Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2022 March 24

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March 24

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Gmail

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Id sama password — Preceding unsigned comment added by 182.1.55.100 (talk) 01:26, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there! We can't help you with Gmail, but do you have a question about using Wikipedia? GoingBatty (talk) 02:01, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Usually not a good idea to reuse the same password for multiple sites. I suggest you pick a different password if you create a Wikipedia account. RudolfRed (talk) 03:07, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I need an illegal page about me deleted

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Hello,

A user attempted to create a slanderous page about me that infringes on my privacy. The page links my real name to an online penname. The Wikipedia page was rejected but still exists as a draft, allowing the user to copy the page onto EverybodyWiki, which appears in a search result. I live in the EU and I have the right to have the page deleted. Please help me get this web page deleted, thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by WikiBot777 (talkcontribs) 15:41, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Speedy deleted under WP:G10; that was a clear-cut case regardless of your request. Thanks for the heads up. Red Phoenix talk 15:49, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
The EU gives them no right to have the page deleted. That is either made up or a misunderstanding of the right to have search results removed, a very different thing. -Roxy the grumpy dog. wooF 16:43, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I didn’t think so, and I chose not to consider it at all when looking at the page in question. It was a wholly negative, un-reliably sourced BLP though, so G10 still applies. Red Phoenix talk 18:07, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Does EU law even apply to Wikipedia? I thought the servers were physically in the United States. 331dot (talk) 18:10, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
EU law does not, but Wikipedia's own rules do. The deletion is fully justified per WP:G10 and WP:DOLT, regardless of whether or not the appeal to EU law holds weight. --Jayron32 18:11, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Yes; not questioning the deletion at all, just the EU aspect. Thanks 331dot (talk) 18:17, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I live in the EU. EU jurisdictions can not be enforced in the USA. But if a Website continously violates European jurisdictions, European states can force internet service providers to exclude these sites from being available there. I do not want to have Wikipedia banned in my country. Thanks. --Himbeerbläuling (talk) 18:43, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, General Data Protection Regulation applies to all organisations that have data on EU (and UK) citizens, regardless of where that organisation is based. So in principle it would apply here (if the poster is an EU/UK citizen). However, GDPR doesn't include a Right to be forgotten as far as I know. Joseph2302 (talk) 18:52, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
How can a law in the EU control what non-EU companies do? (Except for the possibility of a site being blocked in the EU?) 73.127.147.187 (talk) 00:31, 26 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
And if someone were trying to invoke GDPR, I'm pretty sure they'd actually have to go through WMF legal to get an answer. Joseph2302 (talk) 18:53, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
And this has zero effect on anything copied to a mirror site. TimTempleton (talk) (cont) 19:18, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Did someone use my account?

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I noticed in the talk page someone was talking to these editors and had contributions. But I didn’t do those contributions and I didn’t write those texts. Did someone hack my IP account? — Preceding undated comment added 16:02, 24 March 2022 (UTC)

The IP 68.97.131.85 is a "Likely Dynamic IP" so it is not fixed to any one user but can be re-allocated when it suits Cox Communications LLC. No-one therefore needs to "hack" the account - it is not "your" account, it is used by whoever Cox Communications LLC choose to use it. This is a good reason to WP:Create an account - Arjayay (talk) 16:10, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict) An IP address is not an account but a label assigned to an Internet connection. As the box at the bottom of User talk:68.97.131.85 says: "Many IP addresses change periodically, and are often shared by several users." PrimeHunter (talk) 16:13, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Oh I see, thank you for explaining 68.97.131.85 (talk) 16:16, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

MediaWiki internal error

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I just looked at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Log/Nakon and got this error (retried 3 times, waited 20 minutes, same error):

 MediaWiki internal error.
 
 Original exception: [8e65707a-f67a-4496-81de-6b175d81e304] 2022-03-24 16:08:29: Fatal exception of type "Wikimedia\Rdbms\DBQueryError"
 
 Exception caught inside exception handler.
 
 Set $wgShowExceptionDetails = true; at the bottom of LocalSettings.php to show detailed debugging information.

16:15, 24 March 2022 (UTC)2600:1700:D0A0:21B0:B858:3590:F10E:CA10 (talk)

@2600:1700:D0A0:21B0:B858:3590:F10E:CA10: Thank you for the report! I have reported this issue to Phabricator, our bug tracking tool. If you want to follow the technical discussion, see T304626 ~ Matthewrb Talk to me · Changes I've made 16:55, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
No I can't. https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T304626 gives me this error:
 Access Denied: Restricted Task
 You do not have permission to view this object.
 Users with the "Can View" capability:
 
 This object has a custom policy controlling who can take this action.
 The owner of a task can always view and edit it.
The error at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Log/Nakon has changed. It now returns
 Database error
 A database query error has occurred. This may indicate a bug in the software.
 [a069d814-3f5a-4af2-b051-ebc374dd0937] 2022-03-24 22:48:44: Fatal exception of type "Wikimedia\Rdbms\DBQueryError"
Is there a way for me to see this bug tracker? I understand I might have to register to post to it because spammers, but why can't I read it? 22:55, 24 March 2022 (UTC)2600:1700:D0A0:21B0:B858:3590:F10E:CA10 (talk)
This error is now being discussed as a security issue, so the link will not work anymore. As a volunteer, I'm not sure I could add you to the task even if you made an account, but if someone who's more experienced with Phab wants to correct me please do. ~ Matthewrb Talk to me · Changes I've made 23:26, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
No need. I am curious, though; why would a database error be a security issue? I understand if telling me would also be a security issue, but is there something in general you could say? 00:22, 25 March 2022 (UTC)2600:1700:D0A0:21B0:B858:3590:F10E:CA10 (talk)
I'm sorry, I can't say much more without telling people how to exploit the issue. The ticket should be unhidden after the investigation finishes, and you can read about it then. ~ Matthewrb Talk to me · Changes I've made 01:44, 25 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]