Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 October 26

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October 26

Getting Logged-Out

I sign in, spend some time looking around, make an edit and then realize that my log-in has been terminated. This results in an anon edit, which I want to avoid. Is it my less-than-stellar overseas IP? Is there some reload of my watchlist that I must do. Can you explain it? Can you make it go away? I understand that a lack of activity is a good cause to terminate a log-in, but in less than an hour? Thanks, CasualObserver'48 (talk) 06:40, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

• Did you check the "remember me" checkbox when you logged in? - Mgm|^(talk) 08:17, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

No, I didn't/don't, because if I do...I'll likely forget the password when it is necessary. But, then again, if that will fix the problem, I'll do it. Will it fix the problem of having the log-in terminated? Thanks, CasualObserver'48 (talk) 11:37, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Only one way to find out. SpinningSpark 16:04, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

• Yes. It would solve the problem. Unless you explicitly log out or delete cookies, you will be logged in for a long time. -Mgm|^(talk) 18:49, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, hopefully resolved. CasualObserver'48 (talk) 02:10, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

George Osborne photo

A well known image of David Cameron in his Bullingdon tail coat was last year banned from publication by its copyright holders (see here), however I don't know whether this ban extends to other Bullingdon photos, including that of Boy George (see here). How can i find out? 79.75.179.51 (talk) 07:33, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

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. _Gb^T/c 10:43, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Assuming you want to upload such a picture to Wikipedia, WP:Media copyright questions will be able to help you. --HughCharlesParker (talk - contribs) 15:05, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Mohammed_kaaba.jpg

hi

i got a complain about this page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mohammed_kaaba_1315.jpg

i opened this page and i saw that u guys put a face discription of prophet mohamed (pbuh)

and i wud like to ask u to delete this because this is not allowed in islam

thank u —Preceding unsigned comment added by Redaak ya allah (talk • contribs) 10:00, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

repeats of same message removed by Chamal ^talk 10:12, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Hi! Please do not repeat the same message. You question will be answered by someone who has some knowledge on the relevant subject. Please be patient. Thank you. Chamal ^talk 10:12, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not censored; and does not abide by the tenets of your beliefs. Andy Mabbett (User:Pigsonthewing); Andy's talk; Andy's edits 10:19, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

There is a set of frequently answered questions regarding the use of images of Muhammad at Talk:Muhammad/FAQ, which should answer your query. _Gb^T/c 10:31, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

This FAQ page explains why Wikipedia articles may contain images of Mohamed; basically in order to maintain a neutral point of view Wikipedia is not censored. The FAQ page lists some ways that you can hide the images if you're offended by them.

Cheers,  This flag once was red  10:34, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Article problem

I added refs, a stub tag, and categories to Sixteen Cows, but it won't work. Schuym1 (talk) 10:21, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

You've opened a <ref> tag after "Great for rowdy story hours", but haven't closed it. Remove it and the references and cats will appear. _Gb^T/c 10:23, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. It's weird that I forgot to add the third ref. Schuym1 (talk) 10:27, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

translation

Hi there! I'm new here, so i just wanted to know a few things. I come from Denmark and therefore i would like to translate some of the English articles into danish. So, here comes my questions: is it okay to translate a page excactly like it's written in english, and may i copy/paste the pictures used in the english article? Hope to get an answer ASAP.

Mikk2168 (talk) 10:41, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Yes. The GFDL allows for copying (you only need to alter the text if you're introducing it for the first time from some non-GFDL source) and that goes for the pictures as well although you'd either need to re-upload them or use Commons if they're available there. -- Mentisock 11:16, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Note that in order to satisfy the GFDL you should say you translated it and give a link to the source. It can be in the edit summary of the tanslation, and in addition be added to the article text or talk page. See also Wikipedia:Translation and Category:Wikipedia translation templates for translations to English. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:37, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Script Package

Hey, i m using a script package but i am having problem in tagging articles and welcoming users. Could you please help in this regard that how can i do corect it. I am using Firefox, this problem is persisting from last 2 days, before that it was working correctly but now its not working, i don't know why!!!--BurhanAhmed (talk • contribs) 12:41, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Which script package are you using? --HughCharlesParker (talk - contribs) 15:21, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

codes for mitsubishi

i have code 12 flashing on my 50 inch —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.65.198.200 (talk) 15:00, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Are you asking for information about your computer screen? If so, you need to be a bit clearer, and you need to ask your question at WP:Reference desk/Computing. --HughCharlesParker (talk - contribs) 15:08, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

HOW DO I CHANGE A DATE OF BIRTH WHICH IS WRONG?

How do I "cite reliable references" or validate amends to date of birth? My amends revert back to the original and incorrect information after a few minutes of being changed. CLAIREY12 (talk) 15:06, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Vandals often change dates like that, so it's likely that someone has mistaken your edits for vandalism. In order for Wikipedia editors to be able to deal with this problem accurately, we need to be able to see which date is right. That's why wikipedia's verification policy requires non-obvious information to supported by a citation to a reliable source. If you can find a reliable third-party source which includes the date of birth in question, add a link to it to the article, then the editors who've been reverting you will be able to see that you're right. Unless you're interested to do so, you don't need to worry too much about formatting, you can leave that up to someone else. --HughCharlesParker (talk - contribs) 15:20, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

The messages on your talk page have clickable links. Some of them link to Wikipedia:Citing sources on the word "citing". The article has an external link to http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1667678/ which supports the article date but is not very reliable. However, you would need a more reliable source to change the date. What is your source? PrimeHunter (talk) 17:50, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Your changes are not being reverted by some automatic robot. Humans are reverting it and leaving notes. Click "history" at the top of the article and you will see the reason why it is reverted - mainly that the date in the article is the same date as IMDB and your date does not cite any source. -- kainaw™ 19:06, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Reopening template

Does anyone know if there is a template that can be used to show that a discussion has been reopened for more feedback or general discussion? Simply south (talk) 15:11, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

The only template I can think of which is sort of on point is {{Relist}}. I don't think that is quite what you are looking for, but if no one comes along advising of an existing template, it could be easily modified for a new template at {{Reopen}}.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 16:05, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

That will do in the area i was going to do. Thanks. I might create one as an alternative (similar to e.g. {{declined}}) Simply south (talk) 16:12, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

You're welcome.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 16:15, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

I've gone ahead and created the template {{Reopened}}. I'm now thinking that this template could become very useful generally if it is used in that it shows that a previous discussion has been reopened.

Could someone point me to where this could be discussed? Simply south (talk) 18:04, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Special pages

I have just noticed that a lot of the special pages have titles which are different from the page name. For instance, the list of users page is called "Users" but typing Special:Users does not work, you have to type Special:ListUsers. There are a lot of them like that - what's it all about? SpinningSpark 15:55, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

It's because the text of a link to a special page (as shown on Special:SpecialPages) takes its name not from the page name, but the page title. As you point out, the title of the page named Special:Listusers is "Users", so that's the text that appears in the list at Special:SpecialPages, not "List users". It's probably a quirk of the MediaWiki software..._Gb^T/c 18:17, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

It's like how we have a "discussion" tab to get to "talk" pages. This is what I call "synonym disease." On the editable part of Wikipedia, multiple users can eventually identify and eliminate synonym disease, agreeing on standard terms, but on the software side of Wikipedia, there are fewer developers who can change things. Quite possibly, many developers are not too bothered by these types of inconsistencies, because they are used to them. It's like the way a native English speaker has long gotten used to irregular verbs, but these exceptions make English much harder for non-native speakers to learn. (Native speakers rely on their long term memory which has enormous capacity for dealing with complexity, whereas new speakers struggle to make do with their sharply limited short term memory, which easily gets overwhelmed by any extra complexity.) This type of inconsistency is an ergonomic defect, which doesn't bother the highly experienced users much. Wikipedia (at least the editable part) tends, over time, to clean up everything which puts unnecessary obstacles in front of new users, because even the new users can edit anything they recognize as a problem. --Teratornis (talk) 23:35, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

Help Millennium Shakespeare

I need some help to get links and references on the Wiki page ... any helpers out there?? MS —Preceding unsigned comment added by Millenniumshakespeare (talk • contribs) 18:52, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

First, you must supply some reason to consider this company notable. We don't have an article on Wine Dark Press (which appears to be the company's real name). To have an article, a company must be notable. A company, corporation, organization, team, religion, group, product, or service is notable if it has been the subject of significant coverage in secondary sources. Such sources must be reliable, and independent of the subject. What significant coverage can you supply? -- kainaw™ 19:02, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Creating a template

I'd like to turn the following into a template:

[[:Image:Goldenwiki.png|left|thumb|140px|WikiProject Medicine's Missing Articles Trophy — Awarded to 1234684gdsg for the creation of article]]

Where the user name (in this case, 1234684gdsg), the created article (in this case, article) and the added field of either 'for the creation of' or 'for the significant expansion of' are parameters within the template, something like {{MEDMAT|creation|1234684gdsg|article}}.Any ideas?

—Cyclonenim (talk · contribs · email) 21:00, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Have mocked up User:Gb/Template:Test, the results of which can be seen here...how's that? It takes the username as the first parameter, the page name as the second. It's not particularly clever, but it works..._Gb^T/c 21:16, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Are you asking about how to make the template, or whether you should make it? --Teratornis (talk) 21:21, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Looks good. Is there any way to automatically link the username? And to reply to teratornis, I'm asking for help to create it really. I have no coding experience but I know I need the template. —Cyclonenim (talk · contribs · email) 21:39, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Also is it possible, when linking to the username, that only the base name is taken (i.e. leaving out the 'User:' prefix) —Cyclonenim (talk · contribs · email) 21:42, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

::::Yes. Have just done the first iteration of your request...hang on a moment..._Gb^T/c 21:43, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

To clarify, so it says "awarded to Gb" (ie. with the username as a piped link to the userpage)? _Gb^T/c 21:44, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Looks like you've done it yourself..._Gb^T/c 21:46, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Sorry :) I wasn't sure if you were still around so I decided to give it a shot. Turns out it worked! :) Thanks for your help. Can I copy that code directly to a new template? (I'm going to use Template:MEDMAT) —Cyclonenim (talk · contribs · email) 21:46, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

(outdenting)Yeah, just cut and paste. When you're done I'll delete the one from my userspace. _Gb^T/c 21:47, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Done! Thanks so much for your help. —Cyclonenim (talk · contribs · email) 21:48, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

No worries. Oh, I've put that fullstop in the right place for you... ;-) _Gb^T/c 21:49, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Haha :D Thanks! —Cyclonenim (talk · contribs · email) 21:53, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

I made it so |expand=yes changes it to 'substantial expansion of', with 'creation of' as the default. DendodgeTalk^Contribs 22:02, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

DISCUSSION PAGES

I've looked all over your site and cannot find what I need (or want) to know. When I go to a dscussion page (ANY discussion page) I see that this person wrote that, and that person wrote this, but I cannot figure out how I can write something. All I seem to have available to me is "edit", which is messed up that I should be allowed to edit someone's discussion. How do I start a discussion, and why do you allow me to go into someone else's discussion and edit what they may have asked, said or done that is a DISCUSSION, not an article?

thanks, —Preceding unsigned comment added by Twidget1 (talk • contribs) 22:41, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Hi Twidget. To start a new section on a discussion page, click the 'New section' tab at the top. Kind regards, —Cyclonenim (talk · contribs · email) 22:51, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

And to make a comment in an existing section, click "edit" there and write your comment without changing the existing content. See more at Wikipedia:Talk page. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:24, 27 October 2008 (UTC)