Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2017 December 22

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December 22

Do you like logos of Wikimedia Incubator?

Do you like logos of Wikimedia Incubator? --Blackman0 (talk) 05:31, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Yes. But what do you actually wish assistance in? Lourdes 06:42, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

The subject of Electricity

Hi, I am Drycroft4. I have attempted to edit the Wiki article "electricity" a number of times but as you can see, it gets reversed by Wtshymanski. Can you get some "expert" to resolve (or write a compromise) to this important issue? What I have written is correct (I have checked with experts), clear, and written for wiki-readers. You can see the comments on the talk page of Wtshymanski, but in all honesty, what he says is just not correct (or explained well) information. It conveys little information (is circular logic - - such as water is wet) and if I was a person looking up electricity, what Wtshymanski wrote would do nothing but confuse me. Try to help. Thanks, Drycroft4 (talk) 06:24, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Hello Drycroft4. In my opinion, Wtshymanski has given a fair reasoning to you for reverting your additions, which the editor apparently found obtusely worded. You should also read our no original research and verifiability policies – it's not about what experts have told you, it's all about which all reliable sources have documented the material you're trying to add. Nevertheless, in case you disagree, you can start a discussion at Talk:Electricity listing out the changes you would wish to make to the article, and proceed as per consensus visible in the talk page discussions. Thanks, Lourdes 06:39, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Hello, Drycroft4. Wikipedia does not resolve content disputes by appeal to experts, but by consensus in applying Wikipedia's principle to material from reliable sources. When the parties cannot reach a consensus, WP:Dispute resolution explains the steps to follow. --ColinFine (talk) 10:54, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Drawing attention

By what means would I encourage other users to, say, review my changes, or reply on a talk page? I'm not a newcomer by any means, but I've always had trouble getting feedback on lower-traffic articles and pages. Jjjjjjdddddd (talk) 11:07, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

If the talk page of the individual article doesn't get any response, it may be worth trying the talk page of any Wikipedia project to which the article relates. --David Biddulph (talk) 11:24, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

This is helpful! Thanks! Jjjjjjdddddd (talk) 04:45, 23 December 2017 (UTC)

Hello, Jjjjjjdddddd. Another approach when dealing with lower-traffic articles is to be bold and make changes as you see fit. You do not need anyone's permission to improve the encyclopedia. Just do it. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 20:20, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Right, I understand the BRD process, but it's more of a matter of getting other perspectives, or getting other people to pitch in. Good advice though, thanks! Jjjjjjdddddd (talk) 04:45, 23 December 2017 (UTC)

I am overwhelmed by the complexity of adding citations

Hello,

Is there any way I can speak with somebody on the phone to talk me through adding citations? I clicked through to what I thought would be a help desk page, only to find instructions to cut and paste code into a header box. What box? I could not find one. I'm lost, and I just want to finish this task.

Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by HistorianofPhoto (talk • contribs) 20:08, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

@HistorianofPhoto: Sorry that you are having trouble. Have you read Referencing for Beginners? We don't offer a telephone help line. You can get live chat help by clicking the connect button at WP:IRCHELP. RudolfRed (talk) 20:12, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

I've added a citation/reference to the first paragraph. You can click on edit source to see how it's done. Egaoblai (talk) 20:47, 23 December 2017 (UTC)

I've done another, and done some wikification (formatting markup) of the article. —BillC ^talk 21:02, 25 December 2017 (UTC)

Posting images between paragraphs

Hello, I would like to ask: how do I post a Wikipedia image between two paragraphs? It would be nice if you taught me. Sincerely, Andres Napoleon Turcios Diaz — Preceding unsigned comment added by Stein256 (talk • contribs) 20:17, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Add your image after the first paragraph and then add {{clear}} template. Then add the second paragraph. Ruslik_Zero 20:47, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

I think my company deserves a wikipedia page.

Hi I am a senior manager in Nri Marriage bureau we are Matrimonial dating company. We are looking forward to have a wikipedia information page for our company. We want this page because we want people to be informed about our company's existence. let us know how the whole procedure works. My Email is [redacted]

Thank you, Garry,

Sorry, this is not what Wikipedia is about. Please consider alternative outlets. Alex Shih (talk) 21:50, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Hi. If Nri Marriage was notable from an encyclopedic view point, it would more than likely already have an article. Should you wish to promote Nri Marriage, then it should not be on an encyclopedia but rather on somewhere like Facekbook, or many of the existing business directories, etc. We are NOT a business directory, so we have no interest whatsoever in you marriage bureau. Aspro (talk) 22:07, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Convention re non graduating alumni Comment

What is our convention regarding alumni of a college? Alumni often means graduate, but it does include student of, so I think it is acceptable to identify someone as an alumni of a school, even if they did not graduate. However, someone wrote to Wikimedia noting that Monmouth_College identifies James Stockdale as James Stockdalle 46, and in a caption as “Vice Adm. James Stockdale, Class of 1946 “ which leaves the impression that he was a 1946 grad. He was not. He was briefly at Monmouth, but he was at the Naval Academy in 1943, so maybe when he was at Monmouth he was in the class of 1946, but I think listing him as 1946 and class of 1946 is misleading, at best. I checked the MOS, but did not see any guidance.--S Philbrick(Talk) 22:21, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

The longstanding convention at WP:ALUMNI is that attendance alone makes you an alumnus. I think the problem here is using a single year and that it should be a range, or a fuller description, and not the shorthand "class of", which, when it's not being vague generally refers to actually having graduated. This is such an obscure topic I don't think you'll find any guideline. But I'd agree if he wasn't there in 1946 he shouldn't have that date beside his name. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 22:58, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Mendoza, Texas, Blackfoot, Texas, Bethel, Anderson County, Texas, paraphrasing, citing sources, repeated citations, and copyright

Dear Fellow Wikipedians... I am in need of desperate help. First of all, User:David Biddulph said that I was given a warning that part of the Geography section that I edited on the article of Mendoza, Texas was not sourced. Will someone please look over my edit and tell me what I did not source? I want to make sure that the geography section of the article remains stable. I do not want to edit on there anymore, and I am getting tired of editing the same source over and over again on the article. Also, I went to www.hometownlocator.com and looked up Mendoza, Temple Terrace, Florida on there, and the pushpin points to a house when you scroll into the map, and a house is not a community. It doesn't exist, but I don't have a source to back up my claim that Mendoza, Texas is the only populated place with this name nationwide. Will someone please look this up on this website and tell me if I can add this to the article?

In the article of Bethel, Anderson County, Texas, I want to paraphrase what I wrote on the History section of the article to make it not seem so long. I also want to do the same for the History section in the article of Blackfoot, Texas. I have read WP:Close paraphrasing and I want to paraphrase this section. Will someone please look over what I wrote on Bethel, Anderson County, Texas and tell me how I should paraphrase this section? Also, will someone please go to Blackfoot, Texas on the Handbook of Texas online and tell me how to paraphrase that into the History section of the article?

Also, User:Magnolia677 is not treating me nicely. I had told this user that I had asked them three times to show me how to use a source as a repeated citation. The first time I contacted this user about this, all the user said was "Hometownlocator.com and GreatSchools are not great sources. Often they mirror information from Wikipedia." Then the user told me that the National Center for Education Statistics was a good source for school data, and that the Handbook of Texas is also a good source. I already know it is a good source, I have seen it on many articles regarding Texas. Then the user gave me a link to WP:USCITIES and said that excessive geographic data about distances to a bunch of places doesn't add a lot to the article. The user did not tell me how to use a repeated citation. I contacted the same user a second time, and again, they did not show me how to use repeated citations. Even the third time, they did not show me how to use a repeated citation. User:Nick Moyes gave me a way to use the Handbook of Texas as a repeated citation, and it worked, and I want to thank him for that, since it worked successfully. Then User:Magnolia677 showed me how to use repeated citations. Even User:John from Idegon had said that what this user gave me for repeated citations looked complicated, and he's right. Then the user had to lay into me that I was not following their help, but I don't think this user even read, understood or even cared what User:John from Idegon wrote that what they gave me seemed complicated for a new user like me. I feel like this user is bullying me, saying I can't edit. Yes, the user said they weren't a very good tutor, but then they left me a message telling me to stop posting messages onto their talk page! How rude! I am not making ANY negative comments about this user, but this user is not being nice to me AT ALL! I just hope that what I wrote doesn't cause User:Magnolia677 to block me from editing Wikipedia, but what I am saying is total truth! I will not put up with it anymore! I am trying to tell this user to read what I write and to fully understand it, and think about what they wrote! Their user page says the user is polite, but I think this user is cyberbullying me, and I will not handle it anymore!

Lastly, will someone show me how to use copyright so that it doesn't look like I plagiarized what I wrote on Wikipedia?

Thank you for taking the time to read this message. Please leave me a message that is really helpful, and I can't wait to hear back from someone! Colman2000 (talk) 23:26, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Colman2000, stop pinging me. There is nothing in the extremely long message you left above that concerns me; there was nothing in the overly long equally whining message you left on Magnolia's talk a couple days ago that concerned me either. Frankly, I do not blame Magnolia for asking you not to post on his talk. No one here has the time to read your soliloquies. We're all volunteers. We are here to create an encyclopedia, not discuss your feelings. Short version: You have a link to the The Teahouse on your talk. Take your questions there. Ask your questions there and omit all the bull. And listen to the answers you are given. No one is going to hold your hand or do your work for you. It's up to you to learn. If you go around putting people down for trying to help you in an ineffective manner, the only result you will get is people won't help you. John from Idegon (talk) 00:24, 23 December 2017 (UTC)

John from Idegon is right to some extent. Except that I am concerned you might be making unfounded accusations against another editor, and that's not ok. You might wish to reassess your comments, and remove them. Or consider if you really have ground for taking a complaint to WP:ANI. (Strike them out if not, please) I was going to look back through your talk page and see if there was any basis to that accusation. (I suspected it was just a case of you being an inexperienced editor not appreciating the guidance you were given.) But I see you've rather foolishly chosen to blank your talk page, so now I can't be bothered to wade through old deleted edits to work out who's said or did what. John is right in some respects - you do have to work stuff out for yourself, and call for help only when you're really stuck. Might I respectfully suggest that you consider working on editing other articles for a while, gradually learning the ways of editing and engaging to best effect. Nick Moyes (talk) 01:32, 23 December 2017 (UTC)