Wikipedia:New contributors' help page/Archive/May 2006

avoiding Office action and other big scary people

I was reading the Wikinews yesterday and learned about "office action". I had no idea it existed and it scared me because when I looked at the changes that were made, if I were around at the time I probably would have reverted those changes thinking they were vandalism blanking and then gotten in a bunch of trouble. Is there a policy or list somewhere that goes through all these special situations and lists the Users with "superpower", so I know not to accidentally interfere in the bizarrely unlikely chance that I am around when something like this happens? Sifaka 02:29, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

I wouldn't worry about it too much, while the debates may seem fairly heated, it is only really something that effects a very few people, and an extremely few articles. You can find more info on Wikipedia:Office actions, but the short answer is that the only user with "superpower" is Danny, User:Dannyisme, and if a page is protected under office action it will be technically protected also, meaning only administrators can change it. - cohesion 08:25, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

Vandalism Warnings

Why have I received several vandalism warnings when i have not once attempted to edit any Wikipedia page? I have been told I am blocked from editing for 24 hours. An explanation would be very much appreciated. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.93.21.100 (talk • contribs) 19:18, 1 May 2006

You are using AOL, so many people share the same IP address as you. Someone with the same IP address vandalized, and you got the warning. I strongly advise you to create an account. --J.L.W.S. The Special One 09:29, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

Creating an account will avoid the warnings from being given to you, however, until the blocking proposal is implemented, you will still be blocked from editing from blocked IP's at any time. If a registered user vandal has recently used that IP to edit your account will also be autoblocked. Ansell 10:33, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

How to delete a page

Hello and thank you for your answer.I put a new article and I want to delete it.How can I draw my article ?Thank you Zulka 16:08, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

If you are the only editor to the article, just put {{db-author)) somewhere on the page. If you're not the only author, see WP:AFD. — Estarriol ^talk 17:16, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

add an article about a company to wikipedia

Hi,

If i want to add my company profile to to wikipedia
how was it to be done--16:28, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

You would sit back and let nature take its course. If your company is notable then an editor will eventually write the article. You should not write the article on your own company, reasons explained here.--Commander Keane 17:24, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

Well, you'd add your company as an article. However, please see Wikipedia:Notability (companies and corporations), general parallel notes on Autobiographies at WP:AUTO and spam notes at WP:SPAM. Finally, please read WP:NOT for notes on what Wikipedia is not meant to contain (for one thing, Wikipedia is absolutely not a complete directory of company information). In practice, with the encyclopedia as it currently is, most notable companies will already have entries, and if you have to add your own, the odds are strong that it's not notable enough yet.

If after reading the above you still feel your company is notable enough to warrant its own article, by all means start the article (registered users only), but be warned that the population of editors tend to be quite stringent on notability for companies - currently there's a huge amount of corporate spam being thrown at Wikipedia, and we're having to fight it off in droves. — Estarriol ^talk 17:32, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

Actually, notability is just something that some users are into. It is not Wikipedia policy. It is probably best that you don't write the article, but as long as it is Neutral, Verifiable and well sourced, it should be fine. For great justice. 16:58, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

Sadly, by "some", he means "most everybody on AfD". -- Chris Ccool2ax contrib. 05:54, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Trainmaster page

Howdy: I did a new page which defines the term "trainmaster" as a railroad employee. Now I can't find it. William Brolaw 16:41, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

I think you mean this article Trainmaster (Railroad). You can find it again by looking at the top of your screen, to the right and click "my contributions". Here you can see all the pages you edited. Garion96 ^(talk) 17:09, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

"Brands of Cola" in "cola" article, how do you add a brand?

Hi, I have a question about the "cola" page (as in soft drinks). At the bottom of the page, there is a box entitled "Brands of Cola" If I wanted to add a brand of cola, where do I edit? When I open up the edit page for "cola", all it says is

where the "Brands of Cola" box is located. Is this an infobox? I cannot find a place where you can edit "Brands of Cola" I have searched on my own to no avail, so asking a question is my last resort. Is this some sort of hidden structure?

Thanks. --LexIcon 17:35, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

Answered on talk page--Commander Keane 17:46, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

can 1/4 mile times and speed be calculated by knowing about a vehicle?

 Well, Here goes... 1st timer.....

If you have a vehicle's weight, drive wheel size, rear end ratio, transmission gear ratio,rpm shift points , engine horse power can you project quarter mile speed and ETA? I realise there may be some drag strip driver error, but if driver is able to hit the start light perfectly... what would the elapsed 1/4 mile time be and speed of the vehicle?

Thanks in advance

Rick in Texas USA

Please try Wikipedia:Help Desk or Wikipedia:Reference desk. General Eisenhower 22:09, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

I need help

I am new and trying to leave a message/question on a users page for a user. How do I do that? I am really new to all this stuff. Please help me!!!!!

Brody0113

Every user has both a userpage and a talk page (indeed every article also has an associated talk page). If you know how to reach the user's userpage, which can be accessed anytime they sign by clicking on their name, go there, click "discussion" at the top of the page to go their talk page, click "edit this page", type an appropriate section header at the bottom of their page (like you did above: ==I need Help==), and type your message below that. Click save and that's it. If you know their name but it's not clickable, type into the search field at left User:their name, and then click Go (not Search). This will take you to their userpage. --Fuhghettaboutit 22:39, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks sooo much!!!! Brody0113 13:46, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

You are most welcome.--Fuhghettaboutit 15:26, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

Sv?

I recently saw this in an article. At the end it had "[[sv:(name of article)]]" What does this mean? - Prodigenous Zee 13:22, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

I made the text visible for you. What this is is an interlanguage link, a link to an article on the same topic on a different-language Wikipedia (in this case, Swedish). [[sv:title]], the default, puts the link into the "in other languages" box (left hand column, about a page down). An alternate form, [[:sv:title]], puts the link into the article itself, although it's rarely used. Read all about it at Wikipedia:Interlanguage links. — QuantumEleven 13:28, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

Oh, I see. Thanks!

You're welcome! — QuantumEleven 15:31, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

Redirecting song articles to albums =

Another question then, what's general rule on redirecting song articles to albums? For example going here will redirect to the album it comes from... - Prodigenous Zee 13:55, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

I added a title to make it easier to see the line between one question and the next. While I couldn't find an 'official' (insofar as such a thing even exists on Wikipedia! :)) position on this, I would say that if a song in itself is not notable enough for an article (we're not talking about Bohemian Rhapsody here, are we? :)), then a redirect to its album won't so much harm (just make sure there are no other topics worthy of an article with the same name as the song title in question). However, I don't think it's necessary to create a redirect page for every song in an album - just leave them as non-existant. A Wikipedia search (which most people use) for the song title will bring up the album page, as it will be listed in the article. — QuantumEleven 15:31, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

Acid Rain

Please show me how to conduct the experiment about acid rain?

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions, and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that's what this Help Desk is for). For your convenience, here's the link: Reference Desk (when you get there, just select the relevant section, and ask away). I hope this helps. — QuantumEleven 13:02, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

The Forbidden Thing

How do you do the sex?

Thanks! 70.171.59.231 19:03, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

The sexuality portal should provide you with all the info you need. If not, the best place to ask factual questions would be on the reference desk. - Akamad 21:17, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

How do I make a redirect?

I want to redirect certain searches to a page of a different name. How is this done?–Clpalmore 00:39, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

All you need to do is type a likely misspelling/idiosyncratic capitalization of the article name you want to redirect to into the search box at right, click Go (not Search), then click on "create this article" then type exactly: #REDIRECT [[correct name of article]]; click save, and whenever, thereafter, someone searches for that incorrect article name they will be redirected to the article. --Fuhghettaboutit 01:17, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Redirect for more information regarding this. Flcelloguy (A note?) 01:24, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

Thank you very much.–Clpalmore

edit apologies

I have recieved a warning fro an edit i made but had every intention of revertinh, i was tryinh to teach a friend about the edit function, My apologies—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 61.9.201.64 (talk • contribs) .

That's great. I am not the whole community but apology accepted. The show preview button, right next to the save page button, is very useful for showing how editing works without actually making the change. I have placed some useful links on your ip talk page.--Fuhghettaboutit 04:22, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

If you're looking for a place to experiment with editing Wikipedia, the place to do it is the Sandbox. There, you can play around to your heart's content! — QuantumEleven 06:46, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

It's me again

Can you get into trouble for advocating and encouraging vandalism, as long as you don't vandalise yourself? I think vandalism is hilarious. Just wondering.

Also, how do you do the sex? 70.171.59.231 05:46, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

I am strongly tempted not to even deign this with a response, but anyway - yes, you would. It doesn't help the community, and I find it strange that you would find vandalism hilarious. All the well-endowed men and friends of homosexuals get tiring very quickly - if you want to encourage vandalism, I would suggest that you go elsewhere to pursue your artistic goals.

As for your second question, see our excellent article on the subject. — QuantumEleven 06:54, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

You're right, vandalism is bad after all. i guess someone saw this and decided to retaliate by vandalizing my favorite page :-( however, I'm curious, what does any of this have to do with well endowed men and faggots? 70.171.59.231 07:20, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

"faggots" is not the right term when describing homosexuals. it is a very off-color term that is derogatory and hateful. Hating all of a group of people because of one nearly unchangeabe aspect of them is racist. In fact, many Wikipedia vandalizers I know are indeed not gay. Homosexuality is arguably similar to skin color, although skin can be bleached and sexual preference can be changed, it does not happen very often.

The previous contributor has made several unsubstantiated and false claims. One, hating all of a group of people because of an unchangable aspect is prejudiced, not racist. As for being "nearly unchangeable", "Scientists have not even come close to proving a genetic or biological cause for homosexuality, yet homosexual activists continue to say that sexual activity between members of the same sex is "just the same" as race or gender. Using "biology" as a stamp of legitimacy, activists have pushed for special rights, from sex-partner subsidies to "gay marriage" to adoption. Without scientific evidence to support such claims, it is wrong and dangerously misleading to say that people are born homosexual and cannot change.

Yvette C. Schneider, a former lesbian who is now married, is a policy analyst in the cultural studies department at Family Research Council." http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=IS00D2&v=PRINT

"The Family Research Council champions marriage and family as the foundation of civilization..." But the linked article above has many sources and great research. Whoever wrote the above is simply repeating arguements made by homosexual activists. Maybe one should research a topic before posting online? But that would be responsible. --SpydyrMan 12:27, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

Creating pages for Wikipedia Simple English

I'd like to start submitting pages to Wikipedia Simple English.

Is the policy to create all article from scratch, or to re-write exisiting English pages into Simple English? I'd be interested in doing either.

--X2qat 07:06, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

As you can see from Wikipedia:Simple English Wikipedia, you are welcome to re-write articles from the English wikipedia, or write articles from scratch. Either option is just fine. However, you will need to create a separate user account for that Wikipedia (for the moment - there's a project to have a unified Wikimedia login, if I recall correctly). The link to the Simple English page for this is here. I hope that helps, good luck and thanks for contributing! — Estarriol ^talk 13:37, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

hOW CAN I CONSTRUCT MY OWN FREE SUB-DOMAIN FROM WIKIPEDIA?

Im Godfrey Sosthenes Ndoshi,a Tanzanian male.I would like verty much to host my own free sub-domain from Wikipedia site! Can I get it? I wil very much appreciate if I may be considered for that as Im very eager to have it a being contributing alot to Wikipedia site through my site as a link. Hope to get a quick and positive response from you.
Your Godfrey Ndoshi Sosthenes
Arusha,Tanzania,East Africa.
(rest of address redacted for spam and privacy reasons) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ndoshi (talk • contribs) 09:28, May 4, 2006 (UTC).

Hi there Godfrey! I'm not sure what you are asking about - Wikipedia is not a free host provider, we are an encyclopedia. You can contribute by editing articles, but it is not a place where you can write whatever you want wherever you want it (we're not a blog, we're an encyclopedia). Please see Wikipedia:Introduction for more information on how Wikipedia works.

You have a "user page" at User:Ndoshi, where you can write briefly about yourself if you wish. However, please keep it within the context of your contributions to Wikipedia. Take a look at Wikipedia:User page for some guidelines on what you can (and shouldn't) put on your user page. Welcome to Wikipedia! If you have any other questions, this is the place to ask them :)

PS Oh, and please turn off your Caps Lock key - it makes it seem as though you're shouting. Which I'm sure is not what you intended... — QuantumEleven 08:57, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

Ha...you know what this reminds me of? One time my friend showed me an email, and I asked him to forward it, but he replaced the subject with something like "I AM NIGERIAN ROYALTY" or something. --M1ss1ontomars2k4 | T | C | @ 01:59, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Saving an article in progress

How and where do I save an article that I am working on, but which is not ready for publication?

The proper way to save an article in progress is a little controversial. The community hasn't agreed on any particular way. One option is to save the article in a personal sandbox, such as [[User:X2qat/Sandbox]]. Others might tell you to go ahead and save the unfinished article in the main (article) namespace under its actual title. If you do keep an unfinished article in the main namespace, you can put the {{underconstruction}} template at the top. I hope this helps! --TantalumTelluride^♪ 21:43, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

You could just save it as a text file on your PC... that's what I do, and it also prevents me losing my hard work if my internet connection goes down, or similar. — QuantumEleven 09:32, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

raphel oil paintings cherub

could you please tell me if in the victorin times were any of raphel were done with his sig on it a cherub with dark hair on his own in oil with r.s on the bottom thankyou jeannette

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions, and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that's what this Help Desk is for). For your convenience, here's the link: Reference Desk (when you get there, just select the relevant section, and ask away). I hope this helps. — QuantumEleven 11:18, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

How to join a team

Please i want to know the procedure of how to join any academy team especially players from Africa.

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions, and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that's what this Help Desk is for). For your convenience, here's the link: Reference Desk (when you get there, just select the relevant section, and ask away). I hope this helps. Lectonar 12:38, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

How "simple" is Simple?

I'm new to editing and I know this is a much debated question, but can anyone give me a simple, clear guideline?

When making or editing pages for Simple English Wikipedia, do I always need to stick to "simple" words? If I was writing or editing (for example) an article on DNA, would it be okay to use chemical names; in how much detail would I have to describe a "double helix" etc?

I'm presuming that anyone who is interested in learning about DNA is capable of handling complex terms.

Advice much appreciated.

X2qat 17:53, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

You will probably get much better answers to questions if you ask at the Simple English Wikipedia. Pages that might help you are How to write Simple English articles and Help:Examples of simpler English. -- Natalya 18:42, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

New page not appearing in search

Hello there,

I created a page a few weeks ago here:

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

It isn't appearing when I search for it though. Does anyone know why?

thanks

NMC 03:35, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

The search engine can take a long time to update, so new pages don't appear in search for a while. Just be patient and it'll appear eventually. Henrik 03:54, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

Cool, thanks Henrik NMC 13:31, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

ISBNs in References to Books

I'd like to include ISBNs in references to books in an article. Is this appropriate, and if so, how should I go about it?

For example, at the bottom of the article is a "Further Reading" section with biblographical references, but no ISBN. Should I just include this information at the end of the line?

Thanks!

Pjorg 04:43, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

Yep, that is entirely appropriate. Just write the ISBN in standard format, and the wiki will link it to a variety of sources where the book can be found (Example: ISBN 91-38-03892-7). Henrik 05:38, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

We even have a help page on this topic: Wikipedia:ISBN — QuantumEleven 08:58, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

Editing Buttons

To whom it may concern: > What and Where are embedded images? > What and Where is media? What is media file link? > What is wiki formatting? > What is redirect? > How come the editing buttons weren't there one night?

> Embedded images are image files that are placed into an article. Anyone can upload an image or other file with Special:Upload, but make sure it follows image use policy. > Media includes pictures and sound files, which are uploaded the same way. > See Help:Editing for detailed info on wiki syntax. > A redirect is a shortcut page that automatically sends the user to another page. > Check your preferences and make sure "Show edit toolbar (JavaScript)" is checked under the "Editing" tab. Happy editing! Alex (t) 21:10, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

Disabling in-article images?

Is there any way I can stop images inside Wikipedia articles from downloading and/or displaying? I don't care if the Sidebar shows up or not and would prefer not to use a command-line based browser. -- Chris Ccool2ax 02:58, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

As far as I know, there is no MediaWiki feature to allow this. However, if you use Mozilla Firefox, you can download extensions to accomplish this (the Web Developer toolbar provides this, along with many other features), and the Opera web browser has this ability built in (View|Images|No images). If I remember correctly, Internet Explorer 4.0 used to have this feature, but not anymore. Hope this helps, Tangotango 06:17, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

No, not really--IE6 still has this (for WinXP SP1 at least)--it's buried somewhere as nobody every uses it. Why, may I ask, do you? --M1ss1ontomars2k4 | T | C | @ 02:02, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Well, I'm a Mac user, so im stuck with the images. Why? Cause sometimes ill see a link to something I don't recognize (like autofellatio) and click it. And since Wikipedia isn't censored...-- Chris Ccool2ax contrib. 05:58, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

As you have a user account, you may try adding img { display: none; } to your monobook.css and clearing your cache. This (should) drop all images from the site. I don't know enough about Stylesheets to do much more, but you could possibly tweak this so that you only hide images within articles form the main (ns-0) namespace. Hope this helps! (it would require you to be logged into wikipedia all the time to work though). Charlie^{( t | e )} 04:36, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia Reader Count

Is is possible to receive a count of how many readers have visited a page on Wikipedia? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ckmac97 (talk • contribs) 05:56, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

Hello Ckmac97, unfortunately this is not possible. Wikipedia uses an extensive collection of Squid caches around the world, meaning that requests to load pages do not go to one single server. In addition, many people read Wikipedia articles from mirrors such as Answers.com. — Tangotango 06:12, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

I've added this to the FAQ, it's being asked very often... Don't know if it will help, but we'll see. — QuantumEleven 09:09, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

Alright. Well, I just created two new Wikipedia articles, EZ 135 Drive and Orb Drive, and I wanted to see if anyone has read them. I'm just curious to see how popular they are.

Does Wikipedia have any type of page ranking system? ckmac97

Well I think there is a list of articles that have the most links to them, and there are Featured Articles, or maybe you mean in another way? Highway ^{Rainbow Sneakers} 13:40, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

In theory this can be done, but the feature is turned off to save server load. For great justice. 23:37, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Non-professional articles

Hi Ive been reading an article about my hometown Subotica and I must say it's very much correct Ive seen that there is no article on any of the Towns quarters and I am interested in making one about Zorka, the industrial quarter, as I live there. Now this wouldnt be a "proffesional" article in a sense that I wouldnt be doing too much research or be making a long article. I was thinking of making a 'Zorka Today' or something like that. I would write about the things that I know as a resident around here and I would like to ask If its ok to make it? (offcourse anyone with better knowledge can edit it) thx H. Cinger. N. 11:54, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

That's fine! In fact, that's how the vast majority of articles here are written: by non-professionals and then improved by many other editors. Here's a page on how to how to write a great article that may help you. Happy editing! Henrik 18:26, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

Article

How do I contribute an article?

Hit the "edit this page" button. For more info, see Help:Editing for wiki syntax. 66.82.9.80 04:29, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Signature

Hi, I'm not really new, but I would like to fix a problem with my signature. The following text results in the green "e" leading to my Esperanza page, the "ddie" portion leading to my talk page, but the "Fr" portion being bolded and leading to nothing at all. Can anyone help?

[[User:Fredil Yupigo|Fr]][[User:Fredil Yupigo/Esperanza|<font color="green">e</font>]][[User Talk:Fredil Yupigo|ddie]]

It works for me. Did you test it on your user page? It doesn't work there. Fetofs ^Hello! 00:20, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Freddie 01:50, 8 May 2006 (UTC) Thanks. It works like a charm. Funny thing is, I tried it on my talk page, and the "ddie" section at the end didn't work! Wow!

It's a MediaWiki feature - a link to the page you're currently on will not work as a link, but show up in bold instead. So the best place to test your signature would be, for instance, the Wikipedia:Sandbox. Happy editing! — QuantumEleven 21:41, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Want to find out about my cuckoo cloc?

I have a cuckoo clock. Says on back Kuckucksuhr, 201/multi. Horloge a coucou. On the mechanism inside it says unjusted no jewel, Wberther, Triberg. I don't know what that means, but I love my clock and as of a couple of days ago, intead of cuckoo cuckooing it sounds like a flat drum???? Can you tell me what is wrong with my cuckoo clock? I would appreciate any in put. I can't afford to get it fixed at this time and it does keep great time. Thank you for any response. Mary Galindo —Preceding unsigned comment added by Galindo92 (talk • contribs)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions, and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that's what this Help Desk is for). For your convenience, here's the link: Reference Desk (when you get there, just select the relevant section, and ask away). I hope this helps. -- Natalya 01:02, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Really speedy deletion

I recently wrote a stub article, and then went on to start the discussion page for it, suggesting ways it might be improved. By the time I saved the discussion page, the article had already been removed. I don't think it actually met any of the criteria for speedy deletion, even after rereading the reason given in the deletion log. (Interestingly, although the article was deleted, the discussion page is still there.) I'm not sure what step to take next. Should I rewrite the article? Dispute the deletion? Something else? B7T 01:15, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

The best thing to do is to leave a polite note on the talk page of the person who deleted your article, where you explain why you think he may have made a mistake in deleting it. There are thousands of articles deleted every day, and sometimes mistakes are made. Happy editing! Henrik 07:59, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

This happens a lot, and is very annoying. People seem unable to leave a new article for more than (in some cases) a few seconds without deleting it. I would propose a rule that at least a day should be given to any material that is not obvious vandalism. For great justice. 23:39, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Vanity page

I want to add myself as a wikipedia page. Am I allowed to do this? What are the guidelines on who is "important" enough to be included? I want to respect the generally-accepted protocol as well as the rules since this is an amazing site that I consult often. Thanks!

65.27.250.173 03:38, 8 May 2006 (UTC)Rajiv

To B7T: Soory that your post was hijacked.

To the anyonomus user, please use the ask a question button to ask your question. And the answer is generally a no to vanity articles. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.82.9.80 (talk • contribs)

Generally speaking, you shouldn't create articles on yourself or your organization - if you are notable, someone else will create the article eventually. Wikipedia:Vanity guidelines has more info. Henrik 08:05, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

However, if you do register an account, you'll get a userpage where you are welcome to write a little bit about yourself. - Akamad 09:30, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

About Wikipedia

Excuse me do you know about the website that tell us about the information about Wikipedia website such as, the Web that is telling us about how many people search per each day and what articles Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.146.247.71 (talk • contribs)

Wikipedia:Statistics has lots of information related to that. Specifically, you can look at Wikipedia.org is more popular than... on meta for information on the Alexa traffic stats. Alexa also does a traffic analysis for Wikipedia. There is a lot of stuff to explore, depending on what you are looking for! Also check out Special:Statistics. And if you're daring enough, the table of stats for the whole site. -- Natalya 15:03, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

My article is not coming up in search

Thanks in advance for advice/assistance. I am very new to wikipedia. Per the request of my boss I wrote an article on our nonprofit association, similar to the one I searched on the NEA. I can see the article and the link works when I send it to others, but when I search for it I get nothing. Although it's a new page, do I need to link it to something? --Mreiter 16:18, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

The search is updated on a sporatically regular basis - you should probably be able to successful find your article through search in a week or two. -- Natalya 16:27, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks so much. I will check in a week. Is it possible to upload the organization's web site? --Mreiter 17:22, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

I meant logo, not web site! --Mreiter 17:23, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

As long as it follows Wikipedia's Image use policy. You can use Special:Upload to upload the image, and How to upload images will probably be helpful. -- Natalya 17:53, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

How do I begin to add a brand new entry? I plan to put my nonprofit organization info in stages. Where do I start?

Take a look at Wikipedia:Your first article. I should point out that writing about a company you work for is frowned upon - at Wikipedia, we operate a neutral point of view policy, and it may be difficult for you to be impartial when writing about your employer. Also, you may want to read over Wikipedia:Notability, the criteria for inclusion of an article on Wikipedia. Your boss may not be aware of this, but we are not a web directory, we are an encyclopedia, and we seek to cover content that's notable in some way. The usual argument goes, if an article doesn't exist about your company, if it's notable enough, someone else will create it.

Of course, that's just a guideline, and since I don't know which article you're specifically referring to I can't comment, but just wanted to point that out. — QuantumEleven 21:39, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Have neo-nazis added spurious links?

At the bottom of the Wikipedia entry for "Google Watch" is a link "The CIA got caught with a hand in the cookie jar" -- which is a posting from "Zundlesite" a neo-nazi rant which appears to have nothing at all to do with the topic of "Google Watch":

How common is this sort of thing? Copies of this have have propagated to other sites on the internet which mirror Wikipedia pages, for example, this one at Answers.com: [1] which probably won't be immediately updated even after the page at Wikipedia is fixed.

Is there a way to trace the vandal?, find out what other pages he or she has defaced?, and perhaps get him/her banned or blocked? -- Johnathanrgalt 19:14, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

I've removed the link. It was added on 17th of december last year by User:Zordrac who has been banned for being a sockpuppet since. Thanks for catching it - most vandalism is reverted within minutes, but some unfortunately slips through. You're right that the various Wikipedia mirror sites will take a while to update, but it will be removed from them eventually as well. Henrik 19:38, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Starting a user page

Can someone please tell me how to start a user page please? Vera, Chuck & Dave —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vera, Chuck & Dave (talk • contribs)

Wikipedia:User page has some general information on user pages. And it looks like you're already managed to create your page, so nice job! -- Natalya 00:24, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

Thank you. I was very kindly helped by ForestH2. Vera, Chuck & Dave 17:13, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

Harmfull things

I am new to Wikipedia, and I wish to add content on it such as spyware programs and how to remove them. If I am rating spyware programs, and saying how effecient they are or if I am simply saying if they are harmful, would that break the terms? I want to put down Spyware Nuker which is a Rogue Anti-spyware program that automatically downloads itself and has to be removed forcibally. Would I be taking sides if I say it is mallicious? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Yesiammanu (talk • contribs)

Welcome! Reviews of products are generally not recommended, but if a program is demonstrably malicious then there is nothing wrong with stating so. Check out What Wikipedia is not for more info. Happy editing! Gyre 03:54, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

If you can find an external reference that says that Spyware Nuker (or any other such program) doesn't remove spyware and causes more problems than it solves, feel free to add that to the article and cite the reference. If it's just based on your own research, then Wikipedia is not the place for original research. Hope this helps! --Elkman - ^(talk) 13:23, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

Legend of the Sea Hag of New Haven

The Legend of the Sea Hag of New Haven is Supernatural Folklore with a nautical background.

Sea Hag Folklore

The Legend of the Sea Hag of New Haven is said to be rooted in events taking place in the late 1700's in New Haven, Connecticut, a well-known port city on the East Coast of the United States. The story is unique in that it is employs a combination of folklores to describe the character of the New Haven Sea Hag. Sea hags, or sahagin, are mythical creatures, similar to sirens, which lure sailors to their doom. However, this particular legend depicts the New Haven Sea Hag as a ghostly character, being the spirit or lost soul of a previous human life that now wanders the waters off of New Haven Harbor in a manner similar to a traditional sea hag.

History

Robert Henway was an infamous swindler who roamed from port to port, looking for various opportunities for financial gain through lying and cheating. It was said he couldn't stay in one place for more than a month without having someone threaten his life. In New Haven, Robert had lied his way into free room and board, and had a hobby of using his swindled funds to brew his own beer (which of whatever wasn't drank by himself was sold off to pubs and eateries as rare brews from the Orient). He had managed to build such an awful reputation around the city of New Haven as a swindler, a common pest and a charlatan. Eventually, he found it in his best interest to leave as soon as possible. His wife Molly, still blinded by her love for Robert, begged him not to leave, but having little choice (or compassion for Molly), lied his way onto a vessel destined for the trade route of the Indian Ocean. Robert was steadfast with Molly, insisting she stay behind, saying, "The sea is noplace for a fair lady. You'll grow salty and haggard in a fortnight. I'll come back to fetch you in a year...I'll not be wed with a sea hag!" Unbeknownst to Robert, Molly was able to stow away on the vessel, having bribed her way on with 3 barrels of Robert's own ale.

The voyage was apparently fateful for Molly, as she did not make it to India. It was hard to determine exactly what had happened, since only a few of the crew had actually even known she was on the ship, compounded by the fact that there was no body. Molly had simply vanished.

This is where many believe the Legend of the New Haven Sea Hag began.

Sailing ships coming in and out of New Haven have reported sightings of a young, beautiful woman sitting on rocks, or even flailing in the waters. Several radio reports have been filed with local maritime authorities reporting the sightings, radioing for help, only to find that the woman disappears soon after being spotted. Other reports describe the woman as "elderly and sickly".

More elaborate stories have been reported which claim that the Sea Hag haunts the well-known Lighthouse in New Haven, with some hearing her voice calling for her husband. The current New Haven Lighthouse is actually a replacement of the original Lighthouse, built in 1805. In 1986, a young couple set off on a small sailboat from West Haven, heading toward New Haven Harbor. The couple had apparently snapped photos of the Sea Hag in the water using an instant Polaroid camera, and showed them to several close friends upon returning. Unfortunately, the photos no longer exist, having been burned in a house fire one week after the sighting. Both were killed in the blaze.

What became of "Sir" Robert Henway?

After having become a rather skilled brewmaster in New Haven, and amassing a rather impressive collection of documents, stolen recipes and assorted forged paperwork, the self-knighted Robert sought refuge with fellow British swindlers and made quite a living off of his ales. Of course, it was said that Henway acquired much of his equipment and working space through persuasion and empty promises of revenue sharing. Some say that Henway's eventual demise was at the hands of "angry investors," though much of his life in British India is largely undocumented. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bakuhatsu (talk • contribs)

It looks like you have written an article, in which case you will want to start a new page. -- Natalya 20:24, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

Vandalism

How am I supposed to deal with vandals who mess with the articles I so love and enjoy. For example I was very insulted when several people made gross changes to the article on gay terminology. There is nothing wrong with bearbacking! I was also insulted by the change in the word basket. There is nothing wrong with a man getting a small bump in his pants, therefore there needs to be an appropriate word for it.

-A disgruntled Newcummer —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lilman55 (talk • contribs)

For vandalism, you can revert it (even if you have to do it over and over again). If you are getting into conflicts with users over point-of-view disagreements, it is important to discuss rather then get into a edit war. -- Natalya 20:34, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

Some of the anti-vandal tools, and other like minded individuals can be found at wp:vandal. That you are concerned at all is [a good statement about you]. I know it's disheartening, but don't give up, you can put in more edits. -- ∞Dbroadwell 21:13, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

how???

how do you put up a page about your self? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Marco king1 (talk • contribs)

Unless you are Notable, you should not create an actual Wikipedia article about yourself. Even for notable people it is recommended that they do not write their own article, as they are not likely to use a Neutral Point of View. However, you can create a User Page, which would be located at User:Marco king1. -- Natalya 18:35, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

If you just want to create a regular webpage or blog, you might be interested in a free web hosting service, such as Geocities, Angelfire, MySpace, or Blogger. --TantalumTelluride^♪ 18:44, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

Question about prolonged ketosis

Hi!

I needed help answering questions for my research and i couldn't find it anywhere. My question is, What conditions result from prolonged ketosis?

Please reply ASAP. tnxs.

Have you tried Wikipedia's article about ketosis? If you don't find what you're looking for there, try asking your question at Wikipedia's science reference desk. Thanks. --TantalumTelluride^♪ 03:55, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

N Town

N Town aka Norlington School For Boys!

more soon come...!

Wikipedia doesn't have an article on Norlington School for Boys yet, but it is on one of our to-do lists. When you get ready, you can create the article yourself simply by clicking on the red link above or by typing the name into the search bar and clicking "Go." You might find some useful information at Wikipedia:Your first article and WikiProject Schools. Good luck! --TantalumTelluride^♪ 13:58, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

Yoselin Taveras

I live in New York City. And I'm going to la Guardia Community College and i will have in this semester 45 credits in Gerontology Human Services. I'm moving to Boston on august and i would like to know if you teach Gerontology or Child Development.

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a college, so you'll want to redirect that question to a relevant college in Boston. Thanks! Henrik 17:32, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

creating

How do I create a page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Interestingjim (talk • contribs)

Help:Starting a new page and Wikipedia:Your first article should provide you with all the information you need. -- Natalya 23:20, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

churches in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Hello:

Are there any churches in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada? If so, what are the names of them?

Kathleen email address removed —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.255.42.121 (talk • contribs)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions, and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that's what this Help Desk is for). For your convenience, here's the link: Reference Desk (when you get there, just select the relevant section, and ask away). I hope this helps. -- Natalya 02:12, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

Watchlist

Strange pages keep getting added to my watchlist. They are all nonexistent and all parodies of pages I have currently on my watchlist. For example, under Ebola, there was a watchlist item called (I did not add this!) "Ebola doing it doggy-style!". Also, under "Main Page", there was an item called "Main Page/Bad". What is going on? Is it a bug in the system or do I need to change my password? Freddie 00:21, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

There is no problem with the system or your account. What is happening is that when a page is moved, the old and new locations get added to your watchlist. So a vandal moved "Ebola" to "Ebola doing it doggy-style!", then someone fixed up the move but both pages will remain on your watchlist.--Commander Keane 00:37, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

Phew, that's a relief! By the way, I've removed the image and all traces of it except at the MapleStory article. Thanks! I didn't realize what I was doing.

Wait a secomd! You can't move the Main Page!! Freddie 02:37, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

For fear of beans I am hesitant the reveal this little mystery, but email me if you want to know.--Commander Keane 03:59, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

New Article

where do i make a new article —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cmodrummer13 (talk • contribs)

Hi Cmodrummer13. Instructions on starting an article is explained on Starting a new page. You might also look at Your first article and How to write a great article. --Fuhghettaboutit 02:07, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

My copy edit has been reverted

Hi. I made a minor correction of an incorrect word usage in an article I was reading. Then, I got a message that my test had been reverted and that I should conduct further tests in the sandbox. But my edit wasn't a test; it was legitimate copy editing correction. How can I prevent this from happening again? Should I explain the change in the summary blank? Should I explain my change in the talk page of the user who reverted the page? Thanks! --JamesAM 02:28, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

Definitely use an edit summary (ie the summary blank), it will help other editors understand your edit and help stop reversion. In this case I would discuss the change with the person who reverted your edits, on their talk page.--Commander Keane 02:35, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

EEZ

Hello Sir's, My name is Kumar & want to the how the countries having same territorial waters(or)continental shelf(or)exclusive economic zone will be resolved.Is there any international law which takes care of it & if so what is the rule.Please inform me about this issue as soon as possible so that it will be value addition to me.my mail ID is [email removed to protect privacy] Thanking You, Kumar.

Hello Kumar, Have you tried the Humanities section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there. For your convenience, here's the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. Cheers, Tangotango 11:46, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

create a new page

create a new page?

Go to Help:Creating a new article and follow the instructions there. You might also find some useful information at Wikipedia:Your first article, Wikipedia:How to write a great article, and Wikipedia:How to edit a page. I hope this helps! --TantalumTelluride^♪ 17:53, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

adding lesson

hi, can you edit pages to include lessons, ex: how to conduct, or how to play this instrument? --Michael Miceli 18:10, 12 May 2006 (UTC)Michael_Miceli

It might be appropriate for some articles to have brief "how-to" sections, but generally Wikipedia is not an instruction manual. If you're interested in creating a full-length how-to guide, you should consider putting it on Wikipedia's sister project, Wikibooks. I hope this helps! --TantalumTelluride^♪ 18:15, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

My uploaded pictures will be deleted in a week!

I uploaded pictures of Aiden Mcgeady, David Marshall and Stephen McManus, because I noticed there where virtually no pictures on Celtic FC players, but at the bottom of the pic says it will be deleted in a week? What do i do? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fresh start (talk • contribs)

If you can provide the website where you got them from we can probably assist you. More than likely they are copyrighted and probably should not be used on Wikipedia anyway. Sorry. --Pilot|guy 03:49, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

You can find more information at Wikipedia:Images and Wikipedia:Uploading images. Wikipedia:Image copyright tags has a list of all image copyright tags.--Shanel ^§ 03:54, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

But surely most images here are off the Web?? And the website i'm getting the majority of pictures from says:

"All design, text, graphics, footage and the selection or arrangement thereof are the copyright of us or our respective licensees"

So these pictures ARE ineligible, or not? fresh start

With that language, the pictures are definitely copyrighted and thus improper. A copyright is basically a declaration of ownership of the thing copyrighted. They say they're theirs, so they are not free to be taken and used.--Fuhghettaboutit 04:13, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

WP pics are NOT "off the web" except off a tiny number of web sites that say their pics are Public Domain (ie free for anyone to use or modify in any way). I would guess that a large proportion of WP's pics are taken by the uploader with their own camera and released to WP under Public Domain or under the GFDL licence (don't ask me to explain what GFDL is) So I'm afraid your pics will be deleted off WP. The only really safe way to upload pics is to take them yourself. Good luck with your work here - Adrian Pingstone 17:17, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

• I have had success writing to a non-commercial website owner and getting his agreement to license one of his photos under one of the Creative Commons licenses, and I know others have similarly had success. This is unlikely to happen with commercial websites of any form, if at least because nobody there ever seems to feel they have the authority to do so. I'd recommend trying to take your own photos, or even requesting a photo directly from the subjects that they are willing to license in this way! Yes, that's hard work, yes, that's bold. Be bold!  :-) — Estarriol ^talk 17:56, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Doctor Who

Could you help me?

Is there a place that I could purchase the entire Doctor Who series, all ten doctors?

Thank you, David Gay Waukesha, WI, USA.

Have you tried Amazon.com, or else eBay? — QuantumEleven 09:58, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia Logo Image

I was wondering, could I use the Wikipedia logo in my welcome template (not yet complete)? If so, what is the image called? Freddie 00:01, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

I think you can use it... Fetofs ^Hello! 00:19, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

I don't think you can use it. It's not a free image, it is copyrighted and you do not have permission from the owners to use it. Also, using the image would fill up it's File links section with unnecessary link which makes maintenance more difficult. Muddying the File links is unavoidable if you use any image in the welcome template, so it would better if no image was present at all.--Commander Keane 00:25, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

I understand the copyright. However, Image:Crystal licq.png is used for Esperanza, and look at the File Links on that image! I do realize, though, that that image is not copyrighted. Signed, Freddie 14:31, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

Costriani

Hello.

I have created a new language, principally based on Romance languages, but it is different. Is there any chance that I will be able to start up wikipedia in this language?

Gria! - Thank you! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.173.248.80 (talk • contribs) 09:33, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

If it is a language you have invented, the answer is most likely no. There has been debate at the Wikipedia:Mailing lists of the validity of certain dialects (that do actually exist), so the possibility of a Wikipedia in a just-invented language is extremely slim. I'd suggest you start up your own Wiki, if you're willing to do it. -- Tangotango 09:45, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

I am extremely inept at construction of Wikis and was wondering how to create one. What I do etc..

Thank you. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.173.248.80 (talk • contribs) 09:52, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

Are you asking about how to write articles on Wikipedia? If so, the Tutorial should be what you need. If you are trying to set up your own wiki, the best place to ask this would be the Reference desk, that's where all the polymaths who can answer anything hang out. Note that setting up your own wiki is far from trivial (even with pre-written software), a decent amount of computer knowledge may be required. — QuantumEleven 09:56, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia Netiquette.

Hi!

I'm new to Wikipedia, read it for ages and thought it would be a good idea to sign up, and perhaps some knowledge that I have.

I have already added minor things to a few articles, however, I was wondering if there were any etiquette rules surrounding this, i.e, I don't really want to tread on anyone's toes or p*ss people off on this site.

Thanks

See Wikipedia:Etiquette. Fetofs ^Hello! 14:22, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

Also, you will make somebody mad. No mattter how hard you try, becuase you'll come to the point when you are in an edit conflict with someone who has the exact opposite opinion that you do. Also, Wikipedia is not censored, so you can say piss, but understand that etiquette implies that you refrain from swearing unless necessary. -- Chris Ccool2ax contrib. 13:20, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

You are encouraged to be bold, and change stuff that you think needs changing, although people may ask you to justify your changes if they disagree with them. If you want to edit a page which is likely to be controversial, then it is a good idea to look at the talk page first - sometimes precise wording has been agreed, or there has been discussion about information to include or exclude. Pages which are controversial are often on political and religious topics - abortion, George Bush, Scientology.

If you are new, people should be extra careful not to bite you, and you have a right to expect courteous treatment from others just as you are expected to be polite to them. --Squiddy | (squirt ink?) 14:48, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Yes, You are going to make somebody mad sooner or later. Just try to stay as neutral as possible. Felixboy 16:44, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

And even if you do stay neutral, there will always be those few who will either be mad at you by mistake or will perceive anti-vandalism as mean. --M1ss1ontomars2k4 | T | C | @ 02:04, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

covenant in halo3

Can we still play covenant in halo 3 and does the covenant are improve like Master chief was. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 150.199.116.49 (talk • contribs)

You might find what you are looking for in the article about Halo 3. If you cannot find the answer there, click here to post your question at that article's talk page. If that doesn't solve your problem, you can try asking your question at Wikipedia's Reference Desk. They'll be glad to answer questions about anything in the universe (except about how to use Wikipedia, which is what this help desk is for). I hope this helps. -- Natalya 10:59, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Where are instructions for editing my new user page?

I've just started out here, and would like to format my user page to be friendly, informative, and easy to maintain.
Where can I find instructions for adding Contents, e.g. listing my translations, editing, etc.?
I'd especially like to use those icon-embellished bars [user templates??] that appear on the page's right margin to indicate location, interests, affiliations, and so on. Is there a library of these?
(All I've figured out so far is the Wikipedia:Babel languages listing.) Thanks! Deborahjay 21:01, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Don't go there. Honest. Just add whatever you think is useful for your userpage. Just use plain text, don't fall into the pretty colors trap! :-) That way your page will be both easily maintainable and friendly and informative. Kim Bruning 22:24, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Kim, thanks for responding. I do, however, prefer using a schematic format, particularly if this involves links and navigation to affiliation groups within the Wikipedia community. So I'm still looking for advice on how to do this; meanwhile I'll just cobble something together. Deborahjay 23:03, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

It's actually much more important to write an encyclopedia than to have lots of errr, what have you. Your user page is to help you do that. :-) Kim Bruning 23:48, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

s'all right -- I found what I wanted (userboxes).

And Kim, since you've expressed your opinion in such definitive terms, may I share my own (alternative) view of what's important: as a professional archivist and infominer I have a great deal of respect and quite a lot to offer in the realm of encyclopaedics -- while as an expat American living in a rather remote corner of a primarily non-English speaking country, I thrive on interpersonal communications and international community, greatly appreciate the possibilities therein, and thus seek to facilitate this via electronic linkage. So please give that some consideration! :-D Deborahjay 00:28, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Many people have (it appears unsuccessfully) been trying to eliminate userboxes. Wikipedia is not a community site, though it does have a community. While I do sympathize (I like to travel, so I'm in similar situations very often), it's not the purpose of wikipedia to facilitate your personal needs wrt electronic communication. The purpose, of course, is to provide an encyclopedia. :-) Please do stay and help out with that! Kim Bruning 09:53, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Kim, my "need" to identify and contact knowledgeable Wikipedians and those who share interests in the topics I edit was the motivation for my queries on designing a "friendly" user page and indicating some of my qualifications there. You're welcome to take a look at it; I'd like to think it's appropriate. (And with all due respect, and appreciation for your sympathy, I'd suggest there may not be much similar between your "liking to travel" and my living expat in a foreign culture for over 22 years. :-) Deborahjay 00:29, 20 May 2006 (UTC) Deborahjay

Whilst I agree with Kim in general principle, and shudder at some of the users I see who seem to think that this is another Myspace, I don't think there's any harm in a contributing user having an attractive userpage. A sense of community is important, even if we are here to write an encyclopedia. More people will stay around to contribute long term if the community spirit — and, dare I say it — the sense of fun, are strong. Just this drone's opinion and not looking to get into a debate really  :-) , just wanted to show Deborahjay that there's no consensus on this. Deborahjay, you probably want Wikipedia:Userpage and Wikipedia:Userboxes — EsEstarriol ^talk 17:50, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Many thanks, Estarriol, for your kind and helpful response. You Esperanzans serve as a wonderful resource and model, and I'm truly grateful! Please feel free to visit my User page and advise  :-) Deborahjay 00:29, 20 May 2006 (UTC) Deborahjay

You're welcome, comments about your user page on your talk page. :-) — Estarriol ^talk 12:28, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

Uploading images

How do you upload pictures, photos or images onto Wikipedia?

You use Special:Upload, which is linked as "Upload file" in the toolbox section on the left of every page under the search box. See Wikipedia:Uploading images for details and a tutorial. --GraemeL ^(talk) 02:06, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Does a band's infobox need to have a past members section?

I'm mainly referring to the newly added "past members" section in the infobox's of Iron Maiden's article as well as Black Sabbath's. Zee 03:13, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

A past-members section certainly isn't required for every infobox, but they can be helpful in most cases. You might want to talk to Padgett22. He's the editor who added the past-members sections to both of those infoboxes. --TantalumTelluride^♪ 04:21, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

School Headlines & issues

Is it ok for me that to type in recent issues,incidents, & headlines about a school?

Generally, only notable events should be added to Wikipedia articles, since Wikipedia is not a free web hosting service. If the "recent issues" at your school are making national headlines, or if they're a notable part of the local culture, then they might be appropriate for Wikipedia, but ordinary non-notable local events aren't encyclopedic. If you have trouble deciding what is appropriate for Wikipedia, you might want to seek advice at WikiProject Schools. I hope this helps. --TantalumTelluride 00:20, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Mostly, recent events about a school aren't what you might find in an encyclopedia, so you wouldn't find it here either. --M1ss1ontomars2k4 | T | C | @ 02:03, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Signature Help II

Now I'm trying to format my sig like this:

~~ '''[[User:Fredil Yupigo|Fr]][[User:Fredil Yupigo/Esperanza|<font color="green">e</font>]][[User Talk:Fredil Yupigo|<font color="#009ACD">dd</font>]][[Special:Emailuser/Fredil_Yupigo|<font color="#6A5ACD">ie</font>]]'''[[User:Fredil Yupigo/CAUBXD|<sup style="font color=red">Against Userbox Deletion?</sup>]]

and it is not working. It keeps on saying "Invalid Raw Signature. Check HTML Tags.

Oh, yeah. It keeps replacing HTML Tags with the lt and gt things.

Try:

'''[[User:Fredil Yupigo|Fr]][[User:Fredil Yupigo/Esperanza|<font color="green">e</font>]][[User Talk:Fredil Yupigo|<font color="#009ACD">dd</font>]][[Special:Emailuser/Fredil_Yupigo|<font color="#6A5ACD">ie</font>]]'''[[User:Fredil Yupigo/CAUBXD|^{<font color="red">Against Userbox Deletion?</font>}]]

Fetofs ^Hello! 23:17, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

what is meant by pitch loss?

Now I have a question. I mostly understand how to format my sig. But how do I make it the default for when I sign? Xiong Chiamiov 23:14, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Insert the text given by Fetofs into the "nickname" box in your preferences (click on "my preferences" at the top of the page), and check the "raw signature" checkbox. Then, whenever you type ~~~~, your new and shiny signature will be displayed. To test it out, use the Sandbox. — QuantumEleven 11:50, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Not my text, that is another user's signature! You would want to make your own, which you seem to have done already... Fetofs ^Hello! 12:41, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Complete rewrites - etiquette?

Long time user, first time caller.....

What's the etiquette for completely rewriting an article from scratch? There's a medium-sized article that I want to correct, but the only way it can be done is pretty much by restarting from the ground up. It;s had a few minor edits (about 20) since it has been up--Captain Idiot 08:14, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Be bold!--Lkjhgfdsa 20:08, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

I agree with Lkjhgfdsq (wrong keyboard ;-)), be bold and rewrite it! It may be helpful to put {{underconstruction}} at the top of the article before you start to work, so others who come across it know that you're working on it. — QuantumEleven 11:46, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

• I'd just like to echo - be bold!. Without bold editors rewriting articles from scratch, many fine articles in this encyclopedia would be of much lower quality. You may wish to consider integrating any parts of the existing article that are good and useable - that, if you wanted to include one, would be a nod to the work of the previous editors. There's no need to do so though, all contributors are warned that their work may be overwritten at any time. Be bold! — Estarriol ^talk 14:36, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

cite a reference from living person

I changed the speakeasy page. My dad was alive during prohibition. He told me that a speakeasy was a higher class establishment, a blind pig was a low class dive. Should I have said, "My dad told me...", "... as told to me by my dad.", "In interviews with someone who lived then I was told ...", or should I just not cite a reference? 13:44, 19 May 2006 (UTC)13:44, 19 May 2006 (UTC)13:44, 19 May 2006 (UTC)13:44, 19 May 2006 (UTC)13:44, 19 May 2006 (UTC)13:44, 19 May 2006 (UTC)~

• Definitely a tricky area. Unfortunately, such a reference would not actually be verifiable by a reader, which is the criterion for inclusion. If you wanted to use your dad as the reference, you'd need to either get him to act as an expert/eyewitness and write an article and have it published (on a relevant reputable website or print), or conduct an interview with him and have that published on a relevant reputable site. You could then reference that article/interview. In practice, I appreciate this is unlikely to happen - I'd recommend searching the web for another reference that could back this up. — Estarriol ^talk 14:34, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Link in other language

Hi, How can i create a link from an english wikipedia article to another language (hebrew) wikipedia article? thanks--Gregorykay 19:31, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Add [[he:articlename]] at the end of the page if you want one of the interwiki links appearing in the sidebar, or [[:he:article|article]] if you want to use the link in the text. -Obli (Talk)^? 20:16, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Question about this (from a new contributor): From my observations, am I correct in understanding that the [[FL:articlename]] sidebar link (where FL=code of a particular language) is used to refer to an article on the same topic in the other language, otherwise (i.e. to a related but not identical topic) an internal link would be more appropriate? I'd like some advice about these! (One of my focal areas, violist, involves articles appearing in multiple languages, some of which I'm translating to create equivalent entries in English.) Thanks, Deborahjay 23:55, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Yes that is exactly correct. In fact, if you come across an article here that does not have a link to its equivalent article in another language, it would be helpful to add it. A list of all languages and their codes can be accessed at m:List of Wikipedias. See also Wikipedia:Interlanguage links. If you come across an article in another language that is a featured article, it is also helpful to add to the English article {{Link FA|two letter language designator}}. This adds a star next to the language link on the sidebar so editors can see that it is featured and may have lots of useful information (a project exists to identify FAs in other languages, WikiProject Echo). I would avoid making the link to a related but not identical topic. This would discourage people from looking for the exact equivalent, as it would appear to already exist. As for internal links, some editors link to the language equivalent article by piping the link (example: [[:de:Ķãśóź|english word]]. The problem with that is that unless someone clicks on that link, they may think the article exists in this Wikipedia. If it's red-linked it flags that no article exists here. You might also find Wikipedia:Translation into English a useful page for your translation efforts.--Fuhghettaboutit 00:23, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

What you describe re: Wikipedia:Interlanguage links seems a bit advanced for me, but I'll work through this as I continue editing articles across languages. Learning and consistently using Wikipedia syntax for crossreferencing (linking, etc.) is an important priority for me. Thanks for bringing these to my attention -- and may I add, dear Fuhghettaboutit, I positively swooned at reading the expression, "exactly correct" :-D May I quote this to my boss?! Deborahjay 01:03, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Please do so with painstaking exactitude.--Fuhghettaboutit 01:12, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Recently renamed a page, won't show up in Wikipedia search engine

Hi all,

Bear with me, this is a little confusing! I recently renamed the page Kelvin material to Kelvin-Voigt material using the move function. I also edited the redirection page for Kelvin material that was created as a result of the move (b/c Kelvin material is a distinct topic from Kelvin-Voigt material). So basically now there are two pages: one for Kelvin material and another for Kelvin-Voigt material. However, the search function doesn't work well with the Kelvin-Voigt material page. For instance, you can't find it by entering "Voigt material", "Kelvin-Voigt model", or "Voigt model", even though these terms are explicitly listed in the page. The only way you can access the page is directly by entering "Kelvin-Voigt material" exactly, and even then 'K' and 'V' have to be capitalized (so "kelvin-voigt material" doesn't work). Am I doing something wrong here?

Thanks!

Foscoe 04:14, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

The search function is only updated periodically, so you should probably be able to find it through search in a couple weeks. As you discovered, though, you are able to access it with the "Go" function, providing you have typed the exact article title. "Go" takes you to the article with that exact name, while "Search" searches for the keywords. -- Natalya 14:40, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Public (state) TV images can be considered as public domain ?

Italian State TV RAI - Radio Televisione Italiana - live broadcast the swore cerimonia of Swiss Guard May 6, 2006 because of 500 years of corps service. Some shots are useful for related Wikipedia article, but there is a problem: are these images public domain ?

Giancarlo Gotta <removed spamable personal information> — Estarriol ^talk 14:30, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• Probably not, but they are probably fair use. If you specify the article I'll take a look at the copyright status of the images for you. — Estarriol ^talk 14:30, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Article size

How do you check the size of an article? I can only do it for those over 32kb. Skinnyweed 01:18, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

If you search for the article (Not "Go", but "Search"), the results will tell you how big it is. See Wikipedia:Article_size#Technical_issues for more information. -- Natalya 16:48, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

how do you....

create userboxes?Babii Amanda 22:23, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Take a look at WP:Userboxes#Designing_a_userbox. -- Natalya 23:15, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Lyrics

Can I post the lyrics of a song as an article?

I searched for the lyrics of a song here and couldn't find it. So can I post it? Or would that be a Wiki faux pas?

Well it's more than a faux pas, it's illegal. Since we don't own the copyright to the lyrics, we can't post them. Incidentally, all the lyrics sites you see around the place are breaking the law.--Commander Keane 05:47, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Invisible image

Hi, I can't see the Kepler equation derivation image. Can not see it neither in the Keplerian problem article, nor on the image page. Both places dispay a black rectangle. Anyone can tell me, if this is the Wiki problem, or my browser's fault — and how can I solve it? (I use MSIE 6.0 on Win XP Pro SP2). --CiaPan 17:21, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

It works fine for me (Firefox, Win2k) Jason 21:13, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

I don't see anything unusual about that image. Are all other images displaying correctly? What about other .png files (like Image:Great Seal of the US.png, for instance)? --TantalumTelluride 23:26, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

MSIE is the problem. I think it's something to do with a bug in MSIE that stops it working with transparent layers or something. I think MSIE 7.0 might have fixed the problem, so you will have to wait until then, or try another browser (eg Mozilla Firefox or Opera will both work). By the way, the image is just a labelled sphere. --Commander Keane 00:30, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Yep, I just tried it in IE 6.0 and I saw nothing but a big black square. If you need to see the image, I guess you'll have to update your browser (or download another one). The image is very similar to the one here, except for the colors. --TantalumTelluride 02:42, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for your replies.

TaTe: yes, this is the only .png image so far, which makes this problem. The Great Seal displays correctly.

Cmdr. Keane: yes, I found it must be MSIE. I downloaded the image directly from URL (now it is this URL) to my HDD, and it shows the same black box in IE. However is displays correctly in the IrfanView 3.92 and even in the Paint. So it must definitely be something in IE.

Possible cure: I saved the image back from IrfanView—and it become twice shorter: 3649 bytes vs. original 8731. The new, shorter version displays correctly in IE, so I upload it into Wiki. Hope it won't appear wrong in other browsers. There is a side effect: the blue colour slightly changed, from 186 to 128 (hex RGB: "#0000BA" to "#000080"). I think we can live with it. --CiaPan 06:13, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

It's me again, now with a meta-question:

as the problem seems solved, is it okay to move this section to the image's discussion page?

--CiaPan 19:07, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

page not being found via Search button

How long does it take for a newly created Wikipedia page to get indexed, so that it can be found via the Search button on the main Wikipeda page? I created a page on brochosomes about a month ago, yet it can only be found via the Go button, while the Search reports no such page existing and suggests to create one.

Thank you!

The "Search" button can take a long time to update (at least a few weeks, it is done manually by a developer). However the "Go" button works right away, as long as you use the correct spelling. Also, google or yahoo may have already indexed the article - try a google search of just WP here. --Commander Keane 00:30, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

ski wax

I am the inventor of the 34-year-old line of ski and snowboard waxes. I would sure like to see the definition updated. Example, I invented and hold the patents and trademark for the all temperature ski and snowboard wax. I invented the first fluorocarbon wax. I also invented the first spring wax and last I hold the patents and trademarks for the Hot Waxer. I sold over 55,000 in the world so far. My next release is in 2007.

The science of ski wax is so misunderstood. I proved that we actually ski on a fine layer of water. I proved that in the spring the brown stuff on the snow are pollens...not tractor pollution.

I see in articles name of Swix and Toko and dominator are mentioned. I can see Swix and Toko but I coached the good doctor to his formulas.

Last, in 1974 I started the revolution and re-invent the waxes of today. Since I stopped we have not seen any new —Preceding unsigned comment added by Waxman (talk • contribs)

You will probably want to bring this up at the Talk page of the Ski Wax article -- Natalya 19:33, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Search: How to "auto direct"?

When you type in something like Theodore Roosevelt into search - it goes right to a page about president Roosevelt - how is it decided to do this automatic directing to a specific page? Can a user like me control this? (i.e. make search direct to a specific page I think deserves such an automatic direction?)--Montiederby 04:38, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

If you type the correct spelling and (sometimes) correct capitalization of an article and click the "Go" button, you will go directly to the article. If you want another spelling or capitalization scheme to go to the same place, you can use redirects. For example, Teddy Roosevelt is a redirect to the article Theodore Roosevelt. For information about using redirects, see Wikipedia:Redirect and Help:Redirect. I hope this helps! --TantalumTelluride 05:29, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

How to make a "content"?

The question is easy. I want to make a content wich links to separate chapters in the article. Most articles have this, but i don't know how to do it.. Snusi/Oslo

I think you want to link to a particular section in an article. You use the # to link to sections. For example on this page, to link to the My preferences not saving section you use:

[[Wikipedia:New contributors' help page#My preferences not saving]]

Which looks like: Wikipedia:New contributors' help page#My preferences not saving.--Commander Keane 12:50, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

If you're talking about a Table of Contents, you can force one to appear on a page by placing the code __TOC__ on the page where you want the table to appear. For more information about using TOC's, see Help:Section. --TantalumTelluride 21:11, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

I worked it out. Thanks

possible copyright violation how do I get it off

The page I wrote on the Association I work for was removed for a possible copyright violation. The source listed in the violation is a magazine that we publish and I contibute to. How can I fix this. Do I just need to site the magazine even if the association owns all the material printed in it? --Mreiter 14:26, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

According to Wikipedia:Copyright problems:

Copyright owners who submitted their own work to Wikipedia: If you submitted work to Wikipedia which you had previously published (especially online), and your submission was marked as a potential infringement of copyright, stating that you are the copyright holder of the work on the article's talk page helps, but will not likely prevent deletion. It is sufficient to:

• Make a note permitting reuse under the GFDL at the site of the original publication.
• Send an email from an address associated with the original publication to permissions at wikimedia dot org or a postal message to the Wikimedia Foundation.

Thanks. I hope this helps! --TantalumTelluride 21:17, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

are "local celebrities" deserving of an article?

hello

I feel some of our local celebrites, and war veterens, are deserving of thier own article. Whilst in our local area they are quite famous, it is unlikely someone outside of our city/shire would know of them. Can I write an article on them?

• Please see WP:BIO for guidelines. Note that these are guidelines and not fully-fledged policies, but other editors may challenge the validity of the article(s) if they don't believe they are notable enough. Sorry I can't be more specific, as I don't know the case in hand. Good luck! :-) — Estarriol ^talk 18:24, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

New question about redirect pages

I'm working on double-redirect pages. There are many where the only difference is accents or diacritical marks or high-ascii chars or youknowwhatimean. I noticed that some have the unaccented redirect to the accented and some vice-versa. Compare http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Linda_Sanchez&redirect=no and http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asash%C5%8Dry%C5%AB_Akinori&redirect=no to see what I mean.

Is there one preferred way? Thanks.

There is currently no consensus on Wikipedia about using diacritics in article names. For now, just leave articles where they are and be sure to create redirects for any common alternative spellings. See Wikipedia:Naming conventions (use English) for more information. Thanks. --TantalumTelluride 21:30, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the information, here and on my talk page. The page you linked says it's still under discussion, but also begins with "should use the Latin alphabet". Even if the detailed proposal linked at the bottom of that page is not accepted, it seems like there's a clear preference. I think the accented article name should redirect to the plain, so I'll try to do that when I see those in the future. Thanks again!

magn0lia 16:46, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Images Disappearing

My uploaded images are disappearing in 5 days. These are my own work and uploaded through Wikimedia Commons, so others could use them as well. Not quite sure what I'm doing wrong here. An example would be Aldbourne. Thanks AdinaZed 18:58, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

The funny thing is, that particular image was never deleted! I added content to the image page and reordered the parameters on the aldbourne page (I don't know if that was the solution, but always try this order just to be sure). If you could provide other examples I could check if the image was really deleted. Fetofs ^Hello! 23:48, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

That seems to have solved it. The other three images that weren't appearing, now suddenly appear. My guess is it was the adding content to the image page, that sorted it. Thanks for this AdinaZed 00:21, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

If an album cover has two covers

Which one do you put in the album infobox? The original cover of the re-issued cover? - Zee 00:59, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Well, you can only put in one image, very true ... but there is no reason the image has to only be of one cover. Make it a 12 second long two frame rotating gif image. -- ∞Wirelain 01:05, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

How about another solution? What if one puts the original cover in the infobox, while putting the re-issued cover in the article in the same section as the new tracklist in the re-issued version? Hope that made sense. - Zee 01:10, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Renaming an article

I've run across several articles I'd like to rename, for either of two reasons: (a) part of speech (e.g. "detention camp" for "detainee camp") or (b) a transliteration, either according to widely accepted rules (e.g. Yiddish per YIVO's YI:EN conventions rather than German orthography) or in Hebrew:English cases where I'm able to directly confirm the preferred version with organization whose name is used.
MY QUESTIONS: Whether to rename, and if so, how to this? Is citing the justification in the "Edit summary" box sufficient, and if not, where to do so? Also, how do I create a redirect with the previous article name? (I've read various explanations of redirect, and frankly, it remains unclear to me.) Thanks! Deborahjay 02:34, 25 May 2006 (UTC)Deborahjay

Most importantly, to move articles you must use the "move" button (located to the right of the history button). Details at WP:MOVE.

Before you make possibly contentious moves (which is what you have described, I think) you need to see what other people think - the procedure is explained at Wikipedia:Requested moves.

"detention camp" seems fine to me, and is what I seem to hear in the media (in Australia), and Wikipedia uses the most commons usage for page titles, see Wikipedia:Naming conventions. Just my opinion, this is why we discuss before moving.--Commander Keane 11:07, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the info and advice, Commander Keane. I'll do as you suggest and study up on the protocols of requested moves and naming conventions. So for now I'll hold off on further queries till I learn more of the basics. Deborahjay 09:51, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

Before charging off on some renaming crusade, be advised a lot of thought and debate goes on about an articles name as it matures. (See for example: Talk:ebook debate now ongoing). You may want to familiarize yourself well with:

• American and British English differences
• List of British words not widely used in the United States
• List of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom
• List of words having different meanings in British and American English
• List of British idioms

And also be aware, that wikipedia naming conventions say when an article is created in one flavor of English, altering it over to the other is a no-no. In sum, suffer dialectical differences silently, and move onto to something productive. Best regards, FrankB 16:29, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for alerting me to the AE vs. BE aspect, which may indeed be the explanation for what otherwise seemed ungrammatical to my AE eyes :-)

It makes sense that an article's AE/BE styling is determined by the original writer of the article. However, this poses a consistency problem for the subsequent editor who writes in "the other English." (e.g. I can discipline myself to use the BE spelling, but it takes a superhuman effort by now for me to place punctuation outside quotation marks!  :-o

If still relevant, I'll ask about this in a separate query soon, once I've read the wikipedia naming conventions as you advise.

ADDED NOTE: Even a brief look at the Manual of Style provided in your Welcome message clearly indicates some general rules to follow. What a great resource! I think I'll be fine with this... :-D Deborahjay 12:27, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

Actually, most of my renaming issues have to do with Latin-alphabet transcription into English of names translated from Hebrew and Yiddish. (This is quite familiar to me from my workplace, where I'm co-maintainer of a key words list for a searchable electronic archives and its Web site.) I'll have to read the particulars on that; I recall seeing some topic on transcription issues within Wikipedia, but unfortunately neglected to note the path to investigate it.

I certainly won't make any changes to names of articles without following exisitng protocols here, as soon as I can figure them out. However, this is already a "live" issue for me when doing inline editing (e.g. repairing texts written in non-native English), and I need to get up to speed before wreaking any (perceived, albeit unintended) havoc. Deborahjay 09:51, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

Page created now vanished!

I spent about an hour this morning (approx. 9am UK Time) creating a Wikipedia entry for a friend of mine, who wrestles as Gabriel Grey in the UK. I checked back in this afternoon, and I can find no trace of it, bar the publicity photo I uploaded of him. Can you tell me what's happened to it? I could link to it this morning and surf to it no problem, now it's gone totally!

-- user: TheInno; 15.54 UK time 25th May 2006

Without a title, kind of hard to check for you. Searching 'Gabriel Grey' I see no indication an article of that name existed, but this is NOT Definite. According to your contributions it might not have been saved at all.

If it was poorly written, and not in compliance with some key guidelines, it may have been flagged as a candidate for speedy deletion (See WP:AfD and contrast with WP:CSD), and then speedily deleted by another Admin — which shouldn't happen with a newbie like yourself if both were paying attention. New pages are thouroughly patroled.

Btw: Welcome — we try to be nicer to new contributors! FrankB 16:21, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

If you take a look at the deletion log, a page named "Gabriel grey" was deleted because it was not about a notable person. Please take a look at Wikipedia:Notability (people), which outlines guildlines of the notability requirements for someone to have an article about themselves in Wikipedia. -- Natalya 16:39, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

18:40, 25 May 2006 (UTC)~

EDIT: I'd like to query the "not about a notable person" decision. Gabriel is highly involved in the UK wrestling scene, even making international appearances in Ireland for Irish wrestling companies. He's working in the same promotions as several high profile US stars (indeed, promotions listed on the wiki article Professional Wrestling in the United Kingdom). Perhaps if someone had a knowledge of the scene, and had checked his website (which was linked in the profile) that could have been noted. The article was written in fitting with the gimmick of Gabriel, again, this could have been verified by checking his website.

Even if he still doesn't match the criteria, (which again, I'd question, but respect your decision) it would have been nice to have been given some form of explanation as to what happened to my first attempt at creating an article here, rather than a wild goose chase to try and find it!

-- TheInno, 19:40 UK time, 25th May 2006

Wikipedia administrators delete thousands of pages everyday, so unfortunately, they sometimes don't have time to explain their reasoning to good-faith new contributors like yourself. In fact, your article is one of 37 pages that Whouk has deleted already today. If you think the article does meet the notability guidelines, you may explain why on Whouk's talk page and ask him to restore it, or you may list the article at Wikipedia:Deletion review, which is a somewhat more involved process. If you need help or have any questions, feel free to ask here on this page again. --TantalumTelluride 19:08, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

EDIT: seems as if the member of staff that deleted the page has no concept of the idea of professional wrestling gimmicks or characters being fictional creations and not 'real' people. Reading the article I created, it should have been obvious that I was referring to the character, not the person playing the character.

It's the same effect as the random Mr. T / Chuck Norris facts - they are intended to amuse rather than be an accurate portrayal of the the real Mr. T or Chuck Norris, instead relying on the persona that these actors put forth on a regular basis. Does anyone actually believe, for example, that Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer?

To be honest, I'm now totally put off the whole wikipedia experience. I don't think I'll waste my time creating any more articles, especially if someone who has no idea of the basis behind them is going to be the judge of whether or not they're 'worthy' of being online. TheInno 22:51, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Replied on user's talk page. --TantalumTelluride 23:44, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

editing my contribution

dear sir i ahd submitted an article which is avaialble in my contribution page of rhinoramanan. but i am not able to access it to edit it or read it pl advice. regards dr ram —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Rhinoramanan (talk • contribs) 16:53, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

You will need to give us details about the article title, it may have been deleted and we cannot track it down without the title.--Commander Keane 16:58, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

OK, I see now that you are talking about this edit. It was removed because this page is for questions, not long content postings. If it is relevant to an encyclopedia article you should discuss the content at an appropriate article. If it's a how-to guide, perhaps WikiBooks would be the place for it.--Commander Keane 17:16, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

chat

i would like to know if htere is some kind of chat or talk thing on this website? if there is could you please direct me to it thanks... -Monas Lisa

A lot of Wikipedians communicate using Internet Relay Chat. For more information, see Wikipedia:IRC. Thanks. --TantalumTelluride 23:37, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Also, the link at the top to get connected instatly is what i think you are looking for. -- ∞Wirelain 05:44, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

Contributions in a foreign-language Wikipedia

I recently translated a Hebrew Wikipedia article into English. There had been a stub in English, so I didn't need to create (add) the article; I simply replaced the previous text with mine and removed the {{stub}} indicators. So far, so good (unless I innocently went about this the wrong way...?).
Then I went back to edit the Hebrew article to add an external link in that language. I haven't subsequently seen this action tracked in My Contributions.
It occurred to me that for tracking purposes I might need to sign on in the Hebrew Wikipedia, but (perhaps due to the different character set, LTR/RTL, etc.) my User Name wasn't recognized.

My questions:

• If I want to track my editing activity (contributions) in a foreign-language Wikipedia, must I create a User Name there?
• May I use my English-language one, or is that identity not preserved across editions?
• I'm developing an article to be added in English and multiple foreign languages. To add a new article, must I have a User Name for each language, and sign on with that when I'm working in the FL environment?

Thanks! Deborahjay 10:41, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

Yes, you do need to create separate user accounts for all Wikimedia projects you work on. There are plans to change to a unified single-login system, so for now I would recommend you create an account with the same name on all Wikipedias you work on. (This will prevent confusion later on.) -- Tangotango 10:49, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks, Tangotango, for the speedy response. That prompted me to follow through, and I'm pleased (and relieved :-) to report that Hebrew Wikipedia does accept a User Name in Latin letters, so I was able to open the account there with an identical User Name to that of my English-language account.

I also took the time to create a preliminary User Page with an external link to my English one and a section listing my topics of editing activity. Oh, and I validated my e-mail address and printed out the Welcome instructions (which I'd prefer to read offline; I read Hebrew very slowly), so I'm set up for now! Deborahjay 11:25, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

New Page

Hello, i was wondering if I could make a new page and how i can do that ?

EDDY —Preceding unsigned comment added by Eddy gogo (talk • contribs)

Just go to Some new page and click on 'edit' there. Jacek Kendysz 17:21, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

For more information, take a look at Help:Starting a new page and Wikipedia:Your first article. -- Natalya 18:29, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

Repeated display of name after _tildes+User Name_

When at the end of a Talk text edit, I sign my name with the three or four tildes (I prefer the latter because I generally want the time stamp) followed by my User Name, the result displays my name twice: right after the tildes, and again at the end (directly following _(UTC)_).
This appears superfluous to me, and I haven't seen it elsewhere. It does appear on Preview but not in the Edit Text box, so I can't delete it there. I can only manually delete it after I've done a Save Page, by performing an additional (minor) edit.
What can I do to prevent this? Or what am I not appreciating?
Thanks! Deborahjay 12:25, 27 May 2006 (UTC)Deborahjay

As Wikipedia:Signature explains, 3 tildes does just the date, 4 does both name and date, 5 does just the date. Most Wikipedians always sign with 4 tildes.--Commander Keane 12:36, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

I think that's what I'm doing! space+4 tildes+user name. That's what I did above, and I'll do it again now. Thus: Deborahjay 12:45, 27 May 2006 (UTC)Deborahjay

You don't need to type your name (ie "Deborahjay"), just let the system do it for you. The simplest way is typing 4 tidles, and nothing else. Or, if you want the date first the best way is 8 tildes (like: ~~~~~ ~~~): 13:22, 27 May 2006 (UTC) Commander Keane

Ohhh...! That hadn't ocurred to me, but now I'm sure you've hit upon the problem. Let's see... Deborahjay

Yes, indeed, that's it!!! **blush** Thanks so much, Commander Keane! Consider this resolved. Deborahjay 14:19, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

Commander Keane, I think you meant to say that three tildes does just the user name. --TantalumTelluride 15:05, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

Indeed -- and got it! Thanks for checking in, TantalumTelluride. Always good to see you here! :-) Deborahjay 16:41, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, thanks TantalumTelluride.--Commander Keane 18:20, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

Is there a WikiProject on band discographies?

Or a manual of style? Because it seems to me there are many ways a discography is formatted. Zee 04:23, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

It's not quite as specific, but Wikiproject Music should have some related information. -- Natalya 05:49, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

Disambiguation of biographies

There appear to be (at least) two actors names Joe Flynn. The american one already has a profile on here. In creating an article about the Brit, is it okay to title it Joe Flynn (UK actor), and move the American one to Joe Flynn (US actor)? I couldn't find anything explicit on this in the MOS. Amo 09:27, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

Your suggestion is good and follows the traditional naming conventions. I couldn't find anything in the MoS either though.--Commander Keane 10:23, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the swift reply. I'll get onto it right now! Amo 11:10, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

mudhum

status of nuclear energy in india and the world---203.129.216.130 13:16, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

You might find what you are looking for in the article about Nuclear energy. If you cannot find the answer there, click here to post your question at that article's talk page. If that doesn't solve your problem, you can try asking your question at Wikipedia's Reference Desk. They'll be glad to answer questions about anything in the universe (except about how to use Wikipedia, which is what this help desk is for). I hope this helps. Fetofs ^Hello! 13:23, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

Creating A New Topic

How Do i Make A New Topic?

--Uses Wikipedia Alot 16:16, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

See here Help:Starting a new page. Garion96 ^(talk) 16:16, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

My New article just got flagged for notability, What do I do?

I've been a very limited contributor up to now (just minor edits on existing pages) but yesterday decided I'd help with some of the redline links in subjec areas I have some knowledge on, so I followed the redlink after searching wikipedia to make sure it wasn't under an alternate spelling and created my stub article. I'd just made one save and then it took some time for me to locate some templates I needed to use for citing my sources, came back and it already had a notability tag appended to the top. I added my sources anyway, and continued beefing up the article, but didn't know how to address this and I couldn't find an answer on the notability page. Do I just delete that tag now that I have sources? I'm very confused. Especially since I wasn't creating a page out of thin air on a person but rather followed a redlink from an article someone else had written. The page is Joseph Nicholson Barney and the redlink was from CSS Jamestown. My area of expertise is on the Confederate Navy and I can really help with fleshing this out, but don't want to continue fleshing this new article out or clear up more redlinks if my work will just be deleted.... --plange 16:46, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

Good question. I'd say in this case that you did the right thing by finishing the article up; you've now made a good case for it. That tag doesn't mean that the article is in the process of being deleted, but rather that somebody thinks it might not be noteworthy (and thus possibly deletable in the future). If I were you, I would consider asking whoever put the tag on what they think of the article now, and remove the tag if you don't get a reply. You also might consider adding anything else the individual is notable for; was there a particular battle in which he played a key role? -- SCZenz 17:00, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

I would suggest you to use {{Inuse}} template in the future. This will inform other editing users that your article is undergoing major extension or reconstruction, so they can avoid edit conflicts with you. And it will also inform readers, that the current contents of the article is not complete, and invite them to come back soon to see the finished work. --CiaPan 06:04, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

Etiquette of replacing a translated article with a more extensive one

A certain English-language article was translated from the German Wikipedia. Both versions have about 200 words (as does the French; two others are stubs). However, the Hebrew Wikipedia article is far more extensive, at 586 words of biographical data not counting links, etc. I'm working on a draft Hebrew:English translation, supported by library research.

I know that previous versions of an article are retrievable (though I don't yet know how "revert" works mechanically, let alone understanding who makes the decisions, arbitration if indicated, etc.). I've gathered that good protocol involves opening a discussion of my intentions on the article's talk page (?), but please explain how this is flagged for attention by relevant parties, and in general, what I can expect in this process. Thanks! Deborahjay 02:44, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

There will be people who have the article on their watchlist that will notice the edit when they come back to wikipedia the next time. You should definately discuss the changes there and see what people have to say. Ususally the more common way to introduce changes is to merge them, or add the new information to what is there rather than wiping it clean and starting over. There are some situations where that is required, but it's usually when what is there is extremely non-neutral.

As to the technical and procedural aspects of your question reverting an article is very simple, see the page about reverting for more info. For a short explanation, all the old versions are kept, and anyone can revert. As to the procedural aspects of who decides what stays etc, this is almost entirely done by local (article or topic) consensus. So the other people with an interest in this article will be the ones that will discuss the changes and decide what's best. There is a framework for helping people reach consensus if there is a deadlock, but as a percentage of changes to articles it's not used much.

It's possible there is a misunderstanding about articles in general though, each article is not one person's view, that might be replaced later. The articles are mostly written and expanded on by many people. They will start out by one person, and someone else will come along and add information, or copyedit, or fix errors etc. It's not common for someone to replace the current version with an entirely new version. If you have any other questions let us know. - cohesion 02:57, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

Your explanation is indeed helpful, cohesion; thanks! I do appreciate that ongoing editing is an integral part of the Wikipedia process, and want to be concientious in doing this appropriately -- while still being bold, as advised ;-)

Example: In a previous article I translated and a stub I substantially expanded (based on research), I took care to include all previous content. This is fairly easy to do, as all the articles to which I refer here are individual's biographies. I've also taken to citing (in a References section) the source of a translated article.

Articles I've edited stay on my watchlist, and I'll be sure to open a discussion on the article's Talk page if I have content-based queries and counter-suggestions. Anything else you'd recommend? Deborahjay 03:29, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

Vandalism

I have edited a page, thatwas just an advertisement. It has been vandalized at least twice. The individual "whiz-tv, seems to be intent on destroying, factual rather than his advertisement from thesuarsus and Encyclopedias.

Question: WHo, what or will there be some kind of Arbitration, monitoring, to correct this vandalizism?

Yes, there is an arbitration procedure available as a last resort, see Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee. However, before that you should leave a message on the user's talk page (you can use the test templates). Try and talk it through with the user. Wikipedia:Vandalism can help you with some other ideas on how to deal with vandalism. — QuantumEleven 06:12, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

Searching in guidelines

Warning, this is probably a stupid question: I'm pretty sure that there must be a guideline wrt neologisms in the Manual of Style or a similar "semi-official" project page. What's the fastest way to find the guidelines addressing "neologism"? -- Omniplex 02:14, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

I think you're probably looking for Wikipedia:Avoid neologisms. --TantalumTelluride 02:21, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

ENDLESS STRAIGHT LINE ARISING FROM A SINGLE POINT

SIR, I SERIOUSLY WORRIED FROM ABOUUT 20 YEARS WHY THERE IS NO END FOR ANY STRAIGHT LINE IN THE UNIVERSE.

EXAMPLE= IF WE ARE DRIVING AN IMMAGINARY SSPACE SHIP IN WHICH OUR AGE, HUNGER, SPEED, TIME ETC HAVE NO BARS, IN SUCH AIR SHIP IF WE TRAVEL IN STRAIGHT LINE FROM A SINGLE POINT IN ANY ONE DIRECTION WITH IMAGINARY SPEED CRORES OF MILES PER/SEC WHERE OUR SPACE SHIP END JOURNEY. I THINK OUR JOUR WILL BE ENDLESS,

I WNT TO KNOW WHAT IS THE SCEINTIFIC REASON/BASE FOR THIS ENDLESS UNIVERSE —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 219.65.81.28 (talk • contribs) 14:18, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions, and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that's what this Help Desk is for). For your convenience, here's the link: Reference Desk (when you get there, just select the relevant section, and ask away). I hope this helps. (Note: please turn off your Caps lock key, as it implies shouting.) Cheers, Tangotango 15:43, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

Note the new shortcut: WP:NCH; WP:CN was pre-empted for civility noticeboard! FrankB 19:50, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

Signing

This is probably going to be stupit, but i cant sign a comment because i cant find the appropite keys on my keyboard. can anyone help

Yep. I bet you know where the escape button is (upper leftmost key). The tilde is right below on most keyboards. Cheers--Fuhghettaboutit

What country is your keyboard for? This information may help other people to describe where to find the right key. Arbitrary username 16:42, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm in ireland. below escape does this ````

Hmm... the key you are looking for is the '~' key. It might be above the '`' - if you press shift and the key you are pressing, does it work? -- Natalya 21:35, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

It is on the left side of the big "enter" in my keyboard. fetofs ^Hello! 00:58, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

BTW, clicking on one of the buttons above the edit box triggers this automagically. The one on the right side of the W with a cross. fetofs ^Hello! 00:59, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Thank you Fetofs, Its not shwn on my keyboard but it appears when i press shift and # button Ken 22:22, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

ufyuyu

hi i was just wonering about a few things and i was wondering f you could include an article about the types of coachs. such as dominating ect thanks it will be much appreciated

If you're a registered user, you can do this! See this page for more info. If you're not registered, you might want to consider registering. Emmett5 02:41, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

Article removed by Afd proceedure - is back

I nominated an article for deletion Ho Shin Do , the result was to delete due to not noteable enough. Now it is back? what happens now and who (if anyone) should be notified? Bacmac 10:08, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

I have marked it as a recreation of deleted material (Criteria for speedy deletion, General 4) To request that an AfD'd article be recreated, one must go through the Wikipedia:Deletion Review process. I will notify the creator of the article. Cheers, Tangotango 10:16, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

OK, I will copy this to my user page for future referance. Thanks 'Tangotango' Bacmac 00:51, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Self-promotion article for consideration

I don't want to get involved, the person who has put the article up knows me. Could somebody look at - Tom Hendricks (name of article)- and make a dispassionate review - which I don't think I can. --Richhoncho 20:29, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

• I have done so, and as a result have flagged the article for NPOV and notability concerns, and also warned the primary editor of the article of these concerns. I'll leave it to see how it goes for a short while, but the article is heading for an AfD if notability is not demonstrated and it still looks like a vanity page when I check it again. Please leave any further concerns on my talk page, I am rather concerned as to the notability of a lot of the linked articles but don't have time right now to investigate. Any further information you can provide would be useful. Thanks for pointing this out. — Estarriol ^talk 10:12, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Thanks everybody for reading the article. I think the matter is now in hand--Richhoncho 10:44, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

User page templates

I've looked at a few members' user pages, and find them very interesting. Are there any user page templates? Or do I just ask one of the users' if I can copy a couple of his/her tables? --Paploo 21:50, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

The second works pretty well. However, don't copy it if the user says no, that's just common politeness. Freddie 21:55, 31 May 2006 (UTC)