Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 September 14

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1 September 14

[edit] September 14

[edit] Stop Misuse

How, as a normal user, do I stop someone from repeatedly vandalising a page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Boomtown Rat (talk • contribs) 00:08, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

I'm unsure as to how to stop a user vandalising a page repeatedly, but you can revert their edits easily, hopefully detering them. Go to the history tab at the top of the article, then click the small "undo" next to the edit. Undo the earliest vandalism first. Another user will surely know how to report a member however. ::Manors:: 00:19, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Anyone can revert vandalism and leave warnings on the pages of users who've violated policies. The procedures and warning templates are set forth at the vandalism policy. If a user persists in vandalizing a page after escalating warnings have been left, you can report him or her to Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism, where an administrator will review the report to determine if the user should be blocked. --Moonriddengirl 00:21, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Get Twinkle! Don't misuse it, though...--The source of the cosmos... 00:43, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How to I flag an article for bias

I have seen flags at the beginning of articles like {{dispute}} for disputed accuracy and {{expert}} for needing expert review. Is there a flag to indicate POV disputes? More generally, is there an index of such flags anywhere? NPguy 01:12, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

There's a whole list of template messages. Most of them are intuitive, so POV is {{POV}}. :) --Moonriddengirl 01:22, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

{{tl}}'d templates to avoid categorizing this page --h2g2bob (talk) 03:48, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Username trouble

If i can't remember my username, what is the best way to find out? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.189.32.38 (talk • contribs)

Can you remember any of the articles you've edited? You might be able to recognize your user name in the page history. --Moonriddengirl 01:23, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] why was the Nasuma Enterprises page deleted

this page is a home/small bussiness that currently isnt registered but is a real orginization nevertheless

sorry for the double post --75.47.194.38 01:57, 14 September 2007 (UTC)Michael

According to the opinion of the deleting administrator, it was determined to be non-notable. All articles on Wikipedia must pass Wikipedia's notability guideline, with more specific guidelines being attached to different kinds of articles. In the case of that article, it had to pass Wikipedia's notability guideline for organizations. This means that the company in question must have received coverage from reliable, verifiable, secondary sources. For instance, if it was the subject of a newspaper, magazine, website, or other third party article, then it would pass such a test. It is likely that your company did not meet this criterion; ergo, it was deleted. Note that there is no malice against you or the company in question. This is merely upholding Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. Don't let it deter you from editing, as you are still extremely welcome to. Sephiroth BCR ^(Converse) 02:15, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

According to the deletion log, the article was deleted because the company is not notable. It isn't a question generally of whether a company is real, but whether it should have an encyclopedia article about it. The notability guideline (behind the blue link above) can show you the requirements for a business to have a page on Wikipedia and help you determine if Nasuma Enterprises meets them. Good luck. --Moonriddengirl 02:11, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Adding A Bio

How do you add a bio to wikipedia?

Thank You, Meredith —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mchugh902 (talk • contribs) 02:06, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

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. :) --Moonriddengirl 02:14, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Google Earth images usable with attribution on Wikipedia?

Google's FAQ includes the following response to the question of whether Google Earth images can be incorporated into websites:

You can personally use an image from the application (for example on your website, on a blog or in a word document) as long as you preserve the copyrights and attributions including the Google logo attribution. However, you cannot sell these to others, provide them as part of a service, or use them in a commercial product such as a book or TV show without first getting a rights clearance from Google.[1]

Would it appear from this answer that images from Google Earth are or are not usable on Wikipedia? Does the phrase "you can personally use" tend to suggest the images are not available for use on Wikipedia without a specific rights clearance? Does use on Wikipedia constitute "commercial use"? If such images are usable, what licensing tag is appropriate?

--Rrburke^(talk) 03:32, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Nope. Use on Wikipedia is only permissible if an image is released for re-use in commercial products as well as elsewhere. Thus, we would not meet the Google criterion about "commercial product" use. --Orange Mike 03:38, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

This is because Wikipedia seeks to create a free content encyclopedia, and because Wikipedia's content can be mirrored on commercial sites. See Wikipedia:Non-free content. Images from Open Street Map are permitted --h2g2bob (talk) 03:44, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Need some advice for preventing chaos about a revision

I'm working on a revision of the main entry on Manga (you can find the new material on my Sandbox).

I need some advice and words of wisdom for how to proceed, not immediately, but down the line, when the revision is done. I've been putting notes not only on the Manga discussion page, but also on the Anime/Manga project page, alerting people to what we're doing and inviting them to contribute. So far, with a few notable exceptions (thank you, thank you), I've been ignored. Well, I'm gussing THAT will stop when we actually get to replacing the old entry with the new one.

In fact, I suspect that a good many angry people are going to descend on the new entry, reverting it, deleting stuff, and generally being disruptive. THAT is what I want to avoid.

How?

So, what words of wisdom do you care to impart?

BTW, take a look at Timothy Perper/Sandbox before deciding that I'm a crazed incompetent.

Timothy Perper 04:42, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

First, assume good faith with other editors. If they have a reason to raise concerns about your revision, then it is often for a good and thoughtful reason. Next, I would recommend that once you finish your revision in your sandbox, you display it at Talk:Manga and WT:ANIME for consideration. This is generally a good way of preventing a future edit war by opening it up to discussion from the community. If it is dismissed, then follow consensus and bow out with humility. However, your revision will likely have good points that are accepted by consensus, and will thus likely be incorporated into the article. In any case, you likely will see your efforts bear fruit. Best of luck. Sephiroth BCR ^(Converse) 04:48, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

If you want to avoid conflict and revert wars, the best thing to do is to get people involved as early as you can and not spring the change on them without giving them a chance to go over the changes. - Mgm|^(talk) 09:41, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] military archives

how do i find my fathers service records? 05:12, 14 September 2007 (UTC)Parvinmark 05:12, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

I don't think he would have an article unless he was really notable. Try Google--$UIT 05:20, 14 September 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. --Moonriddengirl 11:39, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] financial serviecs

Hi,

just i want to know the basics of financial services.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.140.37.2 (talk • contribs)

On the left of the screen is a search field. Typing financial services, finds financial services.--Fuhghettaboutit 05:30, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Re-install dynamic-link library

When I start my computer I always get an error message telling me activation exe. entry point mnysl. dill is missing. It tells me to re-install it. How can I do that?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.115.128.129 (talk) 05:58, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

This page is for questions on Wikipedia. You might like to ask at the Computing Reference Desk. --h2g2bob (talk) 06:33, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How to edit the title of an article..

I searched for "tongyang orion group".

I edited contents of the "tongyang orion group", but I couldn't edit the title.

How can I change the title ""tongyang orion group" into "tongyang group"?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.144.22.86 (talk) 06:24, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

There is a "move" function that is available to registered users as a button on the top of an article. To register an account, see here. For more information on moving pages, see Help:Moving a page. Thank you. Sephiroth BCR ^(Converse) 06:28, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Self-created picture

I took a picture that I intend to use in the article Bus stop. I intend to upload it to Wikipedia. But I see several pictures of other bus stops on the Commons page and my question is how does it end up in the Commons? Do I upload it there first? Can my picture (or pictures) go from Wikipedia to the Commons? --Blue387 06:52, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Up load it here, then you can use it on wikipedia or any one of its sister projects.--Kerotan ^{Leave Me a Message} Have a nice day :) 07:03, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Abuse Page

I just thought I would say that when I typed in Laura Upton on Wikipedia, I got redirected to the page called "dumb blond."

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

Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.71.235.4 (talk) 06:55, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

done.--Kerotan ^{Leave Me a Message} Have a nice day :) 06:59, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Line breaks

Hello, I am trying to write some text into a wiki page, but it is not inserting line breaks when i press enter, and i am not sure why. Can you please advise what's going wrong? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.109.168.65 (talk) 07:28, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

if you want to make a break in the line (for a paragraph), you have to hit enter twice.--Kerotan ^{Leave Me a Message} Have a nice day :) 07:39, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, but now it seems there are more problems. I am trying to convert a forum post to a wiki page, however there seem to be multiple issues as well as line breaks, including <code_> (no underscore) tags not being shown correctly, and pressing enter twice not being recognised. Its not actually on wikipedia, it is on another site running mediawiki, so the same editing applies i assume. Link here Please help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.109.168.65 (talk) 07:44, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

To insert a line break type this text <br/>, or by pressing this button

while in edit mode ▪◦▪≡ЅiREX≡^Talk 07:53, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Typing a space at the start of a line makes the text go all code-like...

Like this
Even on two lines

--h2g2bob (talk) 08:05, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
Wow, thanks for all the response. The space in front works well and
works well too. However do you know how you make code not overflow out of the code box, but still be maintained on a single line when copied and pasted (necessary for correct coding of course)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.109.168.65 (talk) 08:14, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

if you want to
copy & paste code for display 
without the text wrapping

you place the text between <pre> and </pre> if that what you are asking?▪◦▪≡ЅiREX≡^Talk 08:41, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

On Wikipedia there is also the template pre that deals with overflowing text with scroll bars but not all wiki's have this template see Template_talk:Pre for more information. you might also ask someone from Wikipedia:Village pump (technical) if this solution doesn't work for you, someone there may know. sorry I couldn't be of more help ▪◦▪≡ЅiREX≡^Talk 09:28, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

It should be noted that putting a space in front, resulting in those "nonformat" boxes, is not desirable to do in articles, except for articles that may use it to illustrate computer code, or that type of information. Instead, the tags <br> and/or just spacing by hitting enter should be used. Please see the following pages for additional information that may be of assistance to you: Manual of style, Layout guide, First article, Article development and How to edit. Hope that helps! ^Ariel♥Gold 09:44, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Indian Fashion

do you have any material on the evolution of indian fashion in the 20th century —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.94.9.230 (talk) 09:00, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

You could ask at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Humanities. This forum is for help on using Wikipedia. I didn't see anything straight of the cuff though, but the volunteers there may be able to help. Thanks ! Pedro | Chat 09:07, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How to print the pages for dissimination of information to those who do not have Computers.

I am Patron of Islamic Countries Society of Statistical Sciences and would like to print the list of Muslim and arabic and Iranian Scientists and circulate them to all members of the society who do not have computers especially people living in remote places where there is no electricity etc? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.65.98.202 (talk) 09:43, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

You seem to have electricity so if you have a printer, you can hit the print option in the file menu, or select the "printable version" from the menu on the side and then select print. If that's not what you are asking, please be more specific. - Mgm|^(talk) 09:52, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
- Maybe it's about copyright concerns. See Wikipedia:Verbatim copying. PrimeHunter 18:17, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Vandalism to image descriptions

Is it allowed? I've seen it but nobody undoes it.

If it isn't, does this count as it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Image%3AMeleestages.jpg&diff=156669335&oldid=140193903

The person removed a lot of things and replaced it with his own opinion on the game. 24.159.39.11 10:24, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

No, it isn't allowed. I've restored it, but someone else did remove the comments. Thanks for catching that! And Welcome! ^Ariel♥Gold 10:26, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

This kind of vandalism is notoriously hard to catch, because very few people watch the image description pages. This one at least had some chance of being caught because the license tags and fair use rationales got deleted. On the positive side, this is generally low-visibility vandalism, so it's not a big target in the first place. --Pekaje 10:29, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

So true. Plus, the recent changes monitoring doesn't cover images, so I don't know if a whole lot of them get checked. If you run across them, feel free to revert it, or to report it to me or anyone else here, and they would be happy to take a look at it! ^Ariel♥Gold 10:35, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Is there any way to tell how many hits a given WP entry has had?

Is there any way to tell how many hits a given WP entry has had? Thank you. ericbritton 12:26, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Hi Ericbritton. Wikipedia statistics has a link to this tool that shows the top 100 pages by hits. Looking at the page, I think the technical answer is yes, but the reality of getting hold of the data is no. It looks like there is some work going on around these tools, so perhaps in the future it may be possible to get an idea of hits fore every page. I would doubt this would be retroactive though, so if you're after a record of all hits ever on a specific page I think it's unlikely. Pedro | Chat 12:50, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

This question has come up several times on the Help desk. --Teratornis 15:31, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

And no, it's probably not going to be enabled: WP:PEREN#Create a counter of people watching a page. x42bn6 Talk Mess 15:55, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Alliance Finlandeleted

I made a page about finnish band called Alliance Finland. Some FisherKing or Queen decided to wipe it off for reasons unknown. I also got this kind of excuses to my site:

Your edits appear to constitute vandalism and have been reverted.

It's no problem if the site is gone but I think I miss the vandalism-part on my edits. Is it vandalism to add some information about some rock group to web? According to Wikipedia, private citizens commit vandalism when they wilfully damage or deface the property of others or the commons. I'm afraid that wasn't the case with the Alliance-page.

Monte Palace 13:17, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Hi Monte Palace. The article was deleted as it did not assert the Notability of the band - i.e. why it should have an article in the encyclopedia. The vandalism tag was placed because it looks like you removed the "tag" at the top of the article identifying it as a possible candidate for Speedy Deletion. You shouldn't remove tags like that if they were placed on articles you created. However, it is a bit harsh to say that it's "vandalism", though you did seem to remove them twice. I'm going to ask the user who placed it if they would consider removing that warning. Please don't be put of from editing Wikipedia! Pedro | Chat 13:27, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How can you protect an article from a anonymous user with a shifting IP?

Hi, I don't want to draw attention to the article in question, since it's getting enough attention as it is - you can find out by looking through my history if you really want! However, there is an article where an anonymous user with an IP address that changes daily is attempting to push a personal agenda with sources. The article was semi-protected for a time, which helped. However, the article needs work and more/better sources for its current content, which the current editors cannot come up with, but which a passing anonymous editor might be able to provide. It would therefore be unconstructive in the long term to semi-protect the article again.

Is there any way to resolve this dichotomy, or are we going to be forced to be vigilant and keep reverting this one anon's edits? Thanks. GDallimore (Talk) 13:33, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Keep the page semi-protected and report each of the user's IPs to WP:AIAV. Eventually, you'll block all his resources. -- kainaw™ 13:37, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

I've posted to the WP:AIAV - see what happens. Thanks. GDallimore (Talk) 14:03, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Early AFD closure

Is it possible to close an AFD early if it is on the border between no consensus and keep? I would like to close Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Lauren Cohen (economist) early so that I can get his DYK hook (see Template_talk:Did_you_know#Articles_created_on_September_9) on the main page and the article has to be presentable by the end of day today to be eligible. I.e., to make the main page the AFD tag must be removed.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/tcfkaWCDbwincowtchatlotpsoplrttaDCLaM) 15:59, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

The AfD has not run for the full 5 days and it is not a case for speedy keep. It may not be non-admin closed in those circumstances, and an admin should let it run its course. Perhaps an exception could be made at DYK given the unusual circumstances. Leebo ^T/C 16:06, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Research Projects

Hello,

I would like to post my research project. Would I post my research findings in Wikisource?

Thank you! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.74.233.66 (talk) 16:00, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Wikisource is a library of published works. If your project has not been published in a recognized source, like an academic journal, the answer is no you may not post it. Leebo ^T/C 16:02, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

If Wikisource does not want your material, there are lots of other wikis you might try. --Teratornis 17:53, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Duplicated coordinates

In Beecher, Illinois, the coordinates appear twice overlaid on each other with a very slight offset in the upper right corner, making them illegible. Anyone know what is causing this and how to fix it? Rmhermen 17:01, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

The article contains two templates that put coordinates in the corner, it looks like. {{Mapit-US-cityscale}} and {{Coor dms}} both appear to place the coordinates, so one of them should be removed from the article. Leebo ^T/C 17:24, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

{{Coor dms}} doesn't place the coordinates; I think the infobox may be the other template causing the problem. --ais523 17:25, 14 September 2007 (U T C)

Yeah, you're right, I doublechecked and can't find the second template. Leebo ^T/C 17:26, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

The newer {{Coord}} template fixes this problem by providing options to conditionally display coordinate links in the upper right corner of its containing article. This lets {{Coord}} coexist peacefully with infoboxes and other templates that unconditionally display coordinate links. Therefore, someone should change all the superseded coordinate templates in the Beecher, Illinois article to {{Coord}} instead. I wonder why someone doesn't use a bot to find all the articles with superseded coordinate templates, and either update them, or at least tag them for manual checking? --Teratornis 17:50, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] foul language

in the D&D report there is some pretty bad at the beginning you might want to clear up. I didn't know how else to report this

Desie@

(email address removed to protect you from spam) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.16.22.18 (talk) 17:55, 14 September 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). :) --Moonriddengirl 17:57, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Sounds like run-of-the-mill vandalism. The featured article of the day always gets heavily vandalized and it is always cleaned up quickly. Leebo ^T/C 18:00, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hyperlinks in site go to wiki articles

Ok, I have a website that I'm planning on using to make guides on different books.

Each page in my site will cover a different book, so there will be lots of pages.

In each page, I am going to have links for all the different main characters, events, places, etc.. These links all link to a wikipedia article that tells all about that certain character, event, or whatever. This is so I dont have to explain in my guide this information, I can simply give a link and if the person wants to know more, they can click on it and go get that info.

My trouble is, I'm affraid by doing this I'm setting myself up for disaster. I ask myself what if a wiki article gets deleted/moved/renamed? What if the url I'm linking to changes? What if one day there is no more wikipedia? Then, of course, I have bad links!

So, is there a way to automatically redirect your links if a link changes? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.251.146.96 (talk) 18:06, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

When a page is moved, the old name automatically becomes a redirect to the new name. For deletions and other items... there's not much you can do to prevent that. Leebo ^T/C 18:08, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

(edit conflict) You can link to an article as normal if you want to get the latest, most recently updated version of the article. If a page is renamed, then nearly always the editor who renames the article will leave a redirect behind, which will cause links in from your website to remain valid. (Some redirects of this sort are very old.) So a move or rename of an article won't cause a problem.

If an article is deleted, there's no way to link to it such that the link is usable by non-administrators. This is deliberate; articles are deleted because they're inappropriate for Wikipedia, and if it were still possible to link to them it would kind of defeat the point of deleting them. Deletion of an established article tends to be pretty rare, though. (See the deletion policy for more information.)

As for if some day there's no more Wikipedia, that would somewhat limit Wikipedia's ability to help you fix your links. There are other websites that copy Wikipedia's content, and database dumps containing the entire content are publically available, so the information is unlikely to be lost altogether, though; in such a case, it would be reasonably likely that someone would buy up the domain name http://wikipedia.org and give links to the new location of the content.

Hope that helps! --ais523 18:15, 14 September 2007 (U T C)

One straightforward solution is to start your own wiki, preferably one that uses the MediaWiki software. Then you can copy all the pages you need from Wikipedia, protect them from editing in your wiki, and link to them with local wikilinks. If you're going to the trouble of setting up your own Web site, it might as well be (or contain) a wiki. (You can install a wiki into a subdirectory of an existing "traditional" site, and link between your wiki pages and "traditional" HTML pages, if you want to have both.) A wiki is probably the easiest kind of Web site to edit. If you want to link to outside content and you are worried about link rot, see: Internet Archive. Of course there is no guarantee that any Web site will always stay up. Everything that exists today someday won't. It seems hard to imagine Wikipedia vanishing any time soon, given its huge popularity and disproportionately low costs (compared to the other top 10 sites). If Wikipedia did go away, that might imply some sweeping disruption to the whole online environment, such that Wikipedia's disappearance would not be our worst problem. --Teratornis 22:44, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Policies about non-sovereign sub-nationalities?

I couldn't find a WP page about this: what are our policies about non-sovereign sub-nationalities such as "Texan" or "Scottish" or "Basque"?

Specifically, my problem is an editor replacing "Nationality: British" with "Nationality: Scottish". I thought it obvious enough that the United Kingdom is the sovereign nation, the U.N. member, and the passport, hence "British" -- the fact that the UK recognize some status as "country" to Scotland and Wales is an internal affair, but Wikipedia is supposed to stick to sovereign nations. And I thought it obvious that Scottish, Texan, Quebécois, or Breton, aren't for the field "Nationality", even though they should be indicated too.

So I use "Nationality: British (Scottish)" for the field, which is both encyclopedic and accurate, but that's not good enough for the ethnic warrior. Since it looks like it's going to be an irrational ethnic war, what official policies, guidelines, arbitration cases, or documents do we have about that topic, to supplement common sense when common sense fails? Surely this has been discussed and settled already?

P. S.: Is this the right place to ask? Or should I go to Pump/Policies or elsewhere? — Komusou ^talk @ 19:15, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Just a note to other help desk volunteers that this is being answered at the administrator's noticeboard. :) --Moonriddengirl 20:03, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Notability

Usually I'm pretty decent at determining notability, however Podorowsky, Thompson & Baron has me a bit stumped. It's not quite an advert.. It's somewhat notable... it's not a blatant copy from another site. In my opinion I would say /delete, it's quite obvious the person who created it was likely someone at the firm too. All matters of opinion welcome! --Skywolf ^talk/_contribs 19:41, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

I'd be tempted to call G11 on it. Not much claim to notability either. Perhaps it would be best to list it at AFD to see what the consensus is going to be? --Pekaje 20:09, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Hmm. There are a number of issues with its sourcing. The first link is a wikilink, not a source. The second link is a small newspaper--may help support notability, but doesn't satisfy it alone. The third source, the pdf, is a primary source which only verifies the sale of land to an attorney; it doesn't substantiate anything in the article, and it doesn't verify notability. The fourth source is from a premium site and per WP:EL "should not be linked unless the web site itself is the topic of the article." (I don't know what it says; I didn't join.) The final source is a student paper article about the undergraduate activities of one of the partners. A google search of the current firm name yields 7 hits, 2 of which are Wikipedia. "Podorowsky & Thompson" gets a good bit more, but it shrinks to 31 distinct, and most of those are advertising sites. (this html version of a pdf file mentions one of the partners; this one confirms the sale of the land. The earliest name hits only Wikipedia. It seems non-notable to me. If this were an AfD, I would support deletion unless significantly more proof of notability could be provided. --Moonriddengirl 20:29, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Where's the Rest of this Article?

I just added a sentence to Medieval reenactment, and although all the page shows up in the editing code, the displayed article stops dead at my addition. Is this just my system, or is something goofy here? Artemis-Arethusa 19:55, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

You just forgot to close your reference tag. :) Your reference read "<ref>Dan Bilefsky, "Belgians Hail the Middle Ages (Well, Not the Plague Part", ''[[New York Times]]'', Monday, April 9, 2007, p. A4)<ref>. The second <ref> needed to be </ref>. Pretty simple and common mistake. It's happened to me more times than I care to remember. Enough, anyway, that when text disappears, it's the first thing I look for. :D --Moonriddengirl 20:00, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] honeybee404

How do I get started? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Honeybee404 (talk • contribs) 20:14, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

I have placed a welcome template on your talk page with helpful links to introductory information. Leebo ^T/C 20:16, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Linking Wikipedia to my client's site

I would like to request a link to the following page. How do I do this? Thanks.

http://www.sonobondultrasonics.com/

Links to commercial sites like this are not generally acceptable. Wikipedia is not a place for advertising. --Orange Mike 22:04, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] deleted?

Indrid Cold666 20:43, 14 September 2007 (UTC)I created a wikiprofile thing for my best friend, who is becoming famous. And it got deleted. why?Indrid Cold666 20:43, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

There are three processes under which mainspace articles are deleted: 1) speedy deletion; 2) proposed deletion (prod) and 3) Articles for deletion (AfD). For more information, see Wikipedia:Why was my page deleted? To find out why the particular article you posted was deleted, go to the deletion log and type into the search field marked "title," the exact name of the article, mindful of the original capitalization, spelling and spacing. The deletion log entry will show when the article was deleted, by which administrator, and typically contain a deletion summary listing the reason for deletion. If you wish to contest this deletion, please contact the administrator first on his or her talk page and, depending on the circumstances, politely explain why you think the article should be restored, or why a copy should be provided to you so you can address the reason for deletion before reposting the article. If this is not fruitful, you have the option of listing the article at Wikipedia:Deletion review, but it will likely only be restored if the deletion was clearly improper. Hope this has helped. --Pekaje 21:01, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

I took a look at the deleted history, and it appears to me to have been a WP:BIO vio. Take a look at notability guidelines there. --Тhε Rαnδom Eδιτor 22:54, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Logging in

how do I log in? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.110.31.231 (talk) 21:44, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

You go to the login screen. If this is a new account, please review the username policy. If you run into trouble, you may request assistance at request an account. :) --Moonriddengirl 21:49, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bill Lee does NOT live in California

I am Bill's brother Paul. He does not live in California - that is still his father's home. He still lives in his home in Craftsbury, VT, and visits his father in Terra Linda. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.127.190.213 (talk) 22:49, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Which Bill Lee? We have several. Also, having a source for this will be helpful if the claimed current residence is sourced information. If it's not, then it doesn't really matter, anyone can fix it.--Chaser - T 23:27, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Removing an edit

I added some factual info to the Michael Bryant(Politician) page on Sept 13 Within 6 hrs,it had been removed by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:CJCurrie These facts were supported by a link to an Ontario Superior Court Ruling. This is the first time I have even looked at Wikipedia. If users can remove facts that they don`t want the public to know about,how can this possibly be considered a reliable source for factual info? 23:22, 14 September 2007 (UTC)~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Itsthepits (talk • contribs)

Step one is talking to CJCurrie about it at User talk:CJCurrie.--Chaser - T 23:25, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Flag icons

A bunch of the flag icons aren't working for my computer. For example USA shows up as a blue link to the image in a light gray border, but Germany shows up fine. They are both SVG files, so that can't be it. Others I have noticed aren't working are Canada, and France, but UN Texas Germany BC 1957 Canada do work. Is it just me, or is MediaWiki acting up? --Phirazo 23:32, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Everything is working for me there except France. --Moonriddengirl 23:51, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

I can't see the USA and France, but all the rest are there. FlowerpotmaN·(t) 23:52, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

France is back for me. Now it's all visible. --Moonriddengirl 23:55, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

France seemed to take longer for me, but it's there :O) FlowerpotmaN·(t) 23:58, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Now they all work. What the heck? --Phirazo 00:00, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

At a aguess, there was something (and I will stick with an indeterminate vague something :O)) on the MediaWiki end. FlowerpotmaN·(t) 00:10, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Strange, it worked for me before, but now USA and Canada are showing up as blank white boxes that link to the images. How very odd.SmileToday☺(talk to me , My edits) 01:01, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

(deindent) There must be a technical glitch somewhere as I have noticed missing flag icons in articles just now. Currently missing above: Germany and Canada. FlowerpotmaN·(t) 02:06, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Germany and Canada have seceded from my screen as well. :/ I've been having intermittent trouble getting in to Wikipedia over the last several hours, too. I wonder if there's a connection? Whoa. Canada just came back. --Moonriddengirl 02:20, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

I'm starting to think it is a MediaWiki image thing. Germany and the US isn't showing up, but everything else is, and an unrelated item

(Image:Merge-arrows.svg) isn't. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't just me. --Phirazo 02:57, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

I also am seeing problems with flag icons. Specifically, I have noticed the following show the wikilinked text "Flag of <country>" instead of the flag image: Brazil, Peoples Republic of China, Dominican Republic, Georgia (country), Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Republic of China Taiwan, Venezuela. These are being invoked with the text {{flagicon|<country>}} What's happening? Truthanado 13:42, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Known problem. They're working on it. --Ag ü eybaná 22:55, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

May be related to images in general. The second image on the right in Reference marker (New York) just shows the image's caption text (wikilinked), not the image. Truthanado 00:12, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

It's not only with the images of countries/ entities (like the flag of Amsterdam, the flag of North-Holland, the flag of the Netherlands, and the flag of the EU), but also with other images, like the number of stars given to a certain album (for an example; Jewels' album '0304' recieved 4,5 stars out of the 5 stars available from All Music Guide, but one can't see that image now), or other wellknown Wikipedia-logos. On the Dutch Wikipedia it is said that it has something to do with the harddisks, and that it is just a matter of waiting. Is this correct? --Robster1983 20:04, 16 September 2007 (UTC)