Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2012 November 13

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November 13

Karina Smiroff Bio

I saw Karina Smiroff on the program called "Celebrity Ghost Story" where she talked about the passing of her maternal Grandmother. On the show she mentioned that her father was greek and her mother was russian. I wanted to find out why she had a russian name instead of a greek last name. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.79.184.46 (talk) 02:28, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi there, I believe you mean Karina Smirnoff. I see no reference about the father being Greek however presuming your recollection is correct and noticing that Karina was born in Soviet Ukraine in 1978 it is not unheard of different nationalities or ethnic groups changing their name to better assimilate into society (see Rodney Dangerfield or Doris Day) and at the height of the cold war being an immigrant from a NATO nation such a Greece would put a person at a major disadvantage. There are also possibilities that much like Mitt Romney's grandfather was from Mexico but not Mexican but an American immigrant to Mexico that eventually came back to his homeland. Just as there was lots of confusion with some American voters thinking Mitt was part or wholly Mexican because of his Grandfather having lived there for some time (and technically being Mexican yet culturally being completely American) similar things I would guess happen regularly with the geographically close nations of Ukraine and Greece. A reference about Karina would tell for certain. Marketdiamond (talk) 10:34, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Image history and fair use

I accidentally uploaded a Fair Use image that was larger than 400x400. I uploaded a new version, but the larger version is still available in the history, and I worry this is a copyright violation. Is this a problem, and if so, what is the best way to resolve this? See File:Sir Alan Stewart, 1982.jpg Thanks and sorry. -Brycehughes (talk) 03:52, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Looks like an admin deleted the old image pages. Problem solved. -Brycehughes (talk) 06:41, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Recovering failed page previews

Would it be possible to recover failed page previews, to go through the logs? For the past hour or two, I was improving the "diseases and pests" section of Blackberry when I finished and clicked "preview" when I received an error message indicating the connection hadn't gone through. I verified if my Internet cable was connected and retyped en.wikipedia.org with no avail. I searched another website and that came successfully so it may have been a split second Internet failure. I was able to recover some of my work by recalling the Google Books links I visited for information but I would really hate to start from scratch the entire rewrite I spent time and thought with. Thanks! I'm only asking this because this is the first time this has happened and the first case I'm aware of something like this. SwisterTwister talk 06:15, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

When this happens to me, I usually find that my browser's "back" button gets me to a page with my work on it, so I can copy it into the cut-and-paste buffer and try again. Maproom (talk) 07:52, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Failed page previews are not recoverable from Wikipedia servers, unfortunately - as far as I'm aware, the previewing is done at the user's end, not Wikipedia's. If you spend a very long time (an hour or two will do it) in edit mode, repeatedly previewing without saving, you may well find the save fails when you eventually try it, because connections do time out. The back button may help as Maproom suggests, but I also find it a good idea to copy to the clipboard before pressing save, just in case. - Karenjc 10:03, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Even better, compose your edit in an external editor, then if it gets lost while trying to save the edit, you still have it.--SPhilbrick(Talk) 18:06, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

I tried clicking "back" but it didn't work, probably because of my Internet failure at the moment. After some thinking, I believe I can rewrite the content again because it was only one section. Thanks for taking the time to comment! SwisterTwister talk 20:58, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Need help inserting references..Urgent please..

Hello,

These are references

{http://olegoethe.com/ "Officila website Olegoethe"}

{https://twitter.com/olegoetheShare} "Twitter account"

{http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ole-Goethe-Ass-Professor-Researcher/198459990193110 "Facebook profile"}

{http://www.linkedin.com/in/olegoethe "LinkedIn profile"}

www.quora.com/Ole-Goethe-1 "Quora profile"

Can you add these references in this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Articles_for_creation/Olegoethe.com_(Biography) so, it will be added it in Wikipedia. I am not a expert for writing articles of Wikipedia. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Olegoethe (talk • contribs) 06:48, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi there, thanks for alerting us to this, before other editors jump in here you can always be WP:BOLD and add them to the article yourself (just scroll to the bottom and type in double "=" with "References" in the middle such as this: ==References==. There are a lot of benefits to you as an editor not only contributing them yourself but increasing your edit count and to the view of certain segments your standing in the community! Thanks for visiting Wikipedia!Marketdiamond (talk) 09:08, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Also did notice that you are using { and } for the references, what you want to use is [ and ] usually found on the same computer key without pressing [shift]. It would result in something like this when you make sure to include the http:// in the links: Pittsburgh News from this type: [http://www.postgazette.com Pittsburgh News] Hope that helps! Marketdiamond (talk) 09:19, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

There are many problems with this request:

1. It is not "urgent". Wikipedia has existed for many years without this article.
2. The article is about the web site of Ole Goethe, who appears not to be notable. Maybe a case can be made that Ole Goethe is notable, and deserves an article about him on Wikipedia; but while no such article exists, his web site certainly does not warrant an article.
3. It is written like an advertisement, with sentences like "Let’s explore some more about this great person." This is not acceptable in a Wikipedia article.
4. Your user name Olegoethe suggests that you are associated with the subject of the article. Please read Conflict of interest.
5. Wikipedia requires third-party references. A subject's own web site, Twitter account, Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, and Quora profile do not qualify as Independent sources.

Maproom (talk) 10:05, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

6. A subject's own website may be an acceptable external link, but Twitter, Facebook etc are generally not. --ColinFine (talk) 13:20, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

please correct the name of nazir hussain actor

dear sir Please corect the name of nazir hussain. He was doing more than 400 movie as central charecter artist.he was the pitamah of bhojpuri cinema.ram aur shyam, amar akbar anthony,bhoot bungla,devdas,shagird, balam pardesia,ankhe,tammana,anokhy ada,bairag,geet,bahurani,badi beti and many more films etc.he was born in u.p district ghazipur village usia pin code 23233 He was set up kamsar film production house.he was doing film with dilip kumar,guru dutt,amitabh,rajendar kumar,joy mukharjy,dhamedra etc.so plz make difference between nazir hussain and nasir hossain. Thank u sir — Preceding unsigned comment added by 106.67.26.80 (talk) 08:48, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

I think the article in question is Nasir Hussain. His IMDb entry uses this spelling of his name, but also notes alternative spellings Nasir Husain and Nazir Hussain. Maybe the alternative spellings should be set up as redirects ? Gandalf61 (talk) 08:57, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

I have created redirects under both those heads to the article about the director Nasir Hussain because they do appear to be official alternative spellings for this individual. However, I think the OP is actually requesting an article about this character actor, a different person from the above who does not currently appear to have a Wikipedia article. Nazir Hussain had been previously deleted twice as non-notable; I can't see the deleted text but I suspect both versions may have been articles about the actor, but lacking sufficient references or notability claims. Looking briefly at his career, it does seem as though he might qualify for an article. OP: you can make an article about him yourself using the article wizard, or gather together some reliable sources and request an article at WP:AFC, at which point disambiguation can be used to sort out the right titles and redirects. - Karenjc 09:53, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

username contains someone else's personal information without their permission

{{db-u1}} rationale=username contains someone else's personal information without their permission. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.194.69.59 (talk • contribs) 09:11, 13 November 2012‎

You'll have to tell us more than that if you want help - such as the username in question... Bencherlite^Talk 09:18, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

If the username really reveals someone else's personal information without their permission then it shouldn't be posted here on a high profile page. See Wikipedia:Requests for oversight for non-public options. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:49, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Education in Aden before 1967.

I would like to find about Indian Schools in Crater Aden-and photographs, if available. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.30.88.143 (talk) 09:37, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Humanities reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. RJFJR (talk) 15:24, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Travel-related information in wikipedia articles

Hello everyone. While recently editing the Wikipedia page on some Indian villages and towns of my locality, I came across some other articles on google on the same places from Wikitravel. Since Wikipedia articles are encyclopedic in nature, will it be right to include some information on local staying facilities, like temporary halts and hotel facilities in and around a particular region? Or will it be better to include the information in their Wikitravel articles instead?

Thanks for any suggestion. Anirban Chatterjee (talk) 10:30, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

It will be better to add this on Wikitravel — otherwise it may mean that the neutral point of view is affected, and may add undue weight to areas. Mdann52 (talk) 11:05, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Ah, I understand. Thanks for the quick help, Mdann52. :) Anirban Chatterjee (talk) 11:13, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Wikitravel is unrelated to Wikipedia. I suggest Wikivoyage which became a Wikimedia project this month. Many of the Wikitravel editors were unhappy with the technical support and amount of paid advertising at Wikitravel. They wanted to move to a Wikimedia project instead. The Wikimedia Foundation decided to open a wiki about travel. A poll chose the name of the existing Wikivoyage which was also started by unhappy Wikitravel editors and also wanted to become a Wikimedia project. Wikitravel has sued two of their own volunteer editors for discussing the possible move to a Wikimedia project with other Wikitravel editors. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:26, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

About my work regarding treatment of cancer with citric acid.

Wikipedia,

Dear friends,

I found that you published about glutaminolysis:

Glutaminolysis

And it was very surprising to me because you never wanted to publish my work regarding treatment of cancer with citric acid, you can find it in twitter: @Cancercuretop.

I will send to you some emails that I sent to you a long time ago from my account: <redacted>

Dr. Alberto Halabe Bucay. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.141.235.138 (talk) 10:50, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Please do not include contact details in your questions. We are unable to provide answers by any off-wiki medium and this page is highly visible across the internet. The details have been removed, but if you want them to be permanently removed from the page history, please email this address. Mdann52 (talk) 11:02, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

You misunderstand how Wikipedia works. It does not accept contributions by email, and it does not have an editorial committee who decide what to publish. All content is inserted by volunteer editors - anybody who wishes to contribute - and what is accepted is determined by consensus among interested editors, according to the fundamental policies of Wikipedia.

If you have information to add to a Wikipedia article, or wish to create an article, and the information is supported by references to independent reliable sources, you are welcome to edit the articles. But original research is not acceptable, and all content must be presented in a neutral tone. --ColinFine (talk) 13:42, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

wikipedia rrs

Hi guys please help me. I have web site and I want create wikipedia rss link for my site. What can I doing? This free online service converts any web page to an RSS feed on the fly. www.feed43.com

please answer on <redacted>

Best Regards

Please do not include contact details in your questions. We are unable to provide answers by any off-wiki medium and this page is highly visible across the internet. The details have been removed, but if you want them to be permanently removed from the page history, please email this address.

What page are you trying to do this to? Are you trying to get something like Special:RecentChanges? Mdann52 (talk) 13:13, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Nerissa Jane Irene Bowes Lyon

The reports about ,Nerissa Bowes Lyon' having died on 22nd January 1986 as a patient of the Royal Earlswood Home for mentally handicaped came up by the Murdoch-press in 1987 in order to blame the Queen-Mum who was the suspected wire-drawer behind the marriage-problems between Prince Charles and Princess Diana. This story is a total fake! The proof: - National Statistics confirmed in a letter that is not Nerissa, but Kerissa who had died that date. - The prename Kerissa is also mentioned in the General Registre of births and deaths - The date of birth in the death-certificate doesn't match that one of Kerissa - The death was announced to the public registration by a person who was legally entitled to do so - Under the certificate you can read: "WARNING. A CERTIFICATE IS NOT EVIDENCE OF IDENTITY"

Please don't declare a forgery to be the truth and convince yourself!

Dieter Stanzeleit — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.177.35.254 (talk) 14:35, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

If you have information to add to a Wikipedia article, or wish to create an article, and the information is supported by references to independent reliable sources, you are welcome to edit the articles. But original research is not acceptable, and all content must be presented in a neutral tone, and be fully sourced. It must also be comprehensible: I am a Yank, and frankly I am unable to decipher what on earth you are on about. -- --Orange Mike | Talk 14:46, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Are you referring to John Herbert Bowes-Lyon#Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon?--ukexpat (talk) 14:46, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

It appears to me that Mr. Stanzeleit is saying Kerissa died on 22 January 1986. If the story claims to accuse Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother of trying to break up Prince Charles and Princess Diana, that would be a fringe theory which would definitely require reliable sources, most likely more than one. Kerissa is not even mentioned in the article Ukexpat pointed you to (not to say she didn't exist, but presumably someone would have found her by now), so we definitely need more information to pursue this further.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 19:36, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Contacting another user

Hello Pardon my confusion here. Perhaps you could have user "Takeaway" contact me regarding the following:

Hello, I'm Takeaway. Wikipedia is written by people who have a wide diversity of opinions, but we try hard to make sure articles have a neutral point of view. Your recent edit to 2010 Thai political protests seemed less than neutral to me, so I removed it for now. If you think I made a mistake, or if you have any questions, you can leave me a message on my talk page. Thank you. - Takeaway (talk) 08:52, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

As per his/her suggestion, he pointed me to discuss it with him on his/her 'talk page'. Unfortunately, I have been uanable to acess his talk page in a manner that I could communicate with him.

Could you adise how to do this.

What "takeaway' sees as non-nuetrality is decidedly not the case, which I would like to discuss with him/her, and to restore the edits I made. I am simply replacing that written by the Thai domestic media which is propagandistic in its' intent.

Plus, how does one place those jiggly lines at the end of a Post?

Sincerely

Username - Ferwert — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ferwert (talk • contribs) 16:15, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Heading added You have left a message at their talk page (User talk:Takeaway), albeit in the wrong place on the page - we usually add new messages at the bottom of talk pages. You will have to be patient and wait for a response.--ukexpat (talk) 16:28, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

To answer your final question: the wiggly lines ~~~~ are called tildes. Some keyboards have keys which generate them. If yours doesn't, but you are using Windows, you should be able to get one by holding down "Alt" while typing 1 2 6 on the numeric keypad. Otherwise you can just copy this one ~ . Maproom (talk) 17:50, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Also, There should be "Sign your posts on talk pages: ~~~~" on the Edit box toolbar, near the bottom. Pressing the tildes will insert them. ~E74.60.29.141 (talk) 23:44, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

And to answer the middle point: Wikipedia works on verifiability not truth, for the reasons explained on the page I just linked to. The article 2010 Thai political protests appears on the face of it to be well-referenced (though I haven't looked in detail). What you are saying is that the sources it references are not reliable or not independent: this may well be true, but unless you can reference other reliable sources which give a different version, or which directly challenge the sources used, you may not say so in Wikipedia. In any case, having a discussion with Takeaway on his talk page, or on Talk:2010 Thai political protests is the right way to resolve your disagreement. --ColinFine (talk) 23:31, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Editing pages from a specific IP address

I'm a college student who wants to edit Wikipedia pages about the university that I attend. However, I've heard that others who have tried to do the same thing have been blocked from editing pages about our college because we use the college wireless internet network and have the same IP address as the college. Is this true? As long as I have verifiable sources, I want to make the Wikipedia pages better. Pandabearm (talk) 17:02, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

The reason why college/school IP addresses get blocked is because they cause a lot of vandalism, which unfortunately prevents innocent users from editing. To avoid the block (I'm not trying to give any ideas here ), I recommend that you always edit with your account that you just created. The Anonymouse (talk • contribs) 17:10, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

However, you do need to be careful about editing a page about the college you attend, because it may be difficult for you to write about it in a neutral manner: read WP:COI before you do so. --ColinFine (talk) 23:34, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Talk

Is there a talk page where I can talk about current politics.--74.34.87.97 (talk) 18:55, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Well, no, because Wikipedia is not a discussion forum. There are articles about politics, but the talk pages of articles should be used to discuss improvements to the articles, and not to talk about the subject of those articles. ~Amatulić (talk) 19:00, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

If you want to ask a factual question about politics, we have Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Humanities, but this is not a place for discussion or opinionizing. Rojomoke (talk) 19:40, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Robert A. Bell

I have tried to edit the entry for Robert A. Bell, since it is me, but cannot see how to change the title. I am not Robert A. Bell, I am Robert Bell - no A involved. Please advise on the process. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Roberto Bello (talk • contribs) 21:34, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

You rename it by doing a page move to Robert Bell. But in this case it's impossible because there are many articles on Wikipedia about different people named Robert Bell. We'd have to move it to a different name altogether. I have just moved the article to the title Robert Bell (genealogist) and changed all the other links to it in other articles accordingly. ~Amatulić (talk) 21:53, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

white owl

hi, this is harry from gas station 1202 west vine st in kissimmee.can u send any white owl rep at gas station — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.76.117.143 (talk) 22:21, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 6 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.--Orange Mike | Talk 22:29, 13 November 2012 (UTC)