Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 March 2

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[edit] March 2

[edit] Wood Brothers Racing

In the paragraph titled Dominance the link Len Wood goes to wrong Len Wood. It goes to a polictican not a racing family person. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.82.139.216 (talk) 01:34, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. I have changed it [1] to link to Len Wood (auto racing) where he might some day get his own biography. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:52, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Talk page question

Is this an appropriate edit? I didn't think so and reverted it. My understanding of normal Wikipedia practice is that old talk page discussions and posts are left alone until the talk page becomes large (which this one isn't), and at that point they are archived rather than deleted. If my understanding isn't correct, I'd like to know what the usual practice is. Thanks. --Tkynerd (talk) 05:33, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes, that was a smart decision. Although no information is actually lost on wikipedia, the proper route is to archive talk pages when they become unwieldy and large - continually deleting talk pages in that manner is actually vandalism if it escalates. Wisdom89 _{(_T / ^C)} 05:38, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Thanks (and sorry I was a bit slow to reply!). That well summarizes my own understanding of the issue. While I realize that old revisions are always available (to people who know how to page through the history), I think it makes more sense to retain the history on the talk page, where it's readily accessible, until the talk page is large enough to make archiving necessary (and even archiving doesn't conceal the old content the way deletion does). --Tkynerd (talk) 23:25, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] New article for a word already listed (under unrelated meaning)

Hi,

I'd like to write a new article on "Adlets" because none exists. But there is an article on "Adlet", an Eskimo mythological god, so when I search for "adlet", Wikipedia does not say "no article exists" and I cannot create a new one. How do we create a new article on a word spelled the same as another (unrelated) article?

Thanks

Michael H —Preceding unsigned comment added by MichaelHay (talk • contribs) 09:49, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Hi Michael. Are you trying to create an article named "Adlets" (plural)? If so, as far as I can see there's nothing to stop you so you'd need to clarify what's going wrong. However, if you're trying to create an article with a different meaning for "Adlet" (singular), the usual way to do it is to put the context of the article into parentheses. For example, Adlet (bird) if your Adlet is a bird, or Adlet (paint) if your Adlet is a brand of paint, or whatever is appropriate in your case.--86.149.49.121 (talk) 11:23, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] No obvious insertion point in existing article

I came across this snippet about a mechanical clock with a bird that announced the hours at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne Wars with the Moors

"The conquest of Italy brought Charlemagne in contact with ... In 797 (or possibly 801), the caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid, presented Charlemagne with ... a mechanical clock, out of which came a mechanical bird to announce the hours."

I looked up the article on cuckoo clocks at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo_clock, but I can't find an obvious place to make an insertion without disrupting the flow of the article. Any suggestions?

If there is a link, this would predate the German/ Swiss clocks by quite a few centuries.

Regards,--Rui ''Gabriel'' Correia (talk) 10:48, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Hi Rui. The best place is, in my opinion, in the "The first cuckoo clocks" section, though the right place to ask the question is on the Talk page of the Cuckoo clock article at Talk:Cuckoo clock.

However, you have raised a very interesting question as the Cuckoo clock article seems to suggest that they weren't even invented until perhaps 800 years later! (Or at least that's the earliest record of them.) The Clock article mentions a water clock as having been presented, so perhaps there's a misunderstanding somewhere - I have placed a "citation needed" tag on the Charlemagne article.--86.149.49.121 (talk) 11:45, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] your recent edit has been reverted.

Hello,

I was trying to fix a mistake on this page "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiteberry" 2 times now. And everytime I fix the mistake I get a Message that my edit has been reverted, and the last time even that I was vandalising the page.

Here are the messages I got: " [edit] March 2008

Hi, the recent edit you made to Whiteberry has been reverted, as it appears to be unconstructive. Use the sandbox for testing; if you believe the edit was constructive, ensure that you provide an informative edit summary. You may also wish to read the introduction to editing. Thanks. Steve Crossin (talk) 10:28, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

The recent edit you made to Whiteberry constitutes vandalism, and has been reverted. Please do not continue to vandalize pages; use the sandbox for testing. Thanks. WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN aka john lennon 10:38, 2 March 2008 (UTC)) "

How can I fix mistakes on pages, if there are users reverting the fixes??

The page Whiteberry, if someone would check it, presents 2 times one and the same text. The first one is correct, the original with links, but then there is the same text again without links, which has no reason to be there (since it is the same text above). I was simply erasing the copy of the text, and left the original correct text with links untouched. So I didn´t erase anything from the original text, and I didn´t change a single word in the text, only the copy was erased.

Would someone fix that, I tried it 2times and I am tired of this not funny game.

with regards,

Christian

As per User talk:210.1.86.157, your change was reverted in error and the person who did it has now fixed things and apologised.--86.149.49.121 (talk) 11:13, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Template problem?

On Barnes rail crash the "infobox" shows 'Expression error: Unrecognised word "px"' in red, so it looks to me that perhaps something's gone wrong with a template. Does anyone know how to fix it? Thanks.--86.149.49.121 (talk) 11:07, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Fixed. :) --PeaceNT (talk) 11:11, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Image error

Some images appear as red rectangles. I understand that this is a known problem and is probably due to ad blocking software since the images in question are in /ad/ directories. However, I have been unable to find any active ad blocking software on my system. Can anyone give me any advice? I'm running Win XP with Firefox (although the problem also occurs in IE). AstroMark (talk) 11:26, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

It can be caused if you don't have the right ActiveX or graphics accelerator installed. Do you see a yellowish bar at the top of the page? George D. Watson (Dendodge).Talk^Help 17:20, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

No it was an ad blocking program. I've managed to find it now. Thanks anyway. AstroMark (talk) 22:30, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] viewing answer to a question

i'm new to wikipedia, i want to ask something to the reference desk but do't know where it will be answered. please help. ~nonstop funstop —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nonstop funstop (talk • contribs) 12:09, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Questions here, at the reference desk. or at the various other Wikipedia help pages are normally answered at the page where the question is asked, immediately below where the querying post appears. Though I am going to duplicate this on your talk page, given the nature of your inquiry (so you get the "you have new messages" orange alert bar), if you go to Wikipedia:Help desk#viewing answer to a question you will see this answer to your post there, where it would normally appear. As I said, the same is true of the reference desk. It is not uncommon for users to ask that we reply by email, which is in almost all cases refused. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:43, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

The Help desk works like a talk page, even though it isn't technically a talk page (just to make things extra-confusing for new users). People who have never edited on a wiki before, particularly a MediaWiki such as Wikipedia, will find a number of things baffling here at first. If it's any comfort, there are still some things I find baffling after two years of fairly intense study. One thing is for sure, a Web site doesn't get to be in the top ten of the world's most popular by being simple. I'm sure all the other popular sites are nightmarishly complicated too. The difference with Wikipedia is that we can see all the inner workings. The general rule in technology is: more power (and thus more value) usually requires more complexity. We see examples everywhere: modern medicine is far more complex than folk medicine; a Boeing 747 is far more complicated than a Wright Flyer; etc. --Teratornis (talk) 17:03, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] LUUS:AP

Would you please Let Us Update Special:Ancientpages? How do we, by the way?

Thank you,

--Let Us Update Special:Ancientpages. 13:31, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

For some idea about the "how" part, see: mw:Manual:Special pages. If you're not a programmer, you're probably years away from being able to join the MediaWiki development team and work your way up the trust scale to have some influence. If you are a programmer, you would probably know how to figure out the answer to this question on your own. So I'm guessing you are not a programmer, which means the prognosis for what you want to do is probably not good. You might be able to find a MediaWiki developer who would consider your feature request. But as you can imagine, there are a lot more people making requests than there are people who can fill these requests. --Teratornis (talk) 17:26, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Release dates using "hemisphere dependant" seasons (predominantly software).

I know the publishers are mainly to blame here, but can wiki have a policy to list release dates as "2008 Q4" rather than "Summer 2008". People closer to the south pole would be able to understand this a bit better too. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.45.172.119 (talk) 13:50, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Actually, for that very reason, the Manual of Style advocates (in WP:SEASON) the use of non-hemisphere specific alternatives, such as "the first quarter 2008", or finding an actual month where possible, or "early 2008", etc. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 14:03, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Reinstating Deleted Page: Cary Peppermint

I am writing to ask that a deleted page be reinstated. I created an article titled "Cary Peppermint." Cary Peppermint is listed as a notable internet artist in the article "Internet Art." Many of the artists in the "Internet Art" article are linked to pages that describe their individual work--for example, "Ebon Fisher," "MTAA," "G. H. Hovagimyan," and "Agricola de Cologne," among many others. I look forward to developing this page. Cary Peppermint is an internationally recognized digital artist whose work has been included in major exhibitions, such as the Whitney Museum of Art, and was a key player in the international internet art movement beginning in the mid-1990s. Including an article about him would be useful to readers and highly appropriate. If there is a problem with the tone of the article--that is, if it is too biography/vita-like, I will change that immediately once the page is reinstated. Thank you.

--Ecoarttech (talk) 14:11, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:DELETE#Deletion review. — E ^talk 14:22, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] using wikipedia

i found the following: "You can also add this template to your user page if you want to, by typing {{User WikiProject Films}}." what and where is my user page? and where would i type it in? Wran (talk) 14:17, 2 March 2008 (UTC).

Your userpage is situated at User:Wran. Here you can write about yourself and design it to your liking however don't put anything personally identifiable on there, it's viewable by all. — E ^talk 14:19, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

To create said page, just click the link and start typing--it's that simple!

To add your userbox, try typing this:

==Userboxes== {{User WikiProject Films}}

Hope that helped!Two One Six Five Five ^τ _ʃ 14:23, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Note that at the very top righthand of your screen, you should see your username, "Wran," just the the left of an icon of a little person, and next to that, a link for "my talk". Those are, respectively, links to your userpage and your user talk page. Moreover, you have successfuly signed your post here. The name in your signature links to your userpage and "(talk)" next to it, to your talk page. For more information, please see Wikipedia:User page and Wikipedia:Talk page. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:28, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Help desk regulars: please vote for bug fix

If you're a regular here you must have gotten edit conflicts many, many times. If you have you are likely well aware that when you get an edit conflict anywhere on Wikipedia, instead of being taken to the section you are editing with the conflicting text, the page expands to the entire page. This is a pain everywhere but especially on high traffic, large pages such as this one. Please vote for bug 4745 and let's get this fixed!--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:45, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Does this belong here? The help desk is for asking how to use Wikipedia, not for requesting improvements. Please post in the relevant section of the site, not here. George D. Watson (Dendodge).Talk^Help 17:15, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

I don't think that is an unreasonable message to drop on the Help Page. Edit Conflicts are especially common on this page so I am happy to know about a bug that is attempting to fix it. Now, had that external link been a Rick Roll I could understand your point. <grin> —Noah 17:23, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

(E/C) Please don't use hypertechnical rigidity to elevate form over substance. This is a perfectly situated place for this post, ideally suited to draw the most eyes by those it is intended to reach. Wikipedia is not a bureacracy and has no inflexible rules.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 17:25, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

All I'm saying is that it belongs at WP:VPT, more than here. He has also repeated the message on this page's attached discussion. I don't think this belongs on the help desk, maybe it does belong on its talk page but definitely not both. George D. Watson (Dendodge).Talk^Help 17:48, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Actually, it isn't a good fit at VPT because the bug is already up; here is where the most common people who suffer this bug congregate and you well know that the talk page will not get this in front of as many people as it will here. Now, I take it you feel there is some unstated harm caused by having the post here and at the talk page that is so axiomatic that spelling it out was unnecessary; something that backs your unsupported assertion that the post can exist maybe here, maybe at the talk page, but "definitely not [at] both". Please state that reason. I think, though, that you had an incorrect knee jerk reaction to the first post, so used to seeing posts here requiring use of {{RD2}}, and now you can't back down. The only harm I can see is more drama from this thread continuing in this vein taking both of us away from constructive, encyclopedia building activities.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 19:40, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Kitchen Pass

Dear Wiki, I was (still am) trying to a kitchen pass document. One of the places I looked was Wikipedia. Much to my horror I found that Wikipedia does not have a definition for "Kitchen Pass". Would posting a definition for it be an acceptable entry for Wikipedia? Thanks, Allen Keller Twist87 (talk) 16:22, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

what is it? --Fredrick day (talk) 16:22, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Kitchen pass appears to be a neologism and thus might not be suitable for an entry at Wiktionary, which requires attestation, meaning an entry must be verified through 1) clearly widespread use; 2) usage in a well-known work 3) appearance in a refereed academic journal; or 4) usage in permanently recorded media, conveying meaning, in at least three independent instances spanning at least a year. Kitchen pass cannot have an entry on Wikipedia as Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, and not a dictionary.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 16:34, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Contents

I was thinking of adding more sections to my userpage but it would look messy if the Contents Box appears. Is there a way to remove or let that box not appear? I only know how to move the contents box from side-to-side, up-and-down, and enlarging or minimizing but not disappear. Please help? --staka (Talk ・ Contributions) 16:49, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

See Help:Magic_words#Table of contents. --Teratornis (talk) 16:52, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Not sure what to do

I found an article called NEWBORN. It was about an art piece.... none of the sources named it as such and I felt that it might more easily found at Newborn Mural, so I moved it.

Since then a registered user and an anon ip have been undoing this. Myself and a few others have been reverting their reverts... and it is getting old, fast.

I filed a 3rr vio on the registered user, and the admin declined... saying it was a new user, which is silly, a new user who uploads a picture for their 4th edit and creates a page with a correctly done infobox for their 5th edit?

I don't know what to do, and neither the anon nor the registered user have responded to requests to discuss the changes. I am not attached to where it ends up... I am very attached to where it ends up being decided via concensus. Sethie (talk) 17:45, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

It seems to me that it redirects to Newborn mural anyway. If it does keep getting reverted, post a polite note on the users' talk pages stating that titles in ALL CAPS are not permitted. (I think it's mentioned somewhere at WP:MOS). George D. Watson (Dendodge).Talk^Help 17:52, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Well you are looking at how it is now. If you look at the edit history, you will see a different story.

I have posted polite notes on both the anon and the reg users, with no response and the behavior continuing.

WP:CAPS does not prohibit use of cap letters, though the guideline does sort of reccomend against it Sethie (talk) 17:56, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Try directing them to Wikipedia:MOS#Titles. George D. Watson (Dendodge).Talk^Help 17:57, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, I mean WP:MOS#Article titles. George D. Watson (Dendodge).Talk^Help 17:59, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, will do. Sethie (talk) 18:02, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Manual of Style (capital letters) might help too. George D. Watson (Dendodge).Talk^Help 18:04, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] cast

i have found a website that tells that five new actors have ben cast in harry potter and the half blood prince.http://www.snitchseeker.com/harry-potter-news/five-new-actors-cast-half-blood-prince-updated-54515/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 984cooper (talk • contribs) 19:44, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Per WP:SPS, that source is not acceptable on its own, but the links on it confirm it. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Jake the Editor Man _(talk) 19:50, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

could i add the actors names myself to the profilehttp://www.snitchseeker.com/harry-potter-news/five-new-actors-cast-half-blood-prince-updated-54515/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 984cooper (talk • contribs) 19:56, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

What profile? If you mean a profile on that site, it is a website which is not affiliated with Wikipedia in any way, it would be best to ask there. If you mean article, Wikipedia is the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit so feel free to add to the page. George D. Watson (Dendodge).Talk^Help 20:52, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

I think the user's comment was meant to be part of his comment in the previous section. I have removed the extra section header to combine the two comments. Sbowers3 (talk) 21:10, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

It doesn't sound like they're going to be playing anything other than extras, I see no reason to add extras' names to articles. Corvus cornix_talk 00:13, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] How Do I Make A Wikipedia Page?

I was Just wondering how to make a page for the website of if I could. Pj0392 (talk) 20:45, 2 March 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 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. The Helpful One ^(Review) 20:48, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Incorrect birth name listed for a certain person

I've come across an article for a person I'd categorize as a D-list celebrity and saw that the birth name listed in the infobox, which is the same as the current name of the subject of the article, is incorrect. However, if I were to note on the article's talk page that the birth name listed is incorrect, I would be violating the privacy of the subject of the article and the trust of the person who told me in confidence that the subject changed her name. (I don't know what her birth name actually is, so I can't edit the infobox to correct the information.) What should I do? --anon. 172.131.214.5 (talk) 21:16, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

If you cannot provide reliable sources to verify it, then it shouldn't be changed, or else it would cause an editorial disturbance. If you have proof, and wish to change, by all means do so per WP:BLP. If it's controversial, do NOT change it. Wisdom89 _{(_T / ^C)} 21:21, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Jack Kemp Library of Congress image

Is there another way to obtain a copy of Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-96991, which is entitled "Jack F. Kemp, Republican Congressman from New York, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front" other than by writing to photoduplication@loc.gov.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 21:29, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Hmmm... Writing a letter seems to be able to do the trick. flaming lawyer^c 23:10, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

What is the typical Library of Congress turnaround time?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 20:30, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Templates such as Template:Saskatchewan Provincial Highways

Is there a way to set it to it is default-ly hidden, not shown? This template in particular is kind of large, so I think it would be useful to have it set that way. flaming lawyer^c 23:00, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

I set it to hide automatically; view my edits to see how. Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 23:08, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Ah, el gracias-o. flaming lawyer^c 23:53, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Trying to Setup Personal Wikipedia

Now, while it installs perfectly I can't figure out how to activate an admin account on my site. Does anyone have any ideas on this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.41.246.130 (talk) 23:48, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

This page is for help with the internet Encyclopedia project, Wikipedia. I assume you are using Wikimedia software and have questions on that. In siad case I might direct you to http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:User_rights --Ybbor^Talk 23:51, 2 March 2008 (UTC)