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Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2010 March 15

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March 15

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Template states

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  Resolved
 –  – ukexpat (talk) 19:18, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I have a navigation template, {{modelling ecosystems}}, which contains two sections. The first section defaults to "autocollapse" and the second section defaults to "collapsed". On some articles, such as photosynthesis, there is already a navigation template which should take precedence, and I want to collapse both sections on my template. On other articles I want to reverse the states, so the first section is collapsed and the second section is expanded. How can I pass parameters which achieve this? --Epipelagic (talk) 23:13, 14 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

To collapse both sections, set |expanded= to something other than the value of |abbr=. If these two values are equal, the |state= parameter is overridden. You may wish to make different parameters (i.e., |state1, |state2, etc.) for the state of each section, for greater flexibility. Intelligentsium 23:30, 14 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you very much!--Epipelagic (talk) 23:46, 14 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Vandalism Level on all pages

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Is there some way to set up CSS or Javascript to make a note withe the current vandalism level appear on all pages. I want to move away from essentially solely vandalism fighting and work on content as well, but want to know when vandalism is high so I can help in the fight. If someone can help me with this somehow, I'd greatly appreciate this. Thanks! 03:02, 15 March 2010 (UTC)

Have you seen {{Vandalism information}}? PrimeHunter (talk) 03:18, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I have. I want a way to put that information on every page somehow. Is there some javascript for that?Hamtechperson 18:23, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
You can translude the template on your your user page, is that what you mean? – ukexpat (talk) 19:17, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I want to find some way to make the information show on every page. Can someone code this for me please, or is this not possible? Hamtechperson 21:45, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I'd prefer User:Barek/Wdefcon to be the style used. Hamtechperson 21:55, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Template_messages/Maintenance

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  Resolved
 –  – ukexpat (talk) 16:25, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

In the information for the "copyvio" template on Wikipedia:Template_messages/Maintenance, it says "If you have just labeled this page as a possible copyright infringement, please add the following to the bottom of Wikipedia:Copyright_problems/2010_March_15/Articles", while on Wikipedia:Copyright_problems it says "Put new article listings in Wikipedia:Copyright problems/2010 March 15." The latter edit seemed to work, in that it put the information onto the bottom of Wikipedia:Copyright problems, while the other addition didn't seem to have any effect. I guess I need to clean up at least one of the two additions I have now made. Thanks in advance. –Syncategoremata (talk) 03:09, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Syncategoremata. The template is expected to be placed in the offending article and only then do you follow the instructions inside. The link in the display at the template view page in the form "/articles" is an artifact of its placement there and is not expected to be used ever. In other words, next time place the template in the article in the form {{subst:copyvio|url=http://www.example.com}} and then follow the instructions inside the template. There was a minor complication here because the url is blacklisted so I had to fiddle with the formatting to place. I have deleted the other page and placed the template for you in the article on Science and technology in Iran. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 15:45, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, my bad. Many thanks for sorting that out for me and for deleting the bogus page I created in error. I've added something to the talk page of that article to explain the situation too. –Syncategoremata (talk) 16:20, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

A few questions

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Hullo, I been editing on Wiki for a few years now and have a few questions please:- I know the hierarchy is ordinary readers/registered editors/administrators but who administers on the administrators? Are there 'super-administrators' ? ( Is there anybody higher than this rank? ) If not how are disputes resolved when two administrators disagree? How many editors and administrators are there? Thanks for the answers in advance.

(Not sure if I should be asking this here or at the Village Pump. )  SmokeyTheCat  •TALK• 06:18, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]


Hello, there are Bureaucrats after Administrators, then Stewards after that. As for the number of users and such-like: Special:Statistics should help you :) SS✞(Kay) 06:44, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
See also Wikipedia:User access levels but note that higher user access doesn't give power to decide over others. Wikipedia works by consensus. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:01, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
And see WP:NOTWIKI. --Teratornis (talk) 18:34, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Hello!

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  Resolved
 – on Belinda's talk page. SS✞(Kay) 06:41, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

My name is Blessing-light, but I have a short question. I used to work here, but semi-retired, and now I've come back and changed my user name to work more nicely and helpfully to wikipedia. I hope I can do well here. I also work in seWP (simple english wikipedia) in the name "Belinda", but I am a rollbacker there. I want to be a rollbacker in English wikipedia, too, please, but how do I request for it? :) I'm sorry for bothering you with these questions! Belinda ♥ 06:28, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Colors

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Where can I look at a list of colors for different tables of different seasons of an episode list? Mr. Prez (talk) 11:07, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

If you are looking for colors to use in a table, you can find them at Web colors or List of colors. But please read WP:COLORS before using them. ≈ Chamal talk ¤ 12:14, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Existing 'summary boxes' in articles

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Hi. Can anyone tell me how to go about editing an existing summary box? I'm referring to the text box on the right hand side of most wiki entries.

There is an obvious one here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Day-Lewis Under children, there are 2. however reading the article ("paragraph 5 of personal life") there are the names of 4 children. (I know that this is the case, as my dad is one of the 2 children not mentioned, my uncle being the other!)

Hope that this hasnt been asked before - I searched the FAQ for 20mins before I resorted to this! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Spirodefiero (talk • contribs) 11:31, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The summary box is called an "infobox" - that might help you searching. It's best just to name children in the infobox that have an article written about them. The other children are mentioned in the article. Thanks for contributing to the article, but please bear in mind that it could be considered a conflict of interest and it may be best to make suggestions at the talkpage for the article (Talk:Cecil Day-Lewis). Also, everything must be verifiable, so it's best to add references to reliable sources. Even if you know something to be true, our readers need to be able to verify information for themselves. One last thing, everything needs to be neutral and in a proper tone for an encyclopedia. I don't doubt that your dad (or uncle?) is or was a proud father, but it's probably best not to say that here.
Otherwise, thanks for contributing and I hope you stick around. Feel free to ask any more questions you have. Regards, --BelovedFreak 11:39, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Infoboxes are in the lead section which can be edited by clicking "edit this page" at top. Infoboxes are used by assigning values to fixed parameters for that infobox as in Template:Infobox writer. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:56, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Editor's User page and talk page are both redirects to article space

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  Resolved
 –  – ukexpat (talk) 19:15, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Hi! I'm uncertain where to go with this... I've noted that another Editor has set his/her User page to be a redirect to an article and his/her talk page to be a redirect to the talk page of an article. The User Page is "unusual" but I don't see a fundamental issue with. The talk page redirect seems to me to be a problem - plenty of room for confusion. I'm not sure if it was deliberate or accidental.

Absolutely no evidence of vandalism, trolling or whatever by this editor - though I do need to contact them to discuss if there is a copyright issue with one of their contributions.

Should I report these redirections? If so where - admin noticeboard? And where do I leave the courtesy note to the editor that I'm "reporting them". On the article talk page - see what I mean about room for confusion.

Or should I "be bold" and overwrite the redirect on the talk page???

Thanks Cje (talk) 16:34, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

WP:USERPAGE is very clear about User Talk Page redirects: "User talk pages should not redirect to anything other than the talk page of an account controlled by the same user". It appears to be silent on the subject of User Page redirects. Gandalf61 (talk) 17:06, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Well that clarifies the rules. Next step? Do I go in and edit, or should I bring to an admin's attention? I'm leaning towards the latter because it would probably be a good idea to clean up the linked talk page too. Cje (talk) 17:09, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I would just leave a friendly message on their talk page (effectively removing the redirect in the process) informing them of the relevant guidelines. You could also mention that redirecting their userpage to an article is quite confusing. Maybe they haven't heard of WP:OWN either, so that might be informative as well. I don't think an admin needs to get involved unless for some reason they become uncivil or belligerent. —Akrabbimtalk 17:18, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
OK - will proceed as you suggest. I think this thread can be closed. Cje (talk) 17:24, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Mass-moving articles

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Is there a tool or bot that will help simplify the process of moving a large amount of articles (almost 1,000) based on categories or page name prefixes? I am planning to propose a mass rename for the districts of Thailand, which currently are named Amphoe <Name>, to <Name> District to be in line with WP:ENGLISH and WP:PLACE, but would like to know more regarding feasibility first. --Paul_012 (talk) 16:50, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Nope. Moves require a human because of the complications involved in fixing double redirects, sort keys, and the fair use rationales of images in the pages (so they list the new article title and don't appear orphaned). See WP:RM/CI. I recommend making the request on behalf of a segregated number of articles, say fifteen, to test the waters. If that results in a precedent, then move on to dealing with a larger request. It is very difficult for those coming to a request to digest and come to a considered decision when the request involves a very large number of articles, and often such requests are defeated because someone will point out an exception, and rightly argue that the request is too broad—where one exception exists, other may but no one can be expected to go through over 1,000 articles to analyze each.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 17:28, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Recreate a deleted article

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The article "Steinway D-274" created on March 13, 2010[1] was deleted today by User:Binksternet. The article was – against the Wikipedia proces – deleted without noticing the creator of the article. Furthermore, the article was deleted before anyone could make the requested changes and before a discussion was started on the discussion page.[2]

How do one recreate this new article? Fanoftheworld (talk) 18:55, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

:Leave a message on User talk:Binksternet and ask if they will undelete the article to your userspace so you can work on it. Assuming it was not a copyvio there shouldn't be a problem with that. – ukexpat (talk) 19:09, 15 March 2010 (UTC)Should read the history more closely! – ukexpat (talk) 19:14, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

(e/c#2) The article was redirected, not deleted. This can be done if a consensus is reached on the talkpage (it appears this is the case); notification of the article's creator is not required. You may revert the redirect, but I would strongly advise against doing so without beginning a discussion with Binksternet and others first -- this situation could easily descend into an edit war if is is not dealt with carefully. Xenon54 / talk / 19:09, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Emily Austin Perry -- Adding picture

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To Helpdesk:

While I work hard on getting research done, I'm kinda new at doing the photos. There's a photo from a local museum (Brazoria County Historical Museum) of a portrait of Emily Austin Perry. The photo is found at http://www.bchm.org/Photos/P83-006-0024.jpg and elsewhere online. Another picture is found at http://www.bchm.org/Photos/P89-006-0015.jpg (the historical marker) for her at her grave.

I would like to upload these to wikipedia commons but I could not answer all the questions or get it done without getting some kind of warning about copyright. Can you assist me? Thank you,

Bull Market Bull Market 19:06, 15 March 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bull Market (talk • contribs)

For help at Commons, please ask at the Commons Help Desk. – ukexpat (talk) 19:12, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Can't post a question to user:nawlinwiki

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I need to start a discussion about a page that user:nawlinwiki deleted but the "edit" link is not active when I view that user's talk page. Any insight is appreciated. Amandagjohnson (talk) 19:50, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Try this direct link to post a message – ukexpat (talk) 19:55, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[Will write out 100 times "I must research more carefully"] – ukexpat (talk) 20:29, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Ok his page is semi protected ..meaning only established editors can post to his page...If you like post what you would like to say here ...and we will post a notice on his talk page that links here.Buzzzsherman (talk) 19:55, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict) User talk:NawlinWiki is currently semi-protected as someone has been vandalizing it a lot lately; usually we don't protect user talk pages however it sometimes becomes necessary to stop persistant vandals who are trying to dodge the system. Since it is only semi-protected, you will be able to edit it as soon as you become autoconfirmed, which happens as soon as your account is 4 days old and you have made 10 edits with it. If you have some question that cannot wait until that time, you can ask it here, and someone can drop a note for NawlinWiki to check it out; or maybe someone else could answer it. --Jayron32 19:57, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I take it NawlinWiki will refrain from using admin tools in any situation which might entail an IP or non-autocinfirmed user needing to contact him? It really is unacceptable for an admin to use tools while unavailable for communication. DuncanHill (talk) 20:44, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The easy solution is for NawlinWiki to create a sub-page from his talk that has no protection, and link to it on his main talk page. Whilst I agree admins should be open to communication, the somewhat harsh tone of your comment Duncan belies the reality of the ammount of abuse and vandalism that occurs on admins talk and user pages. Pedro :  Chat  20:53, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The page is less than semiprotected, see Edit filter 233. Amanda should be able to post there now, and I have so advised her. NawlinWiki (talk) 21:21, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

How do I get a page in Wikipedia?

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A competitor of mine is listed here-I want to be also. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rick_Pierchalski&printable=yes How do I do this? There is an overwhelming amount of info in the help section here. Thanks, Emery Levick —Preceding unsigned comment added by Elevick (talk • contribs) 20:02, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

OK first, you don't "get a page" - on Wikipedia articles are written about notable subjects and in the case of people the inclusion criteria are set out at WP:BIO. Having read Rick Pierchalski, I don't think he meets those criteria so I have proposed the article for deletion. If you are still interested in the creation process, a standard message about that follows:
Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines with which all articles should comply. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.
Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.
If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article. You might also look at Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. An Article Wizard is also available to walk you through creating an article. – ukexpat (talk) 20:09, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Help desk help template help requested!

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  Resolved
 – Thanks Fuhghettaboutit! – ukexpat (talk) 02:32, 16 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Would someone more expert in template coding than I please take a look at {{Creation}}? The last time I tried to subst it (question immediately above), a stray colon was added before the {{Quote box}} that munged the quote box completely (so I removed the qb from the subst'd text in my reply). I have been playing with it in Template:Creation/Sandbox but I can't figure it out. Thanks in advance. – ukexpat (talk) 20:27, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Haven't figured it out yet, but it has to be a change to quote box or the software or something, and not a shift to the template because the same code which was working fine for months is suddenly not displaying. You can see this by looking at its usage a month ago, where the code is now showing the same error, when you and I and others would have noticed the problem long ago if it was broken at that time.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:50, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Fixed. There was a major revision to {{quote box}} and reverting that fixed this.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:01, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Not so simple. While the fix did fix the display in creation, it also broke other uses of quote box, as there was a merge of other templates into it. I have reverted my reversion and await word from a user who implemented the change to Quote box for a global fix.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:20, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Okay, to sum up a bit, {{creation}} is fixed for future displays but past versions will still show the error, and there may be no way to fix all past versions without doing it manually, short of undoing the change to quote box entirely, which may not be advisable. If that's the case, which is under discussion here, the only manual remedy for past versions is to go through the archives of this page and New contributor's help desk and remove the colon just before the code for quote box (ugg).--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:44, 16 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for your determined efforts to get to the bottom of the problem. I confirm that it works now. Resolved, here at least. – ukexpat (talk) 02:32, 16 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Glad to help. I've manually fixed all the past displays as well. I thought the quote box had been in creation longer than it had but there were only about 35 to fix.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 03:37, 16 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

coolio page help

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How do i make my page cool? like some peoples? (RIS-Lt.JG CODY 21:01, 15 March 2010 (UTC)) —Preceding unsigned comment added by RIS cody (talk • contribs)

See Wikipedia:User page design center for some help. --Jayron32 21:09, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Remember: 80% of your edits should not be you grooming your userpage, and if this becomes the case then you are liable to be blocked for using your userspace inappropriately. All the content on your userpage needs to have something to do with Wikipedia. See Wikipedia:Userpage for a better idea of how to responsibly create and maintain a userpage and an explanation of what is considered appropriate. Xenon54 / talk / 21:24, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

badimage tagging

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I have a problem. I tagged several images with {{badimage}}. SoxBot comes and removes the template on several of the images I tagged. The images are:

NERDYSCIENCEDUDE (✉ msg • changes) 23:27, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

{{badimage}} is meant for images on MediaWiki:Bad image list. Only administrators can edit the list, so you have to make a request to add images to it on the talk page. --Mysdaao talk 23:41, 15 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
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