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Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2018 March 2

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March 2

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Time zone and region question

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Does the Main Page refresh to a new day's worth of articles at midnight UTC ? I have noticed that, for instance, tonight (March 1) at 7PM my time (EDT) the main page's articles changed to March 2.

If it is a user-configurable setting? If so, where would I find it?

Along the same lines, is there a region setting for users? It may be my (active) imagination but there seem to be a great number of main page articles that are UK centric. I lived there for a number of years and just wonder if there's something in my profile that triggers a focus on that country, rather than the USA where I live now. I'd also like to adjust that, if it's not my paranoia kicking in.

Thanks in advance. Lakemirror (talk) 00:23, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

And apologies if this question should have been placed somewhere else. Lakemirror (talk) 00:26, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I'm noticing that the main page says that it's March 2 for me, even though that's another 4 hours. I'm guessing it's that way for everyone.Ian.thomson (talk) 01:14, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Lakemirror: The main page changes at midnight UTC, see WP:MPFAQ. There is a bunch of links at the top of the main page, including where to make suggestions for content. RudolfRed (talk) 01:46, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
The links are on the Main Page's talk page is what I meant to write. RudolfRed (talk) 01:56, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Main Page displays the same to everybody (except mobile users who see a reduced version but still the same as eachother). It's coded to automatically display new content at midnight UTC in some of the sections. Normal Wikipedia articles are cached and may display a pre-midnight version for hours after midnight, e.g. when computing the age in a biography. But I think there is a tool automatically purging the main page right after midnight to avoid this caching issue on our most viewed page. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:27, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Lakemirror: If you go to preferences, at the top of the page, click on Appearance. You can set your time zone to display as you like. Not sure if this is what you are asking, but it is an option. Regards, Tribe of Tiger Let's Purrfect! 06:13, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
The time zone at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-rendering changes displayed times in logged actions like edits in page histories, contributions and watchlists. It does not change time-dependent content like main page sections. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:58, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Got it. Thanks! Tribe of Tiger Let's Purrfect! 04:58, 3 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

What's the best way to correct the use of my erroneous article on a page?

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The page at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrology_and_the_classical_elements cites a speculative article I wrote some years ago. The fundamental premise of my article is incorrect. The article, therefore, repeats my errors and gives an incorrect view of the elemental nature of the signs of the zodiac. I am a complete newbie on Wikipedia. What is the best way to alert the author of this mistake? Najjani (talk) 03:02, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Really, our article needs to be re-written, avoiding sources like Astrologycom.com and Astrologyclub.org. Ian.thomson (talk) 05:14, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
The best place to discuss it is the article's talk page, Najjani. Note that "the author" doesn't mean anythign on Wikipedia: most articles are edited by many editors - including you, if you wish. (But going straight in and editing this article in this case would probably not be a good idea for you). --ColinFine (talk) 10:42, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • Wikipedia has no way of verifying who you are and no real mechanism to do so, but there is a workaround. If you can publish a new article in the same place you used to publish the erroneous one that retracts or corrects it, then any editor here at Wikipedia will be free to use your new publication as a basis to correct our article. Note that as Ian said above, those tow sources are not really what we prefer, but a retraction or correction in the same source must count as much as the original erroneous article.-Arch dude (talk) 03:10, 3 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

adding caption to infobox

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I tried adding a caption to the infobox for Alan Baker using 'caption = ...'. What I added does not show, whereas similarly indicated information already there such as birth place is there, and changing the text following 'caption' . More weirdly, caption text changes in earlier versions such as https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php:?title=Alan_Baker_(mathematician)&oldid=824218278 work OK. What am I doing wrong? --Brian Josephson (talk) 10:59, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, Brian Josephson. I haven't tried experimenting, but I think the problem is that the image is being specified as a link [[File:Alan-Baker.jpg|thumb]]. The documentation at Template:infobox scientist says "image: Filename of appropriate image (without "File:" prefix)": just a name, not a link. I'm guessing that because it has been specified as a link, the caption is being ignored.
However, the caption you propose is not appropriate, according to MOS:CREDITS: "Unless relevant to the subject, do not credit the image author or copyright holder in the article." --ColinFine (talk) 11:27, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
The missing caption was actually because the image parameter wasn't used at all. The image code was stuffed into the name parameter. But the image formatting was also inappropriate for the infobox. The code has been fixed [1] but the problematic caption has not been changed. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:52, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I see someone has fixed the issue now following the above suggestion.
It seems to me that this business of not including the copyright holder under the picture would be fine if simply clicking on the picture got you the author, but as it is you have to click on 'show more details' as well. I don't think the crediting mechanism is adequate without a caption as things are, whatever official advice may be. Anyway, I've now removed some redundant, rather obtrusive, wording, which may help.
If I may say so, it seems to me it was definitely inappropriate to provide a caption identical to the name featuring above the photo, as in earlier versions!--Brian Josephson (talk) 12:16, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
When I click on the picture, Brian Josephson, it takes me to File:Alan-Baker.jpg, which has a section "Summary" including Source and Author. What are you seeing?
And, while there may not be any point in repeating the name of the subject, the current caption "JET Photographic" is certainly not appropriate: that is a picture of Alan Baker, not of JET Photographic (even in magazines etc, where images are credited, that is usually separate from the caption). In any case, if you think the manual of style should say something different, you should start a discussion about it, not just silently ignore it. --ColinFine (talk) 18:53, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
You may have disabled "Media Viewer" at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-rendering. Media Viewer shows https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Baker_(mathematician)#/media/File:Alan-Baker.jpg. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:15, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
It is now showing the right page, but I'm not aware of having changed anything. The page downloaded the photo from has 'photo courtesy of JET, which does address the point made by ColinFine. But under the circumstances I'm OK with removing the crediting from the infobox, if someone would like to do that.--Brian Josephson (talk) 21:13, 4 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Can someone center the text in this template?

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Can someone center the content in Template:Song ratings like Template:Album ratings?

I saw style="vertical-align:middle" in Template:Song ratings, maybe the creator wanted it to be centered too (?). Please help! Beyoncetan (talk) 11:14, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

vertical-align is about vertical alignment. Is that what you want, or is it horizontal centering in cells? For horizontal, the easiest method is to remove infobox from the first line although it may have other effects. Template:Song ratings was adapted from Template:Album ratings in 2012 when the latter used infobox but it doesn't today. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:41, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Student Wikipedia Page

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Dear Sir or Madam,

I am a student that started a sandbox entry for a course project at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago. My Professor is not able to see my sandbox attached to our class wikipedia page and I am hoping to make this visible to my classmates as soon as possible. Please let me know the appropriate steps to making my sandbox open for peer review.

Attached is the link to our class page and my sandbox.

https://dashboard.wikiedu.org/courses/School_of_the_Art_Institute_of_Chicago/New_Histories_of_Chicago_Media_(Spring_2018)?enroll=erijfldo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Lsever/sandbox


Thank you, Laura — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lsever (talk • contribs) 13:31, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Hey Laura. Well the draft is definitely visible by clicking on the link you provided here, so I'm assuming it's something to do with the WikiEd dashboard being wonky. Pinging WikiEd folks who can probably help: @Shalor (Wiki Ed): @Will (Wiki Ed): GMGtalk 14:25, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • Hi Lsever! I'm not sure what happened. In any case, if this happens again your fellow students and professor should be able to access your sandbox via a few ways. The first is of course a direct link like the one above. You can also find a link to your sandbox on your userpage as well as on the students tab on Dashboard under your name. They can also pull it up by typing out your full sandbox name in the search tab (User:Lsever/sandbox). If this happens again, can you get your instructor to contact us? 15:29, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Template help

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So, unbeknownst to Template:Infobox Native American leader, it seems the religion parameter is no longer supported by Template:Infobox officeholder, which it depends on. That's... unfortunate for me, but I don't know how to fix it. Can you just switch from being dependent on the officeholder to a more generic infobox like person? ...Or can we somehow reinsert the parameter in the NatAm infobox? GMGtalk 14:29, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Well crap. Apparently it's not supported by infobox person anymore either. That's... unfortunate... since for this group in particular whether or not they were a convert seems particularly relevant. GMGtalk 14:48, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

wish to contact the person who edited my page

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Hi I see my page has been edited by RobEvan123. I would like to contact him and ask if he would be able to include some other relevant and verifiable info to make my page more complete. my page is NICKY HORNE many thanks 16:17, 2 March 2018 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nickyhorne (talk • contribs)

We have no editor called RobEvan123, but the talk page that you are looking for is User talk:Robevans123 and you can contact that editor on that page, or you could send a private e-mail via the link on the left of that page. Normally, such requests would go on the talk page as linked above, or on the talk page of the article. It may seem nit-picking, but the article is about you, not "your page". You are wise in not editing it yourself. I'm pleased to hear that you are alive and well because the article is written in the past tense. Best wishes. Dbfirs 16:43, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Hays Beach

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Hays Beach, located near the Scotland Community of St. Mary’s County, Maryland, was a popular Chesapeake Bay destination from its opening in 1937 through the late 1960s. It was owned and operated by Dallas B. Hays an early Bethesda, Maryland home builder and land developer who had the foresight to see the value of investing in the then rural St. Mary’s county Chesapeake Bay shoreline in the 1930s. Hays Beach consisted of a one-half mile stretch of sandy beach on the Chesapeake Bay, a twenty-three room hotel, a visitors bath house, over one-hundred building lots, a picnic grove for visitors and residents, a twenty-seven acre farm, and a large night club and restaurant that in its peak years would draw crowds of two to three hundred people on the weekends from Washington, DC, Baltimore and the nearby Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Lexington Park. Country-Western bands played at the club on weekends and celebrities such as Patsy Kline and Jimmy Dean were known to drop by the club from time to time. During the 1940s and 1950s, the wide sandy beaches of the Chesapeake were extremely popular for much sought after relief from the oppressive Washington, DC and Baltimore heat before the advent of air conditioning. The desirability of Hays Beach was enhanced by the fact that slot machines were legal only in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Southern Maryland and playing them was a most popular pastime for residents and visitors. Hays Beach was also one of the few Chesapeake Bay beaches that had sea nettle nets to prevent swimmers from getting stung by the ever-present jelly fish and was one of the few privately owned bay beaches opened to the public not posted as being for the “Enjoyment of Gentiles Only.” The swan song of Hays Beach and somewhat for bay beach popularity in general, was due to a combination of four primary factors. The first was the advent of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge opening up easy access to the Atlantic Ocean in 1952, the second was Hurricane Hazel, in 1954, which ruined the sea nettle nets of the normally tranquil Chesapeake Bay as well as destroying a just completed fishing and boat docking pier, the third was the murder of a Navy WAVE on the beach one evening in 1953 which made Hays Beach a less desirable destination for Navy personnel stationed at the Naval Air Station, and the forth was Maryland outlawing the ever-popular slot machines in 1968. After nearly seventy-five years of ownership, the family sold Hays Beach in the early 2000s and retired to the North Carolina coast. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Edh1943 (talk • contribs) 18:26, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I see that you have now moved the above draft of an article to your sandbox and submitted it for review. You need to read WP:Referencing for beginners, and add some WP:Reliable sources before the review happens. Dbfirs 21:41, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

"Hide/Show" problem

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For some reason the hide/show tool is not working (it is meant to collapse whole sections — e.g., weather). For example, when I bring up the “Washington, D.C.” article, it shows the entire “D.C. Council List” in the info box section. The option to collapse/hide the list is not even available; it’s not even appearing. Usually it would read “show” or “hide” right next to “D.C. Council List”, but nothing is appearing. The same is true for every other Wikipedia article. What can I do to fix the problem? Is there something wrong with my computer/internet? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:98A:200:CE30:E87B:4D02:D2B9:6B1E (talk) 19:15, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The hide/show feature relies on JavaScript in your browser. It sounds like you either don't have JavaScript enabled in the browser, or Wikipedia's JavaScript is not loading correctly for you. You could try to completely clear your cache. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:23, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
According to my computer, JavaScript is enabled. I tried “Cache clearing and disabling” for Internet Explorer; it still did not work. If the problem is on Wikipedia’s end, what can I do about it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:98A:200:CE30:E87B:4D02:D2B9:6B1E (talk) 19:50, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

My JavaScript is enabled and I cleared my history. So, I assume, Wikipedia's JavaScript is not loading correctly. The "hide/show" options are not appearing. If the problem is on Wikipedia’s end, what can I do about it?— Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:98A:200:CE30:E87B:4D02:D2B9:6B1E (talk) 20:07, 2 March 2018 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:98A:200:CE30:E87B:4D02:D2B9:6B1E (talk) 20:10, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

It works for me in Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10. Do you have show/hide links in the table of contents. Can you try another browser? PrimeHunter (talk) 21:33, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
https://javatester.org/javascript.html says "JavaScript IS WORKING in your web browser" for me. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:37, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
What version of IE are you using? MediaWiki's JavaScript support for Internet Explorer 10 was turned off very recently - phab:T187869 -- John of Reading (talk) 21:38, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
To see JavaScript running in Wikipedia pages, you will have to upgrade to IE 11 or switch to one of the browsers listed as "Modern" at mw:Compatibility#Browsers. That link takes you to the MediaWiki website; the Wikipedia website is powered by the MediaWiki software. -- John of Reading (talk) 08:00, 3 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

deletion of wikipedia account

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i want to delete my wikipedia account — Preceding unsigned comment added by SAJID (talk • contribs) 21:54, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, that's not an option. Also, it's only been like, 40 minutes. Maybe you should have thought about this before registering your account at all. Ian.thomson (talk) 21:58, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
... but since you have made only the above edit, you may just stop editing and you will be forgotten. Dbfirs 22:38, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

John Caldwell Tidball - his father was William Tidball (1796-1887)

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In the third section "Early Life..." his father is incorrect  2nd line should read "to parents: William Tidball (1796 -1887) and Maria Caldwell."

To verify this I can send scans from "The Tidball Family History" Compiled by Barbara Tidball, copyright 1986, revised 2004. Lib fo Cong Catalog Number. 86-50848. Barbara Tidball is deceased and I have permission from husband to share her copywrighted material. 

  I was not able to attach this verification. Also can verify James Squires Tidball was born in 1822 (only 3 years before John Caldwwell Tidball)and show a list of his children, which includes a John C. Tidball who is a different person.this is likely the source of the error.
 I have tried to make ths edit but failed.Please help me proceed with this edit correctly
 Many, many Thanks to all you many dedicated volunteers  providing wonderful information with Wikipedia!

Claudia Eley (also a Tidball) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.14.244.104 (talk) 23:05, 2 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

  • There is no need to send scans of a published book. Simply edit the article and cite the book: we do not require a cited book with an LCCN to be online. If you have any difficulties doing this yourself, please feel free come back here and ask for more help. And thanks for your input. -Arch dude (talk) 03:00, 3 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
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