Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 September 30

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[edit] September 30

[edit] Image Request

Is there some sort of tag that can be used when requesting an image for an article? or possibly some category it can be put in?

DTGardner 00:29, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

I would imagine someone would have created something like that before, but I couldn't find it. But now there is Wikipedia:Article improvement, which isn't a category nor a tag, but may turn out to be useful. A.Z. 00:39, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
There is Template:Reqimage as a general template for this, and it puts article in category Category:Wikipedia requested images. But you should use {{reqphoto}}, {{reqmap}}, {{reqdiagram}}, or {{reqimageother|type of request}} for specific requests. If I remember correctly, all of the templates should be put to the talk page of the article. --Biblbroks's talk 00:42, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
That's really useful. That map template is exactly what I was looking for for the article on Regional Federal Courts. A.Z. 00:44, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Time travelling diff

Is it just me or this is weird? A.Z. 00:57, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Heh, it is a bit wierd. I'm no expert, but my guess would be that Eloquence (talk · contribs) reverted everyone's edits all the way back to 4 October, and the "MediaWiki" software version that Wikipedia used at the time had a small bug and displayed the timestamp of the revision the page was reverted to. Cheers, ARkY // ¡HaBLaR! 02:28, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
Then we should ask Eloquence to confirm that. I'm going to do that on his talk page. A.Z. 03:22, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mistake

By mistake i erased a part of an article. I am very sorry, but is there a way i could get the information back. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.39.28.100 (talk) 01:39, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Is the article Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig? If so, just click the history tab on that article, and then you can revert it to the previous non-screwed-up revision. --Teratornis 01:56, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Help!

My new article, Moeko Matsushita, is up for deletion, and I need help saving it.Kitty53 03:05, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

The speedy delete tag has already been removed. You'll probably do best to review music and indicate what criterion, if any, the individual satisfies. And, oh... No, I didn't remove the tag. But I agree it should have been. Into The Fray T/C 03:11, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, I deleted the tag. The article should be safe enough. GlassCobra 08:03, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Who?

Who put Moeko Matsushita under construction? I'm so happy, because someone must've gotten involved. Whoever put it under construction please let me know. I'm proud of you for getting involved.Kitty53 03:24, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

That was me. Please see my notes to the article's talk page. Probably better to keep the discussion in one place and leave the help desk out of it for now. Cheers and happy editing. Into The Fray T/C 03:25, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] dotted lines on contribution , Namoa (Siosaia Tupou)

What are those dotted lines that boxed in some sentences ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Anacrossan (talk • contribs) 03:55, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

That means there is a space at the beginning of the line.
like this
If you want to make a space at the beginning, use a colon. Leebo T/C 06:49, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Geo tagging issue

Please check out Clinton, Mississippi. The Location of Clinton in Mississippi map, the red dot is at the top of the state even though it should be much further down and to the left a bit. The coordinates I have in the tag are correct: 32.3395 and 90.3304 but it's not putting the red dot on the map correctly. These coordinates take you to exactly on top of Clinton, Mississippi's city hall. Can someone please tell me what's wrong with this and how to fix it? Thank you. -- ALLSTAR ECHO 04:30, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Some possible explanations are at m:WikiMiniAtlas#Frequently Asked Questions. - BanyanTree 11:26, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] sociology

Why rostow is important to us? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.46.106.82 (talk) 06:20, 30 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. Leebo T/C 06:49, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Battery wattage calculation

How to calculate battery wattage —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.17.251.82 (talk) 07:15, 30 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. Leebo T/C 07:17, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Table help

Is there any way to create a table that has the same background as the wiki-pages, in other words, a truly invisible table? The Hybrid 08:01, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

All of the info we have about tables is at Help:Table. I wish I could help more, but I'm not all that proficient in that area. Hope you find what you're looking for! GlassCobra 08:05, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
Tried that already :( The Hybrid 08:07, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
Have you tried setting style="background: transparent" for the table? Unless I'm misunderstanding your request, that should do it. --Pekaje 08:15, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
Yes, that did it! Thank you; you're a lifesaver. You have no idea how important that was, The Hybrid 08:21, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Editing the Page Heading

I've just opened a new page to record the life and work of an author. As a beginner, I've made the mistake of putting too much information in the page entry line. Is there any means of accessing the page entry line in order to truncate the entry so that it only contains the person's name? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Andyofnewark (talk • contribs) 09:09, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

As a newer user, you don't have the ability to move a page yet, but when your account is a little older, you'll get access to this function; in the meantime, I've done it for you. I cleaned up the article a bit as well. You used some pretty familiar language, are you personally connected to this guy? If so, you may wish to read our conflict of interest guidelines. As a last note, when you make comments on talk pages, like this one, sign your posts by putting four tildes (~~~~) after them; this attaches your name and the date. Feel free to reply here or on my talk page if you need any more help, okay? Happy editing! GlassCobra 10:03, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] lost password

Hi my user name is AMStacey and I appear to have lost/forgotten my password. It would also seem that I registered with an email address I no longer have access to, which would have been tony@2020telecom.co.uk. Can someone change the email address for me please, to amstacey20@yahoo.co.uk.

Thank you

AMStacey —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.34.26.181 (talk) 10:59, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

User names are case sensitive. There is no AMStacey but there is Amstacey. Try potential passwords there. If you don't find it then you have to create a new account. You can write on your new user page that you edited as Amstacey earlier. PrimeHunter 19:03, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] STARTING A PAGE

I'd like to submit a page/article on Wikipedia. How do I do this?

My name is mentioned on it several times and rather than others writing about what I do for a living I'd like to explain my company myself. Could someone give me some direction on how to set up my article please? Thanks, Parsleymedia 11:07, 30 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. GlassCobra 11:12, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Weird Thing Happened to Skin

I came onto wikipedia to research something and the page seemed to be screwed up, it only showed the article frame (ie no top frame or the left side navigation frame) and it seemed to be lacking any CSS coding causing the layout to appear really old fashion. There was a message from the bottom saying Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Main_Page so I'm thinking I was somehow directed to an RSS feed of sorts, except I made sure the address at the top was correct (en.wikipedia.org) and purged my cache several times. Then suddenly everything was back to normal. Any thoughts, and has this happened to anyone else (if you want a picture I have a screenshot I can upload)? I originally posted about this on the main page (couldn't think of anywhere else to go) but it's removed now, the original message is at the bottom on this version 124.184.171.224 12:39, 30 September 2007 (UTC) PS: Someone archive this page, it's lagging my comp sooooo badly

It just happened on rationalwiki too, so perhaps it's my comp's attitude towards mediawiki. Still, doesn't explain why one minute I can be using wikipedia without any problems and the next time I open it up (the time inbetween spent typing a word document) it goes into psycho mode... Any thoughts? 124.184.171.224 12:46, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] problem in seeing geographic details roads buildings in jalgaon maharashtra

helo sir can u please help me search places in jalgaon, maharashtra, india.as i cannot get a clear view with details of roads buildings as i get to see of other cities please help —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.94.228.82 (talk) 12:48, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

You could take a look at Jalgaon, however your question seems to be more to do with finding a clear aerial image so perhaps you could try google maps or some similar tool elsewhere on the internet. Please note that this help page is for help using Wikipedia and not for general questions which are better dealt with by the Reference Desk. 90.241.137.66 14:30, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
Also note that the resolutions of aerial photographs and satellite photographs available to the public vary with the location. Not surprisingly, the developed nations which pay for the satellites tend to lavish more attention on their own territories, or perhaps on territories they invade (but defense agencies tend to be secretive). This translates into generally better aerial photographs on Google Maps, Google Earth, and so on for areas such as the United States and Europe than for many other parts of the world. You might look for mapping enthusiasts in India who could help you, at least to find the best material that is available. --Teratornis 18:29, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] formatting difficulties

I tried making an edit to the talk page on Queen Latifah, but for some reason that page does not respond properly to Wikipedia style formatting any longer. I tried several times, but the page is reading the formatting symbols as text (and even this is sometimes not done properly). Minaker 15:07, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

A <nowiki> got in there. I'm removing it. Sbowers3 16:22, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Categorization

I'm crating a new article and it's a hour I'm trying desperately to find somewhere where all the categories are... I remember there was once a nice little page with a nice little search box....with a nice little sunflower...now I don't find anything anymore...the only pseudo-categories search engine do not work...HELP!...please...(°_°) --Dia^ 17:23, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

by the way, this is the page User:Dia^/Photographer....--Dia^ 17:31, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

No one can answer me? Help! Help!--Dia^ 19:07, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

You can search categories by first using the normal search box by clicking "Search", then uncheck "(Main)" and check "Category" at the bottom, and only use the bottom search box after that. You can also look at which categories similar articles are in. PrimeHunter 21:25, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Foreign language sources

What is the policy on these? Dag Hammarskjöld has several. Clarityfiend 18:25, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

  • As this is the English language Wikipedia, English sources are preferred whenever possible, but for subjects or facts that have little or no English sources, they are totally acceptable. - Mgm|(talk) 19:00, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How do I make an info box?

On a lot of pages there are info boxes, and I can't figure out how to make one. How do I? MindstormsKid 19:12, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Do you want to create a brand new one that doesn't yet exist? Or one that is already in use somewhere but put it on a new article? If the later, go to the article where it is used, hit "edit this page", scroll down to the bottom of the edit page where all the templates are listed, then follow the link to the template you want. The blank template with all its fields will be on the templates page if not its talk page. If you were looking for the former, I don't know but I would think that it would be somewhere like WP:INFOBOX. Dismas|(talk) 19:20, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Quoting: formatting line breaks, line indent, and block indent

'allo, my darlin's! (no, don't be alarmed - just quoting fabled English comic Charlie Drake's punchline, delivered in Cockney)

Three questions:

1. How do you get LINE BREAKS IN A POETRY QUOTE to translate onto the page? If you look at the edit box, you'll note that my line breaks in the verse have NOT come out as intended.

2. Furthermore, feast your eyes on this. You'll note the third and sixth lines are LINE INDENTED in a couple of spaces. Any chance of duplicating that effect?

3. Finally, is it then possible to BLOCK INDENT that entire verse quote, as you would do in a proper literary paper? (If not, don't worry. I would sacrifice the BLOCK INDENT if the LINE BREAKS and LINE INDENTS can be dealt with....

Thanks, and I bid you a very good evening - or morning, or afternoon, wherever you may be... --FClef (talk) 19:14, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Putting a colon : at the beginning of a line will indent it. To add a line break, you can simply use the HTML markup for a line break which is <br />. Dismas|(talk) 19:17, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Three answers, hopefully:

First, there exists a MediaWiki extension that is meant for preserving line breaks with needing to do <br/>. So your poem sample becomes:

<poem>
Great, valiant, pious, good, and clean, 
Sublime, contemplative, serene, 
Strong, constant, pleasant, wise!
Bright effluence of exceeding grace; 
Best man! - the swiftness, and the race, 
The peril, and the prize.
</poem>

Second, it is possible to indent lines; the colon can be used for this. However, the poem tag preserves whitespace, so you can also do:

<poem>
Great, valiant, pious, good, and clean, 
Sublime, contemplative, serene, 
     Strong, constant, pleasant, wise!
Bright effluence of exceeding grace; 
Best man! - the swiftness, and the race, 
     The peril, and the prize.
</poem>

Finally, you can apply a block indent with the <blockquote> tag, as follows:

<blockquote><poem>
Great, valiant, pious, good, and clean, 
Sublime, contemplative, serene, 
     Strong, constant, pleasant, wise!
Bright effluence of exceeding grace; 
Best man! - the swiftness, and the race, 
     The peril, and the prize.
</poem></blockquote>

So the final result is:

Great, valiant, pious, good, and clean,
Sublime, contemplative, serene,
     Strong, constant, pleasant, wise!
Bright effluence of exceeding grace;
Best man! - the swiftness, and the race,
     The peril, and the prize.

Will this do? GracenotesT § 19:24, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Will it do? It's marvellous! Thanks, Grace. --FClef (talk) 19:55, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Remove Images

Hello,

How do I remove all my images from wikipedia?

Best regards —Preceding unsigned comment added by Algae21 (talk • contribs) 19:21, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Add {{db-g7}} to the top line of the information for each image-- Admins should eventually delete them if you do this. -Domthedude001 20:59, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
(edit conflict) If you're really sure you want to, put {{db-author}} at the top of all your picture pages. GlassCobra 21:02, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why does my photo keep getting deleted?

Hi,

I've tried at least 3 times to do whatever is necessary to make sure my photo is not deleted and it keeps getting deleted. I'm not sure which copyright tag to use or exactly what steps I need to take to ensure that the image is not deleted. I am the creator/owner of the photo. I've tried reading the FAQ, but I'm very confused by it. Can someone please give me an easy step by step process of how to do this? Every time I think I've done it right, it gets deleted. Do I need to file copyright papers somewhere?

Thanks.

SpaceOdyssey 19:23, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

If you created the image, you need to make sure that you add a free-license tag, such as {{PD-self}}, {{GFDL-self}}, or a Creative Commons license such as {{cc-by-sa-3.0}}. You also need to make sure that you specify in the file description that you are the creator. Images without such notices may be deleted within seven days of being uploaded, as appears to have happened with two of the images you have uploaded. If you need more help, feel free to leave me a note on my talk page and I'll try to help you out. Hersfold (t/a/c) 19:59, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] no question

just wanted to say congratulations excellent work thank you RosemaryFriend 19:27, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Speaking for a heck of a lot of us, thank you! We do try our best! :-) Love, Neranei (talk) 19:42, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] wikipedia entry does not show on google

I created a new entry/topic about 24 hours ago but when I tried to google it, there is no reference to it on wikipedia. How long does it normally take for google to recognise an entry? Or is there something I'm not doing right? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.19.192.4 (talk) 20:02, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

It usually takes about a day for the Googlebot to crawl Wikipedia.. It will soon, patience. -Domthedude001 20:55, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Signature Help

Could someone explain how the code for making a signature works to me or just give me some code for a neat signature. (sorry if this is the wrong place) Xor24 21:07, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

The code for making a signature is pretty simple HTML. Here's some sample code for you to play with. [[User:Xor24|<b><font color="blue">Xor24</font></b>]] [[User_Talk:Xor24|<font color="#00ff00"><sup><small>'''T'''</small></sup></font>]]/[[Special:Contributions/Xor24|<font color="00ff00"><small>'''C'''</small></font>]] Here is what it produces: Xor24 T/C. Please drop me a note on my talk page if you want more help! Love, Neranei (talk) 21:14, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How to place images

Hi, i was wondering, how do people put the images you see on pages in the little boxes with a short description under them? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cpfan0446 (talk • contribs) 21:41, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

You put the text [[Image:IMAGENAME|(number of pixels)px|caption]]. Neranei (talk) 21:46, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
See more at Help:Images and other uploaded files. PrimeHunter 21:57, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hits per wiki page

I have worked on an article here on Wikipedia for a good while. I would be interested to know if the article is actually of any use to anyone. Is there a way to determine how many hits a certain Wikipedia page (URL) has received? I imagine I have hit the page myself many many times just in writing the article. It would make sense to subtract this number; is this count knowable? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Icitrom (talk • contribs) 22:23, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

The short answer is no. For the long answer, read these previous Help desk replies to the same question. It seems the best we can do is guesstimate the number of views from the number of edits. There may be a rough correlation between the number of people who view a page and the number of people who edit it, with viewers outnumbering editors by a factor of anywhere from 10 to 100 or maybe more. Of course for people to reach your article, you would have to make sure there are appropriate links to it from other articles. Click the toolbox | What links here to see the existing links to your article. Also make sure your article is in all the appropriate categories, and tag its talk page with the appropriate WikiProjects. You could also try a Google Search for your article and see if it appears near the top of the search results, although I don't know how much that would tell you, since Google tends to elevate Wikipedia articles regardless of whether people are viewing them. --Teratornis 00:18, 1 October 2007 (UTC)
It seems you are asking about Pilot licensing in Canada. The Talk:Pilot licensing in Canada page was not following the talk page guidelines, so I added a {{Talkheader}} template and section headings. I also added some WikiProject templates: {{WikiProject Aviation}} and {{WikiProject Canada}}. --Teratornis 05:42, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Info boxes

It doesn't say how to make an info box anywhere, and I can't find the right one. Can you help me?

MindstormsKid 23:11, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

For making an infobox, see Help:Infobox and Wikipedia:Infobox templates. As for a list of infoboxes, see Wikipedia:List of infoboxes. Sephiroth BCR (Converse) 23:34, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why is this happening?

For some reason, random articles are getting added to my watchlist. Does any body know how this could happen?--Ghostbear616 23:29, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Did you accidentally check "Add pages I edit to my watchlist" in your preferences? Leebo T/C 23:31, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
This sometimes happens if a page you are watching gets moved to a new name. The new name shows up all of a sudden in your watchlist. Corvus cornix 18:57, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] looking for Ancestors

I would like to know how I can find out any information on my great great grandfather. He lived in Petesburg, Pike IN. in the year of 1880. 74.222.209.164 23:35, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

We apologize, but your grandfather likely does not have an article on Wikipedia. Articles on people must pass Wikipedia:Notability (people); therefore, unless your grandfather is the subject of one of the types of sources here, then he likely does not have an article. Sephiroth BCR (Converse) 23:39, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
Records for births, deaths marriages, baptisms, court actions, divorces and land transfers may all be available from government agencies. You can try calling a few agencies about where and how you can access these records. Pike County Indiana Chamber of Commerce; the county court and county clerk ; Pike County Recorder (marriage licenses); commercial Indiana birth certificate search and so on. All this was as easy as going to Google, typing in the county and town names coupled with logical search terms.--Fuhghettaboutit 03:58, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] {{helpme}} My user id MAY be aqk ... but password is lost

{{helpme}} A long time ago I registered with Wikipedia using the id 'aqk'.

At least I think I did ;-) But alas, I never supplied an email address.

IS there any way I can 'prove' or otherwise verify that I am the owner of this id? I realize I could use / create many others, but I would like to remain consistent, as I already own the domain name aqk.ca

BE WARNED: The only other possible owner of this ID might be A.Q. Khan, the "father of the Pakistani Nuclear Bomb". If you suspect he might be the owner, well... I certainly won't argue with HIM!

-) Tony (A.Q.) King
Unfortunately, if you have forgotten your password, the only way to get a new one is by email. If you did not provide an email address, or you no longer have access to it, you must create a new account. If you wish, you may put a link to your old account on your new userpage.--Werdan7T @ 23:50, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
There doesn't seem to be any user called User:aqk or User:AQK. Have you tried looking at the edit history for an article that you might have edited at around the right date? — PhilHibbs | talk 10:18, 1 October 2007 (UTC)
There is in fact a User:Aqk, that has made no edits. You may be able to usurp the username. — Timotab Timothy (not Tim dagnabbit!) 04:00, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How do I set the width of a template?

It's a sidebar-style template I'm making, Template:Unfree Labor. I'd like to set a width and force lines of text to wrap, rather than having line length set the width as it is now. Dybryd 23:53, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

I've set the width of the template to 20% for an example :) To change it, just change the width number like I did here. Cheers, ARkY // ¡HaBLaR! 00:19, 1 October 2007 (UTC)