Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 January 17

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[edit] January 17

[edit] Some question

I want to create an explaining page for European Business School providing links to wikipedia-articles of the corresponding european business schools and create some articles for them. But the bot won't let me? How do I mark an article as "should be deleted"? I think EBS_University_Cooperations is a very stupid article and the homepage of the corresponding college/school has more recent informations. Loggar 14:26, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Recreating a Yu-Gi-Oh! page

The current conversation I've had with an admin regarding this subject can be found here. Now, He and I had a bit of a dispute in December (a link in the section specified in the link will provide that conversation too), and the end result regarding sources was that in the case of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, episodes could be considered viable sources, but only when backed-up by a written, secondary source.

Now I've asked him if I could recreate a page he's deleted twice in the past (both unfairly in my opinion, but that's besides the point). He claimed at first I had no source, then that the page would be based on original research. The page in question is "Cyber-Series". In the anime in question, this refers to a series of cards with "Cyber" and "Cyberdark" in their names. The page as I would like to create it would refer to the two's relation to yin and yang, the dojo in which using the cards was trained, and the character who uses them and furthermore develops to reflect them during the series.

Now, I have a written source, and I have already been told I could use the episodes as a source with a secondary source. Also, I am fully prepared to offer citations to the episodes in question. And it is states in the series itself that the two "Cyber" cards are yin and yang, and that the character desires the Cyberdark cards to match his new, evil personality. Now, there is no original research involved, and I have both a secondary and a primary source, both of which are official. Do I have adaquate grounds to re-create this page? Drake Clawfang 05:20, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

All the wikinerds hang out here. You might get better luck asking this question at the Entertainment Desk. --JDitto 05:22, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

That page seems more like a chatboard than help, but I posted there as well. Still, I'll keep my question posted here. The guy I've been arguing with over this has been a real jerk and I need an admin to back me up. Based on all the conversations I've had with him and other mods, there don't seem to be any reasons why I can't recreate the article, but he still refuses. If I am wrong, fine, but I'd like to hear it from someone who's word I trust. Drake Clawfang 06:33, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Amending wrong information

You have an article under the heading of HMS.Centaur,inwhich you state that this was one of three carriers, the others being HMS's Bulwark and Albion. You also say the Centaur was the only one to retain the fore and aft flight deck !!! Wrong, very wrong, HMS Centaur was the very first Angled Deck Carrier in the world. I know I was serving on her,she was commissioned in Belfast in 1953, completed her sea trials and then sailed directly to Portsmouth Dockyards and commenced a six month refit to install the angled deck. She was then sent to the Mediterranean where Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten seconded her into his squadron so that he could, in his words, "Show off to the bloody Yanks with something they had not yet got" .

Regards Richard Sims.

  • Hi Richard. You can fix the article by clicking on the "Edit this page" link at the top of the page. Please be sure to cite your references. Thanks! — Reinyday, 07:22, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Foreign language titles

Please could you provide a few pointers regarding the foreign language words at JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The article is split up into sections for each part of the manga series. Underneath each of those section headers, the Japanese equivalent of the title is provided, and linked to its Japanese-version article at ja.wikipedia.org, like this:

[edit] Part 1: Phantom Blood

Part 1: ファントムブラッド

The story begins...

What changes would you suggest to this format/style, if any, and are there any specific guidelines when presenting the foreign-language equivalent of a title and link it?

Thanks. —XhantarTalk 06:25, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

There is a template for Japanese titles, in this case it would look like Phantom Blood (ファントムブラッド?) (like the main title of the article). It's best to include a transliteration as well. -- Rick Block (talk) 15:07, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
Thank you. —XhantarTalk 05:09, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Music examples

For an article I’m thinking of writing (List of ragas) I will need to create a very large number of music example images similar to this one[1]. It was created with GNU Lilypond. However I do not know how to write in C++. Is there another way to create music examples such as this one? Thanks! S.dedalus 06:51, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

You won't be writing for Lilypond using C++, you'll be using a markup language from the program (the article has an example). C++ was just the programming language in which the program was written on. — Kieff 23:48, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Information deleted

  • I contributed some information to an article about a band called Kids Can Rock and Roll. It included the stage names of the performers, as well as their real names. I just noticed that the latter have been deleted, suppossedly by one of the band members (according to the history log). I don't really care, but I am curious as to how to handle this sort of edit. Are their real identities private information that shouldn't be included in the article? --Vbd 09:39, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
  • Was that information verifiable through some reliable source? If it is already written elsewhere, the band members can't really claim it's private. However, if whoever edited it can prove their identity and make an official complaint there's a good chance the information can get removed per WP:BLP. Note, that often fans use band member names as usernames. Determining who actually removed it is key in the process. - Mgm|(talk) 11:34, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
    • Thanks!--Vbd 14:27, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Uploading an entry?

Hi, i was hoping to submit an entry to be included into Wikipedia, how do i go about this? do i just upload a Word file for example via the "Upload file" section in the toolbox?

Thanks - Oliver Powell

[edit] Machine Translator

Does WP have a machine translator? 166.61.232.18 13:39, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

I don't think so. You could try translating via AltaVista or Google. --ais523 13:44, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Potential copyvio on Top gear articles

Talk:Topgear#Copyvio? refers. I'm concerned that the articles on Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car (Top Gear), The Cool Wall (Top Gear) and Power Laps (Top Gear) containing blatant copyvios from the BBC Topgear website (as mentioned on the Top Gear talk page). Thus far no other editor has responded to my concerns so I thought I'd bring it here for more eyes. Could you please respond on the Top Gear talk page please? Zunaid©® 14:46, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

The talk page link doesn't seem to work. Xiner (talk, email) 18:20, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
It looks like you're referring specifically to the tables of lap times copied from the BBC Top Gear pages (correct me if I'm wrong). IANAL, but those lap times are facts, which cannot be copyrighted. --Plek 23:55, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Correct link Talk:Top Gear#Copyvios? --PS2pcGAMER (talk) 01:40, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] stalemate on Cfd

I posted a category for deletion and now seem to be engaged in a debate with one other user about it. Is there a time limit on such discussions? How long does it take for a decision to be made about the proposed deletion? And who decides?

Usually this means at least one person is repeating the same arguments. Regardless, it will be closed sooner or later by one admin, whose action you may not agree with. Xiner (talk, email) 18:18, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

In a related matter, someone decided (in response to my post, I think) to merge a couple of articles that arguably should not have been. Can I undue the merge?

Sometimes it's more of a question of whether you should. Whatever others do, you can undo, and vice versa. That said, if you don't think you can accommodate the merge, you can undo it with a request to discuss any further reverts on the talk page first. Xiner (talk, email) 18:18, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. --Vbd 14:52, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Translation for "a la cart"

I would like to know the French translation of "a la cart" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 157.89.43.77 (talk • contribs)

This is already French, or it would be if written à la carte. If you have further questions I suggest Wikipedia:Reference desk/Language. Notinasnaid 14:56, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
That's like the famous George Bush quote, something like: "The French don't have a word for entrepreneur". To answer your question; it means from the menu. Adrian M. H. 15:02, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
see wiki [2]. No? MartinGugino

[edit] Can I post to my blog from Wikipedia?

Is there a way (similar to the way other websites are doing so) to add settings for your blog to Wikipedia, and then quickly post a reference or citation or whole article from Wikipedia to your blog?

If not, does anybody know if there are any plans for this? I believe many users would find this useful.

Thanks

Joe Joerichards 15:00, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

No, there's no way of doing this. I'm not sure how it would be useful, either, as the source information would still be on Wikipedia. You're better off just linking to the WP article from your blog. -- Kesh 00:49, 18 January 2007 (UTC)
Or are you thinking you would like a preview window into an article on your blog? MartinGugino 08:00, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
You mean trackbacks? As far as I remember, there used to be support for that, at least in the software, but it was either never turned on or never finished, so I have no clue whether that code still works. Titoxd(?!?) 00:28, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Feature Question

How do I e-mail a page from Wikipedia to a friend? How come you do not prominently feature that? Thanks! Topper Head

You have to copy the URL address from the browser's location bar and send it to your friend manually. It'd preserve your online identity as well. Xiner (talk, email) 16:42, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Viewing of deleted revisions doesn't work

Because of my AdministrativePower®, I'm able to look beyond the surface of Wikipedia and see deleted revisions of articles. However, I seem to only be able to see the source code. If I click on the Preview button to see a rendered version, I end up with an entirely blank page. What is wrong? JIP | Talk 18:22, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

  • Which version of which article did you try to watch? - Mgm|(talk) 19:13, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
    • Rat zinging, which I originally created in August 2005 as a joke I never expected to live long. I am unable to view the rendered version of any of the three revisions. JIP | Talk 19:18, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
      • Hmm strange! I can see it just fine so there is nothing wrong with the article. Can you preview other deleted articles? Theresa Knott | Taste the Korn 00:01, 18 January 2007 (UTC)
      • It's fine here too... any other? Titoxd(?!?) 05:03, 18 January 2007 (UTC)
        • It seems to be working for me too now. JIP | Talk 07:48, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Help with videos

How can you post home-made videos on your user page? talk

WP:NOT a blog. You can post to Commons, but please read the guidelines there as well. Xiner (talk, email) 19:06, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Is it a video involving a Penis. Vagina. Boobs. Balls. Dirty Sanchez. Eiffel Tower. Cleveland Steamer. Rusty Trombone. Jack Hammer. Reverse Cowgirl. Skeletor. Leap Frog. Italian Chandelier. Black Bee. Harvey Wallbanger. Drilling for Oil? Remember be Bold and finally remember the most important rule Wikipedia does not have firm rules, "if the rules prevent you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia, ignore them." But, if you still feel like trying out something on your user page... check out Wikipedia:User page. Obviously your pornographic picture movie will meet the requirements for free licence.

Remember though, not everyone thinks it's appropriate to see a video on "non-stop birth control, being able to go on the pill, stay on the pill... that you practice from mouth to muff and anal doggy style safe sex... with your girlfriends hot friend watching and Jimmy the next-door neighboor whome also waxes your back. That's because as per WP:User page#Removal "If the community lets you know that they would rather you delete some content from your user space, you should consider doing so - such content is only permitted with the consent of the community. After you've been here for a while, and written lots of great articles, the community may be more inclined to let you "get away with it". Alternatively, you could move the content to another site, and link to it.

If you do not cooperate, we will eventually remove inappropriate content, either by editing the page (if only part of it is inappropriate), or by redirecting it to your main user page (if it is entirely inappropriate)." But everyone has a subjective tolerance to what is innapropriate... here is a guideline for sexually explicity images... Wikipedia:WikiProject Sexology and sexuality/WIP-image-guidelines. What is there is still under discussion of concensus but you should be alloud to post your video... so long as it's not child pornogrophy according to California Law (or something like that). To be taken seriously you need to follow this rule Wikipedia:Profanity, which states "profanity should either appear in its full form or not at all." A good way would be to say something like "I would much prefer to know what wikipedian think of this video. Were they embarrassed? Were they curious? Were they repulsed? Were they thinking it was the greatest thing going since sliced bread? I would loved to have heard a conversation between males and females on their attitudes towards it because I'd be willing to bet half of the guys were just as embarrassed as the females were and didn't know how to deal with it and because they're guys and the expectation is if you're a guy you're going to have a "hehehe go for it" attitude and that may not have been how they were feeling."

If you read through that rule carefully... that means if it is partially inappropriate the content will be edited but if it is totally inappropriate they wil redirect it right back to itself.

If you do this though I would suggest being carefull on who you contact because they'll probably think your a Troll. Anyway good luck with your pornographical video productions! --CyclePat 06:15, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

Who is to say it's pornographic? --Wooty Woot? contribs 06:21, 18 January 2007 (UTC)
When searching on google for "home-made videos"... there is 1.7 million hits. Most link are porn related. Obviously the next question was going to be about the sexual intercourse. Of course maybe it was a home-video of him baking cookies, then going for a bike ride... but I'dd like to entertain the sexual phantasy as my intrinsic sexual "moi" senses were saying. Think of it like a type of gaydar but for porn. We know! --CyclePat 06:34, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 2 questions.

1)How do I creaate a special page?

2)How do I get my stuff (on my userspace) to align to the left?

Thank you,--Darkest Hour Ж=Ж 19:57, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

How do I create a special page? Generally, you don't. Special pages are an integral part of the MediaWiki software itself. If you are a PHP programmer then you can contact the MediaWiki staff and ask to become a developer. Then you can be granted access to the source code. I am a programmer myself but I do not know any PHP so I would not become a MediaWki developer at this time. JIP | Talk 20:39, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
The answer to the first question is to become a developer. See m:How to become a MediaWiki hacker if you want to follow that dark and thankless path.
As to the second, it can be done with some CSS. Titoxd(?!?) 05:02, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Title of page problem

Hi!

I created a new page about a living person, but the last name of the person (hence the title of the page) shows not-capitialized after I created the page.

How do I change the title of the page so that both the first and last name are capitalized?

Thanks very much in advance!

Musicmusic 20:18, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

I see that the page has been moved, but no response here, so I'll explain. Users who have been here for a while (four days or so, I think) get a little button at the top that says 'move.' You use that to rename pages. --Sopoforic 20:26, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
Yes he is right sorry for not replying sooner, I had a little bit to do. Thank you Sopoforic. --Darkest Hour Ж=Ж 20:31, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Many, many thanks to both of you!

  • The reason the last name didn't show capitalized was because you didn't capitalize it when you chose the name. Make sure the title of a page is correctly capitalized before you submit your next article. - Mgm|(talk) 22:13, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Musicmusic 20:33, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Guidelines for Religion definition

Hi All,

I am involved in a mediation over at Waldorf Education and a user has stated this:

I saw the wikipedia guidelines say someplace that in articles about religions the definition of the religion or religious tenets have to be taken from the doctrines adopted by those in the religion.

Now this makes sense to me - but I am unable to find the policy/guideline in question - anyone know where to look?

Cheers Lethaniol 20:27, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

I doubt it. See Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view/FAQ#Religion. --Sopoforic 20:32, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
I'd be careful about seeking any special dispensation from one of the core tenets of Wikipedia. There's a reason they're not just guidelines. Xiner (talk, email) 20:49, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
Oh I am - I just wanted to check if there was such a guideline or not Cheers Lethaniol 22:29, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Copying a page

Hi, I want to creat an article by using an existing template. The main article on "Alan Greenspan" is the existing template I would like to use. How do I make a new article following this same template/format? 20:43, 17 January 2007 (UTC) Thank You, Trevor Scott

I'd copy the entire page to a blank page in my user space and play with it. Xiner (talk, email) 20:45, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
Just remember to put <nowiki></nowiki> tags around the category links, or your user page will show up on the category pages. --Plek 21:56, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Stalking

I believe I'm being stalked. A editor keeps editing pages which have absolutely nothing in common except that I edit them, and all he or she does is contradict me. I've never found this kind of behavior listed under any of the "don't do this" policies. Is it permitted, is it written explicitly somewhere, or does it fall under simple trolling? Thanatosimii 21:21, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Trolling isn't against policy I think, but if he/she is just doing this to spite you, you should try to let it roll off your back while warning them about any rule infractions, eg {{needsource}} or {{verror}}. Xiner (talk, email) 21:25, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
Trolling comes under disruption and admins are happy to block if it gets bad enough.Theresa Knott | Taste the Korn 23:58, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
See Wikipedia:Harassment -- John Broughton | ♫♫ 20:25, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wikisource e-mail address confirmation error

Hi Wikipedia - I clicked the confirmation link in the email I just received after creating my account, and the confirmation window opened. When I tried to sign into Wikipedia ten minutes later, however, I got this message:

Login error: There is no user by the name "_______". User names are case sensitive. Please check your spelling, or use the link below to create a new user account.

It's not a case-sensitive problem, because I copied and pasted my Username from the confirmation email. I tried the "Email New Password" button, but received the same message and did not receive an email. What can I do?

You may be confusing Wikipedia with Wikisource. They are different projects that each require their own registration. Try logging into Wikisource here, or creating a Wikipedia account here.--Werdan7T @ 21:49, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
I've had the same problem with Wikisource specifically, and I doubt this user's problem is due to any confusion between Wikipedia and Wikisource. I'm asking for help here because there doesn't seem to be anything similar to this Help Desk in Wikisource. I've been able to create accounts on Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikimedia Meta-Wiki without incident; the problem appears to be specific to Wikisource. I got a confirmation email from Wikisource similar to the ones sent by Wikipedia, the Commons, and Meta. But when I tried to log in as "Neuromath" on Wikisource, it said "no such user", and yet when I tried to create the account again in order to get around the problem, it said I couldn't because an account by that name already existed. I would really appreciate some help from someone familiar with Wikisource. —Neuromath 03:53, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Suppressing categories in templates

If a category includes a template, is there anyway to use that template and suppress the category? For example, if I wanted to show somebody a userbox like:

This user is interested in ancient Rome.


but I don't want to actually force the Help desk page into the associated category (since the Help Desk is not interested in ancient Rome, per se), what can I do?--JayHenry 21:41, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

I believe you could subst it-{{subst:User Rome}}- then hit page preview. The code will appear, and you can edit out the category, then save. 24.20.69.240 21:44, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
Almost. The template code will not show up in the preview. You'd have to use the substitute syntax, then save the edit, then edit the page again, then delete the category tag, and finally save the page. Maybe someone else can think of a better way of doing this. --Plek 21:53, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
The caveat there is that you'd be delinked from the actual userbox page. It'd be equivalent to copying the code from the template minus the lines for including the category. I'm not sure there's an alternative though. Xiner (talk, email) 22:02, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
I was hoping for a <suppress category> ... </suppress> sort of shortcut. Oh well... I guess subst works as does copying the code from the template. Thanks for the help and if there's a different shortcut let me know!!--JayHenry 22:07, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
For the record, I'm very interested in ancient Rome. .V. (talk) 22:09, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
Wrap the categories in the template with a parameter ({{{category|[[Category:Wikipedians interested in ancient Rome]]}}}) then call the template with a blank value passed to the parameter ({{User:UBX/Rome|category=}}). I've already adjusted the template on this page. —{admin} Pathoschild 22:22, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Using Word 2007 to print

I used to copy-paste the URL from the Printable versions of the pages of wikipedia into the Open menu in MS Office Word 2003 as a ReadOnly, so as to keep the format of the original page including the charts, lists,...etc, save it for editing, formatting and finally printing it into a nice research..But when Using Word 2007, The whole page format is shuffled and entirely lost , especially tables and pictures, although this still work with URLs from other sites...Is there any option in Word2007 responsible for this messWess2001i 22:33, 17 January 2007 (UTC)Wess2001i

  • If you want to print, simply print from your browser: copying it into a Word document is almost guaranteed to ruin the formatting. —Dark•Shikari[T] 01:49, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Article creation

Yes i have created plenty of articles and I know how to create one. However, i sometimes have a problem. I create the article and don't click save. I move to another page to quickly check a page. When i click back to return to my editing preview box, the information i have added is gone. Is there any way of sorting this out? Simply south 22:39, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

This is a browser problem (not Wikipedia :). Therefore it might be a question for WP:VP/T or WP:RD. Yuser31415 23:41, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
Thanks anyway. I have posted this now on VPT as you suggested. Simply south 00:06, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Proper handling of a link to internal resource on disambiguation page

The disambiguation page Comment contains a link that points to WP help content (look under Publishing). This looks out of place, but I cannot find the article that specifies how to correctly handle it. WP:SELF does not seem to address this directly (unless I misread). Cites? Tips? dr.ef.tymac 23:37, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Indeed. I removed the link; feel free to do the same (the only article that should link to Wikipedia, IMO, is the Sandbox page). Cheers! Yuser31415 23:40, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
Follow-up: Anyone have a cite or link that talks about this specifically for future reference? It helps to have references to avoid tedious "why did you delete that" debates. Thanks! dr.ef.tymac 00:31, 18 January 2007 (UTC)
For an example of how it actually should be done, see Template, specifically the self-reference at the top. WP:SELF clearly explains why self-reference in the body of an article is a bad idea, and I don't think additional guidance is needed. I hope this helps you sufficiently. :-) --Tkynerd 00:53, 18 January 2007 (UTC)
Mailing list links to Wikipedia space, as well. User:Zoe|(talk) 21:19, 18 January 2007 (UTC)