Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2015 April 15

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April 15

Mickey Melchiondo/Dean Ween page

Hi, I am Mickey Melchiondo/Dean Ween. My wikipedia page is filled with errors and misinformation-- I would like to help to clarify and correct it. It says not to leave my email address but I am going to anyway as I have no idea how you will contact me otherwise. it is [redacted]

sincerely, Mickey — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.13.66.237 (talk • contribs)

Hello, here are the ways that you can actually get help with issues about yourself in articles Wikipedia:Autobiography#Problems_in_an_article_about_you -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 01:48, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Dan Schneider (entrepreneur)

Good afternoon,

There is a Wikipedia Page for Dan Schneider (Enterprenuer) that may be false. I do not believe this story. He may have a college degree. I do not believe he made 35 million dollars in sales. He does lie alot. He lied to me about going to a Wedding because in high school, I had a part-time job at a country club. I believe that he is using my story or a false story, but I would like someone to ask him to prove his story. I don't believe it.

Karen Galie

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.59.5.165 (talk • contribs) @173.59.5.165: GermanJoe (talk) 01:34, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Please read WP:BLP before making additional changes to that article. If you can provide reliable published sources WP:RS for your allegations, it would be best to discuss your concerns at the article's talkpage. You should phrase your suggestions as neutral as possible, even if you disagree with some of the article's current content. GermanJoe (talk) 01:31, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Cebuano?

Hi there,

I've been having this weird issue the past few weeks. Whenever I come on to wikipedia, and I type something into the search box, my results come up in Cebuano instead of English. I've been looking through the help desk, but I can't find any reason this would happen or how I can fix it. I hadn't even heard of this language before now, I only know what it is because I pasted some text into Google translate.

I can normally bypass the issue by going back to the first page and clicking on English specifically, but it's really slowing down some of my quick searches for episodes names and it's really starting to get on my nerves now.

What's going on? Why does wikipedia think I speak Cebuano? How do I fix it?

Yours Truly,

PT — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.162.143.243 (talk • contribs)

This likely has little to do with Wikipedia and probably everything to do with the cookie that your browser has stored on your computer. A cookie that thinks that your language of choice is Cebuano. If you clear your browser's cookies, then that should fix the issue. Dismas|^(talk) 01:08, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Are you searching from the search box at http://www.wikipedia.org? If the box to the right of the search box says "Sinugboanong Binisaya" (meaning Cebuano in that language) then change it to say English. Or you can search from anywhere at https://en.wikipedia.org to automatically get the English Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:18, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Las Navas/Education

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Leonard Ocino Lluz (talk • contribs)

References

Hello @Leonard Ocino Lluz: . You didnt really leave any explanation for what kind of help you wanted. please provide some specifics. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 03:16, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

@Leonard Ocino Lluz: I fixed the reference error at Las Navas, Northern Samar. Is there anything else?  SchreiberBike | ⌨  03:22, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

How do you handle a case like this?

I've been working on trying to resolve a long-standing issue at Americans involving editor RightCowLeftCoast (talk · contribs). After weeks of discussions and suggestions I finally told him that I was going to take it to the wider community to resolve. His response was to put out this crude dog whistle and then this red cape was waved in my face at another article I've put very much effort into improving. (That second user – SleepCovo (talk · contribs) – looks like someone's sacrificial sock, based on his/her history.)

So what do you do? If I ignore them and move on, a couple of articles that I've put a lot of effort into will be in terrible shape and there will be a couple of editors out there who will likely continue to try to drive away many more fine editors off of Wikipedia. I've looked into the various dispute resolution processes, but just trying to figure out how to navigate that process would take a huge chunk of what little editing time I can afford to spend on WP. And RightCowLeftCoast (talk · contribs) appears to be well informed on how to play the system, so it would likely be a long, unpleasant experience. So, what can be done? Sparkie82 (t•c) 04:22, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

@Sparkie82: Big disclaimer: I don't know a good answer to your question and I'm neither very familiar with the subject area you are working in nor with Wikipedia's dispute resolution process. However since no one else has tried, and I've thought about this problem myself, I'll weigh in and maybe others can add to what I say.

First, there's a lot to be said for having a nice cup of tea and a sit down. If you are seeing a "dog whistle" and a "red cape", it may be that you are thinking too much like an angry dog or a raging bull. I don't know much about the topic area and am not familiar with the dispute going on, but I don't see obvious provocation there. Others, looking at this for the first time, probably won't either.

Getting into the dispute resolution process can be messy, time consuming and unpleasant. It's also true though that if people don't stand up to bullies they will ruin the playground for everyone. (Again repeating that I don't know what's going on in this case and I'm not saying that @RightCowLeftCoast: is a bully.) If you do think it is worth your time and effort, then dive in, do your best and ask for help from others. Usually (but not always) the dispute resolution process on Wikipedia turns out well and people are reasonable.  SchreiberBike | ⌨  15:36, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Being accused of having a WP:SOCKPUPPET shows bad faith. I do not know whom SleepCovo is and was am commenting here as I was pinged. Accusing me of being a bully is also showing bad faith. I reminded Sparkie82 of making such claims and WP:BOOMERANG.

This is a content dispute that appears to have turned into a fishing expedition against myself, and I have kindly asked Sparkie82 to walk away and leave me alone. Instead Wikipedia notification informs me of this accusation. And it makes me feel harassed and does not make my editing pleasent knowing that I am accused of some thing I haven't done.--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 18:34, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Furthermore, bringing up an unrelated edit from an active arbitration case could be seen as WP:WIKISTALKING. Please, I kindly implore Sparkie82 to please stop. Please, again, as I asked kindly before to leave me alone.--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 18:40, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

I kindly as un-involved administrators MelanieN and Wtmitchell for advice. If I stand accused, I trust both editors to do the right thing. If I am banned for something that I have not done by them, so be it.--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 19:00, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

This is the Help desk, which is for questions about how to use and edit Wikipedia. For dispute resolution, see WP:DR. For reporting user misconduct, see WP:ANI. For endless bickering, see user talk pages. ―Mandruss ☎ 18:48, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

@SchreiberBike and @Mandruss - Thank you for your advice and suggestions. Sparkie82 (t•c) 17:08, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

Scythian Languages

I made chaneges in Scythian languages supported by sources and refenrences, but in the next day all changes dissappered, What should I do so that the proposed changes are accepted? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:1028:86F1:71BA:4420:EAD7:383:3678 (talk) 04:56, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

You can discuss the article and changes to it on the talk page for that article at Talk:Scythian languages. It is also important to explain your edits as you make them in an edit summary. That way people can see why you made the changes you did.  SchreiberBike | ⌨  06:21, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Upload Error

I wanted to upload an picture, but it says, This is only available for (auto)confirmed and moderators, what can i do? (excuse my bad english) --Lukasz - Discussion 09:05, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

You can ask someone else to upload it for you at this page. Yunshui ^雲_水 09:18, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Uploading of an image

Could you kindly advise how I can upload an image of myself on my wikipedia page ? Many thanks Xavier Rolet — Preceding unsigned comment added by Xrolet (talk • contribs)

@Xrolet: To upload an image, you can use the wizard at WP:UPLOAD. Since you have edited an article that seems to be about you, please take a few things into consideration. You have a conflict of interest. We are writing an encyclopedia which should remain balanced and neutral. People tend to be rather biased when it comes to writing about themselves. You can see our conflict of interest guideline at WP:COI. Also, it is not your Wikipedia page. It is an article about you. Please see WP:OWN about the dangers of thinking that you own an article about yourself. By pointing these things out, I'm not trying to be rude. I'm just trying to urge caution as you work with the Rolet article. If there are problems about the article that you would like fixed, please follow the advice at WP:AUTOPROB. Thanks, Dismas|^(talk) 10:08, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

While I agree with everything Dismas has said, Xrolet, I would point out that providing a good picture of yourself (as long as you own the copyright, and are willing to license it as required) is one way that you are welcome to improve the article. --ColinFine (talk) 11:51, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Thanks. I should have pointed that out. Dismas|^(talk) 11:59, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Help for a dance article, and confusion at the Dance project talk page

Dear editors: I was contacted by a new editor who is working on a draft article about a ballet company, Draft:Editta_Braun_Company, which needs some serious work to make it encyclopedic. Knowing very little about ballet, I added some sources and then suggested that she ask for advice at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Ballet. I noticed, though, that the talk page there was rather inactive, so I decided to cross-post at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Dance in hopes of attracting a willing editor who would know what information should be in a ballet article (it all seems pretty subjective to me). I noticed, though, that the talk page there seems to be all mixed up, and I hesitate to post on it until someone who is familiar with the project puts things back the way it was intended to be. So, (a) can anyone help with the article, which needs a COI and essay-ness scrubbing? and (b) can someone look into the problem with the talk page? Thanks.—Anne Delong (talk) 11:57, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

at the project talk page, someone had transcluded another page using { } rather than just linking by using [ ]. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 12:55, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Ah! I hadn't considered that. Thanks!—Anne Delong (talk) 13:18, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

LNP Media Group

I am attempting to place a new image of LNP - Always Lancaster on the page. That became the new name and design of the newspaper on Oct. 16, 2014. The current image, however, notes that it cannot be replaced. Can you direct me to replace the image? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 23.30.210.105 (talk • contribs)

Where does it state that "it cannot be replaced"? And what image do you plan to use instead? Maproom (talk) 14:28, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

How to add a map in any article?

exp.- I want to add a map of a town of any article then what is the steps to be followed by me? - — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rmje1111 (talk • contribs) 15:54, 15 April 2015‎

@Rmje1111:Does the map already exist at Wikipedia, or will you need one created? --Jayron32 16:05, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Most (if not all) Wikipedia articles about towns already have a link to a map at top, in the form of latitude and longitude coordinates. (It's not very obvious that these are map links!).--Shantavira|^{feed me} 07:38, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

Is he a primary source?

I fail to convince another editor that "The former UN observer, is a primary source for the first half of the sentence: "Israel provoked most border incidents", but he is not a source of any kind for the later part of the sentence: "as part of its strategy to annex more land". The rule of Primary source says: : "Information for which the writer has no personal knowledge is not primary". This person had no personal knowledge concerning the Israeli policy, hence he is not a primary source. Which interpretation of "primary source" is correct? mine or the other editor's interpretation? thanks Ykantor (talk) 17:01, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Regardless of whether or not Jan Mühren's views are a primary source or not, this article by Daan de Wit would be a secondary source, and so the issue is a moot point. The real issue would seem to be whether his view is being presented as his view alone, if it is contradicted or not supported by other sources. Ian.thomson (talk) 17:16, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

This is what I think too as Jan Mühren is quoted from what he said in a Dutch TV program and the quote can also be seen at that article. Only one part was attributed to him, not the second one, which I changed after Ykantor's edit. The section deals with border incidents were there are different accounts given. --IRISZOOM (talk) 18:26, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

-@Ian.thomson:- The article by Daan de Wit is not a wp:rs. It is not verifiable, and the author is not an expert in the issue involved. Is there a peer review or any respected review? is there a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy that WP:RS requires? ( see WP:QUESTIONABLE). I participated in a lot of articles, and I have never seen such a low quality source used as a wp:rs.

- So, is the former U.N observer a primary source for the alleged Israeli policy? Ykantor (talk) 20:59, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

I was going to argue about it being a journalistic source, but looking into it, that site includes 9/11 conspiracy theories. If it was a journalistic source, it would be fine to cite simply to report that that's what Mühren claimed. The Novatv article appears reliable, except that it doesn't support the quote. For that reason, the Mühren materal could be removed.

A primary source on Israeli policy would be something like government documents. Commentary about policy would be a secondary source. Ian.thomson (talk) 21:31, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

You are right about about DeepJournal. However, it was changed only some days ago to that from an article after the former link was dead (I guess because it is one of the sites that shows up while searching for that quote), of which an archived version of it can be found for example here. Deutsche Presse-Agentur is mentioned in that one. I don't think you can base it on the Nova TV article as it is just have a short description of the program. The program there does not seem to work now. The video with English translations can be found here (by two different uploaders):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YorwoqFGCn4, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgZQpHsfWNw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLVoSdg_AE8, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hrjTvWZkgY

So what Jan says there can be seen and also heard for those who speak Dutch. --IRISZOOM (talk) 22:50, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

- For the time being, the first part of the quote can stay in the article with a tag of citation needed. However, as for the second half of the sentence, it seems that the ex observer is not a source at all. Hypothetically, by the same token, he could have said that the reason was an alleged Israeli desire to expel the Syrian people to the moon. Does it make sense to rely on evidence of someone who could not know what the Israeli government wanted? Ykantor (talk) 04:03, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

It is a significant topic about border incidents and who was to blame (it even has an own section). We can't only include one part of Jan's statements and exclude the other because as they are connected. Only mentioning who he thinks is to blame and and not why he thinks Israel did so is not representing the statement accurately. There are many who think Israel has a goal of expansion (it is hard to argue in this case when Israel says Golan Heights now belong to them) so comparing it to some very odd theory about expelling people to the moon makes no sense.

You also keep mentioning that he has no knowledge about what the Israeli government wanted but if we are going to have such an critera, few scholars, observers and others would be included as far from all of them knows what a certain government etc. wants but they make their own interpretation. That is nothing that goes against Wikipedia policy. It is editors who are forbidden to make an own interpretation but this is not the case here.

We have a video and an archived text version, though it is a news blog, so I am not sure a tag is needed. --IRISZOOM (talk) 12:54, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia rules should be obeyed by everyone. The rule says that a wp:rs views are allowed, but not the views of an uninvolved private individual. It is a pity that these rules are ignored. Ykantor (talk) 06:33, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

You have misinterpreted WP:RS (and anyway RS is not policy for that you need to read WP:V). If your reading was true then no expert (eg historian's opinions and interpretation of an historical event) could ever be included in an article. In this case Jan Mühren is being quoted not as a random person on the proverbial omnibus but as a disinterested expert on border incidents in that part of the world. -- PBS (talk) 07:21, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

@PBS: : Thank you for your advice. I will appreciate it if you elaborate. It is agreed that an Mühren is being quoted as a disinterested expert on border incidents (he said "Israel provoked most border incidents""). The problem is that he is quoted for the Israeli policy too, while for that purpose he is an uninvolved private individual (he said "as part of its strategy to annex more land""). The rule of Primary source says: "Information for which the writer has no personal knowledge is not primary". This person had no personal knowledge concerning the Israeli policy, hence he is not a primary source for the Israeli policy. Am I right? Ykantor (talk) 18:49, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

Adding new symbols between text on a new page

Hi

I would like to incorporate new symbols between text while creating my page. These symbols are not available in the symbols option. It can also be used as images as long as they are between the words of the text (rather than on the sides)and are as same size as of the words. Please help. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lijimathew (talk • contribs) 20:27, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

thanks Liji

I'm not entirely sure what you're asking. While in edit mode, on the editor toolbar there is a link that says "Special characters". It has characters from an array of scripts/writing systems. Does this help at all? What type of symbols are you attempting to add? Could you provide an example? Scarce2 (talk) 20:45, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Noel Synnott

Birth information is incorrect - Noel Synnott birthplace Dublin 14 December 1951 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.78.113.187 (talk • contribs) 19:32, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Do you have a reliable source so we can check it out before we fix it? --Jayron32 20:49, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

request edit to westerly RI history

nowhere is the history of the "Hall & Knight purchase", as it was how the town was bought from the indians on january 19 1668. The article states the town was founded by Babcock, he was simply a indian translator helping make the deal between Hall, Knight, and the indian tribe. Thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.229.103.172 (talk • contribs) 21:05, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

The best place for this request would be on the talk page of whichever article it's about. Maproom (talk) 07:38, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

Climate data

I am editing Utica, New York. I want to make a nice sized historical climate data table for the city, but I can't find all of the adequate information from NOAA, or at least I think I can't. Does anyone know where else I can find WP:RS data on climate for Utica, New York? Buffaboy ^talk 23:00, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

How good is data from this government site? Buffaboy ^talk 23:17, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Marking a page as "unread" in watchlist

Is there a way to mark a page as "unread" in watchlist? I sometimes want to come back to a particular page later even though I have seen the changes. Is it possible to "undo" my visit? Kingsindian ♝♚ 23:37, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

This is not possible as far as I know. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:17, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

A pity, seems very basic. Kind of like marking an email "unread". Thanks, anyway. Kingsindian ♝♚ 14:05, 17 April 2015 (UTC)