Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 September 15

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[edit] September 15

[edit] Losing part of a page when editing

I've been trying to edit the "Lake Superior Scottish Regiment" page, and when I hit preview or save, more than 1/2 the previous version of the page has disappeared.

I've paraphrased copy from other web sites (while also footnoting & citing the web pages), but the changes seem to disappear, as well as 1/2 the page???????????

Thanks!

Milnews.ca 01:28, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Done this myself fairly often, so I see the problem. At least one of the <ref> tags isn't closed. The tag at the end of the reference should be </ref> See the "Where's the Rest of this Article?" section above for more. FlowerpotmaN·(t) 01:47, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
It would be nice if the MediaWiki software had a wikitext syntax checker that could report such errors during the preview. Something like HTML Tidy for wikitext. --Teratornis 15:52, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Finding out about a page

Hi. Is there a way to find out how many people have visited a particular page, how many people have visited in a given time peoriod, where most of the visitors are from, how many edits have been made to a page without counting manually, how many revertings have occured, how many times it has been linked to from the Internet, etc? Thanks. ~AH1(TCU) 01:33, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Most edited articles, top 100 viewed articles, Special:Mostrevisions for revision counting, and I think that's all that is available in terms of statistics. I suppose there's always Special:Statistics... Sebi [talk] 01:40, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
It would be interesting if we also had a way to find out how many people have requested page hit counters. Given that the hit counters are off due to "performance reasons" (a euphemism for "we lack the money to enable them"), perhaps Wikipedia could start a hit counter enablers fund such that all cash money contributed to that fund would be earmarked for purchasing enough servers to run hit counters on Wikipedia again. --Teratornis 16:33, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit]  ?

How do you create your own page —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wilson18 bmw (talk • contribs) 01:51, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

If you'd like to create your own userpage, click on the redlinked name, Wilson18, at the top of the page, and that will take you straight into edit mode for your page. If you'd like to create something different, see Help:Starting a new page. --Elonka 01:57, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Before creating your user page, it would be helpful to read Wikipedia:User page for things you can and cannot include on your user page. Also, please sign your posts with four tildes (~~~~). An automatic signature will appear with your user name and a date stamp. If you wish to use a custom signature, then you can go to your preferences to change that. Sephiroth BCR (Converse) 02:00, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] AFD query.

I need help finding an AFD as per Talk:E. Normus Johnson.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/tcfkaWCDbwincowtchatlotpsoplrttaDCLaM) 01:55, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

There was no Afd apparently. It was speedily deleted as per CSD A7. Sephiroth BCR (Converse) 02:02, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Album Covers

How do I put on album cover on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detox_(album)? I have uploaded the cover but I dont know how to add it to the wiki page of Detox. Heres the link to the image- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Detox_AlbumArt.jpg —Preceding unsigned comment added by The enchillada (talk • contribs) 02:39, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

I've fixed it. All you need is the image name, not the whole URL. However, I noticed that the cover you uploaded doesn't have any licensing information, which means it could be deleted. Please see the message I left on your talk page to fix this.--Werdan7T @ 02:54, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
I've added the appropriate license. Note that when you upload images that are non-free, you must specify the source of the image (where you got the image), the appropriate license (you have a scrollbar with them when you upload an image), and place a fair-use rationale as to why the use of that image constitutes fair-use. Read WP:NFCC for details. As for an example of a fair-use rationale, see Image:ハレ晴レユカイcover.jpg. Sephiroth BCR (Converse) 02:58, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Problem with a contributor

Hello

I don't understand something. My name is Don Reid and whenever I make a contribution under "Don Reid" some other guy called Don Reid deletes my contribution. why is that allowed?

Regards

Don Reid —Preceding unsigned comment added by Donreid (talk • contribs) 03:51, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

It seems that your edits are not relevant to the article in question. The Don Reid article is about a basketball player, while you seem to be writing about someone completely different. Editors are allowed to revert your contributions if they feel it is detrimental to the article in question. If your edit is not constructive, then it is likely someone will revert the page to a better version. Also note that this edit is definitely not constructive, and is considered vandalism. Please read Wikipedia:No personal attacks and Wikipedia:Civility. We strive to maintain a civil community that works towards improving these articles, and edits such as the above are not helpful. If you are ever confused as to why your edit was reverted, you are free to contact the editor who did so on his talk page, User talk:Mkeranat in this case. Anyway, you are still highly encouraged to continue editing; just stay out of the troublesome spots outlined above. Thank you. Sephiroth BCR (Converse) 03:58, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
If you're the Don Reid from Canberra, you're not "making a contribution under 'Don Reid'", you're sticking stuff about yourself onto the article about a major basketball star. Wikipedia is not MySpace or Facebook; ordinary users like myself and yourself do not get articles about us in the Wikipedia. You can put information about yourself on your Userpage, which will be found here, just as information about me is on my userpage, etc. --Orange Mike 04:00, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Wikipedia biographies should be about people satisfying Wikipedia:Notability (people). Note that Wikipedia:Conflict of interest discourages writing about yourself in articles (it's usually accepted in userpages). I see no reason to think the basketball player Don Reid has edited the article. If we have biographies of two people with the same name then they get different page names, for example Don Reid and Don Reid (music). PrimeHunter 04:53, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

You can use your personal User page to write about yourself. That's at User:Donreid. Corvus cornix 23:13, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Country Flags not appearing

Hi, Does anyone know why certain country flags might not be appearing for some reason. They used to appear but today for some reason they are not. When i click on it, the flag appears in full on a seperate page but not in an article as in a small flag. It has happened on this page, but there are others http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Twenty20_World_Championship Look at the Kenya and Pakistan ones. If anyone knows, i'll tell the other pages Roadrunnerz45 04:41, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

This is also discussed higher up in #Flag icons. There is currently no answer there and it also varies which flags I see. PrimeHunter 05:11, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] a line

How do I enter a line into a page (it's for userspace, not a main article). To clarify, I mean one of those lines which appear beneath a section header produced when you do ==title==. Thanks, -- Matthew Edwards | talk | Contribs | (Offline) 05:06, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Four hyphens ---- produce:
PrimeHunter 05:16, 15 September 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Wikipedia logo

I was wondering if the image used in the top-left corner of English Wikipedia bothers anyone. The one at French Wikipedia, for example, has less anti-aliased text and a cleaner globe. ALTON .ıl 05:27, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

ermmm not especially.--KerotanLeave Me a Message Have a nice day :) 05:29, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
The image is indeed slightly better. However, it's not something I'm going to lose sleep over, considering that that's rarely my focus when I open a Wikipedia page. No worries though. Sephiroth BCR (Converse) 06:34, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
No, neither me. Is this a Meta issue, though, for I will raise it there. ALTON .ıl 09:20, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mechanics of Solids

What is mass moment of inertia? How can I calculate it? Especially I am interested in having a solved example on Ixy —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.5.150.249 (talk) 05:36, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

check the reference desk.--KerotanLeave Me a Message Have a nice day :) 05:38, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Specifically, Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science or Wikipedia:Reference desk/Mathematics, although I believe it would be the former. Sephiroth BCR (Converse) 06:31, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
But if you do, we will ask you to first read moment of inertia, which answers your questions. -Arch dude 15:18, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Country Flags

Hi all. I am just wanting to know if there is a glitch with the country flags that are being used on the wiki sports pages (mainly football). I noticed that on the Stirling Albion F.C. page that the Scotland flag is not showing, all that is showing is text saying flag of scotland. also noticed its the same for flags on the FA Cup Final 2007 page. Could this bee looked into thanks Gorillamusic 09:13, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

It's broken at the moment for most of the flags. Have a look at List of countries for a flavour of how many you can't see. ;) No idea why, but it's not just you. KTC 09:23, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Creating lines starting with blanks

I need to create an example copied from a book . Numbers and stars have to be in the correct position on a line. Due to the above a lot of the lines start with a blank. How does one create those blanks. Indenting will not be exact enough Thanks Peter —Preceding unsigned comment added by PeterDKnight (talk • contribs) 09:26, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

You can try &nbsp; to insert a non-breaking space.
 Like this.
  And this.
   Or this.
What kind of example are you asking about? If you find something difficult to do with wikitext markup, you should explain your real goals at the highest level, instead of asking about how to implement one specific means to the end. The particular method you have in mind may not be the most efficient way to reach your real (unstated) goal, whatever that is. By asking about one specific method, which may not even be the best method, you create a potential red herring to misdirect people who try to answer your question. --Teratornis 15:43, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

The example is multiply x 12 taken from the actual book If we wish to multiply 413 by 12, it goes like this:

                  *

First step: 0413 X 1 2

                  6          double the right-hand figure and
                             carry it down
                            (there is no neighbor)

The star has to be above the 3 the 6 below the 3 and the 2 last lines start below double. There are 4 steps with similar spacing to complete the example. I originally tried inserting in a block and added line feeds on each line. Here I have just typed it in. What causes the spacing on the actual page, it is closer to my requirement and the &nbsc would fix it. --PeterDKnight 16:24, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

The easiest way to control spacing is to indent every line by one space, but this is not very pretty (the fixed-space formatting is intended for code examples):
  • If we wish to multiply 413 by 12, it goes like this:
                   *
First step:     0413   X   1 2
                   6          double the right-hand figure and
                              carry it down
                              (there is no neighbor)
See: WP:EDIT#No or limited formatting—showing exactly what is being typed. For a more attractive result, you could use a table. And will you be copying an example straight out of a book? If so, you may be violating copyright. --Teratornis 16:46, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
 Like this.
  And this.
   Or this.
What kind of example are you asking about? If you find something difficult to do with wikitext markup, you should explain your real goals at the highest level, instead of asking about how to implement one specific means to the end. The particular method you have in mind may not be the most efficient way to reach your real (unstated) goal, whatever that is. By asking about one specific method, which may not even be the best method, you create a potential red herring to misdirect people who try to answer your question. --Teratornis 15:43, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

The example is multiply x 12 taken from the actual book If we wish to multiply 413 by 12, it goes like this:

                  *

First step: 0413 X 1 2

                  6          double the right-hand figure and
                             carry it down
                            (there is no neighbor)

The star has to be above the 3 the 6 below the 3 and the 2 last lines start below double. There are 4 steps with similar spacing to complete the example. I originally tried inserting in a block and added line feeds on each line. Here I have just typed it in. What causes the spacing on the actual page, it is closer to my requirement and the &nbsc would fix it. --PeterDKnight 16:24, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

The easiest way to control spacing is to indent every line by one space, but this is not very pretty (the fixed-space formatting is intended for code examples):
  • If we wish to multiply 413 by 12, it goes like this:
                   *
First step:     0413   X   1 2
                   6          double the right-hand figure and
                              carry it down
                              (there is no neighbor)
See: WP:EDIT#No or limited formatting—showing exactly what is being typed. For a more attractive result, you could use a table. And will you be copying an example straight out of a book? If so, you may be violating copyright. --Teratornis 16:46, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Many thanks for your help. You maybe right about copyright. Fair use and fair dealing

   Main articles: Fair use and Fair dealing

Copyright does not prohibit all copying or replication. In the United States, the fair use doctrine, codified by the Copyright Act of 1976 as 17 U.S.C. Section 107, permits some copying and distribution without permission of the copyright holder or payment to same. The statute does not clearly define fair use, but instead gives four non-exclusive factors to consider in a fair use analysis. Those factors are:

  1. the purpose and character of your use
  2. the nature of the copyrighted work
  3. what amount and proportion of the whole work was taken, and
  4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

I would think in this case the small example copied would encourage people to buy the book. To delete my notes or not to delete ? What do you think ? Would the site Administrator be able to help ? --PeterDKnight 20:36, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Copyrights. One complication is that contributions to Wikipedia must be freely redistributable under the GFDL; that changes the equation for fair use. (Lots of people copy from Wikipedia; see: Wikipedia:Mirrors and forks.) I'm not an expert on copyrights, except to say that common-sense reasoning doesn't always apply when it comes to copyright. --Teratornis 07:24, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Many thanks for your help and advice. Re-wrote the article totally and got the indenting right. --PeterDKnight 14:59, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Admin abuse

What is the proper way to report Wikipedia admin abuse of power? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.176.133.0 (talk) 09:54, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Talk to the admin, by leaving a message on there talk page. see Wikipedia:Resolving disputes for more info.--KerotanLeave Me a Message Have a nice day :) 10:04, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
And when that doesnt work?... 66.176.133.0 10:34, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
seek out the arbitration committee in if everything else fails.--KerotanLeave Me a Message Have a nice day :) 10:45, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Where is the arbitration committee? 66.176.133.0 10:54, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Please? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.176.133.0 (talk) 11:26, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
There's a link to it within Wikipedia:Resolving disputes. But arbitration is the last step. Before you go there, you follow the other steps, including the intermediate step of Requests for comment. If the behavior is specifically misuse of administrator tools, it's listed under "use of administrator privileges". And do please try approaching the individual first if possible, as set out at Wikipedia:Resolving disputes. --Moonriddengirl 11:52, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
But use the first suggested method first. :-) Lradrama 10:53, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How do I start a fresh new article?

How do I do this as yet I can only work out how to edit/add to existing articles. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Djthejetsetter (talk • contribs) 11:47, 15 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..Good luck and happy editing. :) --Moonriddengirl 11:53, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

I asked this same question months ago. I agree there needs to be a more obvious route. Why should we logically go to a "Help" page every time to start one. 216.95.55.112 05:21, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

You need an account to create an article. There are several ways to create a page and I guess few are created via Help:Starting a new page which works like the Go button on every page. PrimeHunter 05:28, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Deleting subpage

I have a subpage on my user page I had created as secondary sandbox. How can I delete it? Aelwyn 13:05, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Blank the page, and then place {{Db-author}} on it. Hope that helps! Ariel♥Gold 13:07, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Db-author will probably work. However, {{db-userreq}} is tailored for the purpose.--Fuhghettaboutit 13:11, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Ahh yep forgot about that one, even better, lol. Thanks Fuhghettaboutit! Ariel♥Gold 13:13, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
:-)--Fuhghettaboutit 13:17, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Thanks Aelwyn 17:39, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] SAVE Program

I am the SAVE Program Chief and wanted to post information about this program on Wikipedia. It is not a business. It is a federal government program that provides immigration status verification. I work for the Department of Homeland Security, US Citizenship & Immigration Services. I am the owner of this information, but a bot thinks the information is copywrited. The bot doesn't understand that I am the owner as a representative of this branch of the federal government. Thank you for your assiatnce.--Boundsdh 13:16, 15 September 2007 (UTC)David H. Bounds

Hello Boundsdh, and welcome! Please review the conflict of interest guideline, first, which basically says that you should not create articles about yourself, your company, your business, your friends, or family, as you may not be able to edit neutrally. Second, see the notability requirements for companies. Third, please review reliable sources and citing your sources. I'd also suggest reviewing the core policies of Wikipedia, as well as what Wikipedia is not. Basically, if your program/company is notable enough, someone else, who is neutral, will create the article, and if you'd like to provide suggestions or information, you should do so on the article's talk page, to avoid Conflict of Interest. Hope that helps clear things up! Ariel♥Gold 13:22, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Just want to note that editing pages which are of conflict to you (family, etc.) is not forbidden as long as a) it is notable, and b) the edits are verifiable and neutral. If you can do this, you may. However, it is discouraged due to the difficulty involved. Smartyshoe 13:28, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Yes, it is a guideline, but one that is encouraged as it is very difficult to remain non-biased when writing about something you're closely related to. It is not impossible, however. If you feel your company is notable per the guideline, you could always request the article through articles for creation, adding reputable, third party sources, and the reviewers there can create it if it passes. Hope this is all helpful! Ariel♥Gold 13:32, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
The article has been deleted under various criteria and not just as a copyright violation (the deletion log entry is here). It was first deleted as advertizing under section G11 of the criteria for speedy deletion. When next posted, it was blanked by you and thereafter deleted as "author requested" under section G7, which is how such blanking may be interpreted. Putting aside these other deletions and the COI issue, I don't think the recent deletion as a copyright violation was proper. The content of U.S. government websites is in the public domain unless it includes works on its websites which are copyrighted by someone else.--Fuhghettaboutit 14:04, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Hi, Boundsdh. It sounds to me like we need to have an article on SAVE in Wikipedia and that your information is a valuable resource for the article. Thanks. If you created the original material in your capacity as a US federal employee, then you are not technically the holder of the copyright: the material is in the public domain by federal statute. If you wrote an article in your private capacity, then you are the copyright holder and you have control of the creative expression in the article via automatic action of copyright law: nobody can directly copy your creative work except as prescribed by law. In this case you may choose to grant a license to your work to Wikiopedia under the GFDL. Wikipedia cannot accept your work unless you grant the GFDL license even if you do hold the copyright. As a separate issue, you are not the "owner" of the "information" in any case, only of your particular expression of the information. All of these are picky details that all of the Wikipedia editors (including me and you) must be aware of to ensure that Wikipedia does not get sued. -Arch dude 15:09, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Boundsdh, if you are an employee of the DHS, then the information would not belong to you, but to the Department. Corvus cornix 23:15, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] data mining and warehousing

Geetanjaali 14:12, 15 September 2007 (UTC)i am a new user of wikipedia. what is the process to pose a question regarding a subject?

You might find what you are looking for in the article about Data mining. If you cannot find the answer there, click here to post your question at that article's talk page. If that does not solve your problem, you can try asking your question at Wikipedia's Reference Desk. They will be glad to answer questions about anything in the universe (except about how to use Wikipedia, which is what this help desk is for). I hope this helps. :) --Moonriddengirl 14:15, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Company pages like Yahoo & Google

Hi,

how does one get to create a page like yahoo and google company information pages in Wikipedia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Meetmrnrg (talk • contribs) 14:47, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Company articles should satisfy Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies).
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. PrimeHunter 15:02, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] What is the bloody point?

Ok, why must wikipedia write pages such as Mud or Wallpaper? who on earth bothers to look at these boring pages? They just seem pointless. And its kinda sad to actually write an essay on Mud isnt it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Laoekaanser (talk • contribs) 15:13, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Encyclopedias are supposed to cover a wide range of topics, even ones that may not be particularly interesting to most individuals. Since nobody is forcing you to read those pages, may I suggest that you simply don't read them? You'd be amazed at what kinds of obscure or completely mundane things people are capable of writing a good article about. --Pekaje 15:24, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Make a list of 100 articles you consider important enough to include in Wikipedia. I will wager any amount of money that for each article on your list, somewhere on Earth there exists at least one person who finds that article boring and pointless. The point of an encyclopedia is to make it comprehensive. Of course we don't expect that any one person should find every article of burning interest. Like, duh. As to why those particular articles exist, you could check their histories to see who wrote them, and ask them to explain why they find those topics interesting enough to write about. Mud might seem a silly topic, but it has changed the course of history more than once. For example, Hitler might have defeated the Soviet Union had it not been for the mud of Russia bogging down his tanks and supply trucks at a critical time in Operation Barbarossa. Given that 70% of German casualties in World War II were on the Eastern front, it is unlikely that the United States and the United Kingdom could have defeated Germany if the Soviet Union had fallen as readily as France did. --Teratornis 15:35, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
woow! I have never been more interested in mud! mud is soo cool!
What can you write that is more interesting than Mud? Show us. --Teratornis 16:37, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Urgent! something seems to be destroying all the chess diagrams

It seems something is destroying all the chess diagrams, and I cannot find what. You can see an example of such a diagram in the chess article for example, looking at the diagram on the right with the caption "The position of the pieces at the start of a game of chess".

Normally such diagrams are generated using Template:Chess diagram but it does not work anymore. I assumed some evil force had deleted one of the numerous images used in this template, but I cannot find what happened.

Maybe it is just my computer that went mad, but can someone have rapidly a look and explain the matter on Wikipedia:WikiProject Chess ? Thanks SyG 15:54, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

According to the devs, Wikipedia is having some server stress issues that are causing the server to prioritize things, and some images are not showing up. It should return to normal soon. Sorry for the confusion! Ariel♥Gold 15:57, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
It might be related to the Country Flags problem mentioned above. Sbowers3 16:30, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Most likely, as it seems to be a general image thumbnail cache problem. If I were to guess what is stressing the servers, it would be the recaching of all the thousands of pages tagged for various kinds of cleanup. Changing all those templates in one go was probably not the brightest move ... :-) --Pekaje 17:38, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Many thanks for your answers! Just for information, the problem is still going on for the moment. SyG 17:42, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Then again, the template update could have been all in CSS (haven't checked), in which case it's not the culprit. Oh well, these things happen and blow over again eventually. --Pekaje 17:57, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] which part of cow

My favorite meat is pot roast WHICH PART of the cow is it cut from? Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.214.120.66 (talk) 16:17, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Well, according to the Pot roast (beef) article, it's taken from the chuck cut, a relatively tough piece of beef. However, this really isn't the place to be asking this kind of question; the help desk is for questions about using Wikipedia. From now on, just user the search bar, or try over at the reference desk, okay? GlassCobra 16:24, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
P.S. Thanks, now I want some beef... GlassCobra 16:56, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Some people complain that Wikipedia is not safe for kids. One wonders what the cows must think. --Teratornis 20:01, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How do you add a picture??

I would like to add a picture that I took but see no option to add it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Hagar —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vanhager (talk • contribs) 17:36, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

First you need to upload it (see WP:UPIMG). Remember to give it a descriptive name and to state that it's a picture you took yourself. Also remember to select a free license. Once you upload it, just edit the article and add the name to the "img" parameter of the infobox, and add a descriptive caption to "img_capt". All but the first letter of the filename are case sensitive. --Pekaje 17:45, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
If you are ready know the kind of image you are uploading go to Special:Upload. --Тhε Rαnδom Eδιτor 20:05, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Scrollbar

If I have a huge list of items and want to arrange them so that only a few show at a time and the list can be scrolled up and down using a vertical scroll bar, how do I do that? -- Jreferee (Talk) 18:20, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

See Template:Scroll box. I can't believe that it was so easy to create them. -- Jreferee (Talk) 18:32, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Bah, I ran into the spam filter twice, then two edit conflicts trying to answer this, and you've already found the answer. Myself, I tend to do it directly using div tags (<div style="oXverflow: aXuto; height: xxxx;". (Xs added to circumvent spam filter) For example:
Bla
Bla
Bla
Bla
Bla
Bla
Bla
Bla
Bla
Bla
Bla
Bla
Bla
Bla
Bla
Bla

GeeJo (t)⁄(c) • 18:35, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] footnotes

How do I add footnotes without the amended section vanishing from the page?SLY111 18:30, 15 September 2007 (UTC)SLY111

Make sure to add </ref> to the end of the footnote, or Mediawiki assumes it continues til the end of the section. GeeJo (t)⁄(c) • 18:36, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
If it isn't there already then add a reference section containing for example <references/> to display the footnotes. See more at Wikipedia:Footnotes. PrimeHunter 18:59, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] how to download articles from wikipedia

i want to know the steps for downloading articles from wikipedia —Preceding unsigned comment added by Arunilangovan (talk • contribs) 18:31, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

What do you mean by "download articles"? --Orange Mike 18:42, 15 September 2007 (UTC) (and please sign your posts by adding four tildes ~ to the end of your text)
If you want to download Wikipedia's database, see: WP:DUMP. If you want to download the rendered HTML of a single article and pipe it into other programs, see: Pipeline (Unix)#Example. If you want a fairly simple way to read Wikipedia articles offline, see: TomeRaider. If you want to write a question we can understand...unfortunately there are no instructions for that. --Teratornis 19:46, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
What's the problem? In your browser say "save page". What's hard to understand? But it's interesting that the saved pages aren't the same format that you see on site. Images arranged differently etc. Don't know why. 216.95.55.233 22:18, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] viruses

hey .got a qusetion ? how do you do get rid of a trogan horse viures off your computer —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.243.131.254 (talk) 20:24, 15 September 2007 (UTC)


this is for question about USING WIKIPEDIA ONLY try http://symantec.org/ or http://www.pandasecurity.com/usa/ DeSalvionjr Talk | Contribs 20:48, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Have you tried the Computing section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. --Pekaje 20:48, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Dr.Chris Obinwa's Biography or Profile

I want to know how biography is entered in wikipedia--Chris obinwa 20:34, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

What do you mean?Smartyshoe 20:36, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
We at wikipedia don't encourage writing personal articles. Try getting a website or something at freewebs.com to make your own website or autobiography. DeSalvionjr Talk | Contribs 20:50, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Suggest reading notability guidelines for biographies as well. Into The Fray T/C 22:23, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Userboxes

How can I put something like this fan is a user of the Hulk or Ron stoppable?--The K.O. King 21:26, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

I guess you mean this user is a fan of the The Hulk or this user is a fan of Ron Stoppable. We don't appear to have userboxes for them now. You can make a suggestion at Wikipedia talk:Userboxes/Ideas. PrimeHunter 23:32, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Deletion

How do I delete wording that has been posted by someone else?Zynx5000 21:52, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

You can do it manually by clicking [edit this page] at the top or the [edit] section buttons and remove the text, or you can revert a user's edit using the page history. See Help:Revert for more information. Sebi [talk] 22:10, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] html code for spaces

What's the code for leaving spaces in a line? 216.95.55.233 22:08, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Can you be a little more specific, please? Sebi [talk] 22:11, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Horizontally. 216.95.55.233 22:25, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

I guess you are looking for a non-breaking space which is written &nbsp; PrimeHunter 23:23, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, but I'm not an expert and now I need to interpret your answer. Do you mean like "&10" if I want to leave 10 spaces in a line. (Uh, everyone knows what a line is, don't they?) 216.95.55.233 01:26, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

You seem to be using the word "line" a bit differently from most. Basically, on Wikipedia, you usually just hit the spacebar to make a space.
If you're wanting something different from that, you will need to clarify it for us. -- Kesh 01:49, 16 September 2007 (UTC)
&nbsp; gives one space. Write it ten times in a row to get 10 spaces: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Depending on your purpose, other methods may be preferred. Starting a line with a space here at Wikipedia will write the line in a box with fixed width characters including all spaces. Starting consecutive lines with a space makes them part of the same box. For example:
1 space after the number on this line
2  spaces after the number
3   spaces
4    spaces
5     spaces
PrimeHunter 01:48, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

We're starting to get somewhere. I looked at the article you referenced PrimeHunter, and I'm not specifically after "non-breaking", but it might be. So I repeat "&nbsp" for each single space I want. Cumbersome, thought there might be a shorthand. Have to use it, but it's not satisfactory code method. Point is that just spacing a number of times does not produce those spaces. It's for layout. I did say "spaces" plural! 216.95.55.233 02:34, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Test: This space       is a demo. Seems to work. 216.95.55.233 02:48, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

It's cumbersome because it's rarely used. What kind of formatting are you trying to accomplish? It might be easier with something else, but we still don't know what you're actually trying to do yet. -- Kesh 02:54, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Man all I want is to leave any number of spaces, for whatever purpose I may have. That is clear. Any formatting reason. Why should it be hard? Consider this. What if we'd like to set an image at a certain distance. Just an example, nothing to debate pro or con. It's time to create a new code in html. Also, I do need a way to leave spaces that WILL break and carry to the next line. 216.95.55.233 03:06, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Different methods are good for different purposes, and some purposes require a specific method. html coded pages are rendered differently with different browsers, fonts, window sizes, etc. It's best to select a method that is likely to give a good result in all or many circumstances. Images should rarely be positioned by inserting multiple spaces. It's not stable enough when circumstances change. Help:Images and other uploaded files includes some information on image positioning. PrimeHunter 04:02, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

For your curiosity see what I've done between the images at "Tom and Jerry (guitarists)". Ain't that glorious?
(why would you want to do that..........)
216.95.55.129 07:41, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

On my screen the second image on Tom and Jerry (guitarists) is displayed below the first with 0 pixels between them. PrimeHunter 13:26, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Consumer complaint site is a thing in and of itself.

I was attempting to write about a consumer complaint site as a thing in and of itself. However, I am unable to do so as the article was deleted due to it being an attack or being a soapbox stand. I feel that the article was impartial and deleted in error. Further, that although it was about a consumer complaint site it was impartial and dealt only with the site itself as a medium of social change or voice. I discussed only what was on the site and listed other similar sites as further examples of this type of consumer activity. What recourse do I have in matters such as this. Would an entry about these consumer complaint sites in mass be acceptable? As these sites are discussed in the media and even ranked by Forbes, and various newspapers I feel that they are acceptable topic for inclusion. Please advise me on what additions or deletions would enable this article to be posted? I assumed that as soon as a site receives national attention, and can be described factually and historically as an entity of it's own. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Donating intellect (talk • contribs)

This is not the place to paste your repost of the deleted article. For deletion review, please see: Wikipedia:Deletion review. Into The Fray T/C 22:31, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
A few problems. First, I can't find any references to prove notability. A Google news search turned up nothing; if you say it is featured in all those articles and websites, you need to provide some sort of proof. (A link to the article) Also, most of the articles mentioned seem to just be mentions in a longer list or a mention in an article/show. That's not really enough for notability. "8/13/03: ZoomZoomZoom a New Zealand based vendor of shareware encryption software proudly displays the anti-American Express banner. Click on the banner to read their AMEX story." The way this is written (without a banner to click on) makes it look like it was copied from somewhere. The milestones seem to include everything good that ever happened to the website or what they promote, which is a bit of a WP:NPOV violation. "4/27/03: Ex-client of American Express Financial Advisors writes a letter to the editor of Investmentnews.com. The title of this letter is At AEFA, the commitment is to commissions." - What does that have to do with the website? The "Other Company Specific Consumer Complaint Sites" and "See also" sections: notice none of those sites have articles; is this site that much more notable? The "References" section - none of it has anything to do with the article; its all info and press releases about Ameriprise. Finally, I don't think the website qualifies to be in Category:Financial services companies of the United States. Mr.Z-man 22:50, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New Logo of Wikipedia proposal

Let's not feed this troll, okay? -- Kesh 00:36, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Missing astronomical symbols

This may be a similar problem to that discussed at #Flag icons above. On the article Astronomical symbols, some of the symbols do not appear in the table, and some do. The ones that are missing have the alt text showing. I checked the image tags and they are written correctly. Showing the symbols would seem to be important on a page about symbols. Also, the same symbols are missing from each planet's individual page (i.e., the alt text is on top of the infobox at Mercury, but the symbol shows properly at Earth.

Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune

Hmmmm, they don't show up here, either. — Michael J 22:32, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Known problem. They're working on it. --Agüeybaná 22:54, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
I have a solution, slow but it works. It will not solve the whole problem, but one image at a time. Go to the images pages at the commons and at the end of each url add, &action=purge. This tend to solve the problem. --Тhε Rαnδom Eδιτor 23:03, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Thank you. It seems now that all of the symbols except Earth are visible. I'll keep watching. — Michael J 00:08, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

I purged Earth's icon, and it works now. — Kieff | Talk 00:28, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] {{db-copyvio}}

A user thinks that he can use {{db-copyvio}} on an image. I have experience in speedy deletion, and I am almost completely sure that that template cannot be used in the Image namespace, but I have been known to be wrong before, so I am requesting your help. Can that template be used in the Image manespace? If not, what is the correct venue to be used to deleted suspected copyvios? --Agüeybaná 22:59, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure what the template is but you might want to look at WP:CSD#I9. --Тhε Rαnδom Eδιτor 23:06, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, but the image I'm talking about already claims it is fair use. WP:CSD#I9 does not apply there. --Agüeybaná 23:07, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Hey, Eddie. Well I took a look at Category:Copyright violations for speedy deletion, and there are other images there. I going to assume you can use the template until someone proves me wrong, and then I shall humbly say I stand corrected. The nominator needs to provide a url, and then I will find out whether it is a vio or not. --Тhε Rαnδom Eδιτor 23:33, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
You may want {{puidisputed}}. Corvus cornix 16:09, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Question about the page Gosh

I'm just curious, how did this article get created by an anonymous user? SmileToday☺(talk to me , My edits) 22:59, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Anonymous page creation was not always disallowed. ssepp(talk) 23:01, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
See also this signpost text: Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2005-12-05/Page creation restrictions. ssepp(talk) 23:02, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
In the early days of Wikipedia, article creation by IPs was enabled in the MediaWiki software. That was later disabled, but Jimbo said that it may be enabled once again in the future. --Agüeybaná 23:02, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
To calrify, Jimbo's remarks were talking about doing that in conjunction with Wikipedia:Flagged revisions. For the record, my own personal feeling is against New page creation by anonymous users. --YbborTalk 23:12, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Unlikly that anons will ever be able to create new pages again otherwise we will have to ahve a "new pages patrol" along with Recent changes patrol lol. 71.113.5.56 23:06, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Actually, we do have a newpages patrol. — Malcolm (talk) 23:08, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
There already is one. See the Wikipedia:New page patrol. --Agüeybaná 23:09, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Thanks. SmileToday☺(talk to me , My edits) 23:39, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
  • There is a process for anonymous users to create pages at WP:AFC. With the crap coming through there on a daily basis, I think restricting page creations by anons was a good move. Still doesn't stop people from posting the same material after signing up. - Mgm|(talk) 22:55, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
Probably slows them down a bit, but also makes it harder to find. Swings and roundabouts, I don't see it changing any time soon. Regards, Ben Aveling 22:57, 1 December 2007 (UTC)