Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 November 8

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November 8

Problem with Redir Page

Hi. I'm looking for help with a problem involving the National Ignition Facility (NIF) page (http://en/wikipedia.ord/wiki/National_Ignition_Facility) and its corresponding redir page. The problem is that the redir page, which has a lower case "i" and a lower case "f" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_ignition_facility) does not always redirect to the correct page (upper case "I" and upper case "F"). Also, the redir page does not reflect recent edits. When I attempt to edit the redir page, it converts to the correct page as soon as I log on, so the redir is no longer available for editing. I have cleared the cache on my computer and also several others, but the problem persists. I have also tried multiple browsers, but the problem occures intermittently with all browsers. This is a concern because visitors who land on the redir page are unaware it's not the official page. This could reflect poorly on Wikipedia because some visitors to the NIF article are being exposed to old and inaccurate information. Would it be possible to take down the incorrect redir page? Alternatively, is there a way to edit/update the redir page so that it always reflects all changes? Or is it possible to fix the redir function to consistently and automatically convert to the official page? Thanks for your help.JacksIrving (talk) 00:41, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

A redirect automatically shows the content of the target page but due to caching, an older version of the target page is sometimes displayed, especially to users who are not logged in. Are you logged in when you see the old version? PrimeHunter (talk) 00:48, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict) National ignition facility is simply a redirect to National Ignition Facility. It doesn't have any independent content. Where (and when) are you seeing a version different from the current content of National Ignition Facility? The latter page hasn't changed for more than a week. You shouldn't see anything different from the current version unless you've got an old version cached. - David Biddulph (talk) 00:54, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

For redirects, our servers sometimes display quite old versions to unregistered users. More than a week wouldn't surprise me. See bugzilla:29552. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:30, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for all your input. To answer your questions and further clarify – I have cleared the cache on all browsers. I see the incorrect redir page on Firefox and Chrome when I am not logged in. (When I log in it redirects to the proper page.) This is a concern because a large number of people who see the article are unregistered visitors and are exposed to old and inaccurate information. For example, the section “Criticisms” was removed on 10/25/11. It still appears on the redir page when using Firefox and Chrome. Since this edit was made about two weeks ago, it should no longer appear on the redir page with any browser. How can we fix?JacksIrving (talk) 22:58, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Whether you see an old version can depend on which of our servers you happen to get served by. I didn't see an old version yesterday when I logged out, and I don't today. I have now purged the redirect. Do you still see an old version? PrimeHunter (talk) 01:07, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

I've tried it a couple of times with different computers & different browsers -- old versions are gone -- thank you! JacksIrving (talk) 02:03, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

Ben Schwartz's Bio

Hi Help Desk, I am getting the following errors after updating his Bio and I have searched tirelessly for an answer.

^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named soapdish; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text He was recently hired by Paramount Pictures to re-make the 1991 classic comedy Soapdish with producers Rob Reiner and Alan Greisman. I am not trying to link "Soapdish" to the Wikipedia page, just bold or italicize it. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ucb; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text Ben is an alumnus of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and continues to perform there regularly. Ben's name appears on the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre's Wikipedia page and I'm not sure as to why I'm getting this error.

Any help you can give me is greatly appreciated. I'm frustrated!  :) Heather — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tomsawyerent (talk • contribs) 02:57, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

There were various problems, mainly including named references without cites to back them up. However, another editor has properly reverted your edits as inappropriate anyway. I have also posted a warning on your Talk page because your username does not comply with policy, and your editing of certain articles indicate that you have a conflict.--Bbb23 (talk) 03:10, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

In the future, you can refer to Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text as noted in the error message. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 11:13, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Youtube clips

Hello, I am a film maker and hosted links (external links)to some clips on Youtube that were relevant to existing Wiki articles. For eg London Docklands - I made a documentary about London's docks in the late 90s. I hosted a few other similar links on other subjects but Wikipedia branded me a spammer. I was trying to contribute to the subjects and not advertising, so do you allow links to Youtube? Best wishes Andy Humphreys — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.99.67.145 (talk) 09:15, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

(I have removed your email address to protect your privacy) The Wikipedia content guideline on external links is much stricter than many editors realise, and your links probably don't qualify. You should also look at the guidelines on conflict of interest, since you are intending to post links to films that you have made yourself. If you think your links are appropriate, I suggest you begin a discussion on the talk/discussion page of the relevant article to see what other editors think of them. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:57, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Markup query

This is such a minor niggle that it's almost not worth bothering with... however:

The markup in my current sig displays the links to my talkpage and contribs as two Chinese characters (雲 "yun" and 水 "shui"). The current markup is [[User:Yunshui|Yunshui]] '''[[User talk:Yunshui|雲]][[Special:Contributions/Yunshui|水]]'''. I'd prefer the whole construction to display on one line, so I've affixed the first character to my username with a non-breaking space, but what I'd really like to do is affix them to each other in the same way - without a space appearing between the two characters in the resulting sig. In other words, I want a version of   that doesn't create a visible space. Anyone know of a way to do that?

Like I said, it's pretty minor... Yunshui 雲水 11:33, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

How about

{{nowrap|[[User:Yunshui|Yunshui]] '''[[User talk:Yunshui|雲]][[Special:Contributions/Yunshui|水]]'''}}

or, since signatures must not contain templates, the equivalent

<span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Yunshui|Yunshui]] '''[[User talk:Yunshui|雲]][[Special:Contributions/Yunshui|水]]'''</span>

-- John of Reading (talk) 11:42, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Try a zero width joiner: &zwj; ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 12:42, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Not one, but two ingenious solutions! I'm going to go with the zero-width joiner to keep the size down. Thank you both. Yunshui 雲‍水 13:06, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Request to edit page of 'Mehdi Hasan'

Hello,

I have posted a request to edit the page of journalist 'Mehdi Hasan' in the Discussions section - to add in a new section with the relevant information. Will this be possible? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.176.105.150 (talk) 12:43, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

A user responded at Talk:Mehdi_Hasan#Add_in_Publications_section. Looks like if you can provide links that aren't from Amazon. If you find said links, paste {{editsemiprotected|answered=no}} on the page with the links. CTJF83 18:16, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

The only other link is the book link on the publishers website http://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/ED/. For the 2nd book, it's only available as an eBook via Amazon, so if that's not suitable, just put up the information without any links. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.222.39.93 (talk) 19:39, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

Page review

When you have made suggested amendments to a page, how do you get it reviewed? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Benson Comma N (talk • contribs) 12:51, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Italic title

Resolved

Hi - I am adding {{Italic title}} to this article Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland v. Liam Adams and the title is not showing in italics - will a bot follow round or is there something additional that I have missed? Off2riorob (talk) 13:29, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

According to Template:Italic title/doc it needs |force=true for titles longer than 50 characters, and it works. —teb728 t c 13:37, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Ah yes, it's corrected now - many thanks TEB728. Off2riorob (talk) 13:39, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

How to change multiple categories quickly

Mesa State College is now Colorado Mesa University. (FWIW, it's my cousin's employer.) How do I change the resulting category Category:Mesa State College to Category:Colorado Mesa University and its subcategories? DandyDan2007 (talk) 13:45, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy C2 sub-category D ? - David Biddulph (talk) 14:05, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Procedure started, should be automatically moved in 48 hours unless someone objects (and with the Mesa State College page moved that chance is *super super teeny*.) When it is approved, the category will move and a bot will go behind and move all the pages from the old category to the new.Naraht (talk) 23:02, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

ted hughes - dick straightup

Dear Sirs,

It has come to my attention after reading your article on Heptonstall, that the information you have about Ted Hughes and Dick Straightup is incorrect. Ted Hughes did write a poem about Dick Straightup, but Dick Straightup was infact Richard Uttley, not Richard Arthur Uttley, and he was no relation at all to Ted Hughes. Richard Uttley was infact my maternal grandfather. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.240.226.19 (talk) 14:34, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

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

Since the information was unsourced I have removed it. Do you have a reliable source for a correct version? -- John of Reading (talk) 08:39, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

who put my article on Wikipedia?

Hi - I've often wondered who put my article on Wikipedia, and now a famous potter friend has an article that she knew nothing about.

How does one learn who originally posted an article? Is it the first editor on the 'edit' list?

pete — Preceding unsigned comment added by Peterlemer (talk • contribs) 15:00, 8 November 2011‎ (UTC)

See wp:History. LeadSongDog come howl! 15:02, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Did you mean Help:Page history, rather than wp:History? - David Biddulph (talk) 15:06, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Yes, it's usually the first edit in the revision history. However, information about the earliest edits can sometimes be lost if a page has been moved using the wrong technical procedure, or if the article is so old that early edits are no longer stored (2003 or earlier, I think). --FormerIP (talk) 15:10, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

someone keeps moving my LINK to the bottom

Hi.

My website Link has always been on one of your pages. Actually it was the only link on a specific topic for years. . Recently another person started their own website with all of my copywritten content from my website. I had to contact their web host and they were shut down for a few days. Big Bru-ha-ha. Now this same person keeps moving my LINK from one of your pages to the very very bottom.....i've moved it back twice, but this is ridiculous... is there anyway my link cannot stay where it was and not be moved by others????? --RoyalVets (talk) 15:40, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Actually - they should *ALL* be removed - all external links should be in a section at the bottom of the article clearly labelled "external links" - that's the first problem. The second is that in their current form, the commentary about each of the links constitutive an advert - as a result, I've deleted all of the links. --Cameron Scott (talk) 15:47, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Thank you! — Preceding unsigned comment added by RoyalVets (talk • contribs) 17:04, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Via Margutta entry

The translation of the "Via Margutta" entry is adequate but there are many errors. I would be glad to edit the article. I lived in Rome for 3 years and am well acquainted with that neighborhood.

leonediroma — Preceding unsigned comment added by Leonediroma (talk • contribs) 15:44, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Then go ahead, please! LadyofShalott 16:16, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Provided that you have reliable sources. Personal knowledge and recollections will not be sufficient. – ukexpat (talk) 16:27, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

True... I was realing Leone's comment as an offer to improve the translation, but you are right, if information is to be added, it should be with citations to reliable sources. LadyofShalott 17:08, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Images

How do I add an image to an existing page on wikipedia? - please give me 'idiot proof' step by step instructions (I am old - and a technophobe!!) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gidons1 (talk • contribs) 16:57, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

See WP:IMAGE. - David Biddulph (talk) 17:00, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

How do I post new images into an existing page on Wikipedia?

Please let me have idiot-proof step by step instructions - I am old and a technophobe ...... a bad combination:-( — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gidons1 (talk • contribs) 17:01, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Can you link me to the image, and I can give you the most idiot proof steps. CTJF83 17:29, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

• If you want to upload an image from your computer for use in an article, you must determine the proper license of the image (or whether it is in the public domain). If you know the image is public domain or copyrighted but under a suitable free-license, upload it to the Wikimedia Commons instead of here, so that all projects have access to the image (sign up). If you are unsure of the licensing status, see the file upload wizard for more information. Please also read Wikipedia's image use policy.
• If you want to add an image that has already been uploaded to Wikipedia or Wikimedia Commons, add [[File:File name.jpg|thumb|Caption text.]] to the area of the article where you want the image to appear – replacing File name.jpg with the actual file name of the image, and Caption text with a short description of the image. See our picture tutorial for more information. I hope this helps.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:53, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

united baseball league

The Wikipedia article concerning the United Baseball League is filled with prejudicial and harmful statements.When I try and delete them ,my work is reversed and I get a warning.The instructions on how to deal with this are very cumbersome and confusing.Please take the time to read the article.It will be obvious that it is written by someone who has an axe to grind and is trying to harm the league.If the goal of Wikipedia is accuracy,then my edits should stand.Moeknowsgolf (talk) 17:37, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Herostratus has left a great message for you on your talk page about your question. If you have further questions, please feel free to post here again. TNXMan 17:42, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

nonconstructive editing

HI,

I'm received an email about my editing and I am confused about it's content. I'm new to wiki. I've made minor edits to an organization's page for which I work. I'm unclear as to what "nonconstructive editing" means... have my changes been revoked?

Thanks!

Brynn

Bwmcnall (talk) 20:51, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

If the email was sent to your email account from a Wikipedia user, it should note which user sent it in the email. Simple go to the Wikipedia page titled "User talk:XXXX" replacing XXXX with the name of the user who sent you the email, and ask them for clarirification about their email. --Jayron32 20:54, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

If by "email" you are referring to the message on you user talk page, another user noticed that you had made this edit experimenting with galleries, assumed that all your edits were experimental, and so reverted all of them. —teb728 t c 21:14, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

moving a wikipedia page

I'm the administrator for the wikipedia page "Association of Water Technologies". I want to change the title for the page to "Association of Water Technologies - AWT". My understanding is that I can't change the title...I need to move the page. However, I've looked everywhere and can't find a move button. Can you provide instructions?

Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by MgtSolPlus (talk • contribs) 21:59, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Nobody owns an article. Only autoconfirmed users can move pages. However, Wikipedia does not use both the full name and an acronym in article names so the page should not be moved. I have added a link to AWT so people can find the article by entering AWT in the search box. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:13, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Do I infer correctly from your username that you represent Management Solutions Plus, the management company of Association of Water Technologies? You need to know that unambiguous use of the name of a company as a username is generally not permitted on Wikipedia. You should change to a username that represents you personally. And because of your conflict of interest you should edit articles about clients only with great caution. —teb728 t c 22:56, 8 November 2011 (UTC)