Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 January 5

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[edit] January 5

[edit] User "Guy"/"JzG" abusing his deletion priveleges

This guy is seeking me out and deleting all my contributions. Can someone please stop this behavior. I am trying to add a Wiki entry for "Artificial Planet" as seen here: aiplanet.sourceforge.net But he keeps deleting it, like its spam. This is hypocritical and ridiculous. Aiplanet has been around for five years and this is NOT SPAM Aiplanet is NOT A COMMERCIAL PRODUCT. Can someone/admin tell this "Guy" to get a life and leave my Wiki entry alone. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Aidave (talk • contribs) 13:13, January 5, 2007

Wikipedia is not the place to advertise your project. Stop doing so. Hipocrite - «Talk» 18:18, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

I am not advertising it. Why would I advertise something that is FREE? Its OpenSource. You cant buy it even if you wanted to. So stop making up nonsense. If you dont like the project, you dont have to read the Wiki entry.

It's deleted for there being no assertion of notability. Has "Artificial Planet" been mentioned by any independent sources? If not, then there is no verifiable information from which to write the article and so it will be deleted. Wikipedia is not an open forum where people can create articles on whatever they want. Trebor 19:49, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Main Page Vandalism!!!

If whoever is reading this is an admin, please go check out the main page immediatly, as there was a large picture of the tellie tubbies, and now a huge penis! Isn't the page protected? What's wrong?! | AndonicO Talk | Sign Here 00:47, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

It's thankfully fixed now. | AndonicO Talk | Sign Here 00:56, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

You should have posted this on WP:ANI or WP:AIV. Template:Emot Yuser31415 01:06, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Oh, okay. I'll do that next time. :-) | AndonicO Talk | Sign Here 01:13, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Wait though, can AIV help even if I don't know the vandal's username/IP? | AndonicO Talk | Sign Here 01:14, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

No, but any page that gets vandalized will have an IP in the History. It wouldn't have been the actual Main page that was vandalized, but more likely an image or Featured Article linked there got vandalized. Do you know where the images were on the page? -- Kesh 01:21, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

I just checked WP:ANI, and they explain now. | AndonicO Talk | Sign Here 01:22, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

What happened. Yuser31415 01:26, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] composers

How do i search i composer that i don't know how to spell his name and when i search dead composers i don't see the name of my composer. I think it's Giochinni Rosinni, but i'm not sure.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.122.48.77 (talk • contribs) 20:58, January 4, 2007

That would be Gioacchino Rossini. The best thing, when you're having trouble, is just to search by one of the words. I found him by searching for Rossini, which brought up an article talking about a musical suite which included one of his works. From there, I had the link to him. -- Kesh 02:03, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Green day talk page

I would like to reply to a comment under the "Not an Opera" section of the talk page for Green Day's American Idiot. Can I do this without having to edit the entire section or starting a new topic?

Soaddict 02:37, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

  • You can't. Editing the section is the easiest option. - Mgm|(talk) 09:59, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Deleting Page, Need Help Though

The page, "Category:110th United States Congressional delegation" navigation boxes contains thirty-some links to other templates. These templates are old and should all be deleted. However, it would take a very long time to go to each of those state's delegations to see what articles the templates are used on and replace it with the correct one: i.e. Template:WV-FedRep. Wisconsin is one example where different members of the delegation have different templates. Byrdin2006 02:43, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Deletion policy should have the information on how to place the relevant tags on the article. Then it will be sent to Categories for discussion to await a community consensus. After five days, barring a community consensus to keep (and the vast majority of matters/articles/categories up for deletion are uncontroversial) or a lack of consensus the category will be deleted by an administrator. If you have any more questions, or need some more help, you can also drop me a line on my talk page. Wintermut3 05:51, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] article deletion

is this article good enough for deletion?

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

I tryed to find info on her but nothing came up —Preceding unsigned comment added by Falcon866 (talk • contribs)

  • The article clearly needs some grammatical fixes, but the person appears to be real as per her TV.com page. I can't judge if the roles are major enough to warrant an entry. - Mgm|(talk) 09:54, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Cannot download High Resulution Version

Hello,

Trying to download high-resolution version (1475x1200,
657 KB)from Political map of Europe (neighbouring
countries in Asia and Africa also shown), but unable to
do so. I use Microsoft Explorer version 6.0.2600.0000
My windows version is Windows XP Professional.

Kindly let me know how do i download the same.

Thanks

Shreyas
Can you please explain the symptoms? How exactly are you unable to download the file? Are there any error messages? Does your browser lock up? Thanks, Tangotango (talk) 07:07, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Show Preview gives page could not be displayed

Assuming all other parts of Wikipedia work properly for a logged-in user, why would the Show Preview button consistently give a Page could not be displayed error? (Asking for another user... of course) - Raetzsch 04:15, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

  • Just try again, it's probably a lapse in their internet connection or availability of the Wikipedia servers. - Mgm|(talk) 09:51, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] I still cannot rename my article

I have followed the instructions in your FAQ,but here comes my problem. I was trying to rename my article "Apologie to Poesie" and following the rules, I clicked on "my preferences" but the problem is that there is no "move" tab anywhere in the page...neither at the top as the FAQ answers mentioned nor elsewhere.

So,I have to change it for a proper title must be either "Defense of Poesie" or "An Apology for Poetry". If a reply would take time,do me the favour of correcting this beginers' mistake yourself.

Thanks

You will have to move it, if your account is older than 4 days than just click the move link that you see at the top. If you are younger than I or someone else can do it for you. — Arjun 05:13, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
  • The article appears to be deleted. It was a direct copy of material already available elsewhere for which there was no reason to split it from the main article. - Mgm|(talk) 09:49, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Copying text from a website

If someone claims to be the author of some text on a website and wants to copy it to an article on Wikipedia, what is the appropriate way to go about this? This person is trying to create an autobiography of himself (Frank Lombardi) and is trying to show that the text of his website should be placed in the article. CoolGuy 05:12, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

The best way is for him to e-mail a description of the problem (the exact title of the page in question, the URL of the original source, and a clear indication of his willingness to release the content under the terms of the GFDL) to permissions at wikimedia dot org, and the matter will be handled confidentially by one of the m:OTRS team members. It is recommended that he prove that he is actually the author--if the content comes from a website, the best way is to send an e-mail using an e-mail address with the same domain as the website. Cheers, Tangotango (talk) 06:55, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
Honestly, if it's an article about himself, there's a serious consideration about conflict of interest. -- Kesh 17:07, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
I agree. Thank you. CoolGuy 00:38, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] IP address

Is there a way to find out the IP address of someone who uses a login name? CoolGuy 05:40, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes, but only people with checkuser status can do so. You have to file a request. -Amarkov blahedits 05:43, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
You must have a good reason however. You can't just say I want to know so-sos IP address. However if you want to know yours you obviously just edit the sandbox when not logged in. — Arjun 05:47, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
No covered reason. Just wanted to know if it was possible. Thanks for responding. CoolGuy 05:53, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Help Me

I uploaded a file to test how creating my own page would go.

I then attempted to delete the file and saw that the option did not exist.

This file and my account page are all that I am dealing with now. I have not attempted to join the Wiki at large...just testing the user interface and usability.

Eric D Welch —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Eric D Welch (talk • contribs) 06:45, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Only administrators have the ability to delete pages and uploaded files. I have deleted your file now. You're welcome to test out edits in the Wikipedia:Sandbox, as well as on your own user page. Good luck! -- Tangotango (talk) 06:52, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

You can create subpages to your userpage, and test things out there. Like this: User:Eric D Welch/Sandbox. Just type that into the search box, and follow the instructions that appear on your screen. (Or just click on the redlink above).  The Transhumanist   08:46, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How can I Prevent others from editing my content

How can I Prevent others from editing my content? 203.101.103.2 07:58, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

It's not your content. Once you add something to Wikipedia, anybody can edit it. See WP:OWN. You shouldn't be concerned about your content, but rather should be concerned about factual accuracy and readability, etc. If you don't agree with somebody's edits, state your reasons on the talk page, and request that the other editor reply to you there. Discussing things out is the best way to resolve disagreements concerning edits. Also, it makes it much easier for other editors to identify with you if you have a user account. Please create one and use it for all your edits and discussions on Wikipedia. I hope these suggestions help.  The Transhumanist   08:42, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
  • If you want to prevent others from editing the content you submit, you should start your own website. Content submitted to Wikipedia is editable by everyone as stated by our founding rules. - Mgm|(talk) 09:44, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
  • The great strength of Wikipedia is that it is totally collaborative. Other editors can edit your material, but they're usually more eager to improve than wreck it, and we're as a group quite good at removing vandalism pronto. Remember no-one owns any article on wikipedia Wintermut3 05:54, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] History of Wikipedia

When was Wikipedia established/founded? Who controls Wikipedia?

January 15th, 2001. Wikipedia is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, which also develops the Mediawiki software upon which Wikipedia runs. While the Foundation oversees Wikipedia's financial management, and operates its servers, it doesn't control Wikipedia per se. The "control" or management of the content of Wikipedia and control over the way it is managed is decided by all of Wikipedia's users. Anyone can edit, and Wikipedia has an extensive system of policies, guidelines, projects, editors, and system administrators to develop and maintain the content of Wikipedia in an organized way.  The Transhumanist   08:35, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
See also History of Wikipedia. Michael Billington (talk • contribs) 09:17, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] When more participants to a discussion are needed

Where are the best places to request further discussion participants to resolve an edit dispute?  The Transhumanist   09:07, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

You could open a Request for comment — Lost(talk) 09:11, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
Found a bunch of links at: Wikipedia:Resolving disputes. Seems that request for comment is further down the road. Thanks though.  The Transhumanist   09:13, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
How about Request for feedback? - Mgm|(talk) 09:37, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] placing an image on a page

I'd like to know about technical copyright requirements for placing an image on a page. I took a photo of a person, I want to put it on a page in wikipedia, and want to know what is required. I've read the copyright info at length in the faq section, and deciphering what exactly to do seems unclear. I'd like the photo to be used on the page here, but not give others free use of it. What type of copyright image do I need to place on the photo? And what else do I need to do to get it on the page (aside from uploading it ;-) to make sure it doesn't get deleted or misused?

Thanks

  • You can't do that. Every image submitted to Wikipedia should be freely reuseable. However, you can require people to give you proper credit for taking the photograph when they use it. By the way, make sure you have the permission of the photograph subject before you publish it. When you say you don't want to give others free use and ask how to stop abuse, what exactly are you afraid of will happen? - Mgm|(talk) 09:34, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
This is a side effect of wanting Wikipedia to be "free". Anyone can copy the text you write for their own purposes, anyone can copy the pictures for their own purposes. Notinasnaid 10:06, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How do I [re-]edit an image upload to correct incomplete copyright information

I have uploaded an image and since I created the image I did not answer all the questions perhaps as I should and I have been notified - this is fine, thank you.
Despite searching for help (and finding help on what I should have done), I cannot find how I might change what I have done.

How do I edit the image information to update the missing information?

You can add information about an image and change the license tag after uploading by going to the image page and editing it like you would edit any other article (ie, click on the "edit" link at the top, that will let you edit the image description, not the image itself) -- Ferkelparade π 09:51, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Proofreaders needed

Proofreaders are needed for the various lists on Lists of basic topics (not this page itself, but the pages listed on it). Please follow the links which interest you, and which you know the best, and add any links which pop out at you as missing.

If you really feel ambitious, take a crack at the lists listed on the task list on the talk page.  The Transhumanist   11:03, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] search

Dear Sirs,

I would like to make a search on the retail stores that does international shipping. I found some info but Im sure there is more that I couldnt find.

Sincerely,

GÇ

Wikipedia is probably not what you are looking for, you would want a phone book's website (or other similar directory). It is actually policy that Wikipedia is not a directory. It would depend on where you live but I'm sure you could easily find the site you are looking for with google. James086Talk | Contribs 11:36, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
  • And remember, while James and I might be addressed as Sirs, our female editors probably like to be called something else. - Mgm|(talk) 12:37, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Image

Hi - I thought I had uploaded the image of Marc Koska in the entry for "Marc Koska" but as you can see, it only shows the filename rathert than the image itself! What did I do wrong? Johnalexwood 12:35, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

A really good directory site is http://www.411.com. Kamope 14:56, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
The image doesn't show up because it was deleted. See the deletion log, criterion for speedy deletion I3, which is the reason for deletion, and the image use policy. --Rory096 19:01, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] History

Is there a way of looking at the history of a particular section of the article instead of browsing at the whole page history?

Simply south 14:53, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately, there is no way to do this. You will need to browse through the entire history. Cheers, Tangotango (talk) 15:09, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Signature color

How do you change the color of your signature? I've tried user the code to change font colors in articles inside the box in my preferences to change your signature and I tested it in my sandbox, but it didn't work. Kamope 15:06, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

You need to check the Raw signature checkbox to use HTML and wiki tags in your signature. Cheers, Tangotango (talk) 15:09, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
Hope i'm not intrudig, sorry. Where is this found? Simply south 16:51, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
Just in the first tab ("User profile") of the preferences. Click the my preferences link that appears at the top when you're logged in. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 17:01, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Screenshot use

If i take a screenshot of a video game on my laptop, is it fair use? or is it..mine..and i can upload it to wikimedia as free use? Fethroesforia 16:06, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Doubt it. It could be fair use if particularly illustrative. Xiner (talk, email) 16:08, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
Its fair use as long as its used to illustrate the topic at hand. — Dark Shikari talk/contribs 16:13, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks to both of you..one further question, there are currently three Lost World: Jurassic Park articles and I am working on a fourth, shall I create a disambiguation page for them? it will get a bit full on the top of the games pages to inform them off videogames of the same name? Fethroesforia 16:36, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes, please do. Most people create a disambig page for anything more than two articles that have the same name. Dismas|(talk) 16:57, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Okay, many thanks to you:) Fethroesforia 17:00, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Oh..one problem...someof the games are ported on other formats (there is one article for the dreamcast and the playstation version together, which is called Lost World (videogame) (or something like that)) and also one called (gameboy game) and (arcade game). Any idea what I can call the one previously called (videogame) as I will put the disambig page there:) Fethroesforia 17:02, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Unless there are significant differences between the different ports, significant enough to warrant seperate articles, I would personally merge them all into the "(videogame)" page. Dismas|(talk) 17:07, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Well..theres quite a lot of difference, but..where do I put the disambig page if the article (videogame) is being used? Fethroesforia 17:10, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Then you could move the one that is currently at "videogame" to another name. To do that, click on the "move" tab at the top of the article. On the next page you will be asked for a new name for the article. The new page will have the old info moved to it and the old page will then be a redirect to the new page. You can then go edit the "old" page to create the disambig. See Wikipedia:Page moves and Wikipedia:Redirect for more info. Dismas|(talk) 17:15, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
Also, if you just search for Lost World there's a page with links to other articles there. Keep that in mind when setting up your article and any disambiguation pages. -- Kesh 17:17, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Okay..Ill move the page currently at (videogame) but what to call it..it contains a playstation and sega saturn version of the game..shall I call it (Playstation game)as its the most common version and the one the cover art is of? Fethroesforia 18:42, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Which system was it originally created for? If it was ported to PlayStation from the Saturn, call it (Sega Saturn game). Or, vice versa. If they were released simultaneously, that complicates matters. -- Kesh 18:58, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
Unfortunately..released at the same time (Nov 17th 1997) though the playstation version is by far more popular than the satrun one (not very encyclopedic I know) Fethroesforia 19:03, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
Okay, here's a compromise: GameBoy is a portable system, and Arcade is... well, an arcade system. So, the PS and DC versions are Console systems. Rename it to The Lost World: Jurassic Park (console game), then you'll have all of those versions on the disambiguation page. It's not ideal, but it would help clarify.
However, I think it's unnecessary. The Game Boy article is a stub, and the Arcade article is just a list of dinosaurs encountered. They really should both be merged into The Lost World: Jurassic Park (console game) and the pages redirected to that.
At this point, I think we're moving beyond the scope of the help desk. I'm going to copy & paste this discussion to the (video game) page, and we can continue there. -- Kesh 21:47, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Recent changes page

Hi,

I've been wondering: what are the green and red numbers in brackets for on the recent changes page? Positive numbers are green, while negative numbers are red. What is this for?

Thanks, Bioarchie1234 17:03, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

They indicate the number of bytes that were added or removed from the article. A higher number means a larger change to the article. Dismas|(talk) 17:05, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
Thanks Dismas, that was a really quick response. Thanks again for your help. Bioarchie1234 17:11, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Changing my edits

How do I know when and why my edits might have been altered by someone?

Is there an automatic notification process?—Preceding unsigned comment added by Hwaxman (talk • contribs)

Thanks for the quick reply.

For the life of me I can't figure out how to find out what's happening. I made some edits a couple of months ago to a topic. They have been deleted. I can't seem to find out by whom and why from the above link.

If an article you contributed to was deleted, your contributions are deleted also and do not show on the list. — Dark Shikari talk/contribs 19:00, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
    • (edit conflict) The easiest thing to do is Watch the pages you're editing. Then, whenever anyone modifies the page, you will see it update on your own Watch page and can compare the differences to see what's been changed. As for deleted edits, click on the History tab for the page and look for your last edit, then compare it to the next one. If the article itself was deleted, you can look for it in the AfD archives to see why. - Kesh 19:03, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
  • For the record, this is probably the diff in question. The changes were removed because they were not verified and not written in a neutral manner. -- Kesh 19:06, 5 January 2007 (UTC)


Many thanks again.

[edit] “Busy” templates

Please tell me where can I find the WP “Busy” user templates for taking wiki-breaks, etc. --Cesar Tort 21:14, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

See WP:WB. Cheers! Yuser31415 21:38, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Error creating archive of Talk page - link within template does not link to current Talk page

I tried to create archives of the content on two different talk pages. I used the (talkarchive) template. When displayed, the second sentence of the template states "If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page," The words "current talk page" are supposed to become a link to the new talk page. However, I seem to have done something wrong, because neither of the template links direct to the current talk page for either article).

The articles are both written on topics related to human sexual behavior, in case anyone needs a warning. The archives (complete with non-working links) may be found here and here. The actual, current talk pages, to which the template links are supposed to direct, may be found here and here. I want to make whatever changes are needed, so that the links found within the template on the archive pages, link properly to the current talk pages. What should I do? Thank you for your help! Joie de Vivre 21:32, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Working on it, will reply soon. -- Kesh 00:07, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
Okay, I've fixed it up. The problem is, Archive pages need to be a sub-page of the archive itself. So, Archive 1 of Talk:Outercourse needs to be Talk:Outercourse/Archive 1. Because you had it set to Talk:Outercourse_Archive1, the template wasn't able to link properly back to its parent Talk page. I've gone ahead and fixed both archives and their links from the main pages. As well, I've added another template that lets you navigate between numbered archives, for when they get archived again.
Since you had the template, I'm guessing you already saw Wikipedia:How to archive a talk page but, if not, check it out. Got some good info there. Hope that helps you out! -- Kesh 00:19, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Great job, Kesh. Thanks very much for your help! Joie de Vivre 11:34, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] I requested a spam article for deletion..

and placed something on the talk page, the article itself was deleted, but the talk page remains...should it? Fethroesforia 23:51, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Orphaned talk pages are usually deleted, you can file a Matters for Discussion request for it, with a process very simular to listing an AfD. Wintermut3 05:55, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Creating a contents section on a page

I have noticed on many pages there are contents boxes, yet I can't find in the edit history etc. how to do it. How do you add these little contents boxes? Many Thanks, Asics 23:52, 5 January 2007 (UTC) contact

They automatically appear once the article has four or more sections. See WP:TOC. Dismas|(talk) 23:56, 5 January 2007 (UTC)