Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2022 August 16

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August 16

TransactionError message

Hi, I was doing some language weeding in the History of Norway article, but on clicking Publish, "[fc420699-0169-40eb-9df3-1fe1ccf8a160] 2022-08-16 04:20:52: Fatal exception of type "Wikimedia\Rdbms\DBTransactionError"" appeared.

I spent a long, perhaps too long time writing - does the edit function time out, e.g. after, say, one hour, or something? Any tips appreciated. T 84.208.65.62 (talk) 04:28, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)#Database error mentions a current issue. Just try again. PrimeHunter (talk) 05:27, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

No, the edit function does not time out, as far as I know, and this is a database transaction error, it may mean the Wikimedia database servers were down or overloaded at the time you submitted your edit. Wikimedia servers, especially the database servers, are very busy, because they have to handle millions of requests, so you may receive server errors sometimes, however this does not happen often. WPEditor42 (talk) 13:09, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

Expand diffs

Hi all. I use User:Bradv/Scripts/ExpandDiffs.js to allow me to look at diffs from within someone's contributions, or from the recent changes feed. It's really handy, but it doesn't work on my watchlist; does anyone know of a script that would allow the same sort of functionality there? Girth Summit _(blether) 08:21, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Girth Summit If you activate navigation popups in your preferences (gadgets) that's one of the things that it does when you hover the cursor over the word "diff" in the watchlist. It's really useful in a number of other aspects, so I would recommend it. Mike Turnbull (talk) 10:10, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Thanks, but I've tried that and I find the pop-up style really distracting and annoying. Bradv's script gives you a little triangle next to all the bullet points when looking at a list of contributions; if you click on the triangle, it expands and shows you the diff below. It works everywhere I'd like it to, except in my watchlist. Girth Summit _(blether) 10:15, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

@Girth Summit: You can try User:Writ Keeper/Scripts/commonHistory.js. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:41, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Thanks PrimeHunter, that is a bit more like what I was hoping for. I'm not sure I'm going to get used to the big green button - Bradv's version has a tiny, unobtrusive button right next to the bullet point, which you would miss if you weren't looking for it - but it has the functionality I was looking for. Cheers Girth Summit _(blether) 16:31, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

@Girth Summit: I don't know why Bradv omitted the watchlist from User:Bradv/Scripts/ExpandDiffs.js but you could add it by copying the script and adding this line after line 4:

|| mw.config.get('wgCanonicalSpecialPageName')=='Watchlist'

The button overlaps the bullet point for me but it appears to work. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:42, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Ah now, hang on - I've never created a script. Is it as simple as creating User:Girth Summit/Scripts/ExpandDiffs.js, copying the stuff over from Bradv's script (with attribution, naturally), and then making the change you suggest? I'll try that, if you're confident that it won't break the internet. Girth Summit _(blether) 17:48, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

@Girth Summit: That's it. It won't even break Wikipedia or your account. But if something breaks Bradv's script and he makes a fix then your own version will still be broken. You can give it any name, e.g. User:Girth Summit/ExpandDiffs.js if you don't plan on making a lot of scripts. Or copy the whole code directly into your common JavaScript but I certainly don't recommend that. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:23, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for the tips - I will experiment (but will avoid copying anything directly into my JavaScript because I will definitely screw that up!) Girth Summit _(blether) 18:26, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Different Coordinates

I had created an article about a village named Mothparja and it is now a start class geography article. But the problem is that it's coordinates at Wikipedia,Wikivoyage,Wikidata and Openstreetmap are different from one an other and all these in actual are different from coordinates of Google Maps. So please help me to fix all these coordinates and making them as same as that of Google Maps.FAAHS (talk) 10:11, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

FAAHS I've tried to understand the documentation at {{coord}} to see what the problem might be. This led me to think that using {{WikidataCoord}} for the article might be better, as it takes its information from Wikidata. I previewed that option in the infobox of the article and it seemed to work. The documentation explains that the underlying presentation of data uses mw:GeoHack. I don't know how to decide which of the many values you mention are correct but it seems to me that Wikidata is the best place to edit in that value. The page is here on Wikidata. Mike Turnbull (talk) 10:47, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Doug Mastranio

Staff

Do you label a democrat as FAR Left, Drop the garbage wording used in your description blow.

Douglas Vincent Mastriano is an American far-right politician from Pennsylvania. He is a retired United States Army colonel and is the state senator representing the 33rd district. A Republican, he is the party's nominee for Pennsylvania governor in the 2022 election.

24.115.238.63 (talk) 11:42, 16 August 2022 (UTC) [Note: The above text is from the lead section of Doug Mastriano. -- Marchjuly (talk) 06:59, 17 August 2022 (UTC)]

There are no staff here, only volunteers. Wikipedia retains a neutral point of view and cites the sources it uses for article text. In this case, references #2,3 and 4 all use the term "far right" in their title. And we have a full article on Far-left politics. Mike Turnbull (talk) 12:11, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Wikipedia reports on what has been written about a subject in reliable sources. There are four sources immediately after the statement referred to, three of which describe the subject as 'far right' in the title of the source alone. 'Far left' is not as common a term but would be used where applicable if sources supported it. If you disagree with what the sources say, the problem lies with them, not Wikipedia. Eagleash (talk) 12:13, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

If Sen. Mastriano does not want to be described as far right, he should adopt policies and views to cause sources to not describe him that way. 331dot (talk) 18:08, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

The idea that most anyone in American politics is "far left" is hilarious. The rest of the world would like to have a word. PRAXIDICAE🌈 18:08, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

AOC would be viewed as to the left of Center in *some* of Scandanavia, but not *that* far left of Center. Naraht (talk) 19:27, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

That said, the United States does have far-left politicians on the fringes. These would include communists and anarchists. The far-right ones (including fascists and consipiracy theorists) are the ones who are most vocal and get the most press at the moment, though. ~Anachronist (talk) 19:56, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Can I report outside activity of a Wikipedia editor?

Let's say that an admin or a user posted something inappropriate outside of Wikipedia (e.g. attacking IPs while removing vandalism, threatening Wikipedia, etc.), should I report it? Because some users had another account with the same username as their Wikipedia accounts. SpinnerLaserzthe2nd (talk) 17:33, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

SpinnerLaserzthe2nd you first need to read WP:DOXXING. You must not publicly make a connection between a Wikipedia account and a person in the real world, or an account on another platform, unless the person has made the connection themselves on Wikipedia. So, for example, if there is a Facebook account called 'Girth Summit', and the person using that account is posting that Wikipedia is crap and threatening to beat you up, you can report them to Facebook moderators, but you cannot report it publicly here unless I have said here that I own that Facebook account. What you can do is report stuff privately by e-mail - I'd suggest Arbcom or the functionaries list - if someone is bragging about creating hoaxes or introducing subtle vandalism, send it to them and they will investigate. Girth Summit _(blether) 17:57, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Okay thanks. So, for a tip, should I keep an eye on their userboxes before reporting someone? SpinnerLaserzthe2nd (talk) 18:06, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

You could look on their talk page generally and see if they make the connection there - take a look at mine, I note the name I use (very occasionally) on IRC, and that I don't have any other social media accounts under this name. If you don't see a declaration, don't report anything publicly, send it in by email. Girth Summit _(blether) 18:18, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Wikidata not linked to page

I was working on The Realness (podcast) and decided to add some information to its corresponding wikidata page so that Template:Podcast platform links will display the various locations that you can go listen to the podcast. However, none of the links are showing up in the template. I think that it has something to do with the Wikidata page name because it's just called "The Realness" not "The Realness (podcast)", but I don't do much with Wikidata and I wasn't sure how to fix the problem. TipsyElephant (talk) 18:19, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

A WP:NULLEDIT seems to have fixed the problem. * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 18:22, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Hi, TipsyElephant. I see that Pppery says it is fixed. But for your information, the "name" (ID) of that Wikidata item is Q111944132. It may have multiple labels in English, as well as in other languages, but they do not affect its association with a page in a Wikipedia or any other project, which is via its ID. ColinFine (talk) 21:51, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Dean Andrews

My husband went to school with him. I added my husbands name and linked in link. It is not promotional. My husband will not benfit from this, it is just a fact, but you removed it. Should I just remove the linkedin link? The Trustworthy Editor (talk) 19:03, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

We have a policy here called Verifiability. We don't write what we know, we write what we can demonstrate by referencing reliable published sources. If you can find a published source, that's great, but if it's just something you know because your husband knows the person, it needs to stay out. I'm not calling you a liar, but this is the internet - you could be anyone, we have no way of knowing whether what you say is true. Girth Summit _(blether) 19:07, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

We do not list every person to have ever attended a school, gone to a place or know a person. We require our subjects to be notable and the content in their articles to be well sourced. PRAXIDICAE🌈 19:07, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

@The Trustworthy Editor Not to pile on, but if your husband is not Notable (click here) and doesn't have his own article here on Wikipedia, there is no reason to add his name to someone else's article. Your husband's name and LinkedIn profile won't help a reader know or understand Dean Andrews any better, and you wouldn't expect to see something like that in the Encyclopedia Britannica, would you? Sorry to be a downer. I hope this helps explain the reasoning. 71.228.112.175 (talk) 09:43, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

Changing name of Iñupiaq sidebar interlanguage link

Hello! I've been working on developing the Iñupiaq Wikipedia site. However, in the interlanguage links on the sidebar, the language is listed as "Iñupiak". It is my understanding that the interlanguage link should be the appropriate endonym, which should be "Iñupiatun". (literally, like Iñupiaq or "in the Iñupiaq language"). In any case, "Iñupiak" is wrong; even as an exonym the language is spelled Iñupiaq, with a q.

I have searched all over for instructions on how to do this to now avail. Help? Naulagmi (talk) 19:20, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Interwiki links are handled on WikiData's end nowadays, so your answers would lie there, I think. —Jéské Couriano v^_^v ^{a little blue Bori} 19:21, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

This is probably better asked on Meta, to be honest. PRAXIDICAE🌈 19:25, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Naulagmi: I think this would have to be changed in mw:Universal language selector. But I'm not sure where best to request it, so let's just try asking one of the developers: Amire80 – hope you don't mind the ping –, would you be able to help with this? Rummskartoffel 20:18, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Of course I don't mind the ping, Rummskartoffel. Perfectly relevant. I'll follow up with Naulagmi. --Amir E. Aharoni (talk) 04:58, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

Hi @Amire80. How do I request it at the Universal language selector page? Thanks! Naulagmi (talk) 16:08, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

I've already done everything in the software. If all goes well, it will be deployed next week. --Amir E. Aharoni (talk) 18:15, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

Thank you! Naulagmi (talk) 16:54, 19 August 2022 (UTC)

Infobox picture of the recently deceased

Hello! On Wikipedia, with notable figures, it is usually common practice for a recent image to be preferred in the infobox. Once they die however, they usually find a picture from what consensus determines to be the peak of their career. I’ve seen this be cited in edit summaries as MOS/Biography, however I’m struggling to find any formal guidelines or MOS details explicitly addressing the change of infobox picture upon a subject’s death. Can someone point me to such a guideline, for my personal reference? Thank you! DrewieStewie (talk) 22:20, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

@DrewieStewie welcome to Help Desk. If you find out, please update MOS:LEADIMAGE or ping me. This is where I would expect some guidelines. Semi-related, the licensing requirements for BLP excludes fair-use images, since it's theoretically possible to obtain a freely licensed image of someone alive. ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 01:01, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

Hello, DrewieStewie. Although various editors have different philosophies, I believe that the best practice is to use a high quality freely licensed or public domain image that shows the person at the top of their game. Take a look at the images used at Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush, who obviously have a very large number of freely licensed and public domain images available to choose from. In both cases, the lead images show them at the peaks of their careers. It is common, though, for editors to make proposals to change the lead photo when a famous person has died. This is a conversation that has recently taken place at Talk: Olivia Newton-John, where a high quality photo of her in the 21st century was replaced by a lower quality but still nice black and white photo from about 40 years ago. In the end, these decisions are made by the consensus of the editors interested in updating the biography of a celebrity who has recently died. Cullen328 (talk) 02:44, 17 August 2022 (UTC)