Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 January 23

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1 January 23

[edit] January 23

[edit] say thank u to wikipedia

1st wanna say thank u 4 information...it's difficult to gather data for articles but you did it:)by the way do u have a complete list of php command?syntax?..& java? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hammettslash (talk • contribs) 00:05, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Millions of editors sure make the job of collecting all that information easier. To answer your question, you can either look at the relevant articles or ask your question at the reference desk. For your convenience, here's some links to those pages: PHP, Java (programming language), and Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing. Also, you might want to take a look at some books on the topic on our sister project, Wikibooks: wikibooks:Programming:PHP and wikibooks:Java Programming. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 00:44, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Sections of pages in categories

I seem to remember a while back seeing categories which had links to sections within pages, and not just the pages themselves. Links to sections were italicized as opposed to links to full pages. I have not found anything in any of the category-related help pages which answer this question about how to get specific sections into categories. Does anyone here know what I am talking about and how to do this? --iTocapa ^iChat 00:18, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Redirects are italicized in categories. See for example Category:Redirects. And a redirect can be a section link. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:30, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

For a good example of this (used where individual entries do not require individual articles, but are likely to be searched for in a category) see Category:Disused railway stations in Cornwall. DuncanHill (talk) 00:41, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Ah, okay, that makes sense. Thank you for your help. --iTocapa ^iChat 03:21, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

See the following section for a just created example. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:15, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] How do I Edit a "Category" page?

I was going to add "Pluto Planet Day" to the list of March holidays, on "category:March observances", but whenever I click on "Edit This Page" it brings up a blank slate with the category names at the top. what do I do? The Umbrella Corporation (talk) 00:45, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

In order for a subject to be added to a category, there must first exist an article on the subject. The category is then added by placing code in the article itself, which adds the article to the category. For example, if there was an article on Pluto Planet Day, you would add at the bottom [[Category:March observances]]. For an example, go to Winston Churchill which currently has more categories than any other article on Wikipedia (66!). Click edit this page and scroll near the bootom to see them. For further information, see Wikipedia:Categorization.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:48, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Combining this and the preceding section, I have created a redirect on Pluto Planet Day to Pluto#IAU decision to reclassify Pluto where it's briefly mentioned, and placed the redirect in Category:March observances. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:13, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Grandfather and father of Ann Davenport

Is there any possibility of anyone out there would know the grandfather and father of Ann Davenport? She would have been a transportee listed in 1658, likely an indentured servant who was associated with land that ajoined Richard Davis Gentleman, in Norths New Kent which is now King and Queen? unsigned

The Help Desk is for questions on how to use Wikipedia. A much better place for this type of question would be here. —Noah 01:16, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Email setup on my talk page

How do I setup the Wikipedia "E-mail this user" function on my talk page???--Sikh scholar (talk) 01:08, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Go to Special:Preferences and scroll down to the E-mail section. Check the "Enable E-mail from other users" option. —Noah 01:12, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Also, if your email provider or email program has a whitelist you should probably add "wiki@wikimedia.org" so that the messages from Wikipedia don't get marked as spam. —Noah 01:20, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

The normal "E-mail this user" is in the toolbox to the left and I see you currently have it. If you want a link on the talk page itself then you can make it with [[Special:Emailuser/Sikh scholar|E-mail this user]] (or another optional text instead of "E-mail this user") You can also look for something fancier in a search like [1] or by clicking the "edit this page" tab on a page where you see something you like. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:28, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] creating a page

how do we begin? we don't know how to get a title and how to get adopted. please help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by HauteLook (talk • contribs) 01:47, 23 January 2008 (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 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.

And for adoption see Wikipedia:Adopt-a-User. --Silver Edge (talk) 01:53, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

In addition to the above, I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "adoption", but please see Wikipedia:Adopt-a-User. I note in your post you say "we". I don't know if you mean that literally but please also see m:Role account.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:58, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

And if your username is associated with HauteLook.com, I would also suggest that you read WP:COI. —Travis ^talk 02:11, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

See also Wikipedia:Business' FAQ. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:15, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

If you still need help creating a page, see my instructions in the section "Creating a page" further up on this page (where someone else asked the same question). --Coppertwig (talk) 02:36, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Cannot find history in article

There was paragraph for Heath Ledger concerning his death that I cannot find and I need to find it again as it is no longer there. How do I search the history to find this previous paragraph ?

I know the words but there is no search function

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_ledger —Preceding unsigned comment added by Towley (talk • contribs) 02:44, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Because his death happened so recently, the article is changing very quickly. The paragraph you're looking for can be found at Heath Ledger#Death, and all previous versions of the article are located at http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heath_Ledger&action=history, available from the history tab at the top of the page. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 02:52, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] question for homework

who is the author of wikpedia? and who sposors wikpedia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.103.27.225 (talk) 04:36, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

To answer your question, since Wikipedia can be edited by anbody, there is no "real" author. Anybody who has added info to Wikipedia including you can be considered an "author". As for who sponsers Wikipedia, Wikipedia is owned by the Wikimedia Foundation which manages and pays for Wikipedia. --Hdt83 ^Chat 04:40, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Since this is for homework, you may be after Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 04:56, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

The answer to your first question is at Wikipedia:Who writes Wikipedia. The answer to your second question can be found at Wikipedia:Overview FAQ, where it says Who owns Wikipedia?. More general information is at Wikipedia:About. • Anakin ^{(contribs • complaints)} 13:01, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Help creating user pages

I have seen user pages (but not the user page or talk page) that have been created to store information (e.g. working versions of documents) but don't know how to create them. Could someone tell me what is involved? I want a page where I can put a fairly long discussion that I don't want to gum up someone's Talk page with.

Thank you, Jgui (talk) 05:44, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:User page and Wikipedia:Subpages. You can for example create User:Jgui/Sandbox. PrimeHunter (talk) 05:47, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Subpage - thats what I want. Thank you!!!! Jgui (talk) 05:50, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] I can not Log In

I am a user with the Id "Dagoflores", suddendly my password was not recognized. I have requested a NEW PASSWORD, to be sent to [ email removed ], but I have not received anything. I wonder I am banned?. MEXICO: AGS. --189.166.14.226 (talk) 06:24, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

No if you were banned you'd be able to log in but wouldn't be able to edit. Theresa Knott | The otter sank 06:30, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

User:Dagoflores only has 2 edits 3 years ago. If it's you and Help:Logging in doesn't help then you can just create a new account. If you have an account in another Wikipedia language or any other wiki then it doesn't work here. Google found a more active user at http://wiki.laptop.org/go/User:Dagoflores. PrimeHunter (talk) 06:46, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Global Trust Bank Scandal

I need more information on GTB Scandal as what happened? what went wrong? How it was controlled? Who were the people behind it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.92.145.55 (talk) 06:31, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi there! This is the Wikipedia Help Desk, a place where editors can come with questions concerning the use and editing of wikipedia. Your question may be better suited over at the Reference desk Best regards! --omtay 38 06:53, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

You can also try a Google search on GTB collapse. PrimeHunter (talk) 06:57, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] How can I delete my contribution

Dear Sir/Madam

I would like to delete my contribution file to Wikipedia and would be grateful if you could help me delete it.

Thanks in advance

Best Regards

Umut —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ukiyak (talk • contribs) 08:18, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

I've done it for you.Theresa Knott | The otter sank 08:24, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] [Show] and [Hide] in templates

Is there anywhere in Special:Preferences where I can make all the templates with a [Show] or [Hide] tag automatically be set so they are automatically/permanently showing? I've tried looking in the prefs, but didn't notice it.. If not, is there a code to add to the monobook.js that will allow it? Thanks!! -- Matthew Edwards | talk | Contribs 08:23, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] price enquiry

Dear Sir,

I am tin moe Myint from myanmar. Would to like to ask my question that is the price of magnesite(MgCo3)? I will very please to know your information.

Thanks & regards, Tin Moe Myint(Mrs) General manager International Best Service Co., Ltd —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.81.161.139 (talk) 08:23, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Err, sorry this is an online encyclopedia. Why not try a Google search [2] for help on current prices? Pedro : Chat 12:50, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] How can i add a link and new searchengine keyword.

Hi,

This is Sandeep. I would like to know how can i add a link for the text that is in code base it looks like this <a href="http://www.wikipedia.org">Wikipedia</a>. When i go to edit page option also the code is not excuting and showing the same what i write there inside the textbox.

and the next one is if i would like to add a new keywords means where can i add. For example in search box we will type something naa like that.

Please let me know the ansers as soon as possible.

Thanks & Regards, Sandeep. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gvsandeep (talk • contribs) 08:53, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi. I think you're trying to insert a URL into an article. You don't need to use html coding. If you put the link inside square brackets like this [http://www.example.org] then it will work like this [3]. Please remember that external links are generally best at the end of an article unless they are in-line citations. Thanks! Pedro : Chat 09:47, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Also see the Wikipedia reference and guidelines for adding external links for more information and to be certain that the link is appropriate for inclusion. Thanks —Travis ^talk 12:39, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] "Old references"

I've been adding references back into an article I'm working on, on a few occasions, but one user insists on taking them out. Usually she gives no reason why in the edit history, but the most recent time I called her up on it. She went and removed them again, saying "Do not need old references - old references = old news. Save the references for future release dates." The references are regarding release dates for DVDs of a TV show.

Who is right on this issue? If the season DVDs have been released, is it necessary to reference the release date for each region they're released in (in this case 1, 2 and 4). I thought that anything factual that can be referenced, should be. In fact, her comment, "Save the references for future release dates" seems a bit strange considering how future events have not occurred and therefore cannot be completely verified. Even if the publisher releases the information, it can still change until it actually happens. Any clarification appreciated. -- Matthew Edwards | talk | Contribs 09:01, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

It's always harder to analyze a situation in the hypothetical (a diff would be great). I searched in the edit history of Degrassi: The Next Generation as a guess at the relevant article for the material you quoted but didn't find it. In any event, there may be a good basis for removal of information on future releases under for example WP:CRYSTAL, and its source as well, as part and parcel of that information removal, but it's difficult to imagine any circumstance where a reference to a reliable source should be removed when the information it verifies remains.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:38, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] School admission

Regading admission of your school, what we do, please advise us. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.4.107.10 (talk) 09:26, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Hello. I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over two million articles, and thought that we were directly affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that the web site you are at now is Wikipedia, the online free encyclopedia, and this page is a help desk for asking questions related to using the encyclopedia.

Thus, we have no inside track on the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the left hand side of your screen. For something like school admissions though you should contact the school directly. Best of luck. • Anakin ^{(contribs • complaints)} 13:08, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] protection

we are the originators of the Peristaltic pump page but our links (linking to our website) keep getting changed by others? Is there anyway we can protect this from happening? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peristaltic_pump#Applications —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.144.180.66 (talk) 10:03, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not an advertising space, external links that are irrelevant and add nothing to the article are removed.--Kerotan ^{Leave Me a Message} Have a nice day :) 10:12, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Also, please see WP:OWN - this is a wiki and as such articles can be edited mercilessly by anyone! Thanks! Pedro : Chat 10:15, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks very much for bringing our attention to the spam on the articles peristaltic pump and pump. It's now been removed from both articles. Have a nice day! • Anakin ^{(contribs • complaints)} 13:20, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] My article is an orphened article, how can it be my own.

Respected Sir/Madam!
I gave an article on wiki about my villege Basirpur so that people can easily know about it. But the article is said to ba An Orphened Article always. Kindly guide me to make it registered with me/wiki.
Thankyou,
waqas —Preceding unsigned comment added by Awais.waqas (talk • contribs) 12:52, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Don't Panic! The article is "orphaned" because few other pages in Wikipedia link to it. This will hopefully improve over time. It does not mean the article will be deleted or anything. The notice is there so that hopefully editors will find other articles where it would be sensible to to link them (via a blue link) to the Basirpur article. Pedro : Chat 12:58, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

I tried to find other pages that could link to Basirpur. I typed "Basirpur" into the search box and clicked "search". I found three pages that have the word "Basirpur" in them. I was going to put double square brackets around them like this [[Basirpur]] , but I saw that they already had the brackets: they were already links. So, there were three articles linking to the page Basirpur. I think maybe three is not too small a number, so I deleted the orphaned tag from the Basirpur article.

If you can think of other pages that should talk about Basirpur a little bit, you can go to those pages and put in the word Basirpur in a sentence somewhere, and put the square brackets so that it will link to the Basirpur page. Then the article won't be orphaned. It would be good to have more than three other pages linking to it, but only if saying Basirpur on those pages makes those pages better somehow. --Coppertwig (talk) 17:33, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] How do i create an article on a person whos name is being used on another artical for another person?

i really need help! im wanting to create an article on a famous soccer player named David Moffat but there is a journalist by the same name, how do i create an article on the soccer player? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bresciano2323 (talk • contribs) 13:02, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Easy, call it David Moffat (footballer)! Mjroots (talk) 13:08, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Indeed as per Henry White (footballer). Also check out WP:SOCCER for templates (in the manual of style section). Pedro : Chat 13:11, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Oh, and you may wish to use a disambig template at the top of David Moffat - e.g. {{otheruses}} or similar. Pedro : Chat 13:14, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Hatnote and Wikipedia:Disambiguation. Does he satisfy Wikipedia:Notability (people)? I couldn't find a famous soccer player in some quick Google searches. Who has he played for? PrimeHunter (talk) 13:19, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Zoo Template

You only posted a headline. Maybe you are looking for {{Infobox zoo}}? PrimeHunter (talk) 14:01, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Question copied here from Help Desk talk page:

I noticed when Template:Future zoo exhibit is placed an an article, it also places the Category:Zoo on the article. Is there a way to use this template without having that category also appear on the article? Also, like to maintain having the template itself appear in the Zoo category. Thanks! FieldMarine (talk) 13:59, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Currently, it cannot be used without adding the category. Template:Future zoo exhibit could be edited to add an optional parameter to suppress categorization as described at User:Willscrlt/UBX/categories. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:22, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, i'll check it out. FieldMarine (talk) 16:46, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Religion?politics.

Why would a blond haired and blue eyed Jesus try hiding in Egypt until he was seven years old? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.120.106.146 (talk) 13:55, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

I doubt the answer involves Wikipedia. Sorry to be dull but this help desk is for questions about using Wikipedia and not for jokes, especially if they may be offensive to some people. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:05, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

If your point is "Wouldn't it be great if we had an intelligent, informed, and unbiased discussion about the race of Jesus?" then please click here; when done reading join in on the article's talk page. —Noah 14:40, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Using JavaScript for things that HTML does is very stupid.

Computers do a lot of work -- a lot of work that doesn't need doing. --Michael Litwyn

If you assume that my subject is correct, then which of the following preference checkboxes is also very stupid?

Enable section editing via [edit] links
Enable section editing by right-clicking on section title(JavaScript)

A style recommendation says that headings should not be links. I disagree with the style recommendation, because it justifies itself by saying that some browsers might not know how to interpret this (I hav yet to find one. I've tried four.), and here I see some moron making browsers fail to interpret linked headings sensibly. The first choice should be the default. The second shouldn't be. I suppose that left-click to follow a link and a right-click to edit a section is understandable, but, to quote someone I've never met, "If it is not necessary to do it, then it is necessary to not do it". That rule has more eksepshunz in Arts than in Enjineering. BrewJay (talk) 14:16, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi BrewJay. Yeah, you have a point there. However, this is the Wikipedia Help Desk not the Mediawiki development suggestions list. I agree with you that the software sucks... all software sucks, but since it is open source hopefully energetic and clue-ful people like yourself will work to make it suck less. In that vein: log a bug. Lastly, there are cases where people turn the headings (or part of the headings) into links so in that case it is useful to have a editing shortcut mechanism. Cheers, —Noah 14:33, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

I don't see a problem. The first one is the default. The second one isn't. The second option doesn't turn it into a link in the HTML sense either, it's just some javascript to detect a right-click. I'm sure somebody finds it useful. • Anakin ^{(contribs • complaints)} 14:55, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

He is making a point about design decisions in the Mediawiki software. The (probably correct) presumption is that Javascript is inherently more complicated and error prone than HTML rendering and therefore we should eschew needless Javacript Featuritis. The options he called out suggest that Javascript actions are associated with Headers to the detriment of using good ol' simple HTML in the Headers. But, I should shut up now since I already pointed out that this is not the Mediawiki development forum. —Noah 15:17, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Block other people editing my content

Hi,

IS there a way to prevtn my edit being further edited?

Siobhan —Preceding unsigned comment added by Siobhan 13 (talk • contribs) 14:24, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

No; no editor "owns" an article. · AndonicO ^Hail! 14:25, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Recommend stating the merits of why an article should read a certain way in the discussion page. However, in the end, anyone can edit the article. FieldMarine (talk) 14:37, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

And if you're asking about the article All Eyes On Glaucoma, that was deleted as a violation of copyright. --Orange Mike | Talk 15:22, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] citeweb failure

Refs 36 and 37 Westboro_Baptist_Church#Activities_and_statements are over-long. I tried to resolve it using citeweb. I failed. MrsBucket (talk) 14:50, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

They seem fine to me (I think at this moment they are no longer 36/37 but 38/39). They wrap around in the ref list, is that what you mean by over long? I don't see that as a problem since it doesn't affect the readability of the article. —Noah 15:24, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Can you offer advice on where I might improve this article?

Can you offer advice on where I might improve the Collusion Syndicate article?

Thanks! - Operknockity (talk) 16:20, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Ask at the reference desk, someone will know! _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{play it cool.} 19:09, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

I see that the article is currently up for deletion. One concern I have with it is the quality of the sources. As relates to the most recent version:

is a link to the main page of the organisation's website, and therefore is not an independent, reliable source
a glowing review of the site in a 2000 newspaper readers' poll. Independent, specific. Unfortunately, it is quite brief
a portal site. The org is not mentioned on the page linked to, and from what I saw of the site, would likely only be a short listing on another page
an article by someone on the organisation's website. No reliable, as noted above, and I'm not sure how it relates to the site's significance
see above
see above
see below
Two identical links, both to the homepage of a local news/tv station (?). Org not mentioned on front page or in a site search
Link to the front page of a local newspaper. Org not mentioned on front page or in site search
see below
Two more links to the tv station mentioned above, identical.
The technology pages of the New York Times

At the moment, none of your sources add up. If the organisation is mentioned on the New York Times site (preferably in detail), the link needs to be to the exact page where it is mentioned. (The fact that someone who once wrote articles for the New York Times has them archived on this organisation's website does not make it inherently notable, unfortunately.)

A search on Google for "collusion syndicate" excluding the organisation's website and Wikipedia, produces fewer than 40 results, many of them not related - the Bowl Collusion Syndicate? A similar search on Google news produces 2 results, neither related. (Of course, the Google test is not authoritative; many subjects on Wikipedia have sources which pre-date the Internet. However, I would expect to see more results where something is primarily based on-line).

I see your main problem here as being a lack of verifiable sources. If you know of sources which aren't in the article, you could add them to the article, which may well address editors' concerns regarding notability. The deletion discussion process is 5 days long, and anyone can work on the article during that time. The decision on whether to delete or not will be made by an administrator, based on adherence to Wikipedia policy and persuasive arguments made by editors during the process. --Kateshort forbob 19:58, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Heath Ledger

Is that late actor's daughter's name spelled "Matilda" or "Mathilda"? I ask because the name can be spelled four ways that I know of: Mathilda, Matilda, Mathilde, and Matilde. My late mother and my daughter, her namesake, is named Mathilda.

Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.189.25.246 (talk) 17:52, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

I think it's "Matilda". I get a lot more Google hits with '"Heath Ledger" Matilda' than with the other spellings. Wikipedia doesn't rely on Google searches, though. Here's a source (a newspaper article) spelling it "Matilda": [4]. Next time, this kind of question should go to the reference desk. --Coppertwig (talk) 18:04, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Help desk's fine, since it could be info for the article. • Anakin ^{(contribs • complaints)} 20:08, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Adding an article

How do i add an article to Wikipedia, i have crated an account and now want to add an article —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sammyn24 (talk • contribs) 19:59, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] can you help me

how do i create a page about a dj/music producer thats list his date of birth his muiscal accomplishments and awards just like how dj clue has one set up can you help me

thanks simbabugzy —Preceding unsigned comment added by Simbabugzy (talk • contribs) 20:29, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

To make the infobox just like on the DJ Clue page, you can go to that page and click "edit this page" at the top. Then use your mouse to copy everything from "{{Infobox" up to and including the line with just "}}" on it. Be careful not to click "save page", because you don't want to change that page. Then, type the name of the new page you want to make into the search box and click "go". It will tell you the page doesn't exit and give you a red link "Create this page". Click on that to create the page. Paste in the infobox you copied. Change the information in it, then click "save page". See also Template:Infobox. You should also put some paragraphs etc. into the page. --Coppertwig (talk) 20:42, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Writing A Page

I know that you can edit other people's pages. But how do you write a page of your own? --Gaangel95 (talk) 20:45, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Technically, it's not other people's pages as once you save your edit you are giving others permission to mercilessly hack away at your work.

[edit] editing help for templates

hi, i was searching for a help pages that explains how to make similiar things in tables for templates. How does this work with "if...then do..."? I saw this for example:

! style="background-color:#FC6;" | Type
| {{ #if: {{{questitem|}}}|{{{type|[[Quest item]]}}}
| {{ #if: {{{uses|}}}|{{{type|[[Kit]]}}}|{{{type|Not specified}}}
}}}}

{{pipe}}- valign="top" 
{{ #ifeq: {{{type|}}} | [[Rune]] | 
! style="background-color:#FC6;" {{pipe}} [[Armor bonus|Bonus]]
{{pipe}} {{{bonus|Not specified}}}

now, i wanted to create a infobox template for a wiki which can change the words used in similiar colums or the default image names, or even the border color, background color or style of the entire box, that you could use it like that:

{{"infobox name"
| border color = red
| name type = 3
}}

something like that. could anyone help, maybe with a useful link that explains this wikicoding? i'd be happy about an answer. 87.177.248.11 (talk) 17:03, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

Responded/ing on user talk page. --omtay 38 21:12, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Not finding page in search

I recently added a page on Austin A. Frye and when I do a search, I can't find it. Am I doing something wrong? —Preceding unsigned comment added by JAR4853 (talk • contribs) 21:26, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

You seem to have created a page named User:JAR4853, containing information about Austin A. Frye. You can create a page with a title like Austin Frye (click on that link to create that page) and copy the information into it, to make it part of the encyclopedia, if you think it meets Wikipedia's notability criteria and other policies. --Coppertwig (talk) 21:59, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Working Man’s Barnstar

Resolved.

Is it possible to change the Working Man’s Barnstar to just Worker’s Barnstar? I want to give that award to an editor. Not that I’m overly PC, I just honestly don’t know their gender. Just a thought. Thanks! FieldMarine (talk) 21:34, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi, if you put {{subst:The Working Man's Barnstar|message ~~~~|n}} then the following will be produced:

		The Working Wikipedian's Barnstar
		message The Helpful One ^(Talk) ^{(Contribs) (Review)} 21:39, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Hope this helps! The Helpful One ^(Talk) ^{(Contribs) (Review)} 21:39, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Perfect, thanks! FieldMarine (talk) 21:56, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Naming Convention Question

I noticed two categories called “Category:Defunct museums of the United Kingdom” and “Category:Defunct museums of the United States”. In accordance with naming conventions, should these be “in” instead of “of”? There are relatively few listings in each & I can fix them easily if this is a mistake. Thanks! FieldMarine (talk) 22:03, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Someone's been reading up on WP:NCCAT, haven't they?! WP:CFD would love to help, I'm sure - it even sounds like a speediable matter, and then the magic CFD-bots will do the hard work for you. (Incidentally, if you put a colon in the wikilinked category name, i.e. [[:Category:Defunct museums of the United Kingdom]], you get a clickable Category:Defunct museums of the United Kingdom, which makes it easier to follow the examples that you give). Bencherlite ^Talk 22:14, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! FieldMarine (talk) 18:33, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Question about blocking

Hello, I'm writing a paper for school and was wondering if it was possible for a company to request that its IP addresses be blocked to keep their employees from writing about other companies? For example, could the US government request their ip addresses to be blocked to keep employees from editing their own and other groups' profiles? Please reply to my email address if possible.

Thanks in advance, smcampbe —Preceding unsigned comment added by Smcampbe (talk • contribs) 22:20, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

I can't find the link, but there was a related thread recently on one of the mailing lists. As I recall, the conclusion was that we take the position that if they want to block Wikipedia, they can do it on their end. We are not responsible for enforcing their policies. Bovlb (talk) 22:34, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] [Show] and [Hide] in templates

I'm not aware of currently existing solutions to do that atm, and it's quite a complicated piece of code, so its not really easy to do either. I suggest you contact the creator of this code User_talk:Ruud_Koot. Perhaps he might have a solution. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 02:35, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] can't get password

I'm Ed Stephan. I'm fairly certain I signed up years ago. I've forgotten my password.

Trouble is, my email address has changed a few years back. So it's possible my request to 'email password' is going off into entropy heaven. My current email address is <e-mail removed> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.197.140.122 (talk) 23:30, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do - you'll have to create an account and place links between the userpages of both accounts. NF24^{(radio me!)} 23:43, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

User:Ed Stephan has no edits so I see no need to connect it to a new account but if you badly want to keep the account name then you could try explaining the situation at Wikipedia:Changing username/Usurpations and ask for usurpation (which may be rejected). You would only get the account name and not the actual account so things associated with the account like watchlist and preferences would be gone. If the account name is not important to you then it's recommended to just create a new account with another name. PrimeHunter (talk) 05:03, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] What font does Wikipedia use?

I am using IE & Maxthon browser on XP and all the fonts on Wikipedia are not the same as before and kind of hard to read. I tryed veiwing the html but, it doesn't tell me which font you use for my platform. I belive I have a corupt font & would like to reinstall it. Can you please help me on this matter. Thank you, Troy Date —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.183.255.219 (talk) 23:39, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia uses whatever the browser default font is, I believe; check around in the preferences and hopefully you'll find a font option; make sure it's set to a readable font and you're all set. NF24^{(radio me!)} 23:42, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Article text is Times New Roman; header text (such as that for Wikipedia:Help Desk) is Arial Unicode MS. Those are defaults, though; you can usually set your browser to use a font of your preference. Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 23:46, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 January 23

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] January 23

[edit] say thank u to wikipedia

[edit] Sections of pages in categories

[edit] How do I Edit a "Category" page?

[edit] Grandfather and father of Ann Davenport

[edit] Email setup on my talk page

[edit] creating a page

[edit] Cannot find history in article

[edit] question for homework

[edit] Help creating user pages

[edit] I can not Log In

[edit] Global Trust Bank Scandal

[edit] How can I delete my contribution

[edit] [Show] and [Hide] in templates

[edit] price enquiry

[edit] How can i add a link and new searchengine keyword.

[edit] "Old references"

[edit] School admission

[edit] protection

[edit] My article is an orphened article, how can it be my own.

[edit] How do i create an article on a person whos name is being used on another artical for another person?

[edit] Zoo Template

[edit] Religion?politics.

[edit] Using JavaScript for things that HTML does is very stupid.

[edit] Block other people editing my content

[edit] citeweb failure

[edit] Can you offer advice on where I might improve this article?

[edit] Heath Ledger

[edit] Adding an article

[edit] can you help me

[edit] Writing A Page

[edit] editing help for templates

[edit] Not finding page in search

[edit] Working Man’s Barnstar

[edit] Naming Convention Question

[edit] Question about blocking

[edit] [Show] and [Hide] in templates

[edit] can't get password

[edit] What font does Wikipedia use?

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