Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 January 8

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January 8

Suspected plagiarism

The history section from Proskauer_Rose is copied from a page at Proskauer Rose LLP. Is there a tag used for suspected plagiarism of text? The entire article reads like a brochure, but I found a tag to note that issue. Professor marginalia 00:27, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Hmm, the link doesn't seem valid. Xiner (talk, email) 00:34, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

I fixed the link. --Kainaw ^(talk) 00:46, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks Kainaw! [note: I spelled the wikilink wrong too] Professor marginalia 00:52, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Copyright violations for information on how to deal with these type of problems. BigNate37_(T) 00:57, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Er, it looks like Prodego (talk · contribs) has reverted the article to a non-copyright infringing version.[1] BigNate37_(T) 00:59, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I did. Prodego ^talk 01:01, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Problem solved! Thanks everybody. Professor marginalia 01:50, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Pakistan Chrome Mines Ltd

On the Pakistan Chrome Mines Ltd article some of the words are jammed in after the link on my screen. No other Wikipedia article or page displays like this. If I copy and paste from the page, the paste as one word, like this: miningcompany, chromiteand, and magnesitemines, however if I go to edit the page this isn't the case on the editing frame (mining company, chromite and magnesite mines--although now I realize I won't know until I post if they do it here. What's going on? Can someone fix this? Okay, I previewed and they don't show the links jammed together with their following words. KP Botany 01:11, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Right have fixed it - it was as simply as a missing |} which was needed to make the table complete - Cheers Lethaniol 01:24, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

I tried putting that in, but it didn't do it for me. I should be insulted. Thanks. KP Botany 02:19, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Confused copyright question

Note: I'm recopying this from the misc. reference desk. Hi, I have read Wikipedia's FAQ on copyright, but I am still confused. I found an online book that is copyrighted by its author. I would like to use some of it's information for an article. The website states:

Permission is granted for an individual to make only a single electronic copy or paper copy for personal reference purposes. Permission is not granted for an individual or institution to make more than a single copy, or take part in any arraignment where a third party is either paid or charged for a copy or the reproduction of one. Nor is permission is granted for distribution of any of this material (in whole or part) from any Internet site (other than the author's site of fraser.cc). Inquiries should be made to the author if you wish to make other than a single copy for personal use or to distribute any of the material from your own Web site.

Am I not allowed to put any of it's information in an article? Even if I reword it? Even if I properly cite it as a source? Thank you for any help.--Bobo is soft 01:23, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Sounds like you can cite it as if it were any other book. Of course, if the book isn't credible or whatever, then it may not be accepted as a source. Xiner (talk, email) 01:29, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

You can not copy heaps of info from it as said here:

Nor is permission granted for distribution of any of this material (in whole or part) from any Internet site (other than the author's site of fraser.cc).

But you can cite it definitely and give a link to it. In terms of rewording no - you can use small bits for quotes (but not entire paragraphs) if you cite them as such. Or you could paraphrase what is written (i.e. a conclusion) and cite that). Hope that helps Cheers Lethaniol 01:29, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

• Ok thank you, the book is very credible. Also, what if the book itself uses footnotes of other sources. Do I use the initial book as a sources, or do I cite it's specific sources. Also I'm still not clear on what I can cite and what I can't. I don't plan to copy any big chunks at all, but rather just take specific facts and reword them. What's your take on my situation?--Bobo is soft 01:44, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Ideally, you should track down the book's sources, read them yourself, and cite them. If you haven't read the original sources, you shouldn't cite them, but the secondary source. Matchups 04:08, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Specific facts or statements - can be quoted or reworded or encompassed into the flow of text just make sure you cite - WP:CITE and WP:CITET maybe helpful. Cheers Lethaniol 11:31, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

a stupid question about AFDs

Hello. I have a slightly stupid question about AFDs. I opened a AFD on December 30th, and i've relisted it on the January 2nd AFD list. The January 2nd list is considered "old", however there are still discussions that haven't been dealt with. Is it part of wikipedia that AFDs are ignored, or is there something that Admins are waiting for, or have you just not gotten to them all, or what? Do i have to keep relisting my AFD before a decision is reached? I'm not trying to be rude, i'm just very confused. dposse 01:27, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

It'll be closed soon. Xiner (talk, email) 01:30, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Old discussion can be found here WP:AFD#Old_discussions that still need to be closed - do not relist - let the discussion finish Cheers Lethaniol 01:32, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

thanks. dposse 01:35, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Reverting vandalism using popups

I installed popups a few minutes ago, but for some reason, I'm not getting the "revert" option that is present in Image:Revert popups.png. I'd appreciate any help in the matter. Black Falcon 01:39, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Are you visiting a page's edit history page, and moving the mouse over the various links there? Xiner (talk, email) 02:04, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

No, I was trying in the article mainspace. Black Falcon 02:26, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

If you're not getting the popup at all when you hover your mouse cursor over a link, do a forced refresh on your monobook.js. If you are, hover over any page link, wait for the popup to appear and load, move to the actions menu, and you should see the revert function listed when that menu gets populated. BigNate37_(T) 02:14, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

I am getting the popup and there is an "actions" link inside the popup, but when I click it, I am simply moved to the top of whatever page I'm on. How long should I wait for the menu to get populated (I tried 30 seconds, do I need to wait more??)? Black Falcon 02:26, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

If you want to revert vandalism (assuming you are using Mozilla Firefox) than go to the diff that is not vandalism and hover over it and then go to actions and click revert. — Arjun 02:45, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

No, I use IE. Also, the only options I now have are "actions" and "popups", both of which simply take me to the top of the page. Black Falcon 04:01, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

The actions word needs to be hovered over to get a menu to appear. If this isn't happening, that's a problem that I'm not qualified to solve—you certainly don't click the word actions though, you need to hover on it to make the menu appear which allows you to choose the option you want. BigNate37_(T) 02:30, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

saving edits

I have had the frustrating experience of losing edits. Just now, after completing a contribution to "Coniston massacre" I hit the save page button, & was given the preview page instead & asked to log in again. After this I can't find my work anywhere. What is the procedure to save stuff as you go? Thanks, John Price —The preceding unsigned comment was added by JohnHarmonPrice (talk • contribs) 03:38, 8 January 2007 (UTC).

Do you use AOL? Xiner (talk, email) 03:46, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Some advice: before you save anything, always copy the contents of the edit box to your PC's clipboard (using Ctrl-A, Ctrl-C). Then, if anything goes wrong, paste the clipboard into a text editor, save it, fix whatever problem you're having, and then use the saved content to edit the article again. --Plek 16:10, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Minimal English

Recently I've run into a number of articles written by individuals who obviously have only the barest knowledge of English, such as this one. My question is, should these be nominated for deletion, and if so, under what policy? Clean up would be beyond my abilities. Thanks Citicat 03:41, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

If it's just the language, the article should get the a {{cleanup}} tag. If the subject's not notable, you can definitely nominate it for deletion. Xiner (talk, email) 03:46, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Word Pronounciation

Is there a section to hear a word pronounced?137.159.121.164 05:20, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

• No, if we have a sound file of that, it's included in the article. - Mgm|^(talk) 05:39, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Am I going insane or what?

I could have sworn that when I sign my posts with four tildes, my username in the resulting signature becomes a link. It doesn't seem to do that now. Was it always like this, or what? .V. 07:18, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

It should default to linking to your userpage. Try checking your "my preferences" at the top of the page, and make sure the "Raw signature" box is unticked. Trebor 07:36, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Huh, how about that. .V. 07:46, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Original research?

I've got a question about the page Ryaniverse. It has an Original Research tag, but it doesn't seem to appear for me on the current view. I noticed it when I went back to look at the history, and while browsing through the history it appears even in the most recent version. Is there a reason for this? Maracle 07:40, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

• Ok, I just figured out that the OR banner only appears for logged in users. I guess what I really would like to know then is if there is a page that explains what does or doesn't appear based on whether you're logged in (ie, what does the average user that doesn't have an account see?) Maracle 07:42, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Actually, Wikipedia:Purge explains why this is happening. Being not logged in, you see a version of the page which is cached on the server side. BigNate37_(T) 07:44, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

How to I liven up my signature?

I've noticed that plenty of editors have really nifty signatures that contain links to their talk pages. How do I do this, m8s? .V. 07:54, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

The option for raw signatures needs to be turned on, and in the box above it you enter a custom signature. Be sure to include links, i.e. [[User:.V.|.V.]] ''([[User talk:.V.|talk]])'' would produce .V. (talk). Be sure to read Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages#Customizing your signature. BigNate37_(T) 08:21, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

It may help to work out the signature in a sandbox before you actually copy the code into the box (in preferences). Also don't think you're alone if it says "Invalid raw signature, check HTML tags" cause every time I change mine, that message appears and I end up spending about 15 minutes trying to find a tiny error ;) James086^{Talk | Contribs} 08:32, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

editintro

The "input box" feature used to semi-automate repetitive tasks has an "editintro" parameter that lets you put a message above the edit box on the target page for further instructions. I noticed that the ask a new question by clicking here link on the main reference desks tries to do something like that by linking to

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Entertainment&action=edit&section=new&editintro=Wikipedia:Reference_desk/How_to_ask

It would be really great to get this working.. is there an editintro-type functionality that can be passed through a link? --froth^{T C} 09:12, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Only on new pages at the moment (so it won't help on the Ref Desk; look at the 'preloaded debate' link on any use of the AfD tag to see how it's coded). There's been a request (bugzilla:5175) to the developers to make it work on existing pages as well, but it hasn't been coded. --ais523 11:04, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

break user box

Hi there, I would like to take a break from Wikipedia for a few weeks and I am just wondering where I could get a banner saying that I am taking a break to put on my talk page/user page, preferably I'd need one where you can set a date as to when you are coming back, | know that there are retirement banners but I need this pone please to let people know I'm taking a short break from Wikipedia. Thanks

Tellyaddict^Talk 12:47, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Find the templates here Wikibreak#The_wikibreak_templates - Cheers Lethaniol 13:00, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

1605munro

1605munro is the project nam of Buenos Aires-born, Berlin based audio artist Andrés G. Jankowski

Would it be useful to provide specially nice pictures of rel. seldom alpine flowers to be inserted in the botanical description of the genus/species ? For instance I have noticed that in the description of the orchidacea "Cypripedium calceolus" the enclosed picture is not particularly instructive. If somebody think this would be useful, please tell me how to do it (I have no experience in editing Wiki). --Friendly monster 13:37, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

If you have such pictures, under a suitable copyright licence, feel free to upload them (there's an 'Upload file' link in the toolbox, probably on the left of the screen). The copyright is the most complicated point to deal with, and one which often trips up new users; if you take the photos yourself, or own the copyright, you should licence it when uploading the picture under an acceptable copyright licence (public domain, CC-by-sa, and GFDL are three common licences; you can read their articles to find out more about them). Be aware that any picture that you upload should be licenced with a licence that allows redistribution, creation of derivative works (so anyone can edit your picture), and commercial use (the pictures could be used elsewhere than Wikipedia, even by companies for profit). --ais523 14:25, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

User Name (s)

Interesting User_Name article.

First, a side-bar: The user TheTransHumanist is quite stunning. Is there a link to how that is done?

I wanted to ask about user names.

My question is about the fact that I have a famous name, widely recognized.

The username I have here (as temp to post this without IP address), hints at it.

Any advice at what I might select for a "real" name, in that light?

I don't have a pseudo in mind (thus far).

Is there a link to a list of name examples? (Good, Bad, Ugly, Indifferent) DrivesFastTurnsLeftandRight 14:03, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

First, custom signatures are explained at Wikipedia:How to fix your signature and Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages. You can have a look at the code just by editing any section with the signature to look at in and seeing what's in the edit box.

Second, Wikipedia:Username explains the possibilities for usernames. There is some debate about whether it's better to use a real name or a pseudonym. If you do have a 'famous' name, be warned that you'll probably need to provide proof that it is your name, or it might be blocked. As for choosing a pseudonym, my experience is that the name will work best if it has more or less the same structure as a real name, and give a clue to your gender (unless you mind people referring to you as 'it' or just guessing). I know my own username doesn't follow these guidelines; most people created their usernames before they became really familiar with Wikipedia. As for a list of examples, I recall there was one not-very-complete list, but I can't remember the link and don't think it would be very useful anyway. If you look through the page about changing usernames for the 'changed from' names, you'll get a list of bad examples, anyway. If you need some inspiration, you can go to Special:Log and have a look at the new-user log to see what sort of names new users are creating right now. Hope that helps. --ais523 14:19, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Recent Changes

When viewing a Recent Changes page for a WikiProject, it only has the talk pages because the projects listings are on the talk pages. I'm wondering if it is possible to view changes to article in namespace of the same list? --Borgarde 14:56, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

I don't think so. One way might be to make a list of the articles somewhere (presumably on a subpage of the WikiProject), and then using 'Related changes' on the list. --ais523 15:00, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

editing category pages?

hi, how do you add people to category pages? i want to add Alan Cumming to this page : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:LGBT_people_from_Scotland but i don't know how to do this. anyone help? thanks :) Geeness 15:04, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Categorisation#How to put an article into categories. BigNate37_(T) 15:22, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Moving from sandbox to an existing page

Sometime ago I created the Humanitarian Principles page. I have been working in my sandbox to improve the page--mostly creating footnotes. How to I make the transfer from the sandbox to an existing page. In the case of the Hum Princ I have the whole page in the sandbox. Can I just copy the whole sandbox page and paste in the posted page (or will it look like I have wiped out the former page with a new page?) Can I do it section by section? Or shall I just add the changes I have made? Is this a good way to work on existing pages? --Joel Mc 17:34, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Cut anything from your sandbox that is not related to the article, then use the Move page function at the top of the page to move it to the article name you want. Xiner (talk, email) 17:39, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Nah, a page already exists at the target. A copy and paste will be fine, it'll only look like it's changed the things you actually have changed; it won't "notice" that you've deleted it all and readded most of it back the same. It's an alright method for experimenting with ideas, but if lots of contributors are working on an article (which isn't the case here), then don't copy-and-paste over all their changes - incorporate your new work into the current version. Trebor 18:32, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the help, I just copied and pasted.Joel Mc 20:16, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

I can't edit with this one IP!

The IP I used, 71.224.19.29, doesn't let me edit. It started about a month or two ago. I can edit once, but then, it goes to Preview of the page, and says roughly "Your edit can't be saved due to a loss of session data. Log out and log back in." Since its an IP, I can't log out. What's going on? If you can't fix it, thats ok, but does anyone know why? P.S. I'm obviously using another computer. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.67.231.46 (talk) 20:32, 8 January 2007 (UTC).

Perhaps you could try setting up an account? It usually happens only briefly, though, when the servers have a hiccup. Xiner (talk, email) 20:38, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

It's a good idea to get an account anyway, however, it probably won't fix this particular problem. It happens to me sometimes too; I don't really understand why. What I do instead of logging out is I just click "Save" again until it finally works. This always works for me, usually on the second try. — coelacan talk — 20:41, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Nah. It's my school's computer, I can't. It is strange, I can go to articles that are questionable, or I can get blocked from a page that has nothing bad about it. Besides, I have an account. But I can't sign in at school. It's cookie level is programed to medium by the administrator. -69.67.234.135 20:46, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Nominating a good list

Hi there,

Is it possible to remove a self-nominated list away from the nomination? I would like to withdraw the application, and would like to make several changes to the list before nominating it again.

--Smcafirst or Nick • Sign Here • Chit-Chat • Contribs at 21:11, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

If the nomination looks headed towards no action, then yes. Xiner (talk, email) 21:19, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Article on "Left Party.PDS"

Hello! I'm one of the editors of the current article with that title, but it will have to be replaced in June when the "Left Party.PDS" and the "Labor and Social Justice Party" merge to form a new party called simply "The Left." It will be the fourth largest party in Germany and in the German parliament.

The current "Left Party.PDS" article is a bit tangled as a result of many edits and disputes, and the article on "Labor and Social Justice Party" is more than a year out of date. The articles also have syntax problems from changes posted by users who are not quite fluent in English. My plan is to write a new article after the merger, borrowing, of course, from the existing two articles, but also simplifying the text and removing many accretions that are no longer topical.

Is this okay? Is there a way I can post the draft for peer review before I publish it? I feel it will benefit from comment before I post a final version.

Thanks for your help.--langohio 21:26, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

I'd start an article at The Left (Germany) and post a note on the talk pages of the old parties. Xiner (talk, email) 21:39, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

search terms vs. article text

I would just like to know about optimizing an article for searches. If a user does a search for something, is the only way an article would appear in the results is if the search term(s) are in the article text? For example, if there is an article on tobacco cessation and someone searches the word “smoking” or “quit smoking” but those words aren’t in the article, it won’t appear in the search results, right? I tried categorizing the article in a “smoking cessation” category, but it still doesn’t appear in the search results if I use the word “smoking” as a search term. What else can I do? Csmbc 21:48, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

You could just set up a redirect. Don't go overboard though as someone else may delete it. I'm not sure it's worth the trouble worrying about search results as the time lag and other issues just don't seem to make it worthwhile. Xiner (talk, email) 22:12, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Gum

No - it does not exist. Thanks for posting. --Charlesknight 22:04, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Pictures of episodes that haven't aired yet.

The episodes from 24 (season 6) were leaked onto Bittorrent a week before any of them premired on tv anywhere on planet earth. People are now trying to put pictures of events that are huge spoilers of those leaked (and technically illegal) episodes onto the page. Do the pictures violate fair use or WP:C on wikipedia because they have not aired yet and were gained through ill-gotten means? dposse 22:06, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

I'd stay away from that stuff until it airs. Xiner (talk, email) 22:14, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Can the pictures be deleted by a Admin as violating the rules? dposse 22:16, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

• You're totally right. You can't claim fair use on pictures that weren't legally obtained. - 131.211.210.10 09:31, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Bracketed numbers in my watchlist

What do the bracketed numbers that appear after the timestamps in my watchlist mean? e.g. the (+146) and (-6) below.

1. (diff) (hist) . . Hubbert peak theory‎; 03:46 . . (+146) . . 75.35.221.32 (Talk) (→Movies)
2. (diff) (hist) . . OPEC‎; 03:24 . . (-6) . . 209.188.169.34 (Talk) (→Membership)

Ordinary Person 22:23, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

It's how many character were added (or removed) in the diffs. —Mitaphane _talk 22:49, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Question - can people dictate what is on here?

What is the Wikipedia policy regarding peoples desire not to have articles/links on here? If someone doesn't want an article, must we go along with the request? I had an earlier example of this previously with the Brook Mahealani Lee article (see [2] and [3]). Yesterday there was the case of a Miss Tennessee titleholder who does not have an article, but whose red-linked name was de-linked by an editor because he "had had a telephone conversation with her and she didn't want to have an article" ([4]). I restored the redlink, but was sent this message by that editor.

My gut instinct on this is that people shouldn't be able to dictate what is on Wikipedia in this manner, but I have been unable to find any reference to this in policy. -- PageantUpdater • talk | contribs | esperanza 23:07, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Nobody can dictate whether they wish to have their biography on Wikipedia; technically per WP:COI, they wouldn't be allowed to anyway. Besides that, who's to say this alleged phone call isn't a hoax? Yuser31415 23:23, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Note that WP:COI is a guideline, not a policy. The official policy concerning biographies of living persons can be found at WP:LIVING. Basically, treat such an article as you would any other (i.e. with care), and avoid WP:LIBEL. Hope this helps. --Plek 23:28, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

• There's always AFD. Titoxd^(?!?) 23:58, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

If they proceed through legal channels, it becomes an issue for WP:OFFICE. Aside from that, they cannot dictate whether or not there is a Wikipedia article about themselves. -- Kesh 03:11, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Esperanza

I am a Wikipedian who was a member of Esperanza. Recently, I have not been checking the status of Esperanza and can't find it. Did it shut down completely? The Updater 23:37, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

It got dissolved; see WP:Esperanza and Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Esperanza. Veinor ^{(talk to me)} 23:40, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Metric vs. U.S. units

This is not a question more a surgestion, to use feet and inches as well as metric system so as people can more easily understand information.

Thanks

The relevant Manual of Style section already recommends this. If it is not being followed, feel free to add the conversions yourself; just make sure they're accurate. --Tkynerd 23:48, 8 January 2007 (UTC)