Help desk
< March 6	<< Feb \| March \| Apr >>	March 8 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Help Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current Help Desk pages.

March 7

Future Sports Articles

Hi I would like to know you got some new articles for future sporting events coming soon. Like 2015–16 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball season article i know that's coming soon. and we hope that there will be more future sporting events articles like the Super Bowl LIII Article because I looked at the Dallas Morning news website that they will announce some finalists for Super Bowl LIII and Super Bowl LIV in May at the NFL Owner's Meeting in San Francisco. But Let me tell you the Super Bowl LIII article will likely be created first in May and then the Super Bowl LIV article will be created later. And I hope there will be 2 or 3 more future sports articles like the 2015–16 NCAA bowls article the 2017 NBA All Star Game article and the 2018 NBA All Star Article and I've Got one more article to tell you hopefully by next year the 2018 MLB All Star Game article will be created. And that's all I have to say about that thank you very much. 68.102.58.146 (talk) 03:26, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Representing a controversial population count

How do you properly represent a city's population count if all the populations counts in the RSs include areas that are not often considered part of the city? We can't find anything in the MOS for this. We currently have the number inside parentheses and asterisked with a footnote. Personally, I don't know the function of the parentheses or why they were put there in the first place, but that doesn't matter. How do you represent such things properly? I am not linking the relevant topic as it's part of an RFC and I have no desire to violate WP:FORUMSHOP. Cheers. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | ^{Say Shalom!} 16 Adar 5775 03:32, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Nothing? Come on, folks, if there's something in the MOS I've missed, point me in the right direction. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | ^{Say Shalom!} 18 Adar 5775 15:17, 9 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It could be that no one who follows this page knows the answer. These folks are mighty smart, but there are probably one or two things they don't know yet. You could try infobox talk (is this an infobox?) or talk for a related MOS page. That said, if this would be FORUMSHOP with a link to the RfC—and I don't know that it would, necessarily—omitting the link would not change that. Perhaps you're thinking of WP:CANVASS? ―Mandruss ☎ 15:38, 9 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Ah thanks, I guess I'll ask on the MOS numbers page and make it even more ambiguous. I figured some background was necessary as someone would have undoubtedly asked what it was about anyway and that by omitting the link it makes it less likely someone would go searching for it. Unless I've misunderstood what FORUMSHOP is about. None of us could find anything in our own searches. Yeah, I guess I was thinking of CANVASS, haha. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | ^{Say Shalom!} 18 Adar 5775 15:47, 9 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Unrequested password change message

I've read that other people have had this problem in the past, but I'm facing it for the first time. I just got an e-mail two days ago(March 4, 2015), apparently from Wikipedia with the following message:

Someone (probably you, from IP address [Some address that's completely unreal]) requested a reset of your password for Wikipedia (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page>). The following user account is associated with this email address:
Username: DanTD
Temporary password: (For the time being, I won't say)
This temporary password will expire in 7 days. You should log in and choose a new password now. If someone else made this request, or if you have remembered your original password, and you no longer wish to change it, you may ignore this message and continue using your old password.

I've made no such requests. How do I know I'll be able to keep things as they are within and after these past seven days? ---------User:DanTD (talk) 03:48, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

As the message says, just ignore it. Anybody can enter your username at Special:PasswordReset to send a temporary password to the email address stored in your account at Special:Preferences. If others don't have access to your email and use the mailed password then there is nothing to worry about. I don't know what you mean by "Some address that's completely unreal" but I wonder whether it's an IPv6 address and you are only used to seeing IPv4 adresses. PrimeHunter (talk) 04:22, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I see it's the IPv6 address. Knowing that, I still wouldn't post it anyhow. ---------User:DanTD (talk) 05:16, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Merging categories and renaming templates

I came across two categories (Category:KTM Intercity railway stations and Category:Stations of Malaysian Railway) which are duplicates and an associated template (Template:Stations of Malaysian Railway) which is at the "wrong" name. Can I fix this myself, or should I list them at WP:CfD and WP:TfD?

After the merge and move, is there a bot that will fix things on the pages, or someone have to do so manually? The categories and template are used in over 60 articles.--Joshua ^{Talk to me} _{What I've done?} 04:10, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

@Joshua: The first thing to do is define these categories: Is there an article on Wikipedia on KTM/Malaysian Railway? Ottawahitech (talk) 16:31, 8 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

@Ottawahitech: The article is Keretapi Tanah Melayu. There is a Category:Keretapi Tanah Melayu, and both categories are subcategories of this category.--Joshua ^{Talk to me} _{What I've done?} 02:48, 9 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

@Joshua: Yes it does appear that these categories are duplicate, but one has 76 station articles as children while the other only has 63 station articles + a template. What is unusual about this duplication is that both categories were created by the same wiki-editor, who appears to have “retired” in 2010. Another unusual thing, in my experience is the edit summary in the more recently created category says:+new cat, redirected from Category:Station of Malaysian Railway. I don’t know if WP: WikiProject Malaysia is active, but I am wondering if a post there may shed some light on this mystery? Or perhaps User:Good Olfactory can explain what to do. Ottawahitech (talk) 13:49, 9 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

If the formal CFD/TFD processes are used to merge both the template and the category, it shouldn't be too troublesome to implement. The template we don't want to keep could be redirected to the one we do want to keep, so the template text would not necessarily need to be changed on the individual article pages that use the one we don't want to keep. (When redirected, it will simply apply the template that's targeted—the one we want to keep. So it won't matter which one is applied on the page, we will get the same result.) As for the categories, they would need to be changed, but the change would be done by bot at the conclusion of the CFD, if it resulted in a merge of the categories. I would suggest a TFD first, and then a follow-up CFD if the merge on the template is done. (You could try to do both nominations simultaneously, but it might be confusing for some editors.) This is the kind of change that would probably be uncontroversial for someone to do outside of the formal nomination processes, but if you're unsure of how to implement it, using the TFD/CFD might be a better option. Good Ol’factory ^(talk) 00:41, 10 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Where is a good place to notify editors of a new service?

I'm offering a diff lookup service. Where would be a good place to let others know about its existance?Two kinds of pork^Makin'_Bacon 06:43, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Try WP:Village Pump .--Fauzan ^{✆ talk}_{✉ mail} 09:46, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Is that similar to WikiBlame? --Fauzan ^{✆ talk}_{✉ mail} 16:08, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It's not an automated tool yet. The basic process is it downloads every diff in a range by a user. From there, fast searches can take place for a keyword. I wrote it due to a tendentious user who challenged people to find "diffs" of their alleged misconduct. Challenge accepted. I'd like to see it be used for editors, admins and even Arbitrators whose voluminous contributions make it difficult to be held to account. Think of it as sunshine in a can.Two kinds of pork^Makin'_Bacon 04:52, 8 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Watchlist

I just made 1/2 dozen edits to the article Archie Blackowl. But my watchlist only shows the last edit, not the prior five. This seems different than in the past. Did I inadvertently change something in preferences perhaps. I would rather see all my edits. . Buster Seven Talk 11:48, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-watchlist; 1st option (Expand watchlist to show all changes, not just the most recent). --David Biddulph (talk) 11:58, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, David.. Buster Seven Talk 12:38, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Afd merger

I've merged Lizabeth Scott (criticism) to the main article. The notice there says a bot will replace the template. How does it know the merger has taken place? I've replaced the text with a redirect and added merged-from and merged-to to the respective talk pages. Does one of those trigger it? Or does it require some secret act too horrible to name? (Should I be looking for a virgin sacrifice?) Clarityfiend (talk) 12:33, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Most bots run on a schedule where they periodically check for changes to areas of Wikipedia they monitor, then do whatever action they are written to do when they detect changes that match their trigger criteria. Simple as that. RegistryKey^(RegEdit) 01:57, 8 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

how do I create a draft page.

How do I create a draft page in my user space?

I have created a Draft/example page in the past but somehow I deleted the link and so cannot get from my own home page to my Draft Article. Can you help? Peter DC (talk) 15:36, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You can find pages you have worked on through your "Contributions" page (link from the top of any page). You confused the situation by putting your draft at User:Example/Draft of article on Isobel Wylie Hutchison (and, of course, your username is not "Example"), so I have moved it to User:Peter Cowlishaw/Draft of article on Isobel Wylie Hutchison. --David Biddulph (talk) 16:54, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Help:Cite errors/Cite error included ref

Hi All,

Please help I am trying to update the website reference as the link was to a 404 error page. I want the link to go to http://www.appassn.org but I am confused on how to get this to display properly and cite it properly.

Thank you ~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by BHinNJ (talk • contribs) 16:39, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

@BHinNJ: Information about references can be found at WP:REFB. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 17:05, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Help:Cite errors/Cite error ref no input

Hello Wikipedia,

My name and comet discoveries are mentioned on a few Wikipedia pages, but the links are red since no pages exist. I've started creating some of the pages; my first is an autobiographical page at User:Howard J. Brewington. Please feel free to check it out and offer comments/suggestions.

I have a quick question, however. Since ":User" is part of the web address, Wikipedia is still saying no page exists for 'Howard J. Brewington.' I've read the Wikipedia's page about writing one's first article and some other FAQ pages for beginners, but I do not see a way to drop 'User.' Please help.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Howard J. Brewington — Preceding unsigned comment added by Howard J. Brewington (talk • contribs) 21:25, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Please do not try to write your own biography. See the policy against autobiographies. You have a conflict of interest. You may request an article via WP:Requested articles, but there is a long backlog there. Also, the page with 'User:' is your user page, in user space. It is not the same as an encyclopedic article in article space, if it is concluded that you are notable on account of your comet discoveries and otherwise. User pages and articles are two different types of Wikipedia pages. You don't want to get 'User:' off your user page; that is how user pages work. Whether you can also have an article page remains to be seen. Robert McClenon (talk) 22:11, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

By the way, I have given you the same answers at the Teahouse. It generally is not useful to ask the same question in two places in Wikipedia. Robert McClenon (talk) 22:11, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2015 March 7

Contents