Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2020 June 16

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June 16

Raynard Brooks

Did he have a record or criminal history?

This is not a general information desk, but a place to ask about editing Wikipedia. -- Hoary (talk) 02:20, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

please assist with footnote links 13, 15, and 20

Hi, I'm pretty dumb about editing. It does seem to me that several years ago it was more intuitive. But it's more likely me.

I just want to correctly link footnotes 13, 15, and 20 to their web sources. I'm not understanding the proper formatting. Please advise. Thanks. forestflyer (talk) 08:43, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

@Forestflyer: Which article are you trying to edit? Danski454 (talk) 08:45, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Hello, Forestflyer. This is about Ousmane Sonko, yes? It would be helpful if you told us this, instead of leaving us to go and play detective to find it.

You have put a bare URL inside the template markers {{ ... }}. If you look at the other references in that paragraph, you will see that they use the template {{cite web}}, and the url= is one parameter of the template: it requires some others, such as title, last and first name of author (if known), date, publisher/website. I have linked to the actual template in the last sentence, so you can go and look at its documentation and see what it requires; or you can look at WP:REFB for more information about how to cite sources. --ColinFine (talk) 08:52, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

ColinFine ty for the tips and link. Remember, some of us don't edit WP much at all, so mistakes & omissions are made.

@Danski454: Sorry, Ousmane Sonko thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Forestflyer (talk • contribs) 09:15, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Articles about companies - key people

In the documentation for the company infobox there's guidance about what to include under 'key people' such as to limit the list to four officers, and to 'not list roles below chief officer level if they are not notable'. Is there a similar guideline somewhere for which company officers to list in the article's prose? A case in point would be Quest Software#Key Leaders where editors have gone over the top on listing officers in a clear case of PR. I wanted to cite a relevant guideline in my edit summary when I revert the most recent edit and/or trim the list. Curb Safe Charmer (talk) 09:45, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Not an answer to your question – but Quest Software looks more like a company brochure than an encyclopedia article. I hope it's possible for the last four sections, "Acquisitions and growth", "Key Leaders", "Services" and "Awards and Recognitions" to be deleted entirely. Maproom (talk) 10:59, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Signatures in Infoboxes

I'm looking for guidance in relation when you can/cannot use a living person's signature in an Infobox. For instance, there is a signature for Elizabeth II and other articles, but many articles do not have the person's signature. SethWhales ^talk 10:18, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Seth Whales, see WP:AUTOGRAPH. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 18:46, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Thank you Gråbergs Gråa Sång. SethWhales ^talk 19:31, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

How I can Add Articles or Famous person related belongings

Hi sir

I am Riyaz Badarudeen,an Indian belongings to Kerala state.I would like to ask you about how How I can Add Articles or Famous person related belongings, especially the Famous sports related persons more infos.

Hello RIYAZBADAR (RIYAZBADAR). Writing a new article is very difficult for those who have no experience in writing for Wikipedia. But before writing anything in articles I suggest that you try Wikipedia:The Wikipedia Adventure. -- Hoary (talk) 13:36, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Samuel Colt and Smith&Wesson

Several years ago caught a broadcast more than half way through.With all this "home" time during the pandemic have been trying to track it down with no success. Have contacted both Discovery and History channels, no luck.

Basically it was about the rise of both companies and their competition and development of firearms from Civil War until present.

Thank anyone who can help. TerpsBill (talk) 12:14, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

@TerpsBill: this helpdesk is for questions about using or editing Wikipedia. If the infor you want is not in the Samuel Colt or Smith & Wesson articles, you can try asking over at WP:RD. -Arch dude (talk) 15:05, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Censorship

I am boycotting your propaganda website because of your censorship of news media that YOU and the rest of your cabal of 1% psychopaths don't like:

https://thegrayzone.com/2020/06/10/wikipedia-formally-censors-the-grayzone-as-regime-change-advocates-monopolize-editing/

https://thegrayzone.com/2020/06/11/meet-wikipedias-ayn-rand-loving-founder-and-wikimedia-foundations-regime-change-operative-ceo/

You have become a home to the blatant evils of right wing psychopathy and greed by you and the rest of you ilk.

I am done with this site.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.178.246.39 (talk)

This was agreed upon by WP:CONSENSUS, see Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Perennial sources, Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard/Archive 272#On the reliability of The Grayzone & Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard/Archive 287#RfC: Grayzone. It's not what Wikipedia describes as a reliable source. Joseph2302 (talk) 12:30, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

And contrary to the Grayzone's posts, we do depreciate extreme right wing sources as well if they don't meet Wikipedia's standards for a reliable source. Joseph2302 (talk) 12:33, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Wikipedia is more often accused of having a left-wing bias. See e.g. https://www.conservapedia.com/Examples_of_Bias_in_Wikipedia at a right-wing site. It's impossible to satisfy everybody. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:38, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Any website that puts up graphs, but doesn't explain what ">100" edits or "retention" is actually classed on doesn't get my vote of being particularly reliable. We can't censor any news outlet, but we can depreciate any source that the community decides isn't reliable. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 13:42, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

I cannot believe you are still using 4 tilde

Please overhaul the way Wikipedia is generated. You make ppl feel as though they are ioliver twist an u are a Dickensian lawyer — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2604:3d08:2f84:ee00:6448:6330:d4fd:ee3d (talk)

Do you have a question about editing Wikipedia? Joseph2302 (talk) 13:39, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

... and where did you learn to spell? -Roxy the elfin dog . wooF 15:32, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

... and if you know about the 4 tildes, why didn't you use them to sign your post? Joseph2302 (talk) 15:42, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

MicroProse Edit by the Founder of MicroProse John W. Stealey keeps getting rejected

I am John W. Stealey, CoFounder of MicroProse Software. I have tried to update the very incorrect Wikipedia about my company. I have written the true history of the company from the founding in my basement in 1982 until I left the company in June 1993. But your system keeps rejecting it?????? If the founder writes it why does your system or volunteers not like it?

How do I get the correct history of early MicroProse on Wikipedia?

JW Stealey CoFounder MicroProse Software Lt. Colonel, USAF Retired Command Pilot CEO, iEntertainment Network Inc.— Preceding unsigned comment added by JWStealey (talk • contribs)

You do not appear to have made any edits to MicroProse, but you should use reliable sources, (WP:RS), to support your edits. -Roxy the elfin dog . wooF 15:31, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Also, as the cofounder of the company, you have a conflict of interest. Please read that document for best practices. ~ ONUnicorn^{(Talk|Contribs)}problem solving 15:40, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

@JWStealey: You ask why we "don't like" your true, personal, factual, founder's history. The answer is that we do not know who you are. We have no way to verify your identity and no desire to implement such a verification system for this purpose. For all we know, you are an imposter with an ax to grind. We depend on reliable sources to perform this vetting function. For this reason, we require that information added by editors must come from reliable published sources. Your best bet is to get your history published elsewhere so we can cite that source. If there is incorrect information in the article that is not backed up by a reliable source, please point it out, and we can remove it. If that information is in a cited reliable source, we will not remove it even if you know it to be incorrect, unless you can cite another source. -Arch dude (talk) 16:01, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

I want it noted for the record that we've been warning this account about a possible conflict of interest since Feb. 1, 2018! --Orange Mike | Talk 16:44, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Named reference not defined in article

I am working on the WP article History of longitude. There is a reference there to a paper by Edmond Halley, cited using <ref name="halley" />, but the reference is not defined in the article. Where is this coming from? I'd like to add a link to the full-text of the paper, which I will do if I can find where the reference is defined. Thanks. Kognos (talk) 17:44, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

I see a citation to "Halley, Edmund, A Proposal of a Method for Finding the Longitude at Sea Within a Degree, or Twenty Leagues., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol. 37, 1731-1732, pp 185-195". Is it possible that work the paper cited to? ‡ Єl Cid of Valencia ^talk 17:48, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Yes, that is how <ref name="halley"> is defined, in the second paragraph in History of longitude#Halley's proposals—lunar occultations and appulses, magnetic deviation. --David Biddulph (talk) 18:18, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Thank you!

Whoops, not sure how I missed that! I think I was looking for a cite journal tag. Updated now. Thanks. Kognos (talk) 19:27, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Why was I suspended?

Some random person suspended my editing privileges. All my edits have been sincere and thoughtful.

Why did you give some pedant the power to restrict my ability to edit entries?

Also, what was the reason this random person used to curtail my edting powers, and when is the ban to be lifted? Also, do

I have the power to appeal?

Truly,

Mike Wrathell.

PS: I do not come here very often. If you could email your reply or at least email me to tell me to search your site when you get to this, that would be nice.

(e-mail address redacted)

Also, why do you make it so difficult to be contacted with a simple question? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sowff (talk • contribs)

I looked at the block log, and it shows you have never been blocked. So it looks like no one has ever suspended your editing privileges. JIP | Talk 18:37, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

• • sowff It's possible the article that they were trying to edit was fully protected (maybe?). There are no active blocks on your account. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lee Vilenski (talk • contribs) 18:42, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Information to be contributed by someone experienced

Greetings!

I have enjoyed Wikipedia for IDK how many years, but have never felt qualified to contribute to the content. I look at the Helpdesk pages and my dinosaur eyeballs cross at the techno~gobbledygook. This webpage I am on now is supposed to be a venue for sending inquiries to the help desk, but it looks very much like a tool that's going to submit what I type here as content. I am aware, however, about current information which needs to be added to a specific article by someone competent in such tasks. The article is located at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Ercoli

The article, as it currently exists, states that this individual was a child star, listing her film history. However, there is life after child stardom, and now as an adult, she is a practicing psychologist at UCLA in the Psychiatry department. She specializes in matters pertaining to Adult Development and Aging, specifically regarding seniors with dementia and those who care for them. Research topics include Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease, Memory Improvement Interventions and something called "Chemo Brain." Her professional staff page in UCLA's physician database has links to videos she has produced on the following topics:

Senior Scams: Prevention and Invervention

Driving and Dementia

Surviving Caregiving

Her educational background for this profession is:

Fellowship Neuropsychology, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital, 1997-2000

Internship Clinical Psychology, Long Beach VA Medical Center, 1994-1995

Degree UC San Diego School of Medicine, PhD, 1996

The focus of her work is at the UCLA Semel Institute of Neuroscience & Human Behavior, and she serves UCLA's patients at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA.

The above information was obtained from Dr. Ercoli's professional staff page from the aforementioned physician database for UCLA, located at:

This information would be better placed at the talk page of the article concerned. Britmax (talk) 19:10, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

The page is not likely very highly visited, as there's an unanswered question from 2007. Instead, you can put a edit request template on the talk page with this info. See here Template:Request edit This source will suffice [[1]] TimTempleton ^{(talk) (cont)} 19:29, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

References

Colors and different sized text in editing window

Hello, all of a sudden the editing window is filled with different colors and text sizes. How do I go back to the old, black and white, plain text? Thank you, Yoninah (talk) 19:32, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

@Yoninah: I don't know about different sizes, but you're probably seeing "syntax coloring" (which a lot of people find useful) that may have gotten turned on by accident or bug. On the toolbar above the edit window, to the left of "Advanced", you may have a blue pencil icon. Try clicking on it. If that doesn't work, go to Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-gadgets and uncheck "Syntax Highlighter". —[AlanM1 (talk)]— 06:50, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

See WP:HILITE for all possibilities. PrimeHunter (talk) 08:47, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

Thank you! It seemed to go away when I reset all the defaults and unclicked Temporarily disable the visual editor while it is in beta under Editing. Yoninah (talk) 09:39, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

Editing an Abandoned Article and Conflict of Interest

I was asked by one of my clients to help edit an existing article and post additional (non-promotional) information at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Financial_planner under the sub-heading of Countries, which included no information for Canada. I worked with their volunteer board of directors to draft the information, then posted it on their behalf.

I was paid for my time, and have disclosed this apparent conflict of interest on my User page. Having done that, I submitted the material to the article's original author on their Talk page after learning that a direct edit would be inappropriate.

It appears the original author has not responded to any messages since 2008. Furthermore, he discloses on his Simon123 User page that he is an "Independent Financial Advisor", meaning he has a greater conflict of interest when he posted the original article than I do as a representative of a national non-profit regulatory authority. Can you suggest how we can provide impartial information on the subject of financial planning now that suggesting this through Simon123's Talk page is futile? If the only method is by direct edit, would someone be willing to review our draft to ensure it meets your standards of impartiality? Otherwise, what would you suggest we do to inform the world of the situation in Canada?

If it would help for you to have more information, please see my request to the original author below, sent on June 3, 2020.

Regulation of the title "Financial Planner" in Canada

I cannot edit your page due to my previous consulting relationship with three of the organizations mentioned below. So instead, I am making this suggestion for an additional country description in the section "Licensing, regulations and self-regulation", i.e., for Canada. While parts of this entry may appear promotional, I, and volunteer executives on the Board of Directors at the IAFP, have been careful to ensure that all statements are fair and factual. I would be happy to provide proof or explanation if needed.

"To provide a level of assurance to the general public when seeking advisors dedicated to comprehensive financial planning, and capable of providing advanced financial planning solutions" is the first of three points in the IAFP's Mission Statement, and this is our primary intent in making this suggestion for an edit. (Keeping in mind that we also believe the articles on Financial Planners and Financial Advisors should be kept separate.)

Here is what I'm suggesting under a sub-heading for "Canada", with links added for each organization mentioned.

In Canada, the title' financial planner' is unregulated in every province except Quebec, where only individuals holding the Planificateur Financier (Pl. Fin) designation are allowed to use the title “Financial Planner”. The Pl. Fin designation is administered by a provincially-sanctioned body, the Institut québécois de planification financière (IQPF)

Outside of Quebec, there are currently no restrictions, no educational prerequisites, and no licensing requirements for individuals or businesses calling themselves financial planners or using “financial planning” in their business name. (As of June 2020, Ontario and Saskatchewan are conducting consultations on regulating financial planning titles, but legislation has yet to be introduced.)

A myriad of designations issued by numerous for-profit businesses adds to the confusion for Canadian consumers. Many advisors holding licences to sell personal financial products (primarily investments and insurance) are legally allowed to call themselves financial planners, and they greatly outnumber Canadian professionals with an appropriate financial planning designation. This includes diplomas such as the Personal Financial Planner, which is not regulated after the title is granted by a for-profit education provider.

There are only two regulated financial planning designations outside of Quebec; the R.F.P.® or Registered Financial Planner® and the CFP® or Certified Financial Planner® designations.

Exclusive to Canada, the R.F.P.* is the oldest (established in 1987) and most stringent of the two. All R.F.P.s are subject to rigorous ethical and practice standards as defined by the granting body, the Institute of Advanced Financial Planners (IAFP™). Each R.F.P. must attest each year to practicing financial planning as their primary vocation.

The better-known CFP® designation is conferred by FP Canada™ on behalf of U.S.-based Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. While earning the CFP® requires completion of educational requirements and adherence to a set of practice standards, CFPs are not required to actually practice financial planning in order to maintain their designation. ­--------------

• Sometimes confused with the RFP (no periods) designation in the United States, which has significantly lower standards for qualification than the Canadian R.F.P.® Universe All (talk) 19:34, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

@Universe All: Look for some good reliable third party sources to substantiate your info, add them to your comment on the talk page, and add the Template:Request edit to your comment so other editors can review. BTW - trademark symbols are usually discouraged, unless they are critical to the understanding of the topic. TimTempleton ^{(talk) (cont)} 01:42, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

Want to delete a photo of me, that I uploaded, on my personal wiki page

Hi, I uploaded a photo of me on my wiki page several years ago.

It is the photo on this site:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Fletcher

I don't want photos of me, I prefer anonymity.

If there is any way to delete my photo, please let me know.

Thank you.

T— Preceding unsigned comment added by Johnny Poltergeist (talk • contribs)

Johnny Poltergeist As a guard against impersonation, please confirm your identity with Wikipedia by following the instructions at WP:REALNAME. In the future, you should avoid directly editing the article(not just a "page") about you, instead you may make formal edit requests(click for instructions) on the article talk page. Please review the autobiography policy.

To request that an image be deleted, you may start a discussion at Files for Discussion.

Please understand that it is not "your wiki page"; it is a Wikipedia article that is about you. While your input is welcome, you have no more rights to it than any other editor, see WP:OWN. 331dot (talk) 20:07, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

It should also be noted that when you uploaded the image File:Tim Fletcher, 2004.jpg to Wikimedia commons; you made the image available to be used by anyone, so long as they also abide by CC-BY-SA. I'm not super familiar with WP:NMUSIC, but I'm not sure how notable the subject is, outside of the bands that you were a part of. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 20:28, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

@Johnny Poltergeist: Also, be aware that anyone may have made a legal copy of that image during the past 16 years and legally placed it anywhere on the Internet. Wikipedia has no control over those images and removing the image from Wikipedia will have no effect on the presence or legality of any such images. -Arch dude (talk) 01:46, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

File complaint

How do I file a complaint about false and misleading information posted about a subject? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Veritas612 (talk • contribs)

Veritas612 If you are the subject of the false statement and it rises to the level of libel, you may follow the instructions at WP:LIBEL to make a complaint. If you are not the subject, you should post on the article talk page detailing the concerns you have. Please keep in mind that Wikipedia summarizes what independent reliable sources state about article subjects. 331dot (talk) 22:47, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Copying public domain images

What are the rules on copying public domain images off Wikipedia and using them elsewhere? Do I still need to attribute them? Do I need to attribute Wikipedia because that is where I got them from? Or is it fine to copy and download public domain images from Wikipedia and use them without any attribution? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Daniel.PA.Lyons (talk • contribs)

@Daniel.PA.Lyons: If you click the image, it will show you the license info. Many are licensed in a way that requires attribution, and if so it will say who to give attribution to. RudolfRed (talk) 23:10, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

@Daniel.PA.Lyons: If the image is public domain or has a CC0 licence, you do not need to give attribution (though some authors appreciate it if you do), but as RudolfRed says, many images on Wikipedia require attribution. Danski454 (talk) 23:13, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

@Daniel.PA.Lyons: Note that public domain (PD) has a specific legal meaning. Most images on Wikipedia are not PD, instead they stil copyrighted but are freely licensed under liberal terms that may or may not require attribution. If the image is actually PD or CC0, then it is legal to copy it and use it without attribution. Whether or not this is a good idea depends on context. Copying without attribution constitutes plagiarism. In an academic context, plagiarism is a serious violation of academic norms and can get you into academic trouble. This may be true in other contexts if there is an implication that the image is your own work. -Arch dude (talk) 01:37, 17 June 2020 (UTC)