Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 August 23

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August 23

Assessing articles

Can anyone assess articles, i.e. for importance and quality? Seems there are quite a few articles out there without assessment and I wouldn't mind helping out. Only thing is that i'm not too sure what guidelines I should follow when assessing. Are there guidelines specific to each "wikiproject" or are there a standard set of rules I should look to follow? Thanks in advance folks - you do a great, and often unpraised job here on the help desk. 79.75.211.103 (talk) 00:27, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Yeah anyone can help out, be bold! If you tell us which WikiProject you're interested in helping out at, I'm sure one of us can point you in the right direction for guidelines. —Cyclonenim (talk · contribs) 02:17, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

I think your only limitations are that you can't assess an article as "Good" or "Featured", because there are judging processes (Wikipedia:Good article nominations and Wikipedia:Featured article candidates) for these assessments. — Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 02:44, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Also A-class. bibliomaniac15 04:31, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

See WP:EIW#Assessment. --Teratornis (talk) 04:58, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia in italics

Hi, my English Wikipedia is in italics. It is hard to read this. How can I have regular font back?? Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.88.178.96 (talk) 02:34, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Would you mean the Wikipedia logo (i.e Image:Wiki.png)? If so, you can't. It is Wikipedia's official logo which I doubt will be changed. If not, do you mind clarifying on what you meant when you said, "my English Wikipedia"? Thanks, RyRy (talk) 06:13, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

I remember reading a discussion with similar confusion. Does this show any similarities to your problem? It might be a browser issue. Scottydude _review 12:44, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

I didn't mean the logo but all the content of webpage. If I use the English Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org) everything is written in small italic font (articles, menu bars, links). When I enter the Polish site (pl.wikipedia.org) all the content is displayed in the regular font and regular size. Probably it is the matter of settings but it works differently for different language versions). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.88.178.96 (talk) 15:17, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Try to completely clear the cache. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:37, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

about Canadian currency in South Korea

Hi,

I need to have an expert in economy for this question.

I live in South Korea and am Canadian. When I wire my money to Canada, my money is worth less than it was last year. Why is it that the Canadian currency is getting worse? Who is controlling this? Let's say I make 1,000,000 Korean won per month, in Canadian dollars, it's less in general. If this continues, my savings won't make any sense. How can we as Woori clients here in Korea help this situation? I put my money into the Woori bank here in Korea and when I wire it to Canada, my money is worth less than it was last year. Don't people have a say in the currency? Is it the Korean government who is controlling our currency exchange? Who is doing this?

Thanks,

Worried for my future —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.10.78.94 (talk) 07:26, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. GlassCobra 07:34, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Changing a footnote/citation

I have to admit that I do not understand the instructions on how to change a footnote. Can anyone explain it to me in a user-friendly way?

Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ladygrinningsoul276 (talk • contribs) 09:50, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia:References should help a bit Tombomp (talk/contribs) 09:56, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Did someone just make a CSS style change?

On this page and probobly others, all of the H2 headers have lost their bold attribute. Also, several tables are missing their bottom border. Everything was fine 30 minutes ago. I'm using Firefox 3.0.1. I don't see the problem in IE. Is anyone else seeing this? -- Tcncv (talk) 14:56, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

I don't see it, and I'm using 3.0.1 as well, bug? Does it persist if you close your browser and reopen? All I noticed was a broken header, not moved down properly. Neuro√Logic 15:00, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

I think I figured it out. It seems to be a zoom issue. I reset my zoom (menu View > Zoom > Reset) and the H2's appear bold again. If I zoom out one step, Ctrl+-, I get all the symptoms I get the lightweight H2's and missing table borders. I may have accidentally clicked the mouse wheel with the cntl key down or something like that. Funny how a few % change in zoom can create a dramatic change in the font appearance. -- Tcncv (talk) 15:21, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Funky O_o maybe it should be reported to bugzilla. Neuro√Logic 16:07, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Creating a new article

Why did I need to create an account before create a new arcticle? Because Wikipedia in other languages don't have to do this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.165.11.18 (talk) 16:05, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

To answer that question requires a little bit of a history lesson. It used to be that anyone could create articles, registered users or anonymous users. However, someone created a article about a living person that was mostly made-up. No one caught it for a few months and it caused a huge fracas when it finally came to light. Since then, an account has been required to create articles. Wikipedia wants avoid possible issues with biographies of living people. Someone here should be able to provide a link to summation Wikipedia has of the whole affair. As a postscript, registering does come with other benefits beyond just being able to create articles. Cheers! TN‑X-Man 16:08, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Tnx is referring to the Seigenthaler incident. Giants2008 (17-14) 17:17, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

That's what it was! For the life of me, I could not remember the name. TN‑X-Man 17:20, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Chinese article on english wikipedia

Hi,

I am first time user, i like to know it is possible to post chinese word information on english wikipedia?

Thanks and regards —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bigbearbear (talk • contribs) 16:14, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

I think that would be more appropriate on Chinese Wikipedia which can be found [1] <-- There. =) Neuro√Logic 16:17, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

If you are able to translate the article into English, then do post the information! — Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 18:48, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

If by "chinese word information" you mean definitions of Chinese words, the place for that would be Wiktionary. —teb728 t c 19:03, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

links with "Title" not compatible with Google Toolbar tanslation

I use Google Toolbar word translator. Apparently, if a word is part of a link that has a "Title" property set, the Google Toolbar will not translate. Is there a way to resolve it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.150.62.67 (talk) 17:49, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

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. ¡ Dendodge|Talk^Contribs ! 18:02, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

continental baths

I was interested to learn where Barry Manilow and Bette Midler had their history of beginnings. I came upon the article entitled "Contintental Baths" or similar and found such inappropriate details it felt like pornography. Much of the information was general and seemed relevant, but details about so and so gently masturbating with the door ajar and other such descriptions are unnecessary for an understanding of what the Continental Bath was as a historical fixture in gay history in America.

In searching how to report the abuse of wikipedia's standard of information quality, I found another person reporting a comment on a high school page where a swear word was used which did not add to the information on the page constructively. I would say that the a lot of the content on the Continental Baths page is highly unnecessary and in terrible taste, no matter the sexual inclination, certainly much more so than the swear word on the high school page that was later deleted.

Thank you. babygb —Preceding unsigned comment added by Babygb (talk • contribs) 19:30, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

You can edit the page yourself! — Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 19:59, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

The article you comment on is about a gay bathhouse. As such, it may contain information that you might find objectionable. This is not a valid reason for removing that information, however. In particular, you removed several statements that were direct quotes, but you didn't make it clear that you had changed the quotations. This is not permissible. Exploding Boy (talk) 21:56, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Images' copyright

How did I that there are no copyright on the image I want to upload? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Aquitania (talk • contribs) 22:33, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

I don't understand your question. There is a special page for copyright questions: Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:45, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

The question is straightforward: Aquitania wants to upload an image, but is unsure of its copyright status. Aquitania, where did you obtain the image? — Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 23:35, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

I am still unsure. Obviously we cannot determine the copyright status without knowing anything about the image. Maybe Aquitania wants to know how to specify that there is no copyright. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:29, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

How about it is from Maritimequest?

It's copyright policy seems to state that all images retain their original copyright status. (original copyright status of each image appears to be different for each image/gallery). What image? Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 04:02, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

How about all images in this page and this page?Aquitania (talk) 22:05, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

Most of them say "© (person name) All Rights Reserved" below the image, and these are certainly not freely usable. I am not sure about the rest. — Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 19:20, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

finding old login

I had a login on Wikipedia some time back, but several attempts to find it have failed. I want to find the old one to see the complete history of all edits I have ever made and to see if any of them are still around.

I am very rusty on Wikipeidia and this was long enough ago I can't remember my login name or password, however, the associated e-mail address would be the only one in Wikepedia using the domain name sellers.com.

Searches I've tried for sellers.com came up empty handed.

How can I track down this history?

68.166.188.180 (talk) 23:39, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

---Thanks, JS —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.166.188.180 (talk) 23:33, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Do you recall any of the articles that you edited? If so, you could try looking in the articles' histories in the hope that you'll recognize your username when you see it. Algebraist 23:38, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

I sort tried to do that but the article (discussion) I was thinking of was deleted and replaced by another with the same name so my history didn't show up. 68.166.188.180 (talk) 23:46, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

You could ask an admin for a list of users who contributed to the deleted version. Algebraist 23:49, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

A search on sellers.com in multiple namespaces turned up this user whose only 3 edits to the English Wikipedia were to the deleted Image:WGAexample1.jpg in September 2006. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:03, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

product links

I am aware of the FAQ WP:BFAQ#ADVERT involving commercial advertisements and have been removing them from Requirements management “Tools” section as others have been doing. However in Software configuration management they have section “Tools” consisting of a table consisting mainly of links to Wikipedia articles. I notice this also has some external commercial links. What is the policy here? I am assuming that the external links need to be removed but otherwise the table listing is acceptable. Is this the case? Starrymessenger (talk) 23:41, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Question

Suppose someone is blocked indefinitely, their talk page is protected indefinitely, their talk page is salted if it is eventually deleted, their e-mail priveleges are blocked, none of their e-mail addresses work, and their IRC account does not work. How are they supposed to appeal then? 124.181.254.143 (talk) 23:54, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

They aren't. If someone gets this treatment, it's because we don't want them back (the talk page shouldn't be blocked if they haven't been abusing their right of appeal). They still have the option of coming back with a new account and staying out of trouble. Algebraist 23:57, 23 August 2008 (UTC)