Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 January 6

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January 6

(+436) positive/negative numbers in brackets after article names in my watchlist.

I've noticed that the article names in my watchlist now have numbers after them. Can anyone explain what they are for? --Brideshead 00:02, 6 January 2007 (UTC) Sorry Disregard, just found the answer above. Thanks --Brideshead 00:05, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Watchlist

On "My Watchlist" each page on the list of edits that your list has compiled is followed by a number, green for positive ones, red for negative. I cant seem to find what that represents. Is it some form of rating system or what? --Ferdiaob 00:09, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Please see Help:Watching pages#What do the colored numbers mean? -- Kesh 00:26, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

It shows the increase or decrease in the number of bytes as a result of that edit, in case you didn't look :) SGGH 11:33, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

surveying land

If I am buying an acre of land on a steep hillside how is the measurement figured? Will it be measured horizontally or vertically?

The Help Desk is for asking questions about Wikipedia. Please try the appropriate section of the Reference desk. Thanks. --Tkynerd 02:11, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Land area is measured two dimensionally and does not change based on the relief of the land. The price per square foot can however vary. For example, an acre of hilly, ocean-view land may allow for more building sites with views. It could sell for more than one acre with flat land that permits only one house with an ocean view.Mattnad 05:18, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

Sorry to add to this pointless question, but what happens if the land is vertical? If the measurement is 2-d horizonal then I presumeably get an infinite amount of it for my money? :P Jubilee♫clipman 17:49, 10 December 2008 (UTC) PS feel free to remove this pointless addition...

Sock Puppet Tags

I have a question. Can ANYONE place a sockpuppet tag on another user's page, or is that something only an administrator can do? What is the proper procedure to follow if you suspect someone of being a sock puppet? Also, if someone who is NOT an administrator places a sockpuppet tag on your page, can you remove it? Thanks for your help! Cleo123 02:23, 6 January 2007 (UTC) (edit conflict)

Anyone may place the tag, however you must be certain they are a sock puppet. Otherwise, you may be accusing an innocent editor, which leads to drama. If anyone places a warning on your User talk page, it's bad form to remove it yourself. A false accusation can be cleared up and the admin/user who placed it should remove it themself. If not, you can archive older comments, including the warning template.

Basically, talk with the user who placed the tag and work for a resolution to prove whether or not the tagged editor really is a sock puppet or not. If a resolution cannot be made between the two users, a request for comment may be appropriate. -- Kesh 02:40, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Edit war with someone who won't talk back.

I'm somewhat new to Wikipedia, and am having an edit war, mainly on the Angel (Lilo & Stitch) page, with someone who won't respond to my requests to talk to them. It is getting on my nerves and I'm afraid my angry responses are breaking policies, which I REALLY don't want to do.

The person, who doesn't have a wikipedia account, keeps adding questionable/incorrect information to the page, some of it which doesn't even need to be there. For example, the person keeps adding the character (who is an alien who doesn't speak English) to the "fictional Scott" catigory and adding a line saying that she has a "soft Scottish accent". This person also adds "like Stitch's" to ever single line I write in which I say that the character has retractable claws, even though the character Stitch does not have retractable claws (He has claws like a dogs and I have never seen them retracted in all of the media I've seen. I've tried to ask the person for a citation to show that they are, but with no results. And even if it was true, is it even necessary to add to the end of the sentence?). The incorrect statement about Stitch's claws are on other pages as well, but I haven't fixed them all yet. (Oy, am I talking to much for this help desk page?)

The REAL issue, though, is that this person absolutely REFUSES to speak to me. I have tried leaving comments on the talk page, comments within the text that the person is editing, and comments when I save the page. They go completely ignored, and the person continues to re-add the incorrect information that I deleted. I know I shouldn't assume that I'm completely correct, but I'm pretty sure that I am and would be perfectly fine with being proven wrong with solid, citable data (I'm a scientist, after all). I tried to make a compromise by adding a dispute tag to the top of the page, but the person keeps deleting it. That's the last straw.

How do I solve this dispute without allowing the incorrect information to remain on the page? Miriam The Bat 02:38, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Per Wikipedia:Resolving disputes, you've already attempted to contact the user. Step two, Disengage for a while is relevant. You don't want to break civility rules over this. Step back, and take a breath. After that, since this user apparently refuses a dialogue, next would be a Request for Comment. This asks other editors & admins to look at the situation and mediate a resolution. Since the user refuses to talk, mediation seems unavailable at this point. An RfC would bring attention to the matter and hopefully resolve it. -- Kesh 02:48, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Thank you. I've already posted a request for comment on the Media, Art & Literature request-for-comment page on December 24th, but didn't get a response. Did I post the request too soon or on the wrong page? Miriam The Bat 02:54, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

It may have simply been overlooked. Try again, and mention it on the Talk page for your article. Keep in mind, people tend to speak out on subjects that interest them, so with niche articles (like a single character) it can sometimes be difficult to attract attention to RfCs on them. -- Kesh 03:04, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

I'd also mention that some of this behavior sounds like vandalism. Use warning templates sparingly, but they could be handy and correct usage can help document his acts and lead to administrative action in the future. Xiner (talk, email) 03:16, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Question from Heather

Where do I find out if you have valid creditionals to present your information and why?

Heather Williams (email removed)

Hi Heather! Anyone can join Wikipedia and edit the articles here. Just sign up (at the top of the page)! -- Kesh 03:34, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Hi Heather. If you are actually asking about Wikipedia's bonafides as a source of information, we recommend that, if you are using our information in an official capacity, you verify the information you find in our articles through other sources (check the cited sources in the article first). Anchoress 03:38, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

You may be interested in reading Wikipedia:Who writes Wikipedia. Canderson7 ^(talk) 03:39, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Fad Predictions

I manage the 2000's fads page, and a while ago before a major clean-up there was a fad prediction section where people could add things they believed to become fads in the future, but it was deleted and it was stated there shouldn't be a fad prediction section. The same type of section was just created a little while ago and i want to know if maybe it could be kept or moved.--Technofreak90 04:03, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

WP:NOT. Specifically, the Wikipedia is not a crystal ball, as well probably as the stuff about it not being a social networking site or forum. The section shouldn't exist. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 04:12, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Help! I don't know how to deal with a flood of deletion requests!

I just noticed a user has nominated 12 separate articles for potentially pointless AfD discussions based on, what could charitably called a unique rule interpretation. I don't want to assume bad faith, but I also don't feel like debating in detail with a somewhat difficult user. Is it a violation of assuming good faith to point out the edit history of the user (almost 20 AfD noms in three days, all of which are controversial and on related topics)? I don't want to start an edit war, but this seems to me a clear case of policy abuse. Wintermut3 05:05, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

• Update: I posted a message to the user's talk page, and they seem to be more reasonable at this point than they appeared at first blush, though I still have issues with the massive nom flood, some of them are also clearly warranted on a second look. But any advice as to how to approach mass-noms using cut-and-pasted rational and the fallout from this would still be appreciated. Wintermut3 05:21, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
• Suggest they put very similar articles in a mass-nomination on the same AFD nomination subpage next time. Ask them to withdraw those you think aren't warranted. - Mgm|^(talk) 13:32, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Gothic Revival Article

There is a Gothic Architecture Revival article on Wikipedia but it doesn'e mention any of the Latin American Gothic structures that were built in the late 19th century and early 20th. I posted the name of a very famous Costarican neo-gothic church called "Iglesia de Coronado" some weeks ago but it got deleted. Why did this happen? There is even a big article on it at this website:

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iglesia_de_Coronado

Please let me know if it's impossible to include this one or any other church in the article.

Respecfully,

Guido Sanchez —Preceding unsigned comment added by Subtilior74 (talk • contribs)

Well I searched "Iglesia de Coronado" but it apparently never existed. There was nothing in the deletion log that said that it did. By the way are you sure that that was exactly the name, since wikipedia is like that. As for another thing, if the article was in just Spanish on this wikipedia, it would most likely get deleted. — Arjun 05:35, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

I took a different tack. In fact, Subtilior74, you seem to have edited the Gothic Revival architecture, adding a new external link. And, it is still exactly where you left it. However, linking to a foreign language page isn't usually considered very helpful. It would be better to add information to the article or even translate the Spanish article. The church is mentioned in List of Gothic Revival architecture, so the link you have added is fairly redundant. Notinasnaid 12:13, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

microbiology

im a biotech student .. can any one say whats the conditions required for growing 1.nitrifying bacteria 2.denitrifying bacteria 3.sulphur bacteria... (pH,TEMPERATURE,INCUBATION TIME)

The Help Desk is for getting help with Wikipedia itself. Please try the appropriate section of the Reference desk. --Tkynerd 06:30, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

customer care

Please give me definition of customer care for cellular call centres.

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. — Lost^(talk) 08:15, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

• You don't need the reference desk. Try customer care or customer service and apply that to whatever you're calling them for. - Mgm|^(talk) 13:30, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Not Bad for a Girl

here is my contact info: (rm email)...why does it keep deleting?

Not Bad for a Girl (An Analytic Approach to the Functions of Music and Gender Deconstruction) is an 88-minute feature film documenting some of the more noteworthy harder core female bands from the early 90s. It stars L7, Babes in Toyland, the Lunachicks, and Hole, featuring interview and performance footage from each band and bandmember. It was produced on a shoestring by Dr. Lisa (psychologist/ musicologist) and Kyle C. Kyle (musician/artist), and it shows. Cobbled from a variety of video sources (primarily hi-8) and transferred to 16-millimeter film, Not Bad for a Girl ascribes to the fiercely independent school of filmmaking a la "Hoop Dreams" and "Hype."

Tina Silvey executive produced NB4AG, which played at independent theaters, film festivals, museums, university women's and critical gender studies departments and popular culture departments. It enjoyed a surprisingly successful international run playing the festival circuit including: LAIFF, NYIFF, AtlantaFF, ChicagoFF, San FransiscoFF, Boston U., U.S.C., New York's Hallwalls, HawaiiFF., MontrealFF, London, the UK, Germany, Portugal, France (CreiteilFF), MelbourneFF and SydneyFF AUS, and more, winning awards such as Best Director and Best Independent Film. Horizon Films picked it up for domestic theatrical distribution.

Given Lisa's psychological background, the interviews loosely paralleled her doctorate on music, exploring creativity, madness, and gender issues attempting to locate the line where a potentially new female identity can be defined in a society that had been somewhat less than welcoming. The cast is rounded out with Rock for Choice special guies Joan Jett, The Mudwimin, Silverfish featuring Lesley Rankine (Ruby), Jula Bell (Bobsled, Bulemia Banquet), Calamity Jane, performance footage and interviews from the 1rst Annual Riot Grrrl Convention in Washington D.C., and Rock 'n' Roll High School for girls in Melbourne Australia (Hecate/Litany and more), as well as various fans along the way.

Not Bad for a Girl is available on DVD, as an academic book, the original posters and more and can be obtained by contacting Dr. Lisa or Kyle C. Kyle at SpitshineProductions.com, NB4AG.com, and AlchemyandMotion.com.

The article Not bad for a girl was deleted for being non-notable (=nn), by User:Jaranda see [1]. If you wish to query the deletion either contact the Admin Jaranda yourself and explain why the article subject is notable or request Wikipedia:Deletion review. Cheers Lethaniol 11:53, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Lost Article?

A while ago I remember seeing a article List of very serious episodes which showed a alphabetical list of television shows along with the very special episodes description. But now I can't find it after searching for it. May you please help me with this situation?

Signed, BCnumbah1

It is possible the page has been deleted (from the title, it sounds like a very subjective inclusion criterion, so difficult to be encyclopaedic with). However, there has never been a page under the exact title List of very serious episodes - could the title have been slightly different, or some of the words been capitalised? Trebor 13:17, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

It was probably List of very special episodes, which was deleted after Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of very special episodes. --Sam Blanning^(talk) 15:13, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

renaming an existing page

Hi - I created a page, "Charles dexter phelps," simply as a redirect page. However, it really should be capitalized, since it is a proper name. Now I don't know how to rename it "Charles Dexter Phelps" -- can you help me?

• All you need to do is click move at the top of the page and then write where you want the page moving to, I hope this helps. Asics 14:59, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
  • Okay great - this worked. BUT it no longer automatically redirects. Instead there's an interim page where one can click through to the proper page. (If you search "charles dexter phelps" you'll see what I'm trying to express.) Is there any way to clean that up so it just goes straight to the proper page?
    • There was a double redirect - i.e. the redirect was pointed at another redirect. It's been fixed. --Sam Blanning^(talk) 15:15, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

(edit conflict) The move created a double redirect, which I just fixed. In the future, you can edit the page and change the text next to #REDIRECT to change to the proper page. –Llama man^{sign here} 15:17, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

• • • • • • Thank you everyone - 209.247.21.173 20:55, 6 January 2007 (UTC)thirdcamper

My signature doesnt appear to be working when I use it

Hi my signature isn't working on some talk pages I am using Asics 14:55, 6 January 2007 (UTC) but it isn't signing my name (knowing my luck it will work on this page). Is there anything I might have done that stops it from working, and if so how do I fix it? The signature part on the toolbar should make the signature yet after I have submitted the content, it does not change to a signature --Asics 14:55, 6 January 2007 (UTC) Thanks, Asics. p.s. even if it works on this page can you explain why it isnt working elsewhere. (see the end of Talk:Barnsley F.C.)

The reason it didn't work there is that you used a nowiki tag to prevent a template transcluding, but did not close it, so everything thereafter was "nowikied" and your signature was not put on the page. Hope that helps. Trebor 15:17, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

L. Ron Hubbard's marriage information

I must tell you that false information about L. Ron Hubbard's marriages has been submitted to his entry. I can show you official documents to prove what I am saying which is, I'm sure, more than the person can do who sent in the information currently showing on the site. If I sent you this proof, will you be able to prevent the false information from reappearing? If so, what e-mail address can I use for the attachments? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Johnalexwood (talk • contribs)

Only reliable sources are acceptable as documentation of the facts in Wikipedia articles. If your evidence is currently only in a form that you can submit by E-mail (and I'll note in passing that Wikipedia does not have any centralized authority that can accept documentation in this manner anyway), it does not meet the reliable sources criteria. However, it sounds as if the person who updated the marriage information on Hubbard's entry also did not include any reliable sources. Your best course of action is to raise the issue on the article's talk page. --Tkynerd 18:01, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Central Park and Wallasey UK and New York NY

In the article about Wallasey, Merseyside, UK, there is reference to Central Park, which does exist and is excellent.

However, the words "Central Park" are a Link, - which send to you Central Park New York.

How do I go about reporting this error, or how can I sort it myself.

Gerry Jones (rm email))

Basically, the question is whether or not the Central Park in Wallasey is sufficiently notable to warrant an article of its own. If so, the article should be created (and named "Central Park (Wallasey)" or something similar), the article Central Park should be moved to Central Park (New York) (which is currently a redirect), and then a disambiguation page should be created, named "Central Park." If the Central Park in Wallasey is not notable, the link should be removed from Wallasey. You can do that yourself by editing the article (use the "Edit this page" link at the top of the article page) and changing [[Central Park]] to simply Central Park. My own guess -- and I want to emphasize that that's all it is -- would be that the Central Park in Wallasey is not notable (in the specific Wikipedia sense; see the link above) and does not warrant its own article. --Tkynerd 17:54, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Signature

How can i create those cool signatures people have instead of the boring one I've got? I mean with different colours and different parts of the name linking to different things i.e. User page for first half, and talk page for second half of the name. Thanks, Asics 18:12, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

There are some tips at WP:SIG. If you know html, then its easy. If you dont, then the easiest thing is to copy someone else's signature changing the name to yours — Lost^(talk) 18:16, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Just as a warning, keep your sig under the 200 character limit, also do not use images in your sig. — Arjun 18:23, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

I like mine, which is easy to write. Xiner (talk, email) 18:25, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Here's some advice. If your sig is longer than mine, its probably too much. — Dark Shikari ^talk/_contribs 22:30, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

After putting on the colour, I can no longer click on my name to redirect to my user page. Can someone kindly put up the source code? I tried the "a href" html code but doesn't work. OhanaUnited 03:18, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

OhanaUnited, you have to link it for it to be a link. --antilived^{T | C | G} 22:26, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Edit Lists

How do I edit Lists like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Mac_OS_X_instant_messengers ? Because when I clicked the edit button I could only edit the Category, but not actually add more programs. Mercury Messenger is missing in that list. Help Please :) (Me-pawel 19:50, 6 January 2007 (UTC))

That isn't really a "list," it's a category. Lists are just articles that happen to list some stuff. Categories are specifically meant to group similar articles. Pages are only added to categories when you add a [[Category:______________]] line to the article pages themselves. For instance, to add Mercury Messenger to this category, you'd edit the article and add [[Category:Mac OS X instant messengers]] (usually to the end, or near it). Then it will appear in the Category page. Larry V (talk | contribs) 19:59, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Thank you! You helped me a lot ;) (Me-pawel 20:33, 6 January 2007 (UTC))

Almost sorted my signature

I nearly sorted my signature but it does not seem to be working, I know i'll have done something wrong but what? I have it on Template:Asics, and should look like Asics^Talk but when i put the teplate in as {{Template:Asics}} nothing happened, and was same with [[ ]] instead... it just looked like this... {{Template:Asics}} 20:11, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

I don't know much about signatures, but can't you put this code directly in your Preferences and check the Raw Signature box? Also the template should be in your user space, not Template. Xiner (talk, email) 20:17, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

You can't use templates in your signature; for more information see Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages#Transclusion of templates. Use regular wiki markup instead. Larry V (talk | contribs) 20:20, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

How to delete a user subpage

Is there a way to delete a user sub page I am no longer in need of? Lerner

Yes place {{db-user}} on the page you want deleted and an admin will delete it shortly. — Arjun 20:13, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

You'll need an admin to do that. Fortunately, admin I am, so I'll get that done for you. Larry V (talk | contribs) 20:16, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Tagging image after receiving permission to use

I wish to upload an image of a published fanzine front cover for a relevant article on Wikipedia. Subscribers to the fanzine can access an online version, and within this version is a high-definition online image of the issue's front cover (not a scan or photograph but what appears to be the original computer design). This is the image that I wish to use. I have informed the team behind this fanzine about my intentions to use a copy of the online image for Wikipedia and have received an email from the editor granting me permission to do so, yet I am very confused by the information on Wikipedia's Image Use Policy and image tagging.

Can I upload this image? How should I do it - Should I save a copy of the online image and upload it, or should I use a screenshot of the image as it appears online, save it as a new image and upload that file, stating its source and that I have received permission? And how should such an image be tagged?

Thanks,

Ncadc2004 21:47, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

You can't use that picture. I don't remember the relevant policy, but images with permission to use only on Wikipedia can't be used. It has to be fair use otherwise, and you're indicating it isn't. -Amarkov ^blah_edits 21:50, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

So in other words, would they have to allow the image to be used freely by anyone for me to use it on here? Ncadc2004 21:53, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Yep. Wikipedia policy is that the image must be made freely available for reuse anywhere. -- Kesh 22:12, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

OK, thanks for letting me know. Makes more sense now! Ncadc2004 22:16, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

• It could be fair use if it had a proper fair use rationale and was only used on the article on the fanzine (if that is even notable), but that's only for low-res images. - Mgm|^(talk) 23:06, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

create user page

how do i create a user page?--Falcon866 22:07, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Just go to User:Falcon866 and create it like any other page. Prodego ^talk 22:08, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Have a look through the links at Wikipedia:User Page Design Center and Wikipedia:WikiProject User Page Help to help you out, and look at other user pages to inspire you. Keep it simple at first, and please bear in mind the guidelines at Wikipedia:User page Adrian M. H. 18:16, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Removal of article

One particular article refers to living persons by last name and first name. In order to protect their privacy they would like the article removed. How is that done?

• If there are already enough references to verifiably create an article about a living person, they no longer have privacy in regards to their name to begin with. If there aren't enough references available to make such an article, the article should be deleted. — Dark Shikari ^talk/_contribs 22:29, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

• What is the article? Prodego ^talk 22:31, 6 January 2007 (UTC)