Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 November 2

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Help desk
< November 1 << Oct | November | Dec >> November 3 >
Welcome to the Wikipedia Help Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current Help Desk pages.


Contents

[edit] November 2

[edit] research project

I have to make a project based on couple of topics which i haven't been able to decide on i.e. 1.day of the week effect on the emerging stock markets i.e.BRIC's 2.Fed rate impact on the BRIC's 3.Using oil Future as an hedge against the European equity markets —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.225.166.9 (talk) 00:00, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

I can't really tell what your question is, but:
  • Wikipedia does not do your homework for you.
  • Any general knowledge questions can be answered at the Reference desk. They can answer just about any question you have, but again, they do not do your homework for you.
  • The Helpdesk is for questions about using Wikipedia.

NF24(radio me!Editor review) 00:14, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Delete Account

Hello- I was once a keen wikipedia user, perhaps a bit to keen and probably have made some comments taht could come later to bite me on the back. Can i somehow delete my account or wipe all of my records from wikipedia or something. Thanks

p.s i would like the most comprehensive way to clear this account of mine. THank you.

Catalyst in Society (talk) 00:31, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Right to vanish. Unfortunately, for GFDL purposes, your account cannot be deleted and your edit history cannot be wiped. NF24(radio me!Editor review) 00:11, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] air force ranks

Would like to know ranks and see pictures of rank pins. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.108.50.252 (talk) 00:39, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. NF24(radio me!Editor review) 00:42, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Rather than bother the folks at Reference Desk, try answering your question yourself. Type "air force ranks" in the search box at the top left of the screen (scroll up if you can't see it), then press the Search button. You will see lots of articles related to your query. Surely, some of them will answer your question. That will be faster than waiting for someone else to answer it, and you will learn how to answer questions so that the next time you can do it yourself. Sbowers3 00:52, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Have a gander at Air force officer rank insignia, contains most of what i think you want. Woodym555 00:55, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Am I being censored on wikipedia?

I keep trying to post truthful information about yahoo not having a general customer support number and it keeps getting taken down. WTF? I thought it would say "neutrality disputed" if for some reason I was assumed to be lying, which I'm not. Try calling yahoo on the phone and complaining about their lack of a phone number and you have no human being to speak to. Is wikipedia neutral or am I being censored to write the truth? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.71.243.67 (talk) 00:52, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

I don't think this is a case of you being censored. It looks more like a conflict with our policy on no original research. If you find a news article that discusses this issue, and cite it, you'll be fine. If not though, the material will be removed, since whether or not Yahoo's lack of a phone number is important is a matter of opinion (unless backed by a reliable source). Best, --Bfigura (talk) 01:01, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] most friendly used English word

Dear Sir.

What are the most popularly and friendly used English words in everyday life in US?

Regards

Frank —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.238.116.121 (talk) 02:15, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Try the Reference Desk. :) –- kungming·2 (Talk) 02:20, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Also note that English words are not "friendly". They can be "offensive" or "not offensive". If you want a list of English word frequencies, a study on it was done by Zipf. It shouldn't be hard to google for Zipf word frequencies and find many references to it. -- kainaw™ 03:52, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Saying "hello", "please" and "thank you" - with a smile - make you appear friendly and will get you a long way. Same is true anywhere... learning to say these three simple words in some other languages is my top travel tip. Astronaut 09:13, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
People speak English all over the world, and even within one country (such as the United States), what is offensive to some people may be terms of endearment to other people. See for example -izzle. --Teratornis 23:49, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why my page is deleted?

I created a page named "National ICT R&D Fund". It might be containing some information breaching having conflict of interest. Now I want to edit it so that it does not contain any information voilating wikipedia rules & regulations. Help me about this issue as early as possible? B.R. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ihsanelahi (talk • contribs) 03:47, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

A version of the page was previously deleted as a copyright violation, under Criterion for Speedy Deletion G12. All content on Wikipedia needs to be original - it cannot be copied from another website, textbook, or any other form of printed or electronic source, unless it is very clear and verifiable that the content is freely available and compatible with the terms of the GFDL. In general, it's not. If you can write an article in your own words that is referenced with reliable, third party sources for easy verification, and you can establish in the article that the group is notable while remaining neutral, you should be fine. For more tips, you can read Wikipedia:Your first article and/or Help:Starting a new page. Hersfold (t/a/c) 04:53, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] No Reference on Bio for Chad Kroeger.

Hey there, I was reading the page for Chad Kroeger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_Kroeger) and at the end of the 'Career' section it says: "However on 23rd October 2007 Kroeger stated that NickleBack are most likey to never record again." There is no reference to where this was quoted from and I've searched the internet looking for more information on this and can't find anything. Other Wiki pages related to Nickelback don't say anything with regards to this either. In fact the Nickelback (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickelback) page indicated that they are taking a break before recording their next album - and that comes with a reference.

In searching your site on how to complain about this unreferenced remark, I ran across this: "If an article has no references, and you are unable to find them yourself, you can tag the article with the template

 This article does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

, so long as the article is not nonsensical or a biography of a living person, in which case you should request admin assistance." On the page for siting sources - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources). Since this is a bio on living person, I'm requesting the admin assistance.

Thanks.

I took care of it. It was vandalism. In the future, you can remove vandalism on your own by clicking "edit this page". Smokizzy (talk) 04:20, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
I reverted further back since the preceding edits also looked like vandalism. PrimeHunter 04:22, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How about a Wikipdedia Armed Forces???

Dear fellow wikipedians,

This idea might seem a bit crazy, but if you already have a Wikipedia army, don't read the rest of this letter.

Okay, so this idea I have, that, just like HALOPEDIA, we should have a TSWO!(Top Secret Wikipedian Organization)

We (hopefully) could base everything on the Halopedian Warz thing. And if you guys make it happen, I just want to be a General, not a founder, as I say, "Those who thinks power is there rite, power isn't fit for them, but when power is thrust upon those who don't expect it, they are the ones fit for power (most of the time)." The idea is stupid, but I was thinking that this can happen, you know. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Darth Chyrsaor (talk • contribs) 04:56, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, we aren't a social networking site. I suggest you try Kings of chaos. ViridaeTalk 04:58, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
There is no cabal. --Teratornis 13:54, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] NPOV-related guidelines on editors?

I recall seeing NPOV-related guidelines which specifically referenced corporate PR departments editing articles about their own company. I've found a similar issue, and I'd like to warn the user, but I cannot find the guideline. Is it my searchbox-fu or my memory which faulty? Porkrind 04:57, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

See the Editor's index, which links to just about every editing guideline page. See for example: WP:EIW#Company and WP:EIW#COI, and of course WP:PEACOCK which explains how what we want is pretty much the opposite of what PR departments do for a living. --Teratornis 05:39, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Code stuff

Hi, I was wondering, how do I colour writing, make writing bigger, and make coloured background things? If possible, could you tell me how to do things like this? Thanks! Ryan 05:02, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Our userpage help pages give this kind of information. There's Wikipedia:WikiProject User Page Help/Formatting Advice and Wikipedia:User Page Design Center. WODUP 05:45, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Thanks a lot. This will help heaps. --Ryan 06:00, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Where can I see recently deleted articles?

Like Special:Newpages, but for deleted pages. 172.202.79.43 05:35, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Well, you can see the titles as Special:Log/Delete, although the pages themselves are not visible (except to admins), because they are, well, deleted. Hope that helps. --TeaDrinker 05:39, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
  • Thanks, yes I was only interested in seeing the titles and frequency of deletions, so that's the list. 172.202.79.43 05:43, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Unless you are an administrator, you cannot view deleted articles or edits on-wiki (that is, here on en.wikipedia.org). If the article is old enough to have been caught by a crawler such as Google, you might be able to access a deleted page there. Otherwise, you might want to peruse Category:Wikipedia_administrators_who_will_provide_copies_of_deleted_articles and contact an admin on their talk page. If it is not a copyright violation or a personal attack, most will be helpful. Please note that I do not include myself in that category. Keegantalk 05:40, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Not displaying Correctly

Hi, i was using wikipedia, and when i returned to the site later in the day it wasn't displaying right, i use the latest version of firefox.

thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.228.42.190 (talk)

It looks okay to me. What specifically is wrong? WODUP 06:02, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] recent changes

i am on the administration team for a website that has the MediaWiki software... i'm trying to change how the Recent Changes page displays, but i'm not sure which System message to edit... basically what i'm trying to do is whenever there's an IP edit, when you click on the IP it will take you to the 'User' page for the IP rather than the contributions for that IP... is this possible? and if yes, how so... if i missed a Help article on this, just pointing me in the right direction would be extremely helpful... thanks...
-- Dani Banani 09:26, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

That can't be done via editing the MediaWiki namespace. You'd need a dev on your wiki to patch the code of MediaWiki itself, and that isn't at all simple to do. --ais523 10:23, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Much how-to information for MediaWiki is available with these two searches:
--Teratornis 14:10, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] list

Where can I find the list of administrators who should not be administrators? Regards —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hitler-Barassi (talk • contribs) 10:07, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

There isn't one. If you want to make an informal complaint against and administrator I'd sugest you contact them first. If that fails try WP:ANI. On another note I'm not convinced about your user name. Would you consider changing it? Pedro :  Chat  10:10, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pronunciation

Is there a page on Wikipedia to request that pronunciation be added for a page? Something like Wikipedia:Requests for Pronunciation or something similar? I'll create it if not --Montchav 11:45, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

  • Remember your capitalization, that 'P' shouldn't be capitalized. I think the best way to go would be to discuss it with the people who work at Wikipedia:Requested recordings, perhaps they're interested in integrating it in their project page so requests actually get handled. If that is the case, you could build a redirect instead of a new page. - Mgm|(talk) 12:20, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
  • {{Pronunciation needed}} can be added to a word. PrimeHunter 15:55, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] hello

i was just wondering(step by step) how to put one of my pictures up as the main page of an article. ThanQ, CaMeRoN —Preceding unsigned comment added by SharinganXYZ (talk • contribs) 12:46, 2 November 2007 (UTC)


let me rephrase that how do i put one of my pics as the main picture of an article —Preceding unsigned comment added by SharinganXYZ (talk • contribs) 12:49, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

  1. Upload the image to Wikipedia. Click the Upload file link on the left. Choose the description that fits your photo (if you took it, it will most likely be the first, "It is entirely my own work." Read all the instructions on the next page. Use the browse button to find your file, and add a descriptive name in the "Destination filename" box. Fill in the rest of the boxe and don't forget the licensing. You can choose between a number of licenses to release it under - if you don't add a valid license, the photo might be deleted in the future. (Make a note of the destination filename - you'll need it.)
  2. When you've uploaded the file, you can use the instructions here to add it to an article. For example, [[Image:mypic.jpg|300px|thumb|right|My first picture]] will add your picture, resized to 300 pixels to the right hand side of an article with the caption "My first picture". Lots more information available here. --Kateshortforbob 14:01, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] saving a page

How do I save a page to my computer. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hement (talk • contribs) 13:27, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

In Internet Explorer, go to File, then Save. In Firefox, you can press Ctrl + S. When the Save box appears, chose the place you wish to save it to, make sure the Save as type setting is Webpage, complete (so that you get all the pictures and formatting), and press Save. This will save the page you are currently viewing. --Kateshortforbob 13:51, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Spelling

On the page Antarctica I have changed to the right spelling of Otto Nordenskjöld's surname and also added the captain's name Carl Anton Larsen. The Nordenskjöld expedition took place 1901-03. In the chapter Antarctica expeditions: I have added the Jason-expedition 1892-93 and 1893-94 by captain Carl Anton Larsen. CA was the first person to ski in Antarctica. He also found the first fossils in Antarctica that proved earlier tropical times and presented them to the Royal Geographic Society in London, which started the heroic polar exploration. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Thlinda (talk • contribs) 14:28, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

(moved to new section)

Hi! I can't see any edits to Antarctica from your account User:Thlinda. The article seems to be semi-protected at the moment due to vandalism which means new users are unable to edit it. If you made changes to the article, they wouldn't have been saved. If you would like to make changes to this article, there are a number of things you can do:
  1. Wait until your account is four days old (after that it will not be considered "new")
  2. Request unprotection giving a reason, and an administrator will decide whether the article should be unprotected
  3. Discuss changes on the Talk:Antarctica to get opinions and assistance from other editors interested in this area.
Remember that any factual changes should be verified by a reliable source, otherwise they may be removed. --Kateshortforbob 15:08, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
After some searching I guess you edited List of Antarctica expeditions as User:212.181.115.254 on October 25. I don't know whether you have edited other articles about Antarctica with other IP addresses or accounts. If you want help then please say the exact name of the article it is about. Often we can figure it out by looking at your previous contributions but the account used to post here has no other edits.[1] PrimeHunter 15:43, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Electric shock

Never mind it was fixed as I was typing :) In the article on Electric shock there seems to vandalism. I saw undo buttons on the history page but the article was changed in 2-3 edits so I was not sure if I should press the undo button only on the last one or all the 2-3 edits? Can some who know do it?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.93.19.46 (talk) 14:49, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

What you should do if this happens again is go to the history and click on the date of the last good version. Then click "edit this page" and save it. That will put the article back to the way it was before the vandalism no matter how many edits were made since then. It is sometimes possible to undo edits after others have been made, but only when the two edits are to different sections and don't affect each other. For more information, see Help:Reverting. Leebo T/C 14:58, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] leebo

This dude leebo keeps reverting my edits. I am just asking for help —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.9.250.65 (talk) 15:13, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

If you stop making personal attacks and ask a question related to using Wikipedia, your comments won't be reverted. Leebo T/C 15:15, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How do I change the title of the page i created?

I need to change the Title of the page from Hallertauer to Hallertau? I am having difficulty finding this option? Chuckwikiwiki 15:31, 2 November 2007 (UTC).

You can do this with the "move" tab at the top of the page. To read more, see Help:Moving a page. Leebo T/C 15:33, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] wonderball

We need the address for Nestle. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.160.119.252 (talk) 16:30, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for your suggestion. When you feel an article needs improvement, please feel free to make those changes. Wikipedia is a wiki, so anyone can edit almost any article by simply following the Edit this page link at the top. The Wikipedia community encourages you to be bold in updating pages. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes — they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. If you're not sure how editing works, check out how to edit a page, or use the sandbox to try out your editing skills. New contributors are always welcome. You don't even need to log in (although there are many reasons why you might want to). Leebo T/C 16:41, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
The article Nestlé has no street address and an encyclopedia article in Wikipedia should rarely have that. But there is a link to their website where you can find http://www.nestle.com/Common/Header/ContactUs.htm. PrimeHunter 17:18, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Linking Within Wikipedia

After linking to another page once within an article, is it approriate to continue to do so afterwards whenever the term/person in question appears again? It seems redundant to link multiple times to the same page, but I'm not sure if there are guidelines/protocol already in place. AliothRising 19:44, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

You're correct, that there is no need to do so more than once. You can review the Manual of Style for Wikipedia, which also confirms that, but the first mention of a person/item is linked, and subsequent mentions need not be linked. Hope that helps! Ariel♥Gold 19:46, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
It does; thank you! AliothRising 19:51, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Typefaces

Can written material be printed in different typefaces on WP? --Mentifisto 20:20, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

It can. Just declare it with regular old <font>. For example: Times New Roman Lucida Sans Unicode. Articles on fonts usually have an example of the font. NF24(radio me!Editor review) 21:29, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
That worked, thanks! --Mentifisto 21:58, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] how do I get my external links to work?

I just created a new page called "Cultural Development Corporation" and my external links all take me to a "page not found" instead of to the links. The links also all have a lock symbol next to them. How can I get the links to work?

Also, I would like to know how to delete this page, I wasn't ready to post it, but I did, and know I don't know how to take it down while I work on further edits.

Thanks 64.0.115.67 20:54, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Thats odd. Check to make sure you put in the right site. Have a nice day and happy editing:).--SJP 20:58, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
It would be easier for people to help you if you provided a wikilink to your page, i.e. [[Cultural Development Corporation]]. That would not have helped in this case because there is not now a page by that name, so probably it was speedily deleted after you created it.
When I create a new page, or edit a long section, I first create it in my own sandbox, then copy and paste where it belongs. That way I can do all the editing I need to do without anybody else deleting it or intermingling their edits. Sbowers3 21:57, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
What is the precise name of the page? There has been no article called "Cultural Development Corporation", your IP address has no registered edits to any similar name, and Special:Log/delete shows nothing resembling that name since you posted here. If you don't remember the name then which account did you use to create it? PrimeHunter 22:42, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Incidentally If there's a lock symbol, that is probably that it is a "https" link, so you maybe mistyped "https" instead of "http" —Random832 19:51, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How to restore contests of my talk page

Hello. Could somebody please tell me how to restore contests of my talk page. I've made quite a mess there blanking it for few times and I'd like to bring everything back now. Thank you--Mbz1 22:56, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

You can click the "history" tab at the top and undo each revision. Otherwise you can look at the history and tell me which date and time you want restored to and I will do it for you. - Rjd0060 23:11, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Thank you for the responseRjd0060. I've tried to hit history and undo, but it did not work for me. Could you, please restore absolutely everything here (It is my commons talk page) leaving what I have there now intact. Thank you for your time.--Mbz1 23:17, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Sorry. I thought you were referring to your Wikipedia page. I cannot do it on commons because I would have used Twinkle and that is only available here. - Rjd0060 23:24, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
So is it any easy way to restore my Commons talk page. It should be. Thank you.--Mbz1 23:35, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How do you undo faster?

I keep undoing vandalism but keep getting into edit conflict. Its frustrating. How do u undo faster like all those other ppl? Stupid2 23:28, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

See Help:Reverting. PrimeHunter 23:42, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
You can also use semi-automated tools to help revert vandalism. See WP:TWINKLE, or WP:CVU under tools for more info. --Hdt83 Chat 00:29, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Policy regarding race/religion in lead?

I recall once reading that race and religion do not belong in the lead sentence of articles about people, but cannot find that policy anywhere now that I need to refer to it. Can someone tell me if I am mistaken, or is it just that I can't find it? Jeffpw 23:31, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Manual of Style (biographies)#Opening paragraph says: Ethnicity should generally not be emphasized in the opening unless it is relevant to the subject's notability. PrimeHunter 23:46, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Thank you, Prime. You're a peach. Jeffpw 23:51, 2 November 2007 (UTC)