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Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2009 February 7

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February 7

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Edits like an essay

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  Resolved

Hello, I wanted to ask advice on how to deal with this situation. One of the articles on my watchlist, History of early Christianity, has recently been edited by a new user, User:Simonxxxxxxx. I think he is editing in good faith but I think the edits read more like a personal essay or term paper. Is there some page to direct this user to for guidance? Thank you. LovesMacs (talk)<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:MarkS/XEB/live.css&action=raw&ctype=text/css&dontcountme=s"> 00:57, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

I went ahead and tagged the article accordingly. — Hucz (talk · contribs) 01:46, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Following my edits, another experienced editor took care of the problem. Everything is back to normal. Happy editing! — Hucz (talk · contribs) 04:20, 8 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Dibble iceberg tongue

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Hi, I was looking at recent changes. This article seems not right for Wikipedia. Not sure what to do, exactly. Dave Smith (talk) 01:16, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It's a redlink now (meaning it was deleted). WP:CSD has the information you're after. Hermione1980 01:44, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
It's now a redirect to Dibble Iceberg Tongue which seems to be a legitimate article. —teb728 t c 02:17, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I saw this thread and had the vague idea that I had actually heard of it. So, I googled, and found it listed as a missing article in the Antarctica Wikiproject. Created the article, and the redirect, and all's well. DuncanHill (talk) 02:24, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Ok, wow. Thanks. I'll try googling next time. Dave Smith (talk) 10:54, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
No problem - because you asked the question, a legitimate article got created and I learnt something new, two excellent results. DuncanHill (talk) 04:17, 9 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Linking to earlier revisions of images

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Is it possible to link to an earlier revision of a particular image, as opposed to the current one? Or do I have to have seperate uploads for each old version of every image? Thanks in advance. — Hucz (talk · contribs) 01:35, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

In the file history table, click on the date link of the revision you want, whichve will take you to that earlier version of the image. You'll have to copy the URL and use it. Cheers. Chamal talk 02:43, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Could you go a little more in-depth, advising me exactly what text I need to input? I tried copying the URL as you mentioned, however, this led to nothing but errors. Thanks. — Hucz (talk · contribs) 06:00, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Where do you want to link it from? Only the current version of an image should be linked from an article. If you wish to link to an earlier version of the image, from a talk page as part of a discussion, for example, then give it this way. Jay (talk) 06:42, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I suspect you want to show the old version, not just link to it. If so, you need to upload under a different name; only the current version can be shown. —teb728 t c 07:03, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Make sure you give proper credit to whoever uploaded it first. (If the newer version of the image wasn't uploaded over the old one for a good reason, like copyright violation or something similar, it might be better to reupload the newer image) - 87.211.75.45 (talk) 12:36, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

What I meant was, to show the older revision of an image, but I assume this isn't possible. That's fine, I'll just reupload the old version under a different name. By the way, the image is a work of mine, on Commons, not the Verminators title card. Just thought I would clear that up. Thanks for all the help everyone! — Hucz (talk · contribs) 04:24, 8 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Words

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How many words are added to Wikipedia in a given month? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.14.240.204 (talk) 02:33, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It's hard to say exactly, but maybe these two pages would interest you: Wikipedia:Statistics and Special:Statistics. Cheers. Chamal talk 02:39, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

English or Romanji to be used in Japanese game article?

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Jump Ultimate Stars, a Japanese game and has not been translated to English (and it probably never will, but that's an aside)makes use of characters from numerous Manga titles, many of which have been translated into English and have English names, but most editors on the page seem to like to use the Japanese Romanji (Romanised Japanese) names of Manga instead of their translated English names.

(e.g. [[Fist of the North Star|Hokuto no Ken]] instead of [[Fist of the North Star]])

I personally prefer English, as this is the English Wikipedia and more people reading the English wiki will recognise Fist of the North Star rather than Hokuto no Ken. I also understand that the majority of the editors (and probably the majority of the editors for Anime/Manga topics) would prefer the Romanji name. I also understand that this is a Japanese only game and that the Romanji names might be more appropriate (although to be completely fair the game uses their Japanese names, which are in Hiragana/Katakana/Kanji/Romanji; in the above example, the name would be 北斗の拳, but using this would be a bit extreme).

If there's no specific ruling saying one way or the other I'm willing to leave it as it is, but if there is some manual of style or some thing else that suggests the 'official' English translated name is to be preferred, shouldn't we be using the English names for the titles (that have been published in English)?

I understand this is pretty petty and I don't really care one way or the other (well actually I do, or else I wouldn't be asking here) but mainly I'm asking for future reference, so some info would be extremely helpful and in particular, not just for games but for any foreign material in general (i.e. Manga/Anime).

In other words, when dealing with names/nouns in foreign languages, when should the name in the original language (or Romanisation of the original language) be used over an English translated one or vice versa?

Thank you very much.

Serrin (talk) 03:03, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Here are some related guidelines:
"Generally, Japanese script for a word can be added to the text the first time it is introduced"
"Japanese text should be marked with the {{Nihongo}} or {{Nihongo2}} templates."
It looks like the article is following those last two points. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 11:45, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Re-using content

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  Resolved
 – ukexpat (talk) 15:52, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I asked this question on WP:VPM when I probably would have been better off asking it here, so I thought I'd ask here to see if I could get some more opinions. Answers preferably on VPM or my talk page so that I'm not looking all over the place for answers, please. Lankiveil (speak to me) 06:27, 7 February 2009 (UTC).[reply]

Reply posted on user talk page, resolved. – ukexpat (talk) 15:52, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

career

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I want to make my career in FMCG companies.i am doin MBA biotechnology.i want to go for opperation there.am i eligeble.how i have to proceed.and please provide me with the list of all FMCG companies in india. thanking you, gargi lingwal —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lingwalgargi (talk • contribs) 07:07, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Have you tried the miscellaneous section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. - Jarry1250 (t, c) 10:51, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Determining IP of account creation?

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Is there a way to determine the IP address used in the creation of an account? I ask due to recent activity on Natural number — there was some sockpuppetry going on which resulted in permanent blocks on the named accounts; today a new user account showed up doing similarly incompetent/nonsense edits on the article (but not identical, as the sockpuppet case had been). So, i'm interested in determining whether all three accounts are originating from the same IP. Thanks for any pointers. Quaeler (talk) 13:10, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations and Wikipedia:CheckUser. I don't know whether checkusers can see which IP created an account. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:26, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. Quaeler (talk) 13:44, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Filtering articles based on categorisations

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Categories are all well and good, and at times extremely useful, but is there any way to filter articles based on more than one category? for example say i wish to search for people listed in Category:Old Etonians, who were also Category:Fellows of the Royal Society. This would be a rather useful feature i feel. 79.75.222.139 (talk) 13:45, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It sure would, unfortunatly it hasn't been implemented :-(--Pattont/c 14:10, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Yes: use CatScan. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 14:30, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

lucifer[serpent]

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i have read some bible history site serpent introduced eve about the fruit and she after ate the satan did intercourse with eve and cain is lucifer's son. if true like to know details. pinky —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.172.36.76 (talk) 13:58, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Have you tried the Humanities section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. TN‑X-Man 15:49, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
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.  – ukexpat (talk) 15:49, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Stewards' elections

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To find out whether I am eligibile to vote or not I need e.g. a link between my Meta account and a home account. How do I create this link? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.133.147.8 (talk) 14:03, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

On your wikipedia user page, link to your meta account, and vice versa--Pattont/c 14:09, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Unified login? – ukexpat (talk) 15:48, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

artical in Mechanix Illistrated

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How do I get a copy of "5 reasons to build URBA CENTURION--Feb. 1982 Mechanix Illistrated ??

Dick Rosteck

thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.87.234.49 (talk) 16:20, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Have you tried the Miscellaneous section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. - Jarry1250 (t, c)
(edit conflict) I would suggest contacting the publisher of the magazine, as they may have the info you need. This desk is for asking questions about using Wikipedia. You may want to try asking at our reference desk, as they specialize in answering knowledge questions like yours. TN‑X-Man 16:29, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Maintenance tasks

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Hey there. I want to help in Wiki maintenance as I'm absolutely terrible at writing articles. I've done anti-vandalism, WP:O, and WP:XfD. I tried my hand at CSDs but I can't get the hang of the strict, strict criteria. Anyone got any other suggestions? Admin-ish areas are welcomed (WP:XfD is an example of an admin-ish area..) Thanks. Antivenin 17:35, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Welcoming new users perhaps? ("Friendly" can help with that.) - Jarry1250 (t, c) 17:38, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Have you examined Wikipedia:Maintenance? PrimeHunter (talk) 17:39, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Woah! Wikipedia:Maintenance is a treasure trove! Wow. That's perfect! Thanks. I'll try out Friendly too. I noticed it but never paid much attention to it. Thanks for that too. =) Antivenin 17:42, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
You can spend infinite amounts of time searching for freely licensed photos (such as from Flickr, by using {{Flickr free}}), and then upload them to Commons. There's tons of interesting stuff to do on Commons, such as categorize all the uncategorized photos uploaded by the FlickrLickr bot. There are also lots of images on the English Wikipedia that should be on Commons, which you can move with the CommonsHelper tool. Another huge need on Wikipedia is to create navigation templates for the many articles that currently have none. --Teratornis (talk) 21:35, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

help

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how many people wikipedia per day? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.34.73.5 (talk) 18:00, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry? Please elaborate. Queenie Talk 18:33, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
As the saying goes, "that sentence no verb." Possible verbs which could fit:
  • How many people view Wikipedia per day?
  • How many people edit Wikipedia per day?
  • How many people vandalize Wikipedia per day?
  • How many people contribute money to Wikipedia per day?
  • How many people cite Wikipedia per day?
etc. Since we don't know the missing verb, we can only answer generally, which is to suggest that you see the links under WP:EIW#Statistic. --Teratornis (talk) 21:24, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Youtube

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How exactly is adding YouTube link to article violating copyright? —Endothermic (talk) 16:39, 7 February 2009 (UTC) 18:14, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • Videos on YouTube often don't belong to the people who upload them. If they do it anyway, they're violating the copyright of the owner and as a result, we can't link to said video. You can only link to YouTube videos from official channels which can be linked to the individuals or companies who own the rights (like the Oprah channel). - 87.211.75.45 (talk) 18:57, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
There is a failed proposal at Wikipedia:External links/YouTube which nonetheless appears to have some relevant commentary. --Teratornis (talk) 21:39, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the replies. We don't think twice before adding YouTube links to our blog or myspace do we? Apparently Wikipedia is too strict with copyrights; I'll try to get adapted to it. —Endothermic (talk) 16:39, 7 February 2009 (UTC) 02:18, 8 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It's not too strict. Just because you link to it in a blog or in MySpace doesn't necessarily make it legal, moral, or ethical. Lots of people do heroin or shoot fellow human beings in the head, and those are not legal activities in many jurisdictions either. Wikipedia merely obeys the rules, and attempts to act in an ethical manner. We are sorry if your attempts at violating the relevent laws here are being thwarted. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 05:44, 8 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not deliberately trying to violate any laws, so no need to be sorry for anything. :) —Endothermic (talk) 14:41, 8 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Last question

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I seem to be on a roll asking questions, so this is going to be my last. Some users write guides on CSD criteria (their own essays). Is there a list or compilation of such guides? The official CSD criteria is very ambiguous and subject to interpretation, so I'd like a guide that teaches by example. Thanks. Antivenin 18:23, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The speedy deletion criteria shouldn't be ambiguous. They should be clear and concise. If you see ambiguities, you should bring the matter up at WT:CSD. Algebraist 18:57, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
To address your first question: "Is there a list or compilation of such guides?" The Editor's index to Wikipedia tries to be a complete compilation of all documentation useful to the Wikipedia editor. See for example WP:EIW#Delete, with a formidable number of pages relating to deletion. As you have discovered, Wikipedia often has several overlapping instruction pages on major topics; without an index, trying to make sure you have read all the possibly relevant material can be difficult. If you know of some guides not listed in the index, feel free to add them, but first please read the editing instructions. --Teratornis (talk) 21:18, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Searching wikipedia

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I know that there is a tool called what links here, which finds all the articles which link to a certain page, but are there any other search tools on english WP which allow you to search for all articles containing a particular word or words, be they linked or unlinked? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.75.222.139 (talk) 19:08, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You can use Wikipedia's built-in search function, or Search Wikipedia with Google. Calvin 1998 (t·c) 19:31, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Subcategories are listed as sub-subcats

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Normally, when a category contains subcats, they are listed alphabetically before the articles. If those subcats themselves contain subcats, they fold out using a [+] button.

Category:African Americans lists itself as a subcat, and all its subcats as sub-subcats. It seems this is because it contains the line <categorytree>African Americans</categorytree>. Is that indeed the reason? What's the point of listing them this way? — Sebastian 22:47, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Look a bit more closely: Category:African Americans is a subcat of Category:African American (without an s). --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 00:11, 9 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, but that doesn't explain at all why Category:African Americans includes the category tree of Category:African Americans. I think the answer is: Yes, it is because of the <categorytree> element, and the point is that without the tree the first page would list subcategories only down to 'G'. —teb728 t c 00:52, 9 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

search for liberal and ull see my problem

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wtf? i dont really know how to complain or whatever, and i know as a liberal i shud be able to take this abuse and i dont really mind, i just think its a bit offensive to have this stuff on wikipedia —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.132.22.222 (talk) 23:07, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hi - if you take a look at the page now, you'll see that someone has reverted the vandalism that you saw. You can revert vandalism like this too - see our guidelines at Help:Reverting to learn how. Gonzonoir (talk) 23:52, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Category links appeared on talk page

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  Resolved

Hi, it has been pointed out to me that my talk page appears to be in three seperate categories, namely glass, glass art, and glass history. I have no idea why my talk page is suddenly in these categories. I want to remove my talk page from these categories, as it simply doesn't belong but (i) have no idea how it got in them in the first place and (ii) don't know how to remove my page from them. Can somebody have a look? Thanks in advance. Jdrewitt (talk) 23:10, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I notice you fixed this by removing the [] brackets. Another way would have been to use a colon, like this [[:category:X]]. — Sebastian 23:15, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Ok thanks, yes I feel a bit silly posting here now after rapidly realising what was wrong but at least it is fixed now. Thanks, I will remember colons from now on! Jdrewitt (talk) 23:17, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

tagging when I need help

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What tag do I use to put on my talk page when I need help?Gljustice (talk) 23:23, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Gljustice - the tag you need is {{helpme}}. Add that to your talk page, with your question below it, and someone will come by to answer. Gonzonoir (talk) 23:50, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
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