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Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 April 13

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April 13

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i need help

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I am not at all sure that this is where I need to do this, but I wrote an article on the Pelikan Fountain Pen which I obtained primarily from their On-line history page, It went in an article about foutain pens, which had details of sereravl other brands with similar information. I though it was clearly appropriate iand in the right spot, but it got deleted for "possible copyrighted material." I summarized the avalible public domain material rather than just adding a link. So why did it get scrubbed? Jhooper 00:55, 15 April 2007 (UTC)Jhooper <email redacted>[reply]

how do i find other users —The preceding unsigned comment was added by HoneyBeeBABY (talk • contribs) 00:13, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

If you know their username you can find them by putting User: followed by their username into the search box at the top left of the page. Or if you know what articles they have edited, you can look through the history of the article to find a link to their user page. If you're thinking that Wikipedia is some sort of social networking site like MySpace, you're mistaken. Dismas|(talk) 01:19, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia is analogous to a barn raising. Everyone involved is primarily helping to raise the barn (or helping the people who are raising the barn, for example by preparing food for them), but along the way participants can socialize as a side effect. People who show up to the barn-raising and don't do anything to help raise the barn will probably be shunned or otherwise sanctioned. --Teratornis 20:08, 14 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

how to create a page

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how do i create a page of my own that people can see —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Almightycreator (talk • contribs) 00:24, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Would this be the article for "Brian Walsh" that you have created twice and has been deleted? Dismas|(talk) 01:17, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If you have had a contribution deleted, you should read carefully the policies that relate to this, which include (but are not limited to): WP:V, WP:ATT, WP:N and WP:NOT. Editors do not own articles, by the way. Adrian M. H. 16:44, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

how can i find the author's name and the date of publication

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to whom it may concern i am using wikepidia for a research and i need to write down the authors name and the publication date.. can u please help me?4.68.248.65

Hi! For each particular article you are researching, click on "cite this article" from the links in the toolbox on the lower left hand side of the screen. This will provide bibliographic details and preformatted citations in various styles for each article.--Fuhghettaboutit 01:39, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Starting an article & upload format

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Hey! I want to write an article on wikipedia how do i write that.... And secondly when i try to upload a file, it says that its not in the correct format, plz tell me what should i do... help me —Preceding unsigned comment added by AliKhan15 (talk • contribs)

clearing searches

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How do I clear the searches that I made in the past —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.72.248.78 (talk) 03:40, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

I'm not 100% sure I know what you're asking but I'm going to run with my best guess. Is your problem that when you go to the search field and start typing it gives you suggestions from past searches? If so, and you are using Internet Explorer, for example, go to tools-->internet options, to the content tab, autocomplete button, and clear both forms and passwords, I think that should do it. If I am on the right track, but giving advice for the wrong browser, please tell us the browser.--Fuhghettaboutit 05:07, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

project

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five advertisement i like the most and five advertisement i dislike the most?and why —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 221.134.179.16 (talk) 03:50, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Well, even a brick should know you can pick any five Unsolicited Commercial Email messages from your inbox and most people probably dislike them, although perhaps not "the most." As far as what advertisements the poster likes the most, that's tougher. (Using the words "advertisement" and "like" in the same sentence?) Some people might like advertisements featuring the Swedish Bikini Team, for example, while others might dislike them. And believe it or not, it seems there are organizations which think highly enough of some advertisements to formally honor them; see: Category:Advertising awards. --Teratornis 05:52, 14 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Anonymous AFD?

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Can an anonymous user put an article up for AfD? See: [1] -- SatyrTN (talk | contribs) 04:57, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No: They're technically barred from creating new pages, including AfDs. You might want to talk to that anon, though...--Ed ¿Cómo estás? 04:59, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Kewl - thanks :) --SatyrTN (talk | contribs) 05:07, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

copy writing, corporate communication

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give in detail that what is cpoy writing corporate communication, media ethics —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Sarrysmart (talk • contribs) 05:50, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

No, I don't think we will but you can read our article on media ethics if you want to write it yourself. Notinasnaid 08:52, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"what do 'Enterprise Logistics' mean?"

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Respected sir/madam

please find an relevent information about the topic —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 122.167.179.140 (talk) 05:57, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

  •   Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. - Mgm|(talk) 07:23, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The Logistics article is pretty good. Most organizations that would have an interest in logistics could be called "enterprises" of some sort, so to me "Enterprise Logistics" sounds redundant, or perhaps someone's attempt to become buzzword compliant. And incidentally, while I was looking up Logistics, I misspelled it in the search box and found a couple of pages with my misspelling, so I fixed them. --Teratornis 05:39, 14 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

can i forward my article for publishing it at Wikipedia.com

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how can i forward my article at wikipedia.com for publishing it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 59.94.104.131 (talk) 07:07, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

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Dear reader,

First of all thank you for placing a link to my website!

The site location of "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_coefficient" contains a link on the diffusion coefficient to "http://www.diffusion-polymers.com", being "http://diffusion-polymers.com/messages/406.html". The website diffusion-polymers.com will change to composite-agency.com, and so does the discussion forum and it's messages. Hence, the new location of the link is: "http://composite-agency.com/messages/406.html". The site diffusion-polymers.com will soon be removed.

Thank you very much for your possible assistance.

In case of any questions or remarks, do not hesitate to contact me via <emails redacted>or by means of the contact information below.

Yours sincerely, Sijmon van der Wal

Independent Composite Agency http://www.composite-agency.com

Watertorenweg 503 3063 HD Rotterdam The Netherlands

Phone +31 (0) 102 102 965 Mobile +31 (0) 620 642 545 Fax +31 (0) 847 246 865 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.59.71.121 (talk) 08:31, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

I've updated the link on the article to the new location. Thanks for informing us of the change! Shadow1 (talk) 13:47, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

{{NZCrownCopyright}} or {{Copyrighted free use provided that}}?

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I have uploaded a few aerial photos from Land Information NZ and I've put {{Copyrighted free use provided that|source and copyright status must be acknowledged}}. Their disclaimer & copyright page said that

"Land Information New Zealand owns the Crown copyright in the material available for viewing or downloading from this website as provided in the Copyright Act 1994.
The material may be used, copied and re-distributed free of charge in any format or media. Where the material is redistributed to others the source and copyright status must be acknowledged."

But I recently noticed that {{NZCrownCopyright}} also exists and am not sure if it belongs to that tag as the talkpage also includes LINZ. So my question is, is my tag correct or should I switch it over to {{NZCrownCopyright}}? --antilivedT | C | G 09:00, 13 April 2007 (UTC) (forgot to sign)[reply]

It's not free-use-provided-that, as it does not give you the rights to make derivative works. Change them to Crown Copyright. Shimgray | talk | 08:56, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Is it in the crown copyright that forbids derivative works? And do I have to move it from commons back to WP as that is not acceptable on the commons? --antilivedT | C | G 09:00, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It certainly doesn't say you can make them... {{NZCrownCopyright}} suggests that crown copyright forbids it, and thus the "source and copyright status must be acknowledged" is omitting a criticial detail. Yes, you'd have to move them back here. Shimgray | talk | 12:32, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How to make water based Gel Crystel Clear

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Dear Sir,


I am manufacturing Water Based Gel using Carbopol 940 on very small manufacturing Unit.My Gel is not as crystal clear as the other Water Based Gel available i the market.Please guide me to make my Gel Crystal clear Gel.

I am Using

Carbopol-940 TEA Methyl Paraban & Propyl paraban.

Please help me to solve my problem —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 59.95.202.53 (talk) 09:38, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

  • Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions, and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that's what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. - Mgm|(talk) 09:48, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]


Meaning

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i dont know difficult words i want automatic dictionary or meaning when i am reading

You might also be interested in WP:POP, a way to display popup previews over linked words. In a well-written Wikipedia article, many of the difficult words will link to articles that explain them. --Teratornis 05:32, 14 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Skin

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  1. How can I get my browser to display the side menu bars the same way as in the French and Spanish Wikipedias? Can I do that by altering my own monobook.css?
  2. How can I create an additional menu box with the same layout as the other ones?

Any help is greatly appreciated. - Mgm|(talk) 10:05, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It appears the look needs to be changed in an CSS page (still not sure what the classes are that refer to the menu), but where do you go to change the content of the side menu? None of the content is included in the CSS. - Mgm|(talk) 11:32, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
You should be able to do both of the things you want to do, but not just with CSS.
  1. Are you talking about the corner rounding? If so, you can do that in your own monobook.css by adding something like the following:
    .pBody { -moz-border-radius-topright: 0.5em; }
  2. The add a new box, you need to use JavaScript in your monobook.js. Wikipedia:WikiProject User scripts is the place to ask about this.
If you want to get the rounded title on the toolboxes, you'll have to get the rules for .portlet h5 from fr:MediaWiki:Monobook.css. Hope that helps. Mike Dillon 15:08, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Confirmation

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I have recieved a confirmation e-mail link from you,but after several tries it does not work.Please can you send another link,preferably a clickable one. Regards abbeyfieldAbbeyfield 10:12, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Deletion without history and watchlist update

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Hello. Not sure if I ask in right place. There were two pages: Fromdistance Mobile Device Manager and Fromdistance Mobile Video Blogger (previously they were renamed from Mobile Device Manager and Mobile Video Blogger to keep full product name). They were in my watchlist. They were tagged as "advertising style". Recently they were "annihilated". Now there is no page history, nor my watchlist update. Is it possible to get info on why/when/by whom they were deleted and get history of changes? lim 10:27, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

  • When articles are deleted all the edits associated with it will be hidden from contribution lists and watchlists. To find out why they were deleted, have a look at the Deletion log. - Mgm|(talk) 10:31, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    • But shouldn't I get update on watchlist? I mean how is it possible to notice that "they were" (c) deleted without visiting the page itself? And how is it possible to get history back? - lim 10:40, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • The watchlist only keeps track of edits, not log actions. If the history was not a copyright violation, libellous or otherwise rulebreaking, you can ask an administrator to get you a copy of the material. You can only get the history restored with a successful deletion review. - Mgm|(talk) 10:45, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    • Ok, let's ask the other way: how can I get notified if any pages in my watchlist get deleted, and automatically get info on why it was deleted? Sorry for annoyance - lim 11:02, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • If that is currently possible, I'm not aware of it. I keep track of the pages I create on a subpage of my userpage, so I will instantly know when one gets deleted if its link turns red. When I visit the deleted page, I can click a link that automatically takes me to the deletion log entry for that page. If you want to be automatically informed of articles on your watchlist that get deleted, you should probably see if someone can write a user script. - Mgm|(talk) 11:08, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • In my hunt for userscripts I came across the monobook.js file for Voice of All (talk · contribs). He may have a scripted function that could help you. Try contacting them. - Mgm|(talk) 11:58, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • Both of those pages were Speedy Deleted as "Blatent Advertisements". While it is good practice to notify the creator of an article that it has been tagged for speedy deletion, this is not required. I am pretty sure that there is currently no automated way to be notified of the deletion of an article -- at least I am aware of none. I think that an enhancement request is pending for such a feature. I suggest taht you read or re-read What Wikipedia is Not and our speedy deletion criteria before creating another article, to avoid this problem in the future. You might also read our notability guideleine for corporations. DES (talk) 12:50, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • Well, one of the pages (it was MDM) was marked for Speedy Deletion at first - when I stupidly copy-pasted product description from company's website. But after later rewrite, with my own words (I really tried), tag was changed to {{advert}} ("written like an advertisement"). Then more technical details were added (and no advertising). And that was a month ago. So, why it was deleted now - I don't really understand. That's why I asked for page history - to get idea if page was modified by somebody, that made it "blatant ad" again. As I see serious flaws in Wiki engine design, here are my proposals:
    1. keep page history available, even if page gets deleted (at least for some time). Or make it publicly available at some other address. But it must stay available - otherwise there will be too many questions that you don't want to answer. Also "deletion" must be added to page history as well.
    2. watchlist should be updated if page gets deleted. That's the purpose of watchlist - to get notified of any changes to the page, and especially as global as page deletion.
    3. when visiting deleted page (or at least corresponding "Edit" page), make it clear, that it was deleted previously, without the need to press "check the deletion log" link on Edit page. That way next contributor will not make same mistake (at least he will be warned about the previous one).
    4. keep user's "contributions" in the log even for deleted pages. That page should not be modified at all, except when adding new log entries on real user actions. Otherwise contributions log is not a "log", but a "hoax". Same for watchlist - log entries should be added, never removed.
    5. add Deletions to user contributions log as well (and to all other user/page action logs I'm not aware of). Isn't it a contribution after all?
    6. I understand that some of these features may be incompatible with current design of Wiki engine (while I don't know Wiki internals, I know some of common database design mistakes), so if this is the wrong place to discuss this, please kick me to the right page. Thanks. — lim 16:03, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
For future reference, click on this link, which is on your watchlist, and you will see a list of links, including red links for deleted and/or yet-to-be created pages. Adrian M. H. 16:52, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

career

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how can i apply for job in your organization —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Btulsani (talk • contribs) 10:41, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

  • The project is mainly run by volunteers and the few payed employees are employed by the Wikimedia Foundation which is were job applications should be addressed. Make sure you know about the Foundation first, because if you don't know what you are getting yourself into, your chances of getting a job are practically zero. - Mgm|(talk) 10:47, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This user needs to...

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User:Jesusisgay needs to be noticed that is not an appropiate and very offensive username.And needs to change it.Thank you.Teddey 11:07, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

where is accra-ghana

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where is accra-ghana —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.12.19.124 (talk) 14:21, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Perhaps you are looking for Accra, the capital of Ghana. PrimeHunter 15:18, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

how to add picture

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how to add picture for actors biography pages? Sara1987 14:22, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

First, take a picture of the actor. Then release it with a free license. Please do not use any other pictures unless you find one saying it is released under a suitable license, free for any use. If you aren't sure about the license, please let us know. When you have a picture, we can help you add it. Notinasnaid 15:17, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I need to know how to revert an article a few edits back.

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I screwed this up today, and because I don't know how, I ended up reverting back one edit, and any other edits that were vandalism were still there. So how do I revert multiple edits? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by SniperWolf1564 (talk • contribs) 14:50, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Edit the last good version in the article history and save it without changes. See also WP:REVERT. PrimeHunter 15:15, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Toggle sections in infoboxes

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Is there a way to create infoboxes with toggleable sections? I want to achieve that, so infoboxes will be able to contain more information, without taking more space. For example, a politician infobox, could contain all one's previous public offices, with only the 1 or 2 most important ones expanded by default.
Here's a template I'm working on for politicians. It allows for unlimited offices to be put in. That creates the need of hiding the unwanted offices by clicking the title of the office.
I presume JS can't be integrated to the template in order to achieve that. Correct me if I'm wrong. Geva Zeichner 14:57, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

JS can be used in some form in templates (such as in Template:Hidden for example), but I am not familiar with the method. You could ask at the Village Pump (technical) help desk (link at the top of this page). Help:Template is worth a read, but only gives fairly basic info. Adrian M. H. 16:56, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Images

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I can not see the images on any of the wiki pages. What could be the problem and how do I fix it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 205.143.204.110 (talk) 15:06, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

  • Can you give an example of an image you can't see. You might be looking at images that are prone to this particular behavior. Some are stored in a directory called 'ad' which triggers all kinds of browser spam filters. Are you seeing images on other sites? If not, this may be a browser issue rather than a Wikipedia one. - Mgm|(talk) 17:12, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thermoplastic Elastomers for Fluid Resistance Applications & www.manufacturing.net

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Amongst other problems, Thermoplastic Elastomers for Fluid Resistance Applications (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) is an exact copy of the above website, however the author claims to have permission to repost the content on wikipedia, which of course brings up COI issues. But the question is, this is still prohibited by the copyright policy, correct?--VectorPotentialTalk 16:15, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

  • Does the author hold the copyright, or does the Ferro Corporation? That would depend on what agreement the authors have with their employer, and maybe whether the material was created under the aegis of the company or on the author's own dime. At any rate, the copyright holder (or his/its agent) has to get a ticket. The relevant procedure is this:
Template ConfirmationOTRS is placed on pages on where the user has released the text under the GNU Free Documentation License and has so stated to the WikiMedia PR Department and has recieved an OTRS ticket number.
The copyright holder should send an e-mail to permissions -- wikimedia -- org or a postal letter to the Wikimedia Foundation, stating specifically that the material is released under the GFDL, which pages are covered by this release, and what the original source is (whether website or book title, etc.). Upon receipt and verification, one of the OTRS volunteers will add that tag with the OTRS number to the relevant pages.

In the meantime I'm deleting the article, if can be recreated if the requisite hoops are jumped through. Herostratus 16:46, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I need to delete my account from this facist joke of an encyclopedia. Help. Please.

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Just let me know how to delete my account, since apparently I can't do it -- or anything else -- on this site. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Hillarystarbright (talk • contribs) 16:33, 13 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

In short, you cannot. Right to vanish outlines the cans and cannots of account policy. Adrian M. H. 16:58, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I sooo don't care at this point. I followed the rules and got crapped on, and all I want to do is delete my account and leave you alone. Quit being so sensitive and use your power to delete my account. That's all I want. Please.

Have you not read that link? Or taken note of what I wrote above? You cannot have your account deleted, except in very specific and exceptional circumstances (and you don't meet those). I have read the "discussion" that led you to post this request and you clearly did not follow the rules. Adrian M. H. 17:52, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There's no power to delete an account, actually, as no one can do it for technical reasons. If you don't want an account, just don't use it... Titoxd(?!? - cool stuff) 16:21, 14 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Articles on bands, etc. with confusing names

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There are many articles about bands, songs, albums, plays, poems, etc., which are named after persons, places, or other real world entities, and are confusable with them, and this impedes the usefulness of Wikipedia. Sometimes the band name has "The" before it, and sometimes there is a subtle spelling change, such as Phinius Gage, which is a band, versus Phineas Gage who is a famous 19th century survivor of a brain injury. The best usage is like Jethro Tull (band) so as not to confuse the entry with the agricultural reformer the band was named for Jethro Tull (agriculturist) (who also got a disambiguation phrase). There are other cases where the only difference is the capitalization of the words in the band name, such as Wheatstone Bridge, a band, versus Wheatstone bridge , which is an electrical device. The confusable band, song, play, poem, etc. articles should have a disambiguating term such as (band) after them, and many do already. Others have a "See also" entry at the beginning of the article, and others have disambiguation pages. Some band articles have none of these. Is the way to rename such an article merely to move it to the new name? Is it necessary to tag it first with a proposed move and discuss it on the talk page and seek consensus there? If I redirect the band article to Phinius Gage (band) is the edit history and the talk page contents preserved? Is there a better method for renaming an article to preserve the edit history and talk page contents? I see several band names which need to be identified as such, including Air Traffic , Bad Manners , Battleaxe , The Bolshoi , British Sea Power , China Crisis , Editors , The Grid , High Tide , History Of Guns , Honeytrap , Hot Chocolate (the beverage is Hot chocolate) , New Order and Wheatstone Bridge (the electrical device is Wheatstone bridge. A mere difference in capitalization is not effective in directing a Google search to the correect article. Some have "see also" statements or disambuation pages, but would it hurt anything to add (band)? Examples of poem articles which could use disambiguating additions are Fern Hill and Cleanness. Examples of plays Rumors and The Romans in Britain . A user looking for info about real world things would not waste their time calling up these entries if they were identified approproately. What would it take to create a guideline to add (band), (poem), (play) etc. to such names if there is any potential for confusion? Thanks. Edison 17:43, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

When a page is moved, so is the history of that page and the talk page. See John Rambo (film) for example. If you click on the history and go all the way back to the first version of the article, you'll see that I started that article as "Rambo IV" since it was notable enough for an article but the title was still not known to the general public (or possibly not even settled on by the producers). But the history was moved with the article. As for putting (band) etc. after the title of every band article, I'd oppose that. It's just pointless in the case of Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin and many others. I also don't see the issue with having Battleaxe, for instance, piont to the band with a see also link at the top for battle axe. I believe there's more on this at WP:DISAMBIG. Dismas|(talk) 18:19, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I suggested putting (band), (poem), (play), (album) etc after the titles of only those which are confusable with some real-world thing, person, concept, place, or whatever (often the one they were named after). Notice that I did not say that Led Zeppelin might be confused with an unsuccessful German aeronautical experiment! I do not argue that innovative and nonconfusable coinages need such a (band) addition, just the ones taken from life. But if I am Googling for Wikipedia content even using the Wikipedia index, it saves time and aggravation to not see an article about a band. song, etc. when I wanted the other thing. This is especially true when the articles are one of 140 AFD's every day. If I see in the AFD index that the Wheatstone Bridge AFD is a band, I will not leap to its defense thinking it is an important type of electrical bridge circuit. As is, if you see it is up for AFD, you have to click on the name and look at the article to find that it is something you have no opinion about, wasting time wich could be better spent improving other articles. Every year I expect it gets harder to come up with band names which are catchy and which have not been used before. Is this the sort of thing an editor can just do, or must it go through some tagging and discussion in the talk page of the article? Edison 19:09, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I approve of the idea of doing away with the really nasty case where Upper Something is one article while Upper something is a different subject. One particular thing to beware of when renaming an article is that you must fix double redirects. To take an illustrative example, suppose you were suggesting renaming The Beatles as The Beatles (Liverpool combo). Over 1000 articles link to The Beatles, but this would still work as it would be a redirect. However, hundreds of articles link to Beatles, which redirects to The Beatles. They would all be broken unless you updated the Beatles redirect. Careful research into "What links here" is always needed for a page move. Notinasnaid 19:27, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

signature question

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Hello, when I sign with 4 tildes I only show: Tttom1 17:46, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Am I also supposed to show a link to my talk in that?

No, but you can do so by editing your Raw Signature (useful link to follow when I have found one). Adrian M. H. 17:47, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There is some basic info at Wikipedia:Customisation. Adrian M. H. 17:50, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
OK its fixed pretty much, thanks to all. Tttom1 22:24, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Columns

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I want to make "1990" and "1991" at Template:Clarencethomasopinions appear next to each other horizontally (rather than vertical), as "2005" and "2006" are in Template:Samuelalitoopinions. But I can't figure out how. --zenohockey 18:28, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I had go at it for you, but I couldn't get it to work either (not in preview at least). You could try Help:Template and/or Help:Table (since tables are used in this template) but they don't appear to have the magic answer. Adrian M. H. 21:57, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Newly created account check?

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Sorry if this is a FAQ, but is there any way a user can check for accounts just created to send a welcome message?

Wikipedia:Welcoming committee/Finding newbies. (Please remember to sign your posts). Adrian M. H. 20:13, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanx. Kevinwong913 20:16, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Writing an article for the Messanger:

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I am a 77 year-old Catholic woman living in the Pacific Northwest of America. I was raised in Scotland and lived there until the age of 25 years. One of my fondest memories is that of being a seven year-old child reading the Sacred Heart Messenger which belonged to my Aunt Mary McElhaw. We lived with two Irish Catholic school teacher Aunts in Glasgow, Scotland.

For years I have wondered if your publication was still in existence and yearned to see it again, then I found you on the Internet.

I have been co-editor and contributing writer to our parish magazine, along with my husband. I have also been one of the RCIA teaching team here in our parish of Holy Disciples Catholic Church, Puyallup, Washington, and have just completed two years as Chairperson of our Pastoral Council. I have related my story of a rose from Jesus to very many people here in this parish and in my former parish. Would you be interested in reading and possibly publishing my story, I can promise you it is an interesting one? My email address is <email removed for privacy> and I would love to hear your views on this.

Sincerely, Lucy Phillips

Hi Lucy Phillips. I am afraid that this is probably not the publication you have been searching for. This is Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit and it is not a printed publication. You probably encountered our article on the Messenger of the Sacred Heart and mistook us for the publication. If you are looking for the Sacred Heart Messenger publication online (they describe themselves as a Jesuit publication sometimes called the little red book), I think this website might be what you are looking for. http://www.messenger.ie/ You should ask them if you would like to write something for them. Our article though on Messenger of the Sacred Heart is a bit on the short side, and you are welcome to add to it by writing an informational article about its history or publications. However, Wikipedia is most likely not be the appropriate place to submit your story. Thanks for your question and good luck getting your story published in the the Sacred Heart Messenger. Sifaka talk 21:27, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
So, looks like the link you found should have been in external links in the article? Shenme 21:39, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

BG Color text

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What is the wiki language for writing text but with a background color? please help!! Olz06 20:33, 13 April 2007 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by olz06 (talk • contribs)

That would depend on where you are writing it. If you can be specific, I can give you the exact instructions. Adrian M. H. 20:37, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Overzealous editors?

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For people who have some experience in dealing with this type of behavior, how to politely and "un-antagonistically" approach an overzealous editor. I guess what I mean is that some editors basically micro-manage a page to the point of where if anyone (in good faith) edits it and they don't find the edit precisely suitable, they revert it without any sort of reason. There are two kinds of behaviors that I am concerned about because I see them as rather disheartening for new users serious about making good contributions.

  1. What I perceive as impolite reversion of good faith edits. While I might agree with reverting a particularly poorly worded edit that doesn't add much in terms of information, the edit was made in good faith, and I would leave a note on the talk page of the author about why I reverted it. If the edit is slightly below the quality of the article but clearly adds information, I might leave it in the article for a while and encourage the author or others to bring it up to quality. These "micro-managers" revert without leaving any sort of reason why.
  2. The more egregious kind of micro-managing I am concerned about are reversion of extremely useful edits made in articles which are updated quickly as information becomes available. Some people have access to this information earlier than the "micro-managers" and update the page to reflect that information. These edits are then reverted by the "micro-managers" who don't have access to this information yet and cannot validate it themselves. While validation is important, the page doesn't belong to them and they should not revert an edit they cannot validate because they themselves do not have the resources yet.

To avoid conflicts I am not going to discuss who or what edits I have in mind, but I feel like I should step in and intervene on behalf of frustrated users whose edits are wiped away without any sort of explanation. I guess what I am looking for is official guidelines, and advice from other users and administrators who have dealt with similar behavior. These micro-managers are extremely useful because they maintain the quality of the article at a high standard but they take it too far by preventing others from adding as well. Sifaka talk 21:07, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I would agree with your first point, in principle. However, point 2 would, or should, not be an issue if the new material is referenced. If and when it is referenced, it should not be reverted unless there is something significantly wrong with the fact (like a clearly erroneous source, for example). Even then, it would need to be justified. If you have had a properly sourced edit removed, you could add it to the article's talk page for review/consensus and invite the other editor to review it and comment. Adrian M. H. 21:14, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
And indeed, it is right and proper to remove unsourced information that seems to be based on special knowledge, sneak previews, inside information, or anything not yet public, even if you agree competely and know it to be a fact, even if you know the information will be public tomorrow. The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is "verifiability, not truth". So the editor in item 2 is not overzealous, the editor adding unverifiable information is overenthusiastic. This happens a lot, and I would encourage active removal of such things (with polite explanations to editors who become upset). This is one of many kinds of dispute that vanishes once authors understand the importance and purpose of sources. Notinasnaid 21:20, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The information that is often posted is sourced and publicly available. It just hasn't gotten around yet to the what I call the overzealous editors. What really bothers me is failing to notify the authors of good edits that have been reverted. Sifaka talk 21:33, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
No-one is required to inform editors of reverts or changes, otherwise they would be posting on talk pages all day. Things like deletion noms, vandalism reverts, etc. are different, of course. In the course of normal editing, the edit summary is sufficient. But if, as you say, they have not added a summary (or not an explanation anyway) then leave them a polite reminder. Adrian M. H. 21:44, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Let's try and clarify on point 2, because this is very important and is much misunderstood by many editors. Is the editor removing information that is properly sourced, with a new reference (inline citation) to a published work, existing web page, etc.? Or is it just extra text without an inline citation? Or is it that the information in an existing source has changed, so an existing part of the article is being changed to match the source? Or something else? Notinasnaid 21:46, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
From the standpoint of an "overzealous" editor, I closely monitor the hedgehog article. It is normally vandalized at least once a day with immature comments referencing Sonic the Hedgehog. I no longer explain that comments about Sonic do not belong in the Hedgheog article (a choice reached by a long debate a long time ago). I just revert. There are also repeated vandals who just add comments like "I love hedgehoge" to the middle of the article. I just revert, feeling no need to explain why. It is rare that an edit includes or corrects information about hedgehogs. But, when (if) it happens, I've been hitting revert so many days in a row that it is very easy to revert a good faith edit. I blame it on vandalism - similar to deleting someone's email because it was in the middle of a hundred spams. If people would stop trying to stick Sonic comments in the article on a daily basis, it wouldn't be so easy to accidentally revert a good faith edit. --Kainaw (talk) 22:04, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

User Talk TOC?

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How do I add a Table of Contents to my User Talk page? Thanks.Captain Infinity 21:45, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It appears automatically with more than three headings, but see Wikipedia:Magic words for how to force the TOC to appear (and lots more useful stuff). Adrian M. H. 21:47, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict)One will appear automatically with a certain number of comments (4 I believe) but you can add one by putting __FORCETOC__ or __TOC__ on the page. See also Help:Section#Table of contents (TOC). Mr.Z-mantalk¢ 21:49, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How to archive news articles

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I wanted to archive some news articles at Internet Archive [2]. How do I archive news articles from news groups such as BBC, NBC, etc...? I have the URL for all the articles I wanted to archive. (:O) -Nima Baghaei talk · cont 22:30, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The lack of responses to this question may mean everybody else is as unable to understand the question as I am. This Help desk is for questions about editing on Wikipedia. If you are asking about how to cause certain articles to be archived at a site such as the Internet Archive, you would need to find the answer on the site you have in mind. For example, the Internet Archive probably has some sort of FAQ or policy page that explains how the site decides what articles to archive. You probably aren't the first person who has asked how to archive an article there. A search of the Help desk archive finds some previous mentions of the Internet Archive. Maybe you can find clues in the search results. --Teratornis 19:56, 14 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Copying film & tv credits from IMDb to Wikipedia

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Is it a copyvio to take an actor's list of credits from IMDb and put it into a Wikipedia article? One blatant example of this I just came across is Michael Wildman. But if not from IMDb, where else would you get an actor's filmography to put in the Wikipedia article? --Mathew5000 22:50, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Copying a list of events or names (or the like) is not copyvio. Copying descriptions of events or movies is. --Kainaw (talk) 00:03, 14 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

contributors

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67.166.22.214 23:09, 13 April 2007 (UTC)How can articles or edits by a particular contributor be found?[reply]

View the user page or user talk page. Look at the left in toolbox for "user contributions". Also "contribs" links in various places like article histories. Notinasnaid 23:29, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
See: Help:User contributions. The general form of the user contributions link looks like this: Special:Contributions/username. For example, here are my modest contributions: Special:Contributions/Teratornis. This is another reason to create your account, so you can track your own edits. If you edit under an IP address, if you share your address with other users, their edits will mix in with yours. --Teratornis 00:52, 14 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Shortcut problem

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Problem: Wikipedia Shortcuts, which are moved (dragged) to my Earthlink Task Panel, cannot be deleted by Rightclicking! These change from their authentic appearance to a circle (bluish) containing a black questionmark.

Solution: To remove the Questionmark-Circles and maintain the only Wikipedia shortcut represented by the classic, fractured earthglobe.-

Please tell me how. Thank you. 65.87.183.45 23:34, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

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