Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2016 September 24

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September 24

Maximum entries displayed in a category

Hi! In a category with numerous entries, I can see only 200 at a time. There is (next page) option available to see rest entries. But can I increase the number to see, say 500, categories entries or so? §§Dharmadhyaksha§§ {Talk / Edits} 04:37, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

@Dharmadhyaksha: Not that I'm aware of. It's set by $wgCategoryPagingLimit in LocalSettings.php on the server, and there doesn't seem to be any user override or preference for it. It's not an easy in-browser solution, and more for the technically inclined, but you can retrieve the full contents of a category via the API (some coding required, left as an exercise for the reader). Murph9000 (talk) 04:48, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

I did not understand your reply @Murph9000:. I assume your answer is "no". Thanks for digging out though. §§Dharmadhyaksha§§ {Talk / Edits} 04:56, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

@Dharmadhyaksha: In browser, it's a server-wide setting, no obvious way for a user to override it. Coders, on the other hand, can extract the full list through code. So, "no", unless you are a coder. Murph9000 (talk) 05:00, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

@Murph9000: No! Am no coder... Thanks again for your help. §§Dharmadhyaksha§§ {Talk / Edits} 05:07, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

@Dharmadhyaksha: The API is meant for programs. It can be used by humans but usually with significant difficulty. mw:API:Categorymembers can produce unlinked lists with up to 500 pages (5000 for bot accounts). Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan has 471 pages so they are all shown by https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&list=categorymembers&cmlimit=500&cmtitle=Category:Recipients_of_the_Padma_Bhushan. You have to somehow produce url's like that, and it gets more complicated when there are more than 500 and you want the next. PrimeHunter (talk) 10:36, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

Merritt Communications Wiki Page

• Merritt Communications (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Hi there,

I just added a new page on Wikipedia and it says that it will be deleted because of promotional content. I'd be glad to update the page but I'm confused on what is promotional? Everything in the article is informational about the company Merritt Communications.

Thank you,

-Drew

04:39, 24 September 2016 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by DrewMerritt (talk • contribs)

Please understand, Drew, that Wikipedia has essentially no interest in anything that a subject (whether a person, a company, a band, or anything else) says about themselves, or what their friends, relatives, employees, employers, agents, or associates say about them. It is only interested in what people who have no connection with the subject have published about the subject in reliable sources - that is, sources which have a reputation for editorial control and fact checking. None of the sources in your draft is a reliable source, and in any case, most of the statements in your draft are not sourced anyway.

One of the reasons that editors are strongly discouraged from working on articles where they might have a conflict of interest is that it may be hard for them to see what is promotional. Would you expect to find something like your "customer service" paragraph in an encyclopaedia? Absolutely not. It is inappropriate in both tone and content.

Please have a look at What Wikipedia is not, and Your first article. --ColinFine (talk) 10:59, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

Barranco de Badajoz

Vandalism reiterated a registered user in this article: Barranco de Badajoz. This article already has references.--88.9.103.216 (talk) 08:10, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

I see no evidence of vandalism in the history of the article. A registered user, Edward321, has twice removed the longest paragraph, on the grounds that the sources are unreliable. I cannot read Spanish, so I cannot judge if he is right. Maproom (talk) 11:44, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

I too can't read Spanish, so can't properly assess the references. What I can see, however, is that the removed paragraph talks about the paranormal and UFOs. Now, with the exception of secret military or experimental aircraft, I believe it will be extremely difficult to find reliable sources which talk about those subjects. I won't say it's impossible, only probably two of the most difficult topics to include in Wikipedia. If you believe that the sources are reliable (to Wikipedia's WP:RS standard), please explain that on the article's talk page. Murph9000 (talk) 11:57, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

Template changes

Hi, why does it take quite a while until template changes become visible in articles?--Hubon (talk) 13:22, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

@Hubon: It depends on server load and the size of the job queue. Pages are served from a cache for server performance reasons. Template updates do not invalidate the cached copy of pages using the template, just place it on the job queue for processing in turn. You can WP:PURGE individual articles if you really need to (e.g. if they are actually badly broken), but should only do that when necessary, as it is essentially antisocial to do it without good reason and skips the queue (slowing down everyone else's changes). If it is just a routine update such as changing the links in a navbox, you should normally just let the queue deal with it. If you happen to have any normal editing to do on the articles, saving them (either section or full page) automatically purges their cached copy. Murph9000 (talk) 13:47, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

Okay, thanks!--Hubon (talk) 15:14, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

Error in warning text

Not sure where to post this, but if I edit e.g. Wikipedia:Requested moves/Current discussions, I am warned "Your edits will not persist and be overwritten." This sentence is wrong: it should say "will be overwritten": otherwise it is saying "your edits will not ... be overwritten". Equinox ◑ 14:19, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

@Equinox: That text comes from Template:Editnotices/Page/Wikipedia:Requested moves/Current discussions. It can only be edited by administrators and template editors, so you'll need to do an edit request on the talk page. I think you are correct, there should be a second "will" in there to remove ambiguity / confusion. Murph9000 (talk) 14:40, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

Assignment paper

I am creating a wiki page so that I can grade a paper with my classmates for an assignment. I have the sample paper; however, the instructions do not allow for copying and pasting. How would I enter the sample paper for all of us to access. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Micheleadkins55 (talk • contribs) 18:10, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

Micheleadkins55: you say "a wiki page" – were you specifically instructed to use Wikipedia for this? It does not sound like a suitable use for Wikipedia. There are many other wiki sites on the web, probably some of them are more suitable for a purpose like yours. Maproom (talk) 19:03, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

(edit conflict) @Micheleadkins55: Please read WP:NOTWEBHOST. From the sound of it, you want to create a page that is not permitted on Wikipedia, and should instead be hosted on your school / college / university computing resources. Your institution may already have their own servers running the Wikipedia software, MediaWiki, or they can easily setup a server running it. If you create a page that falls outside of Wikipedia's content policies and guidelines, it will very likely be speedily deleted. There is one exception to that, courses operated by the Wiki Education Foundation (WikiEdu / WikiEd), in which case you should check with your instructor for guidance. If I am mistaken, and you intend to create an encyclopaedia article about a subject with notability, which does not already exist on Wikipedia, please provide some more details about exactly what you intend to do and what help you need. We are happy to help with encyclopaedia articles, but can't help with general web hosting. Murph9000 (talk) 19:13, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

Battle of Karansebes

• Battle of Karánsebes (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Hello,

I have rewritten this page to reflect the original account given in the Osterreichische Militarische Zeitschrift - in order to bury the myth once and for all. Somebody has been on recently and turned the article back to the original nonsense. Do I simply reedit this and add something in chat - or would the 'undo' process take it back to my version? — Preceding unsigned comment added by DaveHMBA (talk • contribs) 23:53, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

@DaveHMBA: You may be at the very early stages of a content dispute. Please read Wikipedia:Dispute resolution, which covers both the informal early stage and later formal stages (if it can't be simply resolved informally). As a first step, I suggest you start a new thread on the article's talk page, and concisely explain why you believe your version of the article is better. Try to make it obvious to someone who knows more or less nothing about the subject. Briefly explain why the article was inaccurate prior to your work. The current version has content which was not in the version before your edits, so briefly explain why that version is not better. Once that is done, post a one-line note on the IP user's talk page pointing them to the discussion and inviting them to comment. Try to keep all this in a constructive, collaborative tone and spirit, if you can. I.e. the aim is to have a constructive discussion where you can both agree on the path forward. This could potentially take days, but there is no deadline. See also WP:BRD — you boldly changed the article, it has been reverted, now some discussion is needed. Murph9000 (talk) 00:27, 25 September 2016 (UTC)