Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2023 November 22

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November 22

Password

I have forgotten a part of my login details. I know my username, but forgot my password. Please help. Thank you. 2001:8003:1D92:7B00:48B1:23D2:E982:82BB (talk) 01:13, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

If you have an email linked to your account, you can go to Special:PasswordReset and request a new password be sent to your email. If not, then there is no recovery possible. RudolfRed (talk) 01:18, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

It's not impossible if you can find a browser on which you are currently logged in. Remote chance perhaps, but worth mentioning.--♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 07:53, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

.... or a device you once used to log in to Wikipedia which remembers the credentials (e.g. in Chrome and Edge there are settings where you can see saved passwords). Mike Turnbull (talk) 12:21, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

You can also use your committed identity phrase as a last resort or just create a now account and mention that you are locked out of the other one. Sangsangaplaz (talk) 06:02, 25 November 2023 (UTC)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:ThatOneWolf,

In the discussion here, what I wrote is: "Would you help me make all the Italian foods on the List of Italian dishes page this way? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/1186209428. Thank you very much if you do, really; I'll have to pay you back somehow if you do. Make sure that the page is really about an Italian-only food and not also French, etc.", but in visual mode one sees something else entirely (a message that I had deleted), and, moreover, duplicated. JackkBrown (talk) 01:27, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

What exactly are you getting at here? ThatOneWolf ^{(talk|contribs)} 01:31, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Nevermind, I see it. I'll try to fix it. ThatOneWolf ^{(talk|contribs)} 01:33, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

@JackkBrown: I've made some changes to the comment you left on my talk page, look at it and tell me if that's what you had wanted to see. ThatOneWolf ^{(talk|contribs)} 01:36, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

@ThatOneWolf: thanks a lot man! Perfect! JackkBrown (talk) 01:38, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

This discussion doesn't belong here here. Please refrain from discussing maters like this in the help desk and instead use each other's talk page or the talk page of the article in question. Sangsangaplaz (talk) 06:04, 25 November 2023 (UTC)

Edit-warring

IP @219.76.38.21 and 121.202.197.218: (which I think is the same person) is edit-warring on the President of the People's Republic of China and adding infactual information, stating that something is sourced in the PRC Constitution when its not. TheUzbek (talk) 07:46, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

@ User:TheUzbek / User:Ruling party misunderstands the PRC Constitution and PRC political system. In fact, the Chinese President has no power leading the government and armed forces when not simultaneously holding the CCP General Secretary and CMC Chairman posts. Currently, Xi Jinping is also the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, making him the paramount leader of China. --219.76.38.21 (talk) 08:50, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

"In fact, the Chinese President has no power leading the government and armed forces when not simultaneously holding the CCP General Secretary and CMC". I agree! TheUzbek (talk) 10:28, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

In you're addition, you write: "which on its own is a ceremonial office and has no real power in China's political system. HIDDEN TEXT According to the Constitution, most of the presidential powers require the approval or confirmation of the National People's Congress. Read the Constitution of the People's Republic of China Article 80. (The president of the People's Republic of China, pursuant to decisions of the National People's Congress and the National People's Congress Standing Committee......). Current President Xi Jinping use his power of CCP general secretary to lead the Chinese government and the Armed forces. HIDDEN TEXT"

The only thing I disagree with here is "which on its own is a ceremonial office and has no real power in China's political system." Nowhere in the PRC Constitution is this stated.

As for the following, "According to the Constitution, most of the presidential powers require the approval or confirmation of the National People's Congress. Read the Constitution of the People's Republic of China Article 80. (The president of the People's Republic of China, pursuant to decisions of the National People's Congress and the National People's Congress Standing Committee......). Current President Xi Jinping use his power of CCP general secretary to lead the Chinese government and the Armed forces." I entirely agree. If you had added the sentence, "According to the Constitution, most of the presidential powers require the approval or confirmation of the National People's Congress. Read the Constitution of the People's Republic of China Article 80" I would have entirely supported your edit. I'm adding it now! TheUzbek (talk) 10:34, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

I've now changed this sentence from "Together with the NPC Standing Committee, the presidency performs certain heads of state functions. The president can engage in state affairs with the consent of the NPC Standing Committee." to "The president can engage in state affairs and receive foreign diplomatic envoys on behalf of China, but to perform other heads of state functions, the president needs the consent of the NPC or the NPC Standing Committee."

Do you concur now? TheUzbek (talk) 10:41, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

regarding editing

hello i am ahsan i saw some content regarding our holy prophet in his name no ﷺ mentioned, i creat an account and edited but its not happen i disappointed please mention ﷺ in the end name of hazrat muhammad ﷺ Ahsanqadri1992 (talk) 09:20, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Hello Ahsanqadri1992 – honorifics are generally omitted from articles in line with the neutral point of view policy; please see the manual of style's relevant section for the full details. Tollens (talk) 09:23, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Moses Montefiore

Please fix ref. number 4 - it is in red - Confused! Thank you 175.38.42.62 (talk) 10:23, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

 Done. The "date" field should contain a date and nothing else. Maproom (talk) 10:30, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Can you restore the good revision of Mercury (element) to keep it consistent?

I seek consensus from your will as my question above. It would be warm-hearted of you if you are interested in the topic. Let me know about what you think. 2001:EE0:4BC3:FBA0:1DB:2F3:CF1B:D798 (talk) 11:53, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

I mean no use of 'with', apply the suggestion of Mike Turnbull from discussing about 'the' or 'a' chemical element. Use 'it has' instead as I would like to. 2001:EE0:4BC3:FBA0:1DB:2F3:CF1B:D798 (talk) 11:55, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

IP editor. Please create an account and then you would be able to make these changes yourself when you noticed they were needed. Alternatively, make requests on my Talk Page, linked in my signature. There would then be no need to start new Help desk threads each time to implement an agreed consensus. Mike Turnbull (talk) 12:13, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Are there specific guidelines for creating and editing articles that contributors are expected to follow?

Are there specific guidelines established for the creation and editing of articles that contributors are expected to adhere to? In the context of content creation, are there predetermined rules or standards in place that writers and editors are encouraged or required to follow? Areej Sajid (talk) 11:53, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Short answer, "Yes". Longer answer, please read H:YFA. Mike Turnbull (talk) 12:15, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Editorials as sources on themselves

The article on Gabriel Solano has a sentence that says "He has written articles on education, economic policy, and youth as a columnist for La Política Online, Infobae, and Prensa Obrera" (those are online newspapers), and cites as references the articles themselves. Is this a correct thing to do? Cambalachero (talk) 12:56, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

One school of thought is that any important works authored by an article subject should go in a Selected bibliography subsection, rather than be cited as references, but it's very common practice just to add them as references to article prose rather than split them out into their own section. After all, if a source shows the subject as its author, that supports the statement that the subject wrote it. Folly Mox (talk) 13:10, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

@Cambalachero: While primary sources confirm that a person has written articles for the stated newspapers, secondary sources are needed to demonstrate that the person meets Wikipedia's notability criteria. (This is a general statement, not a comment regarding any sources in the Gabriel Solano article.) GoingBatty (talk) 19:36, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

He has been a candidate for president, so I guess he has notability. The question was more about what content to actually include in the article. Cambalachero (talk) 00:11, 23 November 2023 (UTC)

Michael Caine

A user deleted my edit (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/1186058362) (this user is currently doubtful and is not sure if he is right, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Jean-de-Nivelle#c-Jean-de-Nivelle-20231122134200-JackkBrown-20231122014400). I would like to ask: in titles after the colon, is the initial capitalisation correct? In my opinion, no. JackkBrown (talk) 14:58, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

JackkBrown according to MOS:COLON, do not capitalize after a colon except where doing so is needed for another reason, such as for a proper name. So yes. Sungodtemple (talk • contribs) 16:33, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

@Sungodtemple: so is the capital letter correct?... JackkBrown (talk) 16:35, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

I see, this is a section title, not a sentence. In this case, there are differing views. The Beatles has lowercase section titles, while The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Eagles (band), Coldplay, The Police and Maná have uppercase. You can avoid this problem altogether by formatting 'Title (yyyy-yyyy)' like Ottoman Empire and Michael Jackson. Sungodtemple (talk • contribs) 16:48, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

@Sungodtemple: exactly, where? JackkBrown (talk) 17:17, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

@JackkBrown For example at Ottoman Empire#Expansion and peak (1453–1566). By placing the date range last, the problem goes away. Mike Turnbull (talk) 18:15, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

@Michael D. Turnbull: on the "Coldplay" (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/1186382689) and "The Beatles" ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/1186393834; but this one has a lowercase initial) pages, I was not allowed to do this. JackkBrown (talk) 21:37, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

@JackkBrown: This situation has been the topic of multiple recent discussions at Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Capital letters. The result of the most recent RfC seems to be that either a capital letter or a lowercase letter is permissible after a colon in a heading. As long as the usage in a particular article is consistent, it's probably best not to go around changing these. Deor (talk) 23:23, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Adding references to published works written by self

I've just stumbled across several examples of an editor adding references to published works written by that individual. The references seem to be added in good faith, published by trusted academic publishers, and the author is a professor at a reputable university. However, I feel uncomfortable that there has been no declaration of interest. Is this OK? Is there a WP guideline on this? Masato.harada (talk) 15:59, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

You may want to read WP:SELFPUB. It's about self-published sources. --ThatOneWolf ^{(talk|contribs)} 16:03, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

These are not self-published. As I said, they are works published by trusted publishers. Masato.harada (talk) 16:10, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

But, in your first sentence, you said "I've just stumbled across several examples of an editor adding references to published works written by that individual." This implies that they were self-publishing. Unless that editor was the trusted publisher? --ThatOneWolf ^{(talk|contribs)} 16:12, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

I hope we're not having edit wars on the Help Desk?! My first post was quite clear. I never mentioned or implied self-publishing. Masato.harada (talk) 16:22, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

@Masato.harada There are a couple of issues to consider. One is that WP:OUTING (i.e. naming an editor who edits under a pseudonym) is prohibited, even if you suspect that they are adding citations to their own work that would be considered a conflict of interest. Note that WP:SELFCITE, part of that guidance, does not prohibit adding relevant citations within reason, but only if it is relevant, conforms to the content policies, including WP:SELFPUB, and is not excessive. Mike Turnbull (talk) 16:24, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Thank you, Mike. There's no question of Wikipedia:OUTING, no conflict of interest and no pseudonym, i.e. they're openly using their own name. Having read Wikipedia:SELFCITE, I'm now comfortable the material and citations are OK. Masato.harada (talk) 16:49, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

I've run into this a few times before. On niche technical articles where the editor has made significant contributions to the field, I just leave it. If it's someone adding some fringe theory they're pushing on arXiv, I take it to the talk page like any other WP:UNDUE issue. Folly Mox (talk) 19:03, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Bug report

I can't type the right side of { with AltGr+n anymore since you changed to the phone-style skin. This is the only way I can type this on my keyboard layout. Please fix this. 78.2.116.124 (talk) 17:27, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Alt+125 (not Alt Gr) works for me in Firefox on Windows 10 (my keyboard also has the symbol). Below the edit area I have a drop-down menu where "Wiki markup" includes a clickable {{}} to insert all those symbols at once (delete those you don't need). If this doesn't help then what is your device or browser and what type of keyboard do you have? PrimeHunter (talk) 18:20, 22 November 2023 (UTC)}

Bullet points not working

Hello. I am having an issue getting bullet points to 'stick' on Ansley, Warwickshire - can someone please tell me where I am going wrong? They show up on the preview, then disappear when I publish. It starts from Other places of worship. Thank you BJCHK (talk) 20:58, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

@BJCHK: Fixed by adding a missing {{Tree list/end}}.[1] If a template has to be placed when something starts then another template usually has to be placed when it ends. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:14, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

@PrimeHunter thank you! I've not knowingly used that before but have managed to get bullet points to appear. This is a continuous learning curve :-) BJCHK (talk) 21:49, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Similar scripts?

Hello, I am writing to you guys for the first time to see if there's anything script similar to WP:MOSNUMSCRIPT. I tried installing it, but it would not appear in my toolbox. I have reinstalled it, hard refreshed my browser, and cleared the whole cache, but nothing works. Seems interesting unfortunately I just can't use it. Thanks in advance, Kline • talk to me! • contribs 22:23, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

WP:DATESPROJ#Tools lists DateFix.js. I have no idea if it still works, but you could try it. Sincerely, Novo Tape (She/Her)^{My Talk Page} 22:29, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Actually, I got it. I just never went into the editor to see it. Doh. Kline • talk to me! • contribs 22:40, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

New user bypassing AfC

So, I've just spotted a case of a newish user having received an AfC rejection, rightly being told that the draft had a tone that was far from neutral; the user then just went ahead and made a copy of the draft article in main space anyway. What is the best way to handle this?

• The article in question
• The original copy in draftspace

AntiDionysius (talk) 23:30, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

AFC is not required. If there is a problem with the article, open an WP:AfD for it. RudolfRed (talk) 23:36, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Using {{Prod}} might be faster, but given their prior actions, they'll probably just remove it. But you can try both. Mathglot (talk) 10:11, 23 November 2023 (UTC)

@AntiDionysius Just to correct a bit of jargon. The draft was not rejected in our meaning of that word but merely "declined", which means that the reviewer thought it had potential but was not yet acceptable: in this case because of its tone. That's fixable and can be done in mainspace. User:Nikoskpa did nothing wrong (and the new pages patrol will in any event take a look at the article). As advised, you can formally propose AfD if you think a wider discussion is needed. Mike Turnbull (talk) 12:56, 23 November 2023 (UTC)