Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 November 23

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November 23

Listing an article to another name!

I've created an article Something To Sing About under Irma P. Hall who star in this film. How can I list that article to another name like Darius McCrary? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bamgermany2000 (talk • contribs) 00:22, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

You created the article Something to Sing About (film). Maybe you did it by clicking the former redlink in Irma P. Hall#Filmography, but that doesn't mean the new article is somehow "under" Irma P. Hall. It's an article like any other and can be linked like any other, by adding [[Something to Sing About (film)]] to an article. Or better: the piped link [[Something to Sing About (film)|Something to Sing About]] which was and still is in Irma P. Hall#Filmography. It's necessary to have the same capitalization in the link and article name. Silver Edge has fixed that in Darius McCrary.[1] PrimeHunter (talk) 01:15, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

So does it have to be the exactly the same for another name? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bamgermany2000 (talk • contribs) 01:20, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you mean. Exactly the same as what, and which other name? If you want an article to link to Something to Sing About (film) then the article should contain either [[Something to Sing About (film)]] with that exact capitalization, or [[Something to Sing About (film)|displayed text]], where the part before | has that exact capitalization, and "displayed text" can be any text you want to be displayed where the link is. Your link in [2] is correct. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:33, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

website link in article

how link website in article —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hank1942 (talk • contribs) 00:36, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:External links#How to link. --Silver Edge (talk) 00:46, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

add article to a category

could you please tell me how to add an article to a category and if there are guidelines surrounding this. thanks--Greg Devine (talk) 01:33, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

You can type [[Category:Category name]] to categorise an article. NF24^{(radio me!}_{Editor review)} 01:38, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

That works in linking the article to the category but how do i get my article as a link in the category itself as it does not appear. in this case the category is "Food writers" and i would like to add a name to their list in alphabetical order. thanks--Greg Devine (talk) 01:49, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

You can add this to the bottom of Manuela Darling-Gansser:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darling-Gansser, Manuela}}

[[Category:Food writers]]

The second line places a link to Manuela Darling-Gansser in Category:Food writers without editing the category directly. The first line sorts the link by the surname. See more at Help:Category. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:23, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Thanks PrimeHunter much appreciated.--Greg Devine (talk) 02:28, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Advertising

I've been hitting "Random article" and copyediting if I feel like it. I'm seeing a lot of pages that are nothing more than cut-and-paste promotional material straight from corporate headquarters, obviously placed into Wikipedia as part of some marketing or PR strategy, what you call astroturfing, I believe. I want to kill them (the articles, not the corporations, usually). How do I kill them? --Milkbreath (talk) 01:44, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

See WP:CSD, you are probably looking for the Spam/advertising one (G11), and the copyvio one (G12). For less serious infractions of policy, ie ones that can be remedied per the CSD criteria, you can tag it with {{Advert}}. Hope this is helps. Woodym555 (talk) 01:49, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

You'll find the scripts Twinkle and [[WP::-)|Friendly]] useful for speeding up the process if you start doing a lot of tagging. Twinkle automates deletion tagging, while Friendly automates cleanup tagging. (Plus a few other features with each, but you won't need those for what you're doing.) You don't need these, but they do make things quite a bit faster. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 02:31, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

First, read WP:CSD to be absolutely sure you understand the rules. We don't want to trash articles that may be redeemable. If an article may be redeemable but is currently blatant advertizing, then convert it to a stub by removing the hype. This will often reduce the article to a single sentence. If the article is not redeemable, place the tag {{db-spam}} or {db-copyvio}} as appropriate. If unsure, place the tag {{advert}}. -Arch dude (talk) 04:39, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Internal Linking of logs

I was wondering if it is possible to internally link to a users or admins logs, such as my move log. How would I create an internal link to this page, I figured it was something like [[Special:Log/moves&user=Gonzo_fan2007]] but that just links to a blank logs page. Thanks for any help.
Gonzo fan2007 ^{talk ♦ contribs} 01:59, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

I don't believe you can, due to the way that Special:Log works. NF24^{(radio me!}_{Editor review)} 02:05, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

here, this should work. VivioFateFan ^{(Talk, Sandbox)} 11:28, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

photo usage

i've uploaded an image for my article from the subjects webpage and it has been deleted without notes. what are the copyright requirements as i said that i had permission from the owner of the copywrite and sited the original and the web based source of the photo. what more must be done?--Greg Devine (talk) 02:47, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Needs a copyright tag, and also needs proof of what you are saying. Feedback ^☎ 02:49, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Ok. How do i make a copyright tag? plus what if i upload i photo i've taken myself how do i prove that?--Greg Devine (talk) 02:55, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

If you assert that you took the photo yourself, then we believe you. Simply add the correct tag, ({{self}}). This asserts that you took the photo and are therefore the copyright holder, and that you are hereby granting a copyuright license via the GFDL. Using any photograph thta you did not take yourself is a lot more hassle. -Arch dude (talk) 04:27, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

• I don't blankly believe a tag - I'm paranoid like that. Be sure you correctly tag your images. If you wrongly tag an image as self when it isn't yours, it's you who get in trouble - not Wikipedia. If you are unsure, post here and tell where the image came from. - Mgm|^(talk) 19:54, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Absolutely. Please do not lie to us. If you took the picture, tell us. If you did not yourself take the picture, do not lie to us, first because it's just not right, and second because it will cause problems later. My earlier comment was in response to your question about your own pictures. The point I was taking was that you do not need to do anything to prove you took the picture when you make your assertion.. By implication, however if you lie and the real copyright holder questions the picture, then you will need to prove that it is yours, or we will take it down. -Arch dude (talk) 00:48, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

Entertainer Bob Newhart

--70.228.79.35 (talk) 03:50, 23 November 2007 (UTC)–I would like to know if Bob Newhart is still alive and how to send an e-mail to him. I heard he had died, so I wouldn't write then.

Rev. Melvin W. Lindberg <email removed>

Hello. Neither our article on Bob Newhart nor Google news gives any indication that Mr. Newhart has shuffled off this mortal coil. I can't help you with sending an email to him, and this page is for asking questions about using Wikipedia. Knowledge questions such as this are better asked at the entertainment section of the reference desk. By the way, for your own protection, please don't post your email to any public and highly visible pages such as this. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 04:17, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Research project about Wikipedians

Hi! I'm a student in a business school in Europe and I am leading a research to know wikipedians better. I would really be pleased if you could answer these few question (easy and short) wikipedia survey

Thank you a lot for your help! (and sorry for the possible language mistakes) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.51.16.187 (talk) 10:34, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Help

Is there an oversight who is ready to listen to my problems? Govattino (talk) 11:01, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Are you looking for an Administrator? Perhaps you could give some information as to what your problems are; I notice this is your only edit. Raven4x4x (talk) 11:09, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

"Oversight" has a very specific meaning in Wikipedia: If you want to semi-permanently remove individual edits from an article's history then see Wikipedia:Oversight and Wikipedia:Requests for oversight. If that is not your problem then post the problem here and somebody will look at it. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:12, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia is unusual in that almost all activity is handled by volunteers who have not been granted any particular authority by anybody. We call these people "editors." There are about one million registered editors, and you are one of them. Yes, those of us who hang out here at the help desk will listen to your problems. So what's your problem? Note that we have sorted ourselves out into the types of questions we are interested in answering. Look over at the Reference desk for knowledge problems in several fields. Here at the help desk, we answer question about using Wikipedia. When our semi-chaotic approach to life is not working, we do have several other approaches to problem-solving, but most of them are merely slightly more formal ways by which editors reach consensus. If you think you need individual attention, just put {{helpme}} on your talk page or user page, or just leave me a note on my talk page and I'll try to find someone to help you. -Arch dude (talk) 00:37, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

At the moment there are 48,351,739 registered users on the English Wikipedia (this one), just in case anyone is interested in the exact number. However, not all of those editors are currently active. Some have lost interest; some have forgotten their passwords and can no longer log in; some are deceased. It's possible that Wikipedia will outlive all of its current editors, which might make it difficult for new users to choose "good" usernames 100 years from now, because our usernames will last as long as Wikipedia does. By then, perhaps all the new users will be cyborgs. --Teratornis (talk) 07:26, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

Very good point. Finding a username sure is gonna suck for them. - Rjd0060 (talk) 07:30, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

Image question

There's an image I want to upload to Wiki. I'm in contact with the copyright holder and he's given me permission, but with the caveats that the image is attributed, only used for educational purposes and if I provide him with a link to the page where the image was used. I'm just not sure what tag would be appropriate for use of this image. Can someone help? Gatoclass (talk) 11:58, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Images uploaded to Wikipedia must be able to be used by everyone. Educational-use-only images are not allowed. NF24^{(radio me!}_{Editor review)} 12:54, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Okay, I'll see if I can persuade him to release it under the public domain + attribution licence. Gatoclass (talk) 13:17, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

But wait a minute, what about fair use? Doesn't that allow you to upload non-free images? Would there be a fair use tag I might be able to use instead? Gatoclass (talk) 13:49, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

What's it an image of? If it's a living person or a building that's still standing, it's pretty much an automatic no. Otherwise, it might be usable.

Public domain + attribution is only one possibility, see WP:BRP for more options. Stifle (talk) 15:05, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Blocking

Should someone be blocked if they vandalize their own userpage, as in User talk:212.219.188.132? Sseballos (talk) 15:07, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Nevermind, Situation resolved. Sseballos (talk) 15:09, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

For future reference, it is not against policy for any editor to blank their talk pages, and removing the notices placed there simply is an indication that they have been read. (This is why using edit summaries when warning editors is helpful, so when looking through a talk page history, one can see "level 2 warning" or "final warning" messages easily.) In the case of shared IPs however, removal of the shared IP header and notices that serve to let admins know of the history of the shared IP, should be reverted, as it could be many editors, and in that case, the talk page should not be blanked. See Wikipedia:Talk_page_guidelines#User_talk_pages for details. ADD: However, after checking, that IP is indeed, an educational shared IP, so I'll put that header on the talk page. :o) Ariel♥Gold 15:22, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

edits

I want to edit a small grammatical error on the "Black Friday" entry, but the edit tab does not appear on the page anywhere. How am I supposed to make edits when this arises? Thanks 68.106.158.189 (talk) 15:29, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Doesn't the edit this page tab appear at the top of the article, inbetween discussion and history? You can do it that way. Lradrama 15:30, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Black Friday is a disambiguation page, with no section headings, and thus no section heading edit links, but it does have an "edit this page" tab at the top, at least that I can see. Let us know if your browser is not displaying that tab. --Teratornis (talk) 15:58, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

What is the exact name of the page you refer to? Black Friday is not protected so you can edit it, but some Wikipedia pages are protected, for example Black Friday (shopping). You can suggest changes to that page at Talk:Black Friday (shopping). It's only semi-protected so you can also create an account and wait 4 days. See more at Wikipedia:Protection policy. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:07, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Completeness vs verifiability

I've been writing the article on circular chess (aside from one or two minor edits, mostly in order to Wikify the article, it's all by me); thus far I have added accounts of the World Championships up to 2006, which are verifiable as they appear on the Circular Chess Society website - that is, the facts stated in the accounts are verifiable, although the text is not copied directly. I could add a report of the 2007 tournament, since I attended it, but this would not be verifiable, since no such report appears on the society's website (I don't know why it hasn't been updated). Without a report of this year's tournament, however, the article looks incomplete/out of date. Should I add it or not? - Chile Nose Jam (talk) 18:28, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

I'd add it. It's always useful to have references, but if it's obsolete, then I could try and find a source for you, if you want that is. Best, Rudget.talk 18:39, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

• Have you tried asking the maintainers of the website why they don't have a report on the latest championship? - Mgm|^(talk) 19:49, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Page deletion

Dear,

I had created a page for PowerPlay Manager and this has been deleted. But I have read the rules before I even started typing the texts. I agree that you delete the PowerPlay Manager page, but please give me a clear reason. As I have tried to make it non sensationalist, non commercial, correct in spelling,...in general: according to the rules.

I appreciate your work at wikipedia,

The Belgium Captain of PowerPlay Manager, --Vjeetje (talk) 19:37, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

• You can see a reason for any deletion by entering the exact page in the deletion log. In this case it was deleted for lack of notability. It's generally not a good idea to write articles about companies or websites that haven't yet started because those will inevitably be perceived as an attempt to advertise and draw in visitors. It's probably not a good idea when it is up and running either. Only the most popular websites and the ones with the most impact on the world or media are suitable for inclusion. Also, although the rules don't disallow it, WP:COI does say it is a very bad idea to create an article about an entity you're directly involved with. - Mgm|^(talk) 19:47, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Editing Question

On such pages about bands or movies on the side of the page it has a box saying members, former members, area, formed, etc. How do I create that into a page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Thereinforcements (talk • contribs) 20:03, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

They are called infoboxes and there are many different. They are often made with templates, for example {{Infobox Musical artist}} and {{Infobox Film}}. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:01, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

wikipedia is racist

against ips we should stand up fur our rites

o and my question is why1!??!?!?!?!?[!]?!?!?!?!?!? why wiki do u not accept my edits tiem and time again dey disapear i think they were fine but noone (lol bastardisation of no one) cares bout opinions of ips it so frustrating omg

o and fur sttupid bots lol: --72.171.0.146 (talk) 20:11, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Bots have to be authorised, so they are obviously doing a good job, other wise they would be stopped (or blocked) until the issue could be resolved. The most probably chance of edits to articles/other pages not remaining on Wikipedia for long is because they are either 1) vandalism or 2) violations of the biographies of living persons policy. —Qst 20:13, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

How to get answer to posed Talk

I wrote a question about Greta Garbos music in her section...in discussion...but don't know how I will get the response. Where do i go to get the reply, if there is one? THnak you Michael MAher —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rathdrumcowboy (talk • contribs) 20:17, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Any reply will be posted below you question on the article's talk page. If you click the "watch" tab at the top of the talk page in question, you can use your watchlist to keep an eye on the page and know when a response has been made. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 21:07, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

If you refer to [3] then it is written on your own user talk page and people are not likely to see or answer it. Maybe you got to that page by clicking "my talk" at the top of a page related to Garbo. But the "my talk" link is displayed on every Wikipedia page when you are logged in and it always goes to your own talk page. Greta Garbo's Flesh and the Devil can be discussed at Talk:Flesh and the Devil (you can get there by clicking "discussion" near the top of Flesh and the Devil). But note that article talk pages are meant for discussing improvements to the article and not general discussion of the subject. Wikipedia:Reference Desk is a place where people can ask questions that are not about Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:37, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Please HELP! Looking for a ship.

what was travelinI am trying to find a ship?, Which was travelling in 1956 from Marsielle, France - to- Yalta, Krum, Ukraine . Name of the ship was Britan or Britain or Bretagne something like that. Also I want to find names of all people, who was working on this ship. How can I do it? How can I find names of all ships g in 1956 from Marsielle, France? Please, let me know if you can help!!! <e-mail removed>

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.8.114.110 (talk) 21:28, 23 November 2007 (UTC) 

Have you tried the Miscellaneous section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. NF24^{(radio me!)} 21:38, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

adding a biography

How can I add a biography for an artist? Thank you Bhaktirasa (talk) 21:40, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

You need to create a page:

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.

--Haemo (talk) 21:43, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Purge cache button

I've noticed it dissapeared some time ago. Why's that? This button was pretty handy when cleaning csd categories. Refresh page sometimes just won't work (like today, that's why I am asking).--Tone 21:57, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Are you referring to a purge link inside the body of certain pages? Some pages have a purge link which is simply the normal URL for purging: The full article URL followed by ?action=purge. I have only seen such links being part of the editable page so maybe somebody just edited it out on a page where you expected to see it. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:07, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

You can also install User:Voice of All/UTCclock.js (be sure to first install Addtabs from User:Voice of All/UsefulJS) which, besides giving you the UTC time (handy if you use {{unsigned}} or otherwise deal with UTC), will purge the page if you click on the clock. NF24^{(radio me!)} 22:11, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

I don't know which tools have shortcuts for purging. For an example of a page with a purge link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Broken_redirects_for_speedy_deletion has a link saying "Purge" with the URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Broken_redirects_for_speedy_deletion?action=purge. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:14, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Yes, this is the button I was thinking of. It used to be at the csd category and at the subcategories as well some time ago. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't edited out because of some kind of arrangment. I will put it back. Thanks. --Tone 22:19, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Template question

Is there a template to warn users who continually use bad spelling and grammar while editing, besides {{SpellCheck}}? Thanks. NF24^{(radio me!)} 22:45, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

No, there isn't to my knowledge, unless a user has created one by themselves, for their own use. - Rjd0060 (talk) 00:10, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

Merging Question

I'm trying to merge Society for the Promotion of Temperance into the American Temperance Society and I'm a little confused with the #REDIRECT [[PAGENAME]] {{R from merge}}. Will the Society for the Promotion of Temperance go in the brackets with PAGENAME and what will go in the "R from merge" one? Thanks!

-Noneforall (talk) 23:58, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Hey Noneforall. You place "American Temperance Society" inside the brackets, as the other article is beijg merged into it and is thus redundant. "R from merge" on the other hand does not get replaced with any text. In its existing form, it adds text to the redirect page informing others of the merge and places the page in Category:Redirects from merges. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:05, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

Since you're merging and redirecting Society for the Promotion of Temperance to American Temperance Society, then it should be #REDIRECT [[American Temperance Society]] {{R from merge}} and leave the {{R from merge}} alone. See WP:MERGE, specifically the Performing the merger section for more info. --Silver Edge (talk) 00:10, 24 November 2007 (UTC)