Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2010 June 13

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June 13

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Warnings

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When I warn users/IPs that already have warnings, how long ago should the last warning be before I start over with a level 1 warning? dffgd (talk) 01:44, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I usually give it a month before I start over again. It really depends on how often the IP is reassigned, as that means a new person is using the IP and would thus need a new set of warnings. TNXMan 01:52, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I agree, 3-4 weeks is reasonable for IPs. It's a little different for registered users, however. Since we know it's the same person, it's fair not to start over, even after several months, IMO. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 03:40, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Episodes

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It's not so much a question as a complaint that episode summaries for many shows contain spoilers without even a spoiler alert. Wanting to know what an episode is about is not the same as wanting to know how it ends. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.174.192.38 (talk) 01:47, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

There was a lot of discussion about whether or not spoilers should be marked as such. Our current practice is outlined on this page. It basically says that people expect Wikipedia to be detailed and episode summaries are no different. TNXMan 01:54, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Collapsible Table

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Hey everyone! I'm just wondering how to make a Collapsible Table, I know how to make a collapsible list (Birds of Eden) and a Table (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spiny-tailed_monitor&oldid=314921465) but does anyone know how to make a Collapsible table? Nrg800 (talk) 01:52, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Code entered Output produced
{| class="wikitable collapsible"
! Simple collapsible table
|-
| Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
|}
Simple collapsible table
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
For further information, see Help:Collapsing. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 09:44, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, but when I use it (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Nrg800/Sandbox#Animal_list ) It automatically is open, is there anyway to make it close when you open the page? Nrg800 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 06:34, 14 June 2010 (UTC).[reply]

See this help section. I think you need class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" -- John of Reading (talk) 06:48, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks!! Nrg800 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 08:34, 14 June 2010 (UTC).[reply]

Spell checking in the editing box

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Does anyone know why the editor box spell checks (underlining in red) using American English? I have my language set to British English. Or is there another setting? If not how would I go about suggesting such a change? It's quite irritating, I have great pride in my spelling knowledge but am constantly double checking when it's usually just the dialect difference. I have no objection to editors using American English when editing, but when I edit (and particularly on talk pages) I want to use British English! (This is NOT a request to start up the age old debate on which is better, they are both equally valid, but my point is the editor assumes one over the other). Bertcocaine (talk) 03:35, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You must be mistaken; the edit field does not spell-check at all. The language you set in your preferences does not affect editing (and I find some features do not work with the en-GB language setting enabled in Preferences). The spell-check settings in your browser are probably set to American English. What browser are you using? Intelligentsium 03:48, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, it's a browser thing. Are you using Firefox or Internet Explorer, or something else? For example: I installed the Simple English dictionary for Firefox so that I could write better for the Simple English Wikipedia. It's a slight nuisance when I'm writing emails (or editing here), but I just ignore it when I don't need it. If you didn't intentionally install it, maybe someone else did, or check in browser settings. {{Sonia|ping|enlist}} 03:53, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Accidentally clicked "Email New Password"; can't remember which email address I had linked to wikipedia.

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Hi,

My username here is Barmy Fotheringay-Phipps. I accidentally clicked "Email New Password", but I cannot remember which email address to check. I can tell you my old previous password if you need proof that I am this user. Any way you can tell me which email address is attached to this account; or what the new password is?

   ~Barmy Fotheringay-Phipps  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.73.99.107 (talk) 04:29, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply] 
Unfortunately, no. The only thing you can do is check all possible email addresses for the new password. If you still can't find it, you'll have to register a new account. Someguy1221 (talk) 04:37, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
So there's no one "in charge" here who has this information? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.73.99.107 (talk) 04:40, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Never Mind--I guess my password reverted when no action was taken? Just changed the email, too, so that I know which one it is! Thank you for your help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Barmy Fotheringay-Phipps (talkcontribs) 04:46, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

No, Someguy is wrong here. If you don't follow the link in your email, you can always still log in with your old one. I know this because I keep getting emails like that (apparently someone really wants my password), and as long as I ignore them, I can still log in. {{Sonia|ping|enlist}} 05:47, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Not wrong, just assumed Barmy had lost his password. Anyway, yes. Clicking "email new password" does not change your password, it just creates a second one that also works, for 24 hours. Having it actually change the password would be retarded, since anyone can click the link for any username. Someguy1221 (talk) 09:22, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry. I'd have assumed the same, but I had the benefit of hindsight I guess, to reread "I can tell you my old previous password if you need proof that I am this user." I didn't intend to come across quite that harshly. {{Sonia|ping|enlist}} 09:33, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Virus - Wiki or Google

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And good morning from the UK!

Guys, it looks as if there’s serious problems with the entry for Taliban.

When opening that entry from the Google search engine a user gets diverted to all manner of material together with some horrendous virus’s of various forms.

It MAY be “finger trouble” on my part – a not infrequent occurrence, but on the other hand considering the subject matter it may well not be on this occasion.

Is the problem with Google or Wiki? I can’t tell but problems there are.

Regards (and thanks for Wikipedia!) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.23.26.53 (talk) 05:32, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The article Taliban looks OK to me. Are you certain that you are clicking on the link from Google to the article on the Wikipedia site? There are a lot of sites out there that mirror Wikipedia's content but include advertisements or viruses. TNXMan 13:42, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

sort of racism in Zwahili language article

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In the examples about Zwahili language you quote something like: "one children is reading" "one book is enough" "one banana is enough"

"two chilren are reading" "two books are enough" "two bananas suffice"

The connection is obvious. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.188.168.139 (talk) 06:06, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

No, it's not obvious at all. The language translation examples were added here by a person who appears to be an expert in language and linguistics. I don't think you should impute racist intent without a clear basis. Nevertheless, if you want to ask for different language translation examples, go to the article's talk page and raise your concerns there.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:55, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
There is no article 'Zwahili': I guess you are referring to Swahili language. You do not appear to be reading carefully enough to reproduce either the title or the examples correctly. I have no idea what you mean about racism. --ColinFine (talk) 13:44, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Perhaps it was unintentionally offensive to the speakers of that language. IP, please contact that user's talk page as he may have an explanation. Kayau Voting IS evil 14:01, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Last edit by that user was in in 2004.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 15:41, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I would still consider the possibility that he has set his preferences so that any changes to his talk page will reach him via email. Kayau Voting IS evil 05:02, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Uncollapsing a template

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If a template has state|collapsed in it; how do you override this state for a particular article, i.e how do you display the template in the article in its uncollapsed state (without having to click on show), feel free to point me at the relevant help page ! GrahamHardy (talk) 07:50, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I know next to nothing about these, but I think you should create a parameter. :) Kayau Voting IS evil 10:47, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
What is the template? It may be the case that it is better displayed collapsed. the parameter |state= will allow collapsing, whilst the parameter |state=collapsed will render the template collapsed normally, and expand on clicking. Long templates should be collapsed normally Mjroots (talk) 11:14, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
If you are asking whether it is possible to have the template displayed uncollapsed on a particular article and collapsed on all others, I think the answer is going to be "no". Mjroots (talk) 11:15, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
If the navbox supports it, use |state=uncollapsed. Let us know the template in question if that does not work. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 13:39, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
That did the trick, the template has state|collapsed, so just put state|uncollapsed after the template name in the article, Thanks! GrahamHardy (talk) 09:04, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

talk page doesn't show last sections

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This talk page - Talk:Indian_Institutes_of_Technology doesn't show the last 2 sections (including one i just added), but they are visible when clicked on "edit". I purged and deleted my cache and made sure that the problem is not with my browser. Help out!! Thanks. Arjuncodename024 12:46, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Already fixed. See Help:Cite errors#Content on a non-article page is missing. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 13:06, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
  Done, there was a partial open reference tag. I removed it and then had to fix a couple of signatures that were also messed up when because of it. ~~ GB fan ~~ talk 13:08, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you guys very much!! Arjuncodename024 13:38, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

False Information About Ariana Afghan Airlines

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Ariana Afghan Airlines head office noticed that Wikipedia posted false information about Ariana Afghan Airlines. Therefore, we stongly request to remove all the information posted on your website immediately or we will take legal action against your site.

Your soonest action is very much appreciated....

Ariana Afghan Airlines Sayed Hashemi Headoffice —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.31.101.86 (talk) 14:12, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I have replied to this user on their talk page. In the meantime, if anyone would like to help clean up Ariana Afghan Airlines (which needs sourcing and expansion), it would be appreciated. TNXMan 14:16, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I blocked the user in question for 48 hours due to legal treats. Equally i created an ANI discussion regarding this issue. Excirial (Contact me,Contribs) 14:33, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
"Legal treats"?  :-)  John of Reading (talk) 06:08, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

User-Agent blocking problem !

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Our school proxy is apparently blocking user-agent strings outbound so all your pages return the following error

"Scripts should use an informative User-Agent string with contact information, or they may be IP-blocked without notice."

please correct —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.137.200.8 (talk) 14:31, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry, but it sounds like you'll need to contact the operator of your school's proxy server(s) to correct the info passed to Wikipedia. TNXMan 14:32, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
We have a policy on UserAgents, found here. Please have your IT department review that page, and they should be able to easily work out a solution. Avicennasis @ 15:20, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Need delete chatroulette article!

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People! Wake up!!! This is a pornographic site! 90% of video streams show their ... . In the remaining 10% there are very often teens that are watching it! Or maybe I am the only one who do not agree and for the rest of people all of this is normal? And for childrens, too? You'd better write about http://www.4teenschat.com which simply do allow let perverts get in! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Antichatroulette (talkcontribs) 16:35, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry, but this is not the place to suggest the article be deleted. Furthermore, if you are promoting another website, Wikipedia is not the place for you either. TNXMan 16:40, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
To quote: "Wikipedia is not censored". You could try Articles for deletion to get the article deleted, but you are unlikely to successfully do so—the sources seem to establish notability. PleaseStand (talk) 18:02, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

How to Add Headings to a Wiki Page?

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How do I go about adding different headings in a celebrity's page such as Family and Early Life, Music and Acting Career, Personal Life and Discography? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Temple1004 (talkcontribs) 16:51, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Given your question, I think you would get much out of taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial, but see Help:Section, and Wikipedia:Cheatsheet. By the way, note two things: The first section of an article (the lead) does not take a separate header, and also note that the section headings you write above have subsequent word capitalization that we do not use (see WP:HEAD)—capitalize the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns in headings, but leave the rest in lower case, viz, Personal life and discography, not Personal Life and Discography. Finally, note that in Wikipedia forums such as this one and talk pages, you should sign your posts, as a bot did for you here. Simply type four tildes (~~~~) which automatically formats to your signature and a timestamp when you click save. You can also place the tildes with the editing button that looks like this:  .--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 16:56, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Translated books in citation templates

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Two questions:

1. When using citation templates for books, is there any way to list the person who translated the book into English?

2. When a book was published in English several years after the original publication date, how should one list the different dates?

A. Parrot (talk) 20:57, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Documented at {{Cite book}}:
  • others: To record other contributors to the work, such as "illustrated by Smith" or "trans. Smith".
  • origyear: Original publication year, for display alongside the date or year. For clarity, please supply specifics, for instance origyear=First published 1859 or origyear=Composed 1904. This parameter only displays if a there is a value for year or date.
---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 21:16, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict) {{cite book}} has an others = parameter, which can be used to list translators, etc. Looking at Template:Cite_book/doc#Examples, there is a subsection for "Other language", but your second question is not addressed. In my opinion, unless the translator made non-trivial modifications to the original in translation, you should use the date it was published in the original language. Intelligentsium 21:20, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
(e/c) There is no field especially for the translator, but you can mix and match fields to do what you want. Here I would use the |others= field because it places the text in a logical place for the translator. You can list original publication using |origyear= and in that parameter you should specify "1st. Pub. 1986" for example. So here's a real example:

{{cite book|title=The Futurological Congress|last=Lem|first=Stanislaw|others=Translated by Ijon Tichy|publisher=Harcourt Brace|year=1985|origyear=1st. Pub. 1974|location=San Diego|isbn=978-0-15-634040-3}}

Which would format as
  • Lem, Stanislaw (1985) [1st. Pub. 1974]. The Futurological Congress. Translated by Ijon Tichy. San Diego: Harcourt Brace. ISBN 978-0-15-634040-3.
Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 21:32, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you all. A. Parrot (talk) 22:07, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Marcelo Bielsa Bio

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In the article about the coach of the chllean football squad Marcelo Bielsa appers a paragraph that is clearly publicity of a TV show and is not related with the rest of that article.

The paragraph is as its follows:

" But, he talked a couple of times with the reporters of CQC Chile, he talked with them about four times entering to the Estadio Monumental David Arellano to watch football and once parking his car in the Santa Laura-SEK University Stadium, but he got mad at them when CQC Chile reporter, Ivan Guerrero, asked him in Brazil, after losing to the hosts 2-4, as a sarcasm, if one of the 28 ways of standing in the field that didn't work at that match. Even he repeated and remembered it as a sort of joke to other CQC Chile reporters".

I deleted that content once but one user called Cit Helper reverted it, and posted again —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.22.174.155 (talk) 21:16, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

small computer memory made from switches

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I would like to see a memory made from switches and resistors. I can't remember exactly how this is done. What does the schematic look like? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.132.142.211 (talk) 22:54, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

  Have you tried the Computing 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. Algebraist 22:58, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I am trying to figure out hoe to move my article from my user page to 'out there'. I see no move arrow that someone else talked about.Statenisland777 (talk)

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I can't figure out how to move my article from the userpage to 'out there'. Everything looks ok I think, I have footnotes, etc,lots of valid external source material, but I don't see a move arrow at the top or anything! Currently it just says user:Statenisland777/Alex Binnie (Tattoo Artist). Altho I did notice my joining was only 3 days ago...is that a problem? Please help! Satenisland777. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Statenisland777 (talkcontribs) 23:19, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Your article still needs some more links, an infobox, and a little bit of grammar checking. When that's done, post here and someone will move it.  A p3rson  23:32, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
You won't see the move button until after 4 days and 10 edits.--SPhilbrickT 23:59, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for that. Is it 4 days AND 10 edits, or 4 days OR 10 edits?! And, yes I would like to put in an info box. Where do I look for instructions? Also, don't you think 10 links are enough- it's more than some pages have! Thanks again. Statenisland777. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Statenisland777 (talkcontribs) 01:05, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

See WP:AUTOCONFIRM. --Teratornis (talk) 02:01, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I have just added an infobox for you using {{Infobox person}}. If you go to the page of the template you can find out more about the different parameters you can use. Yaris678 (talk) 02:03, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I think what was meant was more wikilinks to other articles. Although the personal life section could use some references per WP:BLP. Dismas|(talk) 02:14, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

thanks for all your help. thanks for that little infobox- a sweet gift! and i will check out that template page. staatenisland777Statenisland777 (talk) 18:21, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]