Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 July 13

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July 13

Wikipedia On Desktop

How can I put Wikipedia on my Desk Top? Ardath Effa —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ardath Effa (talk • contribs) 03:27, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Can you elaborate? What do you want on your desktop, specifically? Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 05:29, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

opening fixed deposit account

is it compulsory to have savings bank account with same bank to open a new fixed depost account ? as many banks insists to open s b A/c before opening new fixed deposit account with them including sbi. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.134.160.18 (talk) 05:11, 13 July 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. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 05:28, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Create a new Subcategory

Hi, I wanted to create a subcategory called 'Gay Liverpool', for any pages relating to gay liverpool. How could I do this? (Richie wright1980 (talk) 06:06, 13 July 2008 (UTC))

Well you're going to make a redlink blue.

1. Take a look at Wikipedia:Categorization and Wikipedia:Overcategorization and make sure your article will still fit into the grand scheme of things as it were.
2. Take a look at large categories such as Category:LGBT and Category:Liverpool and see where yours would fit in specifically.
3. Add your new category (Category:LGBT Liverpool, I'm not sure on the wording) to a page you feel it belongs in.
4. Create the sub-category page by editing the clicking the redlink at the bottom of the page you just categorized, the same as you would a redlinked article
5. On that category page adding the categories it is a sub-category and save the category.
6. Go to any additional pages you feel belong into the new subcategory and add them to it, if it was previously in the larger categories, remove them and only keep the most specific ones.
7. Refresh the new category page to make sure the new articles are appearing
8. Make sure that your articles and categories all link by trying to navigate through them by going through the various levels both up to the larger and back down through the more specific ones. -Optigan13 (talk) 06:22, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

I don't think there is currently any need to divide Category:LGBT culture in the United Kingdom by city. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:59, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Problems with Password and Email address

I think I forgot my password and can't log in to my account. My email address that I used on my account is no longer valid so I can't have a new password send to me. Can someone help me please?? Thank you. 68.239.166.53 (talk) aka Melonbarmonster —Preceding comment was added at 06:21, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm afraid there is nothing you can do if you don't know your password. Sorry. Harland1 (^t/_c) 06:25, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

How can I auto reference wiki articles from outside wiki?

I want to just use the double brackets open close to reference a hypertext to wiki.

Logically there must be a short code I could write in the source code of the page for this.

Some sites have this auto configures to ref to wiki.

How can I do this simply in HTML or other?

Any help

THanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by ELDRAS (talk • contribs) 12:07, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

That would likely involved editing the PHP/ASP code the server runs. You'll have better luck getting an answer on the Computing reference desk. — The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 12:15, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks the Hand That Feeds You, No I dont mean that.

I mean as a general web standard for any www page, that a [[]] would auto to wikipedia.

An html code could be evoked/coined like <wiki> </wiki> on any page as a standard like the <body> <head> etc

There is a long hand way of doing it that involves a third party converter, but that is laborious and not succinct.

Many people are time constaigned and not bright enough to contruibute to wiki who could usfully, were the systems generally much easier.

~~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by ELDRAS (talk • contribs) 18:42, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

From a wiki other than Wikipedia and using MediaWiki software and meta:Interwiki map, you can write [[Wikipedia:pagename]] to make a link to pagename at the English Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:22, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Primehunter, thanks that is too complicated. I know it may mean introducing a new set of WWW protocols, but I should think a standard that auto refers to the wiki in the language you are using, defaulting to English, is called for.

Rather than writing the hypertext per entry, a default to wiki using [[]] looks incredibly useful.

And this must be do-able I amazed it hasn't been done by Tim Berners-Lee's group.

Ta

~~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by ELDRAS (talk • contribs) 18:37, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Let's back up: are you linking from a site running MediaWiki or is this going to be plain HTML? --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 18:54, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia is just one relatively new website and linking to it is easy as it is. I think it would be bizarre for Tim Berners-Lee's World Wide Web Consortium or others to introduce a special HTML standard for linking to one specific website with a few less characters. And what if Wikipedia then changes url for some reason and a lot of software still uses the old url? PrimeHunter (talk) 19:56, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Using Wikipedia on a mobile phone

Is a mobile version available or is one planned? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.195.229.127 (talk) 12:11, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

WP:WAP has all the information you need. — The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 12:13, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Another alternative is the Opera Mini browser, should you want a more full-featured experience. Hope this helps, Gazimoff ^Write_Read 12:22, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Except that opera mini is frequently (and I believe currently) blocked from editing.Pedro :  Chat  12:35, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

I'd just kill to get an iPhone optimized version of the site. — The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 12:53, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

signatures

Hi if i make my account can signatures flash like this, for example Example.Username? The page (Wikipedia:Signatures) says "Your signature should not blink, or otherwise inconvenience or be annoying to other editors." but is this "annoying to other editors"? I don't think it is, so can I? Will i be removed if I do? 82.43.88.87 (talk) 12:23, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

FYI, it doesn't work in Firefox. The most likely result of having a blinking signature is a request to change it, with further action if you don't comply. If the guideline says it shouldn't blink, don't make it blink, no matter what you think. Xenon54 12:33, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Blink tags are evil. — The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 12:54, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Trust me, it's annoying to other editors. -- ShinmaWa^(talk) 17:36, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

I normally find blinking annoying, but I must say that that example actually isn't to me (works fine for me on Firefox 3.0 incidentally, User:Xenon54?) Probably because it's only the dot, it's a lot less of an issue (#4 in my collapsebox below is obviously bad). Anything much bigger than that would probably still distract me though (#2 would be borderline, and #3 is definitely over my personal limit). However, many other editors probably hold a "blanket ban" position, so I'd err on the side of caution and give it a miss if I were you!

Examples - I wouldn't click "[show]" if you suffer from epilepsy...
Example.Username (okay) Example-Username (borderline) Example=Username (no thanks) Example.Username () Example@Username (File:Skull logo.jpg)

--_{tiny plastic} Grey Knight ⊖ 13:28, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Atlas

WHERE TO FIND A HISTORICAL ATLAS OF ENGLAND AND IT'S REGIONS —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.143.95.37 (talk) 16:18, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Good day, you might want to turn of caps lock because it sounds like you're shouting against us. For the atlas you can see England. Best regards, --Kanonkas :  Talk  16:27, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Questions such as this should be brought up at the reference desk. -IcĕwedgЁ (ťalķ) 16:30, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

How should sourcing be done in templates?

I'm involved in a dispute over the content of a template. Good sourcing would help resolve the dispute, but I don't know how sources are supposed to be given in a template. Of course, no one wants to look at a template with lots of reference numbers on it and a list of footnotes!

How should a template be sourced? Can sources be commented out? Can they be simply listed on the talk page?

Thanks. I did browse around for an answer to this -- sorry if I missed it in a FAQ somewhere.

Dybryd (talk) 16:43, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

For context to other HDPers, this discussion has to do with Template:Sexual orientation, and specifically the label used on the "Identities" section at the top. You are right that it is undesirable to cite the label in a template as it would be not only aesthetically unpleasing, but would also transclude itself to every page it's on. Usually disputes like this are resolved through consensus, which you appear to be attempting on the talk page. One technique you might try is to wikilink the label to go to a page that includes (or disincludes) the terms you propose, using the references on THAT page as your guide. If bad comes to worse, you might want to get a third opinion from a neutral source to help break the logjam. -- ShinmaWa^(talk) 17:33, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks.

For MORE context, the dispute is actually about whether to include such neologisms as zoosexuality and pomosexuality in the template. I don't really care about the section headings, just about the content. Dybryd (talk) 18:14, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

You can put references, explanations, footnotes, comments etc. on the template page, wrapping it in <noinclude></noinclude> tags to prevent the added material from transcluding to the articles. Regards, Skomorokh 22:08, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

That's an excellent idea, Skomorokh. -- ShinmaWa^(talk) 03:07, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Odd characters

I use Safari as my primary browser. Although 99% of the information on Wikipedia is in English, film, television, book titles, etc., are written in what appears to be a Slavic language.

This does not happen in IE or Firefox. Is there anything that I can do to rectify this situation in Safari? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.163.15.171 (talk) 16:48, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

The things you mention are written in English but are usually in italics: This sentence is written in italics. It sounds like your browser has a problem displaying italics correctly. I don't know how to fix it. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:22, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia uses the UTF-8 character set— Safari must not be rendering italics properly. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 17:32, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

What version of Safari are you using right now? What version of MacOS X? — The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 18:10, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

There was a question a while back where it turned out a user had some strange font configuration that was giving WingDings-like fraction characters all over the place, which looked like a foreign alphabet to him at a large scale, I wonder if this might be similar. There was a similar dependence on formatting (I think bold text worked fine for that guy). Have you made any changes to your font setup lately on that computer? What does the following look like to you (it should all be the same word in different styles):

• "Wikipedia"
• "Wikipedia"
• "Wikipedia"
• "Wikipedia"

--_{tiny plastic} Grey Knight ⊖ 12:53, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Delete search history

How can I delete the search history on the Wikipedia search box on the left side? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fmlandaburu (talk • contribs) 17:03, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Check 'Special:Preferences' → 'Search' for the state of 'Disable AJAX suggestions'. If unchecked (default), then you are not seeing a search history; this is an auto-complete suggestion for your search. If checked, then you are seeing a search history maintained by your browser that can be cleared through your browser options. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 17:26, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Here's how to do it on several browsers:

• Internet Explorer: Tools > Internet Options > Content Tab > "Auto Complete...".
• Firefox: Tools > Clear Private Data. Click on "Saved Form and Search History" and click OK.
• Safari: Edit > Preferences > AutoFill tab > "Edit..." next to "Other Forms". Remove Wikipedia from the list.

Hope this helps. -- ShinmaWa^(talk) 18:26, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Since this has come up fairly frequently, I have added it to WP:RFAQ#SEARCH. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 20:40, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

help fix references

See Michael E. DeBakey look at reference 14. It is one huge mass. Now look at the body of the article under reference 16, 17. It is not listed. Someone messed up the formatting. I don't know how to fix it. Do you? Chergles (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 19:06, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes (doubled <ref>). Algebraist 19:12, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

old news papers

How do I find your 30 of August 1958 Editionof the Toronto Daily Star —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.201.58.131 (talk) 20:05, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

I notice you said "your". In case you don't know, here is a standard message to people who may think we are something else (like a newspaper we have an article about:

Hello. I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over two million articles, and thought that we were directly affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the online free encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is a help desk for asking questions related to using the encyclopedia. Thus, we have no inside track on the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the left hand side of your screen. If that is not fruitful, we have a reference desk, divided into various subjects areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck.. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:14, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Invalid confirmation code. The code may have expired.

I can't login because I keep getting an error message saying my password is wrong, and when I tried to get a new password I got an email where the link was already expired. In fact, the last line of the email says: "This confirmation e-mail will automatically expire at 19:41, 8 May 2008 (UTC)." Since today is July 13, 2008 that's obviously not very good.

All I wanted to do is correct a typo, which isn't so important, but I thought someone should know that there's a considerable malfunction going on here.

Someone posted a similar question in the archives, but it wasn't clear whether it was a user error or not, and in any case there was no resolution to the problem. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.126.141.160 (talk)

What is your user name? Are you sure the 8 May mail is not from an old request to register an email address for an account? The text sounds like that and not like a password mail. Some mails don't get through so maybe the new mail got lost somewhere. If you remain unable to access the account then you can also create a new one, or request one at Wikipedia:Request an account. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:23, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Account creator

hello ive reach the limit of creating 6 accounts in 24 hours but at http://stable.toolserver.org/acc/acc.php there is a influx of requests and im the only ative one on so how do i apply for the account creator tool? ElectricalExperiment 23:33, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

You are now Account creator. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:55, 13 July 2008 (UTC)