Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 March 20

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[edit] March 20

[edit] Writing articles

How do i write a article? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.107.17.106 (talk) 00:27, 20 March 2007 (UTC).

See Wikipedia:How_to_start_a_page. Make sure your article meets notability requirements. -- Hdt83 | Talk 00:38, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
To create an article, you have to get an account. The Evil Clown Please review me! 00:56, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
And read Wikipedia:Why was my article deleted? to see what can happen if you don't follow the rules. There are lots of rules depending on the article's subject, so you might want to tell us more about the article you want to write, and get some specific advice before starting. If you are just starting out on Wikipedia, it's better to spend some time editing existing articles before starting new ones, so you can learn how things work here. --Teratornis 13:43, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Would it be okay to violate the 3rr rule if it is vandalism?

Question asked in headline.--Shindo9Hikaru 00:57, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

The 3RR doesn't apply at all. I have "violated" like that countless times. Feel free to weed out vandalism on one page as much as you can possibly do in a day. Cheers! The Evil Clown Please review me! 01:01, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

  • As long as it is clearly vandalism as per Wikipedia:Vandalism, the 3RR doesn't apply. - Mgm|(talk) 08:52, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
  • And just to emphasise the point more: vandalism would be things like adding "poop" or changing the day Christmas falls on to 25 June. It does not apply to sincere edits made by editors who seem to believe what they write, even if they are completely misinformed; this is a content dispute, and should be reverted only once before moving to discussion on the talk page. Notinasnaid 08:58, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
    • Just for reference, note that reverting vandalism on four different pages definitely doesn't violate 3RR, and in fact is somewhat encouraged (this came up in a helpme once). --ais523 13:53, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] What?

What kind of bennifits/rewards do i get for creating an acount?
Thebeast2029. I've welcomed you on your talk. The benefits are many; rewards are few, except adminship, Barnstars, and after roughly 20000-50000 Jimbo Wales might give you a job at Wikia. Or maybe not. Have fun! The Evil Clown Please review me! 01:04, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

You get to be one of us! Users with accounts get more controls to play with, greater editing access, etc. The Transhumanist   04:20, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
See our article Wikipedia:Why create an account? Harryboyles 07:10, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lemuel H. Wells

The article on Lemuel H. Wells contains a factual error of geography. It locates the city of Tacoma, Washington in the wrong part of the state. I attempted to edit it by changing the one incorrect word. I saw the change made, and I wrote a very brief explanation of what I did in the space for doing that; however, when I opened up the article, my correction had not been made. I closed my browser and reopened it and went to the article again. It still doesn't reflect my correction. I have looked over all the help sections---most of which are too complicated for this 79 year old geezer to understand---but I couldn't find any info on what else I could do to make the correction stick. 24.19.92.118 01:23, 20 March 2007 (UTC)William J. Erickson, Tacoma, Washington

I think I changed it back correctly (Eastern to Western Washingotn). Let me know if anything else is wrong. Thanks. -- Hdt83 | Talk 01:42, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Well done to you for having a go at it. Don't let one glitch put you off, either. Too many people simply post here expecting someone else to make the edit, so it is nice to see keen contributors. Adrian M. H. 18:53, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Source no longer exists

What is an online source no longer exists, what is the correct way to modify an article? For example, if a newspaper article is no longer online. Thanks, CoolGuy 01:55, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Cite the physical publication. See Wikipedia:Citing sources.
Hope that helps. The Transhumanist   04:15, 20 March 2007 (UTC)


What article are you referring to? What reference no longer exists? (drop me a note on my talk page, to be sure I get your answer). The Transhumanist   04:17, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

  • It happens a lot. If there is a paper alternative, you should cite that. If it's an online source that went missing, you should make an effort to look for archived versions of it. - Mgm|(talk) 08:51, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] PDF file as a reference

Hi, I am trying to use a linked PDF file as a reference per the normal way I add references, but when I do all the text below that reference does not show in the saved article. Is there is special way to do this? If you look at Robert Perry (yacht designer) you can see my inital article creation with the ref and then my removal of the ref due to the problem it created. Thanks! Russeasby 01:57, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

I've fixed it for you. The reason that happened was that you forgot to close the reference with a </ref> tag. -- Chairman S. Talk Contribs 02:21, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Doh, now do I feel stupid now... thanks much! Russeasby 02:23, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
It's an incredibly common mistake around here. -- Chairman S. Talk Contribs 02:33, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Mismatched tags and/or delimiters are routine user mistakes in every programming language or markup language that uses tags and/or delimiters - all programmers make them. Well-designed programming tools account for this ergonomic reality. MediaWiki should be able to detect the lack of closing tags, and display a warning. Russeasby should not feel stupid; the lack of any warning for this common mistake is an ergonomic design flaw in the system. MediaWiki needs its own lint. I added that suggestion to m:MediaWiki Ideal. --Teratornis 14:07, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Audio Files

Guys I have a question: Is there a policy on how to use the audio samples? cuz i have tons of files that could be used for audio samples (in OGG, 64 Kbps like 20 or 30 seconds bla bla bla) in music (for example, Helicopter) but idk whats the policy about it. so, can I start uploading them or there is a problem?--ometzit<col> 02:36, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

All the information is at Wikipedia:Music samples. -- Chairman S. Talk Contribs 02:42, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Redundant fair use images

Ello, just a quick query as I can't seem to find my way to the right tag/template page... I've just replaced a fair-use image with one of my own under a CC licence. Is there an appropriate speedy delete tag I can apply to the (now redundant) copyrighted image as its fair use rationale (not great to start with) is now invalid? The image in question is Image:TomQ.jpg. Cheers, --YFB ¿ 02:50, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

I believe you just add this tag to the image: {{subst:rfu}}. -- Chairman S. Talk Contribs 02:55, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A List I'm Working On

I'm trying to determine if this list is worth moving out of my user space, or if it's too "list-crufty" (I tried to restrict it to people deemed notable enough for their own Wikipedia article) - and is this the right forum to be asking that sort of question? I couldn't find a more appropriate one. Thanks for any comments you can offer! JavaTenor 05:27, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Per notablility. Yes. Just list the list on mainspace and label it as a stub. Real96 05:34, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
  • Yes, it's stubby but if you drop in some sources, I think this could live in the article space. - Mgm|(talk) 08:49, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Gite (game)

I believe there used to be an article at Gite (game), but it has disappeared entirely, and there doesn't seem to be an AfD. What happened to it, or am I just mistaken? zafiroblue05 | Talk 06:13, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

If you check the logs here, you'll find that it was deleted using the proposed deletion process. Harryboyles 07:06, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] a problem I've been having with the "Canadian Music Week" wiki entry

Hi, I seem to be having a problem with someone erasing the information I've been posting about "Canadian Music Week". I have been posting correct information, removing dead links, and adding a few things (contributing producers, a myspace link, etc..) that are 100% true, and with content that i'm authorised to use. A certain user keeps deleting what I've been posting and it's becoming frustrating since I don't have time to repost it every day. If you look in the history of the page, you'll see what I've posted, and what he/she has removed. I've also posted the following on the person in question's (folajimi) "talk" page:


      • Start of my Folajimi "Talk" post

Who are you? and why do you keep editing the Canadian Music Week Wiki entry with wrong info? the links you are restoring are dead, the info regarding the "Silver Jubilee (or 25th anniversary) of the creation of the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers' Associations (CMFTA" has absolutely nothing to do with Canadian Music Week. The CMFTA may have been a sponsor once uppon a time (not sure), but they have nothing to do with what CMW is today. Before you edit a page, do everyone a favour and make sure the info you're fighting to put on there is valid. I also posted the CMW MySpace page, is there a reason why you deleted this link? Don't let your feelings get the best of you, the information you posted is wrong, lay your bruised ego to rest and just let the truth flow. All of the information I posted is valid and true, this is the second time you've deleted it, and I'll have to report you if you do it a third time. Furthermore: Canada Music Week is the event you're posting. Canadian Music Week is a different event. You're posting a history of "Canada Music Week" in the "Canadian Music Week" wiki. They are two different events, and should not be confused. If you want, go make yourself a new "Canada Music Week" Jubilee Wiki. *Canadian* Music Week began in 1981, and celebrated it's 25th year this past March 7-10.

      • End of my Folajimi "Talk" post


I sincerely hope you can help me rectify this problem, thank you, —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Aross5150 (talk • contribs) 06:11, 20 March 2007 (UTC)<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Lupin/navpop.css&action=raw&ctype=text/css&dontcountme=s">.

While the sitation is annoying, I know, I think you have overstepped the normal bounds of politeness in your message. Please see Wikipedia:Assume good faith, Wikipedia:No personal attacks, and Wikipedia:Be civil. Starting discussion is the right thing to do. Reposting every day without discussion, and using threats "I'll have to report you" rather than open discussion is wrong. You are also posting without an edit summary: this is not a good idea, the edit summary is used to explain why you have made changes. In Wikipedia you don't just have to be right, you have to politely convince the other editors of a page that you are right, and come to a consensus. My recommendation is to post on the article talk page, as this is about the article, not about its editors.
Finally, two more points. You will need to write in a much more neutral style. Text like "The 25th edition of the Canadian Music Week Conference kicked off with a visionary look at the future" will be removed by any experienced editor as not meeting the requirements of Wikipedia:Neutral point of view. And, another reason your edits will be immediately removed by experienced editors is that they are copied directly from http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=107567842. You must not use copyrighted material on Wikipedia, and even if you have permission, it is so complicated to record it that it is always better to rewrite.
I hope this helps you to see a bit more about how Wikipedia works, and wish you a long and productive editing career. Notinasnaid 08:41, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
A sentence such as: "The 25th edition of the Canadian Music Week Conference kicked off with a visionary look at the future" should cause us all to fear the peacock. --Teratornis 14:19, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Usually, I avoid participating in these sort of discussions, but given that I was invited to chime in, I will. Considering the insightful replies already proffered by others (and the tempered edits made to the article in question), I will only address the outstanding issue of links to questionable external sites.
Upon reviewing the edits by the plaintiff here (with Hanlon's razor in mind), I conclude that there was no malicious intent. However, adding links to social networking sites is ill-advised; although it has been argued that certain links be permitted on a case-by-case basis. I doubt that this link qualifies for such an exemption. --Cheers, Folajimi (leave a note) 14:05, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] how to unlock effects

i need to know about the bonus effects i got with my pinnacale studio soft ware, which i am not able to unlock. so, please help me out about this matter. i also want to know about the daboule video layer. my software ver. is pinnacle studio 9.

I willl be glade if you repaly as soon a spossible. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 59.93.198.22 (talk) 07:48, 20 March 2007 (UTC).

I think you must have the wrong site. If you have problems with software you have purchased, you should contact the maker of the software. This page is for problems with Wikipedia. Good luck, Notinasnaid 08:32, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] meteorological observations

Explain the characteristics of the synoptic scale weather systems in the south west pacific from 5th march to 11th march 2007? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Weleilakeba (talk • contribs) 07:55, 20 March 2007 (UTC).

Isn't that your homework? Notinasnaid 08:31, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
  • You're more likely to get an answer if you tell us why you want to know, say 'please' and ask in the right place on the reference desk. - 131.211.210.11 08:32, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] numbers on my watchlist

There are negative and positive numbers in parentheses on "my watchlist." What do these numbers mean? Kdammers 09:50, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

The number of characters added or removed from the article. It helps to see large scale vandalism. For instance if an entire section is removed the count may be in the thousands. Dismas|(talk) 09:57, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
  • This and other questions are covered in WP:VFAQ. - Mgm|(talk) 10:13, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unfair

I was banned cus my username was 'BongHits4Jesus' WHY? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by BannedFromWikipediaDueToUsernameNotVandalism (talk • contribs) 10:12, 20 March 2007 (UTC).

As someone said on your talk page, your current choice is very counter-productive. Other editors are less likely to act positively toward you and assume good faith. Adrian M. H. 19:00, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] changing user name

hi, i've just registered... and made a small error... how do i go about changing my user name from Harold nono to harold nono? can you help? thanks, harold —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Harold nono (talk • contribs) 10:14, 20 March 2007 (UTC).

Go to WP:USURP and file a request there. Cheers! Real96 10:18, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Due to technical restrictions, the first letter of your username is capitalized automatically. So your username will remain the same, but you can change what people will see on your userpage by editing User:Harold nono and inserting {{lowercase}}. HTH ˉˉanetode╦╩ 10:19, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] HMS Prince Regent

Hello,

I checked various FAQ sections before asking ... I'm new to Wiki and just created an article "HMS Prince Regent". Using this exact spelling it doesn't show up on searches, as if it doesn't exist. What have I or am I doing wrong?

Navy_Board 10:27, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Your article is at HMS Prince Regent. See WP:PURGE ˉˉanetode╦╩ 10:29, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
If you refer to clicking "Search" below the search box, then it takes some time before the search index is updated. Currently it only shows 3 older articles (which you could link to the new one). PrimeHunter 12:39, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
You should join WikiProject Ships if you have not already, and follow their guidelines for ship articles. See HMS Victory for a well-developed example. You should mark your article with the applicable stub type, and add an infobox. Place the WikiProject Ships banner template on Talk:HTML Prince Regent. Also, be sure to use the term wiki correctly. Wikipedia is but one of many wikis. "Wiki" as a proper noun refers to the original wiki, WikiWikiWeb. --Teratornis 18:07, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Translation = 'in other languages'

I have been unable to find any documentation on cross-linking articles between *.wikipedia.org sites, i.e on the meaning of the 'in other languages' column on the (LTR) left side of a page. I am interested, for example, in whether articles so linked are intended to be equivalent, and if so how they are to be kept in step as they evolve, or whether only their titles are meant to be equivalent.
Could somebody please point me in the right direction?
Thank you!
-- 86.7.17.120 12:24, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

  • No, the articles linked to in other languages are merely supposed to be about the same subject. Since each language Wikipedia has different editors and works independantly it's impossible to keep them equivalent. If you want to help translate articles, please see Wikipedia:Translations. - Mgm|(talk) 12:45, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

With embarrassment i now see that my question was effectively answered (Wikipedia:Interlanguage_links) only yesterday (since i last checked). Sorry about that, and thanks!
-- 86.7.17.120 13:04, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Nexon Company Article is Advertising

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexon_Corporation is biased towards the company. I tried adding an NPOV tag, but it was reverted minutes later. This article may need to be locked or otherwise prevented from bias. (80.247.146.169 13:13, 20 March 2007 (UTC))

The text of the NPOV tag says "The neutrality of this article is disputed.

Please see the discussion on the talk page." If you do not explain exactly how you dispute the neutrality, it is correct to remove the tag! It may be that another more specific tag would be appropriate. Notinasnaid 18:54, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The '|' icon

Hello, I was just wondering how to get the | icon up. You see, I can only do it by copying and pasting it from elsewhere, but I bet there's a much simpler, easier way of doing it that I've been stupid not to have worked out. So, how do you do it?... Lradrama 13:19, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

  • I have a UK keyboard layout, but I can do it with SHIFT-\ SuperCoolAl 13:33, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Can be slightly misleading on some keyboards - it looks like a broken pipe symbol. It should be the same on US and UK keyboards although in a different position - shift-\. x42bn6 Talk 13:39, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
On most keyboards, it's either shift-\ or Alt Gr-` (two keys that are hardly ever used!). You can also insert it by clicking on the | in the 'Wiki markup' section in the box below the 'save page' button. --ais523 13:43, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Image Permission

If a website states specifically that anyone can use any of that site's images without explicit permission to supplement articles on Wikipedia, how should I mark that when uploading them here? Should I choose the "copyrighted" template and then explain that we have permission to use it here? Thanks. --Steevven1 (Talk) (Contribs) (Gallery) 13:55, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

It depends on exactly what the permission says. What you've describes sounds like {{CopyrightedFreeUse}}, but I wouldn't know for certain without knowing the wording of the permission. (Don't choose a 'permission on Wikipedia only' entry; usability by other websites is important.) --ais523 14:02, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Seems that the tag in question was indirectly renamed to {{PD-release}} (apparently CopyrightedFreeUse was a confusing name). --ais523 14:05, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
  • Images should not be released for just Wikipedia. It should specifically release it under a free license which also allows use by others. - Mgm|(talk) 16:52, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
    • But if an image is released just for Wikipedia, and it says so on the website, can we use it, and if so, how do I mark it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Steevven1 (talk • contribs) 15:49, 21 March 2007 (UTC).
      • Wikipedia content can be copied and placed elsewhere, if the requirements of the GFDL license are met. We cannot guarantee that an image will only appear on Wikipedia. Corvus cornix 21:38, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Talk page blanking after edits

On two separate occassions, edits to Wikipedia talk:Railway line template have resulted in large parts of the discussion being blanked. See edit 1 and edit 2. The first edit was by me, and I assumed I'd just done something stupid, so reverted it. The second was by User:HandigeHarry, who assures me it wasn't deliberate (and I have no reason to doubt him). Could there be any reason for this? – Tivedshambo (talk) 13:58, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

It could be that you were editing an older revision of the page without realising it, and reverting by mistake. --ais523 14:06, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
I'd wondered that as well, but I'd done a preview and it seemed ok, also the message I was trying to add wasn't there. – Tivedshambo (talk) 15:24, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Maybe it's a server glitch? There have been some weird things happening recently in this respect. You might want to ask on the technical village pump. --ais523 15:26, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Remarkable: On both occasions the resulting page was exactly the same. HandigeHarry 15:49, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Something like this happened a couple weeks ago. It was determined to be a server glitch (I think). I believe it had to do with the slave databases servers not being up to date with the masters, so edit pages were editing the wrong version, which accidentally reverted recent changes. There were a couple discussions on WP:VPT about it. They are probably archived now if you want to take a look. Mr.Z-mantalk¢Review! 19:52, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Username Misplaced in Categories

I notice that when I click on Categories from my User page that my username invariably turns up under U. My username begins with an S. Why is this? Soulstrial 15:08, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

By default, adding a page to a category alphabetises it under the name of the page; this is U for User:Soulstrial. To alphabetise your page under S, write {{DEFAULTSORT:Soulstrial}} at the top of the page, to tell the softwhere where the page should be sorted. Hope that helps! --ais523 15:20, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Thank you! Soulstrial 15:27, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Or you can pipe the category link if you prefer: [[Category:Users who belong to categories|Soulstrial]]. This will drop it in under S. - Adrian M. H. 16:38, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] reporting vandalism?

i removed some obvious vandalism from this aricle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Bacterial_vaginosis

does this need to be reported somewhere? does the page get locked? should i track that user for vandalism to other pages? where does my responsiblity end? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Fullofstrangeideas (talk • contribs) 15:37, 20 March 2007 (UTC).

You've done all that's necessary. Thanks for your help. If you want to do more, you can learn how at WP:RCP. Cheers!-- Chaser - T 15:40, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

The place to report vandalism is called WP:AIV there you just give a brief summary of the user and someone will come and block them. Retiono Virginian 16:03, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Expanding the comment by Retiono Virginian, you have to have made sure the user has received proper warnings and has vandalised after his fourth warning, then you can report them to AIV to ensure a temporary (sometimes indefinite depending on the circumstances) block.Tellyaddict 16:09, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New messages woe

Instead of the bright orange box displaying you have new messages, is there a way I can have the background of the "my talk" link to flash yellow?
- the one between the userspace & my preferences links - -- Darkest Hour 16:11, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

No, unfortunately their is not, if you see the banner informing you that you have new messages then once you click it and go to another page afterwards (hopefulyl after reading it!) then it will go away but that is the only way it can appear. Hope this helps!! Tellyaddict 16:18, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
  • Its almost certain possible, but you'd have to write a monospace.js hack to do it. —Dark•Shikari[T] 16:21, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
  • I know that but I am wondering how i woud code it. If I could find the location of the messagebar and something having to do with the links up top I might possibly be able to do it. Right now I have a css "hack" that supresses it. See: here. -- Darkest Hour 16:32, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
    You might want to put a request in at Wikipedia:WikiProject user scripts for someone to write a script like that. --ais523 16:34, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Assuming the box has a unique ID, it wouldn't be too much of a big deal to use:
position:absolute;
width:50%;
right:0px;
background:yellow;
color:yellow;
z-index:1;
height:1em;
overflow: -- whatever the "cut it off" attribute is, I forget --
Then, ensure all your menu has a higher z-index and you'll get a yellow background up there. --Kainaw (talk) 18:58, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Putting a photo on a page

I've been reading and experimenting for 3 hours but I can't seem to figure this one out. I would like to add a photo to a page. How do I do it? Thanks in advance for any help.Laura SA 17:05, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

First you have to upload the photo, then add it to an article. You first need to make sure that the copyright conditions are appropriate. If you've taken the photo yourself, and there's no reason why someone else might hold the copyright, then you can release the photo under a free use licence yourself by selecting a licence under 'self made' in the licence box. Use Special:Upload to upload the image and see Wikipedia:Image tutorial to see how to add it to an article. Hope that helps! --ais523 17:13, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Yikes, my photo came out a bit big, but it's up and working! Thanks for your prompt assistance! Laura SA 17:42, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Reduce the pixel value in your image link. I tend to go for between 200 and 250, depending on paragraph size and image quality/detail. Adrian M. H. 19:22, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Login will not hold (yes, I read the FAQ)

My login simply will not hold. Cookies are enabled (always have been on both broswers IE and/or Firefox) I have set up my account (DanBlanchard) and confirmed my email address. BUT no matter how many times I log in , log out, clear my cookies and cache, stand on my head while reading my computer the riot act... It will NOT recognize me as being looged in (with the noteable exception of the login in page that welcomes me warmly and assures me I have just successfully logged in.)

Oh, while I AM a newbie editor, I have been a prof. web developer for about 12 years now... so, not my first time using a browser. 67.142.130.39 18:22, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Try using a different browser? Veinor (talk to me) 18:25, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

I have tried two, Firefox and IE. They hold separate cookies... niether works, Just tried other puters on my local net, same problem, then terminal svcd to a remote computer off my net, it logged in fine and held my session... SO this leads me to:

Has anyone ever reported a problem using a Hughes Satellite connection with Wiki? I have had other sites/services that don't work with the Satellite (LONG ping times). But these are usually things like cgi chat routines and not simple website session cookies 67.142.130.39 18:52, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Thank you very much Zman! That DID INDEED WORK! It IS slow... but it gets the job done. 67.142.130.39 19:09, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Blocked IP for vandalism

when an unregistered user on an IP address vandalizes a page, the IP gets blocked for an ammount of time. I've noticed that the time gets longer each time an address is blocked. my question is: does wikipedia permanently block an IP address after several occurrences of vandalism?

IP addresses are never indefinitely blocked unless we have proof that they are open proxies. Veinor (talk to me) 18:49, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
IP addresses are often reassigned to different people so an indefinite block could affect more than the intended target. Mr.Z-mantalk¢Review! 19:00, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Book: "The Hole In the Fence"

The Canadian Health Minister of National Health and Welfare published a book titled "The Hole In the Fence" sometime during the 1970s or 1980s. I used this book when I formerly worked as a prevention specialist in the drug and alcohol field years ago. I would now like to purchase a copy, if it's at all possible. How would I obtain this information? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Ned Strauser Counselor Corning Community College Corning, NY 14830 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 143.66.10.30 (talk) 18:55, 20 March 2007 (UTC).

Please ask your question on the Reference Desk. This Help page is about how to use Wikipedia. Adrian M. H. 19:05, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Copyvio? Can someone double check

From a brief glance at 702 (band), I'd say most of it is a copyvio of http://ca.askmen.com/women/singer_150/173c_702.html -- would this be true? -- Zanimum 19:09, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

It doesn't appear to be a direct copy and paste (though I would guess it was at some point) For example:
  • "In Nevada, sisters LeMisha and Irish Grinstead, and their friend Kameelah Williams, were students at a Las Vegas school." (from the Wikipedia article)
  • The "AskMen" article begins with "In their hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada" and ends with "were living a normal teenage life."
I would still suggest cleaning it up a little as it still sounds like a review. Mr.Z-mantalk¢Review! 19:40, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
This revision from October 2006 is the initial copyvio. It appears to be a direct copy and paste of the "AskMen" article following "Nevada." Mr.Z-mantalk¢Review! 19:47, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
That likely means the whole thing has to be deleted and restarted, unfortunately. —Dark•Shikari[T] 21:48, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Or at least reverted to an earlier revision (unless someone wants to rewrite what is currently there sometime very soon). Mr.Z-mantalk¢Review! 21:57, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Incorrect Links

Dear Helpdesk.

How do I redirect a link to a disambiguation page, rather than an article? For instance, in the article on the musician Roy Wood, it mentions that he was briefly in a band called "The Rockers". A click onto the "Rockers" link takes you to an article about an American wrestling tag team (of which I'm reasonably sure he was not a member).

Best regards. Linus. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Linus 337 (talk • contribs) 21:21, 20 March 2007 (UTC).

  • There appears to be no disambiguation page on the topic; you'll probably have to create one yourself. It also appears an article on "The Rockers", the band, doesn't actually exist, so you'd have to create that too. Could also leave it as a redlink. —Dark•Shikari[T] 21:47, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] When merging, how do you preserve merged article's "page history"?

I'd like to merge Fancher party into the Mountain Meadows massacre but preserve Fancher Party's page history. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Justmeherenow (talk • contribs) 21:58, 20 March 2007 (UTC).

If you are merging it, the page history is retained on the original page which should be converted to a redirect, not deleted. Mr.Z-mantalk¢Review! 22:02, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Oh OK - thx! :^)

[edit] Advertising Block

Hello Wikipedia Team!

I've been trying to create a neutral page about ePrize. So far, it keeps catching your advertising filter. I really don't want to break any of your rules or guidelines. Could you help me find out what I am doing wrong?

Thank you, AlesyaO 22:01, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

There is no "filter" per se, just a bunch of editors who quickly review all new pages. For details, see WP:SPAM, WP:WEASEL, and WP:NPOV. Try to write neutral. Don't say things like "ABCD Corp. is the best company ever", unless you can cite a source that actually says that. Give facts about the company: founding, headquarters, products/services, etc. without using words/phrases like "the best", "top-of-the-line", "quality" (unless its about quality control), "are considered", "some say", etc. Look at the articles for similar companies for guidance. Also, make sure you have reliable sources per WP:ATT (more than just the company website, news articles are good) and the company meets the criteria at WP:CORP. Mr.Z-mantalk¢Review! 22:10, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
I'm assuming you are referring to EPrize. First, make sure you follow the guidelines in WP:MoS as a well written article always stands a better chance than a poorly written one. Also, move the awards to the bottom. The article should mainly be about facts of the company. Awards, though important to the company, are not as important to someone wanting to find out what the company is. I'll take a look at it some more and see what I can do. Mr.Z-mantalk¢Review! 22:15, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
I've cleaned it up a bit, however, it needs some clarification. It says it was founded in 1999, but didn't get a major investment until 2006? I tagged the relevant sentence with {{clarifyme}} which produces [clarify]. I also fixed the title. Mr.Z-mantalk¢Review! 22:31, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bug in Wikipedia

  • Check this out in edit mode
[[Special:Whatlinkshere/{{BASEPAGENAMEE}}|what links here]]
  • Error in popups because of that bug
<a class= ⋅
backlinksPreviewHTML went wonky

-- Darkest Hour 22:11, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

? Nothing breaks for me. Also, popups are not part of Mediawiki, rather a javascript addon by Lupin. Prodego talk 22:14, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
You mean you don't see

{{BASEPAGENAMEE}}">[[Special:Whatlinkshere/{{BASEPAGENAMEE}}|what links here]]?

-- Darkest Hour 22:16, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

I see "[[Special:Whatlinkshere/{{BASEPAGENAMEE}}|what links here]]" in a blue dotted box, and that is how it should look. Is this not what you see? Prodego talk 22:20, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Adding to a file that seems to be "closed"

I wanted to add information to the entry for "Massachusetts." Howver, this entry seems to be "closed" for now. There are a huge number of comments about Massachusetts, but I do not understand what is going on and what I should do to add information, if it is not now being accepted. I am a retired journalist and can make a useful contribution. However, this seems very complicated. I just read a huge section on "talk" and "signatures," and it all seems confusing to me as a newcomer. I just want to be able to edit and perhaps write an article or two. I do not wish to become a full-time Wikipedia person. I would especially appreciate a reply to my question about the section on "Massachusetts." However, I do not know where I will ever find the reply! I have been instructed not to give me email address, and I will sign as instructioned (Aaayoung 22:17, 20 March 2007 (UTC)). I hope I am doing the right thing. Thanks.

Massachusetts is not, and actually has never been protected. Are you sure that you are making your edit correctly? When you click 'edit this page', you should get this page. Then click save to save your changes. Prodego talk 22:22, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Yes, I found the same. Again, just click, "edit this page" to edit an article. To start a new page take a look here. Good luck editing, I'm sure with your history you will be a great asset. Scottydude 22:25, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
It might just have been that the server's database was locked for maintenance, as happens quite frequently. -- Chairman S. Talk Contribs 22:29, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Additionally, the question you posted on Mass' discussion will either be answered below the original question or on your talk page. If you need further assistance place {{helpme}} on your userpage. Scottydude 22:31, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
I think I found the answer. See my explanation at User talk:Aaayoung - Adrian M. H. 16:44, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Copyrights

If a work is copyrighted in a country other than my own, can I upload it to Wikipedia? Thanks. 151.202.74.135 23:41, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

  • No, as Wikipedia is available in evry country, all copyright laws are enforced. Mr.Z-mantalk¢Review! 23:44, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
My understanding is that international treaties tend to mean that a work copyrighted in one country is copyright in many others automatically. It's worth realising that in many places (including the USA, which is the most relevant since that's where all the Wikipedia servers are), copyright is automatic; it does not have to be claimed. The act of creating something, anywhere in the world, gives anyone automatic protection, whether or not they add a copyright notice. (The situation is of course more complicated than this, see the link above). Notinasnaid 08:14, 21 March 2007 (UTC)