Wikipedia:Teahouse/Questions/Archive 111

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Archive 105

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Archive 109

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Guestbooks

Hi,

How do you set up a guestbook, such as User:Lunashy/guestbook?

All answers greatly appreciated, Matty.007 14:40, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

Hello and welcome. You can create a subpage for your user page like this User:Miss Bono/Guestbook and edit it the way you want your GB. Then you can set a link to it in your user or talk page, Like the header here User:Miss Bono. Happy editing! Miss Bono (zootalk) 15:59, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

Thank you! Mat ty.007 06:52, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Joining Wikiprojects

How do new editors become a part of Wikiprojects?CarringtonEnglish T C 03:18, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Hello Carrington and welcome. Simply put, you sign up. Most projects have a membership list on the main page. You add your signature to the list and voila you're a member. It's very informal. Does that help? --Jayron32 03:28, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Yes, definitely! Thanks! CarringtonEnglish T C

03:30, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

How do I add a second meaning to a wiki page?

Hi, I want to create a wikipedia page for an acronym. However, someone already made a page for their meaning of that acronym. I don't want to delete their page, but still want to show my meaning on a different page. How can I do that?

Unknown1029 (talk) 19:18, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Just fixing the box... Mat ty.007 19:20, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Hi Unknown, hope this is what you were looking for:Wikipedia:Multiple accounts#Using multiple accounts

Mat ty.007 19:23, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

I don't think they are looking to have a second account, instead I might think that they are looking for what is known as a redirect. Happy editing! Technical 13 (talk) 20:07, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Greetings, Unknown1029. It sounds to me as though you want to create a page that is disambiguated from an already-existing page with the same title. It would be easier to give you useful advice if you would specify the acronym in question and the title of the existing article, but you can get some information by reading the page I linked in the preceding sentence. In general, it's my sense that in article titles acronyms are usually expanded to the words they represent (see the articles listed on the NCP page, for instance); but if there's a case where the acronym itself is a more appropriate title, as where the acronym is the official name of a company, you need to add a disambiguating expression in parentheses to one or both of the titles, perhaps along with hatnotes in the articles to direct readers who have landed in the wrong place to the correct article. If there are more than two articles dealing with topics that have the same acronym, a disambiguation page (like NCP or NASA (disambiguation)) may need to be created. I hope this helps. Deor (talk) 22:16, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Sources

Hi, I was just wondering if you could have a map as a source, if it was applicable. So, for example, if you were editing a page about a town, and you could see on a map that it was quite wooded, would that count as a source?

Thanks, Mat ty.007 18:05, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Hello Matty.007 and welcome back to the Teahouse! Sure, as long as you cited it and it was a map from a known map company like DeLorme or probably even so far as Google maps... Technical 13 (talk) 20:01, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Thanks again Technical! Mat ty.007 20:04, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

picture rotation/

Hi, I uploaded a picture that I formatted in Microsoft Paint. I rotated it the way I wanted and saved the file, but when I uploaded it to Wikipedia it reverted to the original image orientation. I can't figure out how to get it rotated properly. Help!Leofstan (talk) 15:41, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Hello Leo and welcome to the Teahouse.

I dont know what caused the problem, but I manually downloaded and uploaded the rotated version of the file so its now fixed.

Cheers,

TheOriginalSoni (talk) 15:47, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Wow, Soni, thank you so much!!Leofstan (talk) 16:09, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Review of userpage

Hello, I just got a message that my userpage was reviewed by another user. What does that mean exactly? Gmkeros (talk) 12:16, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Hi, did you get this message by email? I am unable to find the information you mentioned in curation log. Plus I think userpages are not marked as reviewed.--Vigyani_talk^{ਯੋਗਦਾਨ} 13:22, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Yes I did: "User:Gmkeros was reviewed by Wikipedia user DragonflySixtyseven". Not really sure what to think about that. I haven't found anything so far about when and how and why this page was reviewed. There is no trace of it on my userpage, and I don't really know what this message is supposed to tell me. Gmkeros (talk) 13:30, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

I am bit surprised, my page curation tool disappears as soon as I open a user page. i.e. even if I wanted, I can not mark a user page as reviewed. But otherwise, it is nothing to be worried about. It simply means that the other editor found your userpage all right. --Vigyani_talk^{ਯੋਗਦਾਨ} 15:07, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

I've been meaning to make a note here. Basically, DragonflySixtyseven has reviewer rights and has seen your page and checked it off as being not vandalism or spam. Nothing more or less. You can actually turn that specific notification off by going to Preferences → Notifications → Page review and unchecking both boxes. I hope this helps! Technical 13 (talk) 15:20, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

biography

Can I write about my biographysoviphou (talk) 08:37, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Hi soviphou and welcome. It looks like you have created an article about yourself twice and both times there were deleted. You might want to review Wikipedia's policies on conflict of interest or Wikipedia's Plain and simple conflict of interest guide. Flat Out let's discuss it 08:42, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Pages not Working

Hi,

Has anyone else experiences pages, such as the http://stats.grok.se/en/201306/Wikipedia:Teahouse/Questions the page view statistics for this month, or the http://toolserver.org/~tparis/count/index.php?name=Matty.007&lang=en&wiki=wikipedia edit count?

All answers greatly appreciated, Mat ty.007 19:18, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

I've noticed that the tools for things like 'edit counts' seem to be generally down...it's not just you.

The '404' errors probably mean it's something broken on toolserver. Revent (talk) 20:07, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

fyi - The creator of the edit count tool, User:TParis has acknowledged being aware of this on his talk page and is working on it... Boogerpatrol (talk) 20:12, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Thank you for mentioning that...that I hadn't 'reported' it myself had kind of been nagging at me, but I've been busy. :P Revent (talk) 20:17, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Thank you! Mat ty.007 10:14, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

If anyone is wondering, it is now located at http://tools.wmflabs.org/xtools/pcount/

Mat ty.007 10:22, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

How many reliable sources is enough?

I wrote an article about one of the pioneers of American yoga and the founder of Yoga Journal (in the 70s - she is no longer affiliated with them) and I had references from the New York Times, Yoga Journal, LA Yoga and Yoga Chicago - all independent and reliable publications. Is that not enough?

I came here on request to help with entries about women so I have been working on articles about Canadian women writers and yoga teachers - two areas in which I have some expertise. This was my first article for submission. I have to say it is frustrating - I helped save the page of the most notable woman yoga teacher in the world (marked for deletion!!), but damn it was a struggle. I see entries for people associated with the tech world who I would consider far less notable (and have references that are tweets) than the bio I just did that was declined. I'm assuming because the editors may be familiar with them, they get approved? What am I missing?

Thanks.Yogininan (talk) 15:15, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

The guide says that you need a citation for anything likely to be challenged, and direct quotations.

Hope I helped, Mat ty.007 15:41, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Hello Yogininan, welcome to the Teahouse! I checked out the articles you submitted and after doing my own search regarding notability I happened to disagree with the original reviewer. I have accepted both your articles. Thanks so much for your submissions! I enjoyed learning about these inspiring women. Please don't feel too frustrated, and don't hesitate to ask for help or support any time. heather walls (talk) 09:13, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Thank you, Heather! (and nice to meet another woman)Yogininan (talk) 15:20, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Rock on, girls. This interchange makes me happy, and makes me want to do more work on Wikipedia! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Leofstan (talk • contribs) 15:49, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

edit removed

I recently added a line of info to a page (steampunk). The line I added was accurate, relevant and references provided (internal link). It was removed without explanation. I sent an inquiry but am at a loss as to why. Did I do something wrong?

The line I added was a reference about Dune, the move, using steampunk design throughout its production. This I know is accurate as 1: I have seen it, 2:I have read this reference elsewhere.

Edits: (cur | prev) 11:20, 29 May 2013‎ Andy Dingley (talk | contribs)‎ . . (67,977 bytes) (-175)‎ . . (Reverted 1 edit by Scriptoran (talk): Rv Dune -. (TW)) (undo | thank)

(cur | prev) 11:06, 29 May 2013‎ Scriptoran (talk | contribs)‎ m . . (68,152 bytes) (+175)‎ . . (Addition of important film to examples of the genre under "Television, film and video games.") (undo)

Any help understanding this? Is it usual to remove someone's edits without advising them or explaining why? Scriptoran (talk) 13:05, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Hi Scriptoran and welcome. My suggestion is to ask the editor who reverted your edit. It may be because there is no reference in the edit, that it contains unnecessary detail, or something else - but the editor will know and you can ask a question at their talk page. Just ask the question without pointing the finger and I'm sure you'll get an answer that is helpful. Let me know if you need more help. Good luck and happy editing Flat Out let's discuss it 13:16, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Thank you for your help. I appreciate your advice of "not pointing fingers" as I would hope never to offend someone directly. Having an edit removed without notice or reason does not feel nice. Scriptoran (talk) 13:27, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

You are more than welcome, if you need to follow up you can find me via my talk page. Flat Out let's discuss it 13:36, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Hello, Scriptoran. I think it is a pity Andy Dingley didn't give more explanation when he removed your contribution, but I'm afraid he was right to do so. What you added was what we call original research: your own opinion, or conclusion about something, in this case that the design of the film could be regarded as steampunk. Such a statement is acceptable in a Wikipedia article only if it directly cites a reliable source which states the conclusion or characterisation. (This is not about whether you are right or wrong: everything in Wikipedia is supposed to have been published somewhere).

You say above that you have read this reference elsewhere. If you can find where you read it, and if that is a reliable source, then you may reinstate the statement, with a citation to the source (though unless this is a statement about what the designer of the film has publicly stated, it can only be an opinion, and should say something like "Joe Bloggs argued in Starburst that ..." rather than a bald statement of fact). However, if the place where you have read it is not a reliable source (for example, if it is a blog) then you may not reference it, and so should not include the claim. --ColinFine (talk) 13:55, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Talk page

Hi,

User:Sms-aka-me completely messed up my talk page as I nominated one of his autobiographical articles for deletion. What can I do?

Thank, Mat ty.007 12:00, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

User:Moosehadley fixed it for me. Mat ty.007 12:18, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Welcome back Matty.007! In the future, at the top of every page there is a tab/link to something that is called a page history. Start by clicking on that link. Look down through the list and you will see two columns of radio buttons. Click on the radio button in the first column that corresponds to the most recent "good" version. In the second column, select to one for the current "unstable" revision. At the top of the page, click on the "compare" button. Wait a few moments and the page will load for you and you can review what changed. There will be two boxes near the top, the one on the left will highlight in red everything that was deleted and the one on the right will highlight in green everything that was added. At the top of the box on the right, there will be an (undo) link. Click that and it will automatically revert the changes by taking away all the green stuff from the right and adding all the red stuff back from the left. Happy editing! Technical 13 (talk) 13:41, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Hi Technical,

I knew about this, but he had made about 10 edits on my page. But Moosehadley manually fixed it for me.

Thanks, Mat ty.007 14:24, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Matty.007 Even easier is to go to the last edit by that person (IPs are human too) and hit [Rollback] (if you are using Twinkle or have the right); otherwise, you can easily select a large chunk of edits by one person on the history page and undo them... Happy editing! Technical 13 (talk) 16:33, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

OK, thanks again Technical! Mat ty.007 18:31, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

To "Undo" a whole series of edits, it would be very inefficient to do it one by one using the undo button and will not work if there are any intervening edits. I would be much easier to revert the edits and there is no need for rollback to do so. Simply click on the date of the revision you wish to revert to in the page history, click edit this page, and then save.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:04, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Ok, thanks Fuhghettaboutit. Mat ty.007 11:24, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

link to other languages

I used to be able to see the cross-language links when I was edit mode. I used them to remind myself how to link an article to another version of it (I can't remember the various language abbreviations and am not sure on the number of brackets, and find that information on the help pages is, of course, daunting). But now I can't see the links. I am trying to cross-link the simpel English adn English article on Maureen Duffy. Kdammers (talk) 12:02, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

Hello Kdammers. Interlanguage wiki links are now managed by Wikidata. You can find a Add links at the sidebar on the left side of the page. Click on that and a dialog box with the title "Link with page" will appear since a Wikidata entry for Maureen Duffy does not exist. Fill in the form and that's it done. See WP:WIKIDATA for more information. We will be glad to help you if you can't do it. Just let us know. Happy editing. --Glaisher (talk) 12:14, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

Do you mean the almost invisible "add links" ? I clicked on that and it seems to be right, but there is no list of languages. Do I just type in the Wikipedai version in the language of that version? (Since some-one already made the Duffy link I can't test it that way.)Kdammers (talk) 07:57, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Why am I nominated for speedy deletion?

Hi. I want to know why my article page that I created is nominated for speedy deletion and what specific actions can I take to change this. This is the link to the page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_Advocating_For_Equity Thank you. ELSAYMARJORY (talk) 06:16, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

It shouldn't have been. I've removed the speedy deletion tag without regard for whether or not the article is appropriate to Wikipedia. The speedy deletion tag was not for a speedy deletion reason. Please note that this is not an endorsement of the article you created, and it still may (or may not, I have no idea) be deleted for other reasons or by other processes, but the speedy deletion nomination was out of process so has been removed for that very narrow reason. I hope this helps. --Jayron32 06:32, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by ELSAYMARJORY (talk • contribs) 06:38, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

I started Working on my First Article. Input please?

So yeah, I decided to dive in and fill in some blanks on the very empty Chilton Memorial Hospital article, you know, because I can.

I'd like for some folks who know how it should look to let me know if I'm doing a reasonable job with formatting, references and whatnot.

Thank You! !nteresting (talk) 01:38, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Hi !nteresting and welcome. I had a quick look and you have made an excellent start. I'm going to change one reference into the cite web format so you can see the difference in how it appears in the reference list. I will follow up on your talk page, but I'm sure other editors will give you feedback. Happy editing, Flat Out let's discuss it 01:48, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Oh, that's much more thorough! I envision myself looking back at that Chilton article quite a few times learning that one. Thanks a bunch! !nteresting (talk) 02:01, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

You are welcome, I have followed up on your talk page with an explanation for using cite templates. Flat Out let's discuss it 02:05, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Help with clean up

Hi, I have written an article and now I need someone with more experience to clean it up and also help me to publish it on to wikipedia. Can anyone help me please? Writinjam (talk) 17:42, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

What's the link for the article. Miss Bono (zootalk) 17:45, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Writinjam/Creedcap This is it. Thank you Writinjam (talk) 17:47, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Hello Writinjam and welcome to the Teahouse. The article is in extreme need of sources to support it. Verifiability is one of our core policies. My advice to you is to source the article yourself or at least provide reliable sources so that others can help you sourcing it. Also, the article should have enough coverage in reliable sources in order to pass our Notability threshold. Mohamed CJ (talk) 17:56, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

I left a message for you at your talk page. let me know if you need help. Miss Bono (zootalk) 18:18, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Badge o meter error

I tried pasting the code for the badge meter in my profile, but it appears to have a glitch in it. Someone with some more knowledge may be able to figure out what the issue is.

Aggie80 (talk) 15:56, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Hello Aggie80 and welcome to the Teahouse. There are several badges available here. To insert any of them, you have to copy the code provided underneath it. Mohamed CJ (talk) 18:06, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Let me try again. The code listed in Show off your Badges! on the front page of the Teahouse doesn't work properly. Aggie80 (talk) 18:13, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Okay, I copied and pasted the actual code from the page, but the one the directions say to show, copy and paste are incorrect.Aggie80 (talk) 18:17, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

(edit conflict) When I copied the code in the edit screen of Wikipedia:Teahouse/Badge it worked perfectly. But when I pasted it here and copied it back, it didn't. Why don't you try to copy the code shown in the edit screen (the code for the displayed badge o meter, not the collapsed code). Mohamed CJ (talk) 18:21, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

I sent a message to Ocaasi about the error and hopefully s/he can fix the collapsed code so that it works properly. Aggie80 (talk) 18:34, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Ocaasi was able to fix the error and replaced the code with a script to load it properly on the user's page now. Kudo's to Ocaasi for fixing it!Aggie80 (talk) 19:33, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Thank

Just curious, what does the "thank" button do? I clicked on it and it said "thanked". ☯ Bonkers The Clown \(^_^)/ Nonsensical Babble ☯ 14:03, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Bonkers the Clown! The "thank" button is just a simple way to express gratitude to a user for an edit or answer. It is completely private, and you can only see it through the new notifications tool. It's like WikiLove, but more private and simpler. Happy editing! öBrambleberry of RiverClan 14:32, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

It's functionally equivalent to the "like" feature on Facebook. There are some people who enjoy this new feature, some people who are indifferent to it, and some people who will loudly complain that it is going to ruin Wikipedia irrevocably. You're free to decide which group you would like to belong to, or even to form your own opinion of it that doesn't fit into any of these camps. --Jayron32 15:34, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Not entirely private ... you can see its use here.--Gilderien Chat|List of good deeds 15:48, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Hello!... "Thank" was added on May 30, 2013. There are instructions at WP:Notifications/Thanks#How to turn off this feature. Miss Bono (zootalk) 14:08, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

how many soldiers does the british arm have

how many soldiers does the british arm have (Commando Gunner (talk) 13:48, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Hey, Commando Gunner, welcome to the Teahouse! We of course have an article on the British Army, and if you look in the infobox (the box on the right-hand side of the page labeled "British Army"), you can see that we have the numbers 129,960 regular and 121,800 reserve listed as the size. Just so you know for the future, we actually have an entire board dedicated to answering general-knowledge questions like this at the Reference Desk; we usually answer here questions specifically about editing Wikipedia. No worries, though; it's fine. :) Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 13:56, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Hello!! Welcome to the Teahouse Commando Gunner. Try asking at the Reference Desk they'll surely help you and I think that's the right place for that question. Miss Bono (zootalk) 13:58, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

OK Thank you, Sorry for posting it in the wrong place i'm new and haven't figured everything yet. (Commando Gunner (talk) 14:08, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Like I said, no worries; we don't mind answering off-topic questions here. :) I was just letting you know, in the spirit of "a place for everything and everything in its place". It's not a big deal. Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 14:11, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Don't worry Gunner, everyone here have asked off-topic questions... We are always glad to help ;) Miss Bono (zootalk) 14:31, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Table of contents by years

Hi. Mind if I pull up a chair? Thanks. Here's my question: What kind of a table of contents would be best with the Emergenza article? Can I use a horizontal TOC so the list of years is generated left to right instead of top to bottom? GeorgeLouis (talk) 06:24, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, GeorgeLouis. I have to admit that I am unfamiliar with a horizontal table of contents. Can you link to a comparable article that has one? That question being asked, I don't see anything wrong with the current table of contents. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 06:33, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

GeorgeLouis, have a look at the edit I've made to Emergenza. Basically I've made two overwrites to the standard TOC. First by using {{TOClimit}} I've told the main TOC to only look for level 2 section headings, that's those with == == each side and then in the International finals section I've used {{TOCyears}} to create a horizontal list of years covered by that section. You can use numerous TOCs to get to what you want. There are other templates avalable, have a look at Category:Wikipedia table of contents templates for other possibilities. I'm not woried if you don't like what I've tried and want to undo or change it. NtheP (talk) 08:42, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Need help with a movie citation

Usually I use the citation tool in the GUI editing widgets to create all my references, although I can also edit them manually when needed. I want to cite an interview in a documentary movie and I'm not sure how to do it. I don't see that as a valid template, the options are web, news, book, or journal. And I couldn't find an example citation to copy and edit. Also, I checked the Manual of Style and the Help page and couldn't find an answer there, if there is another page that is a good place to look for this kind of info please let me know. thanks! Mdebellis (talk) 01:26, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Hey there Mdebellis! The edit window only automatically fills in the most common citation templates. There are many more, but for space sake, every possible such template is not included. There is a full list of them at Wikipedia:Citation templates, I'd use {{cite AV media}} which seems to be for movies and TV shows. You'll have to fill in the parameters manually, but otherwise it shouldn't be too hard. Does that help? --Jayron32 03:31, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Perfect. Thanks :) Mdebellis (talk) 04:28, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Two Follow up questions. First, I tried using the template and I'm doing something wrong and I can't figure out what. the new text is in my Sandbox: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Mdebellis/sandbox Everything after the first sentence (essentially the long quote from Rory's brother Donal) is new and the quote is what I'm using the movie to reference. I will also include the code for the citation here: Thuillier, Ian (Director) (2010). Ghost Blues The Story of Rory Gallagher. Event occurs at 5:35.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: location (link) For some reason, Wikipedia isn't picking up that this is a reference, its just printing it as text along with the actual text. I tried also just adding the text to the actual article to see what would happen (in case it was just something weird about my Sandbox) but the same thing happened there (of course I canceled the change after previewing it). Sorry, I must be doing something really stupid. Mdebellis (talk) 14:21, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

D'oh! I was leaving out the ref tags! Well I said it was something stupid, at least I got that right! I've got it, still interested in answer to follow up two if there is an easy answer. Mdebellis (talk) 15:23, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Second follow up question, is there an easy way to add AV Media and other templates to the templates that show up as options with the GUI Citation tool? Mdebellis (talk) 14:21, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

First followup answer - you forgot the <ref>cite blah blah</ref> tags at either end of the cite to mark it as a reference. It's a simple error, everyone does it sometime, I fixed it. Second followup answer - No, that would have to be coded into the GUI Cite tool itself. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 15:25, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Thanks. Also, didn't know about the nowiki tag, will keep that in mind for future questions. Mdebellis (talk) 17:35, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Heya again Mdebellis. If you think that that particular citation template should be added, or if you want to look into other options for using it (such as maybe a user-defined set of templates; that each user could customize) or any other technical-related question, then Wikipedia:Village pump (technical) may be the best place to ask. People there are the really smart people who know how to cast the magic spells that make Wikipedia really work from a technical side, and if your idea is technically possible to implement, people who respond there may be able to help you with it. I hope that helps! --Jayron32 15:38, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

I will bookmark that, the Wiki technology is something I find really interesting. I've done some work in the open software/open source world and I think its so cool the way (this is my impression, not sure if this was a conscious decision on the part of the Wikipedia Gods) the way Wikipedia takes the model of volunteers contributing to open software and makes it work for creating an encyclopedia. Also, from a purely technical standpoint I think its an amazing technology, a great example of how something fairly simple like a new markup language can work so well if done right, I've seen many sophisticated multi-user collaboration environments that were ten times as complex and worked one tenth as well as Wikipedia. Thanks! Mdebellis (talk) 17:35, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

award abbreviations tooltips, redirects & links.

Is there any policy of style for using tooltips to accurately display what award abbreviations are by using redirects with the correct name rather than the generic award page name? Richard Bruce Bradford (talk) 20:57, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Hi Richard Bruce Bradford and welcome. There is the Wikipedia Manual of Style, but if this isn't helpful please let me know as I am more than happy to follow up. Good luck Flat Out let's discuss it 00:31, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Cannot find anything helpful in manual of style. Would like to see definitive policy for titles e.g. where using (name) MBE displays full title in tooltip, but is using redirect in link. I don't like to see (name) MBE which doesn't use redirect in link, but doesn't expand to full title in tooltip.Richard Bruce Bradford (talk) 06:16, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

My familiarity with tooltips has to do with references, rather than wikilinks. In other words, hovering the cursor over a reference gives you a summary of that reference. In order to get more information about a wikilinked topic, you click the wikilink. If the wikilink is an acronym that redirects to the full topic name, then the click provides the full explanation of the topic name. The example you offered uses piping instead of a redirect, but it seems to me that the result is essentially the same. If there is something that I am missing, please elaborate so that I (and other editors) can understand your question better. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 06:50, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Yes exactly - hovering over the link expands the acronym without having to click for more info. note MBE without piping is also a redirect to Order of the British Empire. My main point is for a need for a clear policy on how to handle abbreviations in (name) titles.Richard Bruce Bradford (talk) 07:45, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

I don't believe that our software supports that "hovering" function for wikilinks, but maybe a more tech-savvy editor can comment. As for the policy on how to handle personal titles and honorifics, I recommend a review of the Manual of style for biographies.Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 07:50, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

For acronyms and abbreviations it is reasonable to use the {{Abbr}} template which is a simplified version of using the <abbr>...</abbr> html tags and gives the same result. Either one is acceptable so take your pick. :) Technical 13 (talk) 10:48, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

PEM, I just woke up and as I hit the save button, I though to myself OMG why not give an example of each!? (there is an example of each way here...) Technical 13 (talk) 10:52, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Hey good job Technical 13, your answers are always informative and I have learned a lot from reading your answers to others' questions. Flat Out let's discuss it 10:56, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Thank you all Manual of style for biographies Post-nominal initials, gives me the exact policy/example I was looking for. The hover funtion on links for tooltips/hints certainly works on my system (WIN7 & firefox). Unfortunately for those with touch screens, this is a feature they will miss out on unless some smart person can re-create it. Richard Bruce Bradford (talk) 16:58, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

That's my problem, RBB. I edit with a Droid Razr most of the time, and it has its limitations. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 17:22, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Meme

Hello. I found a new meme in the internet. it's a kitty mocking of Bono. Can I upload it to wikipedia?? Miss Bono (zootalk) 15:59, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

Welcome back, Miss Bono. Before you consider starting a new page for the meme, you'll want to check to see if the meme has been discussed in-depth by multiple, reliable sources. If the coverage is limited to individuals and websites simply posting the meme without any further discussion, generally speaking, it would be considered insufficient for inclusion. However, memes (like Chocolate Rain) that have literally won awards and have been reviewed by news organizations would be more appropriate for inclusion. A lot of memes are indeed really popular (e.g. Good Guy Greg), but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're appropriate for inclusion on Wikipedia. (Though maybe Greg is appropriate, I haven't actually looked for sources yet!) I, Jethrobot ^{drop me a line} (note: not a bot!) 17:41, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

what if I just want to upload the picture?? like the many picts with kitties around here... :) Miss Bono (zootalk) 17:46, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

If it is not a copyrighted work, you could always upload it to commons and add it to the kitty picture category... I honestly do not know that I see a need for it though... Technical 13 (talk) 17:52, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

There is no need but it's nice. can anybody find out if it is not copyrighted??? the picture's name is Grumpy Cat, it's a meme. Thanx... I look forward for your response. Miss Bono (zootalk) 18:30, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

It's 99.99% likely that someone owns the copyright, just like 99.99% of images on the internet. In the absence of an express license or clear evidence that an image is public domain, we must assume it is copyright.--ukexpat (talk) 21:13, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

Grumpy Cat is copyrighted source (or at least, the original photgraph is. Whether the picture with Bono is enough of a transformative work to avoid that, and/or the resulting picture has been released to be public domain is questionable) MChesterMC (talk) 12:32, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

so, we cannot find out that¿¿ Miss Bono (zootalk) 12:58, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

cite error with external links

Trying to add a charity reference link to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Z.#Biography with <ref></ref> but while the number appears I get a cite error. As a newbie I have no real idea what to do but the charity link should really be there. Kramor3k (talk) 03:12, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

Heya Kramor3k, and thanks for stopping by. You forgot to add {{reflist}} to the page under the "references" section. If you don't do that, you get the error you saw. I have done this for you. I hope that helps! --Jayron32 03:29, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

I was the founder, publisher and editor of Propaganda (magazine). Do my edits to this article need certification?

Today, June 4th, I made a number of changes to the article on Propaganda (magazine). Some of these changes were removed and others require that I add a citation. I published and edited Propaganda from its first issue in 1982 to its last issue in 2002. I founded and owned the magazine and oversaw every aspect of it's production, distribution, advertising, etc. Everything I added or changed in the article today is true and is based on my experience running the magazine. How can what I say be accepted as true without the need to refer to citations. The original editor mentionied that I started the magazine in 1982, but failed to mention when it ceased publication, which I indicated was 2002. The original editor stated that there were 2 Propaganda videos, when in fact there were 3, which I indicated in my June 4th changes to the article. The original editor failed to name some of the most important and repeatedly covered bands in Propaganda such as Bauhaus and Xmal Deutschland, but named some insignificant and marginally covered bands such as Pig Face and Legendary Pink Dots. I tried to delete Pig Face and Legendary Pink Dots and add Bauhaus and Xmal Deutschland. And where I said that famous fashion photographer Steven Meisel contacted Propaganda to inquire about using a couple of my models, I know this to be true because I spoke with his representative and put him in touch with those models. And when I say that the press-run of the magazine reached 20,000 copies, only me and the printing company would know that for sure. I indicated that Propaganda was carried by Tower and Virgin Records - which is yet another thing which is being subjected to this citation requirement. And there is more information which I attempted to add and misinformation which I attempted to correct which are in jeopardy of being challenged or deleted. If Wikipedia editors have to have citations for everything, then a more complete and accurate accounting of events can never be achieved, because many things that occur have no published source, and in some cases published sources are inaccurate, untrue, or their information is incomplete or out-of-date. Is there no room whatsoever for first-hand experience from someone who was personally involved in the event which is being documented? How can I verify that I am Fred Berger, and having done that how can I get my own personal account of an event accepted without certification. You can contact me at my email address: <redacted> - would that be sufficient proof of who I am? And if so, will you accept what I state in my re-editing of the Propaganda (magazine) article? Because what was written prior to my attempted June 4th changes was incomplete and in some cases inaccurate, and unfortunately the correct and complete information is lacking in published sources. Truth is not just the published record, it resides in the experience and personal knowledge of the editor, in this case the principle party to Propaganda Magazine in all its facets. Please advise. Thank you. Fred H. Berger Toretty (talk) 23:46, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Hi Toretty and welcome. There are a few issues here, so I will start with your first question "How can what I say be accepted as true without the need to refer to citations?" Everything needs to be sources from a reliable and verifiable source; See reliable sources . I have no doubt that you are the founder but wikipedia requires everything to be sourced. This means that information in the article that is currently unsourced can be challenged and the article's talk page is the best place to do this. Lastly, there is an issue with you editing an article where you have a direct connection. Please see Conflict of Interest and you will see why it is not a good idea for you to be editing the page. I hope this helps but please feel free to follow-up with any further questions. Flat Out let's discuss it 00:08, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

Hi Toretty. If there are not published sources that state the things you are trying to add to the article, you may want to consider trying to get more information about Propganda magazine published in reliable sources. For example, I imagine there are current goth-culture magazines and websites that would love to do an interview with the founder of Propganda. Maybe you could work some of those unpublished facts into the interview and then they could then be cited by Wikipedia. I know this seems like a very backwards way to do things, but there are very good reasons why we have a high bar for including information in Wikipedia. In many cases it's the only way we can keep Wikipedia reliable, especially when multiple experts have different versions of "the truth". Personally, I often work on zoology articles. I also happen to do real biology research on poorly studied groups of arthropods. Even if I know that the existing sources are 100% wrong about a certain fact, I have to leave the incorrect information in the article until someone publishes new information in a 3rd party source. That way Wikipedia doesn't just have to accept my word on it. They know that other people have evaluated the information and considered it good enough to publish. This prevents Wikipedia from having to be an arbiter of original research. Kaldari (talk) 00:26, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

Also, is Xmal Deutschland really more notable than the Legendary Pink Dots? :) Kaldari (talk) 00:27, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

I've always been a bigger fan of the Swans...though Ed's vocals beat Michael's anyday. ;) SarahStierch (talk) 00:33, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

How To Keep My Account In Good Standing

A number of years ago, I built up some prominence as a Wikipedian, through lots of constructive edits and participation in dispute resolutions. However, I was very immature at this time, and simultaneously registered a huge sock farm as a joke. Eventually, they found out that the sock farm was connected to myself, and my main account was blocked indefinitely. I lost a lot of work just because I was being dumb.

I am back, and wish to edit constructively, but I am worried that as I gain more proninence again, someone might remember me and have me re-blocked, and I would rather have some assurance that I won't work hard for months just to have that happen again.

When I was hear before, I got in a fight with a number of users, including several administrators. Should I tell them that I am back in hopes that they will understand that it's been years and that I have changed, or should I just not say anything as it's possible none of them would even remember me?

Please advise. ThanksAweaseltookmyxbox (talk) 21:25, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Best be open about it and contact those admins. There is no reason for them not to give you a clean start. If you are still blocked you must do this or you will be editing as a sock and all your work may be deleted. Good luck.--Charles (talk) 21:37, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Hello,

If its more than 6 months since you last edited on Wikipedia, I believe there should be no problems if you come out in the open on this issue. You could make it public that you were editor xyz and you will be editing constructively now. That should be enough, I think.

Cheers, and happy editing,

TheOriginalSoni (talk) 21:37, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Hello and welcome to the Teahouse. Firstly, creating an account to ask what to do was probably a poor choice. It would be a violation of your block/ban as it is a SOCK. What I suggest doing, is logging into your previous main account, and request an unblock. Once that unblock is granted you may wish to read over and attempt to start over on wikipedia following the instructions for having a clean start. If you wish to discuss it more, I suggest you go to my talk page and take advantage of the "email this user function" and I would be happy to try and guide you. Technical 13 (talk) 21:39, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

I agree with Technical 13. You will need to request an unblock on your account. I advise explaining that you were inexperienced and immature, and apologizing for your "joke". If the unblock is rejected, you can appeal to the Ban Appeal Subcommittee. I dream of horses (T) @ 21:45, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

how can I remove "use+my name" on the top of the editing page?

how can I remove "use+my name" on the top of the editing page? Mohammed 19:35, 4 June 2013 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hamoodik (talk • contribs)

Do you mean your userpage? I don't know, but you might want to ask Worm That Turned, who has done it on his userpage.--Gilderien Chat|List of good deeds 19:55, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

I'm probably not the best to ask... mine stopped working. Worm^TT(talk) 20:04, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Weird...mine did, too. Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 20:06, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

guys, can u see this link and my page? [1] Mohammed 20:07, 4 June 2013 (UTC) sorry everyone. i might make a mess here. i'm new. and i dont even know how to use wikipedia. i need someone's help. i mean when i edited my page on the top it's written "user hamoodik". i don't want it to be seen like on all normal edited pages it is not seenMohammed 20:08, 4 June 2013 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hamoodik (talk • contribs)

Mohammed, you are seeing User:Hamoodik because that is the page you are editing - your user page. If you want to write an article about Mohammed Ahmed Ali Al Balooshi I suggest you start at Wikipedia:Articles for creation and click on the link that says Create an article now!. NtheP (talk) 20:16, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Nthep thank u so much. i didn't know that i was creating my own page even Mohammed 20:34, 4 June 2013 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hamoodik (talk • contribs)

Why am I getting 'cite errors'? When I hit 'Show Preview' the text and footnotes look fine.

A. Aubrey Bodine entered professional photography in the mid-1920s. [1]He was born July 21, 1906 in Baltimore, Maryland. [2]Bodine's artistic style developed from three distinct but inseparable, affiliations: the Baltimore Sunday Sun, the Photographic Society of America (PSA), and the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). [3] Bodine exhibited his pictorial photography across the United States and around the world, in competitions that attracted top art photographers. [4]

1.^ Kathleen M. H. Ewing, A. Aubrey Bodine Baltimore Pictorialist, 1906-1970 Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985, p. 11.
2.^ Harold A. Williams, Bodine, A Legend in His Time, Bodine and Associates, Inc., 1971, p. 12.
3.^ Ewing, p. 33.
4.^ Ewing, p. 3

— Preceding unsigned comment added by OxieB (talk • contribs) 19:11, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Welcome... Can you post here the link to that page, maybe I can help.. Miss Bono (zootalk) 19:26, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Hi you tried editing A. Aubrey Bodine and got several instance of this message -

Cite error: <ref> tag defined in <references> has no name attribute (see the help page)?

Unless you entered the text as:

A. Aubrey Bodine entered professional photography in the mid-1920s.<ref>Kathleen M. H. Ewing, A. Aubrey Bodine Baltimore Pictorialist, 1906-1970 Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985, p. 11.</ref>, you would get the error message you saw because most other ways of entering the information need the reference to be entered as <ref name=Name> Kathleen M. H. Ewing, A. Aubrey Bodine Baltimore Pictorialist, 1906-1970 Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985, p. 11.<ref>

You can read more about this error and hpw to deal with it at Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no key. If the way you were entering information was something different, please enter the text exactly as you were trying to do in the Bodine article - here, save it regardless of the error message and leave a note on my talk page and I'll have a look. NtheP (talk) 19:43, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

The OP is perhaps referring to User:OxieB/sandbox? - David Biddulph (talk) 19:50, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Looks like it and confirms my suspicion, entering references after a reflist or <references> tag need much greater formatting including an obligatory ref name. NtheP (talk) 20:18, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Reason Article on Millis Transfer was declined

Can you tell me the specific reason why the article on Millis Transfer was declined? 64.78.147.5 (talk) 16:39, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, 64.78.147.5! According to the Articles for Creation page for Millis Transfer, Inc., it says that it doesn't seem like the article proves the notability of Millis Transfer. Some other things I noticed are that there are no inline citations, it doesn't read like a Wikipedia article, and the only references are bare URLs. You might want to check out Wikipedia:Referencing for beginners to get an idea of references and Covenant Transport to see what articles on truckload carriers should look like. Happy editing! öBrambleberry of RiverClan 16:47, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Edit Summary Insults

Is there any action that can be taken when an editor uses an edit summary to attack or insult another editor, for example here?. As a one-off it doesn't concern me overly but when it is done repeatedly to undermine another editor it seems a response is warranted. Flat Out let's discuss it 03:17, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

There's revision deletion which admins can use to hide edit summaries according to the criteria for redaction. But it's not meant to be used for "ordinary" incivility. —Mike moral ♪♫ 03:34, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

Thank-you Mikemoral Flat Out let's discuss it 03:41, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

Glad to help. :) —Mike moral ♪♫ 03:47, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

That particular edit summary doesn't strike me as excessively insulting. I have seen much worse. That being said, it seems that the other editor accuses the IP of being a sockpuppet of a blocked user, and the IP neither denies it and comes very close to acknowledging it. If this IP editor continues disruption, then a report asking for a sockpuppet investigation may be in order. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 03:59, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

Thanks Cullen I did report the I.P for block-evading last night (Au time), and since asking my question here they have been blocked. I agree that the edit insult is mild and I allowed them get under my skin by being the the last in a long line of sock-puppets for Ashton_29. Lesson learned :) Flat Out let's discuss it 04:04, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

Once again, Flat Out, you and I find ourselves on the same page. You handled this right, and I thank you for your contributions to the encyclopedia in recent months. I hope that you continue contributing for years to come. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 04:17, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

NFL player

i heard that there is suposed to be a change in the look is that true MattFlynnForPresident (talk) 01:02, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

Good evening fan of the beloved Matt Flynn, whom I might add is a great QB whom I would prefer in my neck of the woods (Eagles), and welcome to the Teahouse. What do you mean by "change in the look"? Uniform changes? I believe there have been some this offseason -- perhaps you could check 2013 NFL season for information on that. I hope you are excited Flynn is in Oakland, though come to think of it the Raiders are the most unexciting team in football

. Happy editing, Go Phightins! 01:04, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

Just need help making a reference

Hi there. I am trying to insert the necessary text for a reference. Alison Plaza has a list of credentials on www.alisonplaza.com that I want to point at as my one reference so I don't get deleted. I would really like to see this work even if I have to add other references but I plan on doing this more for Equine Assisted Therapies and Activities because Wiki seems to lack these and I want it to be more in the spotlight. I love Wiki, Ive donated and I want to keep helping!

Thx

Carlos Plaza Carlos35Plaza (talk) 22:49, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

Welcome to the teahouse Carlos35Plaza. The easiest way to create an inline citation is with a footnote. You can create a footnote with Wiki markup, by adding ref tags around your source, like this:

<ref>Your Source</ref>

If you're adding the first footnote to an article, you also need to make sure that there is text that tells the software Wikipedia uses to display footnotes. That text will look like this:

{{Reflist}} or <references/>.

That text should be immediately below the section heading ==References==. If that section doesn't exist, you will need to add it

Manually adding references can be a slow and tricky process. Fortunately, there is a tool called "RefToolbar" built into the Wikipedia edit window, which makes it much easier - just view the tutorial below .Moxy (talk) 22:56, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

This screencast (6 mins. 39 secs.) walks through how to use the various features of RefTools.

(edit conflict) Hello Carlos, and welcome to The Teahouse. The technical aspects of providing a reference are found at Help:Referencing for beginners. However, given your concerns about the suitability of this subject for an article, you may want to rethink using that as a reference per se. An article about a person is not kept or deleted based on a person's credentials. While it is appropriate to provide a link to a person's official website (see Wikipedia:External links), a list of credentials has no bearing at all on whether the article will be kept or deleted. The only factor that matters is "How much independent, reliable source text have other people written about this subject?" This is the test for ANY subject of ANY article, whether a person, a concept, a location, a company, a musical instrument, whatever. All that matters is "How much source material exists out there in the rest of the world for us to use to write an article?" Source material must be reliable, and that means it must be written somewhere that has a reputation for solid editorial control: such as books published by well-known publishing houses or academic presses, major newspapers, magazines, peer-reviewed journals, or websites whose reliability mimics one of those types of sources. Generally, we can't consider self-published sources as all that reliable because, really, anyone can create a website about themselves. So, if you're looking to write an article about Alison Plaza, you need to gather up all of the books, magazine articles, newspaper stories, etc. written about her, and there needs to be enough to write a reasonable-length article about her life from what is written in those sources. I hope this helps. You can read more about this at this page here. --Jayron32 23:03, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

I was in the preocess of moving the page to User:Carlos35Plaza/Alison Plaza and was going to see what I could do to help.In that process realizes the page is a copyright vio from here. Have asked for the new page to be deleated aswell. Will have to start from the top if this person is notable. Sorry Carlos.Moxy (talk) 23:15, 5 June 2013 (UTC)