Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 November 26

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November 30

Mirroring Wiki

I searched around but couldn't find this. Is there a 'how to' guide to mirror the wiki locally? I have my own webserver/database - and would like to have a mirror of wiki for "offline" use. It would be personal/non-commercial with just me.

November 26

Barack Obama Entry

I'm sure my question is answered in the extensive FAQ, but I do not have the time to research it right now and I think this is an emergency. There are racial slurs all over the Barack Obama page that should be removed immediately. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by V woman (talk • contribs) 00:20, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Already fixed. Algebraist 00:22, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

non standard image placement and size

I never fiddle around with images but isn't the image Jean shorts suppose to be in a box or something and smaller than that? (the pose did make me lol however). --Cameron Scott (talk) 00:29, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

• Hilarious. There's a word for what he looks like, but I don't think I ought to use it on Wikipedia. Apart from that little problem, though, I think the image works quite well! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.134.12.245 (talk) 00:41, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Image deletion

Hi

The coin images listed at Wikipedia:Deletion_review/Log/2008_May_16 under heading "Image:Jersey £1.jpg" were restored as a result of that review, but have since been deleted again. I'm trying to discover on what grounds this deletion was carried out, and by whom. "What links here" searches don't seem to help me. Can anyone help me locate the relevant discussion? Matt 00:45, 26 November 2008 (UTC). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.134.12.245 (talk)

Clicking on a redlink, like this one, gives, among other things, the relevant deletion log entry. In this case, the image was deleted by Skier Dude, with no justification given. Algebraist 00:50, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Other redlinks like this one give a reason of lack license and source information. —teb728 t c 00:55, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Oh I see. I thought that somewhere there would be a link to a deletion discussion page. Is that not so? Can people delete things just on their own say-so without any debate? Matt 01:00, 26 November 2008 (UTC). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.134.12.245 (talk)

If an image meets any of the Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion, it can be deleted without discussion. —teb728 t c 01:12, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

• I dug a bit deeper, they were removed from Coins of the Jersey pound by User:OrphanBot because there was no source information. The same bot then tagged the images as orphaned fair use image (speedy delete) which is why it was eventually deleted. - Mgm|^(talk) 01:06, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

  This is intensely irritating. The images were originally deleted as having "no fair use rationale". I spent a considerable amount of time and effort negotiating my way through Wikipedia's labyrinthine processes to apply a fair use rationale and have the images restored -- only, it seems, for them to be subsequently deleted for a different reason that wasn't even mentioned the first time around. In future I won't bother to waste my time. Thank you all for your help. Matt 86.134.12.245 (talk) 01:20, 26 November 2008 (UTC).

Images

Hello there. I have been working on the Bobby Lennox article and am trying to find an image of him. I am having difficulty working out which images can and cannot be used. For instance, this image of him. How can I tell if its free for use or not? I'm not asking anyone to find me a picture of him to use, just a little bit of advice on how I can find one and know whether or not I can use it. Thanks. Titch Tucker (talk) 01:29, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

That site’s terms of service appears to license reuse of its content under Creative Commons' Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License. The non-commercial restriction is unacceptable to Wikipedia. Wikipedia requires a license for reuse by anyone for anything including commercial use and modification. —teb728 t c 03:50, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Can I copy Wikipedia content for my own wiki?

I have started a wiki on my niche website and I would like to know if I can copy wikipedia word for word to populate my own wiki?

For instance, if i want to have a page on my wiki about Barack Obama. Can I just add a Barack Obama internal link, copy the entire Barack Obama page and paste it into mine?DegenFarang (talk) 02:02, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

You have to give attribution to the source if you copy content from Wikipedia. See Wikipedia:Reusing Wikipedia content. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:21, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Thank you. I just read that and I still don't understand. What constitutes giving attribution to the source? I just copied a page completely, verbatim, and at the bottom I added a 'notes and references section' and I stated that the page was copied verbatim from...then I linked to the wikipedia page where I got the content. Is this acceptable?DegenFarang (talk) 02:28, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

See section 2 of the WP:GFDL. Among the conditions, you must license your copy under the GFDL and you must include a copy of the GFDL license. —teb728 t c 04:00, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

That license doesn't really sound like it was intended for websites, sounds more like for books or other publications. When it says 'document' does that refer to each individual sub-page or would an entire website be one document? So if I have one copy of the license (and the other stated terms) on my homepage or other sub-page, would that suffice? Or does all of that have to be on each individual sub page which is copied from Wikipedia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by DegenFarang (talk • contribs) 04:37, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

You might follow the example of Wikipedia itself. It give the text of the GFDL one place at WP:GFDL, and the license statement (“Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License". Content on Wikipedia is covered by disclaimers.”), one place at WP:COPYRIGHT, and links to both at the bottom of each page. And yes you are right that the GFDL is badly suited for a website. —teb728 t c 05:01, 26 November 2008 (UTC) Ps. Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2008-11-17/GFDL 1.3 talks about an important GFDL change. —teb728 t c 05:46, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Ok I missed that link at the bottom of each page. That is what I will do then, add that link at the bottom of all of my pages. I think I have solved this issue then unless anybody else has anything to add. Thanks a lot everybody for your help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by DegenFarang (talk • contribs) 05:55, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Time Zone

Does Wikipedia allow changing your signature to the "correct" time zone. --Ramu50 (talk) 01:58, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

No. It would be confusing if signatures in the same discussion used different time zones. At Special:Preferences under "Date and time" you can set your local time zone so displayed times in some other places like page histories and contributions pages are changed, but not signatures. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:18, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

An easier method is to use the "gadget" in your preferences to place the UTC clock on your menu bar at the top. It makes it easier than having to calculate your time zone from UTC in your head... Just go to "my preferences", select gadgets, and its under there... --Jayron32.talk.contribs 03:59, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Inquiry

Can i have the information about the place where days and nights stays for 6 months —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.107.116.240 (talk) 03:20, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

At the North Pole and the South Pole days and nights are six months long. Is that what you are asking about? —teb728 t c 03:52, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Please use the Reference desk for factual questions. — Manticore 07:27, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

IRC cloak

When you fill out the IRC cloak request form, what is it you're supposed to put in the part: @_______ wikipedia.org? --Crackthewhip775 (talk) 05:35, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

It goes in the form project/Username. So, assuming you want a Wikipedia cloak, wikipedia/Crackthewhip775, or other caps-variants. This should be automatically filled in on the request form, though. — Manticore 07:25, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Music singles infobox question

I asked at the wikiproject music noticeboard, but no one answered yet. Does anyone know why singles boxes don't have a space for professional reviews like album boxes do? - Mgm|^(talk) 09:37, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Talk Page

Is there any way a user can find out who is watching their talk page?--intraining ^{Jack In} 10:16, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Asking nicely? :P No, sorry, there isn't. GlassCobra 10:22, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

how is it possible for everyone to see the article i wrote in my account

how is it possible for everyone to see my article i have written in my account & how to makea link of my website on your website? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.159.234.95 (talk) 11:40, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Your question is a little unclear. Please look over WP:SPAM and WP:NOT to make sure that what you're proposing is appropriate for Wikipedia, and, if so, elaborate on your question a little bit. I've posted some links on your talk page which you may find helpful. --Fullobeans (talk) 12:55, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

page potentially an advertisement?

I have come across a page which is potentially an advertisement - and therefore breaks Wikipedia's guidelines.

The page in question is 'Oscilloquartz'

How do I request a review of this page?

Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by LouPhi (talk • contribs) 11:47, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

• You usually tag the page with a cleanup tag, but I don't think it's a good idea in this case. It might be about a company, but it is part of a large very well known group and there's no non-neutral text to be found in the entry. - Mgm|^(talk) 11:51, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

The revision history of the Oscilloquartz article shows that initially most of the content came from a single user who has only made a few contributions in a three-day period. Then other users edited the article to make it more neutral and remove promotional writing. If you have any well-sourced material to add about the company to make the article more balanced, please add it. To see examples of the "ideal" coverage of corporations, look at some of Wikipedia's featured articles about them. For example: Microsoft and in particular the Microsoft#Criticism and Microsoft#Notes and references sections. Those sections show how an article about a business avoids the "press release syndrome". --Teratornis (talk) 17:45, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Help:Trusted user

What is the difference between Trusted user and Flickr image reviewer? Are these same? How can I review a Flickr image?

--Myrecovery ( Talk ♦ Contribs )

There is no finite definition of "trusted user" on Wikipedia, as far as I know. Users can be "trusted" for various tasks and projects. To request Flickr image reviewer permission, post here (you made it to the right page, you just didn't scroll down far enough). Also, please fix your signature, since it's bolding my text (removing the last three apostrophes should do it).--Fullobeans (talk) 13:17, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Citations Box

An article about the University of Mary Washington asks users to add citations to the page. I've done that, but the box is still there. How do I get it to go away?

69.255.138.66 (talk) 13:23, 26 November 2008 (UTC)Teresa

• The notable alumni and faculty sections aren't referenced yet. (So asking for additional references is a valid concern. If you've done that, you can get it away by removing the template on the top of the article that inserts the notice. - Mgm|^(talk) 13:30, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Image visualization

After I downloaded some images, Wikipedia shows me no more images at all, not even the banners or the logo in the starting page.

Why? How could I restore images? How can I avoid this to happen again?

Abacos (talk) 15:29, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

• How did you download those images? It sounds like something you did caused the images not to display any longer. Did you change any site preferences? Did you change browser preferences since those downloads? - 87.211.75.45 (talk) 17:05, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Company Promotion?

A user's (user:TechOutsider Contribs:[1]) edits consist entirely of editing Symantec products, and the edits appear to be all positive. Removing criticism, the use of press-releases as references etc. I would leave the user a note, but I'm not sure what (if any) policies are being breached, and therefore what really to say/query. So I come here to the Friendly Help Desk ;-) Any thoughts? Fribbler (talk) 16:14, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

I would leave {{Welcomespam}} on his talk page and continue to monitor his contributions. Also, a specific note on his talk page would be good as well. If nothing changes or there is no response, further action may be necessary. Cheers! TN‑X-Man 16:18, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

As an aside, if WikiScanner was up to date, you could identify if any edits have come from that IP range. Shame, really. TN‑X-Man 16:41, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

• I recommend sending a personal note in which you explain your concerns and explain WP:RS and WP:NPOV (which address the things you described). On the other hand, there is such a thing as too much criticism and in some cases (where the content is not really contentious) press-releases can be a suitable source. So make sure you pick an edit to highlight to the user that is clearly problematic. - 87.211.75.45 (talk) 17:10, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

What criticism has the user removed? Was it well-sourced and did it otherwise comply with Wikipedia policies and guidelines? (Some criticism on Wikipedia is merely vandalism, after all, whereas other criticism is clearly encyclopedic. It would be nice if every user was completely even-handed in every edit, but it is only necessary for the entire community of Wikipedia users to be collectively even-handed.) Are the users who originally contributed the criticism aware that TechOutsider removed it? If so, how did they react? In any disagreement between Wikipedia users, the side with the most knowledge of Wikipedia's rules "wins." Everyone involved should read WP:OWN, WP:BFAQ, WP:CITE, WP:CITET, WP:FOOT, and the Astroturfing article. If someone criticizes a Symantec product (or anything else) on Wikipedia, other users may challenge the criticism and thus it needs to have reliable sources and be properly footnoted. --Teratornis (talk) 17:32, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Images at Talk:Crystal growth#Gallery cleanup

There's a gallery of images at Crystal growth without any captions, but I can see what the content of those images is from the filenames. Can someone explain how to insert captions in the gallery? Maybe we could just undo the gallery and create images individually. Please reply on the article talk page (link in section header), and kindly leave me a note on my talk page if you can answer this. Crystal whacker (talk) 18:19, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

inserting words using a non-Latin alphabet

Somehow I just don't understand how to input a word in Hebrew, for example. I apologize if this has been covered somewhere in the FAQs, but after searching I just can't find it. I see on the page of "Hebrew Language" this line: |nativename = עִבְרִית 'E-vrit but how does one put in the actual hebrew letters? - —Preceding unsigned comment added by Romddal (talk • contribs)

Thanks in advance...

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Wikipedia: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. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. I suggest computing or language. Dendodge Talk^Contribs 18:30, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

I am assuming that the poster is asking about inserting Hebrew characters in WP articles. In edit mode, below the text window and below the "Save page", "Preview" buttons there is a drop down box on the left. Click the down arrow and then click Hebrew. The box to the right should now display Hebrew characters that you can click on to insert into an article. – ukexpat (talk) 18:35, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

hot link colors

are red links purely and only for links to pages that do not exist yet (and hence represent the author's suggestion that it would be interesting for someone to please contribute)? Should this not be added to the "Links" section in Manual of Style? RobReifsnyder (talk) 20:37, 26 November 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by RobReifsnyder (talk • contribs) 20:17, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

If an article is red linked, it means the page hasn't been created yet. Red links mean the target doesn't exist. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 20:19, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

See also Wikipedia:Link color. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:26, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

As well as WP:REDLINK. TN‑X-Man 20:44, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Pages about companies

I noticed when reading about the rules of Wikipedia, you are not supposed to make pages about your company. How does a company like Microsoft have a page then?74.7.197.209 (talk) 22:08, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Pages on companies themselves are fine, so long as they conform to our notability guidelines on companies and organisations. You are not generally advised to create a page on your own company, due to our page on conflict of interest. The page you flagged, Microsoft, is written by those who probably don't have an official affiliation with it. In a nutshell, pages on companies are fine, but we ask editors to avoid writing about their own because of notability and conflict of interest concerns. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 22:11, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

It seems unlikely that Microsoft employees wrote the unflattering Microsoft#Criticism section, not to mention the Criticism of Microsoft article, but I would guess a number of people at Microsoft have read them. See WP:BFAQ to learn more about how business articles work on Wikipedia. Note that the Microsoft article is a featured article, which means the Wikipedia user community has judged it to be an example of the best quality on Wikipedia. The vast majority of Wikipedia articles are of lower quality than this, including many articles about businesses. If a business is obscure, its article on Wikipedia may be full of promotional language and escape the notice of other Wikipedia editors for some time. Since anyone can edit Wikipedia, there is no hard barrier to prevent someone from writing glowing praise about their company (or any other subject they affiliate with), but in due course we expect other Wikipedia editors to notice and then keep things honest by editing for neutrality. If a company or other organization has earned reliably sourced praise or awards, then it is encyclopedic to write about that. Some people have criticized Wikipedia for slanting its coverage toward notable companies, which prevents struggling startups from getting exposure here. Unfortunately for the startups, that's a result of Wikipedia's notability guidelines. Wikipedia is also cruelly indifferent toward the legions of aspiring musicians, actors, etc. out there. Imagine if we had an article about everyone who has tried to become famous. The main problem with non-famous entities from Wikipedia's point of view is that they have not received much coverage yet in reliable published sources, and those sources are the raw material for Wikipedia. --Teratornis (talk) 22:29, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

I might add that Wikipedia is one of the highest-profile open source projects in the world, and the open source community has a generally uneasy relationship with Microsoft. As a result, it would be remarkable if the Wikipedia article on Microsoft painted an unduly rosy picture. --Teratornis (talk) 22:41, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Disappearing act

The copy and paste box below the editing box when you click 'edit this page' used to allow me to click on a symbol and it would automatically paste that symbol into the text box. Now this is no longer the case and I have to copy and paste manually, instead of clicking. Anyone have any idea why? —Cyclonenim (talk · contribs · email) 22:31, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

It was taking up too much server time, I believe. A Javascript version was tested, but reverted because of page loading time. The history of MediaWiki:Edittools and MediaWiki:Edittools.js will give the full term of events. :) Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 22:36, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Ah man. Well that's a pain but I'm pretty sure I'll get used to it. I just use em dashes so much and it saved a lot of time. Cheers for the quick response Peter. —Cyclonenim (talk · contribs · email) 23:02, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, I used them too! You're welcome. :) PeterSymonds (talk) 23:04, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

I still have the click-and-paste version. Are you blocking javascript or something? Algebraist 14:50, 27 November 2008 (UTC)