Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 May 17

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May 17

Feedback on informal tone or style of my first Wikipedia page on Callie Crossley, an American journalist.

Callie Crossley

Hi helpers

I have composed a new Wikipedia page (a stub on an American journalist) which has remained up but with a notice saying.... This article's tone or style may not reflect the formal tone used on Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (May 2011

I have reviewed the guide to better writing suggestions, have reviewed the talk page and still do not know what to do to change the article's tone or style. If you can suggest what the issue(s) might be, I'd appreciate receiving your feedback.

Thank you,

A new wikipedia user

wikicallie--Wikicallie (talk) 00:11, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

First, it is highly recommended against creating a Wikipedia article on yourself; the change of a COI incident are great. Second, if you were to write other articles in the future (which you should!) keep in mind not to use peacock words in text (major, "nearly every" just to name a few).  A p3rson ‽ 01:50, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Request for protecting article

Kayastha (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Protect. IP vandalism. Saxeabh (talk) 02:51, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

You may want WP:RFPP, but protection isn't likely to be granted unless the vandalism is persistent. - David Biddulph (talk) 03:05, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Another suicide (attempt)

Following on from my earlier concerns about appropriate edits, was I right to remove this edit? What concerned me in particular, was the publication of the person's name. I left a note on the initial editor's talk page, but should I also get the edit removed altogether through the oversight process? Astronaut (talk) 05:14, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

The best thing to do in these cases is to ask oversight directly without asking for help on when you should or shouldn't ask for oversight. If it shouldn't be oversighted, they will tell you that and then you can bring it here. If it should be oversighted in the first place, then advertising it on a highly visible discussion board is a bad idea. If there is ever a question, just ask for the revision to be oversighted as a first step. The worst that can happen is they will say "no". --Jayron32 05:31, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

In vs. Of

Resolved

Hello,

I recently created the Australia topic navbar and I've since found that a big hurdle in rolling it out to all relevant pages is that, where one state may have an article named, for example, Pink Unicorns in Queensland, in another state, the sister-article is Pink Unicorns of South Australia. If there is any consensus, it appears to vary from one small group of articles to another, or even from one article to another.

I was wondering, therefore, if there is any overall en-wiki guideline (or consensus) regarding the use of in' or of in article titles.

Obviously, I could take the above problem to WikiProject Australia but, even if the other members of that project agree on a guideline, it still risks conflicting with guidelines possibly run by other WikiProjects. (For example, WikiProject Australia may recommend Archaeology of Australia but WikiProject Archaeology might instead recommend Archaeology in Australia).

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Frustrated in/of Adelaide

AKA LordVetinari (talk) 06:16, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Category names has some examples of use which should make the convention clearer. This would also then apply to templates. --Aspro (talk) 07:53, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Following on from Aspro, you want to look at this section and the two sections that come after Sport just below it. Apparently it depends on what you are categorizing so Pink unicorns as hypothetical fauna would be of NSW and so on, whereas Botany gets a Category:Botany in Western Australia!

And I would humbly suggest that you are Frustrated from Adelaide. ;-) CaptainScreebo ^Parley! 16:06, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Which is (one can suppose), the antipodean equivalent of Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells. --Aspro (talk) 17:19, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for all the help. That was exactly what I was looking for. Much appreciated. Incidentally, I wasn't actually frustrated (and for that matter, I'm not originally from Adelaide) but, in the absence of an Antipodean equivalent to Tunbridge Wells, it works quite well as a sign off. Anyway, thanks again. LordVetinari (talk) 03:02, 18 May 2011 (UTC)

no ball

is it no ball if a bowler bowled behind the bowling crease —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.96.194.2 (talk) 07:15, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 3.5 million articles and thought we were 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 for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about 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. - David Biddulph (talk) 07:27, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

You may find our article on Cricket#Rules_and_Game-play helpful. CaptRik (talk) 08:19, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

template

how do i request that a redirect be removed to make way for a move? Kittybrewster ☎ 07:44, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

In Wikipedia:Requested moves - where it says, "Administrator help is required in some situations. Such moves can also be listed here.".  Chzz  ►  07:58, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Or if the redirect has only one version, you may be able to move over the redirect. —teb728 t c 10:36, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

ducktv - formerly bebetv - on wikipedia

Hi, our comapany is responsible for the management of the online presence of ducktv. The tv channel was called bebetv until the beginning of 2011. There is quite a chaos around this channel on wikipedia, and I would like to fix it. First of all, the English page should be corrected (there is also a Turkish, a Polish and a Hungarian version), it is full of outdated information (first and foremost the channel has a new name, new owner and is available in much more countries) and is written in very poor English. All the up-to-date info is public, avaialable at the channel's official website. I followed the steps specified for editing the page, got a note that the changes have to be approved, but nothing happened since and I see abosultely no trace of my corrections (not even a note, that they are waiting for approval). Please help me out how shall I proceed in order to have a valid, and up-to-date page for the company I represent. Thanks! Roza Gyorffy —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.99.238.122 (talk) 13:37, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

I think you should read these two subjects, Wikipedia is not free advertising and also what is a conflict of interest?

Would another editor care to take a look at the article in question? CaptainScreebo ^Parley! 16:52, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Need a second opinion: having checked the article in more detail and looked up the criteria, surely this is a candidate for CSD (G11)? CaptainScreebo ^Parley! 17:29, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

I stubbed it instead. Probably a notable topic, just slathered with spam. --Orange Mike | Talk 21:23, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Good job! CaptainScreebo ^Parley! 21:41, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

I don’t see where you previously requested changes: there are no contributions associated with the article by your IP, 80.99.238.122. Anyway, I updated the name, logo, and owner, and Orange Mike removed any poor English. If there are other changes you would like made, please propose them at Talk:ducktv. —teb728 t c 10:47, 19 May 2011 (UTC)

2010 CENSUS DATA

The City of Atmore in Atmore, Alabama, would like to know when the Wikipedia will reflect current population and other census data. Thank you. Celia Lambert, City of Atmore. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.42.250.166 (talk) 15:22, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

When someone edits the article to include it. We are all volunteers here and sometimes things take time. – ukexpat (talk) 16:09, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Further discussion appears to be here: WP:2010USC. CaptRik (talk) 16:32, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Copy and paste or "pdfing" the list of colors (compacted)

I have been trying to copy and paste the list of colors compact that you hve on your site:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_colors_(compact)&printable=yes

Everytime I copy it and past it to word the colors so not copy, just the names.

I tried using the pdf function that the site offers and the colors didnt show up as well, just the names.

Is there a way to obtain the list with the colors and the names? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.11.250.229 (talk) 16:31, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

You will need to turn on printing background colors and images in your browser (Advanced tab of Internet Options in Internet Explorer or Page Setup in Firefox, for instance). Then you can print the page and either select Adobe as your printer or print to file. — Bility (talk) 17:40, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Thank you Bility Bility, I tried the procedure that you explained, yet it did created a pdf with the names of the colors and the boxes of the colors but not the colors. Might you have another idea? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.11.250.229 (talk) 18:46, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Subpage help

I'm wishing to create a subpage containing a draft of an article I plan to create in the long term. I'll probably procrastinate this thing for a long time, but I figure I may as well have a draft in place for gradual revision.

Is it ok to create the subpage with the disclaimer that this isn't published content yet? Revision drafts have been outlawed in some other Wikipedia page about userpages, but new articles are ambiguous, and the disclaimer avoids the main point made anti-draft about random pagers getting misled.

Also, is it ok for me to put a link to the subpage on the talk page for what would be the disambiguation that would lead to the finish article, to receive any possible assistance?

Thanks in advance. Shrug-shrug (talk) 16:55, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Certainly - that's one of the main uses of subpages. You can tag the page with {{Userspace draft}} to let everyone know you're working on improving it. TNXMan 16:58, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for that!

Help:Subpages might need to be fixed a little. I don't see where that's allowed, but apparently it is allowed. Shrug-shrug (talk) 17:09, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Help:Subpages redirects to Wikipedia:Subpages. Your purpose is allowed by the first point at Wikipedia:Subpages#Allowed uses which says [[User:Example/Draft of article]]. See also WP:USERSUBPAGE. What do you consider ambiguous? PrimeHunter (talk) 20:48, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedians editing articles about themselves

What is Wikipedia's guidelines on this? Here is the trouble I am having. I nom'd this subject for AFD also noting that the article seemed to be only edited by a few editors (socks?). Now I see this user is attempting to clean up the article with some trivial information that seemingly only the article's subject or buddy would know. I'm not worried about what they are adding (I doubt it will survive the AFD and if it does, so be it) but who is adding this information. What course of action can I take if any? Thank you in advance. --Endlessdan (talk) 17:36, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

WP:Autobiography. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 17:38, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Adding "trivial information that ... only the article's subject or buddy would know" is never cleaning up an article, but muddying it, since the information is by definition unsourced and unverifiable and therefore not acceptable anywhere in Wikipedia. Anybody may (and in some cases should) remove it on sight. --ColinFine (talk) 22:40, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Notice

I have taken the liberty of moving a blank Afd template notice on Sproxil and have put it on the talk page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Sproxil since the Afd has not been started, page not on Afd list and Afd notice does not mention page. I have suggested that if someone wants to delete the page perhaps PROD would be more appropriate. I thought it appropriate to notify you guys at the help desk of my actions for your information. I hope my actions were appropriate or at least not inappropriate. I am happy to receive feedback and am treating this as another learning opportunity. Thank you guys for all your hard work! Kind regards User:MikeBeckett Please do say 'Hi!' 20:49, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Good action, in my opinion, MikeBeckett; because I see you explained it to the user who added it [1]. I've tidied up the article talk page a bit, but that's all. Cheers,  Chzz  ►  13:44, 18 May 2011 (UTC)

Thank you for the feedback User talk:MikeBeckett Please do ask me your questions! MikeBeckett 00:47, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

Template:WikiProject United States History

I was trying to add the US 66 task force to the template, but it wouldn't work. Can someone show me how to do this? - Presidentman (talk · contribs) (Talkback) Random Picture of the Day 20:20, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Fixed. - Presidentman (talk · contribs) (Talkback) Random Picture of the Day 20:33, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

It still does not work. - Presidentman (talk · contribs) (Talkback) Random Picture of the Day 20:51, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

how do I change the capitalization of a topic?

Hi,

I have recently added a page for a new genetic test called Macula Risk. However, when I was making the page, i entered the title as Macula risk. How can I reverse this? Or do I need to copy and paste the page to create a whole new Macula Risk page?

Gerry —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gbelgraver (talk • contribs) 20:30, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Click the "Move" button at the top of the page and then enter "Macula Risk" in the space provided. - Presidentman (talk · contribs) (Talkback) Random Picture of the Day 20:34, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

You cannot move pages yet because your account is not autoconfirmed. I have moved it. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:37, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

• This appears to be a commercial product for laboratories doing these assessments. I blanked the article (and replaced it with the appropriate template since it was a clear copyright violation as well. - 194.60.106.38 (talk) 06:46, 18 May 2011 (UTC)

Emails when talk page is changed.

Why do I keep getting emails when my talk page is edited? Like:

Dear Ctjf83,

The Wikipedia page User talk:Ctjf83 has been changed on 17 May 2011 by Queenieacoustic, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Ctjf83 for the current revision.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Ctjf83&diff=0&oldid=429581730 for all changes since your last visit.

Editor's summary: /* Thanks! */

It just started about a week ago. CTJF83 20:50, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

You have put the page on your watchlist. - Presidentman (talk · contribs) (Talkback) Random Picture of the Day 20:51, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Why would that matter? Actually my talk page has been on my watchlist since I started Wikipedia and these e-mails just started recently. CTJF83 20:53, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict)

It's a setting in preferences, under the "User profile" tab, in the "Email options" box - there is a checkbox saying "E-mail me when my user talk page is changed".

Up until a few days ago, the preference setting had no effect on English Wikipedia, because it was disabled for performance reasons. Now, it appears to have started working.  Chzz  ►  20:54, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Awesome, Chzz!! Thanks!! CTJF83 20:56, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Unfortunately, somebody decided that "Everybody will love this functionality!" so they set it to default to "Yes, sure, go ahead, pester me with e-mails everytime somebody posts to my talk page"!!????!! --Orange Mike | Talk 21:26, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Apparently so, but, actually - I approve. Those of us who are old and wizened will grumble a bit, but we'll figure it out and switch it off. But for new users - it's great. Just think how many people join up, edit, and...then are never heard of again. A few days later, they might get a 'welcome' or offer of help, or even a 'warning' - but at least, now, they'll get an email to tell 'em, instead of being expected to learn (immediately) that it's necessary to check one's "user talk". I think this is a Very Good Thing, but yeah; we can have a good old moan about it, Orangemike! :-)  Chzz  ►  22:31, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Edit Summary Gadget?

Is there a gadget or tool that will bring up a warning box if you try to save an edit without using an edit summary? I understand the importance of using one; however, I oftentimes forget until right after I save the page. Ryan Vesey (talk) 21:39, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Go to your preferences → Editing tab → under "Advanced options", tick the box for "Prompt me when entering a blank edit summary".--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:15, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Anyone perusing this might be interested in User:Chzz/es (which summarizes a proposal to make prompting for a missing edit summary the default) - which I'm trying to follow up; see here. I'd really like this to not vanish into our archives; with a bit of tweaking, this would - I think - be of great benefit.  Chzz  ►  22:36, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, now is there any way that I can get it to not apply to talk pages? Or is it Wikipedia etiquette to use edit summaries on talk pages as well? Ryan Vesey (talk) 23:18, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Not as far as I am aware. I suspect it could be done through some complicated personal javascript magic, perhaps...but, no: the system itself is limited. It warns for any and all blank summaries, even on minor edits, but it does not notice if you are editing an existing section (annoyingly enough - because, there is a 'default edit summary' of /* Section name /*). It's less than ideal, as mentioned in the discussions linked above about making it the defaults.

Personally though, I'd suggest getting into the habit of always adding a summary - even on talks. It doesn't take long to type e.g. "reply" or "yes" or "sp" (spelling fix) or "hi!" as an edit summary, but it does make your contribs easier to follow. There is no policy forcing you do do so, and (again, see discussions) there is certainly no obligation to always use edit summaries. But, I can't see it doing harm.

Apart from anything else, it helps you remember what you were discussing, if you're searching back through your contribs, if the edit sum says things like "oppose", "not true", "disagree", "more sausages", etc.  Chzz  ►  23:44, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Infobox image help

Resolved

My turn to ask, as I was editing I wikilinked to this article about Saurashtra in India and there is something wierd going on in the infobox with the image spilling out onto the text in one place. I assume that this is some sort of formatting issue but have no experience with infoboxes or images.
FYI, I checked the image and several other wikis where it is in use and this problem does not occur, the image is normal and the text below readable. Cheers. CaptainScreebo ^Parley! 21:47, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Seems like the images are generated by {{Infobox Indian jurisdiction}}. Maybe that template's talk-page or associated wikiproject (not sure which) would be able to help? DMacks (talk) 21:52, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Thanks I have taken it over to Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Indian maps. CaptainScreebo ^Parley! 22:04, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

whey protein

is drinking whey protein before bed a good thing? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.120.224.114 (talk) 21:50, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. Try the science desk. CaptainScreebo ^Parley! 22:00, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

But they won't give you medical advice; see the Medical disclaimer. -- John of Reading (talk) 10:13, 18 May 2011 (UTC)

Where to respond?

Please tell me where to respond to an editor's comment about the article "Integrative Improvement". Could not the exact link for doing this be placed in the email advising me of the editor's changes? After several attempts to search through FAQ's and so on I still could not find the answer.

SOARA (talk) 22:47, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

The best place to discuss things related to a specific article is that article's talk page. In this case, this would be Talk:Integrative Improvement. Just follow the wikilink and bring up what you want to discuss there. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 22:52, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

You can also talk to the user directly, by leaving a message at User talk:Deborah new. That page will be created, when you leave a message there. The best thing would be to specify, which article you are talking about and providing a wikilink, like this: Integrative Improvement. I hope this is helpful. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 23:03, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

I think Soara is referring to the message Deborah put on Soara's Talk page. Soara probably then got an e-mail notice of the change to his Talk page. So, another option would be for Soara to respond to Deborah on Soara's Talk page.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:08, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

If you do what Bbb23 suggests, it is a good idea to notify Deborah by putting {{Talkback|SOARA}} on User talk:Deborah new in order to let the user know you responded on your talk page. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 23:16, 17 May 2011 (UTC)