Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2023 May 12

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May 12

{{n/a}} template in a tabl

Hello. I am trying to use the template {{n/a}} in a table on the page - Tour, but it doesn't work and comes out to data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | —. The proof would be in the edit history of the page that i just listed. Cherrell410 (talk) 00:00, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

@Cherrell410: Remove the pipe from code like rowspan="2" | {{n/a}}. See the "Important" note at {{n/a}}. The template adds content to the cell attributes which are placed before a pipe so the template adds its own pipe in the right place. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:31, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

2023 Toronto Blue Jays season

Sorry for another one, but I have another issue. I am trying to change the short description of the 2023 Toronto Blue Jays season season to keep consistency with all of the other ones, but something is wrong. If you go into the source, it says that the short description is "Major League Baseball season", but in reality, it shows up as "Baseball Template". Cherrell410 (talk) 00:16, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

@Cherrell410: I have removed [1] {{Short description|Baseball template}} from Template:2023 AL Wild Card standings which is transcluded in the article. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:14, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Thanks! Cherrell410 (talk) 01:15, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Username

A decade or so ago I changed my username due to privacy concerns. My old username was a real name. Now an editor that is harassing me, digging and posting things about my real life publicly, some of them wrong that may hurt other people than me in real life [2], says my old username is public. Who can I contact or what can I do to hide my old username? ♦ WikiUser70176 ♦^{(My talk page)} 12:18, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Hi WikiUser70176. Accounts can't really be deleted because of Wikipedia's licensing requirements, but user's are allowed to make WP:CLEANSTARTs when they want to start anew as long as it's not an attempt to improperly use multiple accounts or currently under some type of sanction. I don't there's any way to hide or erase your username per se, but you contributions' history might be able to be hid from public view by an administrator or an oversighter. You might also be able to request that your account's username be changed to something less personally identifying per WP:RENAME. As for the problems you're having, that's something currently being discussed at ANI which means its probably better to keep all relevant discussion related to it there. -- Marchjuly (talk) 12:40, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Thanks! I changed my account name from a real name to WikiUser70176. The problem is that, reportedly, my old account name is still visible. Thanks for the info! ♦ WikiUser70176 ♦^{(My talk page)} 12:51, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

WikiUser70176 A rename changes your username in logs and similar, but it does not change actual posts you made(i.e. your signature). If you are being harassed, you could request a vanishing of your account and create a new one. 331dot (talk) 13:01, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Info on the search engine results includes wrong information

The box of 'preliminary information' that appears with search results on the google search page includes incorrect information about Winebrenner Theological Seminary (my employer). The wrong information is SERIOUSLY WRONG. I cannot find the way to edit the information in this box to correct it. I tried to upload a clipping of the area of the box with the wrong information, but this box will not allow me to upload the clip. How can I access that information to make the correction!

KevinBudRisner (talk) 12:58, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

KevinBudRisner First, please make the Terms of Use required paid editing disclosure on your user page(click the link for instructions).

We cannot help you with Google search results, you will need to contact Google for issues with that. If the article about your employer has errors in it, please go to its article talk page (Talk:Winebrenner Theological Seminary) and detail the changes you feel are needed- if you mark the post you make there as a formal edit request it will draw the attention of other editors who can evaulate it. 331dot (talk) 13:03, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

To clarify a little, KevinBudRisner: if you are talking about the information which Google displays, Google takes that from many sources, including Wikipedia. So the information you say is wrong may or may not come from the Wikipedia article Winebrenner Theological Seminary. If it does, you can request edits as 331dot says. If it does not, then it is absolutely nothing to do with Wikipedia, and you need to get Google to change it. ColinFine (talk) 13:11, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

@KevinBudRisner: to report problems to Google, look just below the bottom of their info sidebar. At the right, you will see a tiny little grey "feedback" link. Click it and go from there. -Arch dude (talk) 17:16, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

WB Yeats.

An entry about Chardstock Village in Wiltshire mentions a distant relative of mine,Kenneth Butler Evans,who was an artist and who still has a gallery in the Village in the home of his widowed wife Anne.The entry also mentions that Kenneth Butler Evans is a cousin of WB Yeats the famous poet.I would like to understand this connection in more detail and would appreciate any further information you may have. John Evans. Poetman1955 (talk) 13:38, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Poetman1955 This is regarding Chardstock. You seem to be referring to the article W.B. Yeats I would suggest that you examine that article and its sources for further information. 331dot (talk) 13:42, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

@Poetman1955, the folks at Reference desk/Humanities might be able to point you toward more information. 199.208.172.35 (talk) 14:02, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Sports game results templates

Hello, I would like to know where you could find sports game results templates? I'm particularly looking for basketball match results template or if there is a general sport game results template for all team sports then that would also be good. Thanks, SarahTHunter (talk) 15:39, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

@SarahTHunter: I'm not sure which templates you are looking for. When I have a question like this, I try to find an article that uses the templates (e.g., 2022 NBA Finals) and then look at the article's source by clicking on "edit". -Arch dude (talk) 17:11, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

I never thought of that! I'll give that a shot. Thanks, SarahTHunter (talk) 17:27, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

@SarahTHunter: Well, I'm lazy, so I prefer to not re-invent the wheel. :-) More generally, I sometimes look for articles (especially feature articles) of the same general type as my new proposed article, until I see one whose overall format and approach looks good. I then use or adapt that format and approach for my new article. This works for not just the templates but also the layout and often the actual section headers. -Arch dude (talk) 17:44, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

I found the template that I was looking for. It was for a continental multi para-sport event and I was looking for wheelchair basketball game results templates, I found them in the Paralympics which was great. SarahTHunter (talk) 17:51, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

My draft is not getting reviewed what to do?

I have drafted my Wikipedia article 3 months ago but it is not getting reviewed what to do? I have optimised my page and also added a Wikipedia project tag for a faster review but nothing is working Abhiraj Shree0420 (talk) 18:01, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

It does say on the template that a review might take 4 months to happen. Adding additional requests doesn't make this quicker.

On a quick scan, I don't really know what makes this person notable. Are there any sources that talk about the subject in terms of significant coverage? Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 18:06, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Abhiraj Shree0420, I see no reason why this particular unelected civil servant would be considered notable. Cullen328 (talk) 18:25, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Academic papers

For a long time, I used to edit articles about history, politics, ongoing events, etc. The rules for referencing were easy: get a reliable book or newspaper, add the info to the related article in my own words, and cite it as a reference (which basically means "this info was taken from this place"). Nowadays I have moved to astronomy, and although I still prefer books to write articles by myself, when checking the content that's already there many references are academic papers. I understand that those have to be peer reviewed, that if they are not they are little more reliable than a mere blog, but how exactly do I find out if there is such a peer review or not? Cambalachero (talk) 18:09, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Hello, Cambalachero. You need to look at the standards and the reputation of the academic journal that publishes the article. Be especially careful about predatory publishing. Cullen328 (talk) 18:16, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

publish changes

I made changes on my original draft and submitted, but I am unable to publish changes. I'm not even sure if its under review or lost in the ether. Thanks Kraft Writer (talk) 19:55, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

@Kraft Writer Your draft is still at Draft:Chip Cooper in exactly the state after it was declined on 3 April. You can go back and make the changes suggested by the reviewer. I see that you have commented on the problem of editing it using the visual editor but you could try again with that, or use the source editor instead as an experiment. Mike Turnbull (talk) 20:14, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

I did make the changes suggested by the Wiki editor. I have been unable to get those changes to publish. I get an error message. Kraft Writer (talk) 20:19, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

If you tell us the error message, it is possible that somebody here can diagnose the problem. Otherwise, you might get more help at WP:VPT. ColinFine (talk) 20:35, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

The error message is this

Error contacting the Parsoid/RESTBase server (HTTP 404): (no message) Kraft Writer (talk) 21:07, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Thank you. That is an error from deep down in the Mediawiki software, and is nothing to do with anything you have done. It is usually temporary, but if you continue to have problems, you'd better ask at WP:VPT. It can indicate some network problem, but (assuming you're posting here from the same device) that doesn't appear to be the case here. ColinFine (talk) 21:42, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

@Kraft Writer: I just successfully edited Draft:Chip Cooper, so hopefully whatever issue you were having has been resolved. GoingBatty (talk) 21:45, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Can I pull my submission and give it to someone who knows how to navigate Wiki? Kraft Writer (talk) 21:50, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

I had successfully edited it too, but can't get it to submit or publish changes. I'm stuck. I've been trying for over a week to resolve this. Kraft Writer (talk) 21:49, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Kraft Writer, your draft is crammed full of highly promotional language and will never be approved in its current state. You must rewrite the draft from beginning to end to bring it into compliance with the Neutral point of view. Promotional editing is forbidden on Wikipedia. Cullen328 (talk) 04:32, 13 May 2023 (UTC)

You're looking at my first draft. I've rewritten it start to finish. That's what I'm having trouble resubmitting. Been trying for two weeks. Can't resolve the problem Kraft Writer (talk) 07:17, 13 May 2023 (UTC)

@Kraft Writer Have you tried making a small change to the existing draft, rather than one which adds completely new content in one large block? I'm speculating that something in your re-draft has perhaps hit an WP:EDITFILTER or has some other text that the software doesn't like. Also, can you "preview" an addition to see the new revision looking correct but still get the error when you try to save it? You may find that incremental changes are the way to go: other than that, WP:VPT is where the software experts reside, as already advised. Mike Turnbull (talk) 11:25, 13 May 2023 (UTC)

Thank you, Mike. I'll keep trying. Kraft Writer (talk) 19:59, 13 May 2023 (UTC)