Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 February 5

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February 5

DISPLAYTITLE

Hi. How can I add extra parts to the title using the {{DISPLAYTITLE}} magic word? I know that using <span style="display:none;"> could hide parts, but what the code to add new parts? 119.235.2.251 (talk) 02:01, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Be more specific about what you want to do, and where you want to do it (page name? is it on Wikipedia, or another wiki?). Wikipedia:Page name#Changing the displayed title describes what you can do on Wikipedia, and it does not sound like much. --Teratornis (talk) 03:25, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

For example, I want to change my userpage title from the default User:Example to something like User:Example ABC. How do I do that? I am quite positive this is possible... 119.235.2.213 (talk) 03:59, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Unfortunately I must inform you that it is not possible with {{DISPLAYTITLE:...}}. This magicword only works to change the formatting of a title, and cannot add or remove text from it, because the title, if copied, must still be searchable back to the page. The <span style="display:none;"> trick is a hack that the developers, when they implemented {{DISPLAYTITLE:...}}, probably did not foresee (or they would have disallowed it). While it is possible with some creative CSS to hide parts of the title, it is not possible to add new parts. You can, however, change your username if you really want it that badly (follow the instructions at WP:CHU carefully). Keep in mind that changing a username is not something that can be done and undone on a whim; choose your new name wisely, should you opt to change, and plan on keeping that name for a long time. Intelligentsium 04:08, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Right. mw:Manual:$wgRestrictDisplayTitle is the default true at the English Wikipedia. I don't know about other wikis. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:55, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Veiled Chameleon

I'm curious as to if the c in Veiled Chameleon should be capitalized or not. Albacore (talk) 02:19, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

No, it should not. Common names of animals use sentence case, with a few exceptions. (See WP:FNAME for details.) --Danger (talk) 02:32, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Actually WP:FNAME gives the example of Southern boobook which is a redirect to Southern Boobook (the latter seems to be canonical). It looks like we have a lot of similarly titled articles, see for example Crested Lark, Crested Tit, Crested Porcupine, Variegated Flycatcher, etc. Also see WP:FNAME#Capitalisation of common names of species which says the various WikiProjects decide whether to capitalize the first letters of second and following words in animal names. --Teratornis (talk) 03:44, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Yeah, the current exceptions are birds, primates, lepidopterans and odonates. --Danger (talk) 04:07, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Special:Contributions bug?

I am confused by Special:Contributions/71.6.14.2. It says the IP address is currently blocked, but the log entry it shows is a 1 week block back in 2006. Is it bug or what? —teb728 t c 06:25, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Looks like a bug to me. It's a fairly new feature of the MediaWiki software. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:06, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

So how do I report it? —teb728 t c 11:15, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Poking around further, I think this might be an example of Bug 23059. It would take a high-powered admin to verify this, though. -- John of Reading (talk) 15:42, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

And I have lifted the non-existing block, which according to bugzilla 23059 wasn't supposed to work. Hmmm... decltype (talk) 15:52, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

EDITORS

HOW DO I CONTACT THE ENTIRE LIST OF WRITERS OR EDITORS WHO HAVE PRODUCED A SPECIFIC ARTICLE ?

PAUL BENEDETTI

74.233.33.147 (talk) 06:29, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Do you mean a specific Wikipedia article? You can click "View history" near the top right corner of your screen, and browse the list of contributions, on that page there's a part that lists some "external tools", one of these is "Contributors", click that for a full list of whose worked on the article.--Brianann MacAmhlaidh (talk) 06:37, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

If you go to an article, you'll see a "View history" tab at the top right. Click on that and you'll see all the versions of the article as well as who created them. You'll have to contact people individually though. There is no system to contact every one of them at once. And please, STOP SHOUTING. On the internet, using ALL CAPS is seen as shouting. And doing so unnecessarily is seen as rude. Dismas|^(talk) 06:37, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Follow the directions I gave, that little tool will show all the contributors on a single page (if there are less than 1,000).--Brianann MacAmhlaidh (talk) 06:44, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Please don't try to contact the entire list of contributors, only those who have made a substantial numbers of edits to the article you have in mind. The Wikipedia community includes many editors who make one or two small corrections to hundreds or even thousands of articles; they are unlikely to be experts in the article's subject area. -- John of Reading (talk) 08:10, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

(WP:AGF?) Maybe 74.233.33.147 is using a mobile or a similar shiftless input device, as I would suspect with other recent all-caps entries here on Help Desk. Whether such a low-quality device is appropriate for editing here is a different matter.

And please note that I don't want to accuse Dismas of BITEing of ABFing. I see Dismas's reply as a warning that all-caps is widely perceived as shouting, not necessarily that it actually is. User.Zero.Zero.Zero.One (talk) 17:31, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

normally I needs to start a discussion on the talkpage of the article. Mostly editors that are active and have contributed more than a minor edit or have interested in this subject will have the article on their WP:watchlist. mabdul 13:01, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

How can I create my own wiki?

This is my little brother's account and he was wondering how to create a separate wiki. I have tried to get him up and running with WikiPages and WikiMedia but it's very hard to install and isn't even good format. He says that he remembers clicking on something a year or so ago and it gave him the option of creating his own wiki (Wookiepedia as an example). Now I can't find that button, and neither can him. Can you tell us how to create a wiki? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.84.57.199 (talk) 10:27, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

If you have problems with installing a MediaWiki wiki, then you can try wikia.-- ♫Greatorangepumpkin♫ T 10:32, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Personal discussions with subject as verification

Hello, I am a bit confused on how to correctly provide verification when the information has been provided to me by the subject through personal conversations and that of extremely close relatives . i.e My cousin Joy Adamson, author of Born Free, I am trying to verify some information about my late cousin (deceased Joy Adamson) and also am trying to provide better citations for another subject(living person) so that my edits are not deleted. Thank you very much! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Litzi17 (talk • contribs) 10:28, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Please read WP:COI and WP:CITE before. mabdul 10:58, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

And also WP:V. Information should be cited to a verifiable source, i.e. one that anyone can go look at whether it be on the internet or in a library. Your personal conversations with relatives and friends are not verifiable. Dismas|^(talk) 11:01, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Content in Wikipedia must be based on published reliable sources. —teb728 t c 11:12, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Vandalism?

Are these recent edits vandalism? http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jamaat_al-Muslimeen&action=history Gobbleswoggler (talk) 10:35, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Maybe. Maybe not. It may have been a well intentioned anon IP who thought that they could copy the FAQ found here directly into the article. Should it be removed? Yes. And I've done just that. Thanks for pointing it out. Dismas|^(talk) 10:46, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Trouble with Louisiana Senate photo

I uploaded this photo and I'm trying to attach it to the legislature template on Louisiana State Senate I've never had a problem like this before. The photo for some reason or another will not display itself.--Jack Cox (talk) 11:37, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Looks like you've got it to display now, yes? Deor (talk) 11:46, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Linda Christas College

I am a student at Linda Christas College, in my third year.

I have been told that Wikipedia has no editorial board but finds a way to continually reject a listing for the College.

The reason the rejections cannot be reversed? Well, there's no editorial board, of course.

Wikipedia has requested contributions from the College, and yet, has on numerous occasions rejected the College.

We have major community professionals on the Board, but evidently, if they are on the Board, that disqualifies them as third party verifications.

Some students in the past have joshed with Wikipedia because of the obtuse behavior of Wiki editors. One of the most innovative and hopeful new approaches to education in the world, and Wiki editors continually rule against including the school. Must all be graduates of traditional "think inside the box" kinds of folks.

Wikipedia has no editorial board, and, therefore, rejections and deletions of articles are done by, well, no one. But, at least the anonymous editors are consistent. One look at the history and, WOW. These guys deserve what they get.

You have asked how to attract more friends to Wikipedia in your introductory materials. My first suggestion would be not to take 5,000 families and trash them by asking them for financial support, and then negatively working them over by anonymous editors. 5000 families representing the 5,000 students attending Linda Christas College who will not forget the anonymous way in which the College has been treated.

Just in case you have anyone who would like to reverse the real travesty that is the "no editorial board" rejections of Linda Christas College, our Provost's name is Dr. Ann Voisin. Her e-mail station is .

Please don't pretend that you are wanting to improve Wikipedia (as in the intro when I opened my account) when large swaths of the population are eliminated by, well, no one really. Just anonymous editors who really need to do something else with their lives.

Insulted by Wikipedia in Virginia

Adelard Smithson, Class of '12 Linda Christas College — Preceding unsigned comment added by Adelard55 (talk • contribs) 12:02, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Hey, I thought you said your name was Lara DeSoleil. ―cobaltcigs 12:12, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

The deletion can be reversed if it can be shown that multiple reliable sources have provided significant coverage of the college. ~~ GB fan ~~ 12:14, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

The hours Linda Christas proponents have spent here, railing against Wikipedia editors' various failings with regard to their institution, would be far better spent by (a) providing us with the citations we need to support an article or (b) persuading the reputable independent media to write or broadcast something about the college's achievements, thus creating coverage we can cite and removing the current obstacle to an Wikipedia article. I suggest you ask your principal to explain tertiary source, if the article itself is unclear. Please try to understand: it is not Wikipedia's fault that the media has not yet given substantial coverage to this institution. When it does, we'll be right here. Karenjc 13:18, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Don't you think, as you've acknowledged in your question, that the fact that multiple different editors keep telling you the same thing is very telling—even more than if a unified "editing board" existed and gave you a unified answer? That answer would not change if we had an "editing board" because it is our policies for inclusion that you keep coming up against (and cannot meet); not the people you keep blaming and insulting, rather than taking on what they are telling you.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:25, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Perhaps it's time to drop the stick? I can see near dozens of AfDs and they all came to the same conclusion, non-notable, self-promotional and spam. The accusations towards editors and Wikipedia itself will get you nowhere, neither will sock puppetry or meat puppetry. You have exhausted near every avenue of good faith available to you. Rehevkor ✉ 16:03, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

The Linda Chritas spammers never drop the stick. There are blog posts from all over the net with people complaining about how the supposed students and supposed faculty of this supposed school repeatedly complain about being filtered out of discussions, there are lots of complaints about fraud, the school is not accredited, and there have not been a single, solitary, reliable source provided that would show that the school is anything other than a diploma mill. Corvus cornix_talk 00:24, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

IPv6

Are Mediawiki wiki's ready (specifically Wikipedia) for IPv6? How will anonymous edits be handled? --XRDoDRX (talk) 14:40, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)/Archive 83#Wikipedia IPv6 deployment.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:46, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

External links section

Please, take a look at the external links section in article - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dai_Bai_Zan_Cho_Bo_Zen_Ji. Wiki is not a forum to promote one's dharma talks and websites. Should it be erased? Isn't this spamming? Spt51 (talk) 15:19, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Personally I'd strip all but the first link (the official site?) and a consensus can be gained on the talk page on which of the others, if any, are worthy of being kept. Rehevkor ✉ 15:31, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Contributions

How do I add my previous contributions under a miscellaneous IP address to my new account. Johnny Boulton (talk) 15:29, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

This is not possible, a previous response such a question may be of some assistance though: Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2010 July 2#Transferring IP edits to a username. Rehevkor ✉ 15:35, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Making myself a contributor to a portal

Good Morning,

I have recently set up a wikipedia account, and tried to add myself as a contributer to the mathematics portal. When I did this I accidently added or modified someone elses information, and I do not know how to correct this error. I would like to contact the person who's profile information I goofed up, and add myself as a contributor to the mathematics portal. Can anyone explain to me how I would go about this? Any information that anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated. you can contact me at .

Thanks in advance,

Russ VanderHorst — Preceding unsigned comment added by Russellvanderhorst (talk • contribs) 16:47, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

That was a tricky editing task to start your editing career here - I've fixed it for you. There's no need to apologise to anyone; mistakes can easily be undone or corrected.

At Wikipedia we don't use emails much; I have removed your email address from your question to protect your privacy. I've also left you some introductory links on your talk page. -- John of Reading (talk) 17:10, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

We prefer to use talk pages to communicate rather than email where possible. Email is best for private two-way communication. Wikipedia, on the other hand, is a many-way public collaboration, where any number of people now and in the future may need to understand something we do now. Therefore it is usually best to communicate on public talk pages, so everything we do remains transparent to all other Wikipedia users who our actions might affect. This creates a slight initial learning hurdle for someone who is new to Wikipedia, as talk pages here do not work exactly the same way as other communication tools most people are likely to have used before coming to Wikipedia. Fortunately, everything you need to know is in the friendly manual. --Teratornis (talk) 18:31, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Don Johnson Heartbeat (song)

Heartbeat is a 1986 song by Don Johnson. It was released as a single and included on the album of the same name. It became an international hit, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, and charting highly in many European countries. It was also ranked at #90 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever by Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio, who commented, "Fame must have messed with [Johnson's] head, because Ol' Crockett really thought he could pull this off."[1] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.46.236.76 (talk) 17:21, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Do you have a question? ~~ GB fan ~~ 17:28, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

I compared your post to Heartbeat (Don Johnson song) and found a single difference: You correctly say "100 Worst Songs Ever" where the article incorrectly said "100 Worst Songs Even" before my correction.[1] If you posted to point out the typo then it's simpler to correct it by yourself. Just click the "Edit" tab at top of the page, change the letter and click Save page. Wikipedia is the free encyclopedia anybody can edit. If you post about a problem here at the help desk then please explain the problem, for example: The article "Heartbeat (Don Johnson song)" says "100 Worst Songs Even" instead of "100 Worst Songs Ever". PrimeHunter (talk) 22:32, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

user page layout problem

How can i have on my user page User:Penbat:

• user boxes in the left hand margin and nothing else along side it
• then followed by barnstars on the left-hand margin and nothing else along side it
• and then followed by the text in the left hand margin directly below ?

so everything is stacked vertically along the left hand margin. --Penbat (talk) 19:36, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Is this what you wanted?--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 20:23, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

yes that looks nice. Thanks, What is {{clear}} by the way ? Just to polish it a bit further, how can i limit the width of the barnstars so they are both the same widths ? --Penbat (talk) 20:36, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

{{clear}} puts everything below the clear past everything above it, ie so formatting isn't messed up with like userboxes on the left, and barnstars on the right. Per your request here would put barnstars next to userbox, and make them the same length. CTJF83 20:44, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Thx guys. i wasnt sure whether to put the barnstars alongside the userboxes but now think that looks best and incidentally seems to force the barnstars to word wrap to the same widths anyway. --Penbat (talk) 21:00, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

No, the width is from here.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 21:35, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

i noticed that edit but with the previous edit, the widths seems to work out Ok anyway as the text wraps. At least they do on my screen.--Penbat (talk) 21:58, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Hmm, on mine (Firefox on a mac), that has no effect on the widths.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:46, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

I am firefox on a PC. It may be more to do with screen resolutions. Anyway i have kept your edit in so presumably it covers different screen resolutions and still works fine for me. Just checked and my screen resolution is 1024 by 768.--Penbat (talk) 23:16, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

• Just wanted to make a note here, for those who may not be aware of it, in addition to general help questions here, there's also a questions page for help specifically to do with userpage design, which btw, could use more people patrolling it. -- œ^™ 00:47, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

Userbox template code

I created User:UBX/Multiple music artists, but I don't quite have the experience with templates to make it the way I want it to be. I would like it to have up to 10 parameters for music artists, which I could do fine (and will finish doing later), but I can't figure out how to get the "and" to crop up before the last artist/band specified regardless of whether or not a user fills in all the parameters. How do I code the template to where the "and" appears before the last parameter regardless of whether 3, 6, or 10 parameters are used by a user? Ks0stm ^(T•C•G) 21:18, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Template {{Fb r header}} copes with a variable number of unnamed parameters; it does this by requiring an extra, named, numeric parameter to tell it how many there are. Any use? -- John of Reading (talk) 22:18, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Doris Miles Disney

My aunt was Doris Miles Disney,mystery writer, and I have have written an article about my memories of her. How do I add it to the brief summary now shown on her page? Thank you, George Tolve — Preceding unsigned comment added by Georgetol (talk • contribs) 23:02, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Hello George. I see you have already contributed to the article. Unfortunatly personal memories are beyond the scope of an encyclopedia such as Wikipedia. In the future if you have something to contribute to the article you can suggest it at the talk page. Rehevkor ✉ 23:10, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Just to add a little more to Rehevkor's explanation, the reason your memories of your aunt are outside Wikipedia's scope is because Wikipedia is a tertiary source. Every fact published here must be capable of being confirmed in material that has already been published somewhere else, in a reliable source. Personal anecdotes, unpublished memories and the like don't qualify, no matter how close the contributor has been to the subject of the article, because they can't be checked or confirmed. As Ms Disney's nephew you have a potential conflict of interest, which means you're discouraged from making changes to the article (particularly if those changes are in any way controversial), which is why Rehevkor suggests you discuss them on the talk page first. However, plain factual changes, supported by citations to good reliable published sources, would be unlikely to cause concern. Wikipedia:Neutral point of view explains the site's policy on the neutral and factual presentation of information. Karenjc 14:25, 6 February 2011 (UTC)