Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2010 June 29

Help desk
< June 28	<< May | June | Jul >>	June 30 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Help Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current Help Desk pages.

June 29

Template to ignore/disregard discussion

Resolved

 – Kerαunoςcopia^◁_galaxies 02:55, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Is there a template similar to WP:EAR or {{resolved}} that I can place before a discussion that tells users to disregard my comment? In the past, I've tried to just delete the entire subject (before anyone can respond) and others will reinstate the topic just for the sake of "history" and archival purposes—which is fine. But sometimes I will start a discussion that becomes deprecated for whatever reasons. If no one comments on it, it can become confusing. I could easily throw a comment in small font, but I was hoping there may be something cooler to use :) – Kerαunoςcopia^◁_galaxies 23:51, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

If you want to stop editors editing a section, you could try placing {{archive top}} and {{archive bottom}} and the top and bottom of that section. Hope this helps. Set Sail For The Seven Seas 358° 53' 0" NET 23:55, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

Hmm, okay, that's a good suggestion but not really what I'm looking for. For one, I don't want to close the discussion, just in case someone comes along with some relevant idea in the near future. And it looks a little weird placing a one-paragraph/one-user topic in a discussion archive. However, if nothing else better can be suggested by anyone, it may work decently. Still, I'd prefer less of an eye-catching box and more of a small comment, like {{resolved}} would provide. Thanks for the idea though. – Kerαunoςcopia^◁_galaxies 00:01, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Template:Stale might help. 95j (talk) 00:15, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Facepalm Is what I use to tell people to ignore my comments... :) ^Avicenna_sis @ 00:23, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Or {{trout}} maybe? :) Set Sail For The Seven Seas 7° 16' 45" NET 00:29, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Haha, okay thanks for the suggestions. Stale is the closest thing, it seems. – Kerαunoςcopia^◁_galaxies 01:30, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Actually, I went ahead and created a {{disregard}} template. Hope that's alright with the world :D – Kerαunoςcopia^◁_galaxies 02:55, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Potential conflict in naming article in English or Portuguese

Greetings.

About to do a Macau-related article. Thing is, not sure if I should name the article as "Corpo de Policia Segurança Pública de Macau" or "Public Security Police Force". Both have hits, but the former does have a lot of search results based in google. Thanks and hoping for speed reply. Ominae (talk) 04:15, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Public Security Police Force of Macau would be the best bet. Then the first line would go like:

The Public Security Police Force of Macau (Corpo de Policia Seguranca Publica de Macau in Portuguese) is... Grsz¹¹ 04:31, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

I created a redirect at Corpo de Policia Segurança Pública de Macau. – ukexpat (talk) 13:24, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

I'd just like to say this article is looking pretty good from the gate. While it may need more expansion, it certainly doesn't qualify as a stub...Naraht (talk) 14:34, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Articles for creation

Helpers, whilst requests here are answered very quickly, there remain over 100 users asking for help in Category:Pending AfC submissions; if anyone can look at some of them, that would be great. The ones under 'P' are awaiting review (pending), and there are instructions (even a script, User:Tim Song/afchelper4.js, if you like). Thank you for your time,  Chzz  ►  04:37, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

That should go to WP:VPM. Kayau Voting IS evil 06:33, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Pls. Allow Edit in " Ezhava "

Somebody stopping others to provide the relevant information to the article about "Ezhava" pls. allow the edit —Preceding unsigned comment added by Excellent400 (talk • contribs) 13:02, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

This was an OK edit and is now there. Please sign your posts. Kittybrewster ☎ 13:07, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

If you refer to Ezhava then the article is semi-protected due to vandalism. You can edit it when your account becomes autoconfirmed (currently requires 2 more days and 4 more edits). Until then you can make suggestions at Talk:Ezhava using the {{editsemiprotected}} template if necessary to gain attention. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:55, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Maai Heeran

Q1 Who was maain heeran and what was her past before marrying to Raja Bikramjit Singh Ji

Q2. Who was the first Rani of Raja Bikram Singh Ji and what happened to her and her kids

Q3 Who was Sardar Fauzdar Singh Ji?

Who Was S Indrjit Singh Ahluwalia?

I am asking these questions as they are very much personal and only Dewan Jermani Das could have replied but alas he is no more. He tried to help my father to get his share but my father was so simple he simply was not interested as he was firm believer of God and was happy the way he was living thinking that its GODS wish.

If anyone can answer I will be happy. I want these answers only to satisfy my quest and nothing else —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rswalia (talk • contribs) 13:54, 29 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. --Orange Mike | Talk 14:04, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

How to get back on

I put myself (www.Lynn Fischer.com) on Wikipedia four years ago. It stayed that way for a year. Then my site was removed and another person named Lynn Fischer (English Actor)was there instead. Now a thrid Lynn Fischer(voice over actor) appears to be there but I no longer am. When I tried to rewrite my own and put it on Wikipedia too, I received a notice that I was bared for life from ever being on Wikipedia. I'm a low fat cookbook writer who's never been arrested, never used drugs - nothing. Why would I get a notice I'm bared for life? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.26.91.50 (talk) 16:52, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

It means that you have written an article that does not conform to either our policy for notability or our policy for verifiability. The most likely problem though is that you broke our policy about conflicts of interest. This means that you wrote about a possibly notable subject on Wikipedia that you are directly related to. This rule stands so that people don't write unintentional advertisement about a company, website, or person. Mr. R00t ^Talk 16:58, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Presumably you are User:LynnFischer. Please make sure you are logged in when you edit. Also, please note that you are not "bared [sic] for life", or at least this user name is not, maybe you also edited under another user name and were blocked. In any event, please take a look at WP:BIO which explains our notability guidelines for people and WP:AUTO which deals with autobiographies. You may have more success at Wikipopuli or Wikibios. – ukexpat (talk) 17:26, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Locating businesses by zip code

I'm in the "Businesses located in Seattle" page, but I wonder if there is a way that I can filter it down by specific zip code, so that I can find, for example, only the businesses located in downtown Seattle? Thx. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.76.32.182 (talk) 17:36, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Zip codes are not listed there, so it is not possible to search by zip code (further, this isn't a search engine, so what is on the page is what you get). Any popular mapping services such as Google maps or Bing maps has a "businesses near here" feature. Zoom in on Seattle and click on the link to look for local businesses. -- kainaw™ 17:43, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Several Wikipedia stuff

Do you know exactly what this {{/header}} Wikicode does? How long do SPI cases run? And is it legitimate to use your accounts on other language Wikipedias for use by other people? :| TelCoNaSpVe :| 17:45, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

{{/header}} transcludes a header subpage so that it is rendered as part of the page where it is transcluded. It's easier to see in an example: if you look at the code for this page (ie in edit mode), you will see the code {{/Header}} at the top. The code tells the Wikimedia software to display the content of the Wikipedia:Help desk/Header subpage at the point where the code appears, in the same way that templates are transcluded. As for user name sharing, different language Wikipedias may have their own policies on some things, but I suspect that for compliance with the CC-BY-SA 3.0 license and the GFDL, they all have rules against sharing accounts so that attribution of edits is properly recorded, see WP:NOSHARE for this Wikipedia's policy. I am afraid I don't know the answer to your SPI question. – ukexpat (talk) 18:30, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for all your guidance on Wikipedia matters. I hope someone else may also help with the SPI question. :| TelCoNaSpVe :| 18:32, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

SPI cases may run anywhere from a few hours to two weeks or more. It depends on the complexity of the case. Some cases, where alternate account abuse is obvious can be closed quickly. More complex cases, which require the investigation of a checkuser and can involve many accounts can take longer. TNXMan 18:39, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

I just did some digging on WP:SPI cases and there does not appear be a deadline. I suspect that simple cases are dealt with quickly but that more complex cases requiring more investigation would take longer. If it's a clear cut case, you can report it to WP:ANI and it should be dealt with quickly. – ukexpat (talk) 18:41, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Etiquette when attempting to calm incivility

Is it wrong, as an outside observer in a discussion, to point out when an editor is uncivil. Are there policy or guidelines to advise an editor on how/when to effectively and legitimately give support to an editor who is being subjected to uncivil behavior? Dolovis (talk) 17:54, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

It actually seems best when a 3rd party comments on civility. You can always point them to WP:NICE and if it needs to be reported there is WP:WQA. Gtstricky^{Talk or C} 18:26, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

I am a 3rd party, and when I pointed them to WP:CIVIL I was accused of "trolling". My question was: :Is there a policy or guideline that has been written on 3rd party intervention concerning uncivility? I think that I once came across such a guideline, but now I can't locate it. Dolovis (talk) 18:57, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

The problem is you weren't a neutral party. You are someone who clearly has issues with me and tries to argue with me at every turn. So steping in as an outside party wasn't really appropriate. Especially since the two users involved had already ended their issues and agreed to collapse the comments in the discussion. Basically it was like throwing gas on the dying embers after the fire was put out. -DJSasso (talk) 19:41, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

I am looking for some help please. Can anyone assist me to find the appropriate guideline or policy? Dolovis (talk) 19:47, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Nearly everything in writing on the subject is listed under WP:EIW#Dispute. If what you need isn't there, it might not exist. Note that the Help desk often gets questions that describe some situation generally and omit all details. These kinds of questions reflect incorrect thinking about Wikipedia, as if real-world complexity might be reducible to some simple rules that apply to every case. Instead, Wikipedia has many rules that overlap, interact, and sometimes conflict with each other, requiring skilled judgment to apply case by case. As far as when to point out that another editor is being uncivil, that strikes me as the editing equivalent of the Hail Mary pass - something to try only when you are pretty sure you have lost the game. If a dispute is at the point where editors begin arguing about how the opponents are arguing, rather than what they are arguing, that suggests at least one side might not know how to argue. I personally haven't found any use for WP:CIVIL as a debate tool - I think it would only be useful to mention to someone who is very new to Wikipedia and hasn't heard of the rule yet. Merely pointing out that someone is being uncivil isn't very informative - the useful thing to know is why they are behaving that way, and then try to work around or eliminate the cause. --Teratornis (talk) 06:13, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

Bar of links on the top-right of my user/talk pages/subpages

There are three links on the top right of each of my user/talk pages/subpages, excluding my archives: "purge server cache | edit count (details) | edit summary usage". They should be properly below the line, as they used to look that way; however, now part of the links is clashing with the ads. If I show preview with User:Js/ajaxPreview's "preview", they look fine, but when I use the normal "Show preview", the problem persists. (Note that I am still using the Monobook skin, but I have turned on "New features".) Can someone knowledgeable enough fix this problem? The links are located at User:MC10/Header, and the code is as following:

Click [show] to view code

<div style="position: absolute; right: 1.15em; top: 3.2em; font-size: 95%;" id="TemplateUserinfo" class="plainlinks">{{purge|purge server cache}} {{!}}<!-- --> [http://toolserver.org/~river/cgi-bin/count_edits?dbname=enwiki_p&user=MC10 <span title="My edit count">edit count</span>] (<!-- -->[http://toolserver.org/~soxred93/count/index.php?name=MC10&lang=en&wiki=wikipedia <span title="My edits' details">details</span>]) {{!}}<!-- --> [http://toolserver.org/~mathbot/cgi-bin/wp/rfa/edit_summary.cgi?user=MC10&lang=en <span title="My edit summary usage">edit summary usage</span>]</div>

Thank you. Cheers, —MC10 (T•C•GB•L) 18:46, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

 Done- at MC10/Header. Set Sail For The Seven Seas 351° 59' 45" NET 23:27, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Reference footnote question

What does it mean when the reference footnote says "id" ? thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.232.217.201 (talk) 18:47, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you mean. Does the entire reference say "id" or do you see it as a named reference? TNXMan 18:48, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Do you mean id. short for the Latin idem ("the same") and ibid. short for ibidem ("in the same place")? They mean that the reference in question is from the same source as the previous one and are used in printed reference works to avoid repeating the details. Their use on Wikpedia is frowned upon as they lead to confusion. WP:NAMEDREFS are preferred. – ukexpat (talk) 19:51, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Tool ?

Is there a Tool like the "What links here?" on "What Redirects here?" A NRM Researcher (talk) 19:12, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

On the page "what links here", you will see three filter options near the top: Hide transclusions | Hide links | Hide redirects. By hiding the first two, you will be able to see all of the redirects to a page. TNXMan 19:15, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

property owners rights

Can police enter private property to place tow stickers on unregistered cars and tow them away??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.206.30.199 (talk) 19:57, 29 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. TNXMan 20:12, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

formating

I need to format a translation that I'm working on so that the original Italian and translation to English stand side by side on the page in columns. I've tried doing this in sand box but it doesn't seem to work, even when I use just spaces to arrange it. What can I do to fix this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jamie winding (talk • contribs) 21:26, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Are you referring to User:Jamie winding/LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR LIBRETO AND ENGLISH TRANLATION? If so, I have to ask what the intention is. Are you constructing an article, with reliable sources that demonstrate what is notable about the libretto and its translation? If not, then your material is probably not suitable for Wikipedia and may be more appropriate for Wikisource or some other outlet. – ukexpat (talk) 21:36, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

[User:Jamie winding/LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR LIBRETO AND ENGLISH - yes this is my article - i am trying to put the italian text side by side with the english translation - but every time i do this the line collapses and the text all winds up together - i have tried fixing this in open office and in wiki's sandbox but when i look at the final version it still collapses - i have tried even using the space bar to separate the text but it still doesn't work - any ideas? - keith marcum [jamie winding] —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jamie winding (talk • contribs) 21:53, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Before we deal with the formatting, let's step back a moment and figure out where you are going with the draft. If you are just going to end up with a side-by-side comparison of the Italian and English texts, it's almost certainly not going to be an encyclopedic article or meet Wikipedia's notability requirements (and there will probably be a dose of original research in there too). – ukexpat (talk) 21:57, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Ok, I see the issue. I will post the translation in wikisource instead, thank you for letting me know. how would I go about doing that? Also is there any way to do a side by side translation column set? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jamie winding (talk • contribs) 22:14, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

You can make columns with:

• a table (see links under WP:EIW#Table)
• column templates (see Help:Columns; these templates do not seem to be on Wikisource, but there is a wikisource:Template:Column list)
• brute force (see Help:Wiki markup#Limiting formatting/escaping wiki markup)
• {{Testcases side by side}} - maybe, and it wasn't designed for what you want to do

--Teratornis (talk) 06:28, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

You can preserve line breaks and whitespace by wrapping text in <poem>...</poem>. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 16:02, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

I've got a range of Questions (2)

• Is there a way of searching archived articles using WayBack Machine through the use of key words? It seems like the only way to use the site is to choose a period where I think a particular event happened.
• How to I format a picture so it could lead someone, instead of to the "File" page, but to an article?
• How would I format a table where there is a heading on top, but also a subheading, with the two still a table. For example, in the Vietnam Airlines article, I want to merge the cargo table to the main fleet table, the problem is, I want the word Cargo to have a row of its own, with a yellow background.
• Is it alright to link an article to an external video clip, and if yes, how many links could I include? In the article Emirates (airline), there are three of those links.
• Also, is it acceptable to use Facebook as a source if it is, according to a person/company, official? Sp33dyphil ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 23:56, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Answer 2: the link= option of the image syntax — see Help:Images. You need to provide proper attribution if the image is not public domain though (the description page is not accessible by clicking on the image, therefore there must be a link to it somewhere else on the page).

Answer 5: WP:SELFPUB.

Answer 3: Perhaps insert header rows in the middle of the table that use colspan to span the entire width? See Help:Table for more information. PleaseStand ^(talk) 01:37, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

1. What do you mean by "archived articles"? If you mean regular web pages, as far as I know the only way to search the Wayback Machine is by URL. If you mean deleted Wikipedia articles, try Deletionpedia. Or, if you're looking for news sources, Google News Archive is a good place to start, and Google Books provides a ton of (old) magazines -- 1960s issues of Billboard were a great resource to draw upon when I worked on WVRX.

4. Video linking is discouraged, not only because plugins are required but most video links are invariably to YouTube videos of questionable legal status. However, that does not mean you cannot link if you can establish consensus that the video is legitimate and is supported by What to link. Xenon54 (talk) 01:46, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

Comment on your third question (about the table): I'm not sure how you would keep sorting in order if you combined the tables. Either you would have redundant headers or the Cargo and Passenger aeroplane models would become mixed when the table was sorted. Intelligentsock 02:15, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

On a website of an airline, sometimes past press conferences are archived; these press conferences are what I'm after. Sp33dyphil ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 08:30, 30 June 2010 (UTC)