Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 May 25

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May 25

Google help

Resolved

I'm trying to compile a list of articles for Playboy Playmates which have gone through the WP:AFD process. I haven't been able to find the magic formula of keywords using Google which will produce a set of useful results. Can anyone lend a hand with their Google skills? Or maybe there is some sort of tool that look through the AFD logs, if logs exist? Thanks, Dismas|^(talk) 04:36, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia is excluding pages at Articles for deletion from search engines like Google with our robots.txt at http://en.wikipedia.org/robots.txt which contains

Disallow: /wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/

An internal search like [1] can find some of them. PrimeHunter (talk) 07:34, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the tip about robots.txt; I will have to add a note about that to the {{Google custom}} documentation. To Dismas, you may need to learn about Wikipedia's query tools; see WP:EIW#Query. I need to learn about those tools too, so I can perform and explain these types of searches that exceed what we can do with Google. --Teratornis (talk) 17:58, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Lone years and months

Resolved

I've gone through the MOS but I can't find a section that I've read before. Where is the policy on whether or not to link lone months and years in the text of an article? Thanks, Dismas|^(talk) 04:55, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

WP:MOSDATE is the policy.--RyRy5 (talk) 05:02, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

MOS:SYL to be precise. dihydrogen monoxide (H₂O) 05:13, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, both of you. I went through that page but must have missed that paragraph that spells it out. Dismas|^(talk) 05:21, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Lightweight wikipedia entry page (search box only)

Resolved

Hi. Is there a Wikipedia entry page with only a search box that can load quickly on a mobile device that has (near-)zero caching, like the iPhone? An always and quickly accessible Wikipedia on mobile devices seems like one of the most powerful tools there can be, but over a non-WiFi (e.g. Edge) connection one wastes a lot of time waiting for content, formatting and especially images to appear. Both en.wikipedia.org and wikipedia.org entry pages have graphics on them. Thank you. 91.13.221.29 (talk) 05:57, 25 May 2008 (UTC) Greg

I found this off the internet. Hope it helps. Singularity 06:54, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Thank you, that utility is kind of neat; I'd also found some offline apps. But that portal is still not as lightweight as it could be and still requires a redirect; plus it's unofficial, which means it could go away or break . Maybe I should split the question: (a) is there such a simple page already at some official Wikipedia URL? (workarounds are nice, and I could maybe even create one myself, but the need for a "lightweight entry" to Wikipedia seems more universal, so...) (b) if not, where could one request such a feature to be an "official" entry to Wikipedia (this is probably not the appropriate place for a deeper discussion of merits etc.)? In fact, I looked around quite a bit before posting here because once I started looking it seemed so odd that something like that (so simple to do, probably quite universally useful) would NOT already be available. 91.13.218.38 (talk) 08:45, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Have you found WP:WAP access yet? Algebraist 09:29, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Thank you, that page contained a like to a really fast online mapping service at wikipedia.7val.com, which seems to provide a good solution. It would still be nice to have an "official" Wikipedia page do it, but for me the question is for now resolved. 91.13.220.104 (talk) 06:06, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

You could create your own user subpage with:

<inputbox>
type=search
width=42
buttonlabel=Go
searchbuttonlabel=Search
break=no
</inputbox>

Which gives:

 

--—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 12:46, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

See WP:EIW#Mobile for some additional links relating to your question. Someday, we can expect Moore's law to improve the capacity of mobile computing devices so that more of them should be able to carry around a recent Wikipedia snapshot, perhaps in a reduced format such as TomeRaider. Eventually mobile devices might maintain local mirrors of Wikipedia, thereby greatly conserving bandwidth by downloading only article revision diffs to synchronize articles, perhaps while a device sits in its charging station. The charging cycle could include both power and the latest data from whatever sites the customer likes to carry around as local mirrors. --Teratornis (talk) 17:34, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Thank you also, the user page trick is neat. But again, an official lightweight splash page would be nice. Your observations on Moore's law and transfer of diffs only are obviously also correct. And yet: content does tend to catch up with bandwidth (what would Wikipedia have looked like in the mid-80s?). Diffs are always smart; but maybe a general-purpose caching system (not just for Wikipedia) would be better; not sure you always have to carry all of Wikipedia around. We'll see what happens soon enough. :-) 91.13.220.104 (talk) 06:06, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Licensing question for uploading images

Resolved

I'm trying to upload an image onto wikipedia, it's under Public Domain according to the terms of use on the website. None of the licensing options on the upload page allow me to select an option like this, instead assuming that all Public Domains images are government related or made before 1923. How can I choose the option I want?

(The image is this: [2] The terms of usage is here: [3])

Any and all help will be appreciated. Thanks, Erythromycin (talk) 06:02, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

I don’t know what to make of their terms of use. On the one hand it says, “All graphics on this site are placed into the Public Domain” On the other hand it says, “You may NOT use any component of our clipart or site content to produce what could be directly or indirectly considered a competitive venture against us.” This restriction contradicts the PD release and seems incompatible with free use. If it is PD, the tag would be {{PD-author|FreeClipartNow.com}}. —teb728 t c 07:31, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Alright, thank you. I uploaded it at Image:Rhinosimus.jpg —Preceding unsigned comment added by Erythromycin (talk • contribs) 13:11, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Really big references

Resolved

One of the references that I'm using to build the MSM blood donor controversy article is a 133 MB pdf. I try to use in-line citations, but it's probably poor form to have someone click the link and get stuck waiting for the document. I have it now as an external link, but is there a better way to do this?Somedumbyankee (talk) 08:33, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Why not put the link with (133MB) next to it? Just an idea...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 09:16, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

(The OP's done that) I don't see anything wrong with the current situation. It's still a lot more accessible than a reference to a book in meatspace. Algebraist 09:21, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

True. Seems OK to me. My laptop would have no problem handling that (but my Grandma's dialup desktop - unmodified since 2000 would crash). Having the filesize should stop people with dodgy connections or old machines from opening it...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 09:26, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

I believe you want {{PDFlink}}. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 12:32, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Another option is to make two separate references, one to the PDF file itself (which you can warn the user about with, I believe, "|format=PDF (133 MB)" in the appropriate citation template, i.e., use one of the templates which has the format parameter, such as {{Cite web}}), and the second reference to a smaller HTML page that links to the PDF file. Most sites I have seen that contain big PDF files also have some sort of HTML page acting as an entry point to the PDFs. I.e., the sites themselves are not all PDF (that would be possible, since PDF supports linking, but that would be an ugly way to build a site, maybe even worse than using Flash for basic navigation). Google Search solves this problem, when a search result is a PDF document, by displaying a link to an HTML-ified version of the document. When I'm searching the Web, I usually click on the HTML link before the corresponding PDF link, because even though the HTML version looks worse, it loads far faster, and remains consistent in the browser. Loading a PDF is slow, and annoying because all the PDF readers have different user interfaces than the browser. It is obvious that PDF is a temporary kludge simply to shove all the print-format data online as quickly as possible. For real online publishing, PDF is clearly inferior to HTML, wikitext, and other things actually designed for online use. As the world gradually outgrows its belief that dead tree editions are the primary instantiation of information, fewer chunks of information should be hiding only inside PDF files. --Teratornis (talk) 17:53, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

{{cite web |url=http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/06/transcripts/2006-4206t1.pdf |format=133MB |title=Meeting of Blood Products Advisory Committee |date=2006-03-09 |publisher=Food and Drug Administration |pages=53 |accessdate=2008-05-25}}

"Meeting of Blood Products Advisory Committee" (133MB). Food and Drug Administration. 2006-03-09. p. 53. Retrieved 2008-05-25.

--—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 18:21, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Got it, thanks for all the help.Somedumbyankee (talk) 21:34, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

I like to hyperlink the publisher's name where possible: Food and Drug Administration. You can put that into the {{cite web}} template with: |publisher=[[Food and Drug Administration]]. --Teratornis (talk) 05:47, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Image

Resolved

 – No...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 09:15, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

I am not in the autoconfirmed group, but is there any other way I can upload images (copyrighted, so can't go on commons)? DalekChicken (talk) 09:13, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

No, not until you're autoconfirmed I'm afraid...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 09:15, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Gyro Calideo

Resolved

 – User advised on policies and other wikis. PeterSymonds (talk) 19:42, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi, im a new user and the reason i joined was to allow me to write a page for my band Gyro Calideo. I figured out how to make a new page and i began to write the short yet true history of my band.

once i had done all of this i decided i would save the page. however once i did this i got a message about speedy deletion. so i deleted it but i am not really understanding why? its my band and me and my friend are the only ones who know anything about the band so why have i been asked to delete something i "own" as it were? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Britpop-mod (talk • contribs) 14:56, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Ah, okay. First thing is not to be disheartened by deletion; it just means that it's been deleted because it doesn't satisfy Wikipedia's inclusion guidelines. For bands, they are found here. Unfortunately unless your band meets the notability guideline (found in the blue "here" link), then the article will be deleted. Wikipedia isn't a place for anything and everything; there are rules, and there have to be, or even I can have an article! :) If you still don't understand, ping me on my talk page and we'll discuss it. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 15:08, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

See WP:WWMPD and in particular the section If all else fails, try another wiki. Wikipedia is not the only wiki you may edit on, and for many types of content Wikipedia is not appropriate. See wikiindex:Category:Music for other wikis that specialize in music; some of them may accept an article about your nascent band project. --Teratornis (talk) 17:24, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Delete

Resolved

Can an admin delete the contents at User:SimsFan/monobook.js. I cannot log in because of the wikibreak enforcer. Please don't say 'wait for your wikibreak to end'. I need to request unblocking, as Jimbo has given me a second chance. 92.5.91.181 (talk) 15:42, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

It would be better to request at WP:AN. More admins are watching that page and will delete it quickly, if decided though.RyRy5 (talk) 15:46, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

I'll do it. The monobook is of an indef blocked user so there is no problem. PeterSymonds (talk) 15:47, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

 Done as in removed the contents. I'm not going to delete the page. PeterSymonds (talk) 15:49, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Delete... Proper

Resolved

 – deleted by someone else. PeterSymonds (talk) 16:03, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Can you actually delete the page. 92.5.91.181 (talk) 15:55, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Someone beat me to it. It's done now. PeterSymonds (talk) 16:03, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Hidden Category?

Resolved

 – PeterSymonds (talk) 18:03, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

The article Henry Harrison (MP) is categorised as belonging to the Irish regiments category. He is clearly not a regiment :-) but when I tried to edit the article, the category was nowhere to be found. How is that? Fribbler (talk) 17:56, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

It's part of the template above. I don't however see the Category:Irish regiments at the bottom of the page. PeterSymonds (talk) 18:00, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Oh yeah, got it. PeterSymonds (talk) 18:00, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure how to selectively remove categories, so I've copied and pasted the template's source code without the category. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 18:03, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! Fribbler (talk) 18:04, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

No probs. :) PeterSymonds (talk) 18:09, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

I removed the category from the template. It makes no sense to put a template that includes regiments from Ireland, Britain and South Africa into that category. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 18:38, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

(exdent) Thought that too...it contains people and events as well as regiments. Thanks all! Fribbler (talk) 23:33, 25 May 2008 (UTC)