Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2010 June 20

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June 20

Is there an automated way to determine if an article has broken links?

A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 02:36, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Try this tool. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 02:46, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Thanks!

Resolved

A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 00:26, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Huge White Space at bottom of Wiki pages

Resolved

I recently noticed that there's a huge white space at the bottom of wikipedia pages. I'm pretty sure this wasn't there before. I could scroll down and the page would stop shortly after the content area of the page ended. Any reason why this white space was added? -- GateKeeper ^(talk) @ 04:00, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Phew, glad to see someone else has the same problem I noticed quite some time ago. It's still bugging me. See my previous question here about this and the replies I received.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 04:39, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Perhaps you have peerreviewer installed ? It does that (uses visiblity:hidden;, which leaves the space reserved, unlike display:none;) —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 16:24, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

I commented out the peer-review script and it seems to have fixed the problem. Many thanks :] -- GateKeeper ^(talk) @ 03:04, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Mystery Diagnosis TV Show

Wikipedia says it has a list of 72 episodes but I can only find the first 7,the first season. How does one access the other seasons and thus the other 65 episodes? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.233.200.141 (talk) 04:25, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Hi. The page doesn't say we have write ups on the 72 shows. It says there are 72 shows. It appears List of Mystery Diagnosis episodes is an incomplete list. Since you appear interested in the subject matter and have found a hole in our coverage, why not be bold and edit that page to list the missing 65?--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 04:43, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Undo / Revert

Resolved

 –  – ukexpat (talk) 15:07, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Hi. I want to revert an article back to a previous point beyond a single “undo”. Please can someone explain how to do this? Thanks.--Patthedog (talk) 10:35, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Go to the history, and click on the link to the last "good" revision. On the history page, the links to revisions are the big ones with the dates and times. Click edit once you're viewing the revision, and save the page without any changes, ignoring the warning messages. That should do it. If I'm not making any sense, do tell me and I'll try to clarify. Regards, {{Sonia|ping|enlist}} 10:39, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

I think I've got it, but does it allow me to explain my revert? Thanks.--Patthedog (talk) 10:43, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, it does. The edit summary works as if you were just editing the article, in these cases- unless you're using navigation popups to do it. {{Sonia|ping|enlist}} 10:45, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

First, find the edit you want to revert the article back to. For example, here is what was changed five edits ago on one article. If you wanted to, essentially, revert all five edits following this edit, and I presume this is what you want to know how to do, you should click the brown words at the top of the edit you want to revert back to, which read 'restore this version'. Once you click them, the article will change back to what it looked like, in this case, five edits ago. WackyWace ^{talk to me, people} 10:48, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Great - done it! Thank you very much xxx.--Patthedog (talk) 10:52, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

OK. Would someone just check out what I've done to Jimmie Nicol --Patthedog (talk) 10:55, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Looks fine to me. @Wackywace: That only works if you have twinkle installed. {{Sonia|ping|enlist}} 11:07, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Does it? Sorry about that. WackyWace ^{talk to me, people} 11:13, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Looks fine to me too though you might want to discuss things with the other editor that you seem to be starting an WP:EDITWAR with. Dismas|^(talk) 11:09, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

(edit conflict) I checked for you, but you can check yourself. Go to "history", click on the left column of circles at 18 june, Pawnkingthree, and click on the right column of circels at your latest edit. Then click on "Compare selected versions" and you can see that your version is exactly the same as Pawnkingthrees version. Lova Falk talk 11:10, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Thanks everyone. Although I’ve achieved what I wanted, I’m not sure if it was done in the accepted way. “you should click the brown words at the top of the edit you want to revert back to, which read 'restore this version’” I do not see these words I’m afraid. Oh dear. This reminds me so much of school! “Stupid boy”. The other editor needs to propose any major changes first on the article's talk page where I’ll be more than happy to listen. --Patthedog (talk) 11:17, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

As I have said, the "brown words" thing only works if you have twinkle installed, which I recommend you do. It will be of much use to you. Just go into Special:Preferences and click on the "Gadgets" tab, then tick the box for twinkle and also for friendly. The two tools in conjunction will make things a lot easier for you. {{Sonia|ping|enlist}} 11:21, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Ok, have done it. Thank you, and have the rest of the day off.--Patthedog (talk) 11:30, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Great! If you have any questions on using either tool, feel free to ask me. (And about having the rest of the day off: It's 11.30 pm here, so that's about half an hour. ) {{Sonia|ping|enlist}} 11:35, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Wow, eleven hours difference! You must live on the moon. Thanks again and night night!--Patthedog (talk) 11:51, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Mediawiki spam blacklist

How do I get a site added to this list? I have in mind EUtimes.net Kittybrewster ☎ 12:15, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

MediaWiki talk:Spam-blacklist, I assume. {{Sonia|ping|enlist}} 12:17, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Problem printing with "New Features" on Wikipedia...

My printer is a 9-year-old HP DeskJet 840C, my OS is Windows XP, and my browser is Mozilla Firefox 3.6.3, the latest version. Last week, I switched on the "New features", and the other day, I tried printing a Wikipedia article, and my printer couldn't print it, I thought it might be a problem with the connection to my computer, and so I bought a new USB cable for my printer, and I tried printing the article again, it didn't print, then I thought it might be my computer, so I tried printing the Wikipedia article on my father's laptop, but it didn't print at all. I tried to "Print Test Page", that was provided in the Printers and Faxes section, and it printed fine on both my computer and my father's laptop, and so I tried printing the Wikipedia article again on both computers, it didn't print at all. So I decided to experiment, I switched back to the previous look of Wikipedia, by clicking on "Take me back", then I tried to print a Wikipedia article and it printed fine, without the "New features". I think there is something wrong with the "New features" on Wikipedia, particularly in printing, maybe the "New features" are not compatible with older printers, like my 9-year-old HP DeskJet 840C, I don't really know, since I'm no expert. In any case, I have switched back to the previous look of Wikipedia, because I'm unable to print with the "New features" on. I hope this can be resolved, thank you... Gregorynovella (talk) 15:11, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

What steps are you taking when you print? Are using the Printable version link in the toolbar or the browser File → Print? What browser and version? ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 16:15, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Thank you, I mentioned it above, my browser and version is Mozilla Firefox 3.6.3. I tried printing the Wikipedia article on both the printable version and the default version, it didn't print, it only printed when I went back to the previous look of Wikipedia... Gregorynovella (talk) 01:37, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

And I tried printing on other websites, my printer printed fine on other websites... Gregorynovella (talk) 01:50, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Hello, the problem printing with "New Features" on Wikipedia hasn't been solved... Gregorynovella (talk) 22:58, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

On the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus page there is the word herfordshire. Does it mean herefordshire or hertfordshire? Gobbleswoggler (talk) 16:32, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

St. Albans is in Hertfordshire, and I've fixed that. Someone just copied a lot of material from [1], a 100 year old encyclopedia, which had the original error. Dougweller (talk) 17:11, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

We have 2 articles, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart is the same order but is more up to date, so I'll turn the obsolete c&p one into a redirect or whatever seems best. Dougweller (talk) 17:20, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Reaching for the Moon

An autobiography by Buzz Aldrin —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.3.198.47 (talk) 16:37, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Do you have a question? We have an article about Buzz Aldrin but his book is not mentioned. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:55, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

quoting complex URLs to "cite web", etc.

Resolved

 –  – ukexpat (talk) 15:07, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

I'm stuck on the proper way to use a URL such as

http://www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=35&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=208&cHash=ebeb837387

in a citation.

I'm trying to source Robby Naish, and this ref and another with a similar format are biting me hard. I read the template discussion and tried templating the equal signs, but ....

Any assistance appreciated, thanks! --j⚛e decker^talk 16:37, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

See m:Help:URL. The key is where the URL cuts off into plain text. You have to encode [ as %5B, ] as %5D and the = as %61:

http://www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=35&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D%61208&cHash%61ebeb837387

---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 18:50, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Thank you! Looks like someone has gone (using that technique) and already fixed the article, makes sense that percent-hex notation would work. Much appreciated! --j⚛e decker^talk 19:08, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Question about creating pages for a company and its owner (probable COI)

I want to create two pages, one for the new company called Lawrence photography, and one called Ben Lawrence who is the owner. How do i do this and have 2 very findable on google pages. I have made a page called Ben Lawrence(ceo) but it isnt findable and also i have made a page that i have done a typo to it, i havent put the space in Lawrencephotography. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ben Lawrence (CEO) (talk • contribs) 17:53, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

It appears that you misunderstand our purpose, which is to build an encyclopedia based on reliable sources (see WP:RS. We require articles to meet our notability criteria at WP:NOTE and you will also see there links to specific pages on notability and people. We also ask editors who are directly involved with a subject to follow our guidelines on conflict of interest at WP:COI. What you have done is created a user page for your account which is in the name of Ben Lawrence (CEO).Is this also yours - User:Lawrencephotography?

Wikicompany is probably a better site for what you want to do. Wikicompany wants to list every company in the world, whereas Wikipedia only wants to have articles about companies that meet our requirements for notability (see WP:CORP). Also see WP:BFAQ. --Teratornis (talk) 09:40, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

chewing tobacco

is it leagle to chew tobacco sitting at a bar and spitting it into a can or a cup —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.78.6.120 (talk) 18:21, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Hello. I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over three million articles, and thought that we were directly 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 a help desk for asking questions related to using the encyclopedia. Thus, we have no inside track on 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. ^Avicenna_sis @ 19:51, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia categories by size

Hello to all,

Is there any way to see a list of the categories by size (meaning - the number of articles they hold)? 19:50, 20 June 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.250.207.208 (talk)

Special:MostLinkedCategories. See WP:EIW#Cat for everything in writing about categories. --Teratornis (talk) 19:58, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

But what if you wanted to check a specific category? Also, Special:MostLinkedCategories hasn't been updated since Oct 2009. ^Avicenna_sis @ 20:02, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Thanks! Avicennasis - i suspect you would be able to see that in the specific category's category page. 20:15, 20 June 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.250.207.208 (talk)

Actually, I'm not completely satisfied - is there a way to see a list which contains ONLY articles, without sub-categories? 20:23, 20 June 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.250.207.208 (talk)

And by that i meant that i want to be able to see the list, by number of actual articles each category contains, without the sub-categories. Thanks! 85.250.207.208 (talk) 20:36, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Agreed. This would be very handy. Hopefully someone has a solution. ^Avicenna_sis @ 00:20, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Category crossroads

Resolved

Similar but separate question: Is there a way to take two categories and compare them to see what pages are listed in both? ^Avicenna_sis @ 00:20, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

...Nevermind. :) ^Avicenna_sis @ 01:10, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Babylon & Wikipedia

In the Babylon translation-software, the user can add Wikipedia as one of the online dictionaries. It is possible to download Wikipedia for offline use, through this link: http://download.wikimedia.org/enwiki/20100130/enwiki-20100130-pages-articles.xml.bz2 But is it possible to do one of the following: (1) Get an offline version of Wikipedia for Babylon? (2) Convert the above XML-file to a BGL file?

Thanks in advance. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.228.84.140 (talk) 21:48, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Try the Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing for your question... They'll be able to guide you on this. ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ _―Œ ^{♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣} 04:25, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Photographs - how do they get uploaded onto a wikipedia page?

In my hometown we had a large rugby league stadium which sadly closed back in 1992. It was one of the largest grounds for the sport of rugby league in the North of England. The stadium is featured briefly on its own page but there are no pictures to see at present. However, I have an excellent colour picture (on my PC) taken immediately prior to the Test match of Great Britain v Australia on the 9th November 1963 showing the Australian players doing their "wardance" on the pitch. This is a really good picture showing a big crowd of about 35,000 spectators in the stands and on the terraces. I would like to be able to upload this onto the page in question but don't know how to do so. The stadium's name was "Station Road, Swinton", the home of Swinton RLFC (near Manchester, UK) between 1929-1992 and this is the exact title of the wikipedia page about it. Can someone please help with this? I was at at the actual match, a mere youth of 17 at the time and my memories of the stadium during its heyday are still vivid. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.108.31.41 (talk) 21:57, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

If you took the picture yourself (important for copyright reasons), you can create an account here – it's fast and easy to do – then go to Wikimedia Commons (commons:Commons:Upload) to upload the highest resolution file you have (you can log in to Commons with a Wikipedia account). Once you have uploaded the picture, it is possible to add it to the article by inserting into the article the code [[File:Example.jpg|thumb|Caption]] where "Example.jpg" is the file name and "Caption" is the image caption to be shown beneath the photo. Alternatively, you can ask for help at Files for upload if you can load the photo onto a publicly accessible picture sharing site. PleaseStand ^(talk) 02:46, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Signature

My signature is not getting recorded properly on talk pages, as it can be seen here also. Can you some one rectify it, please?--Nvvchar 22:57, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Hi, go back into Special:Preferences, and untick the box that says "sign my name using the provided wikitext". That should fix it. Cheers, {{Sonia|ping|enlist}} 23:24, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Page editing - why are my [edit] links bunched at bottom of page?

..

Hi,

I'm editing page Honda Civic GX with a large monitor (small monitors don't exhibit this issue as much). The edit links which normally would be next to each heading (History, Specifications, so on) are bunched at the bottom of the page. I want it to be like this page, for example, where the edit links are over to the right of each heading.

Why do they bunch at the bottom? How can I change it?

Thanks

Fx6893 (talk) 23:21, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

It's because all the infoboxes are listed at the top of the article instead of being put into their respective sections. So the browser displays them first, then goes to work on the text, and the associated edit links. Though they don't have anywhere to go but down to the bottom because there are all those boxes pushing them down. It's just bad formatting. Dismas|^(talk) 23:24, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

See WP:BUNCH. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 23:25, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

(edit conflict) This is a phenomenon known as bunching, and occurs when there are too many items (in this case infoboxes) on the right side of a page. I have fixed the page for you. The procedure to fix link bunching is not at all complex; you can do it yourself, if you are good at following instructions: see {{fixbunching}} and Template:Fix bunching/doc for details on how to do so. Intelligentsium 23:27, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Okay, thanks much to you both!

Fx6893 (talk) 23:28, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

sortability with two row headers

At 2009 College Football All-America Team, I would like adding a two row header showing first and second team in the Academic All-American section.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 23:27, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Hi Tony, so what's the issue? ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ _―Œ ^{♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣} 04:19, 22 June 2010 (UTC)