Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2014 November 10

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November 10

Referencing errors on Clan Arthur

Reference help requested. Can you retrieve the old article and amend it as before? I messed up the [modern history] section. Thanks, Dalotos (talk) 00:52, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

You simply had a stray <ref> tag at the beginning of a paragraph, causing a cite error. I have removed the ref tag. If you want someone to revert all of your edits (I'm not sure what you meant by "messed up"), let us know. ‑‑Mandruss ☎ 01:01, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Referencing errors on Clan Arthur pt 2

Reference help requested. I have been bumbling my way through the editing of Clan Arthur and believe I have solved all the issues (as initially I erased lots in the previous article section [modern history] I have no intention of changing the previous article and have only tried to add. I have added a little to the existing section, but have made significant changes to a section I have created and named [legend]. The ref areas I am not sure about. Adding arrows seemed and inserting ref is were the problems seemed to arise. I have added my external link although my edit looks different from the others. If anyone can help me with any mistakes I have made, I would be most appreciative. Kindly....thanks mandruss....(I thought I had sorted it, but it turns out you did)... I like your style and humour..thanks dude...oh Mandruss can you see (if you don't mind, whether my other edits are ok such as ref and ext links? Thanks, Dalotos (talk) 01:51, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

@Dalotos: I left a message on your talk page about this about an hour ago (as indicated by a highlighted numeric digit at the top of your screen).

You have added a URL to the References section, apparently trying to create a citation. I would be happy to convert this to the correct form, but I would need to know exactly where in the text to insert the citation. In other words, what fact(s) does your source support in the body text?

While the standard for inclusion is that any content should be verifiable in reliable sources, it's nice to actually include inline citations wherever possible. That helps "protect" the text, significantly reducing the likelihood that it will be removed by another editor at some point in the future. Much of the information in the article was already sourced in this manner. ‑‑Mandruss ☎ 02:05, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Referencing errors on Clan Arthur pt 3

Reference help requested. I can't handle this anymore!! I can't edit properly. I am physical pain and have to stop. can someone please explain how to send messages. Sorry Mandruss. I have to go as I have had enough...been on here for 4 hrs. mandruss- i have added my ext link and added my ref under 15. I also added a link to another website as a link (trying to be clever). sorry man, but I have to go. Thanks for your help. Cheers Thanks, Dalotos (talk) 03:22, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

@Dalotos: I understand. The moment one realizes they're over their head as a Wikipedia editor, the best approach is:

• Stop.
• Seek help.
• Read information provided.
• Seek clarification if needed.
• Try again.
• Repeat as necessary.

Basically, slow down. Spend some time reading the available help information, before you attempt to do anything. Of course you're in pain. I will take a look and see what I can do for the article.

Regarding how to send messages, there is no "instant messaging" facility at Wikipedia, per se. You can post on another user's talk page, which will automatically notify them via the numeric digit at the top of their screen. You can also "ping" them from any talk page, using {{ping|username}}, which will send them a notification summoning them to that talk page, via the same mechanism. I pinged you above, for example. ‑‑Mandruss ☎ 03:27, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

@Dalotos: You have added quite a large amount of significant but unsourced content. I looked at one of the sources you attempted to cite (incorrectly), and it supports only part of the text that it follows. Without supporting citations, which I'm not feeling inclined to research and add, I don't think much of your additions would survive a review by an editor interested in the topic. Therefore I'm going to revert all of your edits. If another editor reading this disagrees, my revert can easily be reverted in turn.

About 10 hours ago, another editor posted a standard welcome message on your talk page. It contains links to introductory help information, and I would suggest that you read all of that information at a minimum before you attempt more editing. There is a link to your talk page at the top of your screen.

You might be interested in Wikipedia's Adopt-a-user program, in which you can sign up to be adopted by an experienced mentor editor who can give you close one-on-one guidance. ‑‑Mandruss ☎ 04:15, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for the long explaination. I am extrememly unhappy about everything i have put on there be removed. I see little reason to perservere with this as spending such amount of time causes lots of physical pain from an injury. I must say that everything I added was from references, but i don't know how to do that and I will add that I am a McArthur and see no reason why the information I put on there is not credible. There is too much for me to deal with and I just think I will leave it here, I would have liked to contribute a lot more energy and time to editing wiki articles as it serves great purpose educationally and for my partners and brothers website Histropedia. It would have given me great pleasure to spend a bit of time each day to better both sites...but to honest, I can't be bothered if this is what happens. If the page was reinstated then I could gladly try to endevour. What is ping? numeric digits?....not sure about any of this?...surely there is a way that idiots can edit pages and/or wiki can take someones word if they have cross-referenced, double/riple checked with relatives who actually know what they are talking about??? Thanks for you help Mandruss, I definitely appreciate your time anf effort to explain stuff. please don't take what I say as an insult. Cheers and goodbye. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dalotos (talk • contribs) 23:48, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Like many new Wikipedia editors, you jumped in a car, tried to drive it at full speed with little if any driving instruction first, and crashed. I'm sorry to see that happen. ‑‑Mandruss ☎ 00:00, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

Referencing errors on Clan Arthur conclusion

Here we have a good example of a basic flaw when it comes to trying to help out brand-new users. This intelligent person apparently didn't know how to get back here without posting another message via some "ReferenceBot help" path. Pinging them was of no use because, with all the other confusion, they failed to grasp the concept of that highlighted numeric digit at the top. So this person will never read my explanation and encouragement above, they will only see that all of their changes to the article are gone, all of their effort wasted. This person clearly knew something about the subject and could have been a good contributor, but they will likely never return for another try. I wouldn't either.

If we wish to stop losing people like this, what's sorely needed is a way to make a message pop up on the target user's screen, where it is impossible to miss. You can't help someone if you can't communicate with them. ‑‑Mandruss ☎ 09:38, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

I've added a Talk Back message to their talk page. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Dismas|^(talk) 10:37, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Thanks Mandruss...you are an ace guy! signed Dalotos (don't how to do this signage)— Preceding unsigned comment added by Dalotos (talk • contribs) 23:50, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

To do the signage, you use the tilde character ~ four times at the end of each message you write, like this: ~~~~. It gets magically converted into a signature: your username, and the date and time. This is recommended, as it makes communication between editors easier. Maproom (talk) 01:22, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

Developing 8 Countries

Hello Sir,

This is Sheikh Mohammad Moinuddin, from the D-8 Secretariat, I have seen the title is Developing 8 Countries but I would like to inform you that the tile would be "D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation" not "Developing 8 Countries" and one more issue is that the logo which is in right side also inappropriate.

I would request you to change the title of the page as "D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation" and give me the privilege to upload the correct logo.

Thank you.

Kind regards,

Sheikh Mohammad Moinuddin — Preceding unsigned comment added by Devlop8 (talk • contribs) 09:23, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

A "requested move" discussion has been opened to change the title of this page. Other editors will now have the chance to give an opinion, and if there is general agreement the title will be changed within a few days. Before uploading the logo please take a look at this guidance, as we have to be sure that copyright in images is respected: Noyster (talk), 15:43, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

official_name vs native_name at Template:Infobox settlement

What's the difference between official_name and native_name at Template:Infobox settlement? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Intrebatorul (talk • contribs) 09:33, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Questions about template parameters are better asked on the template's talk page, as the people who know the most about the template are more likely to be watching that page than Help desk. But I'll offer my uneducated opinion. Take, for example, a village in northern Alaska. The official name might be that provided by GNIS, while the native name would be the Inuit name for that place. ‑‑Mandruss ☎ 10:05, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

See Template:Infobox settlement#Parameter names and descriptions. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:13, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Page title requires changing

Hi

the page title at Madani High School requires changing to Madani Schools Federation. www.madani.leicester.sch.uk — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bilalg15 (talk • contribs) 11:33, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Done. --David Biddulph (talk) 11:41, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Removing notices

Hello,

I noticed that on page for Linda Harasim (Linda Harasim) there were notices dating back to 2010 asking for people to update the page.

I did so, in September 2014.

However the notices remain.

How do I get the notices removed now that the entry has been updated to address the problems that were tagged in the original notices?

Marc — Preceding unsigned comment added by Marcbelanger (talk • contribs) 17:02, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

The tags are at the top of the article, encased in double brackets {{like this}}. I removed the one that no longer applies (though I did replace it with another tag which now does apply). I hope that helps. --Jayron32 17:26, 10 November 2014

(UTC)

What Jayron32 didn't say explicitly, Marcbelanger, is that you were allowed to remove the notices yourself once you believed that they were no longer applicable. Of course, if somebody disagreed with you, they could restore the notice, just like any other edit, and you would then have had the option to open a discussion with them on the article's talk page. --ColinFine (talk) 22:43, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

I also have added to the page a tag that appears to apply there. Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 04:52, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

Political funding category page

Can someone please improve the alphabetical sorting on this page? Country-specific articles should be listed under the respective country's capital letter: A for Austria, I for Ireland, N for New Zealand. Thank you! Khnassmacher (talk) 17:46, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

You need to include the appropriate sort word in the category tag. I've corrected it for Ireland in this edit, & you need to do the same for the others. --David Biddulph (talk) 19:09, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Categories, such as Category:Political funding are automatically sorted according to the article title, (or a default sort template, if one has been used, but these are mainly used on articles about people so they sort according to their last-name).
AFAIK categories cannot be manually re-sorted, without changing the article title, which could involve extensive re-linking of articles linking to the existing title, or inserting a hidden template in the article, which would then change the "sort-title" of the article in all the categories it is in, which could have unforeseen and unintended effects on other categories. Neither of these options is, therefore, ideal. - Arjayay (talk) 19:22, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

David's diff this edit shows what to do it. See Help:Category#Sort order. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:49, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Yes, indeed, David was most helpful and I have corrected the others myself. That settlers the issue! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Khnassmacher (talk • contribs) 07:55, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

Name collision for image

Hello,

I'm adding pages for some novels that have been missing. I just added the page for Blood and Bone by Ian Cameron Esslemont:

Blood and Bone (novel)

And have attempted to use the following image for it:

commons:File:Blood and Bone.jpg

Unfortunately, the page seems to be pulling an image from a film of the same name. Nothing I have attempted has succeeded in fixing this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Knmorgan08 (talk • contribs) 18:03, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

The image for the Esselmont book is on Commons with the same name as the film poster. This will resolve itself, since non-free images are not allowed on Commons and it will be deleted. You need to upload the book image here with the proper permissions. --  Gadget850 ^talk 18:18, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Wayne, West Virginia

Your posted article concerning the incorporation of the Town of Wayne in 1860, etc, is inaccurate. Your post is what has been commonly accepted for ages.

However, I just recently did in depth research on this subject, and discovered the incorporation documents in the Wayne County Court House, along with all the related documents. The town, commonly known as Trout's Hill, was not incorporated until 1882, as the town of Fairview. In 1911 the Court acted upon an appeal to change the name to Wayne, and it has been Wayne since that time.

My name is Howard Osburn and I am the founder of the Wayne County Genealogical And Historical Society, about 20 years ago, and have served as an officer since that time. I am the Editor of our quarterly newsletter and webmaster of our website, which is wcghs.com. Please visit the website, and you will find the documented research relating to this story.

Thanks,

Howard — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.80.191.193 (talk) 20:38, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Hello, the short answer is that Wikipedia is a group of part-time volunteers all over the world, and it's unlikely to find someone here at the Help desk who will care to spend that much time improving the article on Wayne, WV. All of us have other things on our plates. The best approach is to first learn something about Wikipedia and how it works, and then there are a number of ways to proceed from there.

You should see a link, Talk, at the top edge of your screen, toward the right side. Clicking that link will take you to your user talk page, where I have posted a welcome message. That message contains links to various introductory help pages. I'd suggest that you read all of that information and then return to the Help desk if you wish to pursue this further. ‑‑Mandruss ☎ 05:39, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

login problem

I have not edited Wikipedia for about a year. My account USERNAME and my PASSWORD don't work.

Wikipedia won't forward my password reset to my email. I used this page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:PasswordReset

Wikipedia won't let me create a new account with my username sponsion. Wikipedia says sponsion is already in use! I used this page: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Special%3APasswordReset&type=signup

Why won't Wikipedia email me my sponsion USERNAME and allow me to reset my PASSWORD? 108.248.64.217 (talk) 20:49, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

What is your username? Ruslik_Zero 21:01, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

The question referred (3 times) to the user name Sponsion, which does have e-mail enabled. --David Biddulph (talk) 21:07, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

I have also sent a password reset email to User:Sponsion via Special:PasswordReset. It says the mail has been sent. I see no reason to doubt that. For privacy reasons it doesn't reveal whether an email address is correct if you enter one. Check any email address you may have saved in the account and still have access to. The account was created 21 January 2008. The page history of User:Sponsion says you changed email address in 2009. Mails are only sent to the address saved at Special:Preferences. Check spam folders in your email software and the website of your email provider. If you cannot receive the password mail or remember the password then you have to create a new account with another name. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:59, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Thank you. Although I did not receive a password reset email from Wikipedia, I logged onto Wikipedia with sponsion and my original password! Sponsion (talk) 23:51, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Welcome back! Yes, although the page is called "Special:PasswordReset", the original password remains valid. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:20, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

Removal of notable alumni

Hello, someone keeps removing celebrities from our town who have come from the high school, on the school page. How can we keep this from happening? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.20.17.243 (talk) 23:59, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

This must be about Leominster High School. I have just removed two such myself. The list is headed "Notable alumni", and the word "notable" has a special meaning here on Wikipedia: it is used to describe people who have Wikipedia articles about them, as explained at notable. I am not claiming that Alex Marcoux, for instance, does not deserve to have a Wikipedia article, just that at present, she does not have one, and while she does not have one she does not belong in the list. Maproom (talk) 00:43, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

It would also be acceptable to include notable people who do not yet have articles, but who clearly satisfy the quideline Maproom cited. One or more references should be cited (via inline cites) to establish notability unless there is a link to their existing Wikipedia biography. Some examples might include members of a state or national legislature, professional athletes who've played at the highest level of competition, Olympic athletes, or other persons such as entertainers, businesspeople, academics artists or authors with the amount and type of coverage by reliable sources needed to show they are notable by Wikipedia standards. If such persons do not have articles, the best bet is to create the article before adding them to the list of alumni. Edison (talk) 00:38, 13 November 2014 (UTC)

And just as a bit of a side note, it would be best if each of these names had a reference to a source for this information. Perhaps an interview with the individual or some biography from a reliable source. Dismas|^(talk) 00:54, 11 November 2014 (UTC)