Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2012 November 22

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November 22

asking for a picture

Hello. I want to put a figure from a scientific article into wikipedia. Is there an example letter which I could send to the author after modification, along the lines of "Could you send me a PDF which you would give to me under a suitable license, so that I can upload it into wikipedia please?" anywhere? Robinh (talk) 00:40, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Here are some links: Wikipedia:Finding images tutorial#Ask for permission, Wikipedia:Requesting copyright permission, Wikipedia:Example requests for permission. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:04, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

• I might use "Dear ___, I would like to add your image located at ___ to the ___ wikipedia article. However wikipedia licensing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:C is incompatible with the licensing of the ___ website, please, could you allow me to use your image for wikipedia? Thanks"; the templates listed are good but I tend to use a rather informal writing style, personally, just enough for the receipient to understand what the problem is. --Gryllida 03:11, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

(OP)

Resolved

. The critical search term is "permission". thanks, Robinh (talk) 06:44, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Article Error - Thanksgiving

There is a small error on your Thanksgiving page. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving

If you look at the last sentence in the section "Fixing The Date of the Holiday", I'm sure you will agree that the word "Franklin" should more appropriately be changed to "Roosevelt" out of respect to the President.

Thanks for your consideration. I'm not looking for any credit for this suggestion.

John Fletcher

Salem, Oregon — Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.225.86.202 (talk) 03:21, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

 Done, but in the future, you should know that you are actually a better person to do this than me. --Jayron32 03:45, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Anonymous editors cannot edit semi-protected articles. RudolfRed (talk) 05:32, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Publication and picture

Good morning,

I’ve created this page http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Sandbox&oldid=524305886

I need to publish it. How can do it?

I would like to add some pictures. I've tried to add picture and gallery, but in which way I can choose the picture on the pc? Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Etere Italy (talk • contribs) 05:33, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

I replied on your user talk page because I suspect you will be blocked from editing before you would see a reply here and would never get back here. —teb728 t c 09:36, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Trisha Roy - Poet and a Writer

hi--122.170.28.211 (talk) 06:55, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Hello. Do you have a question about using Wikipedia? - a boat that can float! (watch me float) 11:50, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Handling a formal request for removal of text from Talk Page.

Have sort of a paradoxical situation with Talk:Alpha Phi. At one point the article contained the private motto of Alpha Phi with a reference to a book. After numerous issues with members of the group attempting to delete it, the page was protected and a formal request by an IP to remove the information was added to the talk page and denied. Later after the book was challenged as a reliable reference, it was decided that the information should be deleted from the page. However, the formal request to delete the private motto on the page contains the private motto. Another IP attempted to delete the private motto from the formal request at the talk page, but that was reverted. I'm sympathetic, but nothing in WP:TPO (editing other's comments) seems to cover this. Any ideas? Can there be a RFD for deletion of text on a talk page?Naraht (talk) 07:05, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

The alleged secret motto "Alethia Orno Eteroni" is meaningless in any language. The first word is a mis-spelled version of the Greek for "truth, disclosure", and the second is Latin for "I dress, I deck out". The best I can do for a translation is "I always embellish the truth". So I am pretty sure this is not their real secret motto, and I suspect that Alexandra Robbins was the victim of a joke. Maproom (talk) 11:06, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

I am a member of another greek letter organization and given that our similar motto is not a phrase that does not make sense as modern greek (which arguably is as far from Aristotle's greek as Modern English is from Beowulf), I doubt the motto as given is meaningless). And the dislike for the book that was challenged as a reliable resource is considerably *across* many sororities, not just Alpha Phi. I really don't think it is a joke. Having said that, you didn't answer my question on an RFD for removal of text.Naraht (talk) 15:16, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

I don't get what WP:RFD has to do with any of this..... Mdann52 (talk) 15:24, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

I am confused by your "our similar motto is not a phrase that does not make sense as modern greek". I believe that the phrase "Alethia Orno Eteroni" is not modern Greek, not classical Greek, not Latin, not any one language. It is a mixture of Greek and Latin. I do not believe it is a real motto. However I do not dismiss it as meaningless, indeed I offered a translation.

Well, it seems "real enough" to them to have quite a few people request it be removed from Wikipedia. If not actually the real motto, a well organized protest against something that isn't. Wikipedia efforts tend not to be that organized from external groups.Naraht (talk) 20:07, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

That is a good point. If it is really a hoax version of their secret motto, and they are into the hoax, it is a remarkably convincing-looking protest. If however their motto really means "I always embellish the truth", I can understand their not wanting it publicised. But would they have a real motto in a bastard mix of languages? Maproom (talk) 21:13, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

If "RFD" means Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion, I do not understand the relevance, I am not aware that any redirect has been suggested. If it means Wikipedia:Requests for deletion, then my view is that deletion (of content of the talk page, I assume) is not warranted. Maproom (talk) 17:08, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Sorry, I wrote RFD, when I meant AFD, but neither really applies, I'll ask on Miscellany for discussion if they have any idea...Naraht (talk) 20:07, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

There are two sensible approaches to this:

1. Set up archiving for the page, and archive the boring discussion about the motto into the first archive.
2. Blank the specifically problematic portions of the discussion (i.e. the motto itself) per WP:IAR and per the fact that one doesn't need to include the "secret motto" in order to have a discussion about whether to include the secret motto.

Neither solution will deal with the possibility of someone discovering their "secret" by looking at the page history, but if they're unhappy with that situation then tell them to have a duly designated representative contact Wikipedia:Contact us - Subjects about it.

I favour the second option. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 21:49, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

The Ruum infobox won't set up properly - need help here

The Ruum short story infobox won't set up properly, sitting out like a para. It was like that when I found it and even by following layout template of other short story infoboxes like The Burnt Ones and wikipedia guide, I can't seem to crack it. Anyone? Thanks in advance. Manytexts (talk) 10:08, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

It was a lost bracket in this edit in October. I've fixed it now. - David Biddulph (talk) 10:48, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks so much David B. Manytexts (talk) 09:46, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

I have image copyright permission but still image is flagged

Regarding: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NHL_Calgary_Flames_James_Jim_Jackson_1984-85.png

I have obtained written copyright permission from the original owners of the image, O-Pee-Gee/Hockey Hall of Fame, to use this image in the Wikipedia Jim Jackson (ice hockey) article Infobox. I've been ripping out my hair trying to understand and comply with Wikipedia's image upload protocol, however, I just cannot seem to get it right.

It is now flagged under something I just do not understand. It is a one of a kind image. I have permission to use it. Please help me get this image into Jim Jackson's Infobox.

Many thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by NorthernDancer55 (talk • contribs) 10:42, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Are you asking about File:NHL Jim Jackson Calgary Flames 1984-85.png? The test noted in the {{di-replaceable fair use}} essentially is whether a free image might reasonably be found that shows Jackson skating on the ice, not whether a free image of the one you uploaded can be found. It seems reasonable that a free image that shows Jackson skating on the ice can be found. Another requirement listed at Wikipedia:Non-free content criteria is that the presence of the Jackson photo in the article needs to significantly increase readers' understanding of the topic, and its omission would be detrimental to that understanding. It does not seem that the photo you uploaded meets these requirements. There is nothing in the Jim Jackson (ice hockey) article about the image originally being taken in 1984-85 by O-Pee-Gee/Hockey Hall of Fame for use on a collectible hockey card Jim Jackson[1] and how that played a role in Jackson's life. You can get more information at Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. -- Uzma Gamal (talk) 11:30, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Either an image must be released under a suitable licence by the copyright owners, or it must satisfy the criteria for non-free content. When you talk about "permission" it sounds like the first of these; but the requirement is more than just "permission to use it on Wikipedia", and furthermore the permission must be either made public or communicated to Wikipedia in a particular way: see donating copyright materials. If the copyright holders do what is required there, then you can update the information on the image page to say that it is licensed, and 'non-free content' becomes irrelevant. On the other hand, if the copyright owners don't do that, then you need to make sure that the use of the image meets the non-free content criteria. --ColinFine (talk) 13:31, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

sex

ow do you tall the differance etween male and female wikipedia — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.157.185.136 (talk) 11:34, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Short answer: you can't. However, some users display gender-specific userboxes or otherwise indicate their gender on their userpage, so it's worth checking there if you are, for some reason, curious. Yunshui 雲‍水 11:38, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

The question seems a little unclear but logged in users have an optional gender setting for Male/Female/Undisclosed at Special:Preferences. It's Undisclosed by default and many users never change it. The setting for a given user can be seen by previewing this code: {{gender:username|User is male|User is female|User hasn't defined their gender}}. For username Yunshui it gives: User is male. See Template:Gender for a way to use it when referring to a user. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:10, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

About administrators

Can anyone become administrator in 2 wikis or more.--pratyya (talk) 11:59, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Yes. There is no limit. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:12, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Can anyone apply for becoming administrator if he fails to become in one go.--pratyya (talk) 12:28, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Candidates can reapply later but if it hasn't been months since the last time then they will be opposed by many users who think they should have waited longer. See Wikipedia:Guide to requests for adminship. Don't request adminship now. Your current edit count of 348 is practically guaranteed to make you fail with a lot of "Oppose. Not enough experience" from users who don't even examine your work. You need thousands of edits to have a chance, and a previous failed request can hurt your chances if you reapply. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:47, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Stlukelions

I part of St. Luke Lions PTO and was trying to create a Wikipedia account. I did copy the history of our main webpage to the wikipedia webpage, but you deleted the webpage. How can I copy the information from our main page to wikipedia without having it deleted for copy infringements? Thanks, Danny — Preceding unsigned comment added by Stlukelions (talk • contribs) 15:35, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

I assume you're referring to http://www.stlukelions.org? Although there is no notice on that site, it is assumed to be copyrighted by the school. It is therefore unacceptable to copy material verbatim into Wikipedia. What you should do is put the information into your own words first.
Before you do, however, you should read WP:COI, WP:N and WP:RS, make sure you understand the rules, and consider whether St Lukes meets the standards for inclusion. Also, your user name suggests that you're editing on behalf of an organisation, which is not allowed. All contributions must be attributable to an individual.. This account will probably be blocked very quickly. Rojomoke (talk) 15:58, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Green Bicycle Case. UK Reprint

22 November 2012

Hi. I am trying to correct my references regarding the green bicycle case.

A book I am using is basically the same as Donahue's but mine is The green bicycle case by H.R.Wakefield (1930s publication) reprinted by Reprint Co.Uk.

(keeping local history alive!!)

please explain how to add this to the references section

thanks ALISON

<ref>H.R.Wakefield, The Green Bicycle Case. Published by Reprint UK </ref> — Preceding unsigned comment added by Alisonkeay (talk • contribs) 16:35, 22 November 2012‎

I've shown you on your talk page. You needed a references section with {{reflist}} - David Biddulph (talk) 16:43, 22 November 2012 (UTC)