Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 October 8

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[edit] October 8

[edit] submitting a question

I asked a question, but I don't know how to send it? How do I send it? I can't find no send button.

Please advise. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Robert Lucero (talk • contribs) 00:10, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

If you meant your question at the reference desk, it went through just fine. The "send" button is simply the Save Page button right underneath the edit box. GlassCobra (Review) 00:16, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] editing

You have stated that there is vandalism that takes place...but if there is editing to do on someone i know as a friend, why am i not able to change this on her behalf, after all, there are stories about certain indivduals on here that other people can edit. i do hve an account - i want to make a permanante change to an edition that someone has falsely made! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Frederickalazlo (talk • contribs) 01:04, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

If you personally know the person, it's very possible that you may have a conflict of interest in the matter. In order to try to maintain a neutral point of view, we do ask that people with personal relations to a topic avoid editing articles about it. Doing so could relate in a large amount of unverifiable original research, or a clearly biased viewpoint.
To relate to what edits you were making, removing references and referenced information is generally considered vandalism. If you could explain the rationale for your edits on the article's talk page (which you can reach by clicking the "discussion" tab at the top of the page), then you and some other editors may be able to establish a consensus as to what should be done. Since two people have now reverted your edits, please do not continue to make them without attempting to discuss this with other editors. Hersfold (t/a/c) 01:44, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] strange behavior on all fronts

While following a link, I was presented with a page saying my account had been blocked - listing an ip address vastly different from my own. (page is http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Spanish_Gambit_%28novel%29&action=edit).

Following instructions, I tried to email the admin credited with blocking the account - but was told I couldn't do that because my email wasn't registered.

I went to my preferences and clicked "confirm email." I've now clicked the button three times, but no confirmation has come. (My email is listed correctly).

I went back to the "blocked page" and it now appears with no problem.

And I read that people with no edits - like myself - can have their accounts hijacked. Is that what's happened here, or is wiki suffering a nervous breakdown?

01:37, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

If you can edit here, you are not currently blocked. I see no block notices on your user pages and can find no entries in the block log for you. I'm not sure what's going on there. As for your email, the confirmation email does take some time to arrive, possibly up to a full day. Remember also to check your spam folders - since Wikipedia is part of a large organization, it is possible that the email triggered your spam filters.
I doubt that your account has been hijacked, as such a thing is fairly rare. To ensure that this doesn't happen, you may wish to check your password strength and consider adding a cryptographic hash to your account with this template and the associated directions. Hersfold (t/a/c) 01:52, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Number of biographies of living people

How many biographies of living people does Wikipedia have? a.z. 02:44, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Not the faintest idea. Category:Living people lists most of the BLP's, but not all, and good luck counting. Since the number changes every day, it's really hard to give a specific answer. It's safe to say several several thousands. Hersfold (t/a/c) 03:02, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Aha! Someone already counted or used a tool to find out. According to the category page, there were 225,827 articles in that category as of October 4th. Hersfold (t/a/c) 03:06, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Thanks a lot for the answer. I wonder how many people in the world are notable enough to qualify for an article. a.z. 05:25, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Yikes! Over 10% of articles are biographies of living people. Are we sure they ALL meet the notability criteria? Astronaut 15:51, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Come to think of it, that's only 0.004% of the world's population; but still, one in every 25,000 people have articles. There's hope for me yet :-) Astronaut 16:00, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How do I write my own article?

I was wondering how to go about writing my own article. I have figured out how to edit others pages but I don't know how to start my own. If you could help that would be great!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bakekari (talk • contribs) 03:03, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Hi, and welcome to Wikipedia. :)
Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.
Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.
If you still think an article is appropriate, see Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation.
If this doesn't answer your question, please let us know. :) --Moonriddengirl 03:05, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

I have been to those links and they were very helpful but what i'm not quite understanding is how to start my own page and I don't know what to click on or what link I should follow to being my own article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bakekari (talk • contribs) 03:15, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Printing Articles

how can I print a selected portion of a long article?


elvingsimonElvingsimon 03:09, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Depending on which browser you're using, you may be able to select the text you want to print (by clicking and dragging), then going to the Print window and looking for an option "Print Selection". If that doesn't work, you'll probably have to copy the text into a word processor program. Confusing Manifestation 03:56, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Reviewing a deleted page

A page on "Holy Tantra Jin-Gang-Dhyana" Buddhism has been deleted some time ago. Is it possible to (a) view the page and (b) review whether it should be restated? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Becky aus (talk • contribs) 03:25, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Head to Wikipedia:Deletion review and put a link to the exact location where the article was under "Requests to restore content to userspace". Confusing Manifestation 04:03, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] help starting a new page????

The links that I have followed I don't think I'm understanding them. I was wondering how to start a new article. I don't know what links to follow or where to go to actually start my own article. I just need to know what to do and where to go to actually start typing and wrtitng my own. bakekari —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bakekari (talk • contribs) 03:34, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Hi there: If you go to your own talk page at User talk:Bakekari you'll find a welcome message I left there that contains some links to useful pages, including a tutorial. Hope this helps; if you have further questions, leave a note here or on my talk page. Accounting4Taste 03:39, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] family

hi this is not really about using wikipedia but i wanted to know. if your parents divorce is stepsiblings still legally family?

As the box up the top says, for factual questions head to the Reference desk. I would guess probably the humanities desk will be able to help you the most, but you'll need to be more specific - mention what country you're in at the very least. Confusing Manifestation 04:00, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Maryland, USA —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.85.48.16 (talk) 04:11, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] native american breast feeding

all satistics on breast feeding —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.180.255.134 (talk) 04:02, 8 October 2007 (UTC) \

Try the reference desk. Thanks. Sephiroth BCR (Converse) 05:26, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] I just wrote an article about lumpy skin disease and when i saved it the article was gone??

Where did my article go?? When I clicked the save button the article was gone when the page refreshed. Did I loose it or would it be somewhere that I missed when looking for it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bakekari (talk • contribs) 05:40, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

The article doesn't appear in your contributions list, and I don't see any deleted edits in your history either. Can you recall the exact title of the page? Raven4x4x 08:07, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
If the article was speedily deleted it won't appear in contribs. Prior to creating new articles, it is a good idea to get a feel for the guidelines and policies, to avoid having articles be deleted because they are poorly written, or not encyclopedic. Also be sure to use the search box to see if the article already exists. Here are some helpful links: Cite your sources, Manual of style, Layout guide, First article, Article development and How to edit for assistance. Reading over those should help you understand the basics of what an article should be prior to creation, and you can always use your userspace to practice, by creating a page such as User:Bakekari/Sandbox. Hope that's of some help! Ariel♥Gold 08:10, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Recovering password when IP address is blocked

I forgot my password, so clicked the option to have it emailed to me. Clicking that option got the following error: "Your IP address is blocked from editing, and so is not allowed to use the password recovery function to prevent abuse." My ISP is Earthlink -- not sure why the IP address would be blocked. Fortunately, I recalled the password. Just sending this notice that the above block makes the password recovery option pointless. Please let me know if there is a more appropriate place to send this software note. Data.Analyst 06:12, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

It's likely that another user on the same ISP had vandalised recently and been blocked; their IP would also have been blocked automatically, and as some ISPs change who has which IP every now and then you might have ended up using whichever IP they'd just been using by coincidence. The reminder would probably have worked the next time the IPs were reassigned (maybe a few minutes later, maybe a few hours). The prevention is there to stop vandals sending lots of password-reminder spam to other users. Hope that helps! --ais523 17:08, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Log in

Hello, After several tries I cannot log in to my account. Is there a way you can send me a reminder for my password? Thanks, Van (stereo3d) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.207.165.105 (talk) 06:13, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

I assume you were User:Stereo3d? If you were, it doesn't look like you specified an e-mail address when you registered your account, so I'm afraid there isn't anything we can do to help you. Raven4x4x 08:03, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
User:Stereo3d only has 5 registered edits. You can create a new account and optionally link to the old user page. PrimeHunter 10:18, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Flight ticket

how much is flight ticket to canada from namibia —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.219.195.2 (talk) 07:38, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

This page is for question about Wikipedia only. Please ask knowledge questions like this at the Reference Desk. Surely though a local travel agent would have the information you are after. Raven4x4x 08:03, 8 October 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Can a page be made lowercase?

I've written a page on a product called gridMathematica. It is spelt with a lower case g at the start, so it would seem sensible for wikipedia page to also have a lower case. If so, can someone please change it for me. Drkirkby 09:36, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

By default, the first character in a page's title is assumed to be uppercase. If that character ought to be lowercase, placing <code{{lowercase}} at the very top of that page will cause the first character in its title to be shown as lowercase in the page's title when it's viewed. --ais523 09:37, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Asfordby Parish Council

The weblink on your site for Asfordby Parish Council is incorrect. The new link should be www.asfordbypc.org.uk

Are you able to fix this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.105.215.241 (talk) 10:23, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Done! Everyone is able to contribute to Wikipedia, so you can fix things yourself if you like. Just click the "edit this page" button at the top of any article. You can get more information here. --Kateshortforbob 11:29, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] i want to list a hostel

there is a page called "wiki hostels"and its about free listing of hostels-i cant find this page here and don't understand how to list our hostel there.it says email us ,but there is no contact adres for sending mail,i tried really hard to do something before ascing for help!thanks in advance haloe —Preceding unsigned comment added by Haloe (talk • contribs) 10:46, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Are you referring to http://www.wikihostels.com/? That site is not associated with Wikipedia. We have no control over it and I don't know how to get a listing there. Their about page [1] mentions and links Wikipedia but makes no sense to me. They apparently claim to be a part of Wikipedia but that is not true. PrimeHunter 11:24, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Wow, that is one confused site. Only slightly better is http://www.wikihostel.com/ which does not appear to be a wiki in the usual sense of the word either. It looks like the popularity of Wikipedia is having the unfortunate side effect of causing semi-informed hoi polloi to corrupt the word "wiki" beyond all recognition. To find real wikis relating to travel, see: wikiindex:Category:Travel. --Teratornis 14:42, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Confusion Over Editing am I allowed to or not?

I do not understand, I am hoping to create my own page on company but am unsure if this is allowed. I looked at all your rules and regulations and it said there are basically none as long as everything is in reason.

So how come when I listen to the news there is always information about someone getting in trouble over editing wikipedia. For instance Microsoft, the BBC and no the officials in Japan have all been mentioned as editing the pages.

Does this mean I am allowed to create a page about a company or not? (I work for that company) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.123.43.98 (talk) 12:51, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

There is no absolute rule banning people from creating pages about companies they work for but it is strongly discouraged. See Wikipedia:Conflict of interest for more information; Wikipedia strives to be neutral in its presentation of all subjects, and often is it difficult to achive that if you work for the company you are writing about. Raven4x4x 12:59, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Generally speaking, I suspect that those people who made the news have in some way violated the guidelines on neutral point of view and either removed criticism or promoted their companies. Some of the hoopla is also not about companies editing their own pages. For instance, the BBC made news because BBC employees allegedly vandalized articles, changing "George Walker Bush" to read "George Wanker Bush". If your edits are within guidelines, you may work on an article about your company. But as Raven4x4x points out, conflict of interest is discouraged because of the inherent difficulties of maintaining neutrality. You can also, as an unregistered user, write the article and post it at articles for creation where experienced will evaluate it to determine if it meets guidelines before creating it for you. --Moonriddengirl 13:38, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
See Wikipedia:Business' FAQ. And note that Wikipedia gets most of the news coverage because Wikipedia is the world's most popular wiki by far (strictly speaking, I mean collectively all the Wikipedias in various languages), not to mention one of the best-organized and best-administered wikis. The fact that Wikipedia has standards and vigorously enforces them prevents the site from turning into complete garbage and losing popularity. Because of those standards, Wikipedia is the not necessarily the best choice for every sort of article. If you want to create an article about your company, you might try one of the other wikis here: wikiindex:Category:Business, such as WikiCompany - see this page summarizing the differences between WikiCompany and Wikipedia in relation to articles about companies. --Teratornis 15:00, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] changing ip to username

Hi

I've made some edits but realise I was not signed in. Is it possible to assign my username to those edits I made that currently display only my IP.

Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sgt bilko (talk • contribs) 13:33, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

No, because of our licensing, re-attribution of history versions isn't possible. x42bn6 Talk Mess 13:37, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
(edit conflict) Not really. Such changes used to be done by developers, but they haven't done that for years, and nobody else can. If nobody has edited the page since, you can reclaim the edits by reverting them while logged out as that IP, then re-entering them as the username, and then asking an administrator to delete the original edit and the revert (for instance at the admins' noticeboard); otherwise, I don't think there is a way. --ais523 13:37, 8 October 2007 (UTC)


Thanks for the replies, looks like i'm too late. Not to worry,

regards Bilko 13:44, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] citation needed etiquette

When encountering a "citation needed" tag, if I can't find a citation to fit, is it OK to remove the offending sentence or must it be left for others to try to find an appropriate citation. Scotwriter 14:40, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Generally it's okay to do either. It really depends. If it's an obscure fact, and you just did a quick search, it might be best to leave it in. If, however, you did a more comprehensive search, or the citation should have been easy to find, take it out. Never be afraid to remove unsourced content. When it doubt: Remove the sentence, and post it and a short message on the talk page. --YbborTalk 14:47, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Someday, maybe if Google gets its way, all the world's printed literature will be as easy to search as the World Wide Web is already. In the meantime, if a "quick search" (e.g., Google Search) finds no citation for a particular fact, see WikiProject Fact and Reference Check where you might find some help. Also read WP:CITE for the citation guidelines. Another option is to check the history of the article that has the "citation needed" messagebox (it's a messagebox, not a tag) to see who entered the unsourced sentence, and ask that editor if he or she can remember anything about where it came from: book, magazine, television show, hearsay, Web site, etc. If you have some idea of what the original source was, you might have a better chance of finding it. Any clues the previous editor can remember might help you formulate better search keywords. For example, if the source was a television show, maybe the editor can remember the name of the narrator or something similar that could help you track it down. --Teratornis 16:48, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] WA Chip & Pulp Co. Pty LTD v Arthur Young,

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.161.196.160 (talk) 15:00, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Hello, do you have a problem or an enquiry? If you would like to test the features of wikipedia, try using the sandbox. RyanLupin (talk/contribs) 15:29, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Wilson_%28jazz_pianist%29

It looks weird and I don't know why. Would you please help me? —Preceding unsigned comment added by EricScottReed (talk • contribs) 15:58, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Mediawiki doesn't like leading spaces, and it doesn't handle line breaks very well either. A leading space causes the dashed box you saw,
like this
And you have to leave a blank line in between paragraphs for them to actually be separated. For more help, see Help:Editing. Hersfold (t/a/c) 16:31, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Drop your pockets

Does anyone know if , "Drop your pockets", is some kind of a saying and if so, what it means? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.160.148.25 (talk) 16:02, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

I've never heard it, but you'd be better off asking at the reference desk, which handles knowledge questions. We're here to help you use Wikipedia. Hersfold (t/a/c) 16:31, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Google:"drop your pockets" looks to be pretty obscure, since Google Search only finds one instance of the phrase out of billions of Web pages. --Teratornis 16:50, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
If you were planning to use the phrase in a Wikipedia article, don't yet. See: Wikipedia:Avoid neologisms. --Teratornis 16:52, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
I think the phrase was somewhat in use at my high school recently, as the phrase "you dropped your pocket." It was just intended to indicate a nonsensical event, sorta like telling someone wearing sandals "your shoelaces are untied": it's a logical impossibility, the goal is simply to get the person to react and look down. --YbborTalk 19:14, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Not that this necessarily applies, but I find it amusing: Wikipedia is not for things made up in school one day. --Teratornis 19:56, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Edit the author name in an article

I edited an article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulfrich_effect) and saved it when I thought I was logged in. As it turns out I was not and the author appears as an IP address. How can I re-associate the edit with my name? Bittoe 16:49, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

See '#changing ip to username', five sections above this one. --ais523 16:51, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
(edit conflict)Unfortunately, you can't. However, you can edit the user page for the IP to say that it's you, if you want. Hope that helps! GlassCobra (Review) 16:53, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Disappearing photos

I recently added four photos to the parterre page (the gallery for the making of a modern parterre). The photos were there for a while; now they have gone but the captions are still there. Same thing has happened on Campbell Island, New Zealand‎ with a photo I added of the landscape with megaherbs. The photos are still on Wikipedia; they're just not showing in the articles. (Image:Parterre1.JPG‎; :Image:Parterre2.JPG‎; :Image:Parterre3.JPG‎; :Image:Parterre4.JPG‎ and :Image:Campbell Island and megaherbs.jpg) Any idea why? Jasper33 16:59, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

They appear for me. Try bypassing your cache to see if that solves the problem. --ais523 17:00, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Hmm, tried both bypassing my cache and clearing it, but the photos are still missing. Any other ideas? Jasper33 17:16, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Change Name

I wish to know how to change my username (not my signiture, just to avoid confusion).Does anyone know? Fear teh Happy! 17:03, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

The relevant page to make the request is Wikipedia:Changing username (WP:CHU)). The change can only be done by bureaucrats, a subset of adminsistrators; you'll have to use that page to make the request for a change and to explain why. --ais523 17:05, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Present my company's unique line of business

Hello, I would like to present my company and its unique line of business on Wikipedia. The intent is NOT to advertise about my company but to educate Wikipedians on emergency medical assistance services.

How can I do it?

Thank you, —Preceding unsigned comment added by Abasse (talk • contribs) 17:48, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

  • But is "emergency medical assistance" unique to your business? And if so, isn't the business sufficiently notable that others would be inclined to write about it? It is very difficult to ascertain one's own notability. Bessel Dekker 17:56, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
See Wikipedia:Business' FAQ to help you decide whether to write about your own company. In the meantime, you might try Wikicompany which apparently wants to build a wiki directory of every business in the world. Wikipedia already has several articles relating to your subject of interest, which is not to say there could not be more, but be aware that Wikipedia deletes a lot of articles for violating various policies and guidelines. --Teratornis 20:03, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] podiatric medicene

how long does it take to be a podiatric? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.223.52.2 (talk) 17:52, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

The Help Desk is for questions about using Wikipedia only. Perhaps you should try over at the reference desk. Hope this helps. GlassCobra (Review) 17:58, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
It seems to say eight years here. Have a look! Sorry, Glass Cobra, you're right of course. Bessel Dekker 18:00, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Link to a subsection in an article

If I want a link to be directed to a section which is a part of a big article, how can this be done? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.217.164.237 (talk) 18:59, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Just put in code like this: [[ARTICLE NAME#SUBSECTION NAME|Whatever you want the link to be called]]. Hope that helps. Neranei (talk) 19:02, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
For more details, see: Help:Link#Section linking (anchors). --Teratornis 20:04, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] account hacking?

I logged into my wiki account this morning to discover that someone had added a dozen or so spurious, non-existent (and in some cases, offensive) pages to my 'watchlist'. I subsequently deleted these from the watchlist and changed my password, but would like to know whether the IP address resposible for making the changes can be traced? There are a few people who have access to my computer, and I'd just like to know whether this was simply a prank played by someone I know, or a case of hacking by some outside third party? Any advice appreciated 19:28, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

I don't see anything wrong in this case with requesting a checkuser on yourself... in the meantime, change your password! --Golbez 19:36, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Or it could be the results of page-move vandalism. If someone moves a page you are watching to another name, both names remain in your watchlist; if the name is offensive, and the page is moved back, then the offensive name will be left over in your watchlist. It is quite common, actually. Titoxd(?!? - cool stuff) 19:39, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Or, could be that you've checked the box to have all pages you've edited added to your watchlist. In this case you should be able to turn it off by going through preferences... 58.164.33.106 00:07, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] wikianonymous

how to create wikianonymous —Preceding unsigned comment added by 160.79.100.141 (talk) 19:50, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

If you want to create an account, go to WP:ACC and follow the directions there. If you want to create a page, go here. Hope this helps! Neranei (talk) 19:53, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How to use a template without adding embedded categories into the article using the template

How can you use a template that automaticly adds articles that use it to a category without having the category added? Examples:

It should be noted that the following code does exactly the same thing:

  • <noinclude>{{Prophets of the Tanakh}}</noinclude>
  • <noinclude>{{Education by country}}</noinclude>
You should add category suppression support to the template, which is possible by replacing something along the lines of <includeonly>[[Category:Example|{{PAGENAME}}]]</includeonly> with <includeonly>{{#ifeq:{{{categories}}}|no||[[Category:Example|{{PAGENAME}}]]}}</includeonly><noinclude>[[Category:Category suppression supporting templates|{{PAGENAME}}]]</noinclude>, and then adding the parameter |categories=no to the template when you call it, i.e. {{Example|categories=no}}. I'll go and fix the templates you named to support that, and you can see more info at Category:Category suppression supporting templates. Hope that helps, Nihiltres(t.l) 20:20, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Thank you very much. I will make a point of studying the changes you made to better learn how to fix other templates when I run into them. Dbiel (Talk) 20:25, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Signature distortion in Talk pages

When I first registered, I worked on the Skinhead article, in part collaborating with User:Sam Spade. I've been away for a while, and on returning see that Sam got into sort of a power struggle last year and vowed to quit. When I reviewed Talk:Skinhead to refresh my memory on our interactions, I discovered that many of his signatures now read "User:Example (talk . contribs)". Looking at the raw wikitext, it seems these signatures are sourced as "{{Vip|user=Sam_Spade}}", which I guess is a template that was deleted or moved (with redirection) to Template:User. I have verified that these distorted signatures also occur on other Talk and UserTalk pages.

On 10 March 2006 User:Bmearns discussed this usage and its consequence of not displaying the correct user name with Sam on his talk page, but Sam considered it not worth fixing.

I believe Sam used this signature code for well over a year, since at least January 2005 and probably earlier. This means there are many hundreds, perhaps even thousands of Talk and UserTalk pages where his identity is obscured, especially from nontechnical editors who wouldn't know how to view the wikitext.

The problem isn't limited to Sam's edits, of course. There may be other users who misused the VIP template and have the same problem. Is this a problem that needs addressing, to fix existing distortions and/or prevent future ones? Could a bot legitimately correct such signatures? --Unconventional 20:17, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

While I'm always surprised by how tech savvy some of Wikipedia's editors are, so it's possible that one of Those People will be along five minutes from now to answer you, I wanted to suggest that you might also like to ask this where they regularly hang out: Wikipedia:Village pump (technical). Wish I could offer something of substance. :/ --Moonriddengirl 20:33, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
{{Vip}} was redirected to {{User}} after Wikipedia:Templates for deletion/Log/Deleted/May 2005#Template:Vip. The discussion noted something should be done to make existing uses work, but apparently it wasn't done. PrimeHunter 20:43, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Notability of schools

I seem to remember once seeing someone say that all high schools were notable, but not necessarily middle schools or primary schools. I've been asked a question about it and I'm not sure how to answer; Is anyone aware of applicable guidelines or discussion? Thanks, Into The Fray T/C 20:26, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Yes, it is discussed in Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Common_outcomes and (I think) WP:NN. Neranei (talk) 20:30, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
See WP:SCHOOL for a list of old proposals about notability. I cant see anything linking to a guideline from the Wikipedia:WikiProject Schools im afraid. Woodym555 20:33, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Thanks much! Into The Fray T/C 20:37, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] WHAT happened to the site layout??

THe site layout changed. it is not the same as the wikipedia yesterday. 99.229.27.189 20:38, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Are you using a different browser? No major layout changes have been effected, as far as I know. Wikipedia does look different in different browsers, though. Neranei (talk) 20:42, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
You made the above edit without logging in but if you log in then you can change layout by changing skin in Special:Preferences. PrimeHunter 20:45, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] I must aquire your services.

How may I help you?

Could you please clarify? We are happy to help you. Neranei (talk) 20:42, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Linking Photo

I, today, uploaded a photo called "Grise Fiord Airport.jpg". If someone could please link it to the page "Grise Fiord Airport", I'd be very thankful. I buggered up somewhere..... --Conroyp 20:41, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Y Done Thanks for your upload :) Do you really live in the Nunavut? --YbborTalk 21:11, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Checking if an image is loaded

Is there a way to detect if an image is loaded? I have tried #ifexist, but that only checks if the image is loaded on Wikipedia, whereas some of the icons used for the canal descriptions are loaded on Commons. The help page for #ifexist says there is an "exists" function, which looks like it should do the trick, but when I add it to a template, it appears in red, indicating that the Template:exists cannot be found. I am a bit stuck. Bob1960evens 21:09, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] YOUR IMMEDIATE & THOROUGH RESPONSE TO USER:LABS1950 QUESTIONS

INTO THE FRAY(?), is that your moniker? Forgive my -almost- total ignorance, but -as I described before- I feel lost in the midst of ALL the data in WIKIPEDIA, and no matter how many times I look into finding the name I ought to use in writing to you, I am still uncertain.

Once again, thank you for your assistance. This time for adding the label to my father's photo, as well as for your immediate, complete response.

Concerning the un-encyclopedic tone of the article, I would certainly wish someone would help w/getting it to sound correct for Wikipedia. Although, I have to admit, I did some research in Wikipedia on a number of Cuban artists and others as well, even on Chicagoan Ed Paschke, and I was not impressed w/the tone or content. But, I am glad you have called my attention to the matter since your two responses to my S.O.S assure me you know exactly how Wikipedia works. Also, I was impressed by your letting me know you did not have complete information on copyright matters, but that you would look into it. That is great, thank you!!!

So, next, I must add/be more specific about how I came to have access to the photographs of the 4 paintings by my father that I wish to include in the article. I will do so immediately after I send this to you.

I repeat my appreciation to you for your assistance and hope you will continue to respond to my messages.

Looking forward...

LABS1950 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Labs1950 (talk • contribs) 21:57, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

All users have a talk page which is located at "User talk:User name." When you leave a message on a person's talk page they get an orange bar across the top of their page alerting them to the fact that they "have new messages." The proper place for your message, above, is thus at User talk:Into The Fray, and I now see that you did find your way there and left a message, though not the same one you posted above. I have taken the liberty of informing Into the Fray of this post's existence. Note that it's a good idea to sign your posts on talk pages. To do so, simply add four tildes (~~~~) at the end of your comments, which will automatically format to your linked signature and add a timestamp when you save. You can also place the tildes easily by clicking the button that looks like this: Image:Signature_icon.png.--Fuhghettaboutit 10:40, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Removing Personal Information from Wikipedia

There is incorrect/personal information on Wikipedia. I have tried to edit off the page while leaving correct information but am being told that I am "vandalizing" the page.

How do I proceed?

Spheeris 22:08, 8 October 2007 (UTC)Julie

What page is it? And what edit was it? Smartyshoe 22:09, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Umm, this was your first edit... look... *Cremepuff222* 22:28, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
That only tells it was their first edit with this account. ssepp(talk) 22:41, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Jeezums, I was just a bit confused. *Cremepuff222* 00:18, 9 October 2007 (UTC)
And I was just giving a factual comment that seemed relevant... ssepp(talk) 22:46, 9 October 2007 (UTC)