Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2013 November 18

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November 18

Moles

I Searched "Mole & Avogador's Number". In the first article appeared the folowing:

The mole is widely used in chemistry instead of units of mass or volume as a convenient way to express amounts of reactants or of products of chemical reactions. For example, the chemical equation 2 H2 + O2 → 2 H2O implies that 2 mol of dihydrogen (H2) and 1 mol of dioxygen (O2) react to form 2 mol of water (H2O). The mole may also be used to express the number of atoms, ions, or other elementary entities in a given sample of any substance. The concentration of a solution is commonly expressed by its molarity, defined as the number of moles of the dissolved substance per litre of solution.

1. It would only be one mole of "dihydrogen" (H2)since the molecule already is )H2)or it would take two moles of Hydrogen and the one mole of Oxygen as stated. However the Oxygen would be in the form O2 so it would take one mole of oxygen (O2) and two moles of hydrogen (H2).

A mole of any Atom or Combination or Atoms, Compound, is equal to 6.022 x 10(23). In parentheses is a superscript.

Enough said! — Preceding unsigned comment added by TjhBoB (talk • contribs) 00:03, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

This page is for asking questions about how to use Wikipedia. I suggest you try Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science. DES ^(talk) 00:11, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Is the question whether the article is correct? The article is correct as stated. 2 moles of molecular hydrogen and 1 mole of molecular oxygen yield two moles of water. If you have any further questions, as noted, you can go to Wikipedia: Reference desk/Science. Robert McClenon (talk) 00:26, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

With the proper formatting in Mole (unit) it says: "For example, the chemical equation 2 H₂ + O₂ → 2 H₂O implies that 2 mol of dihydrogen (H₂) and 1 mol of dioxygen (O₂) react to form 2 mol of water (H₂O)."

This is correct. It sounds like you have overlooked that two and not one mol of water is formed. Fractions are usually disallowed in such equations but if we allowed it then we could instead write "H₂ + ½ O₂ → H₂O implies that 1 mol of dihydrogen (H₂) and half a mol of dioxygen (O₂) react to form 1 mol of water (H₂O)." I guess this is the version you have in mind. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:42, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Disable Viet Nam Veteran

Are we as veterans, cannot ask anything of people that needs help,unless they S.S. benefits would be taken away? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Whenipassby247 (talk • contribs) 00:49, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

What do you mean? Is this a Wikipedia related question? --Skamecrazy123 (talk) 00:51, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

How to insert a picture?

I have completed article about West Siberian Laika and would like to add some pictures to illustrate. The pictures are my own and I do not need to ask for permission to publish them. I have many pictures of my own dogs and puppies. I also have a few pictures supplied by my close friends and I have their consent, if I need to use them. Ufimych (talk) 02:03, 18 November 2013 (UTC)Vladimir Beregovoy

See Wikipedia:Image tutorial. Dismas|^(talk) 02:07, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Air Vice-Marshal Brian Lewis Robinson RAF Ret'd

I would like to enquire why my name is not to be found among the list of RAF Air Marshals starting with the letter "R" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.42.116.14 (talk) 02:24, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Are you referring to our List of Royal Air Force air chief marshals? As I understand it (RAF ranks aren't my speciality, and I'm relying on our article on the subject), an Air Vice-Marshal is a lower rank, and wouldn't be included. AndyTheGrump (talk) 02:37, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

If you refer to Category:Royal Air Force air marshals then Wikipedia calls that a category and not a list. Categories can only contain Wikipedia pages and there is currently no biography about you. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:53, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

A specific third party link syntax incompatable with wiki markup language

Greetings: A third party site (USGS) allows link saving with various display parameters imbeded. This can be executed by pasting into the browser bar but when put into a wikipedia external link the presense of double opening brackets breaks the link. Writing the link contents as a nowiki block within the single outer brackets causes no link to be generated.

(The following <nowiki> </nowiki> inside of single brackets - note that no link is generated)

In late 2013 a means of saving a link "bookmark" was instituted. One such bookmark for this general area may be selected here to show regional earthquakes of all magnitudes for the most recent seven days:[http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/#{%22feed%22%3A%227day_all%22%2C%22search%22%3Anull%2C%22sort%22%3A%22newest%22%2C%22basemap%22%3A%22grayscale%22%2C%22autoUpdate%22%3Atrue%2C%22restrictListToMap%22%3Atrue%2C%22timeZone%22%3A%22local%22%2C%22mapposition%22%3A[[37.00255267215955%2C-123.31329345703124]%2C[39.27691581029594%2C-120.34149169921875]]%2C%22overlays%22%3A{%22plates%22%3Atrue%2C%22faults%22%3Atrue}%2C%22viewModes%22%3A{%22map%22%3Atrue%2C%22list%22%3Afalse%2C%22settings%22%3Atrue%2C%22help%22%3Afalse}}]

(Note that if the following link is selected and pasted into the browser's link bar the correct http code is executed by the site - you will get a seismic map presentation)

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/#{%22feed%22%3A%227day_all%22%2C%22search%22%3Anull%2C%22sort%22%3A%22newest%22%2C%22basemap%22%3A%22grayscale%22%2C%22autoUpdate%22%3Atrue%2C%22restrictListToMap%22%3Atrue%2C%22timeZone%22%3A%22local%22%2C%22mapposition%22%3A[[37.00255267215955%2C-123.31329345703124]%2C[39.27691581029594%2C-120.34149169921875]]%2C%22overlays%22%3A{%22plates%22%3Atrue%2C%22faults%22%3Atrue}%2C%22viewModes%22%3A{%22map%22%3Atrue%2C%22list%22%3Afalse%2C%22settings%22%3Atrue%2C%22help%22%3Afalse}}

A workaround is needed for this to be useable within a specific article. If no workaround is possible the parsing engine may need work.

Thank you,

- Leonard G. (talk) 07:12, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

like this? Maproom (talk) 07:51, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

I should explain. The trick is to go through the url, replacing problematic characters with their encodings. In the above, I replaced all [ ] { } by %5B %5D %7B %7D respectively. Maybe I didn't need to replace all of them – but what I did worked. The page it leads to is fascinating. It's a scrollable and zoomable map of the world, with every earthquake in the last week shown, its size and colour indicating its magnitude and recentness. And it automatically updates once a minute. Maproom (talk) 12:37, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Using photographs from the English edition of Wikipedia on articles translated to other languages.

I just translated an article from the English Wikipedia. I would like to use a couple of images that are "decorating" the english article in the translated one. The images are tagged as "fair use" and do not appear in Wikimedia Commons. Could I still use them since they would be used in the exact same article, but in a different language?PapirosLarous (talk) 07:21, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Different Wikipedias have different rules about this. I suggest you ask in the help desk (or whatever they call it) of whichever language Wikipedia your translated article is for. Maproom (talk) 07:34, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Many other projects do not accept fair use images, because the rules governing them are very specific to US copyright law, and are very different if they exist at all in the copyright law of most other countries. That is part of the reason why they are not accepted on Commons. DES ^(talk) 15:48, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

If the rules of that other Wikipedia allow them, you will still need to upload them to that Wikipedia: there is no way for one Wikipedia to use an image from another one. --ColinFine (talk) 22:37, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Mike Perlis update on his career

I worked with Mike Perlis at Runners World-Rodale press. He left there in 1985, and worked from 1985 to 1989 at IDG Peterborough, NH. I then worked with Mike in 1989, until he left for Playboy Media Group in 1989.

Larry Eder, — Preceding unsigned comment added by 162.232.169.6 (talk) 08:07, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

I note you had already added this information to Mike Perlis before posting here. However, you have not cited any Reliable sources to corroborate the information. Wikipedia aims to have information cited in a reliable independent source that can be checked by any editor, at any time (which excludes your memory). If you worked with Perlis, you probably know where such information might have been published - can you find such a reference?
PS I've also sorted out your empty reference error - Arjayay (talk) 09:20, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

If Perlis left Runners World's in 1985, then how did Runners World replace Perlis as publisher of Runners World's in 1987?[1] -- Jreferee (talk) 16:48, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Translation through google translate

Hi! I am trying to make a translation of the article, which is in Polish. English version is very short and needs to be expanded. I figure out that it is possible to make simple translation through google translate, then correct it and here we go...but hmm, all I can do is I am coming to the translation page then I have no idea what to do, somehow I need to confirm that article...but how? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 136.173.162.130 (talk) 09:55, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

The guidance you need is at Wikipedia:Translation. Make sure that you include references to support the content of your English version. - David Biddulph (talk) 12:46, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Please do not just paste a google translation unless you are vey confident in your ability to tidy it up afterwards, and intend to actually do so. Cleaning up a poor translation is an extremely difficult task (take a look at a few articles in Category:Wikipedia articles needing cleanup after translation and you'll see what I mean). A much better way is to expand an article a little bit at a time and tidy it as you go--Jac16888 ^Talk 13:14, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Another method would be to first clean up the Google text, in a word processor or in your sandbox, before pasting it into the English article. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 13:40, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

INFORMATION NOT ACCURATE ABOUT NIGERIA NATIONWIDE LEAGUE

Dear Wikipedia, I am happy to read an article on Nigeria Nationwide League, but please the information on that article is not accurate and needed to be updated, if you can confirm to read my message I will be glad to give you detailed information about the League as the Executive Secretary of the league. Thank you

Olushola Ogunnowo Executive Secretary Nigeria Nation-Wide League Nigeria Football Federation Wuse, zone 7 Abuja <phone number redacted> — Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.190.4.173 (talk) 11:17, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

The place to suggest changes is at Talk:Nigeria Nationwide League. Make sure that you provide links to reliable sources independent of your organisation to verify the changes which you propose. - David Biddulph (talk) 12:40, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

how do I add pics to an article?

how do I add pics to my articl? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ewalkerm (talk • contribs) 13:13, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Image tutorial. Dismas|^(talk) 13:21, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Republic of Ireland

Why does wikipedia think it can decide the name of a sovereign state above the head of that state. AFAIK republic of Ireland is a football team and nothing else. Is the purpose of wikipedia to be an accurate collection of facts or is it to present its take on reality. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.55.105.16 (talk) 14:31, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Wikipedia does not attempt or pretend to decide what the name of a sovereign state is, it merely decides (or more accurately some of its editors decide) how to title it's articles. The article entitled Republic of Ireland starts "Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann), is a sovereign state in Europe..." The article Ireland is about the entire land body, including Northern Ireland. (it starts "Ireland ... is an island to the north-west of continental Europe.") We can not have two articles with the same title, so we must call this one something. Also, my understanding is that "Poblacht na hÉireann" translates approximately as "Republic of Ireland". If, after all that, you think that the article name should be changed, please discuss the matter at Talk:Republic of Ireland, which is the page for suggesting changes in that article. DES ^(talk) 14:45, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Talk:Republic of Ireland would usually be the place to discuss the name but in this case it has already been discussed extensively and the page has the box Template:IECOLL-talk which says where to discuss it. See also the "Frequently Asked Questions" box at Talk:Republic of Ireland which only has one question: "Why isn't this article titled Ireland?" PrimeHunter (talk) 15:09, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Editing a German wiki page

I've been asked to update a German page:

de:Sicpa

I've made the edits but can't seem to put the changes live. It says I have 'unmarked changes' or 'unsighted changes' and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. My German is pretty non-existent.

There seems to be a slightly different way of working on the Germn Wiki site to the UK and I can't work it out.

Any help gratefully received.

Iain — Preceding unsigned comment added by Iainplunkett (talk • contribs) 14:40, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

This page is about help with using the English-language Wikipedia, so we can't always be of much help with other language versions of Wikipedia. They are separate projects. However, there is a feature, known as "pending changes" on the English language version, which can be activated for particular pages. When it is active, new edits from unregistered users and, I think, users who are registered but not autoconfirmed, are held in a pending status until another editor accepts them. This is designed as an anti-vandalism tool. The en wikipedia makes very little use of this feature. I believe that the de Wikipedia makes more use of it, and it sounds to me as if this is what you encountered. DES ^(talk) 14:51, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Yes, you have done nothing wrong. Your edit was saved [2] but hasn't been reviewed yet. This means unregistered users and some registered users will not see the edit at the normal article view https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicpa until a German editor reviews it and either accepts or rejects it. I cannot say when this will happen. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:00, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Thanks guys. Can I ask a quick follow-up question. Is this simply a matter of time or is there anything I can do to alert someone that I've made changes? Cheers. Iain.iainplunkett (talk) 15:04, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

It's automatically added to a list where interested German editors can find it, but there are lots of pending changes. If I read the logs correctly then the oldest are 12 days but only a few are above 9 days and may have been skipped by some editors due to complications. I don't know their practices but some editors probably work through the list from the oldest, while others may unpredictably come by a random pending change and review it before a chronological editor gets there. Unless your change is critical like removing serious vandalism, defamation or copyright violations, you are just expected to wait. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:24, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

I think that any time that an editor with the right to approve such changes views or edits or looks at the page history of the page, that editor will be prompted to consider reviewing and approving or declining the changes. Such an editor could ignore the prompt, but I suspect most would approve routine changes, well, routinely. DES ^(talk) 15:26, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

in the midst of editing an article and cannot seem to locate it to work on it.

hi, I was in the midst of creating an article, I opted to see preview. Now I want to edit it and cannot seem to get back to the article, how can I find it. I had not saved it because I was still editing it. Thanks, Cindy — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cterzian (talk • contribs) 10:48, 18 November 2013‎

I'm afraid if you didn't save, it is not saved on Wikipedia. When you preview, a view of what the page would look like if saved is shown at the top, and the editing box is at the bottom. If that page is still displayed in your browser, scroll down and the edit box may well still be there. if it isn't you may be able to use browser navigation to return to the preview, and your browser may still have your text in memory. Good luck. DES ^(talk) 15:55, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

While you are getting used to things, it may help to work on drafts in your sandbox and just save frequently. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 16:01, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

What's a respectable period of time between requesting page moves?

There was a page move requested over at Sega v. Accolade recently, which was closed on November 13th as no consensus. Then it was re-requested on November 15th. There appears to be some background between editors regarding the motives for such a request being raised again, but I'm curious as I can't find any reference in the page move articles that suggests how long a gap should be before moves are sensibly requested again. For the record, (as I state on the page) I was non-commital on the initial move, but am against it on the re-request as I feel that it's inappropriately soon, and smacks of "keep requesting until we get a desired outcome".

Although not required (this ain't ANI) I will inform the editors via the talk page that I've brought this up here. Chaheel Riens (talk) 17:58, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

There is no formal policy, but making repeated requests when there is no reasonable chance of consensus having changed is disruption. The appropriate response is (1) first let the editor who does it know, via a polite talk page message, that you consider it disruptive, (2) if it continues, let the editor know, via a polite but firm talk page message, that continuing the activity will force you to file a report at ANI, (3) if it still continues, file a report at ANI asking for administrative action. Avoid being rude or showing emotion, and don't make your messages any longer than they need to be, and don't let yourself get sucked into unproductive arguments. Looie496 (talk) 18:51, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

I wasn't the one who proposed it, but I believe that since the closer of the first proposal ignored my !vote pretty much, that it felt there may have been a chance for consensus. Though I was surprised at the sudden re-proposal as well, and I'm glad you've checked up on how appropriate it is or isn't, Caheel. This does relax that lingering question I had in my mind if it was okay for the proposer (who wasn't the original proposer either), to bring it up again after only a couple days.--SexyKick 19:06, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

One question: I have made a lot of move requests on many titles. Particularly on Talk:United States v. Microsoft Corp., was I disruptive for re-proposing the renaming? George Ho (talk) 20:55, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

That's out of scope of my original question. I want to know whether there is a process or state of grace between the original proposal, and the re-raising of it. Chaheel Riens (talk) 22:35, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

deleted page

we need to fix a deleted page. my husband had a page someone put up without permission. how do we fix it if we are not the original log in? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.10.8.155 (talk) 18:12, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

The permission of the subject of an article is not required. You probably need to read Wikipedia's guidance on conflict of interest. - David Biddulph (talk) 18:23, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

If the page has been deleted, no one but administrators can see it, so "fixing" a deleted article is pretty pointless. (If it contained some REALLY bad personal stuff or your personal address/phone, it might qualify for WP:OVERSIGHT so that even admins cannot see it. Follow the instructions there.) -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 18:41, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Please do not go around blanking entire sections, like you did at Yoni Sarden, or you will find yourself blocked. - Arjayay (talk) 18:45, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

The deleted page referred to by the OP may have been Marcellus "Handz Down" Dawson? - David Biddulph (talk) 18:56, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

If that is the articel, it was deleted through Proposed deletion on the grounds of lack of established notability and poor sources, and the article text looks as if it would require significant improvement to remain as an active article. Anyone who want to improve a PRODed article can ask at WP:REFUND and it will usually be granted. DES ^(talk) 19:36, 18 November 2013 (UTC)