Help desk
< October 8	<< Sep \| October \| Nov >>	October 10 >

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.

October 9

Mediawiki extensions?

Is there a page somewhere that lists which Mediawiki extensions are installed for en.wikipedia?—Chowbok ☠ 04:13, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Special:Version. PrimeHunter (talk) 04:17, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Aha. Thanks!—Chowbok ☠ 04:32, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Block function

Isn't the block function merely another way to change the certain userrights that an account has? I'm not too sure I completely understand how it works on certain users. A block removes editing privileges for a certain duration of time, and the userrights of an account add other functions besides editing. When the block function is used, however, it isn't part of the userrights log. :| TelCo NaSp Ve :| 05:15, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The right to edit is a basic privilege for all users, thus blocking isn't really the same as revoking user rights. And blocks can be seen in the block log. DARTH SIDIOUS 2 ^(Contact) 07:41, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Blocking a user doesn't actually revoke any user rights, just adds an editing restriction. Note, for example, that a blocked sysop can unblock themselves (though doing so in anything other than an uncontroversial case usually results in serious repercussions). GiftigerWunsch [TALK] 20:41, 10 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Even and odd functions

File:Function x^2.svg is having a strange display on my browser (Mozilla Firefox) on this article; the text denoting X^2 has the "X" overlapping the "2" so that one is within the other. Yet when I reach the file page, everything seems okay. Is there a way to resolve this problem? :| TelCo NaSp Ve :| 05:17, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It's not your browser, it's how the PNG was rendered ([1]). Perhaps a MediaWiki bug?—Chowbok ☠ 06:07, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Shortcuts

I know their is a shortcut for Wikipedia: called WP: but are they any other ones for templates, categorys etc. If not, why don't they exist? Mr.Kennedy1 ^talk 13:47, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Well, there's this way of referring to a template:{{tl|Birth date and age}} which displays as {{Birth date and age}}. As far as categories go, I don't think so. Dismas|^(talk) 13:56, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, I worded it wrong, I was referring to when typing it into the search bar e.g. WP:Help desk can you not do the same with other things. Mr.Kennedy1 ^talk 14:04, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

No, you can't. Algebraist 14:10, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. It's just a pity there wasn't though. Mr.Kennedy1 ^talk 14:15, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

A few previous discussions: Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals)/Archive 39#P: and T: Pseudospaces, Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals)/Archive 56#P: and T: namespace aliases, Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals)/Archive 57#Make "T:" a shortcut to refer to templates, Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals)/Archive 61#Template namespace synonym/alias. Algebraist 14:19, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

There is one other one that I know of, WT replaces Wikipedia Talk, WT:Help desk as an example. ~~ GB fan ~~ 14:22, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

There are other shortcuts, but they are not really standardized the way WP: and WT: are. (I think WP: and WT: are to the point where the software automatically recognizes them and translate them to Wikipedia: and Wikipedia talk:, eliminating the need for a pseudo-namespace.) I know of a couple of other shortcut prefixes:

Categories may have a shortcut beginning with C: or CAT:, CAT: being more common. For example, CAT:HM.
You used to be able to go to a few commonly used templates just by typing {{template name}} in the search box. I'm not sure if that's in use anymore.
A few help pages have H: shortcuts.
The majority of sections of the Manual of Style have two shortcuts, one being WP:MOS____ and the other being MOS:____ (where ____ is an abbreviation for the section). Most of those sections have more than two. For example, the section on spelling has five: WP:SPELLING, WP:MOSS, MOS:S, MOS:SPELL, and MOS:SPELLING. Quite interesting. Xenon54 (talk) 15:21, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Shortcut. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 15:38, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

As no-one's mentioned this explicitly... You can always reach templates from the search bar by typing eg template:Birth date and age, and categories by typing eg category:fungi. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 05:16, 10 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Obtaining permission to use a photo

I would like to get permission to use the picture of the Canova sculpture. The image is on Wikipedia. It's "Psyche Revived by a Kiss." Can I obtain permission from you to use this picture? It will be used to illustrate Cupid and Psyche in a self-help, psychotherapy book which uses the story of Cupid and Psyche to make some important points. Please let me know. You can reach me at my email address. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cupid226 (talk • contribs) 15:28, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The person who took the image decides the copyright status, and in this case he has graciously released the image into the public domain. But don't assume that every image on Wikipedia is in the public domain. Some pictures may require you to provide attribution and/or release your work under the same license (the latter of which would obviously not be a good idea for a published book). Xenon54 (talk) 15:34, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

National Club of India

Sir, This is to draw your kind attention that it is mentioned in your page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohun_Bagan_AC that Mohun Bagan AC is declared the national club of India. As far as my knowledge is concerned Mohun Bagan has never been declared as the National Club of India by the Government of India. It is a mere false propagation by the club concerned. Now I would like to know whether you have ever verified this information before making it public in your esteemed site. I think this type information will cause damage to your goodwill. To whom shall I lodge with an complaint? with regards Kallol Bhattacharjee email: <redacted> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.65.191.75 (talk) 16:31, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I have removed your e-mail per the instructions at the top of the edit page. -- Bk314159 (Talk to me and find out what I've done) 17:24, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The article generally does not cite any sources (it has three footnotes), so I added a template to the article asking for more sources. However, the assertion that the club was declared the National Club of India seems to be supported by a Google news search. See, for example, here and here.--Bbb23 (talk) 18:15, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It is the responsibility of all editors of Wikipedia - you, me, millions of others - to ensure that information in it is properly referenced. --ColinFine (talk) 23:28, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Identifying Correct Person

Can someone pls have a look at the Page Feudin' Fools, under Cast. You'll note I added the actor Robert Easton. When clicked on, a number of other Robert Easton's come up. How can I get it to direct to correct page?

thanks

Digby scallops (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 16:57, 9 October 2010 (UTC).[reply]

Fixed

The way to do this is using a piped link, such as [[Robert Easton (actor)|Robert Easton]] (which appears as Robert Easton), to specify which article; Robert Easton (a non-piped link) redirects to a disambiguation page.

Also, as a small point, the way to sign your posts to discussion pages (like this one) is to use four tildes, not three; using four also includes a timestamp. -- Bk314159 (Talk to me and find out what I've done) 17:23, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

thanks for clarifying.

Digby scallops 18:49, 9 October 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Digby scallops (talk • contribs)

1944 Air Port on Ascension Island

Missing Airport from WWII. My name is Franklin Bridges, member of a US Navy B-24 crew. In Octorer of 1944 we flew our new B-24 from Norfolk, Va. to Dunkeswell, England via the southern route. As I recall, the morning we took off from Ascension Island there was a rocky cliff off the Port wing only feet away. When passing the end of the runway we saw many, many wrecked planes in the water. My question, is there any proof of what we saw that morning?.....cliff..... planes. Google Earth shows nothing like it. I sure would appreciate an answer. Blessings on you, Franklin —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.77.155.153 (talk) 19:35, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The article RAF Ascension Island says there was a WWII base named "Wideawake Airfield". Does that help? -- John of Reading (talk) 19:58, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Cannot find article

There was an article on Dragonflight a gaming convention in Bellvue, Washington. It was there last month and now it's gone. Is it possible to get a copy of the article? Is it completely gone? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.231.36.96 (talk) 21:15, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Looks like it was changed to a redirect. See here. You can then click on View History link to see what happened.--Bbb23 (talk) 21:22, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

If you're not familiar with the History page, this link takes you straight to the longest version of the text. -- John of Reading (talk) 21:30, 9 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2010 October 9

Contents