Wikipedia:New contributors' help page/Archive/2010/February


Adding Content

Hello

I wish to add content to Wikipedia Bio of my brother and myself

ID skyblue38 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Skyblue38 (talkcontribs) 04:51, 31 January 2010 (UTC)

Please don't. Even if you are notable per WP:BIO, there would still be conflict of interest and autobiography issues. There are other alternatives such as Wikipopuli and Wikibios. – ukexpat (talk) 04:57, 31 January 2010 (UTC)
biographicon :) -- œ 06:35, 31 January 2010 (UTC)
I recently ran into this problem. I've read WP:BIO and it doesn't actually prohibit one writing about oneself or someone related. It discourages it but also asserts that if neutral point of view style writing is adhered to, and all entries are cited properly and meet notability guidelines, it is acceptable. Etrangere (talk) 21:16, 31 January 2010 (UTC)
That is true. It is not forbidden, but it is strongly discouraged, and certainly any attempt to do so would be likely to be reviewed very critically by other editors. --ColinFine (talk) 23:58, 31 January 2010 (UTC)
The opening sentence of WP:AUTO is pretty succinct: Writing an autobiography on Wikipedia is strongly discouraged, unless your writing has been approved by other editors in the community. Editing a biography about yourself should only be done in clear-cut cases. – ukexpat (talk) 01:22, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Citation format

I would like to request that someone knowledgeable on Wikipedia take a look at my sandbox entry (Ralph Izzard) and tell me whether or not I'm formatting my citations correctly. I've seen a few different variations on citation formats on the Wikipedia and I'm not sure which is best to use. I'm still working on the article but would like to make sure I'm citing properly before adding more content. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes a look.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Etrangere/Sandbox

Etrangere (talk) 21:20, 31 January 2010 (UTC)

On a quick look, they appear fine to me. I always use citation templates, such as Template:cite web and Template:cite book, which then take care of the formatting as long as I provided the few arguments which are essential. --ColinFine (talk) 00:01, 1 February 2010 (UTC)
Aim to include the author, publisher, and dates of each source, and you'll be fine. However, as ColinFine says, it is much easier to use a citation template. All you have to do is copy and paste the code and fill in the parameters- the template formats it for you. Liquidlucktalk 00:06, 1 February 2010 (UTC)
If you use Firefox, there is a cite web addon which is very useful: http://wpcite.mozdev.org/  – ukexpat (talk) 01:19, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

new entry

Hello, I have created a new entry which is currently in draft form at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Meechpod/new_article_name_here


I've tried to find the answers to the following questions but I'm afraid I got lost in the many different help sections. My main questions are:

How do I upload the two images? (public domain)

How do I add the subject category?

There are probably some other issues that need fixing, like the format of the links in References and External Links.

I think that once these issues are resolved, the article is ready for going live.

Thank you for your help. I look forward to hearing from you.

Meechpod (talk) 12:25, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

You add categories by typing eg. [[Category:1950 births]] at the bottom of the page for each category that you want the article to appear in. It's best not to do this until the article is "live".
For help formating your references, see Wikipedia:Citing sources. You especially need to make sure that you reference his "claims to fame" so to speak - say who thinks he's an authority, where does it say his book is the top-selling one, the most popular etc.
By the way, to link to an article or page here, like you have done above, you just need to enclose the name in two square brackets, eg. [[User:Meechpod/new article name here]] gives User:Meechpod/new article name here.

I tried this - User:Meechpod/Marijan Dundek - but the link says 'this page does not exist'.


Hope this helps, --BelovedFreak 13:07, 30 January 2010 (UTC)
(after edit conflict) I'll leave the upload question to somebody more familiar with that than I am; but are you sure the pictures are public domain? You'll need to demonstrate that. (If you're planning to use the photo of the Lesotho Promise from the Jewellery Outlook article, that appears to belong to Graff Diamonds).
You add an article to a category by inserting [[Category:<category name>]] anywhere in it - usually at the bottom.
There are indeed issues which need fixing, so that the article is not ready for going live. The minor point is that the language is not encyclopaedic: please read WP:PEACOCK. The more serious one is that there are no independent, substantial references to reliable sources. While the article does implicitly assert the subject's notability as the author of a significant book, you need to establish his notability, and meet the stringent requirements of WP:BLP or the article will certainly be nominated for deletion as non-notable. --ColinFine (talk) 13:09, 30 January 2010 (UTC)


Thank you for your prompt feedback. I have removed 'peacock' terms such as 'top-selling' and 'popular' ('top-selling' was included on the basis of the book having the top spot in the Amazon ranking of books of this subject matter -- does that qualify it for the term 'top-selling'?).

I read the section WP:BLP and it seems that the subject meets these criteria, as his book has been judged notable in its field by the organizations mentioned and peer reviews (such as the two cited in references). I'm not clear as to why these two sources do not qualify as independent, reliable references, as they come from independent published sources.

I don't believe I have other source material I can add, so please tell me if you feel the article does not merit inclusion on the basis of the references given so far. Thank you for your help.

Meechpod (talk) 19:52, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Meechpod (talkcontribs) 18:38, 30 January 2010 (UTC) 


You're getting closer, and I appreciate that you are working hard to meet the requirements, but in my opinion you're not there yet.
The point about "top-selling" concerns both style and reference: A statement such as "Diamonds was ranked top in Amazon's list of books on this subject in (year)", (with a reference), would be fine, as it would be factual and referenced, not evaluative.
Unfortunately, I pointed you at the wrong place: while WP:BLP applies, it is really WP:BIO that I meant to cite. I am not impugning the reliability or independence of your sources, but they support hardly any of the information in the article. As I said, as the author of "a significant or well-known work, or collective body of work, that has been the subject of an independent book or feature-length film, or of multiple independent periodical articles or reviews." (from WP:AUTH) he is probably notable; but you have provided no sources for most of the information you give about him, and for that reason the article would probably not survive for long if you moved it to Article space at present. --ColinFine (talk) 21:35, 30 January 2010 (UTC)


Thanks for your comments. I will check the Amazon rating and include that info when confirmed. You say I provide no sources for most of the information I give, but I'm not clear about what kind of sources are needed for the biographical details (which are of course obtained directly from him).

Also I'm not clear what other things I say that require independent verification and sources. My statement that his book covers the subject of natural coloured diamonds is substantiated by the article on the book in the online magazine 'Jewellery Outlook' (the first reference given), which states that the book is one of the few on the market to provide information on this subject. That article also verifies that he is an authority with lengthy experience in the field. Why is this not considered an adequate source?

I did read WP:BIO. In my view Mr Dundek meets the criterion "The person has made a widely recognized contribution that is part of the enduring historical record in his or her specific field." The recognition comes from the gemmological institutions that have praised the book (as well as from two museums that have stocked his book in their bookshops, and also from readers’ praise on Amazon, but I imagine these don’t count).

I look forward to further clarification and hope I can improve the article to meet the requirements. Thank you very much for your help. Meechpod (talk) 16:21, 31 January 2010 (UTC)

No, Amazon user reviews don't count, mainly because they are inherently unreliable - I could write a positive review of his book and I know nothing about the subject matter. I think the issue here is that notability has to be supported by significant coverage in reliable sources. A couple of book reviews in trade journals may not be enough. – ukexpat (talk) 16:32, 31 January 2010 (UTC)
It is precisely the biographical details that I am talking about. You say that they are obtained directly from him: but if they are not obtainable from a published source, then they are original research, and not acceptable on WP. This may seem strange, but with respect you are a random person on the internet (as am I) and unless we have references that in principle anybody can follow up, we have no way of telling whether the information is reliable or not: see WP:Verifiability.
The further corollary, as I indicated above, is that if there are not such references then he is by definition not notable. Sorry. --ColinFine (talk) 23:56, 31 January 2010 (UTC)
  • If you want to add an existing image to an article, add [[File:File name.jpg|thumb|Caption text.]] to the area of the article where you want the image to appear – replacing File name.jpg with the actual file name of the image, and Caption text with a short description of the image. See our picture tutorial for more information.
  • If you want to upload an image from your computer for use in an article, you must find out what the proper license of the image is. If you know the image is licensed under a free-license, upload it to the Wikimedia Commons instead of here, so that all projects have access to the image (sign up). If you are unsure what license the image takes, see the file upload wizard for more information. Please also read Wikipedia's image use policy. I hope this helps. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 09:34, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

I have added a category to the image however I still see the note that it is uncategorized. Meechpod (talk)

Neutrality

How can I make my article look like a neutral point of view Shammy maxtec (talk) 04:45, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

  Please use a descriptive title in future questions.
Er, by making it actually have a neutral point of view? I'm sorry, but you've given us no information by which to help you, and you don't appear to have edited any articles. Try reading WP:NPOV, and come back here if you've any further questions. --ColinFine (talk) 08:31, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Chendrimada

This is the name (Manepeda) of a family (Clan) from kodagu (Coorg), Karnataka, India. They belong to a community called the Kodavas. They originated in a place called Vypalli Keri in Nangala village of Virajpet Taluk in Kodagu District. The family members are descendants of one individual (details not known). They are ancestor worshippers (Guru Karana) like other kodavas. There are currently three groups in the family viz. Balyamane, Pudiyamane and Koppatmane. These group of family members are descendants of three brothers, who separated due to possible family fued. They all use chendrimada as their clan name (Manepeda), but do not participate in each others godly functions. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Meradeshmahan (talkcontribs) 13:08, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Sorry, this looks like a draft article. If so this is not the place to post it. Please see the article creation wizard. If it is not a draft article, do you have a question that we can help you with? – ukexpat (talk) 14:47, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Company documents

Are an organization's documents (press releases. newsletters, etc.) an acceptable source to cite when writing an article about that organization?130.219.235.254 (talk) 17:54, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

They are OK for supporting basic facts such as who is the CEO and who is on the board, but for sources in support of notability per WP:CORP, they are self references and therefore not reliable sources. – ukexpat (talk) 18:06, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

When is a secondary source a tertiary source?

  Resolved
 –  – ukexpat (talk) 17:45, 2 February 2010 (UTC)

In my example, a MetalfromFinland.com reference states: "Source:Blabbermouth.net" at the bottom of the article. It is verbatim to the Blabbermouth.net (which is Roadrunner Records.com) article. Am I wrong to consider it one step removed anyway? I replaced the reference with the more direct, original source. Again, both pages are verbatim, only differences are website layout, advertisements, etc. I usually make this change if I notice it anyway, but is it proper to cite WP:SECONDARY or WP:PRIMARY in the edit summary, or is there another shortcut I should be referencing? – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 06:52, 2 February 2010 (UTC)

In theory, I have no idea for the answer to your question; but in practice, if I have two identical websites with one citing the other, I use the one cited - it's possible the other is a mirror. For the edit summary I'd just put something like "Changing source to original quoted source" or such like. Further questions? let me know! Fleetflame · whack! whack! · 15:51, 2 February 2010 (UTC)
Okay thanks! So really, I'm making a bigger deal out of it than I should. I just like throwing WP shortcuts around : ) – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 16:11, 2 February 2010 (UTC)
WP:YOUCANNEVERUSETOOMANYWIKIPEDIASHORTCUTS! – ukexpat (talk) 17:44, 2 February 2010 (UTC)
I think you're onto something there! –Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 17:56, 2 February 2010 (UTC)
And by the way, Keraunoscopia, both WP:PRIMARY and WP:SECONDARY point to the same place, so there's no point wondering which to use ;-] Fleetflame · whack! whack! · 18:18, 2 February 2010 (UTC)
No, that I realize, thanks : ) I use one or the other, depending which point I'm trying to emphasize. – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 20:05, 2 February 2010 (UTC)

New Page

How do I add a new page? I want to add a brief history of Belmont Day School. 18:28, 2 February 2010 (UTC)~~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ecarere (talkcontribs)

A Wizard is available to walk you through these steps. See the Article Wizard.

Thank you.
Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines with which all articles should comply. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.
Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.
If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article. You might also look at Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. An Article Wizard is also available to walk you through creating an article. – ukexpat (talk) 18:36, 2 February 2010 (UTC)

PICTURE OF ONE ASTRONAUT IN THE OTHERS VISOR... APOLLO MOONSHOT TW FROM KS

IS THE MOON SO INCREDIBLY SMALL THAT YOU CAN SEE BOTH HORIZONS OVER EACH MANS SHOULDERS? OTHER PICTURES DO NOT SEEM TO SUGGEST THAT! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.102.73.89 (talk) 23:49, 2 February 2010 (UTC)

  Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. Liquidlucktalk 23:50, 2 February 2010 (UTC)
I would think the curve of the glass in the visor has something to do with it. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 02:58, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Reporting Vandals

Is it alright for any user to report vandalism here, or is it for admins only? RA0808 (talk) 05:16, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Any user may. In fact, the page is used so that non-admins can bring vandals to the attention of admins who (if appropriate) can block the vandal. Liquidlucktalk 05:27, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Interviews as References?

Is it ok to cite online interviews (such as on youtube) as references? For example, on the article The Fray, the first line is cited to a youtube interview. Is that okay in Wikipedia? Prince Imrahil (talk) 05:38, 2 February 2010 (UTC)

Video sources can be entirely acceptable - WP:RS says that "audio, video, and multimedia materials that have been recorded then broadcast, distributed, or archived by a reputable third-party may also meet the necessary criteria to be considered reliable source. Like text sources, media sources must be produced by a reliable third-party and be properly cited. Additionally, an archived copy of the media must exist." Notice that video sources may meet the reliable source criteria: I'm unfortunately currently unable to view video, so I can't comment on this case. You could take your question to the reliable sources noticeboard for the input of editors interested in sourcing issues; they will probably want to consider the following points:
  • The linked video is unlikely to have been created by Youtube itself - the authority of the creator of the video is what would be significant in determining whether the source is reliable.
  • Different kinds of sources are needed for different kinds of claims - self-published primary sources can suffice for particular kinds of information; controversial claims need heavyweight sources.
  • Youtube is sometimes used to host material in a way that violates copyright; we should avoid linking to cases like this. Gonzonoir (talk) 12:51, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Reverse an AfD?

  Resolved
 – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 08:36, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

I marked Gallow Hill (Abigail Williams EP) as an AfD due to several violations, including lack of verifiability, possible original research, etc. The sources I pulled up on Google were all blogs, forums, and webzines I'd never heard of before. When I started editing AbWilliams articles last year, I could have sworn I saw a little edit war going on regarding this EP because it was (from what I recall) a bootleg thrown together by fans and otherwise not notable enough for inclusion. Well, that article (and history) has since been deleted... so I've been using this "memory" as my driving force. But what if I'm wrong? So I started looking through the webzines and they all seem to corroborate the fact that the EP, though never officially released, was used as a demo to garner attention to the band. So I'm deeply questioning my AfD choice here. What if the EP is not a bootleg afterall? Should I wait for the judgment of the AfD discussion? Maybe I should give the article a chance? I would help clean it up. –Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 08:01, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Hi, it is perfectly acceptable to withdraw an AfD if you think it is wrong (I've done so before). A look on Google Books revealed that New Wave of American Heavy Metal By Garry Sharpe-Young says "The three track demo 'Gallow HIll' arrived in 2005." (see here) and metal-archives.com also mentions the bootleg. If you want to close it, just edit the AfD and add a note saying "Withdrawing nomination following further search for sources". Someone will close it (I'll do it depending on if I am online when you do so!). Alternatively, leave it and see what happens. Personally, I would withdraw the nomination, though. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 08:24, 3 February 2010 (UTC)
I'd love to see what would "happen"... curious as I am. : D But your suggestion is excellent and I will remove the nomination right now. Thank you so much! – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 08:36, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

creating page

I am trying to create a page for my amateur hockey team. We have local recongitiona nd our own website inwhich i want to reference. I would like to use an already established hockey teams page template and change the info where it needs to be altered. can someone help me with this issue? Creh (talk) 16:38, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Does your team meet the criteria for inclusion (see Wikipedia:Notability and Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies) - I assume you mean an ice hockey team, in which case you might want to ask at Wikipedia Talk:WikiProject Ice Hockey.
Basically, If a topic has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject, it is presumed to satisfy the inclusion criteria for a stand-alone article. (to quote from the notability guidelines). -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 17:06, 3 February 2010 (UTC)
And to amplify what Steve has said: if it does not meet the criteria, then as soon as you release it into article space it will get deleted.
To answer your specific question - yes, assuming it does meet the notability criterion, so that it is worth your while creating it, copying the structure of an existing page might be a good way to proceed. You will also quite likely find some appropriate templates used on it. 'Edit' that page, and copy headings, templates etc from the edit box to the edit box in your own page. Then cancel the edit on the source page, and Save Changes on your own. --ColinFine (talk) 19:32, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Help! My entry might be deleted!

Hello,

I recently created an entry for a page titled "earth, inc.". After my initial post, which I thought would have first gone into review, was actually posted without references or internal links. I have since added references and external links to support the material on this page, however, the page is still being considered for deletion.

I've never experienced this problem before and was hoping someone could offer some guidance on what other relevant details need to be included on this page to make the content verifiable and excempt from deletion.

Any information would be extremely helpful.

Thank you, Tara —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zwickertara (talkcontribs) 16:46, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

The article "Earth, Inc." is being considered for deletion as it may not meet the notability criteria for inclusion, as it is a book that has not even been published yet. If it had received significant coverage in the press/media then it might be counted as notable, but I can see no evidence of this. You might want to read Wikipedia:Notability (books) and especially the section "[Wikipedia:Notability_(books)#Not_yet_published_books|Not yet published books]". Incidently, should the article be kept, it will need to be moved to the title Earth, Inc. (without the quotes) - I will note this on the AfD page. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 17:09, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Hello,

Thanks so much for your response. As this book receives more coverage we plan to add to this entry. However, until then I'm not sure this will meet your criteria. Is there a way to freeze the page until such coverage happens? For example, we are awaiting coverage in some very noteworthy print and online publications, although these are approximately three to four weeks away. Please let me know the best way to proceed.

Thanks again for your help, Tara —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zwickertara (talkcontribs) 17:19, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

As you may have noticed, I have suggested the deletion of the article as well, as mentioned above. However, it is possible to have the article moved to your userspace (this is called userfying. It allows you to work on it without it being put up for deletion (unless it contains copyright violations, or personal attacks). If you want this to happen, I will move it for you, and close the AfD as "userfied". -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 17:29, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Hello,

If you could move the article to my userspace that would be great. How do I access this post in the userspace? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zwickertara (talkcontribs) 18:29, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for your help! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zwickertara (talkcontribs) 19:18, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Some of the language you have used above about the book suggests that you may be connected with it. If this is the case, you are strongly discouraged from writing any article on it: please see conflict of interest. --ColinFine (talk) 19:35, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Andrew jolly.

Andrew Robert Jolly (London/Essex) is an independent music producer and musician.Work credits to date include the following- Klein(bass),The Full Revolution(guitars,writing,vocals),Ectomorph(guitars,keyboards,writing,vocals,producer),The Happy Flowers(All arrangements with Martin Peter Lilley)....Lilley/Jolly.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Graysboy (talkcontribs) 00:10, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

Awesome. Thanks for telling us! --Jayron32 00:48, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

::LOL @ Jayron..i know i should not type this BUT i could not stop laughing... Buzzzsherman (talk) 01:10, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

Articles that Need Editing for Grammar, etc?

I am not great at Wiki formatting, but I consider myself pretty good at editing, etc. Is there a way to find pages in need of grammatical editing, etc? I are great at English. (That's a joke, by the way) I'm behind you until you look (talk) 06:32, 5 February 2010 (UTC)

If they have been tagged (and many have not been), then they should be listed at Category:Wikipedia articles needing copy edit. Alternatively, you might join The Guild of Copy Editors, or WikiProject Grammar - both of whom will have links to articles in need of work. The other option is to look at a random article by clicking on Random article in the navigation box below the Wikipedia logo on the top left of the screen - keep doing that until you find an article which needs working on! -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 07:16, 5 February 2010 (UTC)

Abraham Maslow

please i need to know the understanding off Abraham maslows hierachy off needs and this understanding off needs and how successful communication with people off each levels? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.210.6.193 (talk) 19:29, 5 February 2010 (UTC)

Does Maslow's hierarchy of needs help? – ukexpat (talk) 19:35, 5 February 2010 (UTC)

nypd auxiliary...

i am very confused...under the training section for auxiliary it states that they ARE considered peace officers.... and then under the controversy section it states that UNDER CURRENT LAWS...THEY ARE NOT... what gives..whats the real answer...my understanding is that they are but ONLY while are duty... so are they not peace officers on duty or not....74.65.195.22 (talk) 23:46, 5 February 2010 (UTC)

Please ask on the article's talk page here: Talk:New York City Police Department Auxiliary Police. – ukexpat (talk) 02:01, 6 February 2010 (UTC)
But that's a legal question; don't ask here. Wikipedia cannot offer medical, legal, or other professional advice, and makes no assertion that our content is correct. --Orange Mike | Talk 02:18, 6 February 2010 (UTC)
Not every question about the law is a a request for legal advice; otherwise we'd have to throw out about 5 to 10 percent of Wikipedia (e.g. what does the Civil Rights Act or the European Treaty say about something?) But, while I hate as much as any other Wikipedia editor to shuttle newcomers' questions around to other pages, this particular question about a particular article does belong on its talk page, as UKexpat (of which I'm another) says above. If that doesn't clarify things, you could ask about the general question (the law-enforcement authority of Auxiliary members and trainees) at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Humanities. This page is primarily to help new editors to create, improve or expand articles in Wikipedia, or to deal with various unfamiliar administrative policies at Wikipedia. ¶ If however, the original enquiry is based upon a particular incident, I'd join Orange Mike in advising the enquirer to seek advice from a qualified legal professional (i.e. a lawyer), not a semi-random group of anonymous Internet users from many states, countries, backgrounds and political views. —— Shakescene (talk) 02:41, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

Mike Wards in Wikipedia

  Resolved
 –  – ukexpat (talk) 19:01, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

Support,

I was searching Mike Ward to see who showed up and I didn't see myself on the list so I wrote an article about me. Is this OK to do or do I have to follow a certain format so that it will appear within Wikipedia when people do search for me under mike ward?

Thanks,

Mike Ward —Preceding unsigned comment added by Whoismikeward (talkcontribs) 05:35, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

You should not write an article about yourself: writing an article about yourself is necessarily a conflict of interest. Furthermore, only articles about people who meet Wikipedia's criteria of notability are acceptable (it may be you meet these criteria: I haven't searched).
However, what you have done is write your User page, and that is acceptable, provided you conform to the guidelines in WP:USER. However, those guidelines emphasise that your user page is about your contribution to Wikipedia, and may not be used for self-promotion. Therefore, as it stands, your User page is likely to be nominated for deletion at WP:MfD.
I suggest you read what Wikipedia is not: among the things it is not, are a directory and an advertising medium. --ColinFine (talk) 10:46, 7 February 2010 (UTC)
I have nominated it for speedy deletion as blatant advertising. – ukexpat (talk) 16:46, 7 February 2010 (UTC)
Now deleted. – ukexpat (talk) 19:01, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

Linking pages

Hi,

I'm failry sure that this is going to be quite straightforward but I'm having difficulty linking 2 pages. I guess once you've done it once it's pretty easy. I just need some help getting out of the blocks so to speak.

I need/want to link this page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Tidmarsh

To the Alphabetical listings under "T" on this page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Knights_Commander_of_the_Royal_Victorian_Order&from=Muhammad+of+Negeri+Sembilan

the link needs to sit alphabetically beneath 'Crispin Tickell'

with a reciprical link[?]

Can any fine person out there help me in this task. I'd love to have a hnadle on how to do it rather than someone just magic it for me.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Thanks in advance,

Tobyt

<email redacted> —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tobytids10 (talkcontribs) 07:25, 8 February 2010 (UTC)


You add an article to a category by placing [[Category:Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order]] anywhere on the page - conventionally at the bottom. See WP:Categories.
That will however sort it by the article title, and hence put it under 'J'. You can get that entry (and indeed the existing categories) to sort properly by placing {{DEFAULTSORT:Tidmarsh}} anywhere on the page.
However, this category should NOT be added to the page unless the page contains sourced information about the honour.
There may be a further complication. I'm guessing from your Username that you may be related to Jay Tidmarsh: if you are, you are strongly discouraged from editing the article: see WP:COI.
  Please do not include contact details in your questions. We are unable to provide answers by any off-wiki medium and this page is highly visible across the internet. The details have been removed, but if you want them to be permanently removed from the page history, please email oversight-l lists.wikimedia.org. --ColinFine (talk) 08:23, 8 February 2010 (UTC)
I have added {{DEFAULTSORT:Tidmarsh, Jay}} to Jay Tidmarsh. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:09, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Why you delete this

Why you delete this..

I was really upset.. could you say why you are deleting this.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ezhil 1986 (talkcontribs) 11:43, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Can you clarify what was deleted? I can't work it out from your contribution history or talk page. If you are asking about Ezhilarasan, it was not deleted but moved into userspace (you can now find it as your userpage, User:Ezhil 1986, presumably because it appeared to be autobiographical. The speedy deletion tag now at Ezhilarasan is seeking to get rid of the redirect from article space to your userspace. Gonzonoir (talk) 12:12, 8 February 2010 (UTC)
I guess you mean why the page you created at Ezhilarasan was moved to User:Ezhil 1986. It was unsuited as an article per Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion#A7 and Wikipedia:Notability (people) so it was moved to your user page. It could easily have been deleted instead. See also Wikipedia:Autobiography. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:18, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

How do I create a fact box?

How do I create a fact box? ( the info box on the left side right below the title on a wikipedia page) I am trying to create a new entry and I need help making the fact box. It is a business. I don't know how to edit the intro or the fact box.

Hbmedia (talk) 11:46, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

The infobox should be on the right side. See Help:Infobox. You may want Template:Infobox company. See Help:Section#Editing before the first section. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:01, 8 February 2010 (UTC)
And for a company the correct template is {{Infobox company}}. The documentation on that page should tell you all you need to know to add it to the article. – ukexpat (talk) 15:37, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

military communication

which communication is used in military.

options: cdma,tdma,fdma or any other one —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ajayyaja (talkcontribs) 12:13, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

  Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. You may want to say which military it is. Wikipedia is an international encyclopedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:22, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Transmit electric energy into radio waves

can we transmit electric energy into radio waves? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.248.21.66 (talk) 12:14, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

  Have you tried the Science section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:22, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Adding Stub

I was looking at an article regarding Les, Incorporated and the Rogak P-18. Your article states it is 9 mm. I have one that is 30 cal. Luger. I was wondering how many of those were made, since it appears that there were only 2300 made total. I am having great difficulty understanding how to do things here since I am not real computer intelligent. I just survive. I can take pictures of my gun if needed but it looks exactly as the one you have pictured. It is just that the caliber is different. Thank you Tom Buie —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tommys67 (talkcontribs) 00:32, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

This page is for help in using Wikipedia. You would be better asking this question at the Talk page for the article in question. (I would provide a link to it, but I'm not sure which article you mean). Go to the article, pick the tab at the top labelled 'talk', and edit that to post your question: there you will be addressing people who have a particular knowledge or interest in the subject of the article. --ColinFine (talk) 00:38, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
I think Talk:Steyr GB must be the place. --ColinFine (talk) 00:40, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

Vehicle Insurance

What is First Party, Third Party, IMT 115.99.3.140 (talk) 00:26, 5 February 2010 (UTC)

ok so we cant really help you with anything on the encyclopedia right??...look here --> Vicarious liability and contact your insurance company.. Buzzzsherman (talk) 00:31, 5 February 2010 (UTC)

  You might find what you are looking for in the articles about Liability insurance or Vehicle insurance. If you cannot find the answer there, you can try asking your question at Wikipedia's Reference Desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except about how to use Wikipedia, which is what this help desk is for). I hope this helps. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 00:34, 5 February 2010 (UTC)

Just to be helpful: First party is the person who buys the insurance - the vehicle owner. Third party is anyone else who drives the vehicle. So if I buy insurance, I would normally purchase Full coverage for myself, and Third party, fire and theft for other people who drive my car. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 00:40, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
Er ... no. 'Third party' is anybody other than the insurer and the insured, i.e. anybody who isn't one of the two parties to the contract. That may be somebody who drives the vehicle, but it is also the pedestrian who gets knocked down or an occupant of another car. That is why Third Party insurance is compulsory in many jurisdictions, as opposed to other risks such as theft which only concern the insured. --ColinFine (talk) 17:28, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
ColinFine is right. First party is you. Second party is the insurance company. Third party is everyone else. You buy liability coverage, because you might damage someone else or their property. If you hit their car, your insurance company pays them because you bought Property Damage Liability, which covers your legal responsibility to third parties. If you hit them and injure them, your insurance company pays them because you bought Bodily Injury Liability which covers your legal responsibility to third parties. If you damage your car in the accident, your insurance company pays them because you bought Collision Coverage, which is a first party coverage. (This is a quick synopsis, which ignores complications such as PIP, in no-fault states, and Medical payments and UM and UIM. Post a question at the relevant Reference desk or at my talk page if you want to know more.SPhilbrickT 18:55, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

Music Education

The article on American music education history appears to be based in large part on my book, "A History of American Music Education" (3rd ed, Rowman & Littlefield, 2007), but the book is not cited in the article. As virtually the only contemporary text used in American universities for music education history, it should appear somewhere in the Wikipedia article (an abbreviated version of the book, "A Concise History of American Music Education" is used in some undergraduate classes).

Michael Mark```` —Preceding unsigned comment added by Michaellmark (talkcontribs) 16:09, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

For the moment I have added it to the further reading section. If you believe that the article is in violation of copyright, please let us know and we will take steps accordingly - Wikipedia takes copyright violation very seriously. – ukexpat (talk) 16:38, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

using native american languages

why doesn't wickpida come in some native american languages? like cherokee? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.171.168.28 (talk) 15:30, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

There is a Cherokee language Wikipedia at http://chr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%8E%A4%E1%8E%B5%E1%8E%AE%E1%8E%B5%E1%8F%8D%E1%8F%97. The complete like of all language Wikipedias can be read at List of Wikipedias. --Mysdaao talk 15:56, 10 February 2010 (UTC)
Or in a prettier format: Cherokee Wikipedia Main Page. – ukexpat (talk) 16:19, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

Deleting a page

I've been going around Recent Changess, and ssometimess I'll notice a page devoted entirely to vandalissm. How do I get rid of them? Varicious (talk) 23:26, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

You can tag for speedy deletion - see WP:CSD  Ronhjones  (Talk) 23:28, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

Media Matters

Do you feel that Media Matters should be used as an impartial citation? I have seen it listed on several of the living people I have looked up. It appears to be blatanly left leaning in it's interpretation of news events.209.30.40.217 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 16:13, 5 February 2010 (UTC).

If you've got a concern about a source, you may want to look at the Reliable Sources noticeboard. Not sure if Media Matters has been discussed there or not. Tony Fox (arf!) 17:11, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
I can't find anywhere on WP:RS that says that sources have to be impartial. Most newspapers have an editorial stance: that does not necessarily make them unreliable. --ColinFine (talk) 17:31, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
Media Matters (disambiguation page) says there are 3 organisations with this name, 2 of which could be the one you're talking about. Be sure to specify which one when asking at RS. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 16:33, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

Trouble editing and going live

In brief: I was blocked from editing because of an innappropriate choice of a user name; the second name I chose turned out to be a spammer, finally I was unblocked, but nearly a month passed before my username was changed. I reduced the contents of the article to a stub to avoid being tagged "promotional". Someone started cleaning up the wiki on my article after I had some difficulty (thanks!). I tagged it "new unreviewed article".User:AMWoodall/new article name here Today while logging in I found another article with the same name "Pomodoro Technique" that I did not write and has been tagged for non-notability (no refs). I don't understand if the article I submitted for review actually has the name "Pomodoro Technique" since it says "New article" and I can't change it. And I don't understand where to go from here. Help/advice appreciated! AMWoodall (talk) 07:33, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

You can see from the page history that Pomodoro Technique was created by User:Deccico on February 10. The page you created, User:AMWoodall/new article name here, is a draft in your userspace and not an article. I see you have merged the content from your draft into the article with this edit, which was the right thing to do in this situation. --Mysdaao talk 13:42, 11 February 2010 (UTC)
WP:COI may be relevant reading. Sole Soul (talk) 11:48, 12 February 2010 (UTC)
And just on a technicality, when you copy-pasted the new text into the live article you took credit for all the writing, whereas Orangemike made two contributions also. This is no big deal for such small changes, but article history is supposed to reflect all the authors of the work (or the "5 principal authors" per WP:GFDL). I would have done an administrative article merge to preserve the history when I first read this, but I got scared thinking about how to do it. :) Do keep in mind for the future though that we like to keep all the editors listed when we move text around. Franamax (talk) 20:11, 12 February 2010 (UTC)

Query regarding the author of - Kate's Poem or Crabbit Old Woman.

While checking round Wikipedia in regard to the poem quoted above I found that the poem is quoted as having been written by someone called Phyllis McCormack - Part of the entry being shown below.

""" The poem is written in the voice of an old woman in a nursing home who is reflecting upon her life.

First published in Chris Searle's poetry anthology Elders (Reality Press, 1973), the poem was without title or attribution. Subsequently, a wealth of urban legend has sprung up surrounding this humble work. Most of the legend associated with this poem attributes it to a senile elderly woman in a Dundee nursing home (or sometimes an Irish nursing home), where a nurse found it while packing her belongings following her death.[4] Searle himself is quoted as saying of the poem's authorship: "I don't think we'll ever know. I accepted it as authentic." (i.e. as the authentic writing of an infirm old woman).[5]

According to an article from the Daily Mail on 12 March 1998, Phyllis McCormack's son claims that his mother wrote it while working at the Sunnyside Hospital in Montrose in the 1960s, where she submitted it anonymously to a small magazine intended just for Sunnyside with the title "Look Closer Nurse". """

I'm so sorry to perhaps cause any upset to Mrs. McCormack's son but I couldn't in all honesty let wrong information stand on Wikipedia as being correct and perhaps someone else accept it is being true when I knew otherwise.

I am 63 years of age and I remember a copy of the poem as having been framed and hung on the wall of my parent's bedroom from when I was aged 8 years old - the date given as being written by Phyllis McCormack is incorrect - I am aware from friends that copies of the poem were issued to nurses in training at least thirty years ago when a friend was a student nurse, so it is very possible that Mrs. McCormack held a copy of the poem from when she trained . It is likely that she sent it to the magazine anonymously because it was and is a well written piece of poetry and speaks to people on many different levels. Due to the length of time that has passed there is no way of confirming who actually wrote it......

Kate Barr (talk) 06:33, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

This should be discussed at Talk:Crabbit Old Woman. It's possible that nothing needs to be corrected. The article states at the top that the author is unknown, and later goes on to say that a newspaper article suggests a possible source, without explicitly agreeing with that conclusion. The claim itself is a "fact" (meaning the claim exists, whether it's true or not) which can be mentioned. Your personal recollection is not a published source and cannot be used, but it only differs in that you recall the poem dates from the 1950s, and the article mentions the 1960s as a possible date, based on an unconfirmed story. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 09:56, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

is php mvc architecture?

i found bit confused what this php architecture is can any one give the appropriate answerSreenu k777 (talk) 13:36, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Do you have computer tech experience? Are you a computer science student? Someone who is none of these, but wants to learn? Or someone who just found the term and wants to know what it means? You may find the Computing Reference Desk is the place to ask if these articles are too technical:
--A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 16:22, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

new article with image (logo) not showing up

  Resolved

Buzzzsherman (talk) 21:33, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

I created the Nine_Magazine article and attempted to insert the magazine's logo onto the entry. However, only the alternate text (as a hyperlink) appears. The link does take you to the uploaded file, but I don't know why the image itself does not appear. Can anyone offer a new-comer some assistance? QCollins (talk) 19:29, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Ok my guess is that its a PDF file you should change that format ..with a pdf you cant make a thumb you can only do original size
[[File:NiNemagazine logo.pdf]]<--yes | no--->[[File:NiNemagazine logo.pdf|thumb|text]]
If i am wrong pls someone speak up...but that is my understanding when a file is call a PDF...Buzzzsherman (talk) 19:38, 13 February 2010 (UTC)
Thank you for the suggestion. The switch from .pdf to .jpg fixed the issue! —Preceding unsigned comment added by QCollins (talkcontribs) 21:00, 13 February 2010 (UTC)
I will tag the PDF version for deletion. – ukexpat (talk) 21:02, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Picture

Hi,

I'm a new user and am having problems navigating the site.

I uploaded a picture and have saved it to my gallery. I just don't know how to post it on my page...{{helpme}}

.Marnie 12:09, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

  Please use a descriptive title in future questions.
  • If you want to add an existing image to an article, add [[File:File name.jpg|thumb|Caption text.]] to the area of the article where you want the image to appear – replacing File name.jpg with the actual file name of the image, and Caption text with a short description of the image. See our picture tutorial for more information.
  • If you want to upload an image from your computer for use in an article, you must find out what the proper license of the image is. If you know the image is licensed under a free-license, upload it to the Wikimedia Commons instead of here, so that all projects have access to the image (sign up). If you are unsure what license the image takes, see the file upload wizard for more information. Please also read Wikipedia's image use policy. I hope this helps.
There are two other things I want to point out. First, the {{helpme}} tag is meant to be used on your user talk page, not here, as an alternative way to ask for help. Second, your user talk page, located at User talk:DollieDaydream is meant for sending and receiving messages and having discussions. You have started a draft (not an article) there, which is in the wrong place. Userspace drafts should be created in a user subpage instead. If you would like the draft moved to a user subpage, reply here or ask me on my user talk page at User talk:Mysdaao. Thank you. --Mysdaao talk 14:35, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Images question

How do I insert a photo —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.150.19.39 (talk) 19:26, 14 February 2010 (UTC) \

  • If you want to add an existing image to an article, add [[File:File name.jpg|thumb|Caption text.]] to the area of the article where you want the image to appear – replacing File name.jpg with the actual file name of the image, and Caption text with a short description of the image. See our picture tutorial for more information.
  • If you want to upload an image from your computer for use in an article, you must find out what the proper license of the image is. If you know the image is licensed under a free-license, upload it to the Wikimedia Commons instead of here, so that all projects have access to the image (sign up). If you are unsure what license the image takes, see the file upload wizard for more information. Please also read Wikipedia's image use policy. I hope this helps. – ukexpat (talk) 21:44, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Brett Wood same name as someone else

Hi I am trying to create a new entry for Musician Brett Wood he is a well know musician and plays for many well known artists that also have pages on wikipedia It seems there is a director also named Brett Wood. What do I do?

Pmdance (talk) 05:30, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

You would create an article titled Brett Wood (musician) and leave a "hatnote" at the article Brett Wood:
{{for|the musician|Brett Wood (musician)}}
Which will return the following text:
Now, as to whether or not you should create a new article on this musician, please read Your First Article and also consider creating the article as a subpage in your userspace before sending it "live", as it may get quickly deleted if it does not meet the minimum standards set out at WP:BIO. --Jayron32 05:35, 15 February 2010 (UTC)
And also please read WP:MUSICBIO.-ukexpat (talk) 17:08, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Totally Lie,

I Read The Indo-Pak War Estimated Destruction.Your Estimate Is Totally Wrong.Pakistan Destroy Indian Tanks More Then 100 Tanks.And Pakistan Did Not HAve Lot Of Tanks.Why The Hell U Always Try To Let Down Muslim.Mm.Alam Makes The World Record Of Destroying Indian 5 Mig Fighters In Less Then 1 Min.U R Big Liers.We Dont Habve Lot Of TAnks.Our People Attach The Bomb With There Bodies And Destroy The Indian Tanks.In Sialkon Battles.Why U Did Publish The Such Material Which u Didnt Know Completly.≠ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.153.33.71 (talk) 12:42, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Of course, you have reliable sources which have the numbers you are claiming to be right? --Jayron32 16:43, 15 February 2010 (UTC)
There have been several Indo-Pakistani wars and there is nothing called Sialkon so it's unclear what you refer to. I see your IP address is from Pakistan. Note that most war faring countries make very exaggerated propaganda claims about the performance of their military. Whichever article you have read may contain estimates from more neutral sources. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:57, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Blood groups

could a group O rehsus negative person recieve boold from any other boold group18:32, 15 February 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.204.170.114 (talk)

Please see a doctor. We cannot give medical advice. -ukexpat (talk) 18:49, 15 February 2010 (UTC)
This is a request for medical information, not medical advice. People with O rhesus negative blood are often termed "universal donors", but they are not also "universal recipients" - that name is given to people with AB rhesus positive blood. However, this is an incomplete answer because it ignores blood factors other than the rhesus factor, which also affect blood compatibility. There is a detailed discussion of how compatibility works in our article Blood type, particularly in the section Universal donors and universal recipients. Karenjc 20:32, 15 February 2010 (UTC)
My answer was given ex abundante cautela given that the reason for the question was unclear. - ukexpat (talk) 20:57, 15 February 2010 (UTC)
General knowledge questions about science like this one should be asked at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science. This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. --Mysdaao talk 20:35, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Incorrect attribution in an article

Hello; I ran across a Wikipedia article referring to some of my work in Biophysics. While I was correctly cited by name for my work and discovery, the wrong institution and group was listed for the work.

How can I correct the institution name? This info is easily verified by referring to the original publications of the discovery.

The current article is a Biochemistry stub. I'd be happy to expand the article (I even have figures where I retain the copyright).

Thanks Rvalluzzi (talk) 00:16, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Because you have a conflict of interest you should leave a message on the article's talk page explaining the correction and the other changes that you think should be made. With respect to the copyrighted figures, you will have to release copyright in the manner explained at WP:IOWN. – ukexpat (talk) 01:32, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

How is it a conflict of interest? I'm the first author of the work in question, and the institution is listed on the original peer reviewed articles. I would guess the stub was put together by a program searching connected keywords on the web (?) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rvalluzzi (talkcontribs) 15:50, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

As long as what you post is limited to verifiable facts, there is generally no problem. But it is very hard for most people to write neutrally about themselves or about a subject that that they have a connection with; therefore writing in articles about such subjects is very much discouraged, though not forbidden.
I guess you're talking about Fibroin. I don't know why you think it was put together by a program: you can look at its history and see who wrote it, and who edited it subsequently.
I think it would be entirely in order for you to correct the factual information about your institution, and add a reference to your paper (please see WP:CITE for how to do it in Wikipedia). But while we would welcome your contribution to improving the article, it is very much recommended that you work with other editors because of your connection in the subject. --ColinFine (talk) 18:31, 16 February 2010 (UTC)
And the place to start such a discussion is the article's talk page: Talk:Fibroin. – ukexpat (talk) 19:08, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

California Gray Whale Coalition

The California Gray Whale Coalition was founded in February, 2008 by Sue Arnold, Founder of Australians for Animals Int., an Australian environmental organisation. The Coalition was set up to represent economic and environmental concerns in relation to the California Gray Whale ( Eschrictius robustus). One of the first actions of the Coalition was to successfully lobby a Joint Resolution through the California Assembly and Senate in September, 2008. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Suewhale (talkcontribs) 09:05, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

It looks like you're trying to create a new article. To do that, you might want to try the the article creation wizard. See also our guide to writing your first article for general advice. Gonzonoir (talk) 09:45, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

pneumatic heart disease

how fatal is this disease? if cured is there any chance of re-occurrence? 196.27.102.115 (talk) 10:00, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

You may find information on this subject at our Heart disease article, or on the Wikipedia science reference desk, but please keep in mind that Wikipedia cannot give medical advice and you should see a doctor if you have a health concern. Gonzonoir (talk) 11:14, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

My New Article

I wrote my first article about a week ago. (I see it under "my contribution".) I'm not sure what I need to do next to get it published. Can you advise? Vincehauber (talk) 14:15, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

You created a userspace draft at User:Vincehauber/RedHawk Linux. You will be able to move the page to have the title "RedHawk Linux" when your account is autoconfirmed, which happens automatically after your account is at least four days old and has made at least ten edits to any page on Wikipedia, including Wikipedia:Sandbox. If you want, you can ask someone here to move the page for you, but I see your draft has a few problems. There are no sources whatsoever to verify that information or to establish that the subject is notable enough to be included on Wikipedia. I suggest you add reliable sources before moving it to be an article. If you don't, it may be deleted after it's moved. Please read Wikipedia:So you made a userspace draft for more information on this. --Mysdaao talk 14:24, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Wiki Editing Software

Is there any specific application software which is commonly used for Editing pages on Wiki and is there any some kind of programming language that is supposed to be used. Anyone out there with an idea. Thanks in advance. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vushemasimba (talkcontribs) 18:01, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Try WikEd - enabled as a gadget from the gadgets tab of Special:Preferences. – ukexpat (talk) 18:06, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Law Firm page

We are trying to submit a factual page about our law firm (as other law firms also have pages within Wikipedia). Our page was submitted and quickly deleted. Please advise a preferred method for submission. Thank you.Liner Grode Stein (talk) 18:09, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Short answer, you don't. You have a massive conflict of interest and should not be creating such an article. If the firm really is notable, someone will write an article about it sooner or later. A possible option maybe to suggest the article at articles for creation. Your user name is also a violation of the user name policy. – ukexpat (talk) 18:28, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

changing a picture

I wish to change the logo on the cheshire jets page, it is the oild logoand needs replacing, how do I doit? A.C (talk) 20:29, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Your account needs to be autoconfirmed (4 days old and ten edits) before you can upload images. I can do it for you but please confirm that the jet logo at the top of the home page (http://www.jetsbasketball.co.uk/) is the correct one. – ukexpat (talk) 20:59, 16 February 2010 (UTC)
I went ahead and uploaded it. It should now display in the article. Please clear your cache and/or do a server purge if the old image still displays for you. – ukexpat (talk) 21:07, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Company as subject-matter expert

  Resolved
 –  – ukexpat (talk) 18:58, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Hi,

I'll start by declaring a CIO. I'm a contract writer who has been hired, among other things, to create a couple of Wikipedia entries. The first is for the purpose of covering some basic facts about the company itself: overview, history, what it makes, and so on. The goal of the second article is to provide a general explanation of a specific kind of technology that the company uses in its key product. (Neither of these articles will promote the company's products).

My question is, can I cite the company as a subject-matter expert? The information I have about how this technology works is internal--it was provided to me by engineers within the company.

I also intend to fully disclose the company's name in these articles (in fact, I set up the account under the company's name in the interest of disclosure.

Thanks very much, Camiant (talk) 15:48, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

A few points: As a paid writer you clearly have a massive conflict of interest and if you create such articles, they will be heavily scrutinised for spam and non-neutral point of view. That's why editors are strongly advised not to create articles where they have a COI. Second, the notability guidelines for companies are at WP:CORP, so please read that page and WP:FAQO. Third, references to company created sources are self-references and not sufficient to demonstrate notability though they maybe OK to source facts such as name of CEO etc. Fourth, company names as user names are in breach of the user name policy. Hope this helps. – ukexpat (talk) 15:58, 17 February 2010 (UTC)
Thank you, yes that is helpful information. It's also making me reconsider whether this is the correct course of action for the company. A concern, however, is that at least one of our direct competitors has an article about their company, which was written by one of its analysts. I discovered this through a Google search on the editor's name. He does not disclose this connection in his description. Can you recommend how I should handle this? Thanks again. 16:14, 17 February 2010 (UTC)Camiant
Correction, the above mentioned editor held a position with the competing company in the past, as early as August 2009.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Camiant (talkcontribs)
What is the name of the competitor? I will take a look at the article for spam and WP:NPOV. And thank you for reconsidering. There are alternative outlets for companies that do not meet the inclusion criteria, such as Wikicompany. – ukexpat (talk) 16:17, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

The company is Bridgewater Systems. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Camiant (talkcontribs) 16:19, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

It has been reviewed and despammed. Publicly traded companies are generally considered de facto notable.  – ukexpat (talk) 18:12, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Thanks again! KJLWriter (talk) 18:56, 17 February 2010 (UTC)KJLWriter

Creating an Article

I understood the section saying that you should not create any pages about yourself etc. What I would like to find out, is if a person or public figure is only a celebrity on a social networking site, can someone create an article about the said figure? TheChetty (talk) 17:57, 17 February 2010 (UTC)\

If they meet the notability guidelines of WP:BIO then yes. I suspect however that such a "celebrity" may not have received the required significant coverage in reliable sources. – ukexpat (talk) 18:05, 17 February 2010 (UTC)
If they are only known on that website, they are not likely to meet any meaningful definition of "celebrity", far less notability. --Orange Mike | Talk 19:43, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Would like to create a new page - please help.

Hi, I can't find the section on Wikipedia to request a new article, I know it's on Wikipedia somewhere, but I cannot find it.

I would like some computer experts to make an article about "Nested paging", which has something to do with CPU's and virtual machines. Nested paging is mentioned on the VirtualBox page, but doesn't say what it actually is. —Preceding unsigned comment added by TurboForce (talkcontribs) 19:44, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Articles for creation? – ukexpat (talk) 19:53, 17 February 2010 (UTC)
Wikipedia:Requested articles. --Mysdaao talk 20:17, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

new article

I am trying to write a new article and I have noticed on many other pages there is a box on the right side of the article that lists facts, websites, pictures ect. I would like to include on of those boxes in my article but I am not sure how to. Can you please help? Cholsen10 (talk) 23:47, 17 February 2010 (UTC)Charlotte

You are probably referring to an infobox, a kind of template used to display information. Infoboxes are not at all difficult to use; simply read and follow the instructions at WP:IBX. Sometimes, certain kinds of infoboxes are used for certain topics; for example, {{Infobox settlement}} is used for settlements rather than the raw {{Infobox}}. More information is available at the page linked above. Note that on articles about taxonomic groups and organisms, a {{taxobox}} is used instead. Intelligentsium 23:51, 17 February 2010 (UTC)
You might want to check out WP:Article wizard 2.0, which will help you with your first article. I strongly encourage you to create it in user space (which is one of the options in the Wizard), then when you think it is ready, post a notice at Requests for feedback, where someone, hopefully, will give you useful advice.--SPhilbrickT 02:31, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

the united states constution

what are three major changes that have been acheived in our nation through the amending of the constution? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 156.110.70.98 (talk) 20:57, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Sorry, but we will do not your homework for you. – ukexpat (talk) 20:59, 16 February 2010 (UTC)
Did you read List of amendments to the United States Constitution? That will get you started. Karenjc 15:18, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Question about the Revision History Statistics tool

  Resolved
 – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 06:46, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Wasn't sure where to ask this. On an article's/talk page's history page, there is an option to click on the "Revision History Statistics" tool. When you go there, say at Metallica's RHS here, you will see users listed in the order of most edits to least edits. Next to the edit count are two numbers in parentheses; in this case, user "Metal Head" has 257/182. What do these numbers mean? Thank you! – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 07:51, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

The numbers indicate whether the edits were marked as minor or not - so Metal Head made 257 major edits and 182 s/he flagged as minor. Does that answer your question? Gonzonoir (talk) 09:39, 17 February 2010 (UTC)
Yes it does! Thank you so much. I hope it wasn't too dumb a question, I really couldn't figure it out. – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 06:46, 18 February 2010 (UTC)
No such thing as too dumb a question, though dumb answers are quite widespread :) Gonzonoir (talk) 09:32, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

How do I start a new page for a title that already exists?

  Resolved
 –  – ukexpat (talk) 04:32, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

I am trying to create a new article, but the title already exists. I know about disambiguation links at the top of the most common title, wikipedia defines that well, but I don't know how to go about starting the page under the title and creating that link. Am I just missing something, or does someone need to help me set that up?

CassandraChurch (talk) 20:12, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

What is the existing title? How do the two topics of the same name differ? --Orange Mike | Talk 20:19, 18 February 2010 (UTC)
The title is Battle Buddy, as in the term used in the U.S. military for your partner in battle. My page is a non-profit organization called Battle Buddy, that was started by military brats to raise money for the soldiers. CassandraChurch (talk) 20:59, 18 February 2010 (UTC)
In that case, the title of your article should be Battle Buddy (organization). I would suggest that you create it first as a draft in your userspace at User:CassandraChurch/Battle Buddy (organization) so you can work on it there, or use the Article Creation Wizard to do so. I posted a welcome message on your talk page and please also take a look at WP:ORG, WP:SPAM and WP:IRS. – ukexpat (talk) 21:11, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Thank you very much! CassandraChurch (talk) 21:18, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

user sand box rollback

Can anybody please rollback my page User talk:Mlpearc/Sandbox I inadvertently Patsed over ? Mlpearc (talk) 04:17, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

  Done. Take a look at WP:REVERT to see how to do it yourself. – ukexpat (talk) 04:31, 19 February 2010 (UTC)
Oops, looks like two of us have reverted it. Please take a look at the history page and let us know which version you want restored. – ukexpat (talk) 04:41, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

the united states constution

what are three major changes that have been acheived in our nation through the amending of the constution? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 156.110.70.98 (talk) 20:57, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Sorry, but we will do not your homework for you. – ukexpat (talk) 20:59, 16 February 2010 (UTC)
Did you read List of amendments to the United States Constitution? That will get you started. Karenjc 15:18, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Question about the Revision History Statistics tool

  Resolved
 – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 06:46, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Wasn't sure where to ask this. On an article's/talk page's history page, there is an option to click on the "Revision History Statistics" tool. When you go there, say at Metallica's RHS here, you will see users listed in the order of most edits to least edits. Next to the edit count are two numbers in parentheses; in this case, user "Metal Head" has 257/182. What do these numbers mean? Thank you! – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 07:51, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

The numbers indicate whether the edits were marked as minor or not - so Metal Head made 257 major edits and 182 s/he flagged as minor. Does that answer your question? Gonzonoir (talk) 09:39, 17 February 2010 (UTC)
Yes it does! Thank you so much. I hope it wasn't too dumb a question, I really couldn't figure it out. – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 06:46, 18 February 2010 (UTC)
No such thing as too dumb a question, though dumb answers are quite widespread :) Gonzonoir (talk) 09:32, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Company as subject-matter expert

  Resolved
 –  – ukexpat (talk) 18:58, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Hi,

I'll start by declaring a CIO. I'm a contract writer who has been hired, among other things, to create a couple of Wikipedia entries. The first is for the purpose of covering some basic facts about the company itself: overview, history, what it makes, and so on. The goal of the second article is to provide a general explanation of a specific kind of technology that the company uses in its key product. (Neither of these articles will promote the company's products).

My question is, can I cite the company as a subject-matter expert? The information I have about how this technology works is internal--it was provided to me by engineers within the company.

I also intend to fully disclose the company's name in these articles (in fact, I set up the account under the company's name in the interest of disclosure.

Thanks very much, Camiant (talk) 15:48, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

A few points: As a paid writer you clearly have a massive conflict of interest and if you create such articles, they will be heavily scrutinised for spam and non-neutral point of view. That's why editors are strongly advised not to create articles where they have a COI. Second, the notability guidelines for companies are at WP:CORP, so please read that page and WP:FAQO. Third, references to company created sources are self-references and not sufficient to demonstrate notability though they maybe OK to source facts such as name of CEO etc. Fourth, company names as user names are in breach of the user name policy. Hope this helps. – ukexpat (talk) 15:58, 17 February 2010 (UTC)
Thank you, yes that is helpful information. It's also making me reconsider whether this is the correct course of action for the company. A concern, however, is that at least one of our direct competitors has an article about their company, which was written by one of its analysts. I discovered this through a Google search on the editor's name. He does not disclose this connection in his description. Can you recommend how I should handle this? Thanks again. 16:14, 17 February 2010 (UTC)Camiant
Correction, the above mentioned editor held a position with the competing company in the past, as early as August 2009.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Camiant (talkcontribs)
What is the name of the competitor? I will take a look at the article for spam and WP:NPOV. And thank you for reconsidering. There are alternative outlets for companies that do not meet the inclusion criteria, such as Wikicompany. – ukexpat (talk) 16:17, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

The company is Bridgewater Systems. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Camiant (talkcontribs) 16:19, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

It has been reviewed and despammed. Publicly traded companies are generally considered de facto notable.  – ukexpat (talk) 18:12, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Thanks again! KJLWriter (talk) 18:56, 17 February 2010 (UTC)KJLWriter

Creating an Article

I understood the section saying that you should not create any pages about yourself etc. What I would like to find out, is if a person or public figure is only a celebrity on a social networking site, can someone create an article about the said figure? TheChetty (talk) 17:57, 17 February 2010 (UTC)\

If they meet the notability guidelines of WP:BIO then yes. I suspect however that such a "celebrity" may not have received the required significant coverage in reliable sources. – ukexpat (talk) 18:05, 17 February 2010 (UTC)
If they are only known on that website, they are not likely to meet any meaningful definition of "celebrity", far less notability. --Orange Mike | Talk 19:43, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Would like to create a new page - please help.

Hi, I can't find the section on Wikipedia to request a new article, I know it's on Wikipedia somewhere, but I cannot find it.

I would like some computer experts to make an article about "Nested paging", which has something to do with CPU's and virtual machines. Nested paging is mentioned on the VirtualBox page, but doesn't say what it actually is. —Preceding unsigned comment added by TurboForce (talkcontribs) 19:44, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Articles for creation? – ukexpat (talk) 19:53, 17 February 2010 (UTC)
Wikipedia:Requested articles. --Mysdaao talk 20:17, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

new article

I am trying to write a new article and I have noticed on many other pages there is a box on the right side of the article that lists facts, websites, pictures ect. I would like to include on of those boxes in my article but I am not sure how to. Can you please help? Cholsen10 (talk) 23:47, 17 February 2010 (UTC)Charlotte

You are probably referring to an infobox, a kind of template used to display information. Infoboxes are not at all difficult to use; simply read and follow the instructions at WP:IBX. Sometimes, certain kinds of infoboxes are used for certain topics; for example, {{Infobox settlement}} is used for settlements rather than the raw {{Infobox}}. More information is available at the page linked above. Note that on articles about taxonomic groups and organisms, a {{taxobox}} is used instead. Intelligentsium 23:51, 17 February 2010 (UTC)
You might want to check out WP:Article wizard 2.0, which will help you with your first article. I strongly encourage you to create it in user space (which is one of the options in the Wizard), then when you think it is ready, post a notice at Requests for feedback, where someone, hopefully, will give you useful advice.--SPhilbrickT 02:31, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

How do I start a new page for a title that already exists?

  Resolved
 –  – ukexpat (talk) 04:32, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

I am trying to create a new article, but the title already exists. I know about disambiguation links at the top of the most common title, wikipedia defines that well, but I don't know how to go about starting the page under the title and creating that link. Am I just missing something, or does someone need to help me set that up?

CassandraChurch (talk) 20:12, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

What is the existing title? How do the two topics of the same name differ? --Orange Mike | Talk 20:19, 18 February 2010 (UTC)
The title is Battle Buddy, as in the term used in the U.S. military for your partner in battle. My page is a non-profit organization called Battle Buddy, that was started by military brats to raise money for the soldiers. CassandraChurch (talk) 20:59, 18 February 2010 (UTC)
In that case, the title of your article should be Battle Buddy (organization). I would suggest that you create it first as a draft in your userspace at User:CassandraChurch/Battle Buddy (organization) so you can work on it there, or use the Article Creation Wizard to do so. I posted a welcome message on your talk page and please also take a look at WP:ORG, WP:SPAM and WP:IRS. – ukexpat (talk) 21:11, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Thank you very much! CassandraChurch (talk) 21:18, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

user sand box rollback

Can anybody please rollback my page User talk:Mlpearc/Sandbox I inadvertently Patsed over ? Mlpearc (talk) 04:17, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

  Done. Take a look at WP:REVERT to see how to do it yourself. – ukexpat (talk) 04:31, 19 February 2010 (UTC)
Oops, looks like two of us have reverted it. Please take a look at the history page and let us know which version you want restored. – ukexpat (talk) 04:41, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

Business details on Wiki

Hi,

I have started my own business in the uk and would like to write the details on Wiki. Obviously the article would not be a selling point. Just a paragraph stating the facts of the company etc. It would in no way incompass an advertisement.

Is this ok? and if so, how should I go about it?

trealawking —Preceding unsigned comment added by Trealawking (talkcontribs) 11:25, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

Hi Trealawking, and welcome to Wikipedia.
There's two issues: firstly, Wikipedia would only be able to accept an article about a business if it clearly meets our notability criteria - specifically, if it has received substantial coverage in third-party reliable sources (like newspapers, books, etc.) This might not be the case if a company has just been founded. Secondly, you are strongly discouraged from writing articles about anything in which you have a personal interest, because you might have a conflict of interest. Usually if a company meets notability requirements, someone else will write about it in due course.
You might want to look instead at WikiCompany, another wiki that accepts articles on any company and doesn't share our conflict of interest policies. Does this help? Gonzonoir (talk) 13:44, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

Editing articles

  Resolved
 – User:Mysdaao replied on talk page. – ukexpat (talk) 16:20, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

Can i edit any of the artcles in Wikipedia?--Jeremyr123 (talk) 16:05, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

Can you notify me on my talk page please.

Answered at User talk:Jeremyr123#Help desk question. --Mysdaao talk 16:20, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

How do I create a new page?

I know this seems like a bad question, but I cannot find a link that lets me create a brand new page, only ones that allow me edit an existing one. So how the heck do I create a new page> I created a user account and all that but I still can not find a new page link. Please help direct me to it. Thanks very much. Antonio T.Antonio Torres 00:03, 20 February 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tonytorres1978 (talkcontribs)

Check your talk page I left some helpful things there Welcome Mlpearc (talk) 00:43, 20 February 2010 (UTC)
Sorry about that....

I'm sorry I didn't mean to post my question three times. My bad. AntonioAntonio Torres 00:04, 20 February 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tonytorres1978 (talkcontribs)

No problem- I deleted the repeats and combined this one with the other one. It was an easy fix and it takes a while to learn your way around Wikipedia. To create a new article, simply search for the article in the searchbox on the left side menu (or here: WP:SEARCH). If you do not find the page/content you are thinking about making an article for (the info may be located under a related topic), then click the red link at the top, where it says "You may create the page pagename here".
However, I highly recommend you start your article as a userspace draft, where you can create and develop an article without much fear of deletion and ask for help with any editing problems you might have. Once it is ready to be made public, you can easily move it into "article space". Also, try using the article wizard, which helps you determine if your article is appropriate for Wikipedia. Liquidlucktalk 00:43, 20 February 2010 (UTC)
P.S. When commenting on boards like this, sign your posts by typing ~~~~. Thanks!
Standard article creation message follows:

A Wizard is available to walk you through these steps. See the Article Wizard.

Thank you.
Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines with which all articles should comply. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.
Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.
If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article. You might also look at Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. An Article Wizard is also available to walk you through creating an article. – ukexpat (talk) 17:01, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Moving portions of text

  Resolved
 – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 19:23, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

I would like to move portions of text from one article to another (in this case, band article ==> album article). I've seen the Template:Move portions page, but my move will be pretty uncontroversial. What I'm asking is this: are there any "notifications of text move" that need to be placed in the talk pages of each article, similar to WP:SMERGE's process? I'm not finding any documentation on it. Or is this something that's easily explained in either the talk page or the edit summary? – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 07:05, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Was the content to be moved written primarily by you? If so, there is no problem. If it was written mainly by one other person (or by many), it's still not a problem. You may wish to notify that person as a courtesy, but the edit history will show where the text originated, especially if you explain it's a transfer in the edit summary and name the other article, which should satisfy any concern about retaining a trail back to the original contributor(s). --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 12:36, 20 February 2010 (UTC)
Great, thank you. I do want to retain a trail of information so editors (whom I'll also contact, that was a good idea) don't think I'm removing their efforts entirely. To answer your question, it's information primarily edited by others; once I move the information, I'll tweak it to fit it into the new article. – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 19:23, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Reinforced concrete slab

what is the meaning of FTU,NTS Slab? —Preceding unsigned comment added by S.i.m rafeek (talkcontribs) 09:16, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

  Have you tried the miscellaneous section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:21, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Uploaded Images

I uploaded few images which i took in my camera while i visited that place. But after i uploaded the image i have got a message it will be deleted soon. What should i do now to stop the deletion process. Please help me


Thanks Sanjay

Sanjayjuz4u (talk) 11:55, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Links to instructions on what to do, are included in the messages notifying you about the deletion on your talk page, and on the pages for the images. Yes it's complicated! But when you fix one, you will know how to fix the rest. First, read this: Wikipedia:Image copyright tags. Another thing you should consider is whether these should have been uploaded to Commons, rather than Wikipedia, since you took the pictures yourself and are "donating" them as "free content".
If you need more help, please post here again. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 12:46, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Tree

I wondered if you can help.Im looking for a tree related to a walnut.-i-k-r-.thanks.♥♥ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.162.16.249 (talk) 22:59, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

  Please use a descriptive title in future questions.
Have a look at Carya. But this page is for help about using Wikipedia: Please use the Reference Desk for questions about anything else. --ColinFine (talk) 00:45, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Article Submission

I know this seems like an obvious question, but I don't see the answer anywhere. After I create a new user account and create a new article and submit that new article, what happens next? The new page is listed under "my contributions", and looks fine, but it is not indexed in Wikipedia yet.

Marctillman (talk) 18:28, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

The article, User:Marctillman/Amplitude Research is in your user space, and needs to be moved to article space. Many articles like this one get deleted because they appear to be advertising, and do not establish notability nor have adequate citations. Your article appears to have enough citations, and these probably establish notability, but it still reads more like an advertisement than an encyclopedia article. In particular, it just lists what kind of business the company is in, but does not describe its history (i.e. when was it founded), nor list any accomplishments. I recommend you add more to the article before it is moved. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 18:40, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

Thank you very much. I will revise the page. Marctillman (talk) 20:05, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

It will get indexed, but that can take from a few hours (normally) to a few days(rarely).--SPhilbrickT 00:55, 20 February 2010 (UTC)
[1] - There is a substantial WP:COI here. Kittybrewster 18:10, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Please help! - How to add to contents of a previously posted CD album title

Hello and thank you for helping!

I am trying to post information about musician Greg Laswell and his new album titled "Take a Bow." When I click on his previous album titles on his Wiki page, it links/redirects me to more information about the album including album artwork and track listing.

I would like to learn how to do this.

Thank you for helping!

Sincerely, Neal Voorde9 (talk) 03:05, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia! We do not currently have an article on the album; are you asking about how to create it? If so, click here: Take a Bow (album) and begin typing. Make sure to include references to your information- see Wikipedia:Referencing for beginners. You might also like to try the Wikipedia tutorial for help learning to edit. Let us know if I've answered your question and if you need further help! Liquidlucktalk 03:58, 21 February 2010 (UTC)
However, please look at WP:NALBUMS. That album does not appear to meet Wikipedia's notability guidelines, and will certainly be deleted. I suggest you take it into your user space (do a 'Move' to User:Voorde9/Take a Bow (album)) before it gets speedily deleted. There you can work on it to find reliable sources. If you can find them (which will probably be only after it has been released) you can then move it back to article space. If it never gets covered by reliable sources, then I'm afraid the article will never be acceptable, and it should be mentioned only in the band's article.
We generally don't create tracklist stub articles for albums that have not been released. The track list could change, and may be based on rumours. I'm generally against creating an article for a forthcoming album (or anything else that's to be released in the future), and would prefer just seeing a very brief mention of it on the musician's page. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 13:58, 21 February 2010 (UTC)
I have redirected the album page to Greg Laswell - clearly a non-notable album. If it becomes notable the redirect can be undone. – ukexpat (talk) 16:26, 21 February 2010 (UTC)
Thanks. I checked it out before typing my reply and was able to find enough sources for WP:GNG, but I couldn't verify the tracklist Voorde added, so I agree with the redirect. Liquidlucktalk 03:35, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Overlinking? - article +/- refs

I am wiki-linking both critics and their publishers in the article. Should I wiki-link the critics and their publishers in the refs also, or is that overlinking? 71.234.215.133 (talk) 06:16, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

You may if you'd like to, there's no policy against it. Some editors like linking them the first time they show up in the body and the first time in a reference (for example, if you have two articles from Reuters you would only link Reuters once), and other editors like wikilinking every possible name and publisher everytime they show up in a ref. Only link once in the article body, though, unless the first link is so far away it is likely the reader has forgotten it. Liquidlucktalk 06:43, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Thank you. There are not "forgotten by distance" links in what I am linking. I was simply unsure if an article link forbade a reference link or, vice versa, linking it in the article required linking it in the references. 71.234.215.133 (talk) 06:53, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Yes, that's fine. Good luck! Liquidlucktalk 03:35, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

How long to move draft pages to live new articles?

User:ASIComm/Animals and Society Institute - link added – ukexpat (talk) 17:46, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

I created a new article for the Animals and Society Institute in my userspace, but could not find the "move" function within the draft page so asked for help moving it live. That was on Feb. 15; about how long does it take for an administrator to approve it for going live? I can't tell if there's something more I should be doing to expedite the process. The FAQ and Help areas seem to go in circles about that particular function; any help appreciated!

ASIComm (talk) 17:30, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Looking at the article, it still needs to cleaned up before it can be moved to the mainspace. The article is not clear on what makes the group notable enough for inclusion and also appears to be an advertisement. Finally, there seems to be a significant conflict of interest between yourself and the subject of the article. All of these issues need to be addressed before the article can be moved. TNXMan 17:41, 22 February 2010 (UTC)
Also WP:RS and WP:V. Kittybrewster 17:55, 22 February 2010 (UTC)
Please remember that this is a page for new users; "Also WP:RS and WP:V" looks like just a string of random characters. Wikilinks are mandatory, and writing out the names in full would be more helpful. K is recommending ASI also reads: Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources and Wikipedia:Verifiability. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 01:30, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Rallying article

I have got myself into a muddle editing the Wikipedia article on Rallying: History. I originally wrote this a couple of years ago. It now needs a few updates and corrections, but above all I have been asked to cite sources. I have spent the last two or three days trying to enter these (I guess there are maybe 50), every so often saving my work (i e the original article plus source citations) separately on my desktop, before submitting the final corrected article. Today I have come to resume work, to find that some of my corrections and citations have found their way into Wikipedia already, but a whole string of citations (many hours' work) appear to have vanished. I guess my incomplete work was somehow transmitted to Wikipedia, which now shows merely where the citation insertion marks go, but not the source text. How do I retrieve this? How should I have saved my work in progress?

Sorry, but I find this a very confusing and tedious process! 86.167.98.183 (talk) 15:08, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

The only edit made from your IP address is to ask this question. It sounds like you are referring to the History section of the article Rallying. No edits have been made to that article in the past two or three days. Without knowing the username or IP address you used to make the edits, and knowing for sure the article you mean, it's difficult to help you figure out what happened. But a common reason for edits not being saved is that a user clicked the "Show preview" button instead of the "Save page" button. Only pressing the "Save page" button will save an edit. If the changes you thought you made are not showing in your list of contributions, then they have been lost. In this case, we won't be able to retrieve them for you, so unless you saved it on your computer, or can hit "Back" enough times in your browser to find it, then you will have to redo the changes. --Mysdaao talk 16:02, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Sorry but I'm new to all this. What is an IP address? My Email address? Mine is <email redacted> When I saved my amended article text to my desktop, using Save As, was I inadvertantly sending this new text to Wikipedia? Can you help me by explaining the correct procedure for amending text and making periodic saves while doing so? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.167.98.183 (talk) 22:28, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

  Please do not include contact details in your questions. We are unable to provide answers by any off-wiki medium and this page is highly visible across the internet. The details have been removed, but if you wish for them to be permanently removed from the page history, email this address. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 00:00, 23 February 2010 (UTC)
Saving the page to your desktop and changing it there does not submit changes on Wikipedia. To edit an article, click the tab at the top of the page that says "edit this page" to edit the entire article. You can also edit just one section by clicking "[edit]" next to the section name. Then make the changes you want, type in an edit summary (a short description of the changes you made) where it asks for one, and click the button that says "Save page". You edit an article on Wikipedia the same way you edited this page to add your most recent reply. For more information, please read Wikipedia:How to edit a page. --Mysdaao talk 03:41, 23 February 2010 (UTC)
And your IP address is one way that your computer identifies itself to the Internet. On Wikipedia, if you have not registered an account, or have not logged in, you get referred to by your IP address: in the case of your question above it is 86.167.98.183. If you always edit from the same computer, you may get the same IP address each time, or it may change, depending on how Internet services are provided to it; if you edit from a different computer, you will almost certainly get a different IP address. And if the computers you use are shared, then other people's edits may get attributed to the same address as yours.
So when Mysdaao said "the only edit made from your IP address", this meant that there were no other edits that we could attribute to you: if you had made previous edits they must have been under a different IP address (or you had an account, and were logged in when you made them, but were no longer logged in when you made this one), so we could not find them except by guesswork. --ColinFine (talk) 18:30, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

How to search for edits by IP?

I encountered an example of obvious vandalism, and I would like to search for other edits done by the same "author." How do I do this?

I've poked around, and it's not very obvious. At least not to me!

If anyone else would like to pursue this, the "author" is 98.214.228.96. His/her "edit" consisted of replacing a word or two with "potty humor" terminology in a rather obscure article.

Thanks!

CbonnerNH (talk) 16:54, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

You can see an IP's contributions by typing Special:Contribitions/ip-address into the Wikipedia search bar. In this case, it would be Special:Contributions/98.214.228.96. That IP only has one edit - the one you reverted. As an editor, you cannot see any edits they have made to pages since deleted, but as an admin I can - and there are none. The one edit you reverted is the only one for that IP. I have left a message on the IP's talk page. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 17:03, 23 February 2010 (UTC)
Also, whenever you see an IP's address as a highlighted link, clicking on it will show you their contributions. This may not be immediately obvious because clicking on a linked user name by contrast goes to the user's userpage and not to their contributions; IPs don't have userpages so it makes sense that the link would point there. So if you revert an IP's edits, simply go to the history of the page you reverted and click on the the linked IP's address.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:19, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

writing new article - where to work

hello, i've written a new article for wiki (in word). and want to transfer it to my page in wiki and then work on the necessary edits (headings etc in wiki editing format) there over a period of time before finally submitting it.

i know you encourage this, and i'm confident enough re sorting the necessary wiki format edits (in time)

my question - where exactly do i do such editing. is there any way of avoiding the hassle of creating a subpage etc..


can you respond to my talk page many thanks

AgRince (talk) 14:04, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

I have answered at User talk:AgRince#Writing new article - where to work and copied it here:
In order to work on a draft, a user subpage is the suggested place. It is easy to create one for a draft. You can do so either at Help:Userspace draft or by using Wikipedia:Article wizard 2.0. Please let me know if there are any more questions. Thanks! --Mysdaao talk 14:30, 24 February 2010 (UTC)
(edit conflict) I will leave a talkback on your talk page linking here, but I will respond on this page, as then other new contributors with the same question will see the answer!
We cannot accept Word documents, unfortunately. There are two ways to create an article in your userspace:
  1. In the "Search bar", type in the page name you would want (for example User:AgRince/article-name). You will see a message saying that the page does not exist: click on "Start the User:AgRince/article-name page" - and then copy the text from your Word document, and paste it onto the page. Click on "Save page", and your draft is saved - see below for more advice once you have the draft.
  2. Use the Article Wizard, which will create a blank article: follow the instructions carefully, and on the final page ('6 End'), choose the "Create new userspace draft" and using the title Special:MyPage/article-name. Then you can copy/paste as mentioned in the first option above.
If you want to know more about the wiki markup and article layout, you might want to read Wiki markup and Layout. To find out about the writing style we use, read the Manual of Style.
I hope this helps, but feel free to ask for help again if you need it. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 14:32, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

phone messages

How to pick up phone messages when away from home? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.109.27.83 (talk) 15:38, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Hello. I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our roughly three million articles, and thought that we were directly affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is a help desk for asking questions related to using the encyclopedia. Thus, we have no inside track on the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the left hand side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. TNXMan 15:40, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Rocudo

I have had my article Rocudo removed for a number of different reasons which is understandable. I was just wondering if you could tell me the specific parts of the article which have gone against wikipedia and if there is any chance my page could be unprotected as I presumed you could save your article as many times as you please (as long as changes had been made) which I now know is not the case. Wikicule (talk) 17:07, 24 February 2010 (UTC) Regards. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wikicule (talkcontribs) 17:06, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

It has been deleted several times as you say, once for being too promotional and the other times for not indicating how or why the organisation is important or significant. Please take a look at the notability guidelines at WP:ORG. If you still want to re-create the article, please do so first in a user subpage -- User:Wikicule/Rocudo for example -- then ask at WP:RFF for it to be reviewed. If you cannot support notability by citing significant coverage in reliable sources, it is unlikely to survive in the main article space. – ukexpat (talk) 17:14, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

moving a page

I have written an article about my employer. I cannot figure out how to move the finished draft to a publish page on the internet. Pleas advise.

GladRagsDesigns (talk) 01:32, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

It is not close to ready. The process is called "Move", when you have 10 edits and four days experience you will see a move button, but you don't see it yet. I could move it for you, but if I do, it will be deleted in short order.
Check out Article Layout for ideas on article structure. Check out WP:CITE and footnotes to see how to do references. Make sure to read WP:COI. It is OK to write about an employer, but the page will give you some warnings.
Most importantly, read Notability, as it is not at all clear that Myrna Colley-Lee is notable.--SPhilbrickT 02:21, 25 February 2010 (UTC)
Oh, and sorry if this sounds like piling on, but you'd better read WP:USERNAME as your selected user name is probably a violation of policy.--SPhilbrickT 02:23, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Protection history

  Resolved
 –  – ukexpat (talk) 18:48, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Is there a page that shows an article's protection history so dates that are not entered into edit summaries can be found?

For example, I have been looking at the history for Chuck Yeager. In reverse order (as it reads in the history):

  • 2009-12-20: ProtectionTaggingBot adds protection template [2]
  • 2009-01-21: Swatjester reduces protection per OTRS [3]
  • 2007-10-09: Swatjester temporarily reinstating Vishal's protection per OTRS ticket [4]
  • 2007-10-02: Vishal unprotected (35 minute difference to previous/below edit) [5]
  • 2007-10-02: Vishal protected: Office Action [6]

Prior to the bot having tagged the article there was no record as to when the protection would expire. Since protectors leave the expiry date out their edit summaries, I ask if there is a page describing article protection expiration dates. I can only hope such a page also lists the date the protection/s was/were instituted and the original length of the protection/s. 71.234.215.133 (talk) 03:22, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

There is a log of such actions, located at Special:Log/protect. In the field labelled "Title:" you can input the name of the article to see all protection and unprotection actions, along with reasons and expiry times. I hope this is what you were looking for. Intelligentsium 03:25, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

That was not what I was looking for. The log reproduces the edit summaries of the articles the protection was laid on to. I am looking for dates – date protection started, date protection will end. See Creationism log and look to the oldest entry: no end date given. 71.234.215.133 (talk) 03:47, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

That oldest entry dates back to 2006, and I suspect it may just be that the convention of listing the end date had not been implemented then. As far as I am aware the date is now always given (see the current Protection Log). Gonzonoir (talk) 08:35, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

You (plural) were right and I was wrong. Thank you for the direction. 71.234.215.133 (talk) 15:01, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

You're welcome - it never hurts to ask :) Gonzonoir (talk) 15:20, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

About articles labeled as Orphans

I have a question about references for the Brian Choper page. There is a comment that the article is still an orphan. However, there are a numerous "Category" pages that link back to his page. I would like to know if these "count" for getting away from orphan status and if there is anything else I need to do on the article to improve it. Thank you.Rebecca Lemus (talk) 04:00, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

An orphan is an article that has few or no internal links from other articles. A category is not an article, so being listed in categories doesn't change an article's orphan status. You can see how many articles link to it by going to Brian Choper, clicking What links here on the left side of the page, changing the namespace to (Article), and counting the number of articles that link to that page. Then you can see that Brian Choper has links from three other articles to it. The general criteria of an orphan is an article with fewer than three links from other articles, so I'd say the orphan tag can be removed, as long as you explain why you are removing it in either the edit summary or on the article's talk page. --Mysdaao talk 13:28, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

CBA

  Resolved
 –  – ukexpat (talk) 20:04, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

I edited a page by mistake how can i fit it back. Or can you recover it for me please. It was the Continental Basketball Association page. CBA Franchises Year by Year, sub title Complete list year by year. Please recover the old Data. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fame12345 (talkcontribs) 19:56, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

  Done, this edit. – ukexpat (talk) 20:03, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

An "Area 51" of references?

  Resolved
 – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 17:24, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Is there a reason {{cite web}} references (and variants) are slipped within the text of the article? Why can't all references be grouped together in an invisible reference section and <ref name=xxxx/>, which are shorter and easier to navigate around, used within the body of the article instead? I'm just curious. Also, I'm not very interested in using the optional editors that highlight references and such to make editing "easier", I would like to know if, for example, a stable article can hypothetically have all its references moved to a hidden section. – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 15:16, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

The ability to group reference details in the reference section, and just a small tag in the main text exists (see WP:LDR citation style). However, this option is relatively new - a few month old, so there are literally millions of article written before it was an option. I've converted some article to LDR style, and all new article I write are in LDR style, but I confess if I add a new reference to an existing article, I may not use the LDR style, as I think it is best to use one or the other rather than mix and match. In some cases, when I add a new ref, I'll convert the whole article, but there's so many articles and so few hours. I'd like to see more editors using this option, as it makes it far easier to navigate the article in editing mode.--SPhilbrickT 15:31, 25 February 2010 (UTC)
Hmm, interesting. I'd read through WP:LDR a few weeks ago looking for something else, but I never made the connection. Do you have a live example of this being used in an article?Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 17:18, 25 February 2010 (UTC)
Wait, the {{reflist|refs=...}} is exactly what I'm looking for. This is fantastic, thank you. – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 17:23, 25 February 2010 (UTC)
Sphilbrick: I do a similar thing, using the new format when creating an article. If an article I am editing is short-ish, I'll move the refs, but often they are too long to do that in a reasonable amount of time! Keraunoscopia: an example is my GA William Stanley (Victorian inventor). -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 20:26, 25 February 2010 (UTC)
Thanks for the example, PhantomSteve, that's a perfect example. I converted an article I'm working on into the WP:LDR format and it's completely cleaned up the article in edit mode, it's really wonderful. It's going to be a high volume article in a few months, so we'll see how well it holds up and if editors heed the notices. – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 02:01, 26 February 2010 (UTC)
Glad to see someone else posted an example, but if anyone else needs some convincing, I'll point to Reelin (before) and Reelin (after}. Click on edit for each one to see the difference. Here's the note I added after the conversion:
As a measure of improvement, the original article had 133.4K of material from the start to the beginning of the reflist section. Now it has 49.8K before the reflist section with exactly the same material, so it should be easier to navigate. All refs are now following the reflist, with a space separating each one. --SPhilbrickT 22:12, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

Saveloy's

Where can I buy "Saveloy Sausages" to cook and eat at home,I live in Hyde Cheshire.

Regards Derek. --Delvi100 (talk) 16:02, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

Hello. I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our roughly three million articles, and thought that we were directly affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is a help desk for asking questions related to using the encyclopedia. Thus, we have no inside track on the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the left hand side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. TNXMan 16:07, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

How can I put an external link automatically to an article on a website in "further reading" ? I tried to establish a link which was undone by another user. This couldn't be a question of content because the bibliographical reference I have given is reliable: an academic website (but in French). I am myself a film scholar and able to judge the quality of the text provided. The link which I have put was to the website not the article. Perhaps this was the problem. Draiocht50 (talk) 23:13, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

  • Copy addy from your broser and use the external link button at the top of the edit window and paste the addy between (([http:www.example.com link title] )) like this Mlpearc (talk) 23:24, 26 February 2010 (UTC)
Since this question is about a revert, it's helpful to point to the article, which I believe is Ciarán Hinds. The editor who reverted used this edit summary: "Two failing WP:ELNO removed." Click on this to see what it means, but gosh, it has a list of 20 possible reasons, so he should have specified which points. The list does not mention non-English references, though these are covered elsewhere on the same page. You should ask why it was removed at the article's talk page, or the deleting editor's talk page. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 07:39, 27 February 2010 (UTC)
P.S., if you can link directly to the article instead of the website's home page, that would be better. As for saying "I am myself a film scholar and able to judge the quality of the text provided", the assessment of reliability of sources at Wikipedia is a group effort by all editors who choose to be involved. We don't defer to semi-anonymous editors (as we all are) claiming to be experts. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 07:43, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

who can edit?

Who can edit wikipedia? Anyone, or what. I have edited other wikis but not here. But I get the feeling that new editors are not welcome. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Charles Rodriguez (talkcontribs) 17:45, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

Anyone, including people without an account can edit, and of course all editors were once new. Most people are very helpful when it comes to new editors, but they'll often forget to check who has been around for a while and who has not. Experienced editors are also often wary about new accounts and editors because they are often used to vandalize. Try affirming that you are new and looking to learn by typing "I'm new at editing" or "I'm still learning my way around" in your posts, and they'll be more understanding.
While you are learning your way around, you can always ask questions on WP:NCH or on the talk pages of articles. I recommend avoiding controversial articles, such as political topics, until you are more comfortable, because editors at these pages are often more frustrated due to all the vandalism and arguments surrounding the articles. (Of course, that's only a recommendation- you are welcome to start wherever you want, especially if you notice something wrong in the article.)
You'll find your edits are less likely to be questioned if you add references whenever you add content to an article- see Wikipedia's policy on verifiability. Good luck! liquidlucktalk 19:40, 27 February 2010 (UTC)
P.S. I moved your comment to here and off of its talk page- I hope you don't mind. This page is used to ask questions, while the talk page is used to discuss the page itself (as in how to improve, any problems, etc.) liquidlucktalk 19:47, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

Conflict of interest re: company Wikipedia page

I would like to create a Wikipedia page for my theater company, but I see that this may be a conflict of interest. Is there anything I can do to get permission to create this page? It is not intended to be promotional, just informative about the company and our history.

Thank you,

Taylor

TGonda (talk) 21:56, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

The issue of conflict of interest is important, and well done for asking. But the more fundamental question is whether or not the company is notable by Wikipedia's criteria: that is, has it been the subject of several non-trivial references in independent, reliable sources? If it hasn't, then the article will get deleted no matter how carefully it is written.
If you can point to sources that establish its notability, your best bet is to go to WP:RA and follow the instructions there. --ColinFine (talk) 23:42, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

Signature help?

  Resolved
 – BelovedFreak 00:32, 28 February 2010 (UTC) (at my talkpage)

'''[[User:Indigochild777|<span style='font-family:"Papyrus"; color:#151B8D'>Indigo</span>]]''' '''[[User talk:Indigochild777|<span style='font-family:"Papyrus"; color:#EAC117'>child</span>]]'''

This outputs Indigo child 23:37, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

Basically, how can get rid of the space between Indigo and child? I want to make it look like one word! Indigo child 23:37, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

Try eliminating the space visible between Indigo</span>]]''' '''[[User talk:Indigochild777 - after the first ''' and before the second one - if that makes sense! --BelovedFreak 23:45, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

intermediate accounting.

What are Divinded policies that a public company may adopt? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.201.217.232 (talk) 17:10, 28 February 2010 (UTC)

Hello. I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our roughly three million articles, and thought that we were directly affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is a help desk for asking questions related to using the encyclopedia. Thus, we have no inside track on the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the left hand side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck.--SPhilbrickT 17:22, 28 February 2010 (UTC)
SPhilbrick is correct that this is a place to get help with using Wikipedia. The RefDesk is a better bet, but before you try there, read our Dividend article which may be helpful. Do bear in mind that the volunteers here and at the RefDesk will not do your homework for you. Karenjc 18:34, 28 February 2010 (UTC)

Non-English alphabets and characters

Non-English alphabets and characters do not appear on my screen in Wikipedia articles. How can I remedy that?Ciscopack (talk) 21:48, 28 February 2010 (UTC)

That depends on your software installation - either operating system, web browser, or both. Most modern systems should display nearly all frequently used characters out of the box. What is your OS and what is your web browser? --Stephan Schulz (talk) 21:54, 28 February 2010 (UTC)