Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2021 March 18

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March 18

Logging in/logging out

Not long ago it was my experience of only needing to log back in to Wikipedia once a year or so, having been logged out through some other agency besides myself. Now I have to log in, finding myself logged out, after very short periods of time, and I wonder if the policy has changed. Bfant (talk) 00:37, 18 March 2021 (UTC) Bill Fant

@Bfant: There were some session issues a few weeks ago, but none that I'm aware of recently. Try logging out and then clicking the box that says "Keep me logged in (for up to 365 days)". TimTempleton ^{(talk) (cont)} 00:38, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

@Bfant: Please check your cookie settings. If you block cookies from en.wikipedia.org or login.wikimedia.org, the login feature may break. Victor Schmidt (talk) 06:58, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

How to publish a live page?

Hi there,

I've created an article for "SLS Bearings" and included a reference list in the article with as much citation for this article as possible. However, when I tried to publish this page. The display title shows: User:SLSBearings and the URL shows: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:SLSBearings.

Is this the live page for SLS Bearings? If so, how can I change the display title to just "SLS Bearings" and the URL as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SLSBearings.

If it is not a live page, then how can I publish a live page for this article?

Looking forward to your reply, thanks!

SabrinaSLS Bearings (talk) 06:27, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

@SLSBearings: So we have a few problems here:

1. Your username is the same as a company name, this is not allowed. Please choose something more indidvidualistic, Sabriana at SLS Bearings would be okay. You can ask for a rename at WP:CHUS or Special:GlobalRenameRequest.
2. If you have any sort of affilation with this company, please read over WP:COI and WP:PAID, as there are some required disclosures to make.
3. You have edited your userpage, which is not article space and also not intended as a space to draft future articles. Draft articles are welcome as a subpage of your userpage, for example User:SLSBearings/Article Draft or in draft namespace.
4. If this were in article space, it would probbably end up being deleted very quicklly, because it is both undersourced and partially promotional. As an example, that offers fully integrated Proactive, Reliability and Optimization maintenance solutions to customers would never be appropiate language for an encyclopedic article.

Hope that helps.Victor Schmidt (talk) 06:53, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Completely delete myself from WIkipedia?

How to Completely delete myself from WIkipedia?-- SocialScythe (talk) 06:59, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Your account hasn't contributed anything other than this question, so you can just ignore the account and vanish. --David Biddulph (talk) 08:34, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Synonym terms

I created long ago in Wikipedia a page for a scientific term. I now realize that this term has a synonym. My question is whether there is a way to link to the original term any search for the synonym, or whether I should make a separate page for the synonym, which will essentially be copy/paste of the original term? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Medbc (talk • contribs) 08:21, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

We don't want a second copy of the same page, but you can (if appropriate) create a WP:redirect. --David Biddulph (talk) 08:36, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

EVERDAY SEXISM

WHAT ALGORITHM has changed my legal name ( which I have never changed, married or not) from Cerys Elizabeth Phillips Matthews ( correct ) to Cerys Elizabeth Abbott (incorrect)?

( this happens to be the name of the man I have happened to marry, but I NEVER changed my name, it is therefore in correct , untrue and illegal.)

PLEASE AMEND on the thumbprint wiki entry asap . And be sure the AI / algorithms are sorted too so it never gets changed again .

This is an example of everyday sexism, and continuing patriarchy and is utterly disappointing for Wikipedia, that I love so much, and subscribe to each month regularly.

Cerys Matthews — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.252.179.66 (talk) 09:39, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

I doubt very much this is an algorithm. Nor is it unusual for women to retain their own name after marriage. Some do some not. It has frequently happened with popular singers and goes back to the days of Marie Lloyd and beyond. Changing the name to "Abbott" seems to have been a piece of gratuitous sexism committed by a sexist person (not a machine) PS I am a man. Spinney Hill (talk) 10:16, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Also, although it has been corrected on English Wikipedia, we don't have any control over Google, which is still showing Abbott. Hopefully, Google will correct itself in the next few days, but you would need to contact them about the Google Knowledge Graph- the box you see when you Google search your name. Joseph2302 (talk) 10:20, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

It was changed in January by an unregistered user without a source or edit summary.[1] We have six million articles and mistakes happen. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:20, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

• Note: I have added 'hidden' advice at the article not to change the surname (left at lead only as infobox should match the article name anyway). This was also asked at the teahouse. Eagleash (talk) 13:09, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Help requested to upload to Wikisource please

I wish to upload Appendix 2 of Katherine Mayo’s book, “General Washington’s Dilemma” to Wikisource, since it is missing from the New York (1938) edition and only available in the London versions. I wish to upload it here: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Help:Beginner%27s_guide_to_adding_texts but would far rather upload the text, with references and Wikilinks, which has been prepared by me here (full explanations are there too): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Arbil44/New_sandbox4 I think this would be far more useful. The text commences: “The following is a faithful copy...”. Copyright approval has been obtained here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Copyright_problems#General_Washington%27s_Dilemma_by_Katherine_Mayo%2C_published_in_1938 see (Nthep (talk) 15:07, 17 March 2021 (UTC)). I am essentially looking for some kind editor who would do this for me since I’m too old to have good IT skills and this is likely to be well beyond me. Help would me massively appreciated. Once done, there are three main pages where this will need to be linked, the main one being https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Charles_Asgill,_2nd_Baronet but I should be able to copy the outcome to the other pages. Many thanks in advance to the person willing to help me out here. If this really can only be done with either jpeg or pdf documents, then I will have to ask my daughter to do this since she has a copy of the correct edition of the book. Anne (talk) 10:37, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Arbil44 You are more likely to get help by asking on the Wikisource help desk. ~ ONUnicorn^{(Talk|Contribs)}problem solving 16:02, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

ONUnicorn's link doesn't seem to work, but there's a button at the top of Wikisource:Scriptorium where you can ask for help, Arbil44. Cordless Larry (talk) 17:12, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Done, Cordless Larry. Taking this page off my watchlist now. Anne (talk) 18:27, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

I've submitted my question to Scriptorium, and now I cannot find it to bookmark. Any help from anybody will be appreciated.Anne (talk) 18:37, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Wikisource:Wikisource:Scriptorium/Help § Appendix 2 of Katherine Mayo's book, "General Washington's Dilemma"

—Trappist the monk (talk) 19:40, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Donations

I want to donate

Why do you need my email ID & my PAN number to make a donation?

Please let me know. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2409:4070:4513:4323:84E8:C184:2315:826F (talk) 11:16, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

There is a link to make donations in the menu list to the left of every Wikipedia page. This will take you to a country-specific donation page: here in the UK, I can donate via Pay-Pal, for example, which doesn't involve giving the WMF any information about myself. There are options to make regular payments that would mean providing more information. Mike Turnbull (talk) 12:08, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

The information on how to donate for many countries is here. It looks like your IP address is in India, and Wikimedia doesn't seem to accept Paypal in Indian rupees. However, you should be able to donate by credit card from India. If you have more questions, you can email them at donate@wikimedia.org. Joseph2302 (talk) 12:16, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

File deletion

I added a photo to commons that had no search results on google or reverse image search. Why was it deleted? versacespacetalk to me 11:50, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

This is Wikipedia, not Commons, but, it's hard to tell without any info. You have other images that are up for deletion because they are a copyvio of a YouTube video. - X201 (talk) 11:59, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

@VersaceSpace, was it this one? c:User talk:VersaceSpace#File tagging File:Madison beer life support pic.png The message says it was missing license info. Oddly, I can’t see it in your contribs. Pelagic ( messages ) – (14:18 Sun 21, AEDT) 03:18, 21 March 2021 (UTC)

Agnes Scott College - Adding Graduate Programs

Hello, I work for Agnes Scott College and we would like to add our graduate programs to our Wikipedia page. I have added this several times but content contributor ElKevbo has reversed my edits. I would like to add graduate programs to our site. Please see the following links to confirm that the college has graduate programs. Agnes Scott Graduate Programs Agnes Scott Gradute Programs ---- CollegeXpress — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.98.235.104 (talk) 15:23, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Hello. Since you work for Agnes Scott College and want to edit the page about Agnes Scott College, you need to read and carefully follow the instructions for paid editors. Failure to do so can get you blocked. Once you have followed the instructions to disclose your COI and the paid nature of your contributions, you should NOT directly edit the article about the college. Instead you should visit the talk page for the article, click on the button that says, "New Section", type {{request edit}}, then write out the specific changes you wish to have made in a "change X to Y" format, and cite some reliable sources which are not affiliated with the college. Please be aware that Wikipedia is not intended for advertising or promotion. ElKevbo can probably give you more specific information as to why your changes were reverted, but imo it came accross as though you were trying to promote the graduate programs, and you didn't cite any sources other than inappropriately linking to the university website. External links should never be included in the body of the article. They should only be included in references and a dedicated external links section at the end of the article. ~ ONUnicorn^{(Talk|Contribs)}problem solving 16:15, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

It's not your college page, it's our page about the college. Adding a list of courses has little purpose other than promotion Jimfbleak - talk to me? 16:18, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

I recommend reviewing our advice for college and university articles. In general, we don't include listings of every academic program, just a broad overview of the academic offerings of an institution. (WP:NOTCATALOG is the broader, project-wide policy that I think is most applicable.)

You should also review our policies related to paid editing and conflicts of interest. It's usually not a good idea to edit your employer's article. ONUnicorn provides some good advice above about how to request other editors make an edit. And you're always welcome to ask questions or make informal requests and suggestions in the article's Talk page. ElKevbo (talk) 16:31, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Has my article been published?

I wrote the article "St. Vincent Grape" and I thought it had been accepted and published, but when I Google "St. Vincent Grape" no Wikipedia article comes up. Also when I go to Wikipedia to look for it I am told that "no article exists".

Is there some way to tell if the article has been published and why it is not showing up if it has. Thanks. All help would be appreciated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.122.89.91 (talk) 15:48, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

St. Vincent grape exists. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 15:50, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Google can take some time until they index a new article, especially if it hasn't gone through NPP yet, and the Wikipedia Search funktion looks for exact matches when telling if something exists or not exists. Victor Schmidt (talk) 16:25, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Help needed

I was trying to add something on a wiki article, but since I haven't done this before I needed help. I was trying to add a reference web page and add one of those small blue reference numbers to the paragraph that I had added but didn't know what to do and didn't want to be accused of plagiarism. I just need a step-by-step process to make sure that I've done everything correctly and accurately. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mozart12345678910 (talk • contribs) 16:35, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

@Mozart12345678910: see HELP:REFBEGIN for how to add a reference. Mjroots (talk) 16:58, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

I need help with a troll

Repeatedly, my comments on the Macrobiotic diet Talk page have been selectively removed. The people removing them claim they were "archived" but it seems to me more like they are trying to suppress legitimate dissent about the negative approach on this article. I was taught that entire pages can be archived, but that other user's comments, as long as respectful, are sacrosanct. How can I get help with this dispute? My edits have been removed at least twice, once within the past hour.Harborsparrow (talk) 16:53, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Harborsparrow, accusing an established, respected editor of being a troll without evidence is a bad idea. Actually, it is a really, really bad idea, because it is a personal attack and a violation of policy. I encourage you to strike out every one of your recent uses of the word "troll". Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 17:05, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

While your advice is reasonable, please note that I am also an established editor. I've been around quite a few years. And, we don't know how to define "respected" in this wiki, since nobody knows who anybody actually is. So why is this person who tried to hide the thread not agreed with "respected", while I am not? I don't buy that.Harborsparrow (talk) 23:21, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

@Harborsparrow: I don't think this user's behavior was malicious. Consider KINDLY discussing it with them personally to clear up the confusion. Thanks, EDG 543 ^{(message me)} 17:30, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Your troll is a highly respected editor who is only following Wiki Policy. You my friend, are the (probably inadvertant) troll. Stoppit. -Roxy the grumpy dog. wooF 17:35, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Harborsparrow, the discussion is here. Kindly don't refer to other editors as trolls when they're doing routine cleanup. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 19:31, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Dear community, since when is it okay to selectively edit another user's comments out of a Talk page?Harborsparrow (talk) 19:46, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

I am not sure what you consider a "troll" to be, but the behavior of people on that article, especially it's Talk page where controversial issues ought to be examined neutrally, meets my definition of a troll, because my initial thread WAS very respectful, and reasonable, and I provided evidence. The person who removed my comments first dismissed the evidence out of hand, within minutes, and then removed the entire discussion as though I were out of line. And that, to me, is over the line.Harborsparrow (talk) 19:51, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Harborsparrow, I'm pretty sure that nobody removed your comments from the Talk page (which is generally, not allowed). What happened is that the talk page was archived, as regularly happens when a Talk page gets too large. You can see the previous discussion at Talk:Macrobiotic diet/Archive 1. --ColinFine (talk) 20:04, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

IF you will go look, you'll see that my thread was selectively archived, NOT the entire page.Harborsparrow (talk) 23:15, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

@Harborsparrow: Archiving of old threads is based on the most recent post to the thread. Here is Talk:Macrobiotic diet before the archiving on 4 March 2021: [2]. There were four threads. Their most recent post was 4 March 2021, 5 February 2020, 5 February 2020, 9 December 2020. The three stale threads with no posts since 2020 were archived. A routine archiving completely within policy. The suggested code for archiving by bot at Help:Archiving a talk page#Sequentially numbered archives says algo=old(90d), meaning to archive a thread when there are no new posts in 90 days. The archived threads were older although it's also allowed to archive newer threads. Your posts were not selectively removed. Three whole threads were archived. You had no posts to two of them and some of the posts (as 173.71.95.207 without logging in) to the third. The archiving was done in [3]. The three threads were saved in Talk:Macrobiotic diet/Archive 1 the same minute [4] and are still there. It's the only archive for the page and linked twice at top of the page. Stop calling other users trolls for doing routine tasks. See Wikipedia:Assume good faith. Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines#Archiving says: "Do not unarchive a thread that was effectively closed; instead, start a new discussion and link to the archived prior discussion." In rare cases it can be unarchived by copying it back to the talk page from the archive, and deleting it from the archive. Don't create a duplicate by copying it back without removing it from the archive. The copy will eventually be archived too, creating two archives of the same discussion. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:53, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

The archived thread you complain about was actually 85 days old at the time. That is still perfectly fine for archiving. 90 days is just a suggested example. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:58, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Hello--WHY were posts from 2018 NOT archived, but recent posts were? That's incorrect archiving in my view. OLDER posts might be archived, but not newer ones. Given the dismissive tone in which my original post was greeted, as well as this archiving of selective recent posts while leaving old posts, what is a person supposed to think other than that somebody is being too pushy and trying to get their way by aggression?Harborsparrow (talk) 23:19, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Only one discussion starting in 2018 was not archived because a user Laodah had revived that discussion on March 4, 2021 [5]. That's why I left it. We do not archive new content. I understand you are angry about this but really nothing has been done wrong here with any bad intention. Psychologist Guy (talk) 23:39, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Yes, it's the first thing I said: "Archiving of old threads is based on the most recent post to the thread". The 2018 posts were in a thread with a post from merely six minutes before the archiving. We don't fragment a thread by archiving the posts at different times. By the way, a few hours ago your complaint [6] said "Archives should encompass an entire page neutrally, removing all comments for a fresh start". We don't do that either. It's perfectly sensible to archive old threads while keeping new threads. The archive is 108 kB with posts going back 17 years.[7] The talk page was 100 kB when it was first archived in 2018.[8] That's pretty long PrimeHunter (talk) 00:13, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

I can see no reason at all why ANY of those discussions were archived. I was taught, early on, to archive a Talk page if it became too long. This Talk page is not very long, and has never been allowed to become so. That alone tells me something. These discussions are important and still relevant, and if they were all restored into one place as I believe they ought to be, you will see that SEVERAL PEOPLE actually agree with me on the point I am trying to make. However, this never emerges since someone is being so diligent about removing the comments. Please ask whoever is archiving this Talk page to put it all back and let it simmer and see what people come along and say, instead of keeping the page all clean, making it look as if there is a consensus that has never--at all--been reached.Harborsparrow (talk) 23:53, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

• Proposal Archive this thread asap. -Roxy the grumpy dog. wooF 11:57, 19 March 2021 (UTC)
  • Support Naraht (talk) 14:49, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

XTools background color

A few days ago XTools switched to a black background in Google Chrome on my device, and it makes things hard to read. When I open it with the Microsoft Edge browser on the same device, it still has the usual white background. Does anyone know what might have caused this and how to switch it back (I can't find any button that does this)? DanCherek (talk) 17:46, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

@DanCherek: Does https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/9275525 help? Which device and operating system? Please link an example XTools page where you see it. Have you tried to bypass your cache? PrimeHunter (talk) 20:32, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Thanks PrimeHunter, yes that first link seemed to do the trick. My Windows Surface laptop was intentionally set to Dark mode and that seemed to carry over to XTools; switching back to Light mode resulted in the white background. DanCherek (talk) 22:05, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Something's missing...

What if there is something I am looking for, but I can't find it?

76.91.226.84 (talk) 20:24, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

You'll need to tell us what it is that you are looking for and where you are looking. 331dot (talk) 20:29, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

or add it Fiddle Faddle 16:17, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

YouTube IzMNCIaSAEg Pelagic ( messages ) – (14:34 Sun 21, AEDT) 03:34, 21 March 2021 (UTC)