Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2021 April 18

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April 18

Graham87 Melbourne Telstra Ban

Is it possible to revoke Graham87's single authority to ban massive lists of IP's.

A two step method where a second individual who could verify if it was indeed a correct move would reduce the number of unnecessary IP's which have been blocked.

Currently he has made a ban effective for 3 years which blocks most of the Australian state of Victoria's Telstra network. This includes areas of the Optus network affecting potentially over 3 million IP's. — Preceding unsigned comment added by IdleVeidt (talk • contribs) 2021-04-18T01:02:40 (UTC)

@IdleVeidt: Are you referring to 216.59.193.194 (talk · contribs · WHOIS)? ~ Aseleste (t, e | c, l) 02:09, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

courtesy ping Graham87 – Teratix ₵ 02:19, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@Aseleste: No, every single user within the 2001:8003:4000:0:0:0:0:0/35 Ip listing, for context this includes account creation as well. — Preceding unsigned comment added by IdleVeidt (talk • contribs) 04:18, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@Aseleste: That IP is registered to Little Elm, Texas. @Teratix: thanks for the ping. @IdleVeidt: unfortunately desperate circumstances require desperate measures. This is the only measure I could find to effectively deal with the IP editor whose last range was Special:Contributions/2001:8003:59DB:4100::/64 but has used others; see the relevant block log]. They are a highly prolific editor who has engaged in extreme right-wing pro-Trump misogynist editing for many years now. If I'd just blocked the latest /64, they could've come back again once they were assigned a new /64 range. I did ask on the edit filter mailing list if an edit filter could be made for this user's distinctive pattern of edits, but I was advised that this was difficult to impossible. I will only answer further questions about this block from established editors. Graham87 05:35, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Also, this sort of block is not at all unprecedented. Graham87 05:43, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@Graham87: Not the question I asked at all, additionally I would prefer you removed your condescending vocabulary. I don't believe I need to be an established editor to ask for some second opinion be inserted before you implement your desperate measures. The only reason I have needed to make an account after years of editing was because of your actions. But back to the question, do you have any form of verification or regulation when making these decisions or are they entirely by your own authority.— Preceding unsigned comment added by IdleVeidt (talk • contribs) 06:06, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@IdleVeidt: Please sign your messages with four tildes ("~~~~") so pinging can work. I will answer this question only: yes, I have ultimate authority re these sorts of blocks, like all sysops, but other editors are free to review them and sysops can modify them without wheell-warring; the removal of this authority, desysopping, is a rather drastic procedure. If what you say is true about having edited for many years as an IP, you alone have chosen not to take up the many benefits of having an account. As we say here, "Trying to make serious edits to Wikipedia as an IP editor is like blindly blundering through the countryside on the first day of hunting season dressed like a moose", so thanks for removing your costume, even if under duress. I still don't entirely trust new editors in this sort of situation though. Graham87 06:48, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@Graham87: I take it the part about condescending vocabulary went well above your head. I didn't make an account by choice and would prefer to be the moose if this is how this community treats people. IdleVeidt (talk) 10:19, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

IdleVeidt, the answer to your question is no - as things stand, any administrator can impose a range block like Graham87's one if they deem it necessary. The block is logged, and any administrator can remove it if they think it excessive - but they would normally talk to the blocking admin first to discuss why it was placed, and what alternative measures could be put in place.

Rather than going after Graham87 as an individual, I think the questions you really ought to be asking are 'Is this block necessary?' and 'Could a narrower block prevent the disruption without affecting so many people?' As you've seen, Graham87 has looked for alternatives such as an edit filter, and has tried blocking smaller ranges only to have the abuser pop back up, so this seems to be something of a last resort.

I'd add that you started this thread, with your second edit to Wikipedia under this account, by suggesting that restrictions be placed upon Graham87's editing. Not asking questions about the block's validity and scope, just jumping straight to suggesting that he be partially desysopped. If his tone is not quite as warm and welcoming as you might have hoped for, perhaps you should consider how you started this discussion. GirthSummit _(blether) 11:31, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Amazon Prime Video

Is a listing of a series on Amazon Prime Video a reliable source for a series being available on Amazon Prime Video, or is this also prohibited per WP:AMAZON? ToQ100gou (talk) 01:25, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

ToQ100gou I don't think you need to specifically cite the availability of something on Amazon Prime, as that is easy enough to confirm. 331dot (talk) 07:10, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

ToQ100gou, the only circumstances I can think of where a product's being available through a particular channel might be encyclopaedic is if there had previously been a widely reported dispute or problem about it. In any other case, mentioning it in an article would be pure promotion. (I removed a statement from an article yesterday about the publication of a biography of the subject for just that reason). --ColinFine (talk) 13:02, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Editing Page

I am continously editing the page of my organisation but it isn't getting publioshed — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sheikhkhan123 (talk • contribs) 07:29, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Sheikhkhan123 You should not directly edit the article (not just a "page") about your organization as you have a conflict of interest. I am going to post important information about this on your user talk page, User talk:Sheikhkhan123, that you will need to review for information on required formal declarations you must make. To propose edits to the article about your organization, please make a formal edit request(click for instructions) on the article talk page, Talk:Karwan-I-Islami. 331dot (talk) 07:46, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Copying French WP page into English WP

How do I copy a French WP page into English WP and what credit do I need to give? Mztourist (talk) 09:59, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Translation. Make sure it doesn't fail WP:GNG. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 10:44, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Thanks User:Gråbergs Gråa Sång. Mztourist (talk) 08:36, 19 April 2021 (UTC)

how to make semi-protection on our article

Hi, we are new here in Wikipedia, we've done few of editing on a specific person and we wanted to lock all the information what ever in the article. would like to have assistance on how to protect it and that no one can easily change the said content.

below is the article of the specific person that we wanted to have protection. Jafar Dhia Jafar

Please help.

Luther Sabuero — Preceding unsigned comment added by Luther1122 (talk • contribs) 11:00, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Luther1122 You cannot get an article protected merely to prevent others from editing it. Anyone on Wikipedia can edit almost any article. Any article you create is not yours to control(see WP:OWN), and in fact if you have a conflict of interest you should no longer directly edit it, but instead make edit requests on the talk page. If there is a a specific problem with vandalism or other disruption, you may request protection at WP:RFPP. 331dot (talk)•

Hi Luther1122, I'm afraid that you can't protect content like that - anyone can edit any article. We only protect articles to prevent disruption which is sometimes caused by vandalism, edit warring and the like.

Can I ask who else you are referring to when you when you say 'we'? Accounts should only ever be used by one person - see WP:NOSHARING - if more than one person is working on this, you should each have your own account.

Can I also draw your attention to our guidance on conflicts of interest? If you have a connection with this person, you need to declare it. Thanks GirthSummit _(blether) 11:09, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

The article shows no sign of reliable secondary sources. I suspect that the section labelled "References" is in fact a bibliography of documents written by the subject rather than about him. We therefore have no evidence that the subject satisfies Wikipedia's notability requirement. --David Biddulph (talk) 12:00, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

I did a quick WP:BEFORE, seems like they are probably notable, but the state of the article suggests it either needs fixing, or draftifying. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 12:37, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

One option could be to restore the version ca. 105 revisions back which contained three sources and was less cluttered with details on Jafar's workplace. Then the content added by the IPs can be gradually re-introduced along with proper references. – NJD-DE (talk) 13:05, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

I've reverted to the version immediately before the removal of the references. Maproom (talk) 18:59, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Predictive methods for surgery duration

Page Title included in TOC. What is wrong with it and how to correct? HaimS (talk) 12:37, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

User:HaimS is your user page and not the place for drafts or articles. I have moved it to Draft:Predictive methods for surgery duration and added a box with a submit button. The page title is the page name and should not be repeated as a heading inside the page. "Draft:" will be removed if the page is submitted and accepted. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:58, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@HaimS: Regarding the "no-break space character" messages in the references, delete the special spaces described in the messages and make a normal space instead. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:04, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Nevermind, they have been fixed now with some other details. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:27, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Thank you so much for your comprehensive assistance. Much appreciated. HaimS (talk) 14:19, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

In Texas I drive a 15 passenger Church Van + Driver = 16. Do I need a C D L type C ??

In Texas I drive a 15 passenger Church Van + Driver = 16. Do I need a C D L type C ??2001:5B0:45CB:7838:A9E4:649B:6484:59E2 (talk) 14:25, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

That is a question you could try asking at the reference desk, but you may have better luck looking on sites that explain Texas driving laws. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 14:41, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

How can i add a small note on a text

I want to add an explanatory note on an article but I don't know how to do it? Template note doesn't work for me https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Explanatory_notes this doesnt help — Preceding unsigned comment added by SteliosD123 (talk • contribs) 15:28, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

The efn as {{efn|}} template will do it. You have to leave a ==Notes=={{notelist}} to catch the notes. Hope that helps. scope_creep^Talk 15:45, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

You can also do a quote box, which is sometimes quite handy. {{Quote box|bgcolor=#FFDEAD|align=right|width=50%|.. . Hope that helps. scope_creep^Talk 15:54, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Jamborkretz, Czechoslovakia

Hi Folks!! Anybody know where Jamborkretz, Czechoslovakia is. Thanks. scope_creep^Talk 15:45, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Its for Malvina Gruber. Thanks. scope_creep^Talk 15:46, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

User:scope creep It might be worth emailing the German Resistance Memorial Center or a similar organisation (contact details at https://www.gdw-berlin.de/en/recess/press/ ). TSventon (talk) 16:17, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Hi @TSventon: It is a good thought, but unfortunately they don't deal with the Soviet side of the Red Orchestra ("Rote Kapelle"). It tends to be a seperate group of authors only. They only deal with German resistance fighters only. They're is plenty of source for it, and no doubt something will turn up in the next several weeks, when the Google Graph gets updated. But in the meantime, I wouldn't mind getting a clue to what it means. Its an Americanisation of a Begium or French term. scope_creep^Talk 16:32, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@Scope creep: - Google is only returning results relating to Gruber, which suggests it's an error that has been copied. The Humanities Reference Desk may be able o come up with something. DuncanHill (talk) 16:40, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@DuncanHill: That is a good idea. I never thought about it. scope_creep^Talk 17:03, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@Scope creep:, DuncanHill is probably right, but a really obscure village, possibly with four alternative names, is also possible. TSventon (talk) 19:34, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

I found the very latest Red Orchestra book at [1] which was published in May 2017, by a French academic: La véritable histoire de l'orchestre rouge By Guillaume Bourgeois. It has it as well, so it be established place. I'm suprised we don't have it. It must be coming out in an entry of an archive or summat. That is three books that has it. Its likely a German name from the Gestapo report. I'm trying to find that. scope_creep^Talk 19:47, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

I found out it is a German phrase for a Czechoslavakian location. So it is exonym. scope_creep^Talk 20:33, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@Scope creep:, Malvina Hofstadterova was apparently born in Austria-Hungary, where German speakers were scattered over the country so Jamborkretz was possibly an endonym. Have you seen the Belgisch Staatsblad from 1949 https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1NjFq3ElP2EC&pg=PA10664, which says Jambokretz, rather than Jamborkretz. TSventon (talk) 21:02, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@TSventon: Stellar ref. A Penal sentence of 10 years, an annoucement. That is definently her. I think so. scope_creep^Talk 23:00, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@Scope creep:, I wouldn't use the Belgisch Staatsblad as a sole reference as it looks like a primary source. Is "Polkowice in Silesia" an error copied from Fritz Thiel (resistance fighter)? I looked online for gazetteers of Czechoslovakia or Austria-Hungary and various genealogy websites have them, but you have to register. Someone on the reference desk may have access. TSventon (talk) 14:10, 19 April 2021 (UTC)

@TSventon: There is plenty of references, particularly in German. No worries there. You'll see it as the article develops. I think what does worry me is I don't have a death date yet. Once the graph get's going, an obit will turn up, no doubt eventually. It usually does. She is very well known amongst that group of academics, as she gave away the whole game to the German, and a lot of the events, rotate around her, so there is plenty there. scope_creep^Talk 11:06, 20 April 2021 (UTC)

@TSventon: The infobox has still to be changed. It was copied over from Thiel. scope_creep^Talk 11:09, 20 April 2021 (UTC)

@Scope creep:, to go back to the original question List of German exonyms for places in the Czech Republic, List of German exonyms for places in Slovakia and de:Liste deutscher Bezeichnungen ukrainischer Orte suggest that Jamborkretz was not a well known name of a town or village in Czechoslovakia. TSventon (talk) 11:42, 20 April 2021 (UTC)

How to be an admin?

How can I be an admin? How many edits I need for being an administrative? 223.189.183.134 (talk) 16:08, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Generally, admins are long-time users with thousands of edits. Please read Wikipedia:Really simple guide to requests for adminship. Elli (talk | contribs) 16:20, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

And for technical reasons (IP's can change) having admin rights requires you to have a user account. You can create one here, though you should review the username policy first. Victor Schmidt (talk) 17:06, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Also read Wikipedia:Not now and Wikipedia:Advice for RfA candidates. Dinesh (talk) 04:20, 19 April 2021 (UTC)

Does G13 apply to drafts waiting to be reviewed?

There is, unfortunately, a large backlog for draft reviews, so it can take quite some time for a draft to be reviewed. If a draft has been submitted for review, and the review has not happened in 6 months along with no other edits, is the draft subject to WP:G13 CSD? Or is it likely an admin would not delete the draft in that case? RudolfRed (talk) 16:47, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@RudolfRed: G13 shouldn't apply there, though it could use some clarification. Elli (talk | contribs) 16:52, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Internally linking to an older version of a Wikipedia page

Could anyone please tell me if it's possible to (edit: internally) link to an older version of a page, and if so, could anyone please tell me how to do it?--Thylacine24 (talk) 16:53, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Use revisions, which you can find in the page history. For example, if I wanted to link the version of this page that existed before you asked this question, I could link to revision 1018543432. Lettler^{hello • contribs} 16:59, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@Lettler: I meant to write "internally link" in the sentence, sorry. Still, thanks. I asked this because I had originally posted another question on the help desk about a possible error I encountered on a page first, then decided to use the talk page and deleted it here, and I decided to provide a link to the question I had previously asked.--Thylacine24 (talk) 17:38, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@Thylacine24 and Lettler: With internal links, this works via Special:Redirect, for example [[Special:Redirect/revision/1018543432|1018543432]] produces 1018543432. Victor Schmidt (talk) 17:04, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@Victor Schmidt: Thanks. I asked this because I wanted to link to a deleted question on the help desk that I decided was better for the talk page, and wanted to provide a link to it there.--Thylacine24 (talk) 17:38, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

It's more normal to link Special:PermanentLink/1018543432. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:48, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Alternatively, the {{dif}} template can be used to shorten character length. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 20:01, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Deleting old versions of non-free files

I just uploaded a downsized version of File:Locking Up Our Own book cover.jpg, how do I tag an older file version for deletion? Zupotachyon (talk) 17:57, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@Zupotachyon: there's a bot that does it automatically. Can I recommend reverting your change, though? You don't need to fuzz the text, lowering the resolution is sufficient. Elli (talk | contribs) 18:04, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Oh, I did not catch that, guess I shouldn't use Paint 3D. I uploaded a newer version that I think should not be fuzzy. Thanks Zupotachyon (talk) 18:14, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Looks good. The bot should take care of it, I think. Elli (talk | contribs) 18:43, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Book Creator

I am encountering a systematic problem while attempting to locate Book Creator — Preceding unsigned comment added by Masterkey01 (talk • contribs) 18:11, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@Masterkey01: The Book Creator is working so poorly that the English Wikipedia has removed the link under "Print/export". You can start it here if you really want to use it anyway. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:34, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Article Issue

Could I have a couple Administrators connect with me so that I could get some help at their level? I am asking for Administrators that are U.S. based.

A Flaneur A Flaneur (talk) 19:12, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@A Flaneur: what is your issue? It's likely not necessary to require administrative assistance, and regardless, posting it here will work ok, provided it's not a private matter. Elli (talk | contribs) 19:23, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

It probably would be considered a private matter, so what would be a better location?

A Flaneur (talk) 19:26, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@A Flaneur: you should contact them off-wiki. Generally the only private matters involve harassment, sock-puppetry, or oversight, in which case you should check out Wikipedia:Functionaries. Otherwise, things should generally be handled on-wiki. Elli (talk | contribs) 19:28, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

It does. So How would I contact you off Wiki? And by the way, are you in the U.S.?

A Flaneur (talk) 19:41, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Hello, A Flaneur. Elli (who is not an administrator) gave you a link that tells you how to contact a functionary in those cases. I'm puzzled as to what relevance it could possibly have whether or not the person you talk to is in the US. Note that nobody is under any obligation to reveal where they are. --ColinFine (talk) 21:01, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

A quick review of their talkpage and contributions suggests that they have a potential UPE problem. For what its worth, please review our polices on conflict of interests, and in particular, our *absolute* prohibition on undisclosed paid editing. BrxBrx(talk)^{(please reply with {{SUBST:re|BrxBrx}})} 18:20, 20 April 2021 (UTC)

How do I connect with an editor who has made changes to an article that I started?

I would like to be able to privately chat with someone who made some changes to an article that I started. How do I do that?

Thanks.

Mary Lynch — Preceding unsigned comment added by MaryKLynch (talk • contribs) 2021-04-18T22:07:08 (UTC)

MaryKLynch if you and the other editor have email enabled, you could follow the instructions in Wikipedia:Emailing users. Otherwise, you can post a public message on their talk page. TSventon (talk) 21:20, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

(edit conflict)Hello, MaryKLynch. The normal way to connect with another editor is either to post on their User talk page, or to post elsewhere (such as the talk page of the relevant article) and ping that editor. The ethos of Wikipedia is that discussions should be public unless there is a very good reason (see the previous section on this page for a little discussion of this). If the editor in question has chosen to set an email address on their account, then you can email them, but if they haven't, there is no way to contact them privately. --ColinFine (talk) 21:24, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@MaryKLynch: just a reminder that you don't own any articles you start. They are avaialable for all to edit in good faith. As advised above, disagreements about content, sourcing, etc. should be discussed either with the editor concerned, the article's talk page or at WikiProject level. Mjroots (talk) 06:25, 19 April 2021 (UTC)

Hide a change

Are there ways to ask to hide a change? Dr Salvus 22:07, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Yes. See Wikipedia:Revision deletion#How to request Revision Deletion. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:13, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Images in COVID-19 pandemic in Peru

Can someone figure out why there are four images marooned way down at the bottom of the article, below the refs? (scroll down) I can't see anything in the markup that could cause this... --Elmidae (talk · contribs) 22:14, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

@Elmidae: I don't know the cause but a purge fixed it. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:30, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Most peculiar. Thanks. --Elmidae (talk · contribs) 22:32, 18 April 2021 (UTC)