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Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 April 22

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April 22

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Lag

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What's with this lag? I continue to get messages about the slave servers needing to catch up with the master, or issues so that wikipedia's read-only. Is this just my computer, or are others having the same problem? SpencerT♦C 00:40, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

And again! Posting this, I get a message. SpencerT♦C 00:41, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
It happens to me too. Just wait a few minutes and everything will be back to normal. Grk1011 (talk) 00:45, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
It's perfectly normal - cause wikipedia and wikimedia arent like Bill Gates. Fattyjwoods (Push my button) 02:33, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Though, it does seem to have happened far more than normal in the past couple of days (or I'm just horribly unlucky). WODUP 03:40, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
It's certainly been happening a lot more lately than normal. It's not just happening to you! :| Gary King (talk) 05:49, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I've never experienec it for a while, but there's nothing you can do really. I'm afraid you will have to put up with it, hopefully the error won't be constant. Adam ::Manors:: talk to me 15:28, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, just making sure it wasn't my computer. Thanks! SpencerT♦C 01:42, 23 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Change to Subject Title "Health Realization"

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Please note that the people and organizations practicing a Principles-based or Three Principles Psychology have shifted away from the term "Health Realization" as the moniker denoting their work.

Many practitioners never used this term to begin with. My suggestion would be to change this title to Principles-based psychology or Three Principles Psychology.

Currently, Wikipedia lists all of this work under the subject heading "health realization." This is now outdated.

You may want to contact Roger Mills, Ph.D. or George Pransky directly for confirmation. Roger is at (phone number removed).

I would also suggest a subject entry on Sydney Banks, author and philosopher, from whom all of this work emerged ...

Thanks so much,

Ami Chen Naim Director Center for Sustainable Change

I can be reached at the same number as Dr. Mills. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.131.199.93 (talk) 01:25, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please, be bold and change it yourself.
  Please sign your post by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box (as shown to the left ←). Do NOT sign in articles.
Calvin 1998 (t-c) 01:42, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You may want to first drop a note on the talk page before doing it..even though a WP:MOVE transfer everything over to the new title. Wisdom89 (T / C) 02:41, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, just to warn you, it's not a good idea to add contact info to pages. Any replies will come here, not via phone. As for a page on Mr Banks, please make sure you have reliable sources which show his notability, and look at creating your first article. -mattbuck (Talk) 08:56, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Seach

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What is up with the new search. It is like answer.com. I like it, but was there a dicussion about it? Æon 02:51, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

What's different? Someguy1221 (talk) 03:58, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
To Someguy1221, try typing in something in the search box, it should give you suggestions below the search box. To Æon, Im not sure, although I remember hearing something about it, cant provide a link though :( « Gonzo fan2007 (talk ♦ contribs) 04:02, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Here is the related discussion. Gary King (talk) 05:45, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ref tag problem

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  Resolved
 – Gary King (talk) 05:41, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I am having a problem with a set of ref tags added at Jesse_Jackson,_Jr.#1995_Election. I can't figure out why they are blowing up.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 03:40, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Change <ref nam=JJCUA> to <ref name=JJCUA> and it should work for you :-) « Gonzo fan2007 (talk ♦ contribs) 03:57, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I did that. It fixed that one reference, but the others are still broken. WODUP 04:01, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry, it was another one that I fixed. That worked. Thank you, Gonzo. WODUP 04:03, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Haha I ec'ed with you asking where the others were. And you're welcome! « Gonzo fan2007 (talk ♦ contribs) 04:04, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Editing the HK ICAC chapter

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Dear Editor,

I wrote last week about editing the chapter on the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), but haven't seen any reply posted so far. Hence I'd like to post my question here again.

My question is this: we have noticed some misleading information on our organisation in the relevant Wikipedia chapter. As there are quite a few changes and additions, including a photo of our new building, I wonder if you could kindly make the changes based on our suggestions.

I'd be grateful for your reply. Many thanks.

Best regards,

Charmaine Mok Chief Press Information Officer Independent Commission Against Corruption Hong Kong

203.174.61.102 (talk) 06:34, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There is no one editor for an article - the editors are anyone who visits Wikipedia. I would suggest that you be bold and edit it yourself. Also put a note on the article's talk page explaining why you made the changes and try to include references that back your changes. However, as there is a potential conflict of interest, please do read Wikipedia's policy on conflict of interest. StephenBuxton (talk) 06:53, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The former post got two replies at Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 April 17#Editing the HK ICAC page. I haven't seen your actual suggestions anywhere. Wikipedia communication about articles is usually done in public so other editors can see it. You can just post your suggestions here or at Talk:Independent Commission Against Corruption (Hong Kong). But there is also an email option for factual problems about your organization at Wikipedia:Contact us/Article problem/Factual error (from enterprise). If you want to upload an image then you must create an account and wait for it to be four days old. PrimeHunter (talk) 07:14, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

citation box

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Could anyone help me putting the long citation of Émile_Lemoine#Lemoine.27s_conjecture in a proper citation box? Thanks! Randomblue (talk) 08:49, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'd guess you could just put it into a {{Quotation}} template. --Teratornis (talk) 18:57, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Incidental advertising

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An editor recently added, as references, two valuable NASA research documents. These documents are now available on a corporate web site and the editor added web links to these two sites. The documents each contain one page dedicated to advertising the services of the corporation. Another editor deleted the two references, dismissing them as "sneaky advertisements". I want to challenge these deletions but before I do so I would like to read some background about what is acceptable peripheral advertising and what is not. Can you direct me to suitable background information on Wikipedia? Many thanks. (The addition and deletion are the most recent changes to Static pressure. Dolphin51 (talk) 08:50, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I would recommend reading WP:SPAM and the documents linked from there. StephenBuxton (talk) 09:06, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
NASA documents should be available from a government website. Try searching for some of the text to see if it is published elsewhere. --— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 11:18, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you StephenBuxton and Gadget850. I eventually found this site useful. I have followed the site's suggestion and raised the matter on the Talk page for Static pressure. See here. Dolphin51 (talk) 22:38, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

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The New Search suggests articles with name close to what i type. However, It can't show the history of my search in wikipedia. Can I set any preference so that i can use the old Search function? --59.149.32.77 (talk) 09:32, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

My Preferences → Search → Disable AJAX suggestions. --— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 11:16, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
But I don't have an account. Can I return to my old search function without registering an acc?

Image:Sophie Marceau.jpg

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Can an Admin please delete this photo ? It has been on the IfD list for two weeks now and still hasn't been deleted, whereas all the other photos listed that day, (8 April) have been deleted.

Thank you,

Vonita (talk) 16:16, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Vonita, you can get instant Administrator attention by reporting these concerns at WP:AN. Adam (Manors) 16:27, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

LINUS

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I do not understand that if as you say you are an independant organisation how you have got this so wrong.

There are two clear people concerned, the Mythical Second Pope as supported by the Roman Catholic Religion, and as you have been told British son of Karadoc (Caractactus)and sister to Claudius who was made the first Bishop of Rome (Mart.AD90)supported by the bible and by historic documents.It was Peter,Paul and Claudius who ran the Church in Rome and it was the children of Claudius Pudens :Timotheus, Novatus, Praxedes and Prudentis were all martyered and made Saints.A visit to Saint Pudenziana Church in Rome built on the site of the Pudens home you will find a mosiac c390 showing Christ flanked by Peter and Paul and by Saints Praxedes and Prudentis, at least what is left after the Catholics tried to wipe it off in the 16th Century.

I consider that to be an independant organisation you must give as much space to the real person as you give to the mythical person. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zalanr (talk • contribs) 16:29, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

We're less an "independent organization" and more a "group of independent editors". And you can be one of them. If you find something you think should be changed, discuss it with the users who wrote it, or change it yourself. Articles are not written by committee, they're written by individuals who take the initiative. Leebo T/C 16:34, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Please discuss this at Talk:Pope Linus to gain consensus with other editors interested in this subject. You will need to provide relevant arguments and references. --— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 16:41, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  Please sign your post by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box (as shown to the left ←). Do NOT sign in articles....... Dendodge.TalkHelp 18:23, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hey

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  Resolved

Hi, I have a microphone and I want to make audio avaliable on wikipedia pages, how to I get started? ta --Booke (talk) 17:02, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Check Out the Spoken Wikipedia WikiProject. Hope this Helps. SimpsonsFan08 talk contribs 17:06, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, but its not letting me upload anything --Booke (talk) 17:35, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You've only created your account today. You must wait 4 days after registering in order to upload files. Leebo T/C 17:42, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I suggest requesting assistance by a member of the Spoken Wikipedia WikiProject (link above). I know Mr Senseless is part of this. If you have any other problems, leave a message on my user talk page as I am busy, and I will reply quicker. :) SimpsonsFan08 (talk) 17:45, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
About the four-day delay before being able to upload files: Wikipedia:Why create an account?#Abilities given to users with an account only mentions the four-day delay for the ability to edit semi-protected pages. Does that page need updating to properly indicate all the abilities that accrue only after four days? --Teratornis (talk) 17:47, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
It mentions uploading images, but that should probably be expanded to uploading files in general. Leebo T/C 17:53, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The user that asked this question has been blocked as a sock. I'm adding a resolved tag...... Dendodge.TalkHelp 18:27, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Annoying Changes

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Is there a place where sysops tell users about changes like:

  1. + changed to new section,
  2. edit this page changed to edit,
  3. and the layout below the edit text box [1],
  4. Nickname check box in My Preferences.

Is there any way to request these changed back?
Message Added by SimpsonsFan08 (talk) 17:45, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

These kinds of things might be discussed mostly at the Village pump. There isn't a place where sysops announce these things, because sysops can't alter any of them. Leebo T/C 17:46, 22 April 2008 (UTC)#[reply]
And the box around This category currently contains no pages or media. has been removed in categorys with no pages. And these can be edited in the MediaWiki namespace. SimpsonsFan08 (talk) 17:48, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You might be able to change them back by customizing your skin. --Teratornis (talk) 17:50, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You are right that sysops can edit those pages. I'm not sure where the decisions are made. Leebo T/C 17:57, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
It's at the village pump, although it would be a good idea to have somewhere they can announce the changes. An 'interface changes' section of the main page? ...... Dendodge.TalkHelp 18:04, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
How about the WP:Wikipedia Signpost? The "new section" update has already been reported at WP:TIPLINE. --— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 18:18, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
What a good idea! ...... Dendodge.TalkHelp 18:23, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I think I have two of those left today. --— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 20:12, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Recent changes for the MediaWiki namespace lists changes that administrators have made to the interface recently (although many are minor, and some are a bit hard to understand without knowing JavaScript). --ais523 12:34, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

MS DOS

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why MS DOS is called father of operating system? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.226.13.158 (talk) 18:17, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

  This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Computing reference desk. They specialize in answering computer questions and will try to answer any question in the universe except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps.

  Please sign your post by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box (as shown to the left ←). Do NOT sign in articles. --— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 18:20, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Regaining control of a hacked account

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  Resolved
 – Got it now, sorry if I was a bit dense. Grsztalk 02:50, 23 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If my account were hacked, would I be able to reclaim it, using one of my other accounts? I currently have a doppelganger and an alternate account here, and accounts on the German and Spanish projects as well. Grsz11 18:19, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No. I reccommend setting an email address and Hash key. ...... Dendodge.TalkHelp 18:22, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
If your account gets hacked, asking an administrator to block it (quoting what you used to make the hash key) via email would be a good start, and make sure you've set an email address so (s)he can reply...... Dendodge.TalkHelp 18:30, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
See Wikipedia:FAQ/Technical#How do I recover a password I have forgotten?. --— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 18:33, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ok then, how do I set up e-mail, if it's changed since I signed up? Grsztalk 18:55, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Did you set an email on your old account? Has it been changed? You can check by sending an email. --— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 19:03, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I don't believe that I entered an e-mail when I first registered. Grsztalk 19:11, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
It's the first page of your preferences. ...... Dendodge.TalkHelp 19:41, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Ok, then I must have, because I've sent for a confirmation e-mail that I haven't recieved. It must be an email I've forgotten the password to. Is there a way to change e-mails? Grsztalk 23:47, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, in the top right of your browser, there should be a link called by preferences. Someone one the bottom of that page is a place where you can enter your email. --Bfigura (talk) 23:53, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
If you want to be sure that you're safe, a hash definitely is the way to go. In short, it's a nearly unhackable password that proves you are you. Template:User committed identity/doc describes it in more detail. Of course, this is no replacement for not having a strong password. Paragon12321 (talk) 20:00, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
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Dear Concerned, My username is zartash at wikipedia, I posted an external link of a website http://www.ali.net.pk at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_Meadows_Nanga_Parbat as www.ali.net.pk is all about Fairy Meadows but after few hours it got delete however a link placed there is not even working but it is still there that link is http://www.tcd.ie/Geology/shiptonz/Pakistan.html Please help me

Regards,

Ali Hameed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.59.80.153 (talk) 19:34, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

  Please sign your post by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box (as shown to the left ←). Do NOT sign in articles....... Dendodge.TalkHelp 19:41, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
In general, per our policies on external links, we don't link to advertising or promotional sites. (And the site you listed probably could be described by one of those categories). Regarding the dead link, we don't have any control over when links die. If you'd like, you can remove it yourself. (Although it would be nice to see if it is truly dead, or has just been moved to a slightly different url). Best, --Bfigura (talk) 19:48, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Can you help me out? http://www.ali.net.pk is just a guide to fairy meadows, what's wrong in it??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zaar19 (talk • contribs) 19:52, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The site you note has a number of ads down the left sidebar such as "Redmond Homes On Sale"; the text has "Sign up for AdWords" included several times— this gives the appearance of a site intended for commercial purposes. Taking a quick look, I don't really see any relevant content here that is not in the article. The text is the same as http://www.fairymeadowscottage.com/ which is a commercial site and by its look is related to http://www.ali.net.pk/. I did not bother to check the WHOIS for these two sites, but the keywords in the HTML are identical. --— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 20:11, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

wiki wikipedia archive has my e-mail address - how can I change, delete, edit

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I've recently discovered that a question I made or posted at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk_archive/Miscellaneous/2006_September_19

contains my e-mail address.

Unfortunately I didn't see a warning like this before I entered that two years ago.

For your own security, please DO NOT provide your email address or other contact details. We are unable to provide answers via email, post or phone and this page is highly visible across the Internet.

Is there a way to edit that archive now!

Thanks.

Jorge —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.250.3.66 (talk) 20:14, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You can edit the section and remove your email address, and then at least it won't be openly shown anymore. People can still retrieve it via the history, though. Gary King (talk) 20:19, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I've redacted the personal information. Like Gary said above, it's still in the history, but that isn't searched by Google. (If you want to be thorough and remove it, you can have it removed permanently through oversight). --Bfigura (talk) 22:02, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I checked the history and I can still see it. you might want to hide it permanantley somehow —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.77.159.40 (talk) 02:31, 23 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
It cannot be removed from the history. -mattbuck (Talk) 09:55, 23 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Nearly every article has had the most activity in Fall 2006

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I'm curious about something. Whenever I am editing a fairly popular article, I notice that most of the edits made to the article were made in Fall 2006 (September to December). Most of it was vandalism. Was there a huge vandalism attack during that period of time? It's very strange to see lots of activity during that period for many articles. Gary King (talk) 21:08, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Can you give an example of such an article. I'm not sure what you mean by "fairly popular". Leebo T/C 21:11, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I edit dozens of articles a day, so I'm just generalizing. 'Fairly popular' means over 2,500 total edits to an article. Gary King (talk) 21:30, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know if this has anything to do with your question, but I think I read somewhere that Wikipedia sees a big increase in vandalism when school resumes after summer vacation, and all the kiddies come back to computer labs and learn from their peers about this amazing Web site that lets anybody edit almost anything without even registering an account. --Teratornis (talk) 01:31, 23 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
That's... very good reasoning! Interesting :) Gary King (talk) 01:50, 23 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Now I think I remember where I read this. Maybe it was on Angela Beesley's blog. --Teratornis (talk) 05:14, 24 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
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