Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2023 September 27

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September 27

Wanting to know

Just wanting to know if you can get other Wikipedia users usernameMalaquia100 (talk) 01:30, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

@Malaquia100: Could you please clarify what you mean by the ability to "get" other Wikipedia users usernames? GoingBatty (talk) 02:47, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Your question is unclear. Do you mean to usurp? Or maybe you just want to see a list of usernames. Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:25, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

I mean if there is a special link or something to get random usernames Malaquia100 (talk) 12:04, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Hello, Malaquia100. I doubt that there is, because there is no good reason to do this that I can think of, but at least one obvious bad reason.

Reading this query and your User page, it might be that you would benefit from reading the essay at Wikipedia:Guidance for younger editors even if you are not, in fact, young. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 51.146.221.109 (talk) 13:10, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Special:Random/User talk. (And regarding "there is no good reason to do this"--I've already used that to find at least one undeclared COI editor so far, and given it took me a whopping two minutes to find that Special namespace feature originally, it isn't as if not talking about it is going to stop anyone who actually wants to engage in that "obvious bad reason" you talk about.) 2603:8001:4542:28FB:8961:8F45:4F9E:91A6 (talk) 03:45, 30 September 2023 (UTC)

replace old logo to new logo

replace old logo to new logo 111.221.54.97 (talk) 06:18, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

You need to be more specific. Which article are you referring to and which logo? Also, there are many edits you can do yourself without asking others.  Podstawko  ●talk  06:23, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

How do you cite a with two links?

This question sounds absurd but I have found a record of a report and scanned copy of this report. The problem is that on the website of the record, there is no way to access its information. It just has an option to view it in a library in person. The image is on Flickr (and uploaded by the same organisation) which isn't something that should be cited. Here is the record in the New Zealand government archive, and here is the report on Flickr. How am I supposed to cite the record but also provide a link to the image? —Panamitsu (talk) 11:39, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

@Panamitsu The Flickr page is licensed CC BY 2.0, so would be OK to link from a Wikipedia article, as the URL in a standard {{cite report}}. As an alternative, I've just tried to save it to the Wayback Machine, at this URL which doesn't seem to include the images but does have the text. Mike Turnbull (talk) 12:05, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Compatibly licensed Flickr images can also be imported to Commons, where they are then subjected to human review. Folly Mox (talk) 19:19, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Want to contribute by writing article

I am new here to contribute by writing article on about Oral Contraceptive Pill. And side by side I need to refer other valuable article from my article. Can you help me how to start Writing my Article ? Suvida didi (talk) 12:10, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Suvida didi There are already articles on several forms of oral contraception, which are described at Oral contraception. Perhaps you should see if the content you wish to write could be placed an an already existing article before you attempt the very difficult task of writing a new article- the most difficult task to attempt on Wikipedia. Please read Your First Article and visit Articles for Creation to learn more about the process if you really want to attempt it. It is highly recommended to first gain experience before creating a new article. 331dot (talk) 12:17, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

'Talk Page'

Really what is the talk page forMalaquia100 (talk) 12:20, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Article talk pages are for discussing changes to the associated article. For example, Talk:Joe Biden is the place to discuss changes to the Joe Biden article. It is not a place for general discussion of the subject. Your user talk page is a place to communicate with you about your Wikipedia editing or other Wikipedia related matters. 331dot (talk) 12:25, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

@Malaquia100: see WP:TALK. If you mean User Talk pages, then see WP:OWNTALK Bazza (talk) 12:25, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Wikipedia in BLP

I vaguely remember we had a policy, principle, guideline or attitude that we don't talk about Wikipedia much in Wikipedia articles. This covered statements of the "Wikipedia used to say X about this but now says Y" sort, but perhaps more importantly would cover reporting on a BLP subject being unhappy with Wikipedia. Did it, does it, exist and is it documented anywhere? I've tried various searches but totally failed to find the right search terms. I'm not seeking intervention as the issue at Richard D. Gill may have been resolved - but it might still be good to know! NebY (talk) 12:35, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

You may be referring to the essay WP:NAVEL. 331dot (talk) 12:43, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Are you thinking of WP:SELF? —Kusma (talk) 12:43, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

That's it, and in this case the WP:SUBJECT part of it. I see WP:NAVEL used to point there too until last December, and still has a hatnote for it. Thank you both! NebY (talk) 12:56, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

@NebY In case you didn't see this one, you may find it interesting: Talk:Emily_St._John_Mandel#RFC:_attempt_to_correct_the_Wikipedia_article. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 14:43, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

What a useful exploration of the issues - thank you. NebY (talk) 14:51, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Missing permission

I do not have the permission to create Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Pesticide Action Network. May I ask somebody to copy the following text to this page?

{{SUBST:afd2|pg={{SUBST:#titleparts:{{SUBST:FULLPAGENAME}}||2}}|cat=U|text=This [[WP:fringe|fringe]] organization fails both the [[Wikipedia:Notability_(organizations_and_companies)]] as well as the [[Wikipedia:Notability#General_notability_guideline]]. Having a lot of Google hits is not going to turn the tide either. In fact, there are hardly no independent and reliable sources that actually describe the activities and achievements of this organisation.}} 62.183.185.10 (talk) 15:42, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Thanks 62.183.185.10 (talk) 15:42, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

For future reference, the place to post such requests is here, per the instructions for unregistered editors here. 57.140.16.29 (talk) 15:57, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Apologies. I will do as instructed next time. 62.183.185.10 (talk) 16:28, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

I went ahead and created it for you. ~ ONUnicorn^{(Talk|Contribs)}problem solving 20:27, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Having trouble

I am having trouble with entering the source reference on a wiki page . Each time I enter it , someone comes along and deletes the information and then they edit the page with misinformation , how do I stop this occurring ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 120.16.25.172 (talk) 14:24, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

This seems to be about Shalom House. Your additions were contested by Isaidnoway (not by JohnnyBflat, as you seem to imply on the talk page). Please discuss them on the talk page and refrain from making personal attacks against fellow editors. Also, please add new discussions to the bottom of a page, not the top. 57.140.16.29 (talk) 16:03, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Creating a Wikipedia page

Can I create a page Skemp19890 (talk) 17:24, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

You can indirectly create an article, not a "page", though it is the most difficult task to perform on Wikipedia. New accounts cannot directly create articles. It is highly recommended that you first edit existing articles to learn more about Wikipedia. Please see Articles for creation to create and submit a draft. 331dot (talk) 17:29, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

@Skemp19890: Help:Your first article is a wealth of information. See also WP:BACKWARD. Happy editing! GoingBatty (talk) 18:48, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

How do I delete a reference?

I used a footnote for what should have been a web link. How do I delete the footnote/reference? AWitte71 (talk) 17:33, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

@AWitte71: You might be able to revert your edit. If you're using the VisualEditor, then edit the article, highlight the footnote, press the delete key, and republish the article. If you're using the source editor, then delete the <ref>...</ref> tags and the reference within it. GoingBatty (talk) 18:47, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Thanks, I will give it a try. AWitte71 (talk) 19:09, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

How to fix math parse error?

I found a math parse error in Koppen climate classification#Overview. It says: Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "http://localhost:6011/en.wikipedia.org/v1/":): {\textstyle 100-\left ( \frac{\mathrm{Total\,Annual\,Precipitation\,(mm)}}{25} \right )}. Does anyone know how to fix this? TypoEater (talk) 17:49, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

@TypoEater: Can't say I'm encountering this problem; it renders as expected for me. Are you seeing this in other articles that use LaTeX? —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 17:54, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

I've just encountered the same error message on Template:Functions. Belbury (talk) 18:00, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

I just saw the error on that page, but purging it fixed it for me. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 18:05, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

And a couple of minutes later it was fine again. Seems to have been a known but intermittent bug for a few weeks now at https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T343648 Belbury (talk) 18:03, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Warnings

For example there are 4 levels of vandalism warnings +4im, if something is really bad/very blatant eg adding random gibberish words 'ejsijsd' can that be skipped to a level 2 warning for example? Or do you still have to start with level 1. MorningOfTheNight (talk) 17:53, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Yes, it's fine to skip levels in some cases. See Wikipedia:WikiProject User warnings/Usage and layout#Levels for a complete description. WelpThatWorked (talk) 18:03, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Thank you. Any Idea how to auto sign when source editing on talk pages? MorningOfTheNight (talk) 18:04, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Four tildes for a full sig, like so: ~~~~ See WP:SIG for more details. WelpThatWorked (talk) 18:30, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Yes, but is there a setting that will automatically sign my name or no? MorningOfTheNight (talk) 18:34, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Not in the vanilla source editor, but certain gadgets have an applicable setting and will manage this for you, for example User:Alexis Jazz/Factotum. Folly Mox (talk) 19:26, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Just as a side note - gibberish is usually not reason to skip to a level 2 warning, as they are typically editing tests made in good faith (assuming it's the first time they've made such an edit). {{uw-test1}} should be the first warning given in cases like these. Tollens (talk) 05:56, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

verify relevance

In a bio of Kornbluh there is the threat to remove it if his presence cannot be shown to merit a place in Wikipedia. I have spent an inordinate amount of time, however, trying ot find out how I can present verification, without success. Hence I write here. -- Mr Kornbluh is the senior political reporter of the independent Jewish newspaper The Forward (NY). This in itself should merit inclusion, as anyone reading this paper might need to research the abckground of the author of the article he has read. Wikipedia comments in its article on The Forward: "The Forward's perspective on world and national news and its reporting on the Jewish perspective on modern United States have made it one of the most influential American Jewish publications." Yiddishistinfrance (talk) 21:01, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

@Yiddishistinfrance: This would be easier to answer if you gave us Mr. Kornbluh's first name so we could know exactly what article is being discussed. Beeblebrox (talk) 21:11, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Ok, I figured out that we're talking about Jacob Kornbluh. The article seems reasonably well-referenced to my eye, and as such I have removed the tag. Beeblebrox (talk) 21:14, 27 September 2023 (UTC)