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Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2009 January 18

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January 18

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User pages

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Can people cut and paste text (like 1 or 2 paragraphs word for word, or a full page of contemporary poem from some book) onto their user pages? WP:USER only mentions "images and files" as copyrighted material to refrain from using on user pages. But what about copyrighted text?--Zereshk (talk) 00:09, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • Text is included in that unless the text is in the public domain or specifically not copyrighted to be begin with (unless the author decides otherwise, the text is copyrighted). If in doubt, there is a copyright noticeboard around, I just can't remember its name. - Mgm|(talk) 01:27, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
To expand on Mgm's response, sometimes coyrighted text can (in the United States) be reproduced under the "fair use" doctrine—for example, in using a quotation from a book in a review of that book—but I can't see any case in which the reprodution of an entire copyrighted poem on a user page would be permissible. Deor (talk) 05:06, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

posting pictures or diagrams

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I have to edit a page for a class and as part of the assignment we need to be able to add diagrams and pictures describing our process (the manufacturing process we have chosen to edit information on). The assignment is due soon and I need to know how to add in pictures. Thanks. e-mail me at <redacted> —Preceding unsigned comment added by Aylienna (talk • contribs) 00:55, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Images. Xenon54 (talk) 01:29, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Vandalism tools

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I see that a lot of people have "special" tools or scripts to help undo edits quickly and copy / paste warnings. Which one should I use? How do I install these? GNRY09 (talk) 02:18, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The most popular ones are:
  1. Huggle
  2. Twinkle
  3. AutoWikiBrowser
Each page contains instructions and information on each program. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 02:50, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Via WP:TOOLS I found Wikipedia:Cleaning up vandalism/Tools.--Commander Keane (talk) 04:30, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Doesn't Huggle require rollback promotion? Ched (talk) 05:20, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Yes. Calvin 1998 (t·c) 05:34, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Twinkle also needs autoconfirmation and you need special permission for AWB. Chamal talk 05:37, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Non-English Sources

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Can somebody direct me to an article that has effectual done what WP:NONENG states? I learn best by following examples. I'm trying to add Ukranian-language sources to Lviv Today (I don't speak Ukrainian, but I've been using Google's Translator). I guess what I don't understand is what the definition of a "direct quote" is. Maybe I'm just being dense, but does it mean a quote given by a person? Or just a quote from the source in general? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Killiondude (talk) 04:18, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

A direct quotation is an exact reproduction (as opposed to a summary or paraphrase) of the words uttered by a person or present in a printed source, and it should be enclosed in quotation marks. What WP:NONENG is saying is that for a direct quotation from a non-English source, the exact words in the original language should be included, so that readers can verify (or challenge) the accuracy of the translation given. I wouldn't rely on a mechanical translator for any text intended for inclusion in a WP article, myself. You might get away with paraphrasing the translation (rather than directly quoting it) and linking to the Ukrainian source, but one wonders why you're conceerned with adding sources published in a language you don't understand. Deor (talk) 04:58, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Okay. I wasn't going to put a direct quote in (if that was the case) because I don't speak the language. I am trying to convert the references section, which is currently just external links, into inline citations. To calm some concern, I don't make it a habit of working with things outside of languages I know. Thank you for your help. Killiondude (talk) 05:03, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
On the subject of machine translation, I think it's pretty safe on subjects where you have expertise. If you know a lot about the subject matter, you can usually tell when the translation is bad, because the translated material won't make sense to you, or won't be consistent with what you know about the subject. (For example, I've been studying wind power for a while, and now I know enough about it to understand even fairly poor machine translations of other-language Wikipedia articles on the subject. You might be interested in the {{translate wikipedia}} template I created to make it easy to write and store links to such translations.) It is much worse for someone who doesn't know much about a subject, because then a subtle translation error could lead to a factually incorrect meaning in the target language, which the nonexpert is less likely to notice. Even so, you would still like a bilingually-fluent editor to proofread anything you create with the help of a machine translator. And it's always good to search for English-language sources that duplicate (at least partially) whatever information the non-English Wikipedia article sourced from its native language, so English speakers have an easier time following the sources. --Teratornis (talk) 07:20, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

my biography

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were do I start my bio? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Commanderfalcon (talk • contribs) 04:53, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Are you notable? If so, then someone will write an article about you sooner or later - you should not as you have a conflict of interest. If you are not notable, then try Wikipopuli or Wikibios.  – ukexpat (talk) 04:59, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Can't login to new account after username change.

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  Resolved
 – ukexpat (talk) 01:15, 19 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I recently changed my username from 12321v to WikiEditor_09111. They are both registered under the same email. I tried to log in a few minutes ago but I kept getting an error: "Login error There is no user by the name "WikiEditor 09111". Check your spelling, or create a new account."

I typed my username and selected. 'E-mail new password' but the same error message kept showing. Then I typed my old username and did the same thing, I got a new password in my e-mail immediately. So, I tried to log-in and was prompted to reset my password. I did that but was logged into my old account - I'd like to get access to my new account so please help me out. Also, what seems to be the problem? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.72.122.207 (talk) 06:57, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Did you make this edit to the User:WikiEditor 09111 page? --Teratornis (talk) 07:24, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know why it didn't work but try again. Be sure you are at the English Wikipedia. I just tried logging in as WikiEditor 09111 with a random password. The username was accepted but the password obviously rejected. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:35, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
It worked, I got signed in (and with my original password too). I guess it might have simply been a glitch. Thanks. WikiEditor 09111 (talk) 23:53, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Page source characters inverted right-to-left

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The sources of this revision of Lysurus mokusin (which is on DYK) and its talk page, as edited by 67.166.89.243 curiously appear inverted from right to left when viewed in the editing pane. What is the cause of this? --Paul_012 (talk) 09:51, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I believe that edit inserted a unicode rtl character at the beginning of the document. Algebraist 10:29, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Infobox image

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I'm trying to add File:The Investment Building - Washington, D.C..jpg‎ to the infobox on The Investment Building's entry. The picture isn't showing up, just the file name. I tried adding it with and without "File:" being included. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong? Thanks. APK is not a Womanizer 12:03, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

User:Fuhghettaboutit has added it. See how it's done here. Chamal talk 12:10, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
(e/c) Fixed. The problem is that infobox skyscraper doesn't have some of the automatic coding of other infoboxes so it requires that you enclose the image name in brackets. It also doesn't default the image's size, so I had to add a size parameter in order that the image not display at its full size.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:14, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Ahh, thank you very much. I forgot about posting the question here and was off editing other things. ha. Thank goodness for watchlists. APK is not a Womanizer 12:58, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Anytime:-)--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 05:21, 19 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Feedback on editing

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  Resolved
 – ukexpat (talk) 01:14, 19 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sure I once came across a page whereby you could get feedback on your editing approach/style/actions etc. I don't mean Wikipedia:Requests for feedback, which is concerned with specific articles edited, or Wikipedia:Mentorship, which is concerned with one-to-one assistance. I mean general feedback from anyone/everyone about one's overall contributions. Where is this page (if it still exists)? Ta, --A bit iffy (talk) 14:51, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Yes - that's it exactly. Many thanks Mgm --A bit iffy (talk) 16:33, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

alpha within cats

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Several of the names listed in Category:English romantic fiction writers are incorrectly sorted, but I don't know how to fix this.--Shantavira|feed me 16:23, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

There is no easy way. You have to edit each article and make sure it has the {{DEFAULTSORT}} template with correct sort name (or {{Lifetime}} with the appropriate dates and sort name). – ukexpat (talk) 16:48, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Here [1] is an example of how it is done. DuncanHill (talk) 16:51, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I would like to vanish and would like my user page deleted

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Hi how do I go about getting my talk page deleted because I want to vanish.--114.30.111.150 (talk) 16:58, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You can only vanish if you are a registered user, see WP:VANISH. – ukexpat (talk) 17:19, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Indeed, your talk page is currently redlinked, meaning it has never existed. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 19:14, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Well, technically, if a page was previously deleted, it would be redlinked but still have existed at one point. However, in this case, User talk:114.30.111.150 does not exist and has an empty deletion log, so it's safe to assume that it has never existed. Also, the request here is the first edit from that IP address. My guess is that it's someone with a dynamic IP who didn't realize that their IP changed and wants the talk page of their old IP deleted. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 01:49, 19 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
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How old does a photo have to be to be in free domain? 80 years? --Bandita Chinchilla (talk) 19:09, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Its actually rather complicated, and it depends on when the picture was taken in order to determine when the copyright expires. See Public domain for some more information. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 19:13, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
It also depends on where the photo was taken, when the photographer died, whether it has previously been published, and (if so) where it was first published. —teb728 t c 21:44, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
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There's a town named Apples, Vaud. I noticed that a number of articles relating to Vaud linked to Apples which is, not surprisingly, a redirect to apple. I corrected the link in Template:Municipalities of the district of Morges, and 11 days later the pages using that template still show up among Pages that link to "Apples". Does that list update only when a page is saved, or what? —Tamfang (talk) 22:42, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

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