Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2020 August 18

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August 18

Robert Downey Jr.

 Courtesy link: Robert Downey Jr.

Hi,

Random question. I Googled Robert Downey Jr. and saw that it automatically shows the wikipedia article intro. This is what it says:

"Robert John Downey Jr. is an American actor, producer, and singer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of commercial success in middle age."

Is anyone able to edit this? I think it is great that he overcame such a challenging time in his life with substance use, but I don't think that necessarily needs to be in the intro. He has had a lot of accomplishments, and I think he should be recognized for those. Maybe the substance use can go in a different section. I just think the intro is poorly written. Anyone able to edit that? Super new to wikipedia and editing, but I know I'm not able to do that.

Thank you!

Edit: okay! I will see if I can add it on there. I'm not sure if I can delete it on here. Thanks!

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Klassig (talk • contribs) 00:47, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Klassig, welcome to Wikipedia. This sounds like something that should be discussed on the article's talk page at Talk:Robert Downey Jr. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 01:16, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

​(Please remember to sign your posts on talk pages by typing four keyboard tildes like this: ~~~~. Or, you can use the [ reply ] button, which automatically signs posts.) —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 06:58, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Klassig Are you by any chance referring to a photo or text shown to the right of a Google search? Google's Knowledge Graph uses a wide variety of sources. There may be a text paragraph ending with "Wikipedia" to indicate that particular text was copied from Wikipedia. An image and other text before or after the Wikipedia excerpt may be from sources completely unrelated to Wikipedia. We have no control over how Google presents our information, but Google's Knowledge Graph has a "Feedback" link where anyone can mark a field as wrong. The same feedback facility is also provided on Bing and some other search engines. Seagull123 Φ 12:42, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Editors for hire

I am an American musician, writer, director, talk show host and actor of moderate note. I'm interested in having someone edit a page about me. How do I go about that?

Thanks, IX Mendoza — Preceding unsigned comment added by IX Mendoza (talk • contribs) 05:14, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

@IX Mendoza: Please don't hire someone to create an article for you. Despite whatever Paid editing firms/editors promise, noone can keep an article from deleted or prevent others from editing it. If you want to create it yourself, see this guide, otherwise have a look at Wikipedia:Requested articles. Victor Schmidt (talk) 06:19, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

IX Mendoza A Wikipedia article(not a mere "page") is not necessarily desirable. There are good reasons to not want one. 331dot (talk) 08:11, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

How to let administrator know that temporary draft was changed?

Hi, I wanted to work for the wikiproject women scientists and made a first page. I used text from a gerneral biosketch that was used quite often already for conferences etc. So another editor rightfully moved the draft to a temporary draft and wrote "If you would like to begin working on a new version of the article you may do so at this temporary page. Leave a note at Draft talk:Katja Loos saying you have done so and an administrator will move the new article into place once the issue is resolved." I changed the text and hopefully removed all copyright issues and made it more Wikipedia style as well. Now my question is how do I leave the note and how to tell the administrator that I left the note? Right now I just wrote a text. Hope someone can help with this. Thanks, ChemPol — Preceding unsigned comment added by ChemPol (talk • contribs) 08:00, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

@ChemPol: Timtrent left a message about your draft at Draft:Katja Loos/Temp. Seagull123 Φ 12:39, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Removing Old Edits from 14 years ago.

Back in the day I liked to vandalize Wikipedia with childish and offensive-for-laughs edits. I've changed a lot since then. The problem is that these edits from this IP can now be linked back to my real identity. I was wondering if it would be possible for an administrator to remove these edits from 2006 so nobody can find them? It would be greatly appreciated if I could be helped, thanks. RompWitty (talk) 08:32, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

RompWitty Edits cannot be outright removed, but their information can be concealed from public edit histories. If you have a privacy concern with these edits, you should contact an oversighter privately by email(see WP:OVERSIGHT for instructions). 331dot (talk) 08:41, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

That's what I'm looking for, so people can't see the childish/offensive vandalism I wrote in the current year because that doesn't reflect who I am now. Are there any oversighters you would recommend for me to contact? RompWitty (talk) 08:46, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

RompWitty If you use the email address at WP:OVERSIGHT, it will send a private email to the oversight team email list, and one will get back to you. I would note that you are hardly the first person to be in the situation that you are in, as most of us have changed over time and are very different than when we started our Wikipedia participation. I'm not certain it is absolutely necessary to do what you are asking, but that's a matter for the oversighters. 331dot (talk) 08:49, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Thank you for your help. The reason I'm asking if I've noticed a trend over the last few years of people getting fired from their jobs and losing their reputation over bad things they've said on the internet over years ago and I don't want to hold that risk even though I would never say it these days. It's Cancel Culture, and I'd like to avoid that (and avoid worrying about that) and focus on my career. RompWitty (talk) 09:01, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

@RompWitty: It is not particularly easy for anyone outside of Wikipedia to link your current account to an old IP address. Just make sure you always log in before you edit. If someone takes the trouble to search the Internet for activities based on a 14-year-old IP address, It's not likely that removing these edits here at Wikipedia is going to be much help. For example, we have no control over sites that have cloned all of Wikipedia, and removing these edits here will not remove them from the clones. -Arch dude (talk) 16:04, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

How to change title and URL

Someone in our company has the English (EN) Wikipedia page with URL Zoo_Ave, someone has set up a Spanish speaking page (ES) with URL Rescate_Animal_Zoo_Ave, and we are not sure which came first, then someone has set up a Dutch one (NL) also as Rescate_Animal_Zoo_Ave. We have changed our name completely, how can we align all the page URLs to Rescate_Wildlife? Wikipedia doesn't allow us to change the title of the article, since we have changed our name we need to update the title on our page, how can we do that? Also, how can we update the other two pages that are by our name but are not made by us? Thank you for your time!--Maheeba Memon (talk) 10:45, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Hi Maheeba Memon, Spanish Wikipedia and Dutch Wikipedia are separate from English Wikipedia, you'll have to ask there for help (es:Wikipedia:Café/Archivo/Ayuda/Actual and nl:Help:Helpdesk). To request a move, please read this page. Also, your question makes me think you may have a conflict of interest (COI) with "Zoo Ave", if so, it is highly recommended you read WP:COI and WP:PANDSCOI. You must also disclose any COI you have on Wikipedia. Seagull123 Φ 12:34, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Interlanguage links in lists of people

Is there a guideline regarding placing interlanguage links to lists of people, as in Alvark Tokyo#Notable players? The links are directed to the Italian, German, or French Wikipedias, which is strange considering the team is Japanese. Would using Template:Interlanguage link to the Japanese Wikipedia be a viable solution? ◢  Ganbaruby!  (Say hi!) 12:55, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Yes. We want to avoid surprise inter-language links like Clif Brown on the page you cited. A German article will not be helpful to most readers of English WP. Not to mention we do not actually have control over the content of German WP. So, the best solution would be an inter-language link that notifies the reader that the article is on a different project in a different language, as you suggested. ‡ Єl Cid of Valencia ^talk 13:35, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Take a look at the edit I made here. That's a preferred solution. With that template, if someone makes an article on the English Wikipedia, it will automatically convert to a regular wikilink to the article here, but as long as here is a red link, it provides a link to the other project and notifies the reader what language that article will be in. ~ ONUnicorn^{(Talk|Contribs)}problem solving 14:52, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Why I can’t make a article?

I want to make Ooho water but why I can’t? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cyril Yoshi (talk • contribs) 12:58, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Hello, Cyril Yoshi. Creating a new article is one of the hardest tasks on English Wikipedia, especially for newer editors. Please start by reading Your first article, and finding the sources to establish that the subject is notable. If you can find suitable sources, then use Articles for creation to create a draft. --ColinFine (talk) 13:20, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Cyril Yoshi Also, in this case we already have an article about Edible water bottles, which covers Ooho in detail. So that article should be expanded instead of creating a new article. Joseph2302 (talk) 13:46, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Disclosed my indirect affiliation with an article subject, still waiting

 Courtesy link: John Z. Kiss

Hi there,

I created the page about Scientist John Z. Kiss. I am indirectly affiliated by working for the same institution but was not directly paid for creating the article. Nevertheless, I disclosed my employer on the user page. Still, the article has the "This article may have been created or edited in return for undisclosed payments" warning at the top. Is there a way to get this removed now that I have disclosed we share the same employer?

Thanks

Elizabeth Keri (talk) 14:59, 18 August 2020 (UTC)Elizabeth Keri

Hello, Elizabeth Keri; thank you for making the declaration. I have removed the notice from John Z. Kiss. However, I have added a different notice: the article relies too much on primary sources - pretty well all of them are either interviews with Kiss, published by institutions he has belonged to, or publications by him. Baldly, Wikipedia is not interested in anything that the subject of an article says, or that their associates or institutions say about them: it is only interested in what people unconnected with the subject, and not prompted or fed information by the subject, have chosen to publish about them in reliable sources. The article at present does nothing to establish that he meets Wikipedia's criteria for WP:notability. --ColinFine (talk) 16:06, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Expansion of BLP for Peter Klopfer

I am a frequent reader of Wikipedia but have never edited an entry. Recently I have worked to expand the BLP entry on Peter Klopfer My expansion increases the length of the body of this entry from approximately 100 words to approximately 2500 words. The writing adheres to the basic Wikipedia guidelines (NPOV, V, NOR), but I am not experienced formatting references and using html language according to Wikipedia specifications. Can you offer guidance about how to make the revision process as streamlined and as accurate as possible? For instance, would I be wise to upload the piece in sections, rather than as a whole? Jamesghenderson (talk) 15:53, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

I take it you have expanded the entry in something like a Word document and saved it off-line? I find it easier to learn and understand Wikimarkup by working directly on Wikipedia in a sandbox where I can immediately see the results of my edits. You can find advice on formatting references at referencing for beginners. ~ ONUnicorn^{(Talk|Contribs)}problem solving 16:11, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

How to change a file name

I uploaded the following file: File:Cover of the book by Davas & de V. Hart titled Right Through the Packsign For Bidding.jpg

It is in the proper location but the file name has some stray text at the end of the name string. How can I correct this? There is no ability to edit the file name that I can find. Newwhist (talk) 17:13, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

The ability to move files requires a specific user right (or admin status). You can request a move using Template:Rename media; or request the right to do so yourself using the info at Wikipedia:File mover. I would move it but I don't have that right. Cheers ‡ Єl Cid of Valencia ^talk 17:39, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Newwhist I can move it for you; what would you like the name to be? ~ ONUnicorn^{(Talk|Contribs)}problem solving 20:23, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

ONUnicorn Change from: File:Cover of the book by Davas & de V. Hart titled Right Through the Packsign For Bidding.jpg to File:Cover of the book by Darvas & de V. Hart titled Right Through the Pack.jpg. Thanks much. Newwhist (talk) 00:21, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

Note the truncation at the end of the name string and the correction in the spelling of 'Darvis'. Newwhist (talk) 02:24, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

 Done~ ONUnicorn^{(Talk|Contribs)}problem solving 02:45, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

Base-level Wikipedian introductory

Hello! I have just signed up to Wikipedia and would like to be more involved in inspecting and reading Wikipedia articles in the meantime. For now, anyone can call me Gerald. As I just entered here, the structure of most of Wikipedia is made more than what meets the eye- beyond the visual editor (hence, I need further understanding of the text editor) of which in this case I need help, starting from the Infobox configuration. I would be thankful for anyone's regards towards this question. I will be back as soon there's an update. Once again, thank you.

Geraldk559 (talk) 18:11, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

@Geraldk559: I see there is now a welcome message on your user talk page, with links to lots of useful info. When you get to it, the details of how to cite sources is alternatively covered by WP:ERB. Also, WP:CHEATSHEET is a good quick-reference for the wikitext markup language. Welcome! —[AlanM1 (talk)]— 19:37, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

@Geraldk559: Regarding infoboxes, there are many types used on the English Wikipedia, and each has its own helpful documentation. If you enter, for instance, Template:Infobox person in the search box (replacing "Infobox person", if necessary, with the name of the particular infobox you're interested in), you should get to a page that shows what parameters the infobox accepts and how to fill them in. Deor (talk) 21:10, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Interwiki contributions

Hello. I recently moved the page Father for a Night and immediately got a notification that I had made my tenth Wikidata edit (which I don't understand because I have never deliberately edited anything there). Then a little later I get an alert for a mention (a welcome) on my talk page at Italian Wikipedia. I have no contributions to it.wiki. I'm fairly certain this all has something to do with that page move being it is an Italian film. Beyond that I have no idea what's going on. Anyone help clarify? --DB1729 (talk) 23:18, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Hi DB1729, when you visit another Wikimedia Wiki, be it even just for viewing, the unified login system will automatically add your account to that Wiki. Some wikis, such as the Italian Wikipedia decide to implement an automatic welcoming system for all new accounts. As for Wikidata, if you've used the mobile short summary feature or otherwise modified page metadata, the Wikidata entry will usually update accordingly and automatically, hence the edit notifications. Hope this clarifies things :) Ed talk! 23:51, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Ed6767 Yes, enough to satisfy most of my curiosity anyway. I do vaguely remember visiting an Italian page at least once recently, so that explains it. The Wikidata explanation I don't really get though. I've never heard of 'mobile short summary feature'. Never used anything 'mobile' I'm aware. I've moved 36 pages, but only 10 of those are logged on Wikidata and I see no common thread between those to distinguish them from the moves that aren't logged. But I'm not too worried about it. Thank you very much for the explanation! --DB1729 (talk) 00:31, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

DB1729, no problem. And don't worry about it - it's all done automatically and is just the software functioning as intended :) Ed talk! 00:33, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

@DB1729: I think even visiting a page with inter-wiki links, including those with equivalent pages on other wikis (linked through Wikidata), will cause those other wikis to be "attached" to your global account as shown at Special:CentralAuth/DB1729. Some of those wikis will automatically welcome you. Yes, it's mildly annoying. —[AlanM1 (talk)]— 01:51, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

AlanM1 Appears you're right. That is surprising and never would've guessed it worked like that. Thanks for the link. Again, it seems like I learn little things like this about WP all the time. --DB1729 (talk) 02:07, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

DB1729, my understanding is that when you move a wikipedia page that is linked to a wikidata item, you generate a wikidata edit to update the list of wikipedia pages linked to that item. Of the 36 page moves 17 are talk pages which don't have separate wikipedia items. So my guess is that 9 of your non-talk page moves did not generate wikidata edits as they were not linked to wikidata items. TSventon (talk) 13:55, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

TSventon Sounds like that would explain it. Thanks! --DB1729 (talk) 14:12, 19 August 2020 (UTC)