Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2010 August 9

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August 9

Please email me my user name.

My email address is [removed] or [removed], please email the user name based on this two emails. China. Morning. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.179.151.77 (talk) 00:38, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

We cannot do this. See my reply at Wikipedia:New contributors' help page#If I only have a email address and forget my account.. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:25, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Taranaki Daily News - NEW EDITOR

Hi

We have had a change of editor at the Taranaki Daily News. The new editor is Roy Pilott - Jonathan Mackenzie the previous editor has been appointed editor of the Waikato Times. Please update your site

Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.144.40.139 (talk) 00:53, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Done.[1] We sometimes get false reports so I checked at your website. By the way, it's a little confusing that the recently updated page http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/reader-services/1668/Contact-us says "Last updated 15:38 12/02/2008". PrimeHunter (talk) 02:21, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Problems with floating elements

Hi. In the articles Pitch (music) and Concert pitch, the wikicode is trying to make the "listen" box float on the right of the page using syntax like this:

<div style="float:right">{{listen|filename=Sine wave 440.ogg|title=440 Hz}}</div>

Unfortunately this doesn't work (at least, not in IE). Although the "listen" box is forced to the right, the text does not flow around it but leaves an ugly gap instead. Can anyone see how to fix this and make the page flow properly? 86.135.171.33 (talk) 02:22, 9 August 2010 (UTC).

The documentation for {{Listen}} says it floats to the right by default. Removing the <div> works for me in preview in IE. Is there a reason for having the code? PrimeHunter (talk) 02:32, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Aha, I didn't think of trying that. That seems to work fine. There is no reason that I can see for having the "div" stuff so I have removed it. Thanks. 86.135.171.33 (talk) 03:04, 9 August 2010 (UTC).

Navbox

Hello, I would like to put a Navbox to the end of my article. A followed the instruction of Template:Nevbox on your help page, still not working. Should I type the text into my article or is there any other source/page I can put the text in.

I checked other contributor's pages (edit), for example

, but under this title no names, dates are listed. Probably there is a link they refer to (like Wikimedia Commons for pictures). Where can I find this link on Wikipedia?

Thank you for your help. Gjshisha (talk) 03:21, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

I'm not exactly sure what the OP is asking about but it seems that they want to add a template for Davidson Prize lauriates to the Gábor J. Székely article. Dismas|^(talk) 03:35, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Is something like this what you're looking for? If so, just copy that into Template:Rollo Davidson Prize and you should be all set. Dismas|^(talk) 03:49, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Orphaned page and possible reason

So, I found the page fecal anthropology and I was thinking that it may be an orphan because the way it's named isn't really used in the associated academic disciplines - I'm the one on the talk page, and to reiterate, I've never heard the term and (in quotes) it returns no results in Google Scholar or JSTOR. Should it be renamed to something else, moved somewhere, or expanded as-is? I'm not sure what the rules would say in terms of this - it's certainly a valid title, but not one that's used, which is weird. 174.30.246.212 (talk) 04:26, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Is there an actual other term for it? Could just rename the page if so (see WP:RM for details). If not, is the topic at least actually studied and covered by scholarly or other reputable sources? If so, Wikipedia article-naming guidelines allow putting together a descriptive phrase if there's no formal/proper better title for the topic of an article. But the talk-page is right also, if there's not sufficient material if it is an actual topic being studied, it could be merged into some other page on related topics. But if there's no published work on the topic (obviously have to get creative with search-terms!), then it should be deleted (per WP:V/WP:N policies and guidelines). Try leaving a message for the author of the page...maybe he knows at least one lead ref to add and help avoid deletion. DMacks (talk) 04:46, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Ancient human feces are rehydrated and studied, but it doesn't seem like a strong enough specialty (in terms of quantity of material to analyze or specialization of method) to have it's own page, and afaik, it has no real name. I will talk to the original author and look through the archaeology-related articles for a logical place to move it. Maybe I will also take some time to rewrite it, too. Thank you for your suggestions! 174.30.246.212 (talk) 04:55, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

LOL yes it should be called Coprolite anthropology.... lets just move the info and redirect the page to Coprolite.Moxy (talk) 04:57, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

IDK, that page focuses on actual fossils - I think this would be a better fit somewhere under an archaeo article - and again, I've never heard of "coprolite anthropology" either (not that I'm an expert - but no Scholar hits, either). Coprolite does seem to be a rather common term when referring to archaeologically recovered human feces, though. 174.30.246.212 (talk) 05:05, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

I do agree 100% its not a term used as its all falls under Trace fossil.. I would guess the author was trying to mention Studies like this one and this one and so on that our done with well how do i put it "fresh samples" . As for the disciplines name i just cant find anything how odd. LOL Moxy (talk) 05:26, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Except they aren't fossils, and from my understanding, that's not what the original author referred to. Within the anthropological subfield of archaeology, there are instances of dessicated feces being recovered, and analyzed for botanical remains, bacteria, parasites, chemicals, and faunal remains. The studies you have referred to don't really have an anthropolical bent as it is normally understood. I think the intent was more like this or this. I would suggest something like "coprolite analysis" and the term used within the field, but it's too vague for Wiki. 174.30.246.212 (talk) 05:46, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

See the Wiktionary definition of fossil. Definition 1 refers to mineralized remains of animal tissues; definition 2 refers to any preserved evidence of ancient life. The Fossil article mentions insects preserved in amber, which have not been fully mineralized - actual fragments of the insect's original DNA may be present. The La Brea Tar Pits article seems to have a bit of internal disagreement about the definition of "fossil" - one section says the preserved bones in the tar pits are not fossils, and another section refers to them as such. The (actual, not mineralized) bones would not be fossils by definition 1 but would be by definition 2. Also while we are discussing definitions, note that Wikipedia is not Wiki. --Teratornis (talk) 17:29, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Def. 2 is preceded by "(paleontology)", however, which is a different field of study, though they intersect on occasion, and the articles are still about quite different content - mineralized animal dung vs. organic human feces. I would suggest (though not know how to prove) that in discussion within the field, very few archaeologists would actually refer to what the recover as fossils unless they were actually mineralized. The coprolite article offers a differentiation between "coprolite" and "paleofeces", which I believe refers to the matter at hand. And I apologize about the wiki abbreviation. And I feel really weird spending so long on this. 174.30.246.212 (talk) 23:41, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Now that I think about it, maybe that's the solution - move the article on the practice to one about the object of study? Fecal anthropology becomes paleofeces? 174.30.246.212 (talk) 23:43, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Text size

How do I get your new formating to fit on my PC screne? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.208.82.189 (talk) 04:57, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

You can change your screen resolution. One way to do this is to go to a blank desktop screen with nothing open and right click once. When the menu appears, click on Properties (if XP or previous) or click Screen Resolution (if Windows 7). Use the slider to adjust the resolution to 1024 x 768 or something similar. Here is some additional help with pictures [2]. EdEColbert^{Let me know} 07:09, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

RSN Vandalism or just wry humor?

Resolved

 – Thanks TOWFR! Thanks PrimeHunter!  – OhioStandard (talk) 12:57, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Did clicking on WP:RSN always bring up the usual page with this leading comment,

"WP:RSN" redirects here. For "Wikipedia will be ready real soon now", see meta:Eventualism.

or is that vandalism? Couldn't find it in the page's edit history, or even see where it occurs in the current wikicode. Thanks,  – OhioStandard (talk) 11:13, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

It's been there since the header was created (earlier this year). Moonriddengirl (talk) created the header, so I'd trust it ;-) TFOWR 11:20, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

It was added a year ago [3] and transferred to the header when Moonriddengirl created it. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:43, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Okay; wry humor then, definitely. Sorry; if I'd seen that Moonriddengirl was involved, I wouldn't have questioned it - I just would have smiled. :-) Many thanks,  – OhioStandard (talk) 12:57, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Photograph licensing advice - help request

Resolved

 – Thanks, AJCham! TFOWR 17:35, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Hi! Second time requesting help here in as many weeks... I guess I'm starting to push the boundaries of my skill-set...

Anyway... I've been trying to help a new editor with image licensing advice. This is well outside my normal area of expertise (an extremely small area, granted...) and I've pretty much reached the limit of the help I can give them, and I'm also unsure whether the advice I've given is necessarily correct. So... could someone with experience of image licensing take a look at this user talk page thread and comment as necessary? Thanks! TFOWR 11:38, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

I am responding there now. AJCham 13:27, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Revisions

(This is a continuation of the issue I was dealing with from the above inquiry, which I've amended moments ago.) What can I do if an anonymous editor with a dynamic IP continues to post uncited, incorrect material to the article Richard Marx? Is it alright that I keep reverting it, or should I leave it? I have already discussed the material in question on the talk page and even brought in a third opinion. Have I exhausted all of my options? In my opinion, it seems like a religious POV issue, because most of his edits are geared toward Jewish categorization. If someone can help me with this issue, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much in advance and have a great day. --Candy156sweet (talk) 15:38, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

• Please read Wikipedia:Dispute resolution completely to understand various steps that you have missed out. Wikipedia:BLPN is a direct BLP noticeboard for reporting such issues. At the same time, kindly note that repetitive addition of non-cited information on a BLP post reversion and post talk page discussions is equivalent to vandalism. Post our renewed focus on protecting information within BLPs, the vandalising editor can be warned and blocked if you follow the guidelines mentioned appropriately. In case the situation gets out of hand, kindly feel free to involve any administrator. Do write back for further assistance. Warm regards. ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ _―Œ ^{♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣} 07:04, 11 August 2010 (UTC)
  • Thank you so much for sharing this information with me. I will definitely read the material that you provided, so that I know how to deal with this matter if it goes any further. Thank you for your time. --Candy156sweet (talk) 23:36, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

2006 Login

I think I signed up for Wikipedia in 2006. I put in my username and of course, have forgotten the password. The email I listed (I am most certain) is defunct for a few years. I really want to use the login name and not create another account. How do I prove that I am the one who is actually FranShea (which is the username I want to use). The one listed on Wikipedia has no references at all. I am sure it is my original account.

Help!

Fran Shea <blanked> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.53.72.192 (talk) 15:42, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

I'm sorry, but there is no way to recover your password if you have forgotten it and cannot access the email you used to sign up. However, if the account has no edits you may be able to usurp the name, see this page for more details. TNXMan 15:46, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

How can I search for use of ":)" and other emoticons in Wikipedia?

If I search in all namespaces for ":)", I get nothing while I guess some users wrote emoticons such as ":)" in talk pages or on their user pages.

I guess the problem is that the first character has a special use (separating namespace and title page), so how do I escape it? The URL for the query is here

Thanks! --phauly (talk) 15:48, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Maybe you are looking for template:=). Mjroots (talk) 19:23, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, this is very useful but I was looking for a way for search for the, for example, 3 characters string ":-)". Do you know if this is possible? Thanks! --phauly (talk) 09:28, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

What about typing a word thatis very popular before it? Like 'is'. Kayau Voting IS evil 10:38, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

I tried but it does not work. The URL of the query is for "is :)" is http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&redirs=1&search=is+%3A%29&fulltext=Search&ns0=1&ns1=1&ns2=1&ns3=1&ns4=1&ns5=1&ns6=1&ns7=1&ns8=1&ns9=1&ns10=1&ns11=1&ns12=1&ns13=1&ns14=1&ns15=1&ns100=1&ns101=1&ns108=1&ns109=1&title=Special%3ASearch&advanced=1&fulltext=Advanced+search I guess the fact is that "is :)" is interpresed as "is <separator> )". but if I try with "is ;)" I get no results as well ;(((( phauly (talk) 09:16, 3 September 2010 (UTC)

I only know a way to do it for page titles, by searching \:\) at http://toolserver.org/~nikola/grep.php: [4]. :) also works there to my surprise. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:08, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks! The fact is that I wanted to check how often emoticons are used in talk pages ;((( phauly (talk) 09:17, 3 September 2010 (UTC)

Rangeblocks

How does one request a rangeblock? 95.133.26.30 has been vandalizing and spamming many articles and talkpages across the Wikimedia projects, such as simple.wiki and es.wiki. Is there any way to get him to stop? :| TelCoNaSpVe :| 16:30, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

I think you are requesting a global block, which blocks an IP across all projects, instead of a range of IPs (a rangeblock). You may want to check out WP:GB for more info. TNXMan 16:41, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

How may I contact one of them to request the global block? :| TelCoNaSpVe :| 17:16, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Head over to meta:Steward requests/Global to make a request. TNXMan 17:18, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Okay. I placed a request. Not sure if it's in the correct format, though, cause others look different... :| TelCoNaSpVe :| 17:52, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

I've tweaked it a little, to match the formatting below your request. TNXMan 17:59, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Now done. TNXMan 18:06, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Nathan's Famous in Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY

What was the cost of a hot dog at Nathan's in Coney Island in 1959 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Frhldguy (talk • contribs) 16:44, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

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. TNXMan 17:19, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Uploading articles in other languages

I have uploaded an article in English on a particular subject and now I would like to upload the same article in Portuguese, Spanish and German. How do I proceed? Kdennis1 (talk) 19:10, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

The other language Wikipedias run independently of this, but you can use the same account to upload articles there. Usually when transferring content between different language wikis you would follow the guidance at Wikipedia:Translation#How to translate (or the equivalent page on the other wikis). If your translated versions only contain text you wrote yourself that isn't really necessary, but if you have translated any material written by someone else you should follow the guidance I have linked in order to credit the other authors.

One thing confuses me, however. I've looked at your contributions and cannot see any article uploaded by you. It seems you created O'Connell & Goldberg Creative Public Relations almost a year ago, but that article is long gone. If you are planning to create a new article, I hope you have taken on board the feedback you received in regard to that last page (ie. conflict of interest and advertising). Regards, AJCham 19:46, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

I'd like to point out that this account has been used to create an article about O'Connell & Goldberg Creative Public Relations (deleted for spamminess) and to edit articles about O&G clients Turnberry Associates and Aventura Mall. --Orange Mike | Talk 20:00, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

mr haring is evil. not many students like him, he walks around with his iphone and his hunched back. grr he's a paedo! LOL. hi thalia :)

Help needed with adding the right tags for copyright where permission has already been given for use of a photo of an actor

I would like to ask about uploading an image taken from a promotional movie website for use on a biographical article about an actor.

There are two possibilities for use of pictures of this kind, because two independent UK film companies involved with two different films (featuring this actor) have both given me permission to use any photos I wish to use.

Before uploading one of these photos to this actor's Wikipedia article, do I need to actually get permission sent to me in an email, to be forwarded to the copyright team at Wikipedia? I already tried uploading one picture (a production still which is an excellent close-up photo of the actor) and it was removed, even though I included a link to the film's Facebook page where the owners of the picture expressly gave me permission to use it.

Please tell me exactly what I need to do for such a photo to be used? Both of these film companies are very willing to have their photos used because it helps to promote their films. This means that there is no danger at all of them emailing Wikipedia with any worrying issues over copyright.

I hope you can tell me exactly what I need to do, to add a photograph with the correct copyright tags and permissions, in the scenario where the owners being happy for the photo to be used (for promotional reasons).

I am able to also contact the actor in question; and he could supply a photo of his own if it is too problematic obtaining one from a film company. It seems a shame that his Wikipedia article is the only wiki page about him (there are at least three including Wikipedia) that still lacks a photograph of him. If he supplies me with a photograph I will try to get his permission by email rather than direct message on twitter, as you have previously told me that only a forwarded email is proof of permission to use an image.

Thanks in advance,

pinkyandrexa. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Pinkyandrexa (talk • contribs) 19:55, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Explicit permission to use here, without the picture being freely licensing so our end users can also use it at will, leaves unchanged our ability or inability to use the copyrighted image. In other words, we are simply left with a copyrighted image we can't use except under a possible claim of fair use, as if such permission had never been given. This is because our licenses require that our content be freely reusable in various ways, including for commercial uses. So you have a few options. You can get the copyright holders to license the images with a license compatible with ours, such as CC-BY-SA, or you can get them to release the image into the public domain. In either case, the image should be uploaded to the Wikimedia Commons instead of here, so that all projects have access to the image (sign up). Otherwise, it is possible it can be used regardless under fair use, though if a photograph of the actor, and they are living, fair use probably won't apply. Please see Wikipedia:Non-free content and Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline. Finally, please note that if the image is to be released under a free license, this must be done in a verifiable manner (not just an assertion that it has been so released; which I've seen many times). For how the copyright holders can do this, see Wikipedia:Donating copyrighted materials#Granting us permission to copy material already online. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:24, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

how do I move my user page content to mainspace?

Resolved

Sorry but I am new to this and after a lot of searching, I couldn't find out how to move content I created on my user page for submission to mainspace.

Thank you for any help you can provide. Mmontfort (talk) 20:13, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Only users with autoconfirmed accounts can move pages in Wikipedia. Accounts are automatically autoconfirmed when they are at least four full days old and have made at least ten edits. Once your account is old enough, you will see a move option in the drop-down menu at the top right of a page. --Mysdaao ^talk 20:58, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Your userpage should be used to tell us about you and your purposes here. It is not a sandbox for creating draft articles. I've moved what you had to Montfort, Texas. --Orange Mike | Talk 21:30, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for all your help!Mmontfort (talk) 14:25, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

File:Nara.Y (Light my fire).jpg

Hi, How do I upload this image File:Nara.Y (Light my fire).jpg from Yoshitomo Nara en.wikipedia article into Commons so I can use it on pt.wikipedia? thx, Nevinho (talk) 22:45, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Moving images to the Commons. --Mysdaao ^talk 23:23, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Deactivation

I want to ask anyone here, how can I deactivate my account? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Capolinho (talk • contribs) 23:37, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

You can't if by that you mean deleting it. You can, however, simply stop logging in, and you can exercise your Wikipedia:Right to vanish.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:12, 10 August 2010 (UTC)