you. --SineBot (talk) 19:46, 10 February 2010 (UTC)