Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 November 16

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November 16

A question about possible non-free image use

The image Image:ACCUSAMap.png has been uploaded and used on Atlantic Coast Conference. The image is a map that shows the location of member institutions using their athletic logos. The creator of this image (and several others like it), User:Bmf 51 has tagged the image with a {{subst:PD-self}} license despite the use of non-free logos. I'm a little confused as to how this should be handled; should the image be deleted? should there be a different tag used? MTR (talk) 00:41, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

As the uploader doesn't hold the rights to this image (as it's a derivative work of copyrighted logos) you can speedy it with {{Db-i9}} (see Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion#I9). Nanonic (talk) 01:04, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

It's also a bit of a useless image as Image:Acclocationsmap.jpg shows the region and it's members more clearly. Nanonic (talk) 01:05, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

brian peppers

i see you have deleted the article for brian peppers but i would greatly like to find more about him and his life so if possible try and write a new article so people like me can learn. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.8.236.131 (talk) 00:48, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

You can learn by searching Wikipedia with Google for: brian peppers, which finds several results, including:

• Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-02-26/Peppers pickle

--Teratornis (talk) 01:02, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Page presentation help

I'm not really sure where to report this, or even ask. Would someone please look at page Wikipedia:WikiProject Criminal Biography/Serial Killer task force and see if there are odd chains of what might be code visible in front of each section title to anyone else besides me? I am only finding this on that one page, and the last time I looked at the page itself and edited it, those code lines were not visible. I have no idea what this is, or where to report it. Thanks. Wildhartlivie (talk) 04:08, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

I also see it in [1] which says "Category Profiler not found" near the bottom. [2] removed the odd code. I guess the display caused by categorytree when the category doesn't exist has changed to the worse since you last looked at the page. PrimeHunter (talk) 04:25, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Replacing Profiler with Profilers instead of removing it also works when I preview. Category:Profilers exists but not Category:Profiler. PrimeHunter (talk) 04:29, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks so much!! That was beyond my ken. Wildhartlivie (talk) 05:23, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Is there a way to view all my deleted edits?

I was wondering whether I can view a list of all my deleted edits (that is, edits I've made on mainspace that have been reverted by me or somebody else)? I would be interested to know if I've made mistakes that other users haven't reported to me? Thanks Rjwilmsi 09:20, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

• Edits that have been reverted will still be in the article history, but it's impossible to determine if someone fixed an error you made or simply tagged on edits of their own. As for deleted edits, it is possible for administrators to retrieve a list of deleted edits and article you wrote if providing it to you would not break any rules. - Mgm|^(talk) 10:03, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, yes I'm aware of the above. Effectively the minimum I need is a list of the articles comprising the (currently) 3700 'deleted edits' reported by this SQLbot tool from my contributions page, or at least the 100 most recent or something. To be useful I would need the article list sorted by date (most recent first) but that would be enough. Rjwilmsi 10:31, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

delete my account

can you please delete my account I mistakenly gave my name in it

2008-11-16T09:50:21 thanks Irene.guessarian (talk) 10:13, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

I'm afraid we can't delete your account due to GFDL. You can ask to be renamed here; that is a way of moving your old account to a new one. That is probably the best alternative. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 10:20, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

(ec) Due to the fact that Wikipedia content is licensed under the GFDL, all edits must be kept for attribution purposes, and so your account cannot be deleted. You do, however, have the right to vanish, which you can exercise by (1) requesting your user page (found at Special:Mypage) and/or user talk page (found at Special:Mytalk) be deleted, by adding the {{db-userreq}} template to them; (2) requesting to change your username to something that is unconnected with you (possibly a random collection of letters and numbers); (3) never logging in to your account again. If you do this, you may not register a new username to continue editing Wikipedia as invoking your right to vanish is final. Dendodge Talk^Contribs 10:21, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

It is? Never heard anyone else claim that before. You obviously aren't allowed to login into an account that is a random string of letters and numbers, but there are no rules that disallow someone to register a new account after vanishing on a previous one. - Mgm|^(talk) 10:25, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

All I typed was {{subst:vanish}}, so that's obviously been added to that template recently. It surprised me too. Dendodge Talk^Contribs 12:57, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

• The recent change was labelled a 'tweak' by User:Tiptoety. Since there's no wide concensus for this change, I reverted it. - Mgm|^(talk) 13:33, 16 November 2008 (UTC)
  • Its quite clearly stated in Wikipedia:Right to vanish#What vanishing is not: The "right to vanish" is not a "right to a fresh start" under a new identity. This has been abused several times in the past. Someone "vanishes" during a controversy, immediately comes back under a new name, starts doing the same things that caused the controversy, denies they are the same person, and it downhill-spirals from there. Obviously if its a non-controversial vanish, no one's going to care if they can't notice, but it frequently becomes an issue when someone, in good faith, notices that a new user is acting just like a user who disappeared recently, but the vanished user lies about their identity. WP:SOCK#Clean start under a new name covers this, but it makes it clear that there is no excuse for lying about your identity if discovered. Mr.Z-man 18:10, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Talk Page

Where can I find the talk pages of deleted articles? Thanks--Abhishek Jacob (talk) 12:46, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

They're normally deleted as well. You could ask an admin to send you a copy. Algebraist 12:56, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

I am an admin in one wikipedia and i need to find talk pages like that so i can delete them. Is there any easy way? Thanks again--Abhishek Jacob (talk) 16:24, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

Wikibits.js

How do you make use of these script snippets? Do you need to import anything? - Mgm|^(talk) 13:12, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Wikibits.js is included on every Wikipedia page, so nothing need be imported. Algebraist 13:15, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

I just need to figure out how to call the right bits when I need them... —Preceding unsigned comment added by MacGyverMagic (talk • contribs) 13:30, 16 November 2008

Just call the functions it defines normally. Since wikibits.js is run before any user scripts or gadgets, they're all defined when you would need to call a function from it. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 21:47, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Error in preferences

I've tried searching the archives using the link on the top of the page, but I couldn't dig up the answer. It seems to be quite common. I can't change my preferences because of an error that says "Your password is too short. It should contain at least one character and be different from your username". Needless to say, I'm not that stupid, but requirements are met. How do I fix this? - Mgm|^(talk) 13:29, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

There was a previous discussion of this which might help. See Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 October 27#Unable to edit account preferences.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 13:35, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

• PrimeHunter's suggestion indeed worked, though really, changes should not depend on the password field when you're already logged in. Especially when the password page is not the one you're changing. Until this is fixed, perhaps it should be in the FAQ. - MacGyverMagic 13:44, 16 November 2008 (UTC)
• Bah, now I can't set my sig to what it used to be. It says my preferences are saved, but it forgets everything I put in the box. :( - Mgm|^(talk) 16:01, 16 November 2008 (UTC) (Or not, these delays are annoying).

Incorrect error in my preferences/Gadgets page

When I change one of the options on the "Gadgets" page in "my preferences" and click Save, the "User profile" is displayed with the following red message at the top of the screen:

Your password is invalid or too short. It must have at least 1 character and be different from your username.

My password is okay and satisfies those conditions. This has happened twice and I just ignore it, click Save, and everything works fine. I am using Firefox 3.0.4 browser. Any idea what is happening and what I might need to do to correct this? Thanks. Truthanado (talk) 15:17, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

See thread immediately above. Algebraist 15:20, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, that did the trick. Sorry ... I didn't see it before I asked the question. Truthanado (talk) 16:08, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

howdy. I apparently can't move a page that's up

for deletion. is there any better place for questions and answers regarding deletion and deltion processes & conventions? in this particular case, a name change could be central to the question of deletion. Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Microphone gaffe thx, Headlikeawhole (talk) 18:19, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

• Moving the page now would disrupt all sorts of links and archives. Simply suggest the move on the discussion page so the closing administrator can perform it. - Mgm|^(talk) 18:54, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Can't print page 2 of "Percolation Theory"

For some reason, when I try to print or even print preview the three page article "Percolation theory" page 2 comes up blank, why is this, how can it be fixed? You can see page 2 on the screen or on "edit" but nowhere else... 96.249.203.23 (talk) 21:59, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Are you clicking "Printable version" in the toolbox to the left before printing? PrimeHunter (talk) 22:13, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Template help

How do I get to the page for {{User:Cory Malik/Toolbar}}? I want a template like it. a _talk 22:50, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Simply put the page in square brackets to make it a link you can follow: User:Cory Malik/Toolbar. - Mgm|^(talk) 23:26, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Or, you can type the full path out into the URL/Address bar in your browser. When you try to visit a page that doesn't yet exist, you're able to create it. -- Tyler D Mace (talk · contr) 09:11, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

What's wrong with $P$ ??

<math>P</math> works as it should in equations and in tables and if it has a subscript. But by itself, embedded in a line of text, it results in an image place holder as here ==> $P$

It only happens for upper case. If lower case as here ==> $p$, it works.

It has been that way for a number of days. Has no one noticed it? mbeychok (talk) 23:44, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)#Broken math images. It's only broken when "Always render PNG" is selected under Math in Special:Preferences. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:21, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your response, but it doesn't really help if one wants to use LaTeX math. Do you know if anyone is working to solve the problem? mbeychok (talk) 00:31, 17 November 2008 (UTC)