Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2022 October 7

Welcome to the Wikipedia Help Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current Help Desk pages.

October 7

My account

I have not logged into my account for about 5 years or so. I used to work for a company, but now I've been downsized. My account was created while working for that company I think. So the email associated with the account would contain reference to that company. Of course I can no longer access that email address. How can I get my account information? Perhaps I used my name or a variant of my name to create the account. I've tried several to no avail.

I need to have the email associated with my account changed. Of course I can not make that change until I am able to log into my account.

Can you please help me? 2600:8803:BA01:5600:ACC9:5CE9:7961:1157 (talk) 01:00, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Since you cannot remember the name of the account and you have not used it in 5 years, your best move is to abandon it and create a new account. The old one is not doing anyone any harm. -Arch dude (talk) 01:17, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Just going to add that nobody will probably know about your old account unless you tell them. If you want others to be aware that you previously edited using a different account, you could add such information to the user page of your new account. If you want others to know you're currently editing with a new account, you can information about that to the user page of your old account. Some people who have created a new account want the connect their new account to their old account so that others can see the contributions they've made with both accounts. Others, on the other hand, created a new account perhaps because they felt they needed a WP:CLEANSTART and thus don't want any one to know about their old account. As long as your old account is in good standing (not currently WP:BLOCKed or WP:BANned for some reason), creating a new account should be OK to do. If, however, the reason why you want a new account is to WP:EVADE a block or ban, then you shouldn't do so. Any sanctions your old account is currently under apply to you as an editor regardless of which account you use and any new accounts you create will likely be indefinitely blocked per WP:SOCK. Be advised though that lots of Wikipedia editors are quite good at noticing similarities in editing bahavior and even if you don't explictly connect your accounts, others may and such a connection (or possible connection) may end being discussed if you start causing problems with your new account. -- Marchjuly (talk) 05:19, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Oh, this is excellent. Thank you.

No, I am not blocked for any reason. I just don't have access to my old account where I did do some editing. If I don't have access to that account anymore, how can I link my new account to the old? 2600:8803:BA01:5600:2463:52CA:255B:8275 (talk) 13:06, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

IP editor, Marchjuly already answered that question for you - If you want others to be aware that you previously edited using a different account, you could add such information to the user page of your new account. If you want others to know you're currently editing with a new account, you can information about that to the user page of your old account. There is no technical way to do it. 199.208.172.35 (talk) 13:36, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Note that you can't edit user pages as an IP. You'll need to get your new account first (and reach autoconfirmed status). 199.208.172.35 (talk) 13:39, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Identify blacklisted URLs on a long article Talk page?

Is there a way to quickly identify blacklisted URLs on a lengthy article talk page?

The talk page for Addiction has not been archived for 6 years and it has 23 sections. I am trying to ascertain the cause.

Lowercase sigmabot III (User:MiszaBot/config) has been on the page for a while - I don't know exactly how long.

The problem might be that that there are currently 3 archive pages and the "counter" was set to "4" - I think it should be set to "3". I changed it today so that might solve the problem.

However, if that does not fix the problem, another possibility is that there are one or more blacklisted URLs on the talk page. According to User:MiszaBot/config in the section titled, Causes of no archiving:

"One of the sections to be archived has an external link matching MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist or commons:MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist. Nothing will be archived. Manual archiving will also fail since blacklisted links cannot be saved."

This particular talk page contains 176 742 characters of text, so it's difficult to find a URL that might be blacklisted, thus my original question.

Thank you! - Mark D Worthen PsyD (talk) [he/him] 02:17, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

@Markworthen: I was able to save a copy of Talk:Addiction into one of my sandboxes without triggering any messages about blacklisted links. But I noticed that the configuration was on one line of wikitext, contrary to the bot's documentation. Let's see if that fixes it. -- John of Reading (talk) 06:52, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

maxarchivesize = 8192‬K was far too large. I have changed it to 150K.[1] PrimeHunter (talk) 11:49, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Thank you both for your help. Much appreciated! - Mark D Worthen PsyD (talk) [he/him] 13:18, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Blombos cave art

Hi Saved tye Blombos cave as a bookmark and when I went on to find an image of a female cane painting it was deleted.I need to find information about that image can you please let me know the names of ye photos that were removed so I can find them elsewhere? Thanks ZB — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.5.253.9 (talk) 02:33, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Hi IP 82.5.253.9. If you know the complete name of the file, you can search for it in "Search Wikipedia" field near the top of any Wikipedia page. Deleted file pages show up as WP:REDLINKs when you search for them, and there's usually information about when the file was deleted, why it was deleted and the administrator who deleted it. You can then try asking that administrator for the information you seek by posting a message on their user talk page. You can also find out about deleted files by using Special:Log. If you don't know the file's name, but know an article where it was being used, you can try searching through the page history to see if you can find any edits related to the file. Files that are deleted usually have their syntax hidden or removed, and there's oftent a record of this in the page histories of any page in which the file was being used. -- Marchjuly (talk) 05:29, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

IP user: it might be easier just to do a Google image search for Blombos cave art. I did that and can see lots of images that may include the one you want. Mike Turnbull (talk) 12:13, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Is there a reverse WhatLinksHere?

Is there a tool that lists all outgoing links from an article? I looked through the user script list and couldn't seem to find any. Thanks, Perfect4th (talk) 03:09, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

@Perfect4th: perhaps not, but it's easy enough to find by regular expression, although there may be a better way. Would you like a regex to find them? Mathglot (talk) 09:57, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

mw:API:Links can do it but the API is designed for programs, not people. Example: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&prop=links&titles=Example. PrimeHunter (talk) 10:46, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

@Perfect4th: I made a script to call the API: User:PrimeHunter/Where links this.js. Install by adding this to your common JavaScript:

importScript('User:PrimeHunter/Where links this.js'); // Linkback: [[User:PrimeHunter/Where links this.js]]

It just links a page like https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&prop=links&titles=Example. It doesn't improve the layout or make clickable links. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:07, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Help of creating the biography Georgios Dritsakos

With the help and permission, can you help me create a story and biography of Georgios Dritsakos, he's a retired Lieutenant General of the Hellenic Air Force. He served as President's Adjutant Officer of the Hellenic Air Force Colonel during the Presidency of the Hellenic Republic Constantinos Stephanopoulos (2003-2005). And he served for Karolos Papoulias (2005). Adjutant Officer Colonel Georgios Dritsakos attends the opening ceremony on August accompanied his President of the Hellenic Republic Constantinos Stephanopoulos to declare open the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad Athens 2004 the Olympic Homecoming of the modern era on August 13, 2004. I tried to look online at haf.gr. He's not found. I have to find out what's his birthday for Georgios Dritsakos. It's in Greek, French, and English. Thank you. I went to email and contact the information at the Greek Embassy in Washington, D.C. 100.2.114.167 (talk) 06:30, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

How high he rose in the air force doesn't matter much. What matters is how much material has been written about him in reliable sources. According to Wikipedia's (arguably odd) criteria, is he notable? If you believe that yes he is, then you are free to create Draft:Georgios Dritsakos. Although if you haven't already had practice improving existing articles, you're likely to find draft creation a very frustrating process. -- Hoary (talk) 06:40, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Donations

Originally I supported what you were doing, getting information to the people. However, I have found you are increasingly left-leaning, vilifying people and organizations who simply have different views about politics, Covid, medical freedom, social issues, etc. You should simply state facts without inserting what the government tells you to do. Why can’t you be independent? I no longer trust Wikipedia and won’t be donating. Marilyn Barnes — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:285:4080:C80:BD9A:612F:96B6:EB2 (talk) 13:02, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

• Any donations go to the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF). The vast majority (>99.9%) of edits are done by people who do not receive any money from the WMF, and will therefore not be swayed by a lack of donations. (In fact, some editors think the WMF would behave better if it received less money.)

Wikipedia does not take instructions from "the government" (or rather governments, as it is an international project). The French government tried to give instructions, and I suspect the result discouraged any further such attempts (see Censorship_of_Wikipedia#France). Tigraan^{Click here for my talk page ("private" contact)} 13:35, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Procedure for creating maintenance tasks

I'm seeking information on how maintenance tasks are created. Not the technical how-to instructions, but guidelines and protocols that should be followed (community discussion, consensus that the task improves the encyclopedia, any kind of approval process, etc). It seems that tracking categories can be created for any reason, but tracking categories are a subset of maintenance categories and I've found that many editors feel that maintenance categories hold a presumption of consensus (and thus make thousands of semi-automated edits based solely on the tracking category's existence). It seems to me that there is some missing procedure here, but so far I've been unable to locate a relevant guideline. – Reidgreg (talk) 13:23, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

OBJ?

What are the little OBJ-things in the second lead-sentence at Aníkúlápó (2022 film)? Can't remember ever seeing those. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 13:30, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

‎FFFC OBJECT REPLACEMENT CHARACTER. Delete them.

—Trappist the monk (talk) 13:39, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Done. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 13:46, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

I would like to update the U.S. Marshals Service Director's Wiki page

Good day. I am with the U.S. Marshals Service Public Affairs Office and would like to update Director Ronald L. Davis Wiki page. I attempted to do so a few months ago however my edits were removed. What are the requirements to get official permission to update the U.S. Marshals Service page(s).

Respectfully,

Shaunteh 149.101.1.116 (talk) 14:22, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Well, I know you're going to get several standard essays in reply here, but I'll just start with this. U.S. Marshals Service Director Ronald L. Davis does not have a Wiki page. From your inquiry, I assume (I haven't looked) that there is an article in Wikipedia about Director Ronald L. Davis. The distinction is critically important. Uporządnicki (talk) 14:30, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

I would suggest that you first create an account for yourself, then read conflict of interest and paid editing so you are aware of formal disclosures you must make with your account. You should then use the edit request process on the article talk page, detailing changes you feel are needed. 331dot (talk) 14:32, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

 Courtesy link: Ronald L. Davis - 199.208.172.35 (talk) 15:07, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Unexpected error

archive url error occurred on Tennis Masters singles page. I used Conifer to archive a youtube video. Don't understand why the error? It cites just fine on other pages, why not on the tennis one? Qwerty284651 (talk) 15:57, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

I don't know what Conifer is, but did the error message's help link not explain why the error message is there?

—Trappist the monk (talk) 16:08, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

I copy pasted the archive url from Conifer without any modifications, yet is still displays the error. Conifer is an archive website. Qwerty284651 (talk) 16:15, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Ok. But, I repeat my question: Did the error message's help link not explain why the error message is there?

—Trappist the monk (talk) 16:24, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

It said "{{cite web}}: Check |archive-url= value". I double-checked and don't know what's causing it? Qwerty284651 (talk) 16:30, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

See screenshot. Qwerty284651 (talk) 16:33, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Did the error message's help link not explain why the error message is there?

For the avoidance of further confusion, I nowiki'd the call to {{cite web}} in you last post because empty citation is not the error message in question.

—Trappist the monk (talk) 16:38, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

For the third time, no, it didn't explain why the error message is there. Still learning the nowiki tags. Thanks. Qwerty284651 (talk) 17:17, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

It does. This error message is emitted when the value assigned to |archive-url= is the same as the matching title or chapter URL. 199.208.172.35 (talk) 17:18, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Would you look at that? You're right. Rookie mistake on my end. Thanks for the assist there, @Trappist the monk. Later. Qwerty284651 (talk) 17:27, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

How to add an Armenian educator

My grandfather was Yale and Harvard educated, having studied chemistry at Yale and religion and philosophy at Harvard. After returning to Armenia, he was appointed superintendent of all Armenian schools prior to the genocide. I have his obituary and would like to add it or its content under the category of Armenian Educator. How do I do that? Thank you. Globaltefl (talk) 16:11, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

@Globaltefl, please read the following guideline: Notability. It lays out the standards we use to determine whether a topic should get its own article on Wikipedia. An obituary (presumably published by a reliable source) is often not enough, and a high level civil servant is probably not going to get enough press coverage to supplement the obituary. You can still try - read Help:Your first article and start writing a draft. You cannot simply copy/paste the content of the obituary, you must summarize it in your own words and then cite it (see Help:Referencing for beginners). 199.208.172.35 (talk) 16:43, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

signature colors pt2

Hello i have been working on my colors for my signature but I can't seem to get them to work and I don't know what the difference between global and local common.js is. here is what I have so far Td^{she/her d} Td^she/her 16:51, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Hi, I could try making a signature for you if you describe how you want it. As for common.js, the local one is located at Special:MyPage/common.js and applies only to the English Wikipedia. The global js page is located at m:Special:MyPage/global.js and executes on all Wikimedia wikis. I don't see any reason to touch those though if you only want to change your signature. Madeline (part of me) 16:57, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

oh got it, thanks! I just wanted the talk page link to be a light blue and the contributions link to be white but I can for some reason only get one to change at a time Td^she/her 16:59, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

You need to place the HTML tags inside the wikilink, like this: [[User talk:thedefender35|<sup style="color:blue">she</sup>]]. Also please mind WP:SIGAPP; white text on white background isn't very legible. Madeline (part of me) 17:11, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

i continue to get an error saying there is an issue at <sup> Td^she/her 17:19, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

@Thedefender35, your last </sup> is outside the wikilink. 199.208.172.35 (talk) 17:24, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

ok i see that but now only she is there :/ i hate coding so much it hurts my brain Td^she/her 17:26, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

nvm its white i forgot Td^she/her 17:26, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Yes, it is. Please add a background of some kind so it becomes visible. 199.208.172.35 (talk) 17:28, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

realized it as soon as i said it. should be better now Td^she/her 17:30, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Very nice! 199.208.172.35 (talk) 17:32, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

@Maddy from Celeste and ip user thank you so much for the help Td^she/her 17:34, 7 October 2022 (UTC)