Wikipedia:Teahouse/Questions/Archive 232

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Another user cut some changes I made to an article that I feel really added to it. What can I do about it?

Another user cut the changes I made to an article that I feel really added to the article. What can I do about it?50.106.227.238 (talk) 14:48, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

Hi, person with an IP address starting with 50 and welcome to The Teahouse. This is your only edit, so were signed in when you edited an article, and if so, what was your name? Or have you ever edited with another IP address? If you could tell us what article you edited, that would help.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 20:21, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

And regardless of what article you edited, the standard advice is to discuss. Click on "View history" or "History" at the top of the page to see who reverted you, click on "talk" beside that person's name, and ask nicely why the change was made. Each article has its own talk page as well where you can discuss changes. If you were editing from an IP, your edits would naturally be viewed with suspicion, so it is important to provide reliable sources for whatever you add.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 20:27, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

IP vs what? I have an account--Lanternrouge7. I don't understand...

It's the Buick Skylark article. I added three pictures of a special model from'72. I noticed that the other person also removed all mention of the model from the article--information that had been in there for years.

Thanks chimp!50.106.227.238 (talk) 23:49, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

I'll go take a look.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 14:51, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

Regarding your question "IP vs what?" everyone who is not signed in has an IP address. It may be the same all the time on a given computer, or the Internet service provider might give you a dynamic IP. You seem to have a static IP because both times you posted here with the same IP.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 14:56, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

I don't understand what happened. I saw the three photos you added, and yet a few minutes later when I double-checked to make sure they were still in the article, the photos didn't even exist. Never mind, I found them. It looks like you should discuss this with Wikiuser100. I disagree about taking the information out of the article, though it was unsourced and didn't demonstrate why it was important. It looks like Mr.choppers also took something out of the article. It may be there were just too many photos.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 15:05, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

How does one contact another user?Lanternrouge7 (talk) 17:04, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

@Lanternrouge7: Leave a message on their user talk page. E.g. my username is Calliopejen1, so my user talk page is User talk:Calliopejen1. Go to the relevant user talk page, click the tab at top right to add a new section, and then leave your message there. Good luck! Calliopejen1 (talk) 21:50, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Help with my article

Would anyone like to contribute to my new article? Advice, improvements ? Feel free to edit. It is a biography of a living diplomat from my hometown. It can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Granola_t/Charles_Tchen Granola t (talk) 17:28, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

@Granola t: My feedback after a quick review of the article: I'm unsure of the subject's notability, and the article is written in a somewhat promotional way. Part of the problem for readers of the article is there are a lot of low-quality, non-independent sources in the article. I would recommend reducing the number of sources only to the best-quality sources and writing the article strictly based on what those sources say. Low-quality sources in the article include 1) the CNBC interview--to some extent--because while he is on the news, the news is about a topic besides him aand he is only giving his input on that topic, 2) all the iipconsult.com, petrenel, and shell sources because these are not independent, and 3) articles that just happen to mention him or his kids or do not mention him at all. When you take out all of these bad sources, really what is left is an 88-word article here, the infoplusgabon source, and the speech (which is even still a somewhat questionable source given that it is a primary source and that a dinner speech is designed to paint a very good picture of an honoree rather than being a factual description). In addition, the article (even using the questionable sources) contains content far beyond what the sources say. For example, now the article says, "In 1964, he underwent language training in German in Murnau (Germany)." The source does not support this statement. It only says, "M. Tchen ... est rentré au Gabon en 1972 après ses études en Allemagne." So I think step one is to remove low quality sources, step two is to locate more high-quality sources, and step three is to evaluate whether Tchen--based on these sources--meets the general notability guideline. Only people that meet these guidelines qualify to have Wikipedia articles. Calliopejen1 (talk) 20:13, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

@Calliopejen1 thank you for your help. I will take your advice on board and remove all those bad sources. Granola t (talk) 22:19, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Service awards

When calculating the number of edits I have made for service awards, do I include only edits to main space, or all edits? This may be a trivial question, but my numbers will vary greatly depending on it. Thanks, Roborule (talk) 01:19, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Hi, Roborule, welcome to the Teahouse. The page says, "To learn your edit count and the date of your first logged edit, you can click Preferences, where this information will appear." This edit count includes non-mainspace edits, so I assume that it is all edits. It also says, "How to count your edits is up to you. It is generally assumed that all edits, even including edits by bots and deleted edits, are okay to count." Anon126 (notify me of responses! / talk / contribs) 02:08, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Just to add a bit to Anon126's excellent answer, service awards are entirely informal, and as such, you can safely choose which count means more to you and use that. If you feel that all of your edits have been important to Wikipedia, use the total count. If you feel that you only place a key value on your mainspace edits, use that count. It's up to you, and no one is going to call you on it. --Jayron32 02:59, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Email notifications are useless!

Email notifications are useless!I think they are just "spam"! Why we use them in the default setting?--S/s/a/z-1/2 (talk) 01:02, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Howdy Ssaz 12! You can disable these notifications by looking at the top left corner of any Wikipedia page. Select the word that says "Preferences". In the list of tabs, find the one at the far right that says "Notifications." Select that one. Next to the words that say "Send me:" click the box, and then select "Do not send me any email notifications". Click the "Save" button at the bottom of the page. You should now stop receiving these notifications. Does that help? --Jayron32 01:18, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Ssaz 12. If you don't want emails, then turn off that choice. I customize my email settings. I have nearly 5,000 pages on my watch list, and many if those pages are very active. If I toggled the setting to get an email any time a page on my watchlist was edited, my smart phone would chirp 24/7/365. But I do ask for an email whenever someone posts to my own talk page. I want to respond to those posts as promptly as possible. So to me, as an active editor, those emails are not spam. Far from it. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 04:04, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

How to upload photo to an article

I was researching the Liberty Ship SS Benjamin Harrison because I found a photo of it in my father's WWII personal photo collection. I would like to add it to the page, but I can't figure out how to do it. Can you help, please? (I created an account.) Bridgedog2004 (talk) 20:08, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

@Bridgedog2004: First, can you tell us who took the photo? Was it your father? And if so, is your father living or deceased? Calliopejen1 (talk) 20:16, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Bridgedog2004. Your question raises interesting issues. Take a close look at both sides of the photo. If there are marks or labels indicating that the photo was taken by an employee of the U.S. Federal government in their official duties, then the photo is free of copyright and can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. If you have evidence that your father took the photo, and if he has died, and you are his heir or executor, then you can upload the photo under a Creative Commons license. If your father took the photo and is still alive, he can upload it himself, and you can assist him with this as long as he freely agrees to the license. If, however, you have no idea who took the photo, then you should not upload it. The copyrights status of the photo is then unclear. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 04:25, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Not-content related concerns

Is there a place where a person can go to discuss non-content related concerns that they may have about a particular article? I know the usual place to discuss an article is on its talk page, but my concerns have more to do with a possible COI and perhaps someone using multiple accounts to edit the same page. It may really all be nothing more than my imagination and I certainly don't want to going around accusing someone simply based upon a hunch. Is the best thing to do in such situations just to ignore it and move on, or is there another course of action that one should take? Thanks in advance - Marchjuly (talk) 07:08, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Hi Marchjuly, welcome to the Teahouse! Without knowing the specific examples I'd suggest you use your judgement, bearing in mind the Wikipedia tenets of assuming good faith and not biting newbies. With COI, you could discuss the issue on the editor's talk page and/or add a template to the article's Talk page. If the use of multiple accounts seems due to something more serious than simply losing a password, you can raise the case at WP:SPI. I recently came across a fairly clear example of two similar accounts being used but, after a polite question on the primary editors's Talk page, an innocent explanation was received and the user happily stopped the activity. Sionk (talk) 07:32, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Thanks Sionk. I am not sure how much detail, especially since my suspicions might be unfounded, that it is appropriate for me to go into at the Teahouse. I am assuming good faith and I certainly am not interested in biting anyone at all. I have been watching this particular page for quite awhile and none of the editing appears to be disruptive, so it might be completely innocent as you suggest. I am just curious if there is a place I can discuss this with editors more experienced than myself before bringing it up on either editor's talk page or adding templates to the article's talk page. Thanks again for the suggestions. - Marchjuly (talk) 08:22, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Greetings Marchjuly IMO there is a place to do that and this is it! As long as you frame the issue appropriately, keep in mind all the guidelines that Sionk mentioned above, and just tell people what the article is and what your potential concern is, this is the perfect place to ask such questions. FYI, I've also found the third opinion service to be quite useful but I don't think it's relevant here yet, you aren't even sure if there is a problem. I think the teahouse is a good place to ask the question and as long as your frame it correctly there shouldn't be an issue of the other editor getting offended. Even if they are like me and get pissed off really easily ;-) --MadScientistX11 (talk) 13:13, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Thanks to all who responded for your advice and feedback. I'm going to think about this a little more, before taking any further action. - Marchjuly (talk) 07:31, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Question about Status of Article

Hello!

I am writing on behalf of the team at Amy Lau Design. I work on our social media endeavors as well as our internet presence.

I took a look at our Wikipedia article (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Lau) and noticed that there were multiple issues that have needed to be addressed since 2008, when the article was first written. I have since updated the content to reflect the most current information regarding the company and have linked to multiple outside sources to clear up the issues regarding content validity. I am wondering if the box that appears at the top of the article pointing out past issues (see attached image for screenshot) goes away now that the problems have been addressed and corrected? Is there something that can be done on our end or is this something that needs to be requested formally?

Thank you for your help!

207.237.147.83 (talk) 16:19, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Hello, 207.237.147.83. Unfortunately, what you have done is replace the content of the article with material from Ms. Lau's web site at http://amylaudesign.com/about/. Not only is the new text even more promotional than the old, but it is a copyright violation, and will need to be removed for legal reasons. Wikipedia is not a web host, and encyclopedia articles aren't intended to promote their subjects. You have a clear conflict of interest (Please read WP:COI), and should only make suggestions for changes to the article on its talk page. —Anne Delong (talk) 16:32, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

(edit conflict)Welcome to the Tea-house.

The first thing I must ask you to do is read, and follow, our guidelines on conflict of interest, as you should not be editing an article you are so closely connected to.

The article is still written in a highly promotional style, rather than a neutral point of view As an example, "Amy Lau is known for her elegant modernist design style which she interprets with imagination and energy through her unique and curatorial choices of furnishings, fabrics and materials" which is attributed to her own website - which is clearly not a reliable, independent source which is what articles need. The article also includes a section on "Amy Lau Product Lines" which is clearly promotional, and should be completely removed. What the article is still lacking - 6 years on from the deletion discussion, are examples of significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject - which all articles need, if they are not to be deleted. - Arjayay (talk) 16:44, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

I have reverted the article back to what appears to be the pre-copyvio version.--ukexpat (talk) 17:40, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Hi all -

Thank you for your explanations regarding some of the issues with the page. I do understand your concern of there being a conflict of interest considering my position at the company. However, I do not know how someone outside of the company would know the most relevant and current information about Amy and Amy Lau Design. In the old version, which the article has now been reverted back to, there are many elements that are outdated and no longer relevant or current. For instance, Amy is no longer a Co-Director at the Museum of Art and Design. Another concern is that in various areas of the article, I posted completely factual, non-biased information and cited to reputable outside sources, yet these were deleted as well. For example, Amy received an honorary degree from NYSID in 2012, which I linked to an outside source - yet, this information was deleted.

There have been plenty of changes in the company since the article was first written in 2008. I don't know who as an outside source would know ALL of those changes that occurred in the last 6 years and who would be willing to sit down and pen the article with the proper, current facts. How can we ensure that the content in this article remains up to date as well as true without being able to contribute to the editing process?

Finally, I think that portions of the article are written poorly and should be edited to proper and grammatically correct English. Is this something I would be able to work on without breaking any rules?

207.237.147.83 (talk) 18:54, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

I'd recommend that you first read Wikipedia:Plain and simple conflict of interest guide. If you would like to engage on Wikipedia, please create an account and disclose on your user page that you are editing on behalf of Amy Lau. This disclosure is required by Wikipedia's Terms of Use. To be honest, the most important thing that you could do to assist in the development of the article is to create a comprehensive list of press coverage that Amy Lau has received. Right now, the article is almost entirely unsourced and could eventually be deleted if this problem is not rectified. In addition, Wikipedia articles should not necessarily be written based on the "most relevant and current information about Amy and Amy Lau Design" -- they should be based on what independent published sources say about Amy and Amy Lau design. This also helps to avoid issues about promotional content etc. Proceeding from here, then, I'd recommend that you 1) register an account, 2) disclose your affiliation on your talk page, 3) add a list of sources to Talk:Amy Lau, and then 4) post at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Home Living or here again, seeking further input. You may find that an interested Wikipedian would be willing to rewrite the article based on the available sources, once those sources are provided. Calliopejen1 (talk) 20:28, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Your statement "I do not know how someone outside of the company would know the most relevant and current information about Amy and Amy Lau Design" shows a key misunderstanding of how Wikipedia works. If the information has not been published in reliable, independent, sources, it should not be in Wikipedia at all. We don't want "inside information", we only reflect what reliable third parties have deemed worth publishing, not what a company, their PR firm, or any other related organization has put on their web-site, issued in a press release or advertisement etc. Furthermore, it is those third party sources that decide what is "the most relevant" information, not whatever aspect a company may be trying to promote, or hide. - Arjayay (talk) 07:46, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Font

Alright Teahouse, My signature looks like this now--☯SkaterLife☯ . But I want to make it have Comic sans font. How can I do that? Thanks, ☯SkaterLife☯ 15:56, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

SkaterLife: well if w.Carter's is [[User:W.carter|<em style="font-family:Verdana;color:DarkBlue">w.carter</em>]]<small>[[User talk:W.carter|'''<em style="font-family:Verdana;color:DarkBlue">-Talk</em>''']]</small> , I would presume changing font-family to Comic sans would do it. [[User:SkaterLife|<span style="font-family:Comicsans;color:Purple">☯SkaterLife☯</span>]] (comes out as ☯SkaterLife☯). Thanks, Matty.007 16:06, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

I believe the proper font name for Comic Sans is "Comic sans MS", so the code will actually be [[User:SkaterLife|<span style="font-family:Comic sans MS;color:Purple">☯SkaterLife☯</span>]]. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 16:10, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

☯SkaterLife☯ Ah yes, seems different. Are Comic Sans and Sans MS two different fonts? Thanks, Matty.007 16:14, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

@Matty.007: 'Comic Sans MS' is just the full technicaly name of Comic Sans :) ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 16:34, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

Why are they different here? Thanks, Matty.007 16:35, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

@Matty.007: Hmm...not sure what you're asking exactly. Different from where? Comic Sans MS is the universal name that you'll see in HTML, Microsoft Word, etc. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 17:43, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

SuperHamster: well, Comicsans (☯SkaterLife☯</nowiki> (comes out as ☯SkaterLife☯) gets a different result to Comic Sans MS (☯SkaterLife☯). Thanks, Matty.007 17:48, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

@Matty.007: Ah, gotcha. 'Comicsans' isn't recognized as a font, so your browser will render it as the default browser/site font, which in my case happens to be Times New Roman. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 17:57, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

Ah. Thanks for the help. Matty.007 17:59, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

Your signature is dim I have changed it to bold, if you like you can add it to your signature

☯SkaterLife☯ Regards Aftab Banoori ^(Talk) 16:16, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

And maybe put a "Talk"-part in it somewhere? ;) w.carter-Talk 16:21, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

@SkaterLife: you should also consider the final paragraph of Comic Sans#Opposition. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 20:51, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

@Demiurge1000: when designing a signature, should one really just focus on the "name" of a font? In this case the characters in the signature are such that the 'offending' font is hardly noticeable. Should one not consider the entire appearance of the signature? I can think of a number of signatures that might appear more "frivolous" in choice of boldness, extra characters or multicolor than SkaterLife's rather straight forward signature. w.carter-Talk 21:29, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

It's a readily recognisable font. I hadn't really been aware of its significance in terms of mockery/dismissal until some people more font-aware than I pointed it out to me. Whether SkaterLife cares what such people think is up to him. (Wikipedia also suggests that people also take users of the font less seriously without knowing what the name of the font is, which is a separate consideration.) --Demiurge1000 (talk) 21:33, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

Such hang-ups just about a font? The world just keeps getting weirder... w.carter-Talk 21:53, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

I don't normally wear a lot of pink clothing either, and that's just, y'know, a colour... --Demiurge1000 (talk) 20:49, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

And why not? I'm sure you would look lovely in a pink shirt, just like Hugh Grant in Notting Hill. w.carter-Talk 21:12, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

I don't look like him at all (I'm younger, slightly less tall, probably not so good-looking), in fact the main ways I resemble him are that I'm male and white. And the latter rather falls down in the context you mention [1] [2].

If you're going to Wikimania, try dressing all in pink for a couple of days there, and I'll think again on whether it's a great idea or not when I see it. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 23:36, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

No problem, dear. I'll look stunning in my high heels.;) w.carter-Talk 09:42, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

My Article is declined

Hello Every one,

I hope that you all are doing well. I recently posted an article about our organization "Swat Youth Front. But unfortunately, It was declined by MatthewVanitas. Please help me in publishing my article on Wikipedia. Feed backs are most Well Come. The article can be seen at: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Swat_Youth_Front Harisbadar (talk) 10:46, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Hi Harisbadar, welcome to the Teahouse. In this case I'm afraid there is not a great deal we can do to assist you. The article you submitted, as well as being inadequately sourced and inappropriately promotional in tone, was directly copied from another website. Because of the way Wikipedia is licenced, we cannot accept test copied from elsewhere except under very specific circumstances; I have therefore been obliged to deleted the draft as a copyright violation.

If you would like to make another attempt, please bear in mind the following three points:

• The article must cite a number of independant sources which discuss the subject, and these sources must meet Wikipedia's criteria for reliability
• The article must be written in a neutral voice, without inappropriate terminology or an attempt to make the subject look good (or bad!)
• The article must be entirely in your own words. You can use other websites as sources of information, but not as sources of text.

Wishing you the best of luck on your next attempt. Yunshui ^雲_水 12:13, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

add copyright status of a picture in my article

Hi, I need to the copyright status of a picture in my article. How do I do that? Marita Dieling (talk) 13:47, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Please read Wikipedia:Logos and tag the file correctly. You will almost certainly require a fair use rationale. Fiddle Faddle 14:11, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

A new page for my company

Hi,

I tried to add a new page on wikipedia and the page not approved. the page name is Safe-T Data, and is a page for my company. as i see there is a lot of company pages at wikipedia. I would like to know what i need to change to be approved.

Thanks Yifat Yifatavikasis (talk) 08:05, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Hi Yifatavikasis! The first and major problem of your article is, in my opinion, notability. Wikipedia does have articles on companies and organisation, but that does not mean that all of them have their place in wikipedia. Here, I doubt that your company is notable regarding wikipedia standards: Of the references you have given, 2 are about your company. Both refers to portals with an unclear editorial line: one even obviously sells "marketing plan" using their website as tool. As a consequence, this sources could hardly be considered as independant and reliable, and do not prove the notability of your business. If you find proper sources assessing the notability of your business, you can consider writing an article about it in wikipedia.

Then, before writing your article, you will have to pay attention to the content policies of wikipedia: Neutral point of view, verifiability of all information given, no original research. The draft you have made sounds clearly promotional at the moment and would need serious edits. But don't forget that the first thing to do is to prove the notability. Without that, no point to consider writing an article. Oh, and also watch out forconflict of interest. Writing an article about your own company is definitely not recommended. Regards, KaptainIgloo (talk) 09:24, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

I am struggling with the same situation please guide me as i was novice and did not read the Wikipedia's policies. The page was selected for speedy deletion. I had no clue about how to write content for a company. So please guide me as the page which was deleted by the Administrators shows with red tag when searched on Google. I just don't want to create extra problem for myself in the company i am working for as i have recently joined a job. Please guide me what is the process to completely take the page off from Google or any search engine. I may think of creating a different page in compliance with Wikipedia's policies. Thanks Dsjindal aidem (talk) 14:11, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Dsjindal aidem, please see the reply to your similar question at the Help Desk.--ukexpat (talk) 14:49, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Use of Coursework

An essay I wrote last year included a summary of the Edinburgh Musical Society that I think would improve the entry of St Cecilia's Hall. Is it plagiarism to use my own schoolwork to edit an entry? Clarendel (talk) 14:40, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Hello, Clarendel, and welcome to the Teahouse. Plagiarism isn't an issue if you're using your own writing as a source. Copyright could be an issue, but I think probably isn't, because your coursework presumably hasn't been published, so nobody but you will have claimed copyright on it. (I guess it's just possible that your school claims copyright on all your coursework, but I doubt it). If I'm right, you hold the copyright on it, and you are free to license it - which you will do automatically by putting it into a Wikipedia article.

However, the content may be more problematic. If the material you want to add is supported by references to reliable sources independent of either the hall or the society, then you could add some of it. But the article St Cecilia's Hall is about the hall, not the society, so while some information about the society would be appropriate, it should not contain too much detail about it. --ColinFine (talk) 15:13, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

How can I help

I would like to contribute to the finance project,

I am an Economist and Msc. Finance.

Risks and regulations are my preferred topics. How can I help?

thank you

francograndeFrancogrande (talk) 15:40, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Hi Francogrande! Wikipedia:WikiProject Economics has a list of open tasks -- you could check if there is anything interesting to you there, though I don't see much about risks and regulations... You also could post a message at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Economics or Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Finance (where our economics-minded editors hang out) to see if anyone has additional ideas for you. As a general matter, most of Wikipedia's articles need improvement in terms of referencing, and editing text to reflect what high-quality references say. You could browse categories of interest to you (e.g. Category:Risk management) and find articles that look like they are in a relatively sorry state. These can be identified by a lack of inline footnotes and/or banners across the top of the article. Or another way to find articles to improve is the charts at Wikipedia:WikiProject_Economics#Articles and Wikipedia:WikiProject Finance. You can look at the charts and find relatively important articles with poor quality ratings. E.g. here is a list of very important economics articles that are only rated as "start" (a low grade) -- perhaps some are of interest to you. When you identify an article to improve, the next step is to locate good-quality sources (typically, books, journal articles, news articles -- depending on the subject area) and see what they have to say about the subject of the article. Then revise the text (in your own words, of course) to reflect what those sources say, and add footnotes. Help:Referencing for beginners is a good place to start in terms of learning the mechanics of adding footnotes. Good luck, and happy editing! Feel free to check back in here if you have follow-up questions. Calliopejen1 (talk) 17:12, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Greetings Francogrande welcome to the Teahouse. You might also want to check out this project: Wikipedia:WikiProject_Finance That is for the Finance project, the group within Wikipedia that focuses on articles related to finance and the Financial Services industry. Also, you might want to check out some introductory articles about what Wikipedia is, the criteria for a good article, etc. If you look at your talk page: User_talk:Francogrande there are some good overview articles on those topics. I've also left some links in my reply here that you can click on. --MadScientistX11 (talk) 17:20, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Requesting A Block

Hey Teahouse, So I've officially become addicted to Wikipedia. Bad thing is, It's interfering with my Schoolwork. Is there anyway that I could get an admin to block my account for a week? Thanks, ☯SkaterLife☯ talk 17:05, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

I think you can just ask them (but bear in mind it shows up on your block log permanently. Thanks, Matty.007 17:09, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

SkaterLife: see Wikipedia:Block#Self-requested_blocks. Thanks, Matty.007 17:09, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Hi Skaterlife, You might want to check out Wikipedia:Wikibreak for relevant messages to add to your user page.

You might want to check out Wikipedia:WikiProject User scripts/Scripts/WikiBreak Enforcer as a way to enforce a break.

While a block is harder to get around, it appears on your permanent record, so my not be the best option.S Philbrick(Talk) 17:13, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

I understand that its permanent. But my work need to come first. I cant have the temptation be a couple clicks away. I saw that your an admin, S PhilBrick. Could you block me?☯SkaterLife☯ talk 17:18, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

The Java script block thing wont work. ☯SkaterLife☯ talk 17:35, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Hello SkaterLife, how about this: Write a note to yourself on your talk page, reminding yourself not to do any Wikipedia work for a week. And during that time I, and maybe some other users can keep an eye on your edits to see that you are not cheating. If you go a week with no edits showing up in your history I'll give you a Special Barnstar for showing good character and prioritizing your schoolwork. :) w.carter-Talk 18:03, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

I'm okay with that. When do we start?☯SkaterLife☯ talk 18:04, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

When you have written the note I would presume. I'll help keep an eye on you-was it a week you wanted to go without Wikipedia? Thanks, Matty.007 18:07, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

You just mark the time on your note and we'll check you during one week from that. Best of luck! w.carter-Talk 18:09, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Yes it was a week that I wanted to go without Wikipedia. I'll go ahead and add the note. Thanks!☯SkaterLife☯ talk 18:09, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Sorry, I didn't see the conversation in the last ten minutes or so, so I blocked you at your request. I just unblocked you, though -- this all will reflect in your block log, but if anyone ever asks, just explain that it was my error. Calliopejen1 (talk) 18:14, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Coloured Signatures

Hi, I know this isn't as complicated as the other questions, but I'm wondering how to put colour in my signature. Thanks, Kzorq (Talk) 23:52, 17 July 2014 (UTC) Edit: If you want to know the specific colour, it's #800080. Kzorq (Talk) 23:59, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse Kzorq! I'm not very good with signatures, but this policy may be able to help you. Edit: This is the page I was referring to. Otherwise, more experienced Wikipedians, (like @Technical 13:) will probably help you out with your color changing. Cheers! Brandon (MrWooHoo) • Talk to Brandon! 01:40, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Expanding on Brandon's answer, the particular code you'll need is [[User:Kzorq|<span style="color: #800080">Kzorq</span>]], which will give you Kzorq. Hope this helps, ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 03:31, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Editing policy

A few days ago I asked a question about editing policy and how I can contribute to improving the entry INTERFERON. I want to thank Cullen and Vchimpanzee for their advice. As suggested, I will describe my concerns on the Interferon talk page. And yes, I am registered on Wikipedia as Kalos01, although I am relatively new to the game. The Interferon entry has numerous problems, as already pointed out by some others. I also have a technical question. How do I insert a reference to a published article so that it includes the link to the original article (I have a PMID No.)? And how do I include a reference to a published book when I have the ISBN?Kalos01 (talk) 18:59, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Hi again Kalos01. At the top of the edit window (not visual editor) you will find a bracket icon which gives a variety of templates for adding references with all the necessary options for links and ISBN numbers.Charles (talk) 20:05, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Can you explain to me how I can add my comments to the Talk:Interferon site, as suggested by Cullen? I have the text ready to be added, I can open Talk:Interferon, but I don't know what to do to get it on there.Kalos01 (talk) 21:15, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Hello, Kalos01. When you go to Talk:Interferon, you should see a number of tabs at the top right, such as "Edit" and "History". Between them is "+" - pick that to create a new section at the end of the talk page. It gives you a single-line field for the section title, and a box for the text you are going to enter in the section. Then you can pick Preview to check whether you've said what you wanted, and Save Page to save your addition. --ColinFine (talk) 23:08, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Hi ColinFine, thanks for the advice. It worked and I have added my comments. Will someone actually look at what I said and let me if my comments make sense?Kalos01 (talk) 02:57, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Welcome back to the Teahouse, Kalos01. Let me begin by saying that I claim no expertise regarding medical topics in general. However, I have paid a bit of attention to fringe medical topics, and to the high standards we have for medical articles, as described in WP:MEDRS. Lacking medical expertise, I can't endorse your proposed edits unconditionally. But, your input shows every sign of being productive and positive. So, I encourage you to engage positively with any dissenters. Otherwise, make the edits, and improve this article and the encyclopedia. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 04:33, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

"create a book" versus "download as pdf"

I used "download as PDF" to grab an article. When I compared the PDF to the live web page, they were different. Specifically, the printout had 13 references listed and the live page had 18.

It appears that the PDF was an older version of the article. (FYI the article had not been edited since I did the download. Also FYI, the missing references were not the last 5.)

I then tried the "create a book" function and the book was identical to the live article, as expected.

This appears to be some sort of technical glitch.

I thought I'd bring this to someone's attention. Savannah38 (talk) 23:40, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Hi @Savannah38: You may want to consider bringing this up at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical) - they specialize in technical problems there, and may be able to tell you what's up. I'm not at all familiar with the PDF generator, but I do have one idea - was the version of the article the PDF gave you very recent (i.e. within the last 24 hours?) If so, I'd guess that what you experienced was a caching issue, in which whatever mechanism that produces the PDF wasn't yet "updated" to the most recent version of the article. If the PDF pulled a much older version of the article, then I'm not really sure. Thanks, ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 03:40, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

OK, thanks, I'll bring it up over there.

It wasn't a very new version of the article. 98.232.62.63 (talk) 14:22, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Article problem box thingys

Those boxes you see sometimes at the tops of articles, that identify problems and issues with the article that need to be addressed ...

I assume anyone can add those where necessary, correct? What are they called, and where can one find a list of them? Mandruss (talk) 15:57, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Yes anyone can add maintenance templates. The "clean-up" list is at Wikipedia:Template messages/Cleanup but please read and follow the 5 bullet points at the top of the page. Warning - the page contains so many templates it can take some time to load if you have a slow connection. If the template you want is not on that list try Wikipedia:Template messages - an index of such pages. - Arjayay (talk) 16:25, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Thanks. I'm having trouble finding exactly what I want for an article that reads like a true-crime novel, with a lot of engaging but unencyclopedic detail --- detail whose significance can't possibly be supported by a preponderance of RS. I suspect that most of this detail is single-source. I'll use {{tone}}, but that only gets us halfway there as it doesn't go to significance. The article is here. Mandruss (talk) 16:54, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Deleted edits

As you see I recently asked a question about Service awards, and while investigating my edit count I came along a somewhat alarming fact. I monitor the New Pages Feed a lot, and as such end up tagging a lot of articles for deletion. I have discovered though, that my deleted edit count is over 100, and I am somewhat alarmed by this. Will this affect me in the long run? Roborule (talk) 18:11, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Having deleted edits is totally normal. Don't worry about it! I can't think of a way it would ever affect you. Calliopejen1 (talk) 18:18, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Some people occasionally pipe up saying "this user is bad! look, he has thousands of deleted edits!" Such people are usually quickly corrected by people who know better. Having a great many deleted edits is commonly a consequence of carrying out a large number of maintenance tasks effectively and accurately, for example by correctly tagging many pages for speedy deletion. (I only have 816 deleted edits, but I imagine some people have tens of thousands.)

For a better insight into the quality (and purpose) of some of your future deleted edits, you may wish to go to Wikipedia:Twinkle/Preferences and turn on various options in order to keep a CSD log when tagging articles with Twinkle. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 20:54, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Only 816? Lightweight! I have 11,385 - I must be a bad, bad boy!--ukexpat (talk) 15:03, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

I have about 620 deleted edits as of this writing, but it doesn't mean I'm necessarily a bad, evil, no-good, must-have-anvil-dropped-on-head editor . Tagging pages for deletion counts as an edit, and when the page is deleted, that edit gets sent to the deleted pages pile, so they do count. I'm an admin on two Wikias (as of this writing, of course), and I have tons of deleted edits. A good chunk of those is me tagging those pages for deletion in my pre-admin days. Others are me improving an article before it was deleted for housekeeping or after a discussion. Deleted edits do not symbolize wrong-doing, and shouldn't be confused as such. Remember, how are you supposed to tag and blank an attack page without editing it? What if you have a page in your userspace you want deleted? You probably want to use {{db-u1}}, and that requires an edit! --k6ka (talk | contribs) 17:11, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Editing policy

I am editing the entry "Interferon", a field I have worked in for a long time and am intimately familiar with. In the current entry's section on the history of interferon, someone has included numerous references to his own work claiming priority, when there were other people (not me!) who accomplished those tasks and should be given credit for it. Is it ok to delete the incorrect claims and the accompanying references and replace them with correct ones?

Kalos0150.74.41.74 (talk) 19:10, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse. I recommend that you describe your concerns and proposed changes in detail at Talk: Interferon. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 19:50, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

Hi, Kalos01. Have you registered on Wikipedia with that name? If not, there are reasons why you should, but it is not necessary.

I was going to give the same advice as Cullen, but I can add some details. While I am sure you are telling the truth, we have no way of knowing you actually are an expert on the subject of interferon. But even if you are an expert, you do not have any special privileges for editing. The good news is that you have a better understanding of the independent reliable sources that prove your statements that are necessary to make changes such as you wish to make. You have to show that your sources are more reliable than the sources you claim are incorrect. If the incorrect claims are unsourced, you can probably delete them and replace them with the correct sourced information, provided you leave a clear edit summary. If you are not registered and the edit is credited to 50.74.41.74, some editors will treat the edit as suspicious.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 19:55, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

Hey Cullen and Vchimpanzee, Thanks for the advice. i will describe my concerns on the Interferon talk page. And yes, I am registered on Wikipedia as Kalos01, although I am relatively new to the game. The Interferon entry has numerous problems, as already pointed out by some others, and I want to help improve it.

I also have a technical question. How do I insert a reference to a published article so that it includes the link to the original article (I have a PMID No.)? And how do I include a reference to a published book when I have the ISBN?

Kalos01Kalos01 (talk) 01:56, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

Template:Cite book may help you with the book. I'm not familiar with linking with journals, but there is Template:Cite journal.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 21:49, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

I see you asked another question which I haven't seen yet, but others seem to have helped you.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 21:52, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

User not AGF

Hello fellow wikipedians. This user just a couple of minutes ago went to this page talking about how my copyediting was "inappropriate." I'm not very upset over this issue, but I find it surprising that he did not assume good faith. What should I do? I'm guessing that the lead coordinator of the GOCE will reply to him about AGF. Anyways, cheers! Brandon (MrWooHoo) • Talk to Brandon! 19:49, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

I just received a response from him here, so I guess the issue is solved? Thanks! Brandon (MrWooHoo) • Talk to Brandon! 19:55, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Hi Brandon - to answer your original question, I don't think there was any questioning of good faith here by Retrohead. Assuming good faith means to assume that editors are trying to help the project, not hurt it. An editor considering your edit inappropriate or wrong is not the same as assuming your edit came with bad intention. Retrohead's message could have perhaps been less direct, and I wouldn't call your copyedit "inappropriate" either, but the point stands that the article requires a more thorough copyedit from an editor with a lot of experience in the area. It's absolutely all right to copyedit the article as you did; the issue was removing the article from the list of articles needing copyediting when it still needs some work done. It's nothing directed to you, it's just a task that needs a bit more attention :) I wouldn't worry about it. On that note, it's not required, but it is often considered courteous to link to or ping editors that you're discussing. Hope this helps! ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 21:07, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

I apologize to Brandon if my comments appeared impolite, but when I reverted I clearly stated that his bold edit was in good faith. I'm not questioning his good will to help the Wiki, just stated that the copyediting should be done more carefully.--Retrohead (talk) 22:33, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Melicope micrococca White Euodia photos

I have two photos of a rain forest tree, the Melicope micrococca White Euodia that would improve the reference in Wikipedia, including flowers of the tree. I am not sure how I can add these photos.ChrisMarkDrew (talk) 01:17, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse. If you took the photos, ChrisMarkDrew, then you can upload them to Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons license. If someone else took the photos, then they are probably covered by copyright and can't be used. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 02:39, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

Uploading image

Hi, I'm new and haven't quite figured out how to upload an image to a wiki article. I have become interested in updating a certain article (United States Association of Former Members of Congress) and would like to upload that organization's logo to the Info Box. How do I do this while remaining within copyright guidelines?

Thanks so much. Abroham1024 (talk) 20:01, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Abroham1024. You will find our guidelines on use of logos and other non-free images at WP:NFCI. It needs to be uploaded here on Wikipedia for use in only one main space article, with a detailed rationale explaining why its use is appropriate. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 02:43, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

Friends

How can I go to a person's page when I can't find it? THX4,444 — Preceding unsigned comment added by THX4,444 (talk • contribs) 05:38, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, THX4,444. Let's say, for the sake of discussion, that you want to find the user page for an editor called "Cullen328". That would be me. All you need to do is type User:Cullen328 into the search box, and you will be taken to that editor's page (mine). Just vary the search for any other editor. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 06:24, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for the information! — Preceding unsigned comment added by THX4,444 (talk • contribs) 06:36, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

Help me

Help me in this Article Rana Zubair — Preceding unsigned comment added by Yo Yo Gandoo (talk • contribs) 03:13, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

Hello, Yo Yo Gandoo. Your attempt to create an article on Rana Zubair is here - you were working in the system Sandbox, which is a place for experimenting, and automatically gets cleared every day. If you want to create an article, I recommend you read your first article, and probably use the article wizard to create it. Looking at what you inserted in that edit, I must tell you that an article on this person has no chance whatever of being accepted: Wikipedia does not have articles on everybody, but only on people who are "notable" in Wikipedia's special sense, which means that they have already been written about in reliable sources such as major newspapers or published books.

If you are Rana Zubair, you may share some basic information about yourself on your user page User:Yo Yo Gandoo if you wish; but that will not be an encyclopaedia article, and nor may Wikipedia be used for web hosting; it is just sharing a bit about you as a Wikipedia editor. You should also read guidance for younger editors before you do so.

I hope this helps. --ColinFine (talk) 09:00, 19 July 2014 (UTC)