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December 8

Is there a simple way to change my user name?

I'm not technically proficient. Is there a simple way to request a username change? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Answr man 123 (talk • contribs) 00:15, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Yes - please follow the directions at WP:CHU. Thanks. 7 00:31, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Kennedy Western University

I am needing my Transcript from Kennedy Western University do you know where I may be able to get it... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 153.2.246.30 (talk) 00:41, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The university changed its name 3 years ago to Warren National University. Unfortunately, that school was shut down, as it lost its accreditation. Your coursework is unlikely to be accepted anywhere else, since the school was unaccredited. --Jayron32 00:46, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Please note for the future that this page is a help desk for asking questions related to using Wikipedia. Thanks. —Half Price 00:50, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Public-key cryptography Encryption explanation is encrypted!

Public-key cryptography Uses terms which are more obscure than the ones to be explained. "public", "key", "private", "encryption" are pretty easy for me to understand. But the explanation uses terms that are hard to understand. Surely there must be some kind of examples. I spent 20 minutes reading through the FAQs and categories and that's too much time to spend for figuring out how to deliver feedback. I feel like a rat running a maze. Most Wikipedia articles are lucid. All the articles all over the Web and in books, on public/private key encryption, seem to have been written by the same person: A PhD super-brain mathematician. Sorry, she and I don't speak the same language. < Email adress redacted > —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.158.223.4 (talk) 01:42, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Having read it I totally agree with you and have placed a tag on the page. But next time take this up on the relevant talk page first. In fact, you should probably do that now so users who edit that article can try and deduce exactly what needs to be changed. Thanks. —Half Price 01:57, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps it's because I'm too familiar with the subject, but I'm not sure where the clarification problems lie; I read the "how it works" section and it seems to be explained in terms a layman could understand; is the issue with a different section? I haven't read the entire article. If one or both of you leave some specific comments on the talk page about where the wording is too technical, I'll see if I can clarify it a bit better. GiftigerWunsch [TALK] 14:24, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Could somebody delete this page

Hello,
I am the author of User:Sp33dyphil/My sandbox. Could somebody please delete the page, since it doesn't have any more use for me?? Thanks Sp33dyphil ^(Talk) ^{(Contributions)}^{(Feed back needed @ Talk page)} 07:16, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You can just put {{db-user}} at the top of the page and an admin will come by and delete it. Dismas|^(talk) 07:19, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) with dismas above.

Done. In the future, you can tag the page with {{db-u1}}. See WP:CSD#U1 for more details. --Jayron32 07:21, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Oldid

Hello there fellow wikipedians; why does this link opens a IP user page oldid instead of the specified oldid? The URL is the one wanted, but somehow the content is not the good one... Any answers, hints? Thanks - [CharlieEchoTango] 08:28, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Every edit in Wikipedia is given a unique ID. This is project-wide, and not unique to a talk page. The oldid field will override the pagename in the URL and return the specific edit associated with that unique ID. You can confirm this by playing with the numbers. If you increment YOUR link by one more, you get this: [1]. --Jayron32 08:31, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry I undid your answer when deleting the content, I figured it out but didn't realized you answered. Thanks for the answer and sorry for removing the section and your comment. [CharlieEchoTango] 08:46, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Viable reference

I am looking to start a Wikipedia page for a company called Kadence International, which is a global market research organisation. I am mindful editorial guidelines govern Wikipedia, however in this case I am unsure whether the information I publish will be deemed unsuitable. The page will profile the organisation and the types of research it provides - namely insight delivery - and offer information on the locations in which it operates, what type of clients it works with and the number of people it employs. I also intend to include information on Kadence being named 'The greenest market research agency' due to its dedication to CSR. I have a link to the article in The Times which states this. My question is: would this constitute a viable reference or is the page likely to be deleted?

Many thanks,

Jonathan Jonathanwlloyd1985 (talk) 09:37, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Jonathan, I've placed a standard welcome template on your talk page which includes a list of links of links you may find helpful. The Times would normally constitute a reliable reference, although I cannot say for certain without seeing the article/page referenced. You may want to read up on the Notability guidelines for organisations and companies, and, if you happen to work for Kadence, or are closely associated with it, you may also want to read up on our Conflict of Interest guidelines. Assuming that Kadence does meet notability guidelines, and that you are not in a position that creates a conflict of interest, then you may want ot explore creating a draft article in your userspace, and then requesting a review before moving it to a proper article space. Oh, btw - welcome to Wikipedia Darigan (talk) 09:56, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Just going by what you've said, it sounds like you're well on your way to a well referenced article. By "The Times", I'm guessing that you mean the New York Times, London Times, or Los Angeles Times. The notability guidelines for a company are at WP:CORP. If you can fulfill the notability requirements, and maintain a neutral point of view when writing, then you should be okay. Dismas|^(talk) 09:57, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

But do remember that all the information in the article should be referred to reliable sources, and in particular any evaluative language (eg 'the greenest') should not be included unless the claim is directly made in a reliable source. --ColinFine (talk) 22:57, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Translation

How can I translate my own Wikipedia article? It is in English, so do I simply upload the french version or? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.138.94.10 (talk) 09:59, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Your question seems to contradict itself. Do you mean that currently there is only an English version, and you want to find someone who will translate it into French? Or do you mean that you have a French version already prepared and you want to upload this to French Wikipedia? 86.161.82.79 (talk) 12:34, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

How do I change the name of my article from the default name?

Hi, I have created a new article on my user page. Try as I might, I can't change the article's name from 'Enter_your_new_article_name' to the name I want: 'Reproductive Health Matters'. This is the URL:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Cassiewerber/Enter_your_new_article_name_here&action=edit

I would like to submit the article for feedback, but only once the name is changed!

Thank you,

Cassie — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cassiewerber (talk • contribs) 12:35, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict)If you want to create subpages on your talk page, you need to write in the search box on the left, for example: User:Cassiewerber/Sandbox-- ♫Greatorangepumpkin♫ T 12:41, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict)I have moved it to User:Cassiewerber/Reproductive Health Matters. I'm not sure whether you wanted it to be moved to mainspace or not. Before you move it into the mainspace, see WP:So you made a userspace draft. Thanks. —Half Price 12:43, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

see here for more information.-- ♫Greatorangepumpkin♫ T 12:44, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

To answer your original point, you cannot normally change the name of an article, you move the article to a new title, ausing the down arrow to the left of the search-box. However, you could not move the article, as you have not made enough edits to be "autoconfirmed" (See WP:Autoconfirmed) A couple more edits and you can then move the page yourself. Arjayay (talk) 12:50, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your help. I thought I should be able to 'move' the article to a new name, but the function was not appearing. As you Arujay says, this was probably because I hadn't made enough edits. How many are in fact necessary? I've worked on it over a number of days and made quite a lot - but maybe the number is higher with your first piece? Cassiewerber — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cassiewerber (talk • contribs) 13:11, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Per WP:Autoconfirmed you must made at least 10 noobish edits. I think you can manage it.-- ♫Greatorangepumpkin♫ T 14:34, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

As you have a conflict of interest please read WP:COI. – ukexpat (talk) 15:39, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

How to include or point to software supporting Wiki topics?

Hi, many Wiki articles have references to other external articles. Sometimes even better support is possible by software, e.g. giving an interactive picture plot of a math function instead of a fix graphical bitmap. Of course, one can point to such software (or corresponding web page) like we do for articles, but is that OK? Wouldn't a separated section makes sense (as we have for media)?? Bye Stephan —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.131.238.28 (talk) 13:25, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure that I understand your question. You can link to a website that runs software such as a Java applet or whatever, providing the link otherwise complies with the guideline on external links. Such a link would be fine within the External links section. If there were several similar pages to link to you could create a sub-section within External links. I don't think there's any way for external software to be run from within a Wikipedia page. I'm not sure whether that answers your question... Feel free to ask a follow-up question here, perhaps providing details about what you have in mind. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 22:29, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You can upload files of animations to Wikipedia or (better) to Wikimedia Commons. See for example Commons:Category:Mathematical animations, Commons:Category:Animated diagrams, and Commons:Category:Animations/categories. Such animations run through fixed sequences rather than allowing true interaction, but this might suffice for what you need. As Adrian J. Hunter writes above, if you need more information be more specific about what you want to illustrate. --Teratornis (talk) 00:40, 11 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

How to Change the User name

I have created a page for Mr. Abhishek Verma. When i search for it it can be searched as "User:Mr. Abhishek Verma". kindly guide me as how to change the user/ display name to "Abhishek Verma" which can also be searched. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.19.55.242 (talk) 13:59, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You'll want to log in as that user and follow the instructions at Wikipedia:Changing username. Unless you plan to request an existing username, you'll end up at this page, which will explain exactly how to make your request. UltraExactZZ ^Said~ Did 14:10, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This isn't a request to change username, it's a request to move an article from userspace to mainspace, which can't happen at present because I've deleted it as a copyvio. Bencherlite ^Talk 14:12, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

(e/c) I have deleted User:Mr. Abhishek Verma as a blatant copyvio; the same copyvio as at Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Abhishek Verma, in fact. Please write about people using your own words, not copying from other websites. Bencherlite ^Talk 14:12, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

(e/c) The page was apparently created by user:Mr. Abhishek Verma (talk · contribs). I have left a welcome message at User talk:Mr. Abhishek Verma (with various relevant links), and also a link to conflict of interest, which is relevant if the user has created a page about himself. In response to the more general point, if a user had created a userspace draft of an article, the process of shifting it from a subpage in userspace to an appropriate page in mainspace can be found at Wikipedia:So you made a userspace draft. I see also that the page has been reviewed and deleted (on grounds of copyright violation), see Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Abhishek Verma - David Biddulph (talk) 14:20, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Un-publish temporarily

Page has created controversy. How can I un-publish temporarily till issues resolved? Chamaecyparis (talk) 14:25, 8 December 2010 (UTC)Chamaecyparis[reply]

Need help quickly--need to temporarily unpublish a page because of roiling controversy--that might be resolved.

14:30, 8 December 2010 (UTC)Chamaecyparis — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chamaecyparis (talk • contribs)

Whoa, calm down. Are you talking about Rational Automation Framework for WebSphere? TN X Man 14:34, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

How can I donate from India?

My account is in State Bank of Patiala and I can send money through internet banking. In my internet banking account there is provision to transfer money to any third party account but within India. The bank details for direct deposit are not accepted by my Internet banking portal. How can I donate from India? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.62.105.51 (talk) 15:16, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Does this page help? – ukexpat (talk) 15:30, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Are we allowed to create a page for personal websites?

Greetings,

I did a bit of a research, but since I'm new here I would like to check this with you. I've found a number of pages here about websites. They are all somewhat bigger than my blog, but I would like to spread the word about it anyway. I wonder what are the criteria for doing this?

Regards

Stan

China Travel Deals —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.131.102.5 (talk) 15:24, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry no, this is an encyclopedia, it does not exist to spread the word about anything . – ukexpat (talk) 15:27, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Any article about a website mus meet the standards per Wikipedia:Notability (web). ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 15:29, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Assamese Christian Literature

Assamese Christian Literature( India) has a major role in reviving Assmese language since 1836 with conming of Baptist missionaries Miles Bronson and Nathan Brown from America. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.199.71.71 (talk) 16:38, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

And what was your question about how to use Wikipedia? David Biddulph (talk) 16:40, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Do we have a Wiki Project for music?

Resolved

A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 16:58, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

We do in indeed. – ukexpat (talk) 17:02, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 18:22, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

automatic notification of edits

Is it possible for the author of an article to receive an automatic email notification if his/her article has been edited by someone else? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rfreund md (talk • contribs) 18:41, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Only if the article is on your watchlist. Remember though, no one owns an article. TN X Man 18:45, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

(e/c)The best bet is to add relevant pages to your watchlist. Special:Preferences allows you to set preferences, such as adding pages you create, edit, or move, to your watchlist. That way it's easy to see if someone has changed those pages.

On another point, when posting to a talk page or a help page, please remember to sign your message, either by typing 4 tildes ~~~~ or by hitting the signature button. When you put your message in here, the box above the edit box said (inter alia) "Finally, please 'sign' any statement you post here by placing ~~~~ at the end of your post." - David Biddulph (talk) 18:51, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Automatic Update of Edit Count

When using a userbox like what I posted here, is there any way to have this be updated automatically, or is the only to change it just by manually updating it by putting a new number in?

2,400+

This user has made more than 2,400 contributions to Wikipedia.

Sergecross73 msg me 19:58, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Someone asked this question very recently, but I can't find it in the archives. No-one knew of a way, and it was noted such a function would be quite demanding on Wikipedia's servers. See also WP:EDITCOUNTITIS. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 21:39, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This is probably impossible because there's no extension that allows either direct database access or special fetching of Toolserver data, unless you fetch it from admin stats, but you're not an admin and anyway, it might not work so that definitely doesn't apply to you. — Waterfox ^~talk~ 22:08, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

ConvaTec Wikipedia Page Correction Request

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convatec

The following company description is partial and inaccurate:

ConvaTec is an international company that develops, manufactures and markets medical devices and services related to Wound Therapeutics, Ostomy, and incontinence. The company originally operated from Moreton on the Wirral (UK).

I propose that the following is posted in its place:

ConvaTec is a developer and marketer of medical devices with four business units – Ostomy Care, Wound Therapeutics, Continence and Critical Care, and Infusion Devices. The company has more than 7,000 employees in over 90 countries. In August 2008, ConvaTec, with backing from two private equity firms, Nordic Capital and Avista Capital Partners, created an independent enterprise with operational headquarters in Skillman, New Jersey, USA.

History: 1978 – ConvaTec was created as a division of E.R. Squibb & Sons, Inc. 2008 – ConvaTec was acquired by Nordic Capital and Avista Capital Partners 2008 – ConvaTec acquired Unomedical

www.convatec.com

Ampyvasquez (talk) 20:11, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

So why don't you just do it? Do you have a conflict of interest (work for or represent the company)? Roger (talk) 20:19, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

To amplify what Roger said: the place for this is the article's talk page. If you are associated with the company, you should post only on the talk page, because you have a conflict of interest: see WP:COI. If you are not, or if you are certain you can (satisfy others that you can) write the article in a neutral tone, you can edit the article directly. But please read WP:CORP: as it stands, that article should have been deleted long ago as it neither cites references nor establishes that the company is notable by Wikipedia's standards - and neither does your text. (A link to the company's website is permitted in an "External links" section, but it does not count as an independent source, so cannot be used as a reference beyond the most basic factual data).

I suggest you add your text to the talk page as a suggestion, but concentrate your efforts on finding the multiple independent reliable sources that will be required if the company is to be established as notable. --ColinFine (talk) 23:12, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Pet Shop Boys category

I just checked the category Category:Pet Shop Boys, and while it listed the band itself, it didn't list either of its members, Neil Tennant or Chris Lowe. I added them to the category. Was there any real reason why neither Tennant or Lowe were listed, or was it just an accident? JIP | Talk 20:56, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I would think this was simply an oversight. The only reason I can think of for them not to be listed is if there were a more specific subcategory, such as Category:Pet Shop Boys members, analagous to Category:The Smashing Pumpkins members, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. It's worth keeping an eye on article categories, as there are many opportunities to fix holes and other anomalies. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 21:46, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

help userfying a deleted article

So, I stupidly forgot to copy an article I made, Flying White Dots, to my userspace before it was deleted. Is there anywhere I can access the wikimarkup? I've found a copy of it in the google cache ( http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:UeQzXc_abwQJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_White_Dots+flying+white+dots+wikipedia&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a ), but I can't for the life of me find a mirror of wikipedia where I could grab it. Could anyone recommend a good wikipedia mirror where I could grab the wikimarkup? alternatively, is there a way to access the wikimarkup of the deleted page? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Riffraffselbow (talk • contribs) 21:28, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

If you wanted the page actually restored, you could file a request for undeletion, but if you just want a copy of its content, you can leave a message at the admins' noticeboard, contact one of the admins in Category:Wikipedia administrators who will provide copies of deleted articles, or just wait for an admin to read this inquiry, which will probably happen sooner or later. — Waterfox ^~talk~ 21:50, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Section Redirect

I made a section redirect that looks like it should do its section redirection perfectly well, but it does not. It is at 271 (number). Will someone please tell me what is wrong?

Thank you, Us441(talk)(contribs)

Message left at 21:46, 8 December 2010 (UTC).

What do you mean by it's not working? It jumps directly to the 271–279 section for me. — Waterfox ^~talk~ 21:52, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Dashes are difficult. Sometimes an ordinary hyphen, but sometimes em-dash or en-dash. I copied the target into the redirection, and that has sorted it. David Biddulph (talk) 21:51, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Whoah quadruple-edit conflict! I and David fixed the redirect (David beat me to it) which is why Waterfox couldn't see the problem. You can enter an en dash using the first character after Insert: if you select "Wiki markup" in the drop-down box that appears at the bottom of the screen when using the default skin. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 21:55, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Props to Adrian and David for actually solving the problem. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Waterfox (talk • contribs) 22:02, 8 December 2010

Tear down of existing article and restart almost from scratch. How?

I need to tear down an existing wikipedia article and restart it almost from scratch. It was originally constructed based on a reference that is now known to be TOTALLY unreliable. The article already has a "factual accuracy is disputed" flag. How should I handle the transition during teardown and reconstruction? By addition first, then deletion, or first delete what I know to be wrong? What flags? Should I start with a notification of intent in the talk page? Do I need to add comments on the wikipedia page to explain some of the changes I've made? After reconstruction the present discussions in the talk page will become totally irrelevant and confusing to anyone who hasn't seen the old version of the wikipedia page. I'd like to wipe the talk page, but is there a better alternative? Mollwollfumble (talk) 21:51, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Describing the situation at the talk page is pretty much required for wholesale changes. If the source is really a bad source, then the parts of the article which are cited to it should be removed. I would explain, in detail, what you intend to do on the talk page, that is which text you intend to remove, why you intend to remove it, and what (in general terms) you intend to do to replace it. Give it a few days to see if there are any objections, if there are none, you can start your rewrite. The only modification to this idea would be if the article is about a living person. Per WP:BLP, contentious text which is unsourced, or sourced to something whose reliability is questioned, should be removed immediately, but the rest of the advice (using the talk page, giving a short time to see if objections arise) still applies. --Jayron32 21:57, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You could write the new one in a sandbox so talk-pagers can see what you have in mind for a replacement. Then (assuming consensus to use it, etc.) file a move request to have it replace the actual article, with history-merger of the old. Could frame the discussion with a colored box ({{polltop}} or similar) so that there's a visual break for talk-page readers to know "something huge happened at this point in time". Or else archive the old version's talk-page. DMacks (talk) 22:05, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You can make a sandbox by clicking here: User:Mollwollfumble/Sandbox. If no-one besides yourself edits the sandbox then I don't think you need a move request, but could just paste over the existing article when you're ready. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 22:16, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It would probably help if you told us what article you're talking about. Dismas|^(talk) 22:17, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The article is List_of_largest_dams_in_the_world. Before I looked at it there were already issues about the Aswan Dam being on the list twice with radically different sizes, with some sizes being out by a factor of about 1000, etc. But looking in detail so far at the top 8 dams on the list - three are phantoms, one isn't a dam, two more were constructed in such a way that the size can't be estimated, and of the remaining two one made a mistake in the size by a factor of about 3 and the final one is almost OK - only out by about 20% in size. I expect errors like these to continue all the way down the list. Checking back through the article history, these errors have been there since the very beginning, not later introductions. Reference 2 is the main culprit. There is one definitive reference on this topic, the ICOLD "world register of dams"; I have a copy on order but haven't received it yet. Mollwollfumble (talk) 22:39, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I see you've discovered the delights of an internet choc-full of "information" sites that don't give a hoot about accuracy :-) . Glad you're helping make sure Wikipedia isn't one of them.

I don't think anyone's going to challenge your edits; it's clear that the present article has major problems, and I think you can edit it as you see fit whenever you're ready (though it's good you've already posted an explanation at the talk page).

On a related note, I see the sorting in the present "Dam volume" column doesn't work. It's treating the numbers "alphabetically", by which I mean it would place 2,000,000,000 in between 1,000 and 3,000,000. I think that's because the {{convert}} template is causing the table to treat all those cells as containing strings rather than numbers. I can't see any way around that except to enter the conversions manually, without using the template. There's info at Help:Sorting.

Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 09:04, 9 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Company selling books of Wikipedia articles possibly without attribution

I ran across this on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Chiton-costume-NEW-/160495303592?pt=AU_Non_Fiction_Books_2&hash=item255e43fba8

I don't know if the book itself has the url for Wikipedia, but the sales ad does not. Looks like this company does a lot of Wikipedia-to-book sales. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.61.30.144 (talk) 23:42, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

That page actually says "High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles", and the same in a green circle on the book cover. See User:PrimeHunter/Alphascript Publishing sells free articles as expensive books. They have around 96,000 titles on Amazon now. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:11, 9 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Twitter as a source sucks, right?

An IP and I have been going 'round and 'round about the Pamela Bryant article. According to the IP, Bryant has died. I've been looking online for an obit but I haven't turned anything up. I tried both Google News and going to the sites of Hawaiian newspapers. The latest edit by the IP claims that it's on Hugh Hefner's Twitter feed. I don't do Twitter but was able to track this down. Using that as a source really rubs me the wrong way. So, where do I go from here? Dismas|^(talk) 23:53, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

See WP:TWITTER. Regards, SunCreator ^(talk) 23:55, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I've read that. And my question still stands. Dismas|^(talk) 01:12, 9 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

"Self-published sources should never be used as third-party sources about living persons, even if the author is an expert, well-known professional researcher, or writer." Since we don't know for sure that Ms Bryant has died, it follows that we must assume that she is living and therefore the quoted policy applies. Even though the Twitter account is apparently "verified", there is something unnerving about using such fluid -- and, essentially, inherently unverifiable -- sources in an encyclopaedia that strives for accuracy. Xenon54 (talk) 01:17, 9 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

If she has died, something reliable will pick it up soon. It isn't a race. Its better to get it right than to get it first. Don't worry about being "scooped". Take time, wait a few days, and check again for reliable sources to materialize. If nothing does, ignore it. Wikipedia does not need to be the first to report her death. Indeed, Wikipedia should NEVER be the first to report anything. --Jayron32 03:06, 9 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

translating

I have a website that uses the Wikipedia software and I have problems in translating pages from one language to another. I would like to keep the same appearances and tables. I wonder what software does Wikipedia use to keep the same appearance for the pages. I already spent a lot of money to install different software on my website without success. I would also like to know what software does Wikipedia use to keep the languages like Arabic and Hebrew to show their page from right to left. My software shows it from left to right. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.34.149.142 (talk) 23:56, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia uses the MediaWiki software. Help with this can be found at mw:Project:Support desk and read the mw:Manual:Contents for the manual on setting it up. -- Bk314159 (Talk to me and find out what I've done) 04:51, 9 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. I would really appreciate someone can tell me what software does Wikipedia use to keep the same appearance for the pages That they translate. I researched it a lot and I couldn't find it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.34.149.142 (talk) 23:38, 9 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

If pages are translated, they are translated by people, who create the new pages with all their formatting. If I understand your question correctly, there is no software that does it, it is people that do it. --ColinFine (talk) 00:04, 10 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Getting rid of this personal appeal at the top of every page!

Hey folks,

Any chance of getting rid of this bloody personal appeal from Jimmy Wales, and now some other writer woman, for those of us who've already donated? I've no problem with the ad being up there, it makes perfect sense, but why keep it up for logged in users who've already donated? It's pissing me off, and making me much less inclined to donate next time if I know I've to put up with constant ads asking for money after I've given it.

JK

Wet-paint (talk) 23:58, 8 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It's an option located at the "gadget" tab in your preferences. "Browsing gadgets" subheader, 4th option. Jarkeld (talk) 00:06, 9 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2010 December 8