Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2019 November 17

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November 17

Page Previews

I am not a fan of page previews (to me, they get in the way randomly). In the past when on a new computer, I had no problem disabling them. But now on my current machine, now, after I close Wikipedia and return later, it reverts back to the default settings of having page preview on. Lest whatever OCD I have compels me to disable it every time I use Wikipedia (which would suck), I could use some advice as to how to fix this. At first I thought it was due to some choice I made in Firefox and what I was or wasn't allowing, but I don't think that the problem is on my end, since Youtube is remembering that I don't want autoplay... Thanks in advance for any light someone can shed on my problem... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.17.82.7 (talk) 00:45, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

Howdy hello! The easiest way to fix that would be to register an account, as then your settings would be remembered. Otherwise, I'm not sure there is a simple fix. Captain Eek ^{Edits Ho Cap'n!}⚓ 06:13, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

Maybe u have private browsing turned on ? Then your browser always forgets things like this. —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 08:35, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

Problem reverting an article

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%BCnther_Prien&action=history

I found some obvious vandalism here and in the past I had manually fixed the problem, but someone requested I use the revert feature, I hit the undo button on the offending edit but it didn't seem to fix it so I'm a bit stymied. Any help would be appreciated. BHC (talk) 11:19, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

@BHC: Hello, with this edit, you actually restored the vandalism, which had previously been dealt with but not to a fully clean version. It is worth checking what you have done by using the 'preview' button below the edit window & / or the 'show changes' button... which shows clearly what has been changed. Also it's an idea to check the page history to see what was changed and when. I have restored the page to the last stable version. Please also use the edit summary so other editors can see what has been changed and why. Cheers. Eagleash (talk) 12:00, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

PS your edit was immediately undone, so it possibly looked as if it had not 'taken effect'. Eagleash (talk) 12:00, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

Template assistance requested

I seem to have made a mess of Template:Belt and Road Initiative but can't figure out where it went wrong. Can someone help me fix it? Also I have used the annex from an official document for the list of economic corridors. Is there a way to note in the template that the source of the list is the official annex and to link it as a reference footnote? link to official document Greatvictor999 (talk) 14:53, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

The edit which broke the syntax was not yours, but this edit which preceded yours. I have reverted it. --David Biddulph (talk) 15:15, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

Thanks for that. Greatvictor999 (talk) 16:39, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

Paid profile creation

How do I know a request to create a Wikipedia page by an editor is fake and if so how to report them? Joseph.vettukattil (talk) 16:31, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

Note: Above copied from the talk page. Eagleash (talk) 16:51, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

Joseph.Vettukattil I'm not aware of anyone to report the mere existence of such a thing to; if you are aware of an instance of money exchanging hands with no services provided, it would be fraud and you could contact your local authorities, though they would probably be limited in what they could do. 331dot (talk) 17:21, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

Hello Joseph.vettukattil. Paid editing is not forbidden on Wikipedia, but it is discouraged, and andybody who does it is required to disclose who is paying them. Touting for business within Wikipedia is forbidden, but Wikipedia has no control of activities outside itself.

I earnestly advise you not to pay anybody to create or edit a Wikipedia article for you. Whatever they may tell you, they cannot guarantee any particular outcome: they cannot guarantee that such an article will be accepted, and if it is accepted, neither they nor you will have any control over its contents, so they cannot guarantee that you will be satisfied with the result. Please note that Wikipedia does not contrain "profiles": not one. Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia, not a vehicle for promotion of any kind. If it ever has an article about you (or about something associated with you), you will not have any control over the content (as I say above); and almost the whole of the content should be based on what people unconnected with you have published about the subject, not on what you say or wish to say. Please see paid editing and An article about yourself isn't necessarily a good thing for more information. --ColinFine (talk) 17:58, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

consequences

are there any consequences on wikipedia? — Preceding unsigned comment added by OTFTYT (talk • contribs) 17:14, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

OTFTYT, Most definitely. See: WP:BLOCK, WP:PROBATION, and WP:BAN MoonyTheDwarf (Braden N.) (talk) 17:16, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

OTFTYT, Howdy hello! I understand you may be feeling a bit down after the deletion of your draft. It never feels good to have your stuff deleted, but it happens for a reason. Wikipedia has pretty strict policies about content to keep the place ship-shape. Those policies can be a bit inscrutable, especially for newcomers however. This is a good place to ask about how the site works. Many new users try to create pages, but few are successful. Really, we'd rather folks edit in some other places and get a feel for the ropes first, before creating pages. New pages are actually one of the hardest areas in the entire Wikipedia, as our requirements for notability are pretty strict. I hope you stay around the project and find an area to edit that interests you. I can recommend some WikiProjects in areas you enjoy, where you can find existing articles to improve. That might even show you how articles should work, and in a few months time you might even be able to work on your draft again, with a knowledge of policy. Or you will understand why its not notable in the first place. TLDR: Sorry you had a bad experience, hope ya stick around, ask any questions you have here! Smooth sailing, Captain Eek ^{Edits Ho Cap'n!}⚓ 18:36, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

CaptainEek, on that topic, yes i figured out why my draft was deleted. However that was the second tome i had submitted it that day. Do you guys want me to wait until the next day or something? On the deletion page, it was marked as “G11”. OTFTYT (talk) 20:25, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

OTFTYT, You could submit a draft as often as you'd like if and only if it is being improved, and doesn't greatly disagree with policy. The issue with your draft (from what I saw before it was deleted) was that it seemed just like a promotional piece (that's what G11 is). Unsourced drafts that aren't written in encyclopedic terms and seem to just be increasing the visibility of the subject may get deleted per that criteria. Captain Eek ^{Edits Ho Cap'n!}⚓ 20:34, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

Draft essays

I want to create a stub/draft of an essay and invite other editors to contribute. I want to have something at the WP:NAMEOFESSAY page as a placeholer, but it will need work (or possibly it will end up being abandoned and deleted at the author's request) before making it a real essay. How do I mark it so that it is clearly a draft? Is there a template for this? Or an example of someone else doing it? --Guy Macon (talk) 19:42, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

​There's this: {{Draft|join-in=yes|brief=yes}} (which I see you've already used here, fairly few instances of other people using this template). Or just write your own with {{mbox|text=This is a draft, feel free to edit}} – Thjarkur (talk) 16:08, 18 November 2019 (UTC)

There is an error in one of your pages

Mary, mother of Jesus

Hello, I noticed some incorrect information on this page, it mentions the quran says that she is mary betrothed to Joseph and I am an american muslim and I know for fact and if you read the quran easily you will see it's not true, that it is not true only Christian's believe this, so if you could remove the statement that the quran says this that would be great Thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by 105.111.165.208 (talk) 19:55, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

Hello, anonymous user. There is incorrect information in many articles, so we welcome people pointing out corrections. The best place to do this is on the talk page of the relevant article, Talk:Mary, mother of Jesus. If you post there, it will be seen by people who have an interest in the subject. --ColinFine (talk) 21:54, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

The Quran claim was made, maybe unintentionally, by Editor2020 in a rearrangement.[1]. My Google searches agree that this Joseph is not mentioned in the Quran (Joseph in Islam is another person). PrimeHunter (talk) 23:16, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

Editor2020 has removed the Quran claim.[2] PrimeHunter (talk) 11:52, 18 November 2019 (UTC)