Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 December 10

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.

December 10

Invalid authorization code

I just created an account and received an emailed link to authorize, but have tried it three times now and always get a response message stating the code is wrong. I tried it both with and without the firewall active... what can I do? It is NOT due to a SPAM filter. Thanks Suedid (talk) 01:55, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Is the link on one line? Some mail programs may break it by splitting it in two lines. If that happened then copy the parts together into your browser address bar. Note that email confirmation is only needed to use email features. Your ability to post the above message shows that your account is working and can edit normally. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:26, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Thank you... that did it! Suedid (talk) 02:53, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

How much is fair to borrow from http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_356 ?

The German Wikipedia Porsche 356 article (including pictures like this Porsche Carrera Abarth) is much better developed than the English Wikipedia Porsche 356 article. How much can we borrow from them, and can we use their pictures in our article? Ward20 (talk) 02:15, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Hello, thanks for the inquiry, Wikipedias in all languages are under free licenses so you can use anything you wish from the German Wikipedia article to develop the article here. In fact, a lot of articles are built through translation from other wikis. (see also WP:TRANSLATE) --Kudret abi^Talk 02:22, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

And all but one one of the images is already in Commons --teb728 t c 02:27, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Great. Thanks very much. Ward20 (talk) 02:31, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

No problem, any time... --Kudret abi^Talk 02:39, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

quick question

How do i add a category tag to my user page? thanks Ottawa4ever (talk) 02:47, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Just add the name of the category anywhere on your userpage (though the bottom is probably best), formatted like a link ([[Category:Wikipedian paratroopers]], or whatever). Of course, many wikipedians add categories indirectly, using userboxes. Algebraist 03:01, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Adding a page

I would like to add to your information page on the actress Lita Llewellyn. How do I do thisLitatoby (talk) 03:32, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

See this page and begin editing.   jj137 ♠ Talk 03:36, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

See WP:COI if you are the subject of the article, related to her, or associated with her. Also see WP:RS - Wikipedia requires reliable sources to support any potentially controversial claims in an article. --Teratornis (talk) 07:58, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

And since the Lita Llewellyn article does not yet exist, be aware that new articles by new users have a large chance of getting deleted, for violating any of the vast number of policies and guidelines you probably have not heard of yet. We don't want you to end up like this. See: WP:EIW#Biogra for information about biography articles on Wikipedia. Be sure to save a copy on your computer's hard drive of whatever you contribute here. --Teratornis (talk) 08:05, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Trying to create an account

I am a long-time user of Wikipedia, and I recently decided to create an account as an editor. I had hoped to use my real name, and found that it is already in use! I would like to point out that no one else has my name (I am certain of it), so some one is using it as a username on Wikipedia without permission. I feel as if my identity has been stolen. What should I do. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 160.39.156.172 (talk) 04:00, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Without knowing the username in question, we cannot navigate the conditional branches that determine your options. For example, does the user who has this username appear to be active? If that user has not made any edits, you may have a chance with WP:USURP. To see all possibilities, go to: WP:EIW#Username. --Teratornis (talk) 06:17, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Need a little help customizing my signature

Hi guys, I need a little bit of help. Is it possible to make a signature, that's like fat in the middle and thin around the outside – like a roughly shaped oval ball? It dosent have to be very big but just like the size of a normal signature, just thin around the outside and fat in the middle. Need a little help customizing my signature So it’ll be like a normal signature (the user page bit and the talk bit) but the Username will be a little customized – the fat and thin bit. Thank you very much! Fattyjwoods (talk) 04:23, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

I am not sure if I understand exactly what you have in mind but before anything please read WP:SIG to see the guidelines for customized signatures. You could also request help from User:NikoSilver at User:NikoSilver/Signature_shop who has designed custom signatures for a lot of users. --Kudret abi^Talk 07:11, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

How to get a application of www.interno.it ?

i need to apply for working visa in italy by useing www.interno.it, but the above website is in italian lanugage.how can i apply ? can i get a application in english ? my e.mail is <removed to protect privacy> , pls let me if u you guys know anything about it.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Dilukshi (talk • contribs) 04:34, 10 December 2007 (UTC) 

This page is for questions on how to use the Wikipedia. You need to contact your local Italian consulate or embassy. --Orange Mike | Talk 06:54, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Kudos!

Thanks for your great work!75.28.78.202 (talk) 06:24, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

75.28.78.202 (talk) 06:24, 10 December 2007 (UTC)StarWest Media

On behalf of whoever you might be thanking, I will say you are welcome. If there is some particular part of Wikipedia that you especially like, you may be able to identify the user(s) who worked on that part. See: Help:History and Help:Contributions. Then you can thank those users specifically on their talk pages, perhaps even giving them a barnstar. Another possibility is that you are thanking us for something we did not do - Wikipedia has 6,917,755 articles, on many different subjects, and some visitors mistakenly think Wikipedia is affiliated with the subject of our articles. --Teratornis (talk) 07:48, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

vandal

71.148.58.91 is currently on a vandalism rampage and needs to be blocked! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Geronimo20 (talk • contribs) 06:41, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

The IP has been blocked. Also for future reference, the guidelines for what to do in case of vandalism can be found in WP:VANDAL. --Kudret abi^Talk 07:06, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Adding Shan Foods website on Wikipedia forum

Corporate Sales

Shan Foods (Pvt) Ltd, is the leading spice manafacture of Pakistan, Exporting to more than 56 coutries across globe.

Shan foods has the edge of delivering authentic eastern recipes cusine for our consumers around the world.

We would like to take the oppurtunity to add our website at your portal. When ever the member or no member search for recipes, spices, eastern foods, indian food.

We will also forward complete write up for our brand and products

Your kind reply is requested.

Regards

M Saad ul Hasan Brand Manager - Shan Foods —Preceding unsigned comment added by Corporate.sales (talk • contribs) 07:34, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

See WP:CORP and Wikipedia:Business' FAQ for our guidelines on articles about corporations. WP:COI advises against writing about subjects you are personally involved with. However, you may write about your company on Wikicompany, which wants to have articles about every legally incorporated business in the world. Also, Wikipedia is a wiki rather than a forum, although some portions of Wikipedia function something like a forum (such as this Help desk). --Teratornis (talk) 07:54, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Help - none of my js is working anymore

Up until yesterday evening, I was wikiing happily along with things like Voice of All's script and Twinkle in my monobook.js. For no reason that I can fathom, at some point it all just stopped working. I've verified each script and sure enough, not a single one is functioning. I started with the normal clearing cache, trying a purge, checking that none of the scripts had been updated or moved, checking that other people weren't having the same problem -- nothing helped so I went so far as to completely remove firefox and java (including cleanup afterwards of the tidbits they leave around) and doing a fresh reinstall. That didn't change anything either. I've checked my settings in Firefox (v 2.0.11 btw), tried without any plugins installed to make sure something wasn't malfunctioning, checked preferences on Wikipedia to make sure there wasn't anything new I missed out on...

Please tell me I'm missing something simple here :) I feel so naked! Shell ^babelfish 09:45, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Ok, I figured out something I had forgotten. I logged in from a different computer and I'm still having the same problem, so its apparently not my laptop doing something funny. Just for fun I've tried IE7 too, though I know some of the scripts don't work there. :( Shell ^babelfish 10:39, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

There are at least two problems with your monobook.js that I can see; the category at the bottom wasn't commented out in JavaScript (I've fixed that for you), and you're trying to include a Special:Mypage subpage; I don't think that works (and I just tested it, and didn't get the results that would be expected if it did work), but I haven't fixed that as it shouldn't be causing the problem. Is anything working now? You could also try disabling the scripts one at a time to see if a change to any of those is causing the problem. --ais523 10:50, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Believe it or not your change made that special pages one start working again. :) Should have thought to test each by itself -- sure enough, twinkle by itself works, I'll test each and see if I can figure out where the problem is. Thank you so much! Shell ^babelfish 11:02, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Another hint that may help: on Firefox, typing javascript: into the address bar will pop up a dialog box showing you all the problems it's found with websites you've been browsing. This includes JavaScript errors; scroll right down to the bottom, as there are likely to be many irrelevant warnings (even Wikipedia causes a few) clogging it up. --ais523 11:06, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, I'll try that when I get time to toy around and see what in VOA's script was causing the issue. Shell ^babelfish 17:38, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Search

To look for information, there is a box for typing words defining the subject.\

Below that box, one checks either "Go" or "Search."

What is the difference between those two?

66.44.102.31 (talk) 09:46, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Search searches for the term you entered in the body of articles (and the search page gives more options for searching specific sections of Wikipedia). Go takes you to an article which matches the term you entered if one exists, or to a search results page if there is no exact match to an article title.--Kateshortforbob 10:37, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Submitting an article for deletion / review

Could someone please look at my last few edits (about the Chris Moxon page, (which just seems like a vanity page that is only linked to the page of a local club he is a member of and his own user page. Even though I consider myself a strict inclusionist I found this to be a bit much. I wanted to do all the right things, inform Chris Moxon and make the little discussion group to argue over the article's merits, but every time I thought I was following directions something went wrong. So could an editor that really knows their stuff advise me or fix it? Obviously I am such an inclusionist I have never done this once since I first started editing in 2002. Thanks. Saudade7 12:38, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

P.S. Apparently I nominated a non-existent template for deletion and not the article for which I tried to create a deletion template. Saudade7 12:40, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

You've confused the Articles for deletion and Templates for deletion processes. You can submit an article for deletion by writing {{subst:afd}} (also known as {{subst:afd1}}) at the top of the article, and following the instructions at AfD in 3 steps from there. In cases of obviously deletable pages, the speedy deletion process is a lot more streamlined, so it's worth checking that first, but I don't quite think it applies here. I've reverted the mistakes you made trying to file the article for deletion, so you'll have a clean slate for your next try. Hope that helps! --ais523 12:45, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks ais523, I will give it another shot. I always have the hardest time finding the templates I need on here. When I do find the right page I "watch" it because I know otherwise I might never find it again! Thanks so much! (Also I didn't erase things myself because it seemed so deep in the system by then and also because I thought that maybe the templates needed time to magically cretaed some kind of network. Totally counter-intuitive to the way I know Wiki works, but...So thank's for the clean slate! Saudade7 12:51, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

I share your pain. :) Have you considered creating a subpage or a section on your userpage to outline the templates you expect to use more frequently? I find mine essential. :D --Moonriddengirl ^(talk) 12:57, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

That's a good idea Moonriddengirl, alas, each time I am doing something new! This is the first time I ever ran across something I thought should probably be deleted! Since 2002! (I was using that Random Article thing for the first time) alas. Thanks, Saudade7 15:58, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Template Help

I would like to add a new section to a template. The template is Template:South Carolina. I want to add Unincorporated areas. I tried to do this yesterday, but when I was done, the last section did not appear. The code for the last section was still there, it just did not appear when you viewed the template. When I was adding the new section I copied the code for the other section and changed the "Title#" and "body#" of the sections that came after the section so there were no same numbers. What did I do wrong? Can I added another section? Or is the number of sections allowed controlled by other template? (NOTE: I reverted my edit so that the template is back to where it was before I added the new section) Thanks Rocketmaniac (talk) 12:50, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

{{South Carolina}} uses {{US state navigation box}} which currently only supports up to group7 and list7. Higher numbers will be ignored as unrecognized parameter names. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:42, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

I looked at the {{US state navigation box}} and it said "There are a total of 7 group/list pairs, so you can use up to group7 and list7. Additional items can easily be added add to the template if needed." So, that is why I thought I could add another section. Thanks Rocketmaniac (talk) 13:49, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

The limit of 7 can be increased by extending {{US state navigation box}}.--Patrick (talk) 15:48, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Moving pages/disambiguation rules

I've just added a new article about a newspaper under The Edinburgh Journal. At the moment, The Journal refers to the Canadian current affairs program, and it includes a disambiguation link to The Journal (newspaper). I'm trying to work out how to disambiguate these now that there's a new page; it seems the two options are changing either The Journal or The Journal (newspaper) to a disambiguation page, but I'm not sure what the best option is or exactly how to go about doing it (though I've read through WP:DAB). Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. Scottishmatt (talk) 13:14, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

The current article at The Journal is a Canadian current affairs television program which ended in 1992 and is probably unknown in other countries. It doesn't need the main title so I would move it and create a disambiguation page for all articles there. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:35, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

How do I publish my article?

Dear Sir/Madam,

I wrote an article in my account. It appears on "my talk", I saved the pages but I cannot see it on the wikipedia. It doesn't appear like an article. What is the problem?

Thanks for your help.

Sincerely yours, —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.82.148.142 (talk) 13:26, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

What is your account? The IP address used here has no other edits. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:29, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Prevent Malicious Deletion of Added Material

As I happen to be knowledgeable in the subject, in the interests of journalistic fairness and balance yesterday I attempted to improve the Wiki article on clairvoyance, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clairvoyance, by adding three concise, well-referenced paragraphs, and three or four sentences, being careful not to delete any text by other editors. Then I left a message to that effect on the Discussion page. Today, however, I found that within one hour someone by the user name of Antelan deleted all my added material, and my Discussion page message, apparently by clicking on the Undo icon, while making such comments as "Must be kidding me" and "Weasel much?". This article is already preceded with the warning "Neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed." Would someone be able to reinsert my material and place this article under closer supervision, or lock it from malicious deletions and valdalism, to allow me and other knowledgeable people who are in good faith to insert qualified text?RAmesbury (talk) 13:46, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Talk:Clairvoyance is the place to discuss the article, but the talk page has not been edited for a month, and Special:Contributions/RAmesbury show no other edit discussing the article. If talking doesn't give an acceptable result then see Wikipedia:Dispute resolution. Please try to also assume good faith from others. And see Wikipedia:Neutral point of view and Wikipedia:Fringe theories. I agree your edit had big problems, for example saying "Skeptics just ignore such inconvienient facts" after a claim that the existence of telepathy and clairvoyance must be accepted as scientific fact. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:10, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

I didn't see where anyone wrote e.g. "weasel much?" I did look at your contributions and I think the problem is with the tone of your insertions. They seem to act rhetorically as a defence of the existence of clairvoyance rather than just an explaination of what clairvoyance is claimed to be. Hence it doesn't meet NPOV. You could say that "so and so makes claims for the existence of X with argument Y" But you can't say that "X exists because Y's argument against its existence is a bad one." Or, again, you cannot claim that lack of proof that something doesn't exist proves existence. I have no proof that Unicorns do not exist but that doesn't prove that they exist.

That said, I am not one of those Rational Skepticism deletists, I even defended the Mel's Hole article here. And it is true that the Wikipedia is about Verifiability and not about Truth. But I did think that your contributions were a little one-sided POV wise and needed to be cited with sources outside those making the claims.

But not to get discouraged! Just try to re-write so that you are not making a claim about whether or not clairvoyance exists, but just about the nature of experiements / research done on the subject. Good luck! Saudade7 19:23, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

As someone who aspires to be a rational skeptic, or at least someone who tries to practice rationality in occasional short bursts, I'm wondering how a clairvoyant would need to ask questions on the Help desk. Perhaps I misunderstand what clairvoyance is all about, but doesn't it somehow involve a way to get answers to tough questions at much lower cost than answering questions by the tedious unglamorous ways? (E.g. the Scientific method, RTFM, etc.) Granted, this is no reason for User:Antelan to abbreviate WP:WEASEL into an overly terse comment such as "Weasel much?" which probably would require clairvoyance for someone new to Wikipedia to decode. --Teratornis (talk) 23:47, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Ha ha! That's pretty funny Teratornis! But I don't think the OP was claiming to *be* clairvoyant! If s/he was, s/he'd be better off getting that fat check from the Amazing Randi! I'm all for rational skeptics, I just remember when there was a vigilante brigade of them on here trying to delete articles about paranormal subjects. That's no good because what if you are watching the The X-Files some night and don't know what a Chupacabra is!? I think that if the rational skeptics want to delete articles, they have to prove themselves able and gallant first by deleting the article for God. Slay that dragon and they can delete the Leprechauns after. Saudade7 03:20, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

I need....

Can you create the Category 'Chinese mass murderers'??.... I have 8 of them and if I don't find Chinese mass murderers I will put them in Chinese serial killers.... and it isn't so.Thannks! Ahmed987147 (talk) 14:04, 10 December 2007 (UTC) .

Done: Category:Chinese mass murderers. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:18, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Link to Jamestown Hospital

How do I insert a link to /www.jamestownhospital.com/ in the North Dakota Hospital listing?

Thanks,

Billkjamestown (talk) 15:23, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Copy this into your article. http://www.jamestownhospital.com or maybe you want to this James Town Hosptal

PS Edit this message so you get the actual codes. (Rocketmaniac talk) 15:35, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

I see you have already added the hospital to List of hospitals in North Dakota in [1]. It's a red link because Wikipedia has no article about the hospital. Wikipedia pages are not link collections and the list (and similar lists for other states) does not have external links to the hospitals. If the hospital had its own article then a link could have been there. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:41, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

adding an entry

Hi how are you , i was just wondering how I go about adding in an entry. Please let me know how I can do this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.248.152.202 (talk) 16:19, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Assuming you want to create a new article:

You will need to first register an account, which has many benefits, including the ability to create articles. Once you have registered, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:51, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

You can also suggest it at Wikipedia:Articles for creation without making an account. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:55, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia as source for itself

I believe I once read somewhere in Wikipedia that the text of one Wikipedia article should not be used as a reference for another Wikipedia article. I've looked, but haven't found that Guideline or Policy. If it exists, can you direct me to it, or offer any "expert advice" on the issue? Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by DonFB (talk • contribs) 17:17, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

I don't think it exists. If the facts are correct and can be verified they can be used anywhere without restriction. Dr.K. (talk) 17:23, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia does not meet its own standards as to what constitutes a reliable source; this is not a paradox, although it seems like one. Tasokessaris is quasi-right, in that if the article you are referencing is well-sourced, it will give you reliable sources to draw upon. (But read the source material; don't rely on a footnote.) --Orange Mike | Talk 17:29, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Just for specifics, under Wikipedia:V#SELF, we have "Articles and posts on Wikipedia should never be used as third-party sources". --Moonriddengirl ^(talk) 17:41, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Clarification: What I said is completely right, not partially right. If you quote information from an article that is backed up by reliable in text citations then you can quote this fact in any article. Of course common sense dictates that you don't write/read an unsourced statement in one article and then quote the exact same unsourced statement in another article as a fact. This is what Wikipedia:V#SELF tries to avoid. On the other hand if you quote the definition of Engineering and the exact same definition is backed up by an inline citation to Britannica you can use this definition all across Wikipedia (always accompanied by the same in text citation leading to the Britannica source). Dr.K. (talk) 20:59, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Lynne Freed entry

1. The current entry for Lynn Freed has misspelled her first name. It should be Lynn Freed. 2. The content displayed under Lynn Freed should be in regular normal Wikipedia format, not in "stub" form.

Robert Kerwin

LYNN FREED

LYNN FREED was born and grew up in Durban, South Africa. She came to New York as a graduate student, receiving her M.A. and Ph.D. in English Literature from Columbia University.

Ms. Freed has published a collection of essay, READING, WRITING & LEAVING HOME: LIFE ON THE PAGE (Harcourt, 2005), a collection of stories, THE CURSE OF THE APPROPRIATE MAN (Harcourt, 2004), and five novels: HOUSE OF WOMEN (Little, Brown & Co., 2002), THE MIRROR (Crown Publishers, 1997), THE BUNGALOW (Poseidon/Simon & Schuster, 1993), HOME GROUND (William Heinemann Ltd., London; Summit Books/Simon & Schuster, 1986) and HEART CHANGE (New American Library, 1982; republished by Story Line Press in 2000 as FRIENDS OF THE FAMILY.) Five of her books have appeared on The New York Times "Notable Books of the Year" list.

Ms Freed's short fiction, memoirs and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The Atlantic Monthly, Southwest Review, The Georgia Review, the Michigan Quarterly Review, Tin House Magazine, The Santa Monica Review, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsday, Mirabella, Elle, House Beautiful, House & Garden, and Vogue, among others. Her stories have been recommended in Best American Short Stories (1992) and in The O’ Henry Awards: Prize Stories (2003). Her work is widely translated, and is included in a number of anthologies.

In 2002, Ms. Freed received the inaugural Katherine Anne Porter Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She has received fellowships, grants and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Guggenheim Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Lannan Foundation. In 1986, she won the Bay Area Book Reviewers' Award for Fiction for HOME GROUND. THE BUNGALOW, THE MIRROR and HOUSE OF WOMEN were nominated for the award. FRIENDS OF THE FAMILY was short-listed for the 2000 Western States Book Award.

Ms. Freed is Professor of English at the University of California in Davis. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Robert Kerwin (talk • contribs) 17:54, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

I moved the page to Lynn Freed. I think it still needs some formatting to bring it up to standard. Astronaut (talk) 19:55, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

adding something to an article

Greetings, I have been using your encyclopedia on & off for a few years. I have been browsing the web for a long time. I have however, never done anything with a blog or any other such on-line posting. I want to add a citation to your article of tacticity, but I cannot figure out how to do it. I have searched for about 30 minutes, read many FAQs, tried to edit but was unsure how to add a citation, I AM LOST. here is my edit for the article on tacticity -a citation for isotactic polypropylene by the Ziegler Natta catalyst process - this is mentioned on P 63 of a book called Organic Polymer Chemistry, written by K. J. Saunders in 1973. I have the second edition (1988), published by Chapman & Hall, NY, New York. ISBN 0-412-27570-8.

I would think there are more than a few people in my shoes, those who are unfamiliar with uploading information onto the web. The whole process was confusing enough to make me want to give up. A set of simple instructions, tested by dummies like me, would be helpful to those who might wish to help improve the encyclopedia. Thanks for listening Richard Breakem (talk) 19:27, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Hi there. Have you been to Wikipedia:Citation templates? There are a number of templates there that you can insert into text to create a citation, and I think they're about as simple as it gets, but if things are still as clear as mud ask another question here or drop a note on my talk page and we'll see what we can do. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 21:59, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Dispute resolution with intransigent editors

I'm unsure of the next step to take in resolving a content dispute, and I'm hoping someone here can give me pointers. Briefly, the situation is this:

A content dispute arose over a linguistic issue, with two editors contesting some changes I made to an article. After some discussion, and before we got to examining the content in question, the two editors declared unwillingness to discuss the issue further. However, they continued to revert changes to the article. An RfC produced no input, and we're ineligible for WP:THIRD. Assuming they're unwilling to mediate, what's the next step? Thanks. Ilkali (talk) 20:00, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Have you read WP:DR? Corvus cornix_talk 17:55, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Yes. Ilkali (talk) 22:51, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

note

you just sent me a conformation request in my <e-mail deleted for privacy> account. When I clicked on the sight location to conferm my registering,it failed to go through.I am comferming it here.

    Roy Ostyn  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.4.53.93 (talk) 20:36, 10 December 2007 (UTC) 

What web site did you sign up for an account with? This is the Help Desk of Wikipedia, and Wikipedia does not use email confirmation before you can use a new account. --teb728 t c 21:53, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Although it does use email confirmation to attach an email address to an account. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 21:55, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Your account has been created [2] and can be used for editing without email. Try copying the full confirmation URL from the mail to your browser address bar. Maybe your mail program split it in two lines. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:33, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

printing

is there a way/button to make the page printer friendly —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.0.218.243 (talk) 20:38, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

On the left-hand side of any page (in the "toolbox", below the search box), there is a "printable version" link. It will bring up the text and images of the article only. NF24^{(radio me!)} 20:52, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Contacting administrator using the talk: page

Hi,

Sorry to trouble you. I posted an article earlier which was deleted, and wished to discuss the reasons with the administrator. Afraid I'm having a little difficulty following the guidelines. I have located the talk: page for TeaDrinker, but cannot find an area where I can open a new discussion.

There are a number of topic 'conversations' on the page, with the 'edit' link at top right, but I'm wary of 'butting in' on another conversation.

Can you tell me the correct procedure to open the discussion please?

Many thanks.

P.J. Murphy —Preceding unsigned comment added by Murphypj (talk • contribs) 21:57, 10 December 2007 (UTC) Murphypj (talk) 22:14, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Sure go to the page, User talk:TeaDrinker and do one of two things: 1) click on the "+" sign at the top of the page (right next to "edit this page"), fill in a subject and then type your message below; hit save page; or 2) Go to the talk page, click on edit this page at the top; go to the very bottom of the page; place a subject name there and surround it with two equal signs on either side (like this: ==subject==), type your message below that, click save. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:40, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Interwiki image import

{{helpme}} Please help me to import this [3] image to CEATEC. Thank you. --Kushal^t 19:01, 10 December 2007 (UTC)--Kushal^t 22:32, 10 December 2007 (UTC) For future uses, it is at [4] --Kushal^t 23:09, 10 December 2007 (UTC)  Done Please see CEATEC. Thanks --Kushal^t 23:15, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

apparent bug ...

I receive an error message when I enter my query.

" A run time error has occured.

 Do you wish to debug?
  
 Line: 683
 Error:Expected '}'
  
   Yes     No     "

I can click either option and the query is completed. I get my information.

This seems only to happen with Wikipedia.22:39, 10 December 2007 (UTC)69.221.11.85 (talk)

Where exactly did you enter a query, how did you enter it, and what was the query? PrimeHunter (talk) 22:43, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Did it happen when you were logged in and using VandalProof? PrimeHunter (talk) 23:00, 10 December 2007 (UTC)