Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 January 24

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1 January 24

[edit] January 24

[edit] How do you make pages about someone in the WIKIPEDIA?

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.115.214.131 (talk) 00:01, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

You will need to first register an account, which has many benefits, including the ability to create articles. Once you have registered, 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. Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 00:03, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

As Master of Puppets has said, you must create your own account first. If the person is popular, whether it be of an important theorem, a hit record, or being a prominent politician, then you can start their page by typing their name in the search box to the right. If the search box brings you to a page, then you will not need to create the person's page, and you may just edit it (with or without an account; if the page is protected, you must have an account). If the person's page is not there, then you can just type in a few things about them, but you must include why they are important. (See WP:NOTABILITY). If you type in a page about yourself, a friend, etc. then expect it be deleted, because Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a personal website (See WP:What Wikipedia is not). I hope that helped! — Cuyler91093 - Соитяівцтіоиѕ 08:56, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Using “*” or space after a category

To list items in top left of category, I noticed sometimes a “*” after a category such as in “Category:Museums in the United States|*Curators” & sometime a space is used such as in “Category:Museums in the United States| Defunct”. When should a “*” be used as compared to just a space when listing categories? Thanks! FieldMarine (talk) 00:25, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Can you provide a couple of examples? —Travis ^talk 00:31, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Please see Category:Museums in the United States, upper left; some are below a "*" & some are below. The Ones below have a "|*" included in the category & the ones above have a "|(space)". FieldMarine (talk) 02:15, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

(Ah, thanks. I see that you put that in your original question and I missed it.) I haven’t a clue about the space or asterisk and a quick skim of WP:CAT doesn’t provide an obvious answer. It seems to me that a space should be ignored but I’ll have to dig a bit deeper, unless someone else has an answer. —Travis ^talk 02:29, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

The space is probably a mistake, but the asterisk is used to force an article to the top of the category listing - usually the main article and/or a list of examples (for instance, I went to Special:Random/Category, which gave me Category:Godchildren of members of the British Royal Family, which has listed under * the article List of godchildren of members of the British Royal Family). Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 03:17, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Categorization#Priority sort keys and Help:Category#Sort order. There is no fixed rule about using space or *. Some categories have articles with both and then space comes first, for example in Category:Suspension bridges. It's possible to use additional characters for more groupings, for example + and -. They are displayed in ASCII order as shown at Help:Category#Sort order where many special characters come before digits and letters. If an article happens to start with a special character and doesn't change its own category sort order then it's listed normally under that character, for example *-algebra in Category:Abstract algebra. PrimeHunter (talk) 04:39, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Wrong

I just wanted to say that i saw the ADD definition and part of it is wrong. It is not a genetic disease and also you can get ADD without being exposed to anything toxic or bad for you and also you can get it without damaging your head by falling or something. I have ADD and i am up set because i didn't get it by any of the reasons that were listed. I just got it, nothing happened to me, i never was exposed to anything, i never have/ had fallen on my head or damaged it, and neither of my parents have it. I would like for you to change that because it will not let me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.204.122.215 (talk) 02:19, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Neither Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADD, or ADHD predominantly inattentive are semi-protected or protected, so you should be able to edit them. Your ability to post a question here shows that you are not blocked. You may want to bring this discussion to the talk page of the relevant article, as I'm not sure which article you're referring to, and ADHD appears to have a full range of citations throughout the "Causes" section. Sorry I can't be of more help. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 03:55, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

(edit conflict) I notice you have already attempted to correct the Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder article. Please note such claims need to be backed up by citing references from reliable sources - without this, your change is likely to be reverted quite quickly. If that happens, it would probably be best to take your concerns to the article's talk page, rather than simply re-adding your information. Also note it is not necessary to leave your signature in the article itself (I have removed it for you), but if you leave a message on a talk page, then please do use the signature.

Whilst, the article's factual accuracy is disputed, it suggests that genetics plays a role in around 75% of cases, whilst injury/toxins play a role in around 20% of cases. That leaves around 5% of cases with possibly unexplained causes (though I have not read all of the article).

Astronaut (talk) 04:05, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WANT TO BUY COTTON SEED

HI MY NAME IS AND IM FROM FIJI AND IS REALLY INTERESTING TO BUY THIS PRODUCT[COTTON SEED OIL]

SO IF YOU CAN HELP ME OUT IN FINDING THAT OUT.

CAN YOU LET ME KNOW WHERE I CAN GET IT? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.151.26.133 (talk) 02:44, 24 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 you are at Wikipedia, the online free encyclopedia that anyone can edit, 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. If that is not fruitful, we have a reference desk, divided into various subjects areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 02:51, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Sockpuppet reporting

Did I do this right? Wikipedia:Suspected sock puppets/Kyleain

The same comments cam in from multiple accounts. Warnings have been met with hostility. User talk:Novangelis#Stop trolling Novangelis (talk) 02:57, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Yes, that was filled out correctly. Good jorb. Soxred93 | talk count bot 03:14, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Why is it taking so long to POST MY PAGE to the public?

I have created my contributions and I have been asking and waiting to have it posted for some months now. Please advise or post the page for me. Schmoovy Schmoov is my name. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Schmoovy Schmoov (talk • contribs) 03:08, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

I'm afraid we can't do that. First of all, since Wikipedia is a wiki, you can post articles on your own - you do not have to request that it be done for you. Secondly, your article appears to be an autobiography, which are strongly discouraged on Wikipedia. Writing an article about yourself means that you have a conflict of interest, which will affect the neutrality of the article and may make it difficult to determine if you are in fact notable enough to be included. Thirdly, your article contains no references or citations to reliable sources to help verify the information you have included. You are welcome to include information about yourself on your userpage as you have done, however in an actual article, we'd prefer you not. If you believe you are notable enough for inclusion in Wikipedia, you may request an article be created by an experienced editor. I'd recommend you take a look at Wikipedia:Your first article for more information about how to get started here. I hope this helps. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 03:46, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

P.S. - Just so you know, anyone can look at your userpage, however a search for "Schmoovy Schmoov" will not go directly to your userpage. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 03:48, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Since you wrote the autobiography you have not posted outside the user page and user talk page for your account before today. Wikipedia has 7,268,991 registered accounts and it's likely nobody has seen your contributions before now. PrimeHunter (talk) 04:05, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] YouTube videos on Wikipedia

Other wikis (such as Uncylopedia or Encyclopedia Dramatica) are able to paste Youtube videos directly into their articles. Is there a way that can be done on Wikipedia? --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 03:14, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

No, for several reasons. It is possible to embed malicious code into a video, causing security issues. Doing so would greatly increase article size and cause accessibility issues. However, the main reason is that YouTube videos are generally not considered to be reliable sources, and so aren't usable as citations. Because of this, there is no reason to embed them in the first place. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 03:30, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Also, WP:COPYRIGHTS problems often go along with videos from other sources like Youtube or Google video. - PeaceNT (talk) 05:16, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

what about for user pages? If you want a video not for an actual article, but to add to yuor user or talk page? --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 05:40, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

You can't embed them, and you can't link to them if they're copyright violations, which most youtube links are. Corvus cornix_talk 05:41, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Ah, I understand. Bummer. Thanks anyway. --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 05:42, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] create account and upload image

How do I...? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.235.141.178 (talk) 04:09, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi there! See WP:ACCOUNT for the benefits of creating an account, and instructions on how to do so. As for images, please see WP:UPLOAD; make sure you read the full copyright information, though. And lastly, remember to sign your edits using the four tildes, like this; ~~~~. Cheers, Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 04:14, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Infobox Water park template

On template:Infobox Water park, how do I change the template so that if “location3” is filled out on the template, the information displays on a second line when the article is viewed. See Adventure River for example with “United States” showing on two lines. I think it does not look good that way. Thanks! FieldMarine (talk) 04:33, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

It's normal line wrap when the whole text doesn't fit on one line. You can avoid risk of line wrap between two words by replacing space with   (see nbsp). In Adventure River it's in a wikilink so you have to pipe it: Replace location3 = [[United States]] with location3 = [[United States|United States]]. PrimeHunter (talk) 04:53, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, i'll do that. Is there a way to change the template so it automatically does that if location3 is filled out? That may be a good permenant fix. Thanks again! FieldMarine (talk) 04:55, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

I don't recommend trying to automatically avoid line wrap for unknown names. There might be long names where line wraps are natural and line lengths would become too varying without it. (And I wouldn't personally bother with   for United States or most other multi-word names). PrimeHunter (talk) 05:11, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] How to see Featured Articles

How to see Featured Articals —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.140.142.85 (talk) 06:44, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

If you're looking for a list of Featured Articles, go to Wikipedia:Featured articles. If you want to know if a certain article is featured, look for a small bronze star (

) in the upper right hand corner. --Evan Seeds (talk)(contrib.) 06:55, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] confirmation of depositea sum of GBPS 820,000

Please confirm FUND DEPOSITE (...) NATIONAL LOTTERY (...) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.101.182.250 (talk) 06:57, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

This must be a lottery scam. I'm not sure whether you are a scammer or somebody is trying to scam you but I removed most of your post and strongly urge you and everybody else to ignore messages like this. PrimeHunter (talk) 07:16, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Image licence

I uploaded Image:Bernhardt Skull.JPG, which is just a crop, into landscape, of Image:Sarah-Bernhardt (Hamlet).jpg, which is a commons image.

However, I've got a problem with the licence. The commons image is licenced death of creator+70 years, whereas that's not an option at special:upload on wikipedia (which has an option for death of creator+100). Looking at the DoD I'd say this difference is actually an issue. I've put a licence on there pro tem so that I can bring the question here to the help desk, but how should this be dealt with? Should I upload to commons not to wikipedia? Or is there an appropriate licence I'm missing? AndyJones (talk) 08:19, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

The folks over at the Image copyright help desk can help answer your question. However, you should usually upload PD images to Commons. NF24^{(radio me!)} 21:08, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Another image licence question

Completely unrelated to my preceding question, I see from my watchlist that a bot is trying to delete Image:Richardthird.jpg. However the book in question was clearly printed 1597 and is therefore in the public domain, and the image shouldn't have been given a fair use licence in the first place. I've no idea how to dispute this &/or to fix this myself. Can someone oblige &/or tell me what I should do? AndyJones (talk) 08:30, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Changed to {{PD-old}}. NF24^{(radio me!)} 11:40, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Excellent, thanks for your help. AndyJones (talk) 13:34, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Wikipedia

Is there a chance if i could create a seperate vandalism unit, simular to the counter-vandalism unit but totally different which performs strict rules, and follow's the rules of the wikimedia foundation, i've noticed a few user's are creating their own departments for the wikipedia project but i was wondering if anyone had objection's. →Dust Rider→ 12:20, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Nevermind i won't bother. →Dust Rider→ 13:13, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Age of articles, please.

How can I find out when a particular article was first posted on its Wikipedia site?

I have looked at the history, but I don't know if any of it has been archived, or if I am seeing the entire history.

How do I tell the age of the page?

Thank you,

Suttonplacesouth (talk) 13:02, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Click history at the top of a page. Then click earliest and you will be at the first ever edit to a page. Page history is not archived as for GFDL copyright reasons, we need to preserve the authors. See Help:Page history for more information. Woody (talk) 13:06, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Some related links: Special:Ancientpages (it only goes back to 2004, which makes no sense), and History of Wikipedia mentions the oldest edit which is still in an article history. One possible complication when you are trying to find the very first edit to an article: if an article was deleted and then someone recreated it later, I don't know if the earlier deleted history will still be visible to non-admins. You might want to look into that if you want to be really sure. --Teratornis (talk) 18:53, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] End of article not showing up, but text is still there

I edited the Anderson County, South Carolina article. I added a Reference section an external links section. After I saved it, nothing after this last reference is showing up. But, if I go back to "edit this page", the all of the text is still there (Meaning I didn't accidently blank the last part of the article) What is up with this? Thanks, Rocketmaniac (talk) 13:26, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

You need to close the ref tags with </ref> after the reference has finished. So <ref>[wikipedia.org]</ref>. More information can be found at Wikipedia:References. I have fixed it for you now. Woody (talk) 13:30, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. That was a big duh on my part. Rocketmaniac (talk) 13:33, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

You would be surprised at how often it happens! ;) Woody (talk) 13:35, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Another question. How many references does an article need so you can remove the Unreferenced tag? Rocketmaniac (talk) 13:37, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

One. After that, if necessary, you can always add a {{refimprove}} tag. Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 13:58, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

(e/c)In theory, 1. After that use {{refimprove}}. It is more of a common sense issue, when all really challengable stuff is referenced, then remove the {{refimprove}} tag. Woody (talk) 14:00, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] kerrigan labrooy sri lankan burgher

Hi There, Firstly CONGRATULATIONS on such a fabulous facility. The reason I'm writing is to advise you of another popular SRI LANKAN BURGHER. I was browsing your Sri Lankan Burgher page and discovered other popular colleagues.

My name is Kerrigan La-Brooy - I'm a singer/songwriter/entertainer/actor etc etc....my webpage is www.kerriganlabrooy.com

My email is <removed email>

I was wondering, indeed hoping, my name could be included on your Sri Lankan Burgher name list."

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Kerrigan La-Brooy Melbourne, AustraliaKezlab000 (talk) 14:35, 24 January 2008 (UTC)kezlab000

See WP:BIO for the "notability" requirements for a person to have a Wikipedia biographical article. If you satisfy those requirements, you can help Wikipedia editors write about you by giving us some reliable sources for your biographical information. Everything on Wikipedia has to come from reliable published sources. It's not enough for something to be merely true. --Teratornis (talk) 18:45, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Layout of wikipedia suddenly looks strange

I'm not sure what I did, but en.wikipedia looks very strange. There are no tabs at the top of the page. It's like the css isn't being applied at all! Other websites look fine in my browser (Firefox 2), and even other parts of wikipedia look fine, like fr.wikipedia. When I view source and compare en.wikipedia's header to fr.wikipedia's header, they look the same.

Did I somehow change a setting? How do I fix it?

128.2.213.43 (talk) 14:46, 24 January 2008 (UTC)Ciera

Clearing your browser cache may fix it. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:54, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

No, that didn't fix it. 128.2.213.43 (talk) 15:02, 24 January 2008 (UTC)Ciera

Did you clear all files (not just refreshing the viewed page)? I don't use Firefox and cannot give browser specific help. Have you considered creating an account? Benefits at Wikipedia:Why create an account? includes many ways to customize the display. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:05, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Yes, I did clear the cache. I shouldn't have to create an account to have wikipedia appear as it normally does, and I'm suspicious that it won't work anyway. It really appears as though th browser can't find the css. As I stated, this only happens on en.wikipedia. 128.2.213.43 (talk) 19:34, 24 January 2008 (UTC)Ciera

[edit] Template help

How do you make a table-like template (such as an infobox) align itself on the right side of the page? King Zeal (talk) 15:36, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

An infobox would/should automatically align itself to the right. Inside the tags {{}}, you'd have something like: {{|right}} - which may align it. It depends on the template itself. Hope that at least helps a little bit... I'm not terribly strong with those things. Scarian ^{Call me Pat} 16:07, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Random hacking at {{Infobox}} seems to show that 'class="infobox"' does this, among other things. Algebraist 16:17, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

You can see the CSS code for that class in MediaWiki:Common.css; an excerpt:

/* Infobox template style */
.infobox {
    border: 1px solid #aaa;
    background-color: #f9f9f9;
    color: black;
    margin-bottom: 0.5em;
    margin-left: 1em;
    padding: 0.2em;
    float: right;
    clear: right;
}
...

--Teratornis (talk) 18:39, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] When will our site be up and can we get it linked to another wikipedia page?

I just created a site about muscoot farms. there is a page about somers new york that has muscoot on it but i was wondering if we could get it linked to the muscoot page... The somers page has muscoot in black. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Muscoot (talk • contribs) 15:48, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

It looks like you created this on your user page, which shouldn't be linked to from other existing articles. Quickly glancing over it, I don't know if meets the requirements for notability, so it may get deleted if you make an article out of it. It is also is more of an advertisement than an article. I'll leave some links on your talk page to get you in going in the right direction. Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 16:01, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] A long time lurker

finally gets a login and asks - I enjoy some of the Wikipedia funny pages (lamest edit wars, funny articles and such like) - is there one that lists the funniest edits? It's just that I've found a cracker and want to add it to the list! Toodleooh (talk) 16:46, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Bad Jokes and Other Deleted Nonsense is no longer maintained so I don't think there is an appropriate place on Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:54, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Check out Wikipedia:List of shortcuts#Department of fun. Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 16:58, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

That's a shame. Here it is, for posterity's sake (made me laugh out loud): [1] Toodleooh (talk) 17:06, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

See also Category:Wikipedia humor. • Anakin ^{(contribs • complaints)} 17:15, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

That is pretty amusing. For things like that, where you can link to an actual diff, you might want to keep the link somewhere in your userspace. (The reason BJAODN got in trouble was because a lot of its content didn't provide a way to determine the author of the content - such as a diff, a big copyright problem.) Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 22:19, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Date delinker

Could someone with the appropriate program go through and de-link the year only dates in Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes? I would do it by hand but it is slow. Rmhermen (talk) 17:35, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Done, with multiple search-and-replace in a text editor. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:34, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Changing an edit comment that I made

I recently deleted a line from the entry on Michael Redhill that was unfounded speculation, and explained my reason in an edit comment. I would now like to alter that comment. How do I do so?

Thanks, Luckysod —Preceding unsigned comment added by Luckysod (talk • contribs) 17:44, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

You can't. You could post on the article talk page explaining your new position, or (since no-one's edited the page since you) you could make a dummy edit with an explanation in the edit summary. Algebraist 17:58, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

You can also see in the page history who added the line and try contacting at User talk:70.49.50.50 - but some unregistered editors will not use the same IP address again and not get the message. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:15, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Talkpage History

Hi, is there a chance if someone could erase, IP user: 75.80.87.71 from my talkpage history i didn't like the comments he/she placed on my talkpage it made me a bit distressed and i want to forget about it but can't because of his/her's IP is on the history section. →Dust Rider→ 18:34, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi there! Page revisions are usually not hidden from normal view except in extrainous circumstances. Wikipedia:Oversight states that these cases are:

Removal of nonpublic personal information such as phone numbers, home addresses, workplaces or identities of pseudonymous or anonymous individuals who have not made their identity public.
Removal of potentially libellous information either: a) on the advice of Wikimedia Foundation counsel or b) when the subject has specifically asked for the information to be expunged from the history, the case is clear, and there is no editorial reason to keep the revision.
Removal of copyright infringement on the advice of Wikimedia Foundation counsel.

As the edit in question is merely vandalism, I do not think it will be hidden. Nevertheless, you are welcome to visit Requests for oversight to ask that this revision be removed. Hope this helped! --omtay 38 18:39, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

I'll just ignore the History tab, if the user appears again and makes that offensive and disgusting comment again, or vandalizes my userpage or subpages i'll report him/her and have them blocked and i'll monitor them closely for other vandalism on userpages or articles. →Dust Rider→ 18:46, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Think of it as a "badge of honor". Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 19:00, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

I don't understand the comment, what do mean. →Dust Rider→ 19:02, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

In my comment above, there a link above to all the vandalism that's been done on both my user and talk pages. Personally, I'm not offended by any of the comments, I find them amusing, so I display them. Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 19:06, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Alright, i might add another subpaage and place that IP user on it along with a link to the history, so i know what they've done unless i forget it. →Dust Rider→ 19:08, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

I've added an entire new section & included lot's of info of who i'm watching. →Dust Rider→ 19:24, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Why are advertising pages not deleted, even if it is clear that they go against the Wiki Perennial Proposal?

I know of a company, which created a page exclusively to advertise their capabilities....I saw that they have been tagged beginning three months ago. Is there a law that prohibits people form deleting a page? How do you prove that the page is against the Wiki law...How does this work? Thank you very much for your time on this... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mhmwiki (talk • contribs) 18:47, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Responded/ing on user's talk page. --omtay 38 19:09, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi there! I'm writing concerning your notice on the help desk. I have included on your page a welcoming template with a few links to some helpful articles about wikipedia policies. As a more specific answer to your question, articles on wikipedia are deleted according to the Deletion policys. If you could give me a link to the specific article you are referring to, perhaps I could be more specific about why it is or isn't being deleted. Please feel free to respond here or on my talk page. Welcome to Wikipedia and happy editing! --omtay 38 18:53, 24 January 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by The Transhumanist (talk • contribs)

[edit] Is Christian Solidarity Worldwide reliable source

Is Christian Solidarity Worldwide [2] a reliable source as per Wikipedia:Reliable sources? Can I use this source for reference? Otolemur crassicaudatus (talk) 18:52, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi there! Wikipedia:Reliable sources applies to sources that are used when writing wikipedia. Generally, an article should never cite another wikipedia article as a means of fact verification (as both articles can be edited by anybody). If you want to cite this specific article in another work outside of wikipedia, you may want to take a look at this page. --omtay 38 19:09, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

I still have a question. As per Wikipedia:Reliable sources#Extremist sources, extrimist sources are not allowed as reference in article. But I don't think that Christian Solidarity Worldwide is an extrimist source. According to Wikipedia:Reliable source examples#Use of electronic or online sources, "Websites and publications of political parties, religious groups, anti-religious groups, or any other partisan group, may exhibit bias and should be treated with caution. Neither political affiliation nor religious belief stated in these sources are in themselves a reason not to use them, as these websites can be used to present the viewpoints of these groups, if properly attributed" and "Widely acknowledged extremist organizations or individuals, whether of a political, religious, racist, or other character, should be used only as primary sources". I want to use this for the article Religious violence in India‎. I don't understand that can Christian Solidarity Worldwide be labelled as partisan source or not? Otolemur crassicaudatus (talk) 19:16, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Ahh, i see, i misunderstood slightly. I would say, when in doubt, cite another source. Any verification, even biased, is better than none. See if you can find a third-party source to cite as well, but I bet you'd be alright citing [ttp://www.csw.org.uk/portal.htm csw.org]. Hope this helped! --omtay 38 19:28, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Request for employment information for health workers

Respected Sir/Madam, I and some of my companions are seeking jobs in your hospitals as health workers or health support workers. Please send us information about this. I shall be very thankful to you for this act of kindness. Thank you. Muhammad. —Preceding unsigned comment added by BUGGA (talk • contribs) 19:17, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi Muhammed. Thank you for your question. Our articles Monster (website) and Employment website may be of help.

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.

The Transhumanist 20:31, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi. Sorry but we will not be able to help you. This help desk is for questions about using Wikipedia. - Rjd0060 (talk) 19:28, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Rjd, please see the instructions for help desk volunteers. The Transhumanist (talk) 20:31, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

(ec) 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. We are not a hospital. Thus, we have no inside track on the subject of your question. I suggest that you contact the relevant hospital with your question directly. Best of luck. • Anakin ^{(contribs • complaints)} 19:30, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Anakin, please see the instructions for help desk volunteers. The Transhumanist (talk) 20:31, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

What is it exactly that you're pointing to on that page? Nagging help desk volunteers isn't going to get them to want to contribute, it will just drive them away. Corvus cornix_talk 00:10, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Space before table

Hello, I do not know why there is space above the wikitable at User:thedemonhog/Sandbox#Mobisodes removed. Could someone remove it? Thanks, –thedemonhog talk • edits 19:26, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Moving a }} in [3] has fixed it. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:42, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Query

My lecturer at College (Syd Moore) has asked me to help her create her own Wikipedia page.

She used to have her own program on Channel 4 and worked for a big publishing company, she has a brother in a band and they have a wikipedia page, she is linked from there but of course has no page for it to be linked to.

I was just wondering how this could be done as she has told me that her friends have tried to do it, but it just gets deleted a few days later and isnt a proper page.

She is interested in having a wikipedia page as she has just recently been part of a magazine, which she helps to run, and wishes for all of her achievements, facts etc. to be on this page for people to access and view.

Thank you in advance,

James Lumbard —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.96.205.165 (talk) 20:13, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

You can see Help:Starting a new page, but judging from the information you've given me, it sounds as though this person fails WP:NOTE on quite a few levels. Also not that Wikipedia is not a social network. _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{play it cool.} 20:17, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Having a programme on Channel 4 (a major UK television channel) is most likely enough to be notable. Back it up with sources and you should be fine. NF24^{(radio me!)} 21:05, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] what is the equation for determining a monthly mortgae payment

I know it is determind by intrest rate principle and the term of the loan. But do you know if there is an actual name for that equation?

Thank you for you time and help on this question.

Missy Purnia —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.43.215.205 (talk) 21:02, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

See Mortgage Calculator and Compound interest. There are several different equations. Are you trying to recall a named equation you heard about somewhere? --Teratornis (talk) 00:21, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Image

Am i able to have the image Earth on my userpage in stead of the mood template, i'm just checking. →Dust Rider→ 21:07, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Assuming you're talking about Image:The Earth seen from Apollo 17.jpg or something similar, go ahead! Any freely licensed image (i.e. not fair use) is allowed in your userspace. NF24^{(radio me!)} 21:12, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, however i have another question how do i change the text colour to White what's the code. →Dust Rider→ 21:17, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

<font color="white"> or <font color="#FFFFFF">. NF24^{(radio me!)} 21:20, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Check page vists

Is there any way to see how many times a particular article has been visited? Harland1 (^t/_c) 21:18, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

It's a feature of MediaWiki but has been disabled on the English Wikipedia for performance reasons. NF24^{(radio me!)} 21:38, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] New Topics

Every time i try to write about a topic, it gets deleted. I have been trying to write about Angel from the band Dope but it keeps getting deleted. I am deeply disappointed. I am about to leave wikipedia for this nonsense. You are able to reach me at <e-mail removed> —Preceding unsigned comment added by Koenig1010 (talk • contribs) 21:32, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

It appears that the article Tony "Seven" Koenig, which you created, was deleted under Criteria for speedy deletion #A7 - an article about a person with no assertion of notability. If you can demonstrate notability in accordance with Wikipedia:Notability (people), then the article should be kept. NF24^{(radio me!)} 21:37, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

If you are Tony "Seven" Koenig then please note that writing an autobiography is strongly discouraged. See also Wikipedia:Notability (music). PrimeHunter (talk) 22:37, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] adding picture

How do I add a picture to an article —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.242.18.237 (talk) 21:39, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

{{Image:name of image|size|left, right or center|Caption of image}} - but please don't add any old image to any old article. And make sure that the image is properly licensed etc. Scarian ^{Call me Pat} 21:43, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

First, you will have to signup. Then:

If you want to add an existing image to an article, type [[Image:File name.jpg|right|Optional caption.]] to the article – replacing File name.jpg with the actual file name of the image, right with the alignment of the image on the page and Optional caption with the caption, which of course, is optional. See our picture tutorial for more information.
If you want to upload an image from your computer, to put in an article, you must find out what license the image is licensed under. If you know your image is licensed under a free-license, upload it to the Wikimedia Commons, where all projects have access to the image. If you are unsure what license your image is licensed under, see the file upload wizard for more information. Also, please read Wikipedia's image use policy, because if you upload the image under a false license, you may be blocked.

Hope this has helped. NF24^{(radio me!)} 21:45, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Oh... well, Nascar said it better than I could :-P Scarian ^{Call me Pat} 21:47, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fair

It's fair that registered users who are registered under blocked shared IP addresses cannot do things that only registered users can do, such as create pages, move pages, upload images, and edit semi-protected pages. If the user cannot edit anonymously, it's fair that if they can edit under an account, they cannot do "accountive" purposes. 58.168.213.239 (talk) 07:43, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Do you have a question about using Wikipedia that you'd like to ask, friend? This is the Help Desk, it's not a forum :-) - But feel free to go ahead and ask a question about using Wikipedia! :-) Scarian ^{Call me Pat} 21:59, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] dont know

help! i dont know how to make my own page and i want to. Please respond.

Tinmac11 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tinmac11 (talk • contribs) 22:19, 24 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.

[edit] scrolling up a page

Hi,

I like this site and the way information is presented.

Would it be possible to put a "Top" hyperlink at the end of each section so a user can go back to the Table of Contents easily?

Thanks

74.92.140.6 (talk) 22:23, 24 January 2008 (UTC).

I don't know if that's possible or not but WP:PUMP would be a great place to ask that sort of question. It's how you get things changed at Wikipedia. Meanwhile, as a quick fix if you click on a link in the ToC and want to scroll back up quickly just press the back button on your web browser. Hope this helps! Scarian ^{Call me Pat} 22:33, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

thanks - the back button is fine to use - i'll have a look around the "pump" (is it supposed to be like a village well?)

74.92.140.6 (talk) 22:38, 24 January 2008 (UTC).

Yeah, it's a well. In America I think they're called pumps. _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{play it cool.} 22:47, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

I assume that it is referring to an old hand pump, which must have been the forerunner to the water cooler as a place for gossip. —Travis ^talk 22:52, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Since in the US a well is a well just as it is there, what do they call pumps in the UK? By the way, you can also right click the browser bar and choose "top" in Internet Explorer.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:03, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Well it may come as a shock to you, but pumps are called pumps in the UK. That is all.--Kerotan ^{Leave Me a Message} Have a nice day :) 01:52, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

You may find that using the Home key on your keyboard will return you to the top of a page without having to click anything. 86.21.74.40 (talk) 23:07, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

the home key is the winner - thanks all

Wow! I've been using PCs for a loooong time and I never knew you could do that. Well you learn something new every day :-) Astronaut (talk) 01:07, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

the problem about calling the place where you make suggestions the pump (meaning it in the sense of the watercooler) is that (in my experience) people tend to use the pump to make anything but constructive criticisms... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.92.140.6 (talk) 23:18, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Zinc entry versus Aluminium and Copper entries

Why does the Zinc entry not have a Applications section like the other two entries in the subject line above?

While I appreciate entries depend on individual contributors - and their preferences, a consistent framework is good too

74.92.140.6 (talk) 22:34, 24 January 2008 (UTC).

If you could find out what applications Zinc is used in and then edit it in yourself and then source it you'd be helping out Wikipedia :-) - I'll have a look too and see if I can make the article better. Scarian ^{Call me Pat} 22:37, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

use, use, use...

thanks

how can one contact the contributors (I assume they are more expert than I in the field they choose to contribute to) and ask about gaps in articles users see - while letting them choose whether or not to plug those gaps?

for example, I go to the zinc page, I see a problem and I want to raise the issue without fixing it because I am not the expert - but also, the way you edit pages is not really straightforward - you have to click on discussion, then edit this page, then find the bottom of the previous criticisms (constructive or otherwise) and then make your comment - so you really need to want to make a comment - it should be much more straightforward. Also, a page might have ten contributors - who takes responsibility for responding to any one comment? (as you have done above Pat?)

Thanks for your help

74.92.140.6 (talk) 22:51, 24 January 2008 (UTC).

You don't have to be an expert to fix something, friend! :-) Wikipedia is the encyclopaedia that anyone can edit. Discussion/talk pages are for when an editor would like to raise an issue... you don't really need to read absolutely everything... you don't even have to read anything at all. If you'd like me to, I can raise the issue on the Zinc talk page and we'll see who responds, ja? No one takes responsibility for anything, we're a community and we edit as a community :-) That Zinc page has had hundreds of contributors, if not thousands... Many people might comment on it who've never been on the page ever before! I hope this clears some things up for you. I'll post it on your talk page too just in case you miss it. :-) Scarian ^{Call me Pat} 22:55, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

One way to find applications of Zinc is to examine its backlinks: Special:Whatlinkshere/Zinc. For example: Galvanization, Hot-dip galvanizing, Sacrificial anode, and Cathodic protection. See: Help:Talk page for more information about how to use talk pages. --Teratornis (talk) 23:49, 24 January 2008 (UTC)