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Wikipedia:Teahouse/Questions/Archive 55

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trying to upload photo

Hello - I am trying to upload a photo into an article and I am using an Info box. I put this text in, but it isn't working. |image= File:BLET logo.gif

I might have gotten the name of the file incorrect.

Thanks, Dwhitewdc (talk) 00:13, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Hello, and welcome to the teahouse! The file is located at File:Logo of BLET.gif. It is listed on your "User contributions" list, which you can access by clicking "My contributions", the link between "My watchlist" and "Logout".--xanchester (t) 00:31, 12 November 2012 (UTC)
I've also noticed a slight problem. The current size of the image is too large for use as a copyrighted image. Because of legal reasons and other concerns, the Wikipedia:Logos guideline requires that "logos uploaded to Wikipedia must be low-resolution and no larger than necessary." I hope that helps.--xanchester (t) 00:36, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Trouble with search

Totally unable to use Wikipedia. When I enter a subject and hit search, nothing happens. It goes nowhere. Help! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.36.131.39 (talk) 15:35, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi there and welcome. On what subject are you looking for an article? Go Phightins! 22:52, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

How to delete

How do I delete an irrelevant article? Yolofamicom22 (talk) 22:47, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Yolofamicom, welcome to the Teahouse. There are three ways to nominate an article for deletion. The fastest is what is called speedy deletion (or CSD) where if you are sure the article meets one of the criteria listed then you can add the relevant template from the list given at the speedy deletion page or here and if an administrator agrees with your assessment they will delete the page. There is no margin of doubt on these criteria, for example if you choose one of the notability criteria listed under reason A7 then if there is any credible claim of significance or importance then the article will not be deleted under this criteria.
If speedy deletion is not applicable then you can propose (PROD) an article for deletion. You need to say why you think the article does not belong on Wikipedia and if no-one disagrees with you then after seven days the article will be reviewed by an administrator and if they agree that your reason is valid they will delete the article.
The final method, if neither of the others are relevant or have been tried and failed, is to list the article at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion (AFD). Again, you must specify here why you think the article should not be on Wikipedia and the discussion will remain open, normally, for seven days. Your reason should show will Wikipedia policies the article fails to meet, not liking the subject of the article is not a valid reason for deletion. At the end of that time an administrator will consider the points made, both for and against deletion, and make a decision.
All three of these methods have strict processes attached to them, to which you must adhere. This is in order to give anyone who wishes to dispute your nomination a chance to make their opinion known before a decision is made. NtheP (talk) 00:17, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
Only administrators can delete pages, but you can request a page to be deleted.
If and how the article can be deleted depends (could you please provide a link?). If the article is vandalism, a test, a hoax, or nonsense (incoherent/gibberish), it may be speedy deleted by using the appropriate template. For example, a page that is pure vandalism may be marked with {{db-vandalism}} at the top of the article. (please see the full criteria for speedy deletion and a list of templates to use.) If the article cannot be speedy deleted, it may be nominated for deletion at WP:Articles for Deletion.
The Anonymouse (talk • contribs) 00:10, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Rate this page

Personally, I rather remove the "Rate this page" option, really not needed.--74.34.89.6 (talk) 14:10, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

I think that while you're editing from an IP address rather than having created an account, you are stuck with the "Rate this page" applet and you can't switch it off. It is in the process of being replaced by Wikipedia:Article Feedback Tool/Version 5 which asks different questions. NtheP (talk) 14:39, 12 November 2012 (UTC)
Hi 74, and welcome to the Teahouse! If you create an account, you can then go to this page and check the "Don't show the Article feedback widget on pages" setting, which will disable it as long as you are logged in. —Theopolisme 16:09, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Listing a biography

I am trying to list a biography on Wikipedia and it has not been accepted because "Amongt the text are some Wikipedia content and advice, which doesn't belong in an article." Can anyone tell me what Wikipedia content and advice might relate to because the biog has been drafted from other sources totally unconnected to Wikipedia. Professor1949 (talk) 13:22, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi. This appears to be the version of the article referred to. As you will see you left in some text like "Your WP:Lead goes here, a basic summary of why this person is significant" and "You can't link outside images, you have to upload them here. See WP:Images." These are useful instructions to help you create the article but should be removed before it is ready for visitors to read. However, User:Huon removed those comments for you after the creation request was declined.
I noticed that the comments about your article also suggested that you turn your references into citations. This edit I made shows you how to make a basic citation. Road Wizard (talk) 15:51, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Do we need to delete this or re-direct it?

This article had what I think was a couple of mis-spellings of one of the names. In the third paragraph of the story of Abraham and Abimelech the official was called, Philcol. In the fourth paragraph of the story of Isaac and Abimelech he was also called Philcol. Elsewhere he is referred to as Phichol which, according to the King James Bible, is his name, (see Gen 21:22, Gen 21:32, and Gen 26:26). I have edited this myself so that his name is now spelt correctly and consistently, but one of these incorrect mentions was wikilinked to a re-direct page that does nothing except redirect back to the source page. Since the spelling on the redirect is incorrect it doesn't seem likely it has ever been used except by users hoping to redirect from the article to a page telling them more about Philchol. Therefore, it would seem we have a re-direct of a name that does not exist that links to an article that doesn't mention him, and I think the best thing to do would be to delete the re-direct. But, a) I don't know how to delete pages and b) I thought it worth checking that deletion is the best option. Cottonshirtτ 12:39, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Cottonshirt, welcome to the Teahouse. I don't think there is much to do. if there are sources that refer to him as Philcol then the redirect is a valid one as it is from an alternative spelling. There is an article (very short) on Phicol so I've redirected Philcol to that and relinked Phicol in the Wife–sister article. NtheP (talk) 14:47, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Revert my User:

Hi There I am on the :Articles for creation/Nigel Petrie Thomas Owen, can I revert back to User:Nigel Petrie Thomas Owen as I was trying to use it to create a page as I was not aware I making a page on my User: Is it possible to change ones user name!

Thanks Nigel Petrie Thomas Owen (talk) 12:10, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi, and welcome to the Teahouse! Yes, it is possible to change one's username. All you need to do is visit this page and follow the instructions listed there! —Theopolisme 18:36, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

I need help revising the Wikipedia page for my church.

Hi, I am a fairly new editor with a lot to learn. I am trying to edit and clean up the page for my church, Eckankar. I have been a member of Eckanakr for 37 years and am a member of the ECK Clergy. I need help with two things - organization and removal of vandalism.

Reorganization: The page has some outdated information and is somewhat disorganized. I tried reorganizing the page, but apparently ran afoul of some rules regarding inline links and so my changes were undone. I would like to reinstate my previous changes, but do not want to start some sort of editing war.

Vandalism: Eckankar is a relatively new religion and has some detractors. The page has sections for Criticism and Related Groups. I am of the opinion that criticisms belong under the Criticism section and discussion of other religious groups belong under the Related Groups section. There is an individual who calls himself Akatha who is trying to start his own new religious group who has insisted on vandalizing the Eckankar page with his own critical comments, phrased as if he is an independent expert, but without citations. I have moved his comments to the Criticism section, but he has repeatedly undone my changes and has done so anonymously - showing only an IP address.

How can I make the organizational changes I want to make and also ensure that the vandalism stops?

Thanks. I can also be reached at (E-Mail removed for security purposes) Sarunfeldt (talk) 06:42, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Sarunfeldt, welcome to the Teahouse. There are a few issues surrounding the article, Eckankar. The main one is your conflict of interest, from reading the article and it's history to me it's apparent that it is not being written in a neutral point of view. That you have moved criticisms and labelled them specifically as being submitted by a member of another group and that you are also labelling these edits as vandalism really does suggest to me that you should not be editing this article. By all means propose changes on the article talk page but you really should let someone uninvolved with the movement make changes. Vandalism has a specific meaning on Wikipedia - the addition, removal, or change of content in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of Wikipedia. The edits you have labelled as vandalism do not meet this definition, that you disagree with them does not make them vandalism. You are also engaging in an Wikipedia:edit war over this and that can lead to bans for all participants in that. While you are acknowledging that criticism of the movement has to be allowed, I think you are going to far in the opposite direction and are attempting to marginalise that criticism
Apart from the neutrality of the article, my other main concern is about the references, far too many are from works associated with the movement, over a third of the current references are either from Eckankar's own website or references to books by Kemp. References need to be verifiable and from from independent, reliable sources, anything connected with the movement of it's leaders fails this test at the first hurdle.
The basic layout of the article appears to be fine and without knowing what links you removed, I can't comment on how to reinstate them but as I have already said, I think you should desist from editing the article and instead you should instigate a discussion on the talk page about reaching some consensus over the differences that have appeared. NtheP (talk) 23:56, 12 November 2012 (UTC)
Sarunfeldt, thanks for bringing this to our attention. The article has a lot of problems, in terms of being heavily sourced to primary sources and to unreliable sources (having an Angelfire URL is generally a bad sign). The article appears to be a place where pro and anti factions are duking it out, so as a neutral outsider I'll do what I can to fix it up. I've already cut out some WP:OR commentary claiming to be footnotes, cut out a whole bunch of non-authoritative links, etc. There are a number of hits for this group in apparently scholarly works on GoogleBooks, so in a bit I'll try and come in and shift the ratio aware from POV sources to more Independent ones. This is probably going to annoy a lot of folks working on the article, but it needs to be a proper article instead of a pro/con fight or a propaganda piece. MatthewVanitas (talk) 04:25, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
The situation appears to be getting heated; if someone else Neutral could take a glance at the History page to see the development, that would be appreciated. MatthewVanitas (talk) 05:22, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

I'd like to delete an old page that is clearly no longer relevant. How?

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NPPD&redirect=no


Reason why: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPPD_(disambiguation)

Page I'd like to delete (or mark for deletion, really), is 6 years old. It's clearly been bypassed, or needs to just point to the disambiguation page, as acronyms rarely if ever LOSE more meanings as the years go by. Pär Larsson (talk) 22:46, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

(I think this has been taken care of) heather walls (talk) 23:50, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

I messed around with it a bunch, found some sort of db= command by accident, no clue what it means, hopefully I did the right thing. I'm not just looking to delete a page, I'm also looking to learn how to mark a page for speedy deletion or just deletion, so that someone with more wikipedia editing knowledge can take the responsibility off of me. I'd rather not be the guy that just goes around deleting stuff without asking ...someone... about it first. Pär Larsson (talk) 00:57, 11 November 2012 (UTC)
Template:Speedy deletion navbox provides links to several documents about the deletion policies if you want to learn more about how deletion works here. The Twinkle tool includes easy methods of adding deletion templates if you are looking more at the practical side of marking a page for deletion.
However, I would suggest using speedy deletion only when you are fairly sure that the page meets the relevant criteria. In theory an administrator should double check that every request for speedy deletion is correct but that doesn't always happen if the administrator is in a rush. If you are at all unsure if deletion is correct then the slower processes of proposed deletion or deletion discussions are the better options. Also you can always ask advice from other editors or WikiProjects that work in related areas to the page you want to delete. Road Wizard (talk) 15:31, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

additional citations for verification

Hi, I have just finished writing my first article (Anthony Di Pietro http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Di_Pietro) and want to know what is required to remove the Additional Citations Required notice at the top of the page. I'd really like this message gone and I'd like to know how I can improve this from the outset the next time I create or edit an article. Thanks! Sarahcarnovale (talk) 02:46, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse. I would suggest adding a few citations to the early life section. The rest of the article seems to be reasonably well-sourced. In general, you can remove maintenance tags whenever you feel appropriate; there's no special process for doing so. Go Phightins! 02:56, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
Thanks Phigtins.

What is a 'maintenance tag' and how do I remove it/them? Sarahcarnovale (talk) 03:07, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Sorry, I should've specified. The additional citations required tag at the top of that page is an example of a maintenance tag, it's any tag at the top of a page specifying changes needed. Thanks for the follow up. Go Phightins! 03:13, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
Just worked out what a maintenance tag is and repaired the section as per your suggestion Phigtins - I can't thank you enough :) Sarahcarnovale (talk) 03:14, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
No problem. Go Phightins! 03:15, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

step by step please

thank you ... i noticed also that my entry had been deleted ... i had the same entry in the talk section, and there somebody had answered that my references seemed mixed up ... i use 6 sources of the one old Buddhist text including french and german translations ... so i can easily correct this ...

what i would like to find out first is if Dorje108 who questioned my references in the "talk" is the same person who deleted the main entry ... or if that was yourself ...or, how can i find out who deleted my entry?

Im not really suprised that new entries on wikipedia are monitored first - but my old brain (61) doesnt get the programming, (i can do .html but this is different) so i just followed the video which said "do it!"

Anyway I would be pleased to take it step by step with you - and first i would simply like to know if it was deleted because of the programming, the references or some third reason.

(... no rush ... im online once almost everyday)

so, please and thanks, RobinTaming the hedgehog (talk) 22:15, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Moved this question from Nathan's talk page, (see). heather walls (talk) 23:51, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
Hi Taming the hedgehog, welcome to the Teahouse. As you are asking for step by step help with developing your first article I'll leave some messages directly on your talk page. I expect you will have follow up questions and it will be easier to keep the discussion in one place. You are welcome to ask other questions here though whenever you want. Road Wizard (talk) 00:36, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Posting a Wiki Entry About Myself

Hello. I know this is kind of a sore subject but I thought it would be better to bring it up here than to just try to post an article without bouncing it off someone. I am confident that my article displays notability and objectivity and could get someone else to write/publish it but would like to be in control of future edits without a middle man. What would be the best way to show the article to someone and get their input?

Here is the body of article, minus the links and the correct formatting. Let me know if this isn't the best place to show the actual article. Thank you for your time.

WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE

Matt Mintz (born Matthew Stephen Malcom; October 18, 1972) is a musician, writer and film-maker. He was born in Hawaii and lives in Southern California. He graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University, whose campus was the location of Lomaland, the turn-of-the-century Theosophical commune.

MUSIC

As a musician, Matt played lead guitar in several San Diego bands: Hardpressed, Galaxy 7 and October, Inc. as well as Vanguard Records' Greg Laswell, EMI Records' Something Like Silas/Future of Forestry and Munich Record's Benjamin Winter. He played on eight tracks from Greg Laswell's solo album Good Movie, which went on to win Best Local Recording at the San Diego Music Awards. Matt was also an uncredited co-writer on Something Like Silas' Glimpses LP.

Matt's own songs “Neon Leon” and “White Lace Curtains (Red, Red Fire)” have both been film festival finalists. His song “Push 'em Down” won Best Original song at the international Shriekfest Horror Film Festival and is inspired by the good, bad and ugly ways organized religion deals with sexuality. It was produced by Mark Suhonen of My Report Productions and features eerie recordings of New Guinea singing dogs provided by NGSD expert Janice Koller-Matznick.

WRITING

As a writer, Matt's story Cruciform was a runner- up in a Gotham Writer's Workshop Hint Fiction Contest. He was also a contributor to Tim Burton's tweeted Exquisite Corpse story, Stainboy.

MOVIES

As a film-maker, Matt Mintz scored the silent movie Grocery Store by Sundance Jury winner (and fellow Hawaiian) Destin Cretton (and co-directed by Lowell Frank). He also was a story editor and an extra on the pair's Deacon's Mondays, which won multiple awards, including one from the Director's Guild. His noir script Black Summer was a finalist in the Fade In Screenwriting Contest. He also acted in Tom Sizemore's Bad Ass; his well-executed death scene was done in one take with actor Johnny Messner (Tears of the Sun, Running Scared).

Matt also read incoming scripts for A Band Apart Productions during the making of Inglorious Basterds and for Steve Zaillian and Garrett Basch (Moneyball, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) at Film Rites production company. Matt is currently directing an animated film based on the Stephen King's Last Rung on the Ladder (from the Night Shift collection). His scripted adaptation of Last Rung won Best Short Screenplay at Shriekfest, making Matt the first artist in Shriekfest's twelve years to win both a Best Original Song and a Best Short Script award in the same ceremony.

Rocklad (talk) 21:46, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Rocklad, welcome to the Teahouse. Autobiographies are discouraged for three main reasons.
  1. Consciously or otherwise, you are not likely to be neutral about yourself.
  2. A lot of the information you put in is unlikely to be verifiable. just to give one example from what you have written - who says your death scene in Bad Ass was well executed. Unless that's something that can be verified from a reliable source it's not neutral or verified.
  3. There is a significant risk that some of the article will be original research.
Contributing suggestions on the talk page of the article is fine as would be adding strictly factual information, for example date of birth, place of birth, schools attended, but beyond that you really would be advised to let others create an article about you. The same applies to ongoing development of the article, just because you are the subject of the article doesn't give you ownership of the article, all Wikipedia articles are equally owned by all editors, so the same strictures would apply and you could not prevent others from making good faith edits to the article even if you disagreed with their content or sentiment. NtheP (talk) 22:03, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
Hi Matt. Creating autobiographies is actually discouraged — mainly because of the inherent conflict of interest — but you're welcome to submit it at articles for creation, where a reviewer will check the article and, if it meets our requirements, add it to the article space. Cheers, —Theopolisme 22:02, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Can you edit just the infobox or lede without opening the complete article?

I want to edit the infobox of the United States House of Representatives elections, 2012 without opening an edit window with the entire article text. Besides just waiting for uploading time, it would help with avoiding conflicting edit versions on the rest of the text. This applies to the leading section as well because neither have a section edit link. Thanks! Mnnlaxer (talk) 21:28, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Hey, Mnnlaxer, welcome to the Teahouse! Fortunately, there is a way to do this for the lead section; as the lead section also contains the infobox, it should pull double-duty for both. Just go to Special:Preferences and, in the "Appearance" section of the "Gadgets" tab, the first box will add a section editing link for the lead. just check the box, hit "Save" at the bottom of the page, and you should be good to go! Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 21:35, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
Thanks! Silly me, I was looking under the "Editing" tab. Mnnlaxer (talk) 21:44, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
Yeah, that's the first place I looked for it, too; I knew I had seen it somewhere, but I couldn't remember where. Gadgets was my next guess, because there's all sorts of crazy junk in there. :) Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 21:45, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Editing title

Hey there - How can I edit the title of the article I'm writing - I saved it as Ubiquity theatre company, but as a title it should be Ubiquity Theatre Company (with capitals).. Leipzigstar (talk) 16:32, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

I just renamed it. Normally, you can use the "Move" button in the menu (WP:Move), but since you are a new user, the option is not available yet. To get the move option, you must have 4 days and 10 edits. Here is a picture to show how to do it (once you can). The Anonymouse (talk • contribs) 16:40, 13 November 2012 (UTC)  
Thank you so much :)
Leipzigstar (talk) 16:45, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
You're welcome! Anytime – just ask here or at my talk page. The Anonymouse (talk • contribs) 16:50, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Seeking new articles for editing

My goal is to improve the readability and offer clarity for the articles I am editing, please let me know if you think I have missed the mark -- will cease if that is the case. I went into the Military Project area to look for "work" -- and just pick up an article on the list to edit. Did I do this right? Don't want to upset anyone, especially the author of the article. Please advice.CHHistory (talk) 16:16, 13 November 2012 (UTC) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1943_Gibraltar_B-24_crash

Have edited up to Accident and not sure if I should continue. Am I following the right protocol? Again, please advice — Preceding unsigned comment added by CHHistory (talk • contribs) 16:19, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Here on Wikipedia, everyone can edit any article that they want to (well, except for protected/semi-protected articles). As long as you make constructive changes to the article (not vandalism, etc.), you should be OK. Also (to be clear), no one "owns" any article (WP:OWN). The Anonymouse (talk • contribs) 16:33, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
Welcome! As mentioned, you can edit whatever you'd like. But if you concentrate your edits in a specific subject for a while, you can sign up to get suggestions from the Suggest Bot, which identifies articles you may be interested in and posts them on your talk page. Go Phightins! 20:13, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Northcote Fam School

Can you tell me why my project: "Northcote Farm School" which I started is being edited to include as it is today the links put in by User:Buggie111. and my input deleted apart from my image File:Northcote Farm.jpg. I started this project to share the history as it was as the Northcote Farm School not "The Lady Northcote Recreational Camp" as it is known today, which has no simularities as it was. I am very knowledgeable about this subject as was there. I wish to add subject to "Northcote Farm School" without it being deleted. Your Views! Nigel Petrie Thomas Owen (talk) 14:45, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Nigel, looking at the edit summaries on Northcote Farm School it looks like Buggie111 removed the material because it was a copyright violation of this website. All material, written, visual or audio has to be copyright free (with a few limited exceptions) to comply with Wikipedia's creative commons licence. Buggie has now restored the lead paragraph and references but if you are going to add to the article, it needs to be written in your own words and not by copying and pasting from other websites. NtheP (talk) 15:01, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
Thanks for your reply, but what about me removing the link to "The Lady Northcote Recreational Camp" which has no relevance without it being changed back.Nigel Petrie Thomas Owen (talk) 15:28, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
Reading the link it would appear that it is relevant as it provides evidence to support what is written in the article, namely that the school was closed for a period due to the lack of numbers. The dates given in the document and the dates in the article don't, however, agree. On my reading of the document there were no new arrivals at the farm between 1944 and 1948 not 1938 and 1944 as the article says. Can I point out to you that it's not your project and you don't own this article. Any editor is entitled to edit any article they wish and articles develop as the result of collaboration between editors. If you disagree with content the place to have that discussion is on the article talk page where efforts should be made to reach a consensus. NtheP (talk) 15:46, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
I disagree with you totally, this project was in its early stage of development. I will no longer continue and abandon this project and start another completely different one elsewhere. I would however suggest this page I started is deleted as the content supplied by Buggie111 is not appropriateNigel Petrie Thomas Owen (talk) 19:38, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
You can't just request the article be deleted, because it is not yours. See the next section (or, when this is archived, the previous section).— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:10, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Request review prior to submission

Hi, I would like to request a review of an article I am working on. It is a glossary of video terms. I reviewed existing glossary subjects and there are none with this title. Thanks for any suggestions, comments or guidance. Article is located here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_creation/Glossary_of_Video_Terms Mejbp (talk) 04:57, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

can someone remove the spam link on the gonnorhea page?

its connected to the word Chlamidia in the first or second paragraph.Akitashen (talk) 02:58, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi and welcome to the Teahouse. Why do you want to remove the link? Go Phightins! 03:04, 15 November 2012 (UTC)
  • Hi there, Akitashen. Although a single link to ceftriaxone is certainly permissible under Wikipedia guidelines (i.e., not spam), that version you linked to was certainly overdone. I have since rewritten the paragraph to clarify the grammar and remove unnecessary extra links. Don't forget, you can also edit yourself if you see something which needs fixing. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 04:04, 15 November 2012 (UTC)
Note: to remove a link, you simply remove the "[[]]" around it, in case you didn't know. Go Phightins! 04:06, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

Wiki Link

How to link Wiki articles together?183.17.8.27 (talk) 01:18, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

Hello, and welcome! If you are asking how to make a WikiLink to another article, then all you have to do is put [[ and ]] around the article's title. For example, [[Wikipedia]] would produce Wikipedia. gwickwire | Leave a message 01:20, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

How to add something to an article (in a list for example) ?

In a list i found a name was missing. How can I add it ? Foivos Nix (talk) 20:18, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi and welcome to the Teahouse. On which article is the list that you want to adjust? Go Phightins! 20:30, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Editor Assistance

Hi, An Admin told me that I could make this request or question here. Recently I got caught up in a contentious article. I wish to make sure that my future edits are inline with wiki policy such as neutrality and source reliability and no original research, especially when editing that one article.

I am attempting to branch out into other articles in wikipedia, but I don't really want to stop editing the first article. So I feel that if I had an editor that could, sort of, supervise or advise me on my edits that would be very helpful.

Is this indeed the right place for this sort of request? And if so, is anyone willing to do that form me? Fordx12 (talk) 15:56, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

  • Hi Ford, thanks for swinging by The Teahouse. A good place to start might be to check out the Adopt-a-user program, where another editor will help you through all the major policy, editing guideline, and other major areas in Wikipedia. You can either add the userbox to your page or directly contact one of the editors willing to adopt. With regard to the article you'd like to edit, if there is an issue with neutrality with your edits, you can consider for now adding your suggestions and comments to the article talk page rather than editing it directly. I, Jethrobot drop me a line (note: not a bot!) 16:22, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Using a defunct username

Hi I want to use a username that someone else set up on wikipedia 6 years ago and never used. It is the username that I use on wikiversity and wikimedia and I'd like to use the same one on wikipedia too. The other person never set up a user page so I can't contact him/her that way. Can an administrator sign it over to me? I am Drofleton wikiversity. Jtelford (talk) 15:53, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Jtelford! To change your user name if someone has already created it (without editing with it), please visit Wikipedia:Changing username/Usurpations and follow the instructions to request it. If/when the user name is changed, you will be able to unify your account with Single Unified Login (SUL) by going to the MergeAccount page. SUL is very convenient because you can use the same username and password for all Wikimedia projects (any language Wikipedia, Wikiversity, Commons, etc.)
The Anonymouse (talk • contribs) 16:27, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Improper copyright rationale on images on Commons

Hi, everyone! I am a host here, but this time I have a question. Someone added a photo gallery on one of the US High School pages I watch. It consisted of three team photos from the late 70's - early 80's. They had imprinted captions and were posed like every team portrait I have ever seen. The rationale was that the uploader owned the copyright. As they are professional photos, I kinda doubt that. The photos in question are all in the Commons category Steinert High School. Just realized, I also don't know how to post an interwiki link! (lol) Anyway, I see no clear way to nominate them for deletion. Can anybody help? Gtwfan52 (talk) 08:48, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi Gtwfan52! When you are looking at a file; at the bottom of the Toolbox (on the left side navigation bar) it says, Nominate for deletion. It's not so hard after someone shows you, but of course it's almost impossible before that. :) heather walls (talk) 09:09, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Uploading non-free files

Hello, I've just uploaded a smaller version of an existent photograph as requested by a template. The picture appears on Horrible Histories (2009 TV series). I made the mistake of tagging it with the "Crown copyright" (here: [1]). I tried to upload it again but a warning appeared ("This file is a duplicate of the following file"). How can I delete my first uploaded version? Thanks, and apologies for the mistake.Cocolacoste (talk) 00:30, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Cocolacoste, hi. I think things have been resolved for you, the duplicates have been deleted as orphaned free use files so there is just the one version left now. I'm not totally convinced that the image meets Non-free content criteria 8 Non-free content is used only if its presence would significantly increase readers' understanding of the topic, and its omission would be detrimental to that understanding. as to me it's just a load of people holding an award and that doesn't significantly increase my understanding of the topic. NtheP (talk) 23:02, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
Hiya NhtP, thanks ever so much for your reply. Yes, I've noticed the files were taken down this morning. Absolutely agree that the pic isn't that relevant but, as I didn't see any "copyright infringement" template, I simply uploaded -quite clumsily, oops- a lower-resolution version of it. Dunno what to do now, since that photo's been there for quite some time and it wasn't me who uploaded it. What do you reckon? As a side note, lotsa people said on the feedback page the article was lacking a pic of the cast members. I suspect that's why another user put it up. Cheers,Cocolacoste (talk) 23:35, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
It's not that there is a copyright infringement, just that the non-free content criteria are quite (very) strict and if an image doesn't meet all 10 criteria it should be deleted. Just because feedback says there should be pictures of the cast doesn't give anyone carte blanche to ignore the rules - that's why so many articles on living people lack images, because no-one has found a free image to use. I'm not going to do anything about this one, it's borderline to me and if someone else wants to take a stronger view either way I'm not going to comment. NtheP (talk) 23:49, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
Well, I'm nonplussed now. I'm not very familiar with the non-free content criteria – the main reason I've never uploaded anything. Shall take a look at them, though. If that photo gets deleted, then so be it. Perhaps it'd be useful to tell the person who put it up to ask Wikipedia:Media copyright questions? In case I didn't make myself clear before, I didn't mean that the "clamour of the masses" was the rule to go by, I was merely trying to explain to you why the picture in question had been posted. Thanks again. Best,--Cocolacoste (talk) 00:17, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

My media file has been nominated for deletion & some are deleted

I'm new to Wikipedia so perhaps I misunderstand the process somewhat. but I have no idea of why Wikipedia wants to delete my images, that all are from my college and I'm a webmaster of St. Mary's College Chilaw Old Boys association, Colombo circle. I have full rights to do the uploading and adding to my college page in Wikipedia. due to technical reasons our OBA web site is down at the moment. You can find it in this link near future. http://www.smcobacmb.org/

this is my article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Articles_for_creation/St._Mary%27s_College,_Chilaw

Please help me with this work out, I need my college page to be up and run as soon as possible. Thank you! Hasiwarna (talk) 07:34, 12 November 2012 (UTC)HasiwarnaHasiwarna (talk) 07:34, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi Hasiwarna and welcome to the Teahouse. If you are asking about File:Main Building of St. Mary's College, Chilaw.jpg and File:Saint John Baptist De La Salle.jpg, they were nominated for deletion because you claimed that you took the pictures yourself, but based on the nature of the pictures someone didn't believe you. Based on what you say here, it appears their suspicion was right. Assuming that they were taken by someone else, what you need to do is clear up the permission by following the procedure at Wikipedia:Donating copyrighted materials. —teb728 t c 09:42, 12 November 2012 (UTC) Let me add to that that you don't have to resolve the issues the pictures before the page goes live; you can change the pictures after the page goes live. —teb728 t c 09:48, 12 November 2012 (UTC)
Firstly thank you for your quick respond, I can prove that two pictures, File:Main Building of St. Mary's College, Chilaw.jpg

File:Saint John Baptist De La Salle.jpg, are taken by my camera and I have the original photo, this two I edited to suite the layout, that's why I think its look suspicious. But my other two they deleted ready one is my college Crest and Jubilee Poster those two from my college and I'm not the creator of that two but I have full authority as a web master of College Old boys association to use in when it necessary. If I wrongly upload to a different category of copyright please advice me to do so. Thank you

Hasiwarna (talk) 10:13, 12 November 2012 (UTC)HasiwarnaHasiwarna (talk) 10:13, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

With regard to the pictures you took, try participating in the discussion at Commons:Commons:Deletion requests/Files uploaded by Hasiwarna. (modified 01:04, 14 November 2012 (UTC))
With regard to the others see Wikipedia:Donating copyrighted materials for what permission is required and how to handle that permission. Since Wikipedia has a goal of producing reusable content, we do not accept permission for use only on Wikipedia: Permission must allow reuse by anyone for anything.
The crest is different: We can use that as non-free content. It must be uploaded to Wikipedia not Commons. Use the {{non-free logo}} tag, and for the required non-free use rationale you can use {{non-free use rationale logo}}. (Click on that link for the required and optional parameters). —teb728 t c 08:43, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
Thank you for your comment, then I will use those mentioned templates to upload my crest and other none-free materials. Thanks again, I will appreciate your kind help, If anything I will come back to you. I tried to upload my college crest to a non-free upload wizard but I couldn't do because it says my article not a article still a talk page only, so i want to know when my article goes live, If I upload college crest to a common would that be enough? please advise

Thank you Hasiwarna (talk) 01:18, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

You can’t upload any non-free content to commons. I am concerned when you say, “other non-free materials”: The templates I mentioned are only for logos—there are other templates for other non-free content. And use of non-free content is highly restricted; logos are a special case where the restrictions are often particularly easy to meet. —teb728 t c 01:00, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

Is there a policy that says "don't saturate an article whith examples"?

I'm working at the music theory project. Sometimes, for a certain chord or scale that appears in millions of musical pieces, somebody puts 100 examples of songs that have them. They're sourced, so in theory they should stay, but they're usually favoring a certain period or genre (sometimes a very obscure one, like "death metal" or something).

For example, they put 20 examples of rock songs but none of classical or jazz pieces. I'd like to remove some of these redundant examples (and add other) beacause they saturate or mess up the article. Is there a Wikipedia policy that supports what i say? Thank you!!Fauban 16:19, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Hey Fauban, and welcome to the Teahouse! Would you be able to give us a link to one or more of the articles in question? I would be happy to take a look for you. As far as I know, there isn't a policy about having too many examples, it just goes by the editors who look at the article determining what is enough. However, in my opinion, if a song or example doesn't have its own article, after about 5-10 examples, there shouldn't be any more. Like I said, if you can give me a link (by putting the article title in [[ ]] brackets), I'd be glad to take a look and help you. Thanks! gwickwire | Leave a message 16:25, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi, well, here are some examples (but they're not the most extreme ones, now I can't remember them): Dominant seventh chord#Function, Major scale#Major system in popular music, Minor scale#Chromatic-minor system, Chord progression#Three-chord progressions. One thing is the number of examples, the other is the choices: Citing something by Beethoven, Mozart, Gershwin, and the Beatles is OK, putting only examples of pop/rock music is not (specially if there are 20).--Fauban 17:52, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

I agree with you; perhaps the music Wiki-Project talk page would be a good place to seek consensus on this. Go Phightins! 22:57, 11 November 2012 (UTC)
I will ask a member of that project to drop by. Go Phightins! 22:58, 11 November 2012 (UTC)
Welcome to the teahouse, Fauban. As for policies, WP:UNDUE comes to mind. Wikipedia's neutrality policy requires that articles must represent viewpoints in proportion to the significance of each viewpoint. The articles should not unduly focus on modern pop music over other significant genres and historical periods. Hope that helps.--xanchester (t) 23:24, 11 November 2012 (UTC)
Hello Fauban, I'm a little late to the party here, but also note there is a tag to alert folks to such issues: Template:Example farm. If you see a pile of undue or irrelevant examples, you can use that tag to identify the problem. Not that you can't also just dive in and fix it, but if you want to give folks time to improve it first, tagging is an option. MatthewVanitas (talk) 00:17, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Thank you very much everybody :) --Fauban 09:55, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Strategy for Bio Entry

Hi, what are the best strategies for getting a bio page accepted? I have crossed Ts and dotted Is from a number of editors, and established notoriety edits ago. Can someone help w a sandbox entry? ThanksStephen Petrina 17:22, 10 November 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Stephenpetrina (talk • contribs)

Note: This is related to Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Stephen Petrina --Demiurge1000 (talk) 17:25, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Stephenpetrina, I don't think there is too much to be added to the comments already made on the draft at Articles for Creation. there are a number of concerns about it being an autobiography and too much reliance being placed on blogs and other sources that are not considered Wikipedia:reliable sources. If a subject is genuinely notable then eventually someone will create an article on that subject but it's best not to do it yourself. NtheP (talk) 23:11, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Source/Verification

I am Sandra MacGregor, actress. I have aprox. 80 newspaper articles /references. I have all the original copies therefore have the name of the paper and date.I notice that others have a "source". verification. My question is how do I obtain the "source" verification. Most of the articles are in Melboure and Syndey. Some form L.A. Thank you from Sandy Sandy123macgregor (talk) 00:35, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi Sandy and welcome to the Teahouse. Does Wikipedia:Referencing for beginners tell what you want to know? —teb728 t c 06:16, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Peer Review Template not working

So a couple users and I are trying to breathe life into the Wikipedia:Africa-related regional notice board/Peer review space. Energy is so far going good, but there is a problem with the template. Adding peer-review=yes to the noticeboard template doesn't do anything. Any help on how we can make this easier? Or where, who I can go to? Thank you in advance for your time. AbstractIllusions (talk) 01:10, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

AbstractIllusions, I think this has been answered for you at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)#Peer Review Template Bug. NtheP (talk) 21:40, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

Changing a title

Are there any special steps to changing the title? An editor told me that my title needed a change.Dalehward (talk) 19:43, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi there and welcome to the Teahouse. To move an article, the easiest way I know is to turn on the "AFC Helper Script" in the "Gadgets" section of "My preferences". With that tool, you mouse over the arrow at the top of the page, click move, and simply type the new title of the article. Let me know if you have any issues with that. Thanks--Go Phightins! 20:33, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
You shouldn't need to turn on the script, it should just be under the arrow at the top as far as I know. gwickwire | Leave a message 23:08, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
Oh, really? I suppose that's possible as before I installed the script I'd never moved a page. Just try clicking the arrow and see if "move" is an option. Go Phightins! 23:14, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
I don't think an editor with less than ten edits can move a page. Dalehward if you tell us which page you want to rename and the new title you want, I am sure one of the hosts here will be happy to move it for you. Road Wizard (talk) 23:26, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
you can click edit Nerdybunny (talk) 00:46, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

How can I improve, then have this page put live?

Good day to you all! I have a COI and as such will not be (re)creating the PrismTech company page. I've been in contact with ‎SarahStierch and have be directed to this wonderful place. The article in question is in my sandbox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:MiddlewareMaster/sandbox) and I have suggested additional sources on my sandbox talk page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:MiddlewareMaster/sandbox). Any and all help would be much appreciated! Once a page has been agreed and approved, then I would seek someone to put it live. Thanks in advanced! --MiddlewareMaster (talk) 12:49, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Good day to you too, Middleware. Try Articles for Creation, if you haven't already done so, and good luck.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 18:44, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

Placing Pictures

How do you place a picture when editing an article? 173.80.84.37 (talk) 02:39, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Hello, and welcome to teahouse. First, you'll need the file name of the picture (you'll need an account to upload the picture). Insert it by placing [[File:Filenameofthepicture.jpg|thumb|caption goes here]] in the desired location. If you want the picture on the left of the page, use [[File:Filenameofthepicture.jpg|thumb|left|caption goes here]].--xanchester (t) 02:53, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

how to improve an article and avoid deletion

Hi - I submitted an article that was approved and now there is a notice saying it is up for deletion. I don't understand what needs to change - it is a factual thing and there is supporting evidence that it exists in the outside world, so why is it being deleted?

Secondly, is there any way to find out who/what caused the suggestion for deletion?

Lastly, of course I am happy to do whatever I need to to keep it from being deleted from wikipedia - I could use some help on what it is that I need to do!

thanks! kippacatKippacat (talk) 19:50, 16 November 2012 (UTC) 

My article can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldilocks_Mastectomy — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kippacat (talk • contribs) 19:51, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi, Kippacat! Welcome to the teahouse. It appears from the deletion discussion that the problem is in your sources. I doon't do much with medical articles, but there is a whole standard for referencing medical articles (WP:MEDRS). It appears the sources you are using are the original reasearch, and what is required is secondary sources, such as reviewed medical journals (like JAMA). Also, just for clarities sake, you used a non standard method for citing your references. If you read this, it should help you work through that. The citation issue has nothing to do with the deletion however. You should read the bit on referencing medical articles, and then start fixing your article up. And by all means, you should comment at the discussion for deletion. Just remember, you will be expected to make policy-based, logical arguments there. "Please don't delete" it will not help.Gtwfan52 (talk) 20:18, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Madman bot alarm

Hi! I just created my very first new Wikipedia article. The moment I saved it, a bot went mad, saying that I had copied content from a website. This is true because the article is about a project, so I looked at the website (among other a few other sources). As English is not my first language I felt unsure about rewriting everything in my own words - it would probably become worse so I just made minor modifications. Now there is this huge disclaimer on the article saying that it's copied. :( What do I do next? SilkeM (talk) 15:25, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

One more thing: The whole topic I wrote about is copyleft stuff. So I don't consider taking fragments from the website a problem... SilkeM (talk) 15:37, 16 November 2012 (UTC)
Hi, Silke. We were all newbies once and creating your first article can be difficult. Read Wikipedia: Your first article. It is better to edit other articles first, and learn how things work.

::What article did you create?— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 19:42, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

I was going to suggest also Wikipedia:Articles for creation/Open Hardware and Design Alliance. You can move it there and work on it with less chance of it being deleted or tagged.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 19:54, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Can I change US City articles still using the Cityname (State) format?

I have found several US cities that still use Cityname (State) format instead of the more common Cityname, State format. I looked at the naming convention guide and didn't find any information about changing one version to another. I have all the spare time in the world to fix these - am I allowed to do it, or do I need to get consensus on each particular city first? Does the naming convention only apply to new articles or could I fix them? Thanks! --Wieldthespade (talk) 10:32, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

Hello Wieldthespade, I think your best best would be to go to the experts at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject United States and post your inquiry there. I'd suggest you provide them with a few specific examples of articles you think may be mis-titled, and see what they have to say there. Also, if you're looking for interesting ways to be productive, and are interested in US topics, that might also be a good place to ask if there are other organisational/procedural issues folks would like someone with an eye for detail to help with. Thanks for your help! MatthewVanitas (talk) 20:24, 15 November 2012 (UTC)
Thanks so much MatthewVanitas. I'll check out that Wikiproject and see what they say. :) --Wieldthespade (talk) 18:30, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

How to add Profile Image?

Hello,

Page Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_talk:Articles_for_creation/Kapil_Srivastava


Please guide me on how to add profile image, the preferred image url options are as follows:

1) http://kapilguitarist.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/state-award-from-education-chief-minister.jpg


2) http://kapilguitarist.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/kk.jpg


3) http://kapilguitarist.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/kk2.jpg

Mrnit (talk) 20:59, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Mrnit, welcome back. Uploading the images isn't difficult but more important is ensuring that permission to upload the images is there. I've looked at all three of the images you have linked to and I don't see any evidence that says they are in the public domain or that express permission for their re-use has been given. If you want to upload any of them it is your responsibility to ensure that the images are in the public domain. Please note that being available in public is not the same as being in the public domain. The copyright on those photos belongs to whoever took them and without their permission you cannot legitimately reuse them and certainly cannot upload them to Wikipedia. If you resolve this issue and are still unsure about how to upload the images, please ask a further question here. NtheP (talk) 22:15, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
Thank you for your response,
These pics are of him as the permission of using it is with me. If Wiki wants I can show a written permission of using one of the pic or if they don't need it then for any relative concern in future. They can ask me.
Now, if there is any alternative to it? It is fine else I can skip this step as of now and if it can be done, i would look forward on how to upload it.
RegardsMrnit (talk) 18:37, 16 November 2012 (UTC)
If you have permission to use the images then you do need to send that evidence to permissions wikimedia.org when you upload the image. NtheP (talk) 19:32, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Is editing an anonymous or untrackable activity?

Hello!

If, suppose, I am able to truly contribute to articles, is there anyway for others to verify that? In other words, I would like to break into science writing and I wonder if I can walk into an interview and report with credibility my extracurricular contributions.

Just curious. Thank you!

75.180.61.54 (talk) 01:19, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

  • Hello Just Curious! Welcome to the Teahouse! What you report on resumes is largely taken on your word, especially extracurricular activities like editing Wikipedia. I'm not sure that your specific contributions would matter, but the fact that you are active at Wikipedia would be a fine addition to many resumes. If you want your activities on Wikipedia to be attributable to you, the best way to do that is to create an account. There are many benefits to creating an account; it isn't required, but one benefit is that all of your contributions to Wikipedia are assigned to the same username, rather than whatever IP has been assigned to whatever computer you are using that day. Does that answer your question? --Jayron32 01:23, 18 November 2012 (UTC)
Yes, I think so! Ok, so, there might not be a title or badge (unless you get to quite high levels like admin or having more permissions)--- so I wouldn't be able to say something like "I'm a level 2 contributor" or something :) but I could have my stats/activity tracked in my account and frame that, as appropriate, on my own?

thank you very very much Jayron 75.180.61.54 (talk) 01:32, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

    • Yes, if you create an account, all of your contributions are tracked. For example, mine are here. --Jayron32 02:25, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

How Can I delete image page I created.

I upload a photo and unintentionally delete the licensing section, I have now reload the photo with the correct licensing. How can I delete the old image page, and also is there a waiting period befor you can ues you uploaded image on Wiki articles, or dose someone have to approve to image first. Townboxbell (talk) 13:55, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Hello Townboxbell. Welcome to the teahouse. If you are the only editor for that page you can request a speedy deletion by opening the page with the edit button and adding {{db-author}} at the top. There is no waiting period for using an image although it will still be deleted if not correctly licenced.--Charles (talk) 14:02, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
Townboxbell, you didn't need to upload the image again. You could just have re-added the licencing information to the first upload. NtheP (talk) 16:41, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

About teahouse

What is the teahouse?pratyya (talk) 07:00, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Welcome to the teahouse. The teahouse is a place where volunteers help out new editors. If you have any questions about editing Wikipedia, feel free to ask them here! Cheers,--xanchester (t) 08:22, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
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