Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2022 October 26

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October 26

Editing an entry written by another person

Is there a protocol for this? How do I know who the original author is? How do I contact them to discuss the changes I would like to make? Unimech (talk) 03:33, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Hello @Unimech, and Welcome to Wikipedia!

You are allowed to edit any article, even if you didn't write it, and you don't need to ask for permission. You can learn more at Help:Editing.

If you have any further questions, feel free to reply, ask on my talk page or check the frequently asked question page at Wikipedia:FAQ.

Hope you are well, echidnaLives - talk - edits 03:38, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Thank you very much, I'm new to this. Unimech (talk) 04:16, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

@Unimech, You can find out the original author of the page by using the Page history. You can contact any user on their Talk page. Although you don't need to ask permission to edit, there are times when it's best to discuss changes with other editors interested in a page in order to build consensus. Such discussions should take place on the talk page of the effected article. ~ ONUnicorn^{(Talk|Contribs)}problem solving 04:14, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Thank you very much, I'm new to this. Unimech (talk) 04:17, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

@Unimech To sort of drive home the point of how things work when editing an article that someone else wrote: When you do go to an article's History page to see who wrote it, typically, you'll have to go through a long edit history--often many pages long. That's a reverse chronological list of everybody who ever made a change to the article--be that major rewrites or fixing a comma. The oldest entry is the person who first wrote the article. All the later contributors made changes to the article; they might have discussed it either with previous contributors or on the article's talk page--far more likely, they did not. When you get to the first author, you can click on the date to see the article as it was in the beginning. Very often, it's completely different from the current version; it's quite likely that whatever you want to change was written by someone other than the original author.

"It is written" (somewhere--yes, I've read it) that if one can't bear to see one's Wikipedia contributions edited beyond recognition, one probably shouldn't contribute to Wikipedia. If you do think your proposed edit should be discussed, you can research who wrote whatever you want to change (I've done that; it can be a substantial project) and contact that person, or--usually a better idea--discuss it on the talk page. That's what I do when I think something might be contentious or I think a change should be made, but don't feel qualified to do it.

If you now feel you can just go ahead and make the change, just go ahead. Don't neglect to add an edit summary; if the edit is substantial, try to be fairly specific (while still being concise) in the summary. If someone has a problem with it, someone will probably change it back. In that case, see "It is written" above; then it's highly recommended that you take it up on the talk page, rather than re-reverting.

That's how Wikipedia works; we all just keep going in and (we hope) improving things. Uporządnicki (talk) 13:31, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

want to write for wikipedia

Hi, If you have any job regarding content creation then I am interested. Pl consider. 39.52.29.155 (talk) 04:51, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Wikipedia content is written by volunteers. You are welcome to contribute. I have left a welcome message on your user talk page, with a few useful links. - David Biddulph (talk) 05:43, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Contributing to Wikipedia

Dear Sir or Madam, A notice came up asking for donations towards wikipedia. Is there bank details where I can walk into a bank and just credit £2 as and when I like? This is much easier than using a card for me. Also it retains my id. 2A02:C7E:3922:6F00:D976:56B:19C9:A493 (talk) 05:52, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Details at https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ways_to_Give - David Biddulph (talk) 05:56, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Hello, IP editor. The Wikimedia Foundation handles the fundraising, and the English language Wikipedia has nothing to do with it. To be honest, they have massive cash reserves, and small donations like you are describing are not really needed. My suggestion is to buy a meal or a drink for yourself instead. Cullen328 (talk) 06:01, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Link Lists

Would it be appropriate for me to create a wikipedia page dedicated to useful links to Turkish botany, covering web pages, forums, PDFs, books etc (books would provide a google search for the ISBN). The advantage of being on wikipedia would be that it is long-lasting and others could jointly add things, and the Flora of Turkey webpage could usefully provide a link to it. Cheers, David Meteorquake (talk) 07:06, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

@Meteorquake Per WP:EL, you shouldn't create an article for that. If you think such a page would be helpful to you in your WP-editing, you can put it in your userspace. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 08:00, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

You might want to look at some of these for an idea of what that type of article would look like: Category:Bibliographies by subject, as well as the guidelines in WP:BIB#Topical bibliographies. Umimmak (talk) 14:30, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

@Meteorquake Indeed, you could add to Bibliography_of_biology#Botany which is a bit sparse at present. I assume you could provide sources in addition to those relevant to Turkey. Mike Turnbull (talk) 14:41, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

The "Bibliography by Subject" example represents the kind of approach I'm thinking of, similar to "Films Set in France" sort of pages of which there are numerous on Wikipedia.

In today's e-world as well as high-quality print books there are also many high-quality static reference PDFs created by experts (e.g. "The Oaks of Turkey", an 87 page PDF) and also dynamic sites (think of a plant list with plant maps which you enter a plant name).

It would need to be dedicated to the botany of Turkey rather than wider but could include wider links relevant to it, for the simple reason the number of links for a wider region would be far more than is appropriate for a single page, and secondly people do focus on a particular country in their botany for very many reasons.

I'm not sure who came up with the idea of a section for botany in "Bibliographies by subject", as I don't think that would be workable for botany, it would have too many entries.

I'm not convinced a user page would be the best approach as it needs to feel owned by all and have the ability for others to make additions (I've not made a user page before but I suspect that might be harder).

Look forward to your further comments on this as, it would need to be something system moderators are happy with. I certainly think it's a good idea and the examples provided in the comments suggest it has precedent.

David Meteorquake (talk) 15:20, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

@Meteorquake: It might be worth asking in the talk pages for Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Bibliographies, Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Plants, and Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Turkey for specific guidance. It would be helpful for your article if you could find sources that show "List of sources about Turkish botany" is itself a notable topic: For a bibliography on a topic to be notable, the members of that bibliography should be discussed as a group in reliable sources. This discussion may take the form of a published standalone bibliography on the topic, a bibliography in a published reliable source on the topic or recommendations for further reading on the topic published in a reliable source on the topic. So if I were you I'd try to find other sources which have themselves discuss sources on Turkish botany. I would also consider "Bibliography of Anatolian plants"; it might be that botanical sources consider peninsulas moreso than national borders. Umimmak (talk) 15:23, 27 October 2022 (UTC)

Editing Issue

Hi my boss is Zain Verjee and ive been trying to update her Wiki page with her wanted changes but the whole page keeps reverting to an older version and now im locked out from being able to edit the page - I've never edited a wiki page before so clearly I did it wrong but I dont know what to do now. Julaiwig (talk) 15:43, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Julaiwig Please see the information on your user talk page, and review the policies described, including WP:PAID(declaring paid editing is a Terms of Use requirement). I would note it is not "her wiki page", but a Wikipedia article about your boss. She has no special rights to it as the subject, though her input is welcome. You already seem to be aware of how to make an edit request; that is how you should propose changes you or your boss feel are needed. 331dot (talk) 15:49, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

The article Zain Verjee is already too fluffy, and smells like it's repeatedly been edited by people connected to the subject. --Orange Mike | Talk 15:54, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Oh okay so if I make an edit request with all the changes thats fine and then someone can update it? The current page is just super outdated thats why I was trying to update. Julaiwig (talk) 16:06, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Yes you can, but the editor who responds to your request will not necessarily implement it exactly as you requested. If they feel that the changes you are asking for are promotional, are slanted to remove well-referenced negative information, or are not backed up by reliable independent sources, they may decide not to implement them, or to implement them very differently. You can make it more likely that your request will be accepted by:

1. Making individual, very precise edit requests: "Please add X after Y", "Please remove X", "Please replace X with Y".
2. Making sure that any information you ask to be included is cited to a published source: preferably a source unconnected with your boss, but for certain kinds of information non-independent sources are acceptable.
3. Remembering that the article is Wikipedia's, not your boss's, and what she wants it to say is not necessarily relevant.

ColinFine (talk) 16:26, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Okay sounds good, I just submitted an edit request Julaiwig (talk) 16:32, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

@Julaiwig, there is a 99% chance that the request you've submitted will sit in the queue for weeks before being closed as not accepted. It is very long and has no inline citations, only a bunch of (mostly unhelpful) inline external links and a long list of (also mostly unhelpful) external links at the end. If you and your boss would like to get things done more quickly and efficiently, I'd recommend following ColinFine's advice above. (I see that ONUnicorn has given very similar advice on the talk page) 199.208.172.35 (talk) 16:59, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

What template should I use.

When looking through the new users page, I found the article Southern Regional College had been recently edited by the user User:Wrightj797, and it seemed to be from the colleges point of view. As they did remove vandalism, I believe this to be in good faith, but I'm not sure what to do about it. What template should I use, and how should I notify the user?

I ask this as I am trying to learn more about how to use Wikipedia, including editing and creating an inclusive space for newcomers. (Some might consider me a newcomer, but I'm always trying to learn)

Alpha2 5232 (talk) 16:09, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Thank you for drawing our attention to this, Alpha2. I have reverted the edit, except for the bit that was reverting vandalism; and I have put a message on the user's talk page explaining. I didn't use a template, but wrote a personal message. ColinFine (talk) 16:46, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Template index/User talk namespace which has all the various user talk page warning templates, Alpha2 5232. --Quisqualis (talk) 22:33, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

relative (P1038) and sibling (P3373)

I have correctly added relative (P1038) and sibling (P3373) on Giorgio Pustetto (Q69154523), Carlo D’Alpaos (Q69152719) and Andrea D'Alpaos (Q3615652)? 2001:B07:6442:8903:5453:E7A2:6794:8630 (talk) 16:22, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Congrats - Wikidata can be hard to work with. Do you have a question for the help desk though? TimTempleton ^{(talk) (cont)} 19:54, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Tim, I think you missed the "?" at the end of the querant's post text. They are asking if they did something correctly, not stating that they had. I'll leave it with you because this is about Wikidata, of which I have zero knowledge. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.212.157.244 (talk) 04:07, 28 October 2022 (UTC)

don't know who else to ask...

Hello, for some years ago I added several entries to Wikipedia, since then I have only very occasionally done anything at all. But today I see that I no longer have an account, which surprises me. It also annoys me be cause in the last couple of years I've donated to Wikipedia. So is there anyone I can contact to resolve this issue? Thank you for your help. Bob em (talk) 16:29, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Bob em You say you don't have an account, but you are using it right now. Did you have a previous account? The account you are using has a small number of edits, though most are not recent. If there are specific articles you are referencing, it would help to know their titles.

Please understand that we editors have nothing to do with donations or the donation process- donations are collected by the Wikimedia Foundation that primarily operates the computers Wikipedia is on, and is not involved in day to day operations. Donations or lack of donating has no impact on editing or discussions. 331dot (talk) 16:33, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

@Bob em: You can see the record of all the edits you've made since 27 April 2006 at Special:Contributions/Bob_em. Bazza (talk) 16:40, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

The page User:Bob em says "Wikipedia does not have a user page with this exact title". Some users think that means the account doesn't exist or isn't working but it just means the user has not created a user page for the account. Doing so is completely optional and the account works fine without it. Was that it? The message would be different if the account didn't actually exist, e.g. User:No user by this name. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:27, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

@PrimeHunter I find this unnecessarily confusing as well, and opened a proposal here Wikipedia:Village pump (idea lab) § Make it easier to find User contributions ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 22:01, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

Link colours CSS

I've been trying to get link colours I can comfortably read in the new Vector, but my CSS skills are almost nonexistent. So far I have

a:link {color: #3162C4;}

a:visited {color: #24478F;}

a:new {color: #CD0000;}

This does not display disambiguation pages in orange, nor nonexisting pages in red until after I've visited them.

Anybody knows how to fix this? Many thanks :). —Femke 🐦 (talk) 18:02, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

You can get disambiguation pages to display in orange using the setting in the Appearance section of Gadgets in your Preferences. Bazza (talk) 18:39, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

It seems that changing my CSS overrides that setting. —Femke 🐦 (talk) 19:00, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

(edit conflict) @Femke: You have not set any class names for the links. Class names are .classname. Pseudo-classes (such as "visited" or "active") are set using :pseudoclass.

• a is used to select links to existing unvisited pages.
• a:visited is used to select links to existing visited pages.
• a.new is used to select links to non-existing pages (red links).
• a.mw-disambig is used to select disambiguation links.

So try the following:

• a { color: blue;}
• a:visited { color: lightblue;}
• a.new { color: red;}
• a.mw-disambig { color: orange;}

If they're close to what you want, you can tweak the colour names or use hex codes.

If you're up for learning more, try MDN Web Docs or w3schools. Bazza (talk) 19:35, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

None of those appear to be a hex code for any shade of orange, and I'm not aware of a :new pseudoclass. a:link already describes links that haven't been visited yet. If you're still editing your personal CSS, you can try editing the class mw-disambig instead. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 19:19, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

I have no idea what new means either, it was suggested at a solution for redlinks not showing up at the Vector RfC.

I've added a:mw-disambig {color: #f17600;} in my CSS, but that doesn't work either (I had hoped that the setting in Gadgets would still work). —Femke 🐦 (talk) 19:35, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

That works! Thanks Bazza!

@Clayoquot, if you're still interested in finding more accessible colours :). —Femke 🐦 (talk) 19:43, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

On DVDVideosoft

I edited. I stand by my edit as I have used this many times in the last 15 years. However, now it is no longer free if you actually want to actually use it. Which is fine, but I know that I have also paid numerous times over the years for premium services on old computers. I would like my IP address removed, and I would like to keep my edit. I just newly signed in. How do I do this? Solophilia (talk) 18:27, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Are you referring to this edit? You failed to supply a reliable source so it was removed. Shantavira|^{feed me} 19:38, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Edits cannot be reassigned, but you may ask for IP edits to be suppressed from the history: see oversight. Note that your edit (which nobody would have known was yours if you hadn't told us here) has already been reverted, as it appeared to be original research, unsupported by any reference; so nothing will be lost if you ask for it to be suppressed. ColinFine (talk) 20:14, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Draft 2023 College World Series

Can you fix the reference error i made please. 98.186.55.18 (talk) 22:50, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Draft:2023 College World Series The url must include http:// or whatever the URI is. You also need to specify title. The link you put into the reference leads to page not found, so once you get the right url then you can put in the title= part. RudolfRed (talk) 01:10, 27 October 2022 (UTC)