Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 November 19

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AXJ - Latino Ron Paul Is this true?

Apparently Wikipedia is trying to boycott Dr. Ron Paul.

Everyone please update Wikipedia with your website or communities news and events. Here is our info.

Let's see how long it lasts and then we will file a complaint with them if they romove it. Great job Steve!

[1] LATINO RON PAUL - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LATINO_RON_PAUL

Please feel free to update in Wikipedia 24/7/365.

-- Publicado por AXJ-Latinos for Dr. Ron Paul para AXJ - Latinos for Dr. Ron Paul el 11/25/2007 09:57:00 AM

Author and copyright

What is the author and copyright of wikipedia

If you're looking to cite a Wikipedia article for a school paper or something, please see Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. -- Rick Block (talk) 00:03, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Articles on Wikipedia are written by a wide range of contributors, and are not owned by any one editor. All text contributions and most images are not copyrighted, but are available under a free license known as the GFDL. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 00:47, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Correction: they are copyrighted. The license just gives people the right to reuse material under certain circumstances. But the authors still keep their rights. Rights and licenses are two separate things. - Mgm|^(talk) 20:49, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

My mistake. Sorry. :-) Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 21:53, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Clarity in an Article

In an article, I found that some text was unclear, but I do not have the expertise necessary to correct it. How exactly do you tag a page for clean-up step by step, because I cannot find how to do this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Yoyo502 (talk • contribs)

See Wikipedia:Template messages/Cleanup for a lot of possible tags. What is the article? PrimeHunter (talk) 01:08, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

The simplest way to do this is to simply edit the page and place {{cleanup}} at the top. See the link above if you want to use a more specific message. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 03:59, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Question

Resolved

Tell me could I use Norfloxacin for a tooth pain. I do know what it is for just wonder if I could use it for something beside my bladder. Thanks

Hi, this is an encyclopedia help desk, not a pharmacy I'm afraid. So we cannot dispense medical advice. Take care. Dr.K. (talk) 01:58, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

With all due respect Dr.K., we can. See Science Reference Desk or Norfloxacin

This question was not for medical advice, but for information on a drug, which should be part of an encyclopedia.

Cheers, Lex^{94 Talk Contributions Guest Book} 02:10, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, but I disagree. The question was about use for a drug, not only information. The article for Norfloxacin doesn't mention applications as headache medicine. How can anyone know if it can be used this way if they are not a medical doctor or a pharmacist? Dr.K. (talk) 03:00, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

All drug articles here on wikipedia, have information on uses, chemichal components, etc. At the bottom of the Norfloxacin article, it says the article is a stub (which means it is lacking information). The information the user asked for should be in the article, just like all drug articles. Lex^{94 Talk Contributions Guest Book} 03:18, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Lex94, please carefully read the disclaimers linked to in my post below. We cannot offer any medical advice nor make any sort of assertion that information in the articles is correct. Some information on the use of the drug should be included in the article, yes, but we cannot tell people that that information is correct and to go by it in favor of asking a licensed professional. Please read the disclaimers. This discussion needs to end. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 03:26, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not authorized to give any sort of medical advice. A licensed professional in the appropriate field should be sought for such questions. Users reading the content of these articles do so at their own risk, as there is no guarantee as to the validity of the content of the articles. Please see our disclaimers, linked to in the previous sentences. If you are volunteering at the Help Desk, please make yourself familiar with the instructions if you have not already and make no attempt to give medical, legal, or any other form of professional advice. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 03:07, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

signature

How do I decorate my signature, as in change how it looks?Kitty53 (talk) 04:16, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Well, you appear to already have a custom signature, since you have more than the standard link to your user page. First, you have to go to your preferences and check the "raw signature" box. Then in the signature line you have to edit it to look the way you want. Wikipedia:Signatures#Customizing your signature has more info. If you're specifically talking about colors and stuff, that's HTML code. I figure you already have the basic raw signature down though, since you seem to have customized it already. Leebo ^T/C 04:39, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

I don't think that signature is customized. Mine is the same way (with the link to the user page and the talk page) and I didn't change it. One day it just started doing it like that, so I guess the software has changed. - Rjd0060 (talk) 04:57, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Hmm, that must have been very recently. Leebo ^T/C 05:14, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Yes, 2-3 days ago is when I first noticed it. - Rjd0060 (talk) 05:33, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

It was changed after Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals)#User signatures should link to both the user page and user talk page by default. It became active 16 November. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:07, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Excellent idea. I don't know why this hadn't happened before. Lex^{94 Talk Contributions Guest Book} 15:56, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

• User:Kitty53; here's a way to basically color your signature:

Write this in preference tab:

'''<span style="border: 2px darkviolet solid;background:lavender;font-family: Monotype Corsiva">[[User:Kitty53|<font color="fuchsia">Kitty</font>]] [[Special:Contributions/Kitty53|<font color="fuchsia">53</font>]] [[User talk:Kitty53|<font color="MediumSlateBlue">(talk)</font>]]</span>'''

Result: Kitty 53 (talk)

If you want different colors, see Web colors Cheers, Lex^{94 Talk Contributions Guest Book} 15:56, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Note that not all the colors listed in web colors are actually supported by all browsers - and if you stick to the 4096 colors on the 16x16x16 color cube, you can reduce the number of bytes (every byte counts, since you're limited to, i think, 512). '''<span style="border:2px solid#90c;background:#eef;font-family:Monotype Corsiva">[[User:Kitty53|<font color="#f0f">Kitty</font>]][[Special:Contributions/Kitty53|<font color="#f0f">53</font>]] ([[User talk:Kitty53|<font color="#76e">talk</font>]])</span>''' for Kitty53 (talk) - note, though, that many people dislike borders and background colors in signatures. —Random832 20:08, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Isn't the max signature length 255 characters? That would make both of the above suggestions too long to fit, though with Random's you could remove the bolding. Leebo ^T/C 20:25, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

making my page

where do i start to begin making my first wikipedia page ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Messy jessy94 (talk • contribs) 00:00, 19 November 2007

See Wikipedia:Your first article. Good luck! GlassCobra 05:02, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Firefox Search Engine Plugin

Could someone help me create a Firefox Search Engine Plugin for the search engine at http://online.wsj.com/public/us . Also, is it possible to create one for the quote search at http://finance.yahoo.com/ ?

Hi. This help desk is for questions about using Wikipedia. You should try the Reference Desk instead. - Rjd0060 (talk) 05:34, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

My query is for WP. Donald Trump was in the Wall Street Journal. I am the leading editor of his page and I need to do some research.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:LOTD) 18:32, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Contributing to discussion page

According to Wikipedia If I want to contribute to a discussion on a particular topic I should " go to the talk/discussion page associated with the article, hit the "+" tab, and make a comment on what you think needs changing. Remember to please end your comment with four tildes like this 129.33.1.37 (talk) 05:39, 19 November 2007 (UTC), which will sign and timestamp your comment." For some reason, nothing happens. my account is firly new and perhaps I do not have access yet, but I can select edit on a page and edit the wiki, if I wanted. Thanks Spiker_22

Everything seems to be working just fine. See Special:Contributions/129.33.1.37. It shows you have successfully made some edits, to talk pages too. - Rjd0060 (talk) 05:43, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

yes I have successfully contributed to a discussion page, but only by selecting edit for a particular section that has already been created. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.33.1.37 (talk) 08:00, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Well, when you click the '+' tab what exactly happens? Raven4x4x (talk) 08:19, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

In case you don't know, the '+' tab is a clickable link at the top of a discussion page, to the right of "edit this page". It is unrelated to the '+' key on your keyboard. If you are logged in and your skin in Special:Preferences is not MonoBook (default) then the '+' tab may be missing or placed differently. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:58, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Donating wikipedia

I have a question regarding the donation of wikipedia. why the donation counter started from 0 because I have already donated and the donation already reached 150 million so why again only 24891 people are showing up ?

I'm not completely sure what you're asking, but I believe the donation drive starts from zero every year, so donations from last year's drive won't be counted again this year. I think in previous years, donations were measured in terms of $ amounts, but they changed it to number of donations this year, a few days after the drive started. -- Kateshortforbob 10:37, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Mh, the donation counter does not show donations from when Wikipedia started, it will only show donations made to the Foundation from a set town. Thanks for donating! —Qst 10:38, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Submitting my sites: The Bedford Menufinder / The Bedford Good Pub guide

Please can you tell me how I can submit my websites for inclusion under EXTERNAL LINKS on the BEDFORD pages ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedford My sites are : www.thebedfordmenufinder.co.uk Comprehensive guide to Eating out in Bedfordshire with menus www.thebedfordgoodpubguide.co.uk Comprehensive guide to Public Houses and Inns in Bedfordshire with menus —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gdsouza208 (talk • contribs) 08:27, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

I don't think these are suitable links for Wikipedia, please see Wikipedia:Spam and Wikipedia:External links. Reagrds, —Qst 10:39, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Counting created articles

Is there a way of counting/listing the articles created by a given user? --Redaktor (talk) 08:36, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Articles not older than 1 month will be listed in Special:Newpages (if you type the user's username into the address bar), or you can also go to Special:Contributions and type there username in, to view a certain users contribs to Wikipedia. —Qst 10:36, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, but neither of those allows me to count all the articles created by a user! There surely must be a method of doing this. --Redaktor (talk) 23:14, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

I did a search and and this has come up quite a few times so there's definitely a desire for such a tool. Unfortunately, it also appears that no such tool exists. See here and here. The long and short of it is that at one time there may have been a public tool (not working) and User:Interiot would do this upon request, but has been inactive since July. You may have to bite the bullet and start scanning your contributions manually.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:23, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

I have writen such a tool but its not available to the public for access, but its results are. if there are users who want this information all you have to do is ask me. β^_command 03:12, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

This tool edit count gives an edit count and summary of edits. Change USERNAME to your username, or the user you would like to see the info for. You can copy this onto your user page, which is what several wiki users do. Truthanado (talk) 15:31, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

inclusive program

help me to find description of the following current issues & trends- implications to sped/teachers/academe/non acdeme about inclusive program- implications to children with specific disability —Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.4.33.128 (talk) 11:53, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Hi. This help desk is for questions about using Wikipedia. You should try the Reference Desk instead. --Orange Mike 14:18, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Discussion

For the subject ROBERT T LINCOLN it let me add a comment then did not show the info showing that it was me that added the comment. Was this because I hadn't logged in? If so, why does it even let me add a comment without logging in? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Myszkowiak (talk • contribs) 13:40, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Are you referring to this edit to Talk:Robert Todd Lincoln? It is still there. Please sign talk page comments and help desk posts with ~~~~. Then it is added who made it. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:51, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Hi. It let you make a comment without logging in because Wikipedia is the encyclopedia that anyone can edit and logging in is not required. Also, Wikipedia does not automatically sign comments. You need to sign yourself either by typing ~~~~ after your notes or by clicking the tildes next to "Sign your username" beneath the "save changes/show preview/show changes" buttons below the text entry box. Sinebot will often come along and take care of this for you, but it doesn't always, so it's a useful habit to get into doing so yourself. :) --Moonriddengirl ^(talk) 13:52, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Changing redirects

"Using the form below will rename a page, moving all of its history to the new name. The old title will become a redirect page to the new title. Links to the old page title will not be changed; be sure to check for double redirects (using "What links here") after the move. You are responsible for making sure that links continue to point where they are supposed to go."

Why should I waste my time changing redirects when the Wikisoftware is capable of forming a list, and therefore also conceivably capable of changing the redirects itself, in the blink of an eye? --Seans Potato Business 13:47, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

In some cases you don't want to do that. For example: there were multiple articles referencing [[Susan Wood]] which turned out to be referencing at least four, possibly more, women of that name. I created a new [[Susan Wood (disambiguation)]] page, redirecting the old undifferentiated article to the dab page; then created articles for the first person with that name, to whom everyone else's links were being misdirected, and another for whom I had the time and energy. But I then had to go through all the pages with links to plain ol' Susan, some of which were clear and could be changed to one of the three known Susan Woods, and others which had to be sent to the dab page because I don't know who they are for. There's no way to safely automate a process like that. --Orange Mike 14:25, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

I don't really like the way the question is phrased, but perhaps instead of phrasing the question this way, you should ask at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical) if what you're suggesting is feasible. They'll know why it can or can't be done, and if it can, why it isn't. Leebo ^T/C 14:25, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

question about wiki editing programs

does anyone know about any? Ive been looking for some with quick links for templates and such.

68.7.210.156 (talk) 14:33, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

If you mean editing Wikipedia then see Wikipedia:Tools. There are many other wikis. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:45, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Out of alphabetical order on catagory page

Could you please tell me how to fix a person who's listed under the letter of their first name and not their last? Amb13 (talk) 14:51, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Write {{DEFAULTSORT:Last, First}} (replace Last by the last name and First by the first name) somewhere on the page before any of the categories, for instance just before the first category on the page. That changes the sorting rules for the page to sort by the last name. --ais523 14:53, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

how do I start an entirely new page?

how do I start an entirely new page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rodd Stewart (talk • contribs) 15:06, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Before creating an article, 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. --ais523 15:20, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Interactive Presentation

rm content irrelevant to Help desk —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bclglobal (talk • contribs) 15:06, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Do you have a question? Or is this just spam. Leebo ^T/C 15:17, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

search mechanism

how can previous searchs be cleared? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.72.2.71 (talk) 15:17, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

The previous searches are saved in your browser, not on the Wikimedia servers. The settings should be in your browser. For Firefox, go to Tool -> Clear Private Data and select only saved forms and search history, then click Clear Private Data Now. For Internet Explorer, download Firefox, then follow the instruction for Firefox. :-) If you like Internet Explorer for some strange reason, though, it's under Internet Options in the Tools menu. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 15:26, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Are you talking about the google toolbar with Wikipedia, or are you talking about the Internet History? This question should be asked on the Reference Desk

• If it's the toolbar, it easily says Clear History above the previous serched items.
• If it's IE7, just go to Tools > Internet Options > General > Delete > Delete History. Tools is in the Menu Bar above. If the Menu Bar is not visible, press Alt+T on your keyboard Lex^{94 Talk Contributions Guest Book} 15:35, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Question

what kind of articles can you made on wikipedia, are there any restrictions? Karren Pringle (talk) 15:31, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

There are some restrictions, some of the more common policies and guidelines are Wikipedia:Spam, Wikipedia:External links, all articles must be about a notable subject, and not be written in an inappropriate manner. Hope this helps! —Qst 15:35, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Peyton Manning Page

'I have a found a blatant error on a page. I cannot find an edit this page button on this p[articular page. How do I correct this erro−Tbowers1970 (talk) 17:14, 19 November 2007 (UTC)r?'

It is possible that yours is a new account, and the page is semi-protected against edits by new or anonymous editors, due to a past history of vandalism. --Orange Mike 17:17, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Peyton Manning is semi-protected. You can edit it when your account becomes 4 days old. Until then you can suggest changes at Talk:Peyton Manning. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:35, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Company Article

Hello,

My company was interested in posting information on Wikipedia. I posted the information along with our logo on Wikipedia last week, but I don't see it on your site when I search for it by name. I'm not 100 percent sure I uploaded it properly, so it's very likely user error. How can I tell if I posted it correctly and when will it be available for other to see? My company is called Ball Horticultural Company.

I appreciate your help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jenz33 (talk • contribs) 17:55, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

When making changes on Wikipedia, your changes are always instantly visible. It may have been reverted or deleted. Did you create a new article from scratch or edit an already-standing article? Lradrama 17:58, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Our rules very strongly discourage the creation or in most cases the editing of an article by someone with a strong conflict of interest, which your note implies you would have. It is also possible that the article was deleted, since in the judgment of the editors here it did not meet our standards of notability. Many firms simply are not of significance enough to merit articles in Wikipedia. --Orange Mike 18:02, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

On further research, it looks like you posted an entire article under the image itself, on the image's page. --Orange Mike 18:05, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

The image of your logo was apperently deleted because it'ss copyrighted (By you guys). You could release your logo under GFDL and upload it agian if you wanted though there might be problems there, as some other company may be able to use your logo without you being able to stop them (By releasing it under GFDL you are essentially saying people can do anything with it). A more suitable picture might be one of you premises that isn't affected by anything like that. Hope that helps--Phoenix-wiki ^{(talk · contribs)} 21:58, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

User contributions

Can I tell if User:Afonso Silva and User:Hamedog are still active contributors to the project. I was trying to see their last contributions, but am not sure how to assess their activeness.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:LOTD) 18:46, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

You said you checked their last contributions, but I'm not clear what else you need beyond Special:Contributions/Afonso Silva and Special:Contributions/Hamedog. --barneca (talk) 18:59, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Neither has deleted contribs that are much more recent. Just a few days later in the case of Afonso. Leebo ^T/C 19:01, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Ah, I see a complication. Afonso Silva was renamed to User:Mário: [2] (Special:Contributions/Mário). --barneca (talk) 19:04, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

To the Editor for Denver, CO... info please....

Hi,

I would like to help edit info you have about Denver, Colorado, mainly here for now:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver,_Colorado#Media

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Denver%2C_Colorado .

So could you please ask the Denver main editor to ccontact me please, so that we may work under his or her guidance. Newbies here :)

Thanks!

Diana Barnum and Bruce Hunter —Preceding unsigned comment added by Denverco (talk • contribs) 19:29, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

There is no such thing as a "main editor" for an article or place; everyone is welcome to edit here. That said: we do strongly discourage what are called "role accounts": accounts used by two or more persons. Each editor normally should get his or her own account and make their own edits. This enables us to judge more fairly the contributions of each participating editor. Probably each of you should register for your own account, using a name which perhaps implies a broader range of your interests or something unique to each of your own characters, and abandon the Denverco account. --Orange Mike 19:35, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

HOw Do I ADD A PAGE

HOw Do I add a page on Wikipedia about a subject? i am kind of new to this Stjohnthebaptist09 (talk) 20:24, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Read Wikipedia:Your first article. Sbowers3 (talk) 20:37, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Changing a redirect on a failed attempt to start a page

A while ago I began a "History of Palestinian Nationality" page but it was deleted due to it's lack of substance. That's fine. I've now got enough substance for it to be a good and fully referenced article, but everytime I go to restart it I get redirected to the "Palestinian People" page which is not at all the same as my desired page. How do I begin a new page under this title and discard the redirect? Thanks Hcrdavidson (talk) 20:38, 19 November 2007 (UTC)Hcrdavidson

When you are redirected, click the tiny link under the title of the page you've been redirected to, with the name of the title you originally sought. That will take you to the redir page. You can then "edit this page" in the normal manner. --Orange Mike 20:41, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

• Please keep in mind proper spelling. In the titles you mentioned neither Nationality, nor People should be capitalized. - Mgm|^(talk) 20:42, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

DRAG-U-LA

Please be advised that your information pertaining to the DRAG-U-LA and MUNSTER KOACH is incorrect. TOM DANIELS was on the Barris Kustom design team and he was a work-for-hire by George Barris. TOM DANIELS was on the design team and not a builder. George Barris built the DRAG-U-LA and MUNSTER KOACH with a team of builder and designers hired by Barris Kustom. Please correct your information as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Kathy Vincelli On behalf of Barris Kustom Ind. and George Barris —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.16.33.191 (talk) 21:03, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

In order the article to be changed, please provide a link to it (via the [[wikilink]]) feature and, please provide a reliable source to verify this information. Thank you. —Qst 21:05, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

It's apparently about DRAG-U-LA. Munster Koach doesn't mention the builders. Google searches [3][4] support that George Barris was builder and Tom Daniels designer but I haven't examined reliability. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:52, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Public Relations and Wikipedia

Is it permissable for a Public Relations firm to submit articles as long as they are appropriately sourced and NPOV? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Carylcomm (talk • contribs) 21:43, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

It's discouraged as it's a conflict of interest but not forbidden. So long as the article is totally neutral it's allowed though--Phoenix-wiki ^{(talk · contribs)} 22:02, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

1) Firms cannot submit anything here. We do not permit "role accounts" (accounts belonging to more than one person); an account must belong to a specific human being. Your present account username, for example, is not appropriate because it implies that it belongs to Caryl Communications. If it is being used by Caryl Bixon-Gordon, then she needs to change to a name that belongs to her, not to the firm; likewise if it is being used by Bob Gordon, Evelyn Weiss Francisco, Sandy Crisafulli or anybody else. In no case may more than one editor use the same account. 2) We are very concerned about possible conflict of interest in Wikipedia submissions by public relations and publicity professionals of any stripe: individual, organizational or private. Editors proposing to write about themselves, their own organizations, or matters they have very close ties to (such as PR clients), are strongly advised not' to edit or create such articles at all (except for certain non-controversial edits) but to instead use the talk page to request help from neutral editors. (Although, as Phoenix-wiki notes, it's not technically forbidden. 3) If your client is not notable enough to inspire neutral parties to write about them, they may well not meet our criteria for business articles. Persistent creation of articles about blatantly non-notable firms, especially by editors with a conflict of interest, can lead to "salting the ground" so that an article about a company becomes impossible to ever create. --Orange Mike 22:08, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

hmm, that seems a bit snappy for a someone on RFA...--Phoenix-wiki ^{(talk · contribs)} 22:26, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure how something can be interpreted as snappy without hearing a tone of voice or inflection. It may be read in a curt or blunt manner, but that's up to the individual reading it. I generally agree with everything Orange Mike said. Leebo ^T/C 22:29, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Empty categories

{{Db-catempty}} says it's for categories that have been empty for 4 days. I give up: how, exactly, can I tell if it's been empty for 4 days? I'm not the only one who's stumped. I've seen (somewhere, can't find it now) the suggestion that you can use Special:Recentchangeslinked/Category:ExampleCat, but I've tried that, and once a page is removed from the category, it disappears off the Recentchangeslinked page, so that doesn't work. Thanks for any help you can provide. --barneca (talk) 22:12, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

(taps mic) is this thing on? --barneca (talk) 01:24, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

Maybe we're all stumped. Doesn't the history of the cat page help? Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 01:29, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

The history of the cat page doesn't show additions/removals from the category, because that is done thru editing the individual pages. I suspect this is actually meant to prevent someone from intentionally depopulating a category and then nominating it for speedy deletion; the admin reviewing it wouldn't have any way of knowing it had been recently populated, for the very reasons outlined above. So it's more like "Don't nominate categories for speedy deletion if you know they were not empty within the last 4 days, but if you stumble upon an empty cat that looks like it has probably been empty for a long time, go for it." Perhaps I shall be bold and change the wording (to something slightly more official sounding than this), if no one has any better ideas. --barneca (talk) 01:59, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

its actually pretty simple to tag empty cats, if its empty now check back in 4 days, if its still empty then tag it. β^_command 03:18, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

I'm being wikilawyered, how worried should I be?

Members of Sexual Compulsives Anonymous who are upset that I removed original research from their article, and for including research results from a peer-reviewed study that they have interpreted as pejorative. They have made threating comments to me on one of their user's talk pages -- e.g. threatening slander and libel charges and warning me not to edit their article anymore.

What should I do? -- Craigtalbert (talk) 22:17, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

It sounds like you're trying to say you're being harrassed, if people are making threatening comments to you. Wikilawyering has to do with interpreting Wikipedia's policies in such a way that the letter of the law is upheld, but perhaps not the spirit. Wikilawyering is annoying and often disruptive, but it's hardly something to be afraid of. Can you clarify and provide specific examples? Leebo ^T/C 22:23, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Take the legal threats to WP:AN/I. I'm going to AfD this bloated pile of OR in just a second. -Wooty [Woot?] [Spam! Spam! Wonderful spam!] 22:24, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Leebo - it's been in discussion on Artistboynyc's talk page, but specifically I was informed that SCA's membership had been altered to my "obnoxious deletions" [5], I asked what was meant by that and was informed by (presumably) another SCA member that they took my "libelous" edits "very serious" [6]. I tired to explain that the results of the study weren't libelous, and I thought they reflected positively on the organization. But then in discussion the libel word came up again [7] and again [8]. It's enough to make me worried since I edit using my real name. -- Craigtalbert (talk) 23:00, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

If you are worried, maybe a name change - if you don't want to deal with them, send any future enquiries to me - I'll be happy to tell them to take a running jump deal with their issues. --Fredrick day (talk) 23:03, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Yes indeed - that article is terrible - while the organisation might be notable - the current version needs to be taken out the back... --Fredrick day (talk) 22:31, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

I've lost a page

I recently read an amazing page called "WORDS TO AVOID". Despite extensive searching I cannot find it again. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.9.77.19 (talk) 22:47, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Words to avoid perhaps? Woodym555 (talk) 22:51, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

(e.c.) Perhaps Wikipedia:Words to avoid is what you're looking for? Note that the page is in the Wikipedia namespace (Wikipedia: prefix) rather than the Article or Main namespace (no prefix). Also, if you want to quickly return to the page, you can type "WP:WTA", "WP:WORDS", or "WP:AVOID" in the left hand search bar. Happy wiking! —Preceding unsigned comment added by NASCAR Fan24 (talk • contribs) 22:53, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Lost Credentials / Account information

I asked a question (quite a while ago) and was looking for my account information. Is there anyway I can retrieve the username and password information to continue using the account?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk_archive/Language/December_2005#Phrase_Origin_.2F_Meaning_-_.22The_Full_SP.22

Thanks in advance,

Richard W (Cardiff) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.11.163.252 (talk) 22:55, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Only if you still have access to the email address used to create the account, without that it's a no-go and you'll have to make another account. -Wooty [Woot?] [Spam! Spam! Wonderful spam!] 22:56, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I still have the email address. But not sure which one I used. Could the information be mailed to me, please. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.11.163.252 (talk) 23:13, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

You can enter your username on the login screen and click 'E-mail new password', which will send a temporary password to your e-mail address that will allow you to retrieve your account. However, we have no way of knowing which email account the message will be sent to, so I'd just suggest checking all of your accounts. Best, --Bfigura ^(talk) 23:17, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

How do I put up one of those boxes which say "Citation Needed"

You know those little boxes that go above improper articles? Like one that says this needs citation or one that says this article doesn't have a neutral point of view? How do I put those in? Is there a list of all of them on Wikipedia. EleFlameMax (talk) 20:16, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Template_messages/Cleanup#Verifiability_and_sourcesVchimpanzee 19:52, 3 December 2007 (UTC) At this point I'm not sure how to make sure this gets read.