Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2019 November 14

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November 14

Failed edit save

Greetings, keepers of the eternal flame!

Twice recently I have made some lengthy edits on a draft article, User:MinorProphet/Draft subpages/HMS Cyclops (1839), using the standard text editor. I'm using Firefox 47.0.1 on XP Professional, which is obviously somewhat out of date, but I have made no changes to Firefox or XP for some time and I normally have no problems.
I have kept the edit window open for a number of hours, using the Show Preview button often. Normally when I enter an edit summary and save after some time, I get the usual red message "We could not process your edit due to a loss of session data." (I seem to remember that the standard timeout is about 25 minutes.) Clicking Publish Changes once more normally results in success.
However, on these two occasions when I clicked Publish Changes, the entire tab and edit window was redrawn with very small fonts; then the standard fonts reappeared, but all the changes I had made had completely disappeared along with the edit summary, and I was left with the edit window as if I had just opened it. I've made a number of short edits on this draft and on other live articles with no problems. I'm well aware that saving more frequently might be better practice, or saving the draft to a local .txt file as a backup, but I have had no difficulty up till now.
Any suggestions please as to why this might have happened/how to avoid or fix it? I looked at the MediaWiki Manual:How to debug/Login problems but it seems to be for sysadmins and not users. A somewhat disconsolate MinorProphet (talk) 02:54, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

(Personal view.) Keep your edits short and self-contained. If you are changing details about five separate things in the article, make that five separate edits, each short, rather than attempting one huge edit. When I find an article in main space (I realise yours is draft) that needs substantial attention I tend to make several small edits, each focussed and contained. This also helps when interacting with other users, as you and they can concentrate on individual aspects in the edit history rather than having to work through unrelated aspects of a single, all-encompassing edit. Feline Hymnic (talk) 22:14, 15 November 2019 (UTC)

Refining previous edit

Is it possible to refine edits after publishing? Is it desirable?

I assume no edits where made by others. It would result in one edit including the previous change and the refinement.

I think think it is currently at least possible by rolling back the previous change via undo, after copying its content. And then creating a refined independent change. I think that would lead to less cases of a self contained change spread over multiple changes. It could also avoid interlacing a self contained change by someone else. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Volker Siegel (talk • contribs) 03:24, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Volker Siegel, Howdy hello! Can't say I'm exactly sure what you're getting at. Are you asking if you can edit your edits after you've made them? If you ever make a mistake, or wanna fix something, any page can be edited at any time. But I may have misinterpreted your question, could you explain further? Captain Eek ^{Edits Ho Cap'n!}⚓ 05:11, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

@Volker Siegel: If you modify a saved edit then the page history will always show it as a new edit after the old edit. You cannot combine the two edits into one page history entry. It's possible to revert the first edit and make a new modified edit but then the page history shows three edits including the revert. This is not recommended. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:01, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

help

how can this help me spread my music around the glob? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mrzood (talk • contribs) 04:47, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

@Mrzood: It cannot. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a venue for promotion or advertising or hosting music. See WP:NOT. RudolfRed (talk) 05:05, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Mrzood, Howdy hello! Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, a repository of knowledge. It is not a platform to spread advertising, to increase visibility of people, or any number of things. If you'd like to see your music around the globe, keep making it, and with luck you'll end up famous someday, and then someone will write an article about you! But Wikipedia is not a venue to do that. If you use Wikipedia solely for self promotion, you will likely be removed from the platform. But if you'd like to help edit existing music articles, I suggest Wikipedia:WikiProject Music. Captain Eek ^{Edits Ho Cap'n!}⚓ 05:08, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Mrzood, The above replies are entirely correct. Wikipedia is the wrong instrument for what you are hoping to achieve: it's a bit like trying to use a trombone to play a triangle part. Maybe you should consider the phrase Think globally, act locally. You will need a fanbase, possibly consisting of people who know you or live near you. Organise some gigs, persuade people to come along to listen to your music. Get them to spread the word on your behalf, if your music is any good. When you are famous, maybe someone else will write a Wikipedia article about you and your music. Best of luck. MinorProphet (talk) 14:06, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

How to publish an article about Dreamkidz in Wikipedia

Hi,

Greetings .

DreamKidz Software Inc is a brainchild of a bunch of enthusiastic, NRI, working parents looking to offer a platform that will equip children with key skills to have an edge on challenges lying ahead from the comfort of their home. We would like to write an article about Dreamkidz in Wikipedia .

As we are new to Wikipedia, we will be obliged to know how to go about writing an article as in subject line it so that our article gets published in Wikipedia .

Dreamkidz (talk) 07:45, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Dreamkidz First, please read the information on your user talk page and request a change of username immediately; usernames cannot be that of a business per the username policy. Accounts also cannot be shared; you will need to designate a single individual to exclusively operate this account.

Wikipedia is not for businesses to tell the world about themselves. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia that summarizes what independent reliable sources with significant coverage state about businesses that meet Wikipedia's special definition of a notable business. Wikipedia is not interested in what a business wants to say about itself; it is interested in what others say about it. This does not includes the company website, staff interviews, republished press releases, routine announcements, or other primary sources. In order for you to be successful in writing about your business, you essentially need to forget everything you know about your business and only write based on the content of independent sources. Most people are unable to do this.

You have what is called a conflict of interest and are a paid editor; you will need to review and comply with these policies(the latter is a Wikipedia Terms of Use requirement and mandatory). 331dot (talk) 08:27, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

contribution missing

Hello there, back on September 6 I submitted an article TheMarket NZ but did not receive a notification that it was rejected, though it has not moved into the article space. I recall the wait time being 8 weeks, but wondered if sometimes it takes longer?

Kind regards, Tracey — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tracey creed (talk • contribs) 09:40, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Tracey creed Your submission was deleted as unambiguous advertising on September 5th. You say you submitted it, but it was created by a different account. Did you create a new account? If you work for this company, you must comply with the conflict of interest and paid editing policies. 331dot (talk) 09:53, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

hi

i will not add anymore info to wiki's info thanks Random Person — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.110.160.22 (talk) 12:17, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

As you wish. But you can always change your mind. Just please remember to add information, not misinformation. --CiaPan (talk) 12:56, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

De-Orphan wiki page - My Suicide Story

Hi, can anyone assist in - or give me advice on de-orphaning the page that I created? Thanks! Hidden Hills Editor (talk) 14:28, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

That article has a worse problem than being an orphan. It fails to establish that its subject is notable, because all of its references are to interviews with the creator of the episodes, and so not independent of the subject. Unless someone can find and cite some reliable independent published sources, it is in danger of being deleted. Maproom (talk) 16:21, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Jack McAdoo ‎

Hello. I am a new writer to Wikipedia. I work for the JJM Media Group corporation with offices around the world. I have submitted an article on the CEO, Jack McAdoo who is searched for as a celebrity in poker, music, and podcasting. I have taken a page that was published on Wikipedia and removed their info and placed Mr. McAdoo's with links to his pages and references. Each time I have done this a certain user continues to submit it for deletion. Even stating that the person is only mentioned in passing when in fact the article is all about the subject. Other pages have direct external links to websites but my article is not allowed to have them?

This same article has been moved for publication by another user but always seems to be placed back for deletion. More so by one particular user here. What else can I do? I am asking editors for help. This is a highly sought after Grammy, Emmy, and Dove award winner who has 2 shows that are heard globally. He is a public speaker who tours the world speaking with Tony Robbins, Oprah, Wade Phils, and more. Please help. Thank you. Darcel — Preceding unsigned comment added by Darcel2268 (talk • contribs) 14:49, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

You are editing in breach of Wikipedia's conditions, in that you have not made the mandatory declaration regarding paid editing. You also need to read about conflict of interest. --David Biddulph (talk) 14:55, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

There is no paid editing. There is a COI tag on the page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Darcel2268 (talk • contribs) 17:07, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

If you work for the corporation whose CEO you are writing about, Darcel2268, Wikipedia regards you as a paid editor. --ColinFine (talk) 17:38, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

@Darcel2268: You have gotten off on the wrong foot, here, which has caused us to react negatively due to very long experience with this sort of article. So let's start over. You should not have tried to create this article in this way at all, because you have a conflict of interest. However, if you wish to attempt it anyway, then please read our guidelines. In a nutshell:

1. Declare your paid status on your user page. This is mandatory and is part of the terms of service imposed by the owners of this web site. See WP:PAID.
2. Ensure that your subject is notable by our definition, not yours. See WP:N. If your subject is notable, you should be able to cite a specific notability guideline and the specific references that support your claim. If you do, we will get an article in here somehow even if we get off to a rocky start. If the subject is not notable, then there is nothing you or anyone else can do to keep the article in Wikipedia, no matter how wonderful it is in every other respect.
3. Carefully review the above point on notability. We are serious about this. Really. Do not waste your time and ours by ignoring this point.
4. Go read and heed WP:YFA for guidance about actually producing a draft.
5. Submit your new draft.

I know this all seems pretty negative, but believe it or not, we really do want that article if the subject is notable. Good luck! -Arch dude (talk) 18:12, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

• Note: Creator has now blanked the page and requested deletion and is also now blocked. Eagleash (talk)

~

Showing CSS in a page

Hi sir

There is a error in html code please verify the link and verify the table content please do modify at this below link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kutty_Padmini Im saikumar kuncha.

style:"" due to this css properties shown in the table please make a edit of it

Regards Saikumar Kuncha. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.193.150.39 (talk) 14:59, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

My Suicide Story

Hi,

Does anyone know why the "episode list" appears below the infobox on this page as opposed to fitting into the space to the left of it? Can't figure out how to fix this issue. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hidden Hills Editor (talk • contribs) 15:48, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

You could use the "total_width" parameter in the episode list, but the rendering will still depend on the window width. --David Biddulph (talk) 15:54, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Unable to acces Wikipedia on Google Chrome

Another editor here wrote what about this as well, but I believe he was misunderstood. As of yesterday, I can not access Wikipedia from Google Chrome. I get an error message that reads

www.wikipedia.org normally uses encryption to protect your information. When Google Chrome tried to connect to www.wikipedia.org this time, the website sent back unusual and incorrect credentials. This may happen when an attacker is trying to pretend to be www.wikipedia.org, or a Wi-Fi sign-in screen has interrupted the connection. Your information is still secure because Google Chrome stopped the connection before any data was exchanged. You cannot visit www.wikipedia.org right now because the website uses HSTS. Network errors and attacks are usually temporary, so this page will probably work later.

If there is anything I can do on my side that will address this issue, please let me know. I am using Microsoft Edge right now, but I really would prefer to use Chrome. --Puzzledvegetable^{Is it teatime already?} 18:29, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Hosting a userbox I want to create

Hi,

I want to create a new userbox to place on my userpage, but because I want to experiment with it I want to host it somewhere under my own username, and not at Template:XXX etc. How do I do this?

I was thinking something like User:ElshadK/Templates but don't know what to put after that.

Thanks for the help ElshadK (talk)

@ElshadK: Just pick any name starting with User:ElshadK/, e.g. User:ElshadK/Userboxes/Widgets if the box is about widgets and you may make other userboxes later. You can transclude it with the full page name like {{User:ElshadK/Userboxes/Widgets}}. It works the same for any name. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:44, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Saturday Night Football November 23

What No Saturday Night Football Game November 23. 68.103.78.155 (talk) 20:04, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

We have no control over the football schedule. RudolfRed (talk) 20:18, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Nina Turner

Hello: I added a mdy date tag to the article on Nina Turner and fixed all the citation dates to agree. They appear correctly within the text editor but are displaying in dmy format on the page after I "Publish Changes". How can I remedy this? Thanks. Twofingered Typist (talk) 21:12, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

The tag which you added was {{use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}, not {{use mdy dates|date=November 2019}}. --David Biddulph (talk) 21:18, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Just figured it out!! Thanks. I did not realize that controlled how the dates were displayed. Twofingered Typist (talk) 21:26, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

It is explained at Template:Use dmy dates#Auto-formatting citation template dates. --David Biddulph (talk) 21:41, 14 November 2019 (UTC)