Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2009 October 1

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October 1

Wikipedia articles being sold for profit

Browsing Amazon.com, I was surprised to discover a book whose product description was a copy of the introduction to Ancient Egyptian religion, which I mostly wrote. Looking further, I found that this is one of many books by the same publisher and "authors", in which Wikipedia material on a particular subject is sloppily collected and resold for ridiculous prices. I also found that User:PrimeHunter had already discovered this, and collected the evidence here. According to an irate blog post by a swindled customer (linked on PrimeHunter's page), the publisher does include a disclaimer inside the book that the material came from Wikipedia, but from the sound of it, the disclaimer may be so vague that it is not sufficient to meet the Creative Commons attribution requirement. Moreover, isn't for-profit reproduction of CC-licensed material forbidden by the requirement that such material be reproduced only under a CC license? A. Parrot (talk) 01:09, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia's licenses explicitly allow commercial use. Of course, reusers are also required to (among other things) explictly state what license the material is used under, which is not done in some of these cases. Algebraist 01:13, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

You might want to take a look at WP:OWN... Sorry though =/ SparksBoy (talk) 04:43, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Regular expression search of Wikipedia articles

Is there a way to do a regular expression search of the text in Wikipedia articles? --Jc3s5h (talk) 02:02, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Jc3s5h, could you explain a bit more about what you want to do? The answer rather depends...do you want to search within a specific article, or do you want to use regex to locate a match within all articles? Could you give an example of what you'd like to achieve?  Chzz  ►  04:01, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

This kind of question comes up for me from time to time. My interest on this occasion is to find dates that might be written incorrectly. I'd like to search articles for dates matching something like /15\d\d-[0-1]-[0-3]\d/ in any article.

The preceeding is written in the JavaScript regular expression syntax (or so I hope). --Jc3s5h (talk) 05:07, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Special:Preferences > Gadgets > Add a sidebar menu of user-defined regex tools, with a dynamic form for instant one-use regex ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 11:10, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, but if I understand it correctly, that only works on an article that I am editing. It won't let me search all Wikipedia articles. --Jc3s5h (talk) 18:09, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

See WP:EIW#Bot, WP:EIW#Search, WP:EIW#Download, WP:EIW#Query, and WP:EIW#Research. I don't know whether there is a simple way to do what you want to do. There are undoubtedly some difficult ways. --Teratornis (talk) 18:39, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

GD & T for relation gauges

How to use GD & T while designing relation gauges?

Regards, Sudhir Mahajan —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sudhir1980 (talk • contribs) 05:18, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 6 million articles and thought we were affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck.  Chzz  ►  15:45, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

How can I change the title of my article

Hello, Somehow a wrong title of my article was created (the username), perhaps this happended because I did not give a name and it was created automatically? I need to change the title, how can I do this? Thanks in advance for your help! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ambassadorkamal (talk • contribs) 07:31, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Hi Ambassador, you created an article on Shahid Kamal in your userspace. This means that it is not an article yet, it is just a userpage. If you wish it to become an article, you need to move it. If you go to User:Ambassadorkamal, you will see a "move" tab at the top of the page. Click on move, and then place Shahid Kamal in the box for the new title. Say "no" to leaving a redirect behind. Hope this works for you; if not, let me know and I will help further or move it for you. Maedin\^talk 07:51, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Hello Maedin,Thanks for your quick reply. Unfortunatelly I cannot find any Move tab at the top of the page, can you please help?

You can't see the move tab because you're not autoconfirmed yet. You account should be 4 days old (which you already have) and have 10 edits (you currently have only 5). Once you are past these limits, you'll be able to move pages. ≈ Chamal ^talk ¤ 08:24, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

I have tidied and wikilinked the article a bit and will move it for you. Please note:

1. It needs references from reliable sources.
2. Your user name seems to indicate a conflict of interest - please see my message on your talk page.

Regards, -- PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 09:00, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Article "Euler"

For the first paragraph of the introduction, it says "His surname is pronounced /ˈɔɪlər/ OY-lər in English (German pronunciation: [ˈɔʏlɐ]); the common English pronunciation /ˈjuːlər/ EW-lər is incorrect." Is it really incorrect to say this because "/ˈɔɪlər/ OY-lər" is the real pronunciation in English, so you can't call "/ˈjuːlər/ EW-lər" the common English pronunciation?--Mikespedia (talk) 08:17, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

There's already a discussion of this point at Talk:Leonhard_Euler#English_pronunciation - the article talk page is a better place for questions of this sort. Gonzonoir (talk) 09:11, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Templates in sandboxes

There are a number of templates which add articles to categories (e.g. template:cleanup). If I copy an article to my sandbox, complete with these templates, am I creating confusing miscategorisations? AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 09:07, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Yes and no - Categories shouldn't be used in user space, but anyone looking at the category page will see that this is clearly a sandbox, so ignore it. If it was named like an article, it would be more confusing, but if I saw that it was on a page called /Sandbox, then I would see that someone was experimenting, as is the purpose of a Sandbox. Just my 0.02 -- PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 10:10, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

I'd comment out the templates using <!-- commented out stuff -->. I once had an editor ask to remove a template from a sandbox article as it was on a category list that people tried to keep trimmed down. --Marc Kupper|talk 10:12, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

That would be preferable, indeed. I should have said that in my reply - thanks Marc! -- PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 10:34, 1 October 2009 (UTC)\

This is how I do it... I do the first edit {{subst:TEMPLATE}} then I save. I then edit again, and remove all the [[Category:Names]] from the page source (see this) SparksBoy (talk) 04:34, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_Japan_with_highlight_on_47_Okinawa_prefecture.svg is not clear

Hi!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_Japan_with_highlight_on_47_Okinawa_prefecture.svg is a map of Japan with Okinawa highlighted - in a magnified insert. The map does not explain, though, which part of the map is magnified. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.143.66.129 (talk) 11:10, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

I posted this as a question at the map workshop. If I didn't ask it quite right, feel free to add comments there.--SPhilbrickT 12:34, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

If i remember the geography correctly, Okinawa is way south of the main part of Japan and is usually added as an inset, a lot like with Hawaii in maps of the U.S. It looks like the purple part is Okinawa.--RDBury (talk) 14:11, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

I agree with how Hawai'i is often pictured, but that type of image makes sense if the article is about the US including Hawai'i. If the article were about Hawai'i itself, you would expect Hawaii to be the main element of the map, with an inset showing where Hawai'i is relative to to the mainland. It looks like someone has taken a map of Japan and simply colored in the Okinawa prefecture. I agree the map is confusing to the reader—I hope someone at the map place can come up with a better option.--SPhilbrickT 16:56, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Sphilbrick: Thanks - you asked it much clearer than me :-) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.143.66.129 (talk) 14:31, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

The inset shows the Ryukyu Islands, a chain of islands between Japan and Taiwan. The pink area is Okinawa Prefecture. The largest pink island is Okinawa Island.

I will try to clarify this further in the the map workshop.  Chzz  ►  17:04, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Linux article redirected to Linux kernel.

I am concerned about this redirect, which I manually undid. Linux as an operating system is different than Linux as a kernel. My fear is this was a malicious attempt (again) on the Linux article page.

Thanks for any help you can provide in this matter.

Brian Proffitt The Linux Foundation —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bproffitt (talk • contribs) 11:56, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Well, the redirection was performed by User:Drknkn; if you would like to ask them why they redirected Linux to Linux kernel, you can do so on their user talk page. I wouldn't worry too much about malicious edits: I imagine Drknkn was just being bold. Between the two of you, you have now performed the first two steps in our WP:BRD process: Be bold and Revert. The next step, before any change takes place, is to discuss, usually on the article talk page. --☇Kateshortforbob _talk☄ 13:10, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

of course, having replied here, I find that the user's talk page, which was a red link a minute ago, is now blue, because someone has warned them that this was a unconstructive edit. I would agree that a fairly persuasive argument would have to be made for this redirection.--☇Kateshortforbob _talk☄ 13:12, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Is my Wikipedia entry live?

I created an entry that was deleted so I edited and re-submitted it to Wikipedia. I checked the deletion log and it's not in there but when I do a search for my entry name (Emergency Medicine Physicians) my entry doesn't come up. I re-submitted my entry on September 17th so shouldn't it be live by now? How can I be sure that my Wikipedia entry has gone live on the site so users can see it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Emergency Medicine Physicians (talk • contribs) 13:30, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

You created the article on your user page at User:Emergency Medicine Physicians. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 13:33, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

And now that I look at it a bit more, it is about a company. You must read Wikipedia:FAQ/Organizations which explains conflict of interest and other issues about editing company article. I left some information on your talk page. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 13:38, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

writng an article ona new topic and

Hi- How do I being to write an article on a new topic?

and

How do I add a picture to an already existing article?

NotearsNotears (talk) 15:43, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:Images. Gandalf61 (talk) 15:49, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

• You can create a new article by simply typing the name in the search box, and clicking the red link to create the page, but you must provide appropriate references, such as newspapers articles or books, so that the information can be verified. You might wish to make a page in your own user space first; I will add help on that on your own talk page.
• To add an existing image to an article, add [[Image:File name.jpg|thumb|Caption text.]] to the area of the article where you want the image to appear – replacing File name.jpg with the actual file name of the image, and Caption text with a short description of the image. See our picture tutorial for more information.

I hope this helps.  Chzz  ►  15:55, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Writing an article for Wikipedia is harder than many people realize. Even professional writers find that the format and style needed for a good encyclopedia article are different than what might be appropriate for other venues. You could:

• Get someone else to do it—If your only goal is to make sure that an article is added to Wikipedia, you can request that someone write an article on the subject.
• Start by editing other articles—If you are interested in becoming an editor at Wikipedia, our experience demonstrates that it is better to start by improving existing articles, which will help you get a sense of how this place works, and then you will be ready to write your first article from scratch. A good place to visit is the Wikipedia backlog, where there are literally hundreds of thousands of articles needing help from editors. Find an article in a subject area you know, and add a source, or a reference, or simply help write it better.
• Go ahead and try—If you do decide to write an article immediately, please read our policy on conflicts of interest, then read our guide to writing your first article, which will repeat some of the good advice above. Then please use the Article wizard, which will help you through the steps. I urge you to accept the option to save your first draft in your user subpage, which will reduce the chance your work will be deleted before it is ready.

--SPhilbrickT 16:58, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Rollbacking

What is it?Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 17:08, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

WP:Rollback feature explains it as "a fast method of undoing blatantly unproductive edits, such as vandalism and nonsense". Bencherlite^Talk 17:11, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Writing in foreign languages

Resolved

 – DoktorMandrake 21:46, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

If someone keeps writing on people's user pages in a foreign language, even after they've been asked not to by the very user whose user page it is then which warning should be issued? I've checked out the Twinkle list, but there's nothing there. ~~ Dr Dec (Talk) ~~ 18:30, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Are we talking about user pages or user talk pages? Regards SoWhy 18:33, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

If we're talking about talk pages, then use template {{uw-english}}, which yields, I noticed that you have posted comments in a language other than English. When on the English-language Wikipedia, please always use English, no matter to whom you address your comments. This is so that comments may be comprehensible to the community at large. If the use of another language is unavoidable, please provide a translation of the comments. For more details, see Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines. Thank you. --Orange Mike | Talk 19:04, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Great, thanks a lot! ~~ Dr Dec (Talk) ~~ 19:45, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

good faith edits but...

Note: I moved my question to AN, more appropriate I think. Mjpresson (talk) 22:29, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

I noticed the edits to The Haunted World of El Superbeasto by GrifterWolf. This user if fairly prolific with grammar, style, and spelling errors. Many of the wikilinks are misspelled. Since they have a previous warning about another issue I'd rather ask for help here than address it myself. :(I believe it's a younger user) Mjpresson (talk) 18:44, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Vandals have posted items about me on wikipedia

How do I get my name completely removed from wikipedia? I have no interest in having my name affiliated with your site or deletionpedia. Someone a dismissed employee posted my name with false information.

Not sure who you or deletionpedia are. Please remove all information. This is a form of harrasment. I will retain an attorney if need be to resolve this matter.

Michael Demurjian —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.187.108.234 (talk) 19:13, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

I suggest you take a look at Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons#Dealing_with_articles_about_yourself. Sophus Bie ^(talk) 19:38, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

(e/c) Wikipedia has no control over what happens at deletionpedia. I see that your page there has already been blanked. I'd try contacting someone there about whether or not there's anything they could do to also prevent the page from being picked up by search engines. I'm not finding much on Wikipedia that would appear to be a problem. If there's a certain page that concerns you here, could you provide a link to it? Also, please see WP:LEGAL. --Onorem♠Dil 19:40, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Please note, Onorem, the user has been blocked for making legal threats, so may not be able to respond to your question. I believe, they would need to make an unblock request retracting the threat. DoktorMandrake 19:49, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Also note this dif. The guy appears to be a troll, he's just messing with us. TastyCakes (talk) 19:55, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

You may also be interested in reading about the Streisand effect. TastyCakes (talk) 19:46, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

how do i create a page

I have created a page in my talk, but want to post it in wikipedia for everone to see, and I cant work out how to do this. Can you help ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jgardi7 (talk • contribs) 20:41, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

It would seem you've already created it at Jason Tanner. The problem seems to be that it may have been copied from somewhere else (here) and that you haven't demonstrated notability of the subject. Best of luck with it though! TastyCakes (talk) 20:52, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Template colour question

Resolved

I'm just trying to work out why the Template:STM color (which should give colour to lines T13 and T14 of Stockholm Metro stations, for example Alby metro station ) is not working... Any ideas ? Also what colour is #FF3333 (used in STM colour) ? Thanks GrahamHardy (talk) 20:52, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

#FF3333is a shade of red. One site calls it novascotia salmon.--SPhilbrickT 23:24, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

(edit conflict)#FF3333 is this colour. To answer your other, I first must know what you want that template to do. Is it supposed to turn the background of the box red or something? Intelligentsium 23:31, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

It should give two red bars like this (taken from Barkingside tube station :-

{{s-start}}
{{s-rail|title=LUL}}
{{s-line|system=LUL|line=Central|previous=Newbury Park|next=Fairlop|type2=Hainault or Woodford}}
{{end box}}

But all it produces (taken from Alby metro station) is :-

{{s-start}}
{{s-rail|title=Stockholm metro}}
{{s-line|system=Stockholm metro|line=T13|previous=Hallunda|next=Fittja}}
{{end box}}

The LUL color template (used by Barkingside) looks to be the same as the STM color template so I suspect something else isn't tying together properly...GrahamHardy (talk) 23:51, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Fixed! (see the above table). Intelligentsium 00:03, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, all happy now; other colours added; Stockholm Metro now looks lovely...GrahamHardy (talk) 00:38, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

Image help

Resolved

Images are not my strong suit on Wikipedia...

I've uploaded an image to Commons at this page. So far, so good. When I go to add it to the article, it turns out there's already a picture with the same file name of a completely different person uploaded to Wikipedia. So I either need to specify in the article that the image is at Commons or I need to move the image; I know how to do neither one. Can someone walk me through it? Thanks!--Fabrictramp | talk to me 22:18, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

There's no way I know of to prevent the software from making the local image name override the Commons image by the same name and, before a few days ago, images at commons could not be moved so the only option I knew was to re-upload under a more descriptive name (or have the image here deleted but that's not normally a good solution). After you reuploaded you would tag the old file with {{speedydelete|Reason}} (I believe technically you're supposed to list these at Commons:Deletion requests but no one bothered you for the equivalent of what we call a G7). Anyway, as of September 21, 2009 administrators at Commons can move images. Go to the image and tag it with {{rename|newname.ext|reason}}. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:51, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the assist! Will tag right now.--Fabrictramp | talk to me 23:07, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Anytime!--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:58, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Where do I request corrections to an image?

I was going to request a correction to the image image:United States (orthographic projection).svg but it says on the "Attention" disclaimer that talk pages should not be used for this purpose. Where do I request a correction? Danny (talk) 22:36, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

You can make a request at the Graphic Lab's map workshop. Also, for future reference, non-map images are handled at their Image Workshop. DoktorMandrake 22:54, 1 October 2009 (UTC)