Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 April 24

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April 24

Deleting personal monobook

Resolved

How do I get my monobook.css and monobook.js deleted? {{db-user}} doesn't work! — Jack (talk) 00:53, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Contacting user. Malinaccier (talk) 00:55, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

He's right, though, it doesn't always. If the pages don't show up in CAT:CSD, asking at the administrator's noticeboard is the easiest way. (I've had to do this before.) Alternatively, you could replace the pages with /* */ which prevents them doing anything. --ais523 16:43, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Email/sign in

Dear Sir or Madam,

My name is Jesseca Harvey and I am inquiring about getting signed into wikipedia. I know my user name and password. I have it written down right beside me as of a matter of fact. And have it memorized as well. I would like know if my user id has expired or what...because I need to get in and print out my page that I wrote. So if you could get to the bottom of this as soon as possible that would be lovely because I have this assignment that's due tomorrow. With that in mind, i am most gracious.

Sincerly, Jesseca Harvey —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.68.62.239 (talk) 04:00, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

If you can't log into Wikipedia with your username and password, and clicking the button to email you a new password does not reach your email address, then your account will remain permanently inaccessible, and there's nothing we can do about that. But if you at least know what the username was, you can find a list of contributions it made by typiing into the search bar Special:Contributions/USERNAME (of course, with USERNAME replaced with your username). I can also tell you there is no user whose username is "Jesseca Harvey" Someguy1221 (talk) 04:05, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

What exactly do you mean print a page that you wrote? because you don't need to be logged in to view anything. The Dominator^Talk_Edits 04:18, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

locatioin

Where can I find the NKJV of the Bible on your site? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.243.53.41 (talk) 04:25, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Our article on the New King James Version has plenty of information. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 04:29, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

See the external links section for addition info. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 04:30, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Please see our sister project, Wikibooks's full version of the NKJV, at b:Biblical Studies/Christianity/The Bible/KJV.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 04:54, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Help with Wikiseek

Resolved

A while bag I started using Wikiseek [1]. Well it seems they have gone off-line and stopped providing the service. This has left my search bar useless, I cannot use it to search anymore. The problem is I cannot seem to figure out how to get rid of Wikiseek. Could someone help me with this annoying problem please? :-) « Gonzo fan2007 (talk ♦ contribs) 07:01, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Which search bar? Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 07:04, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

The main Wikipedia one located on the left under "Search." « Gonzo fan2007 (talk ♦ contribs) 07:11, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Wait, you installed it as a Firefox extension, right? Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 07:16, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

To tell you the god-honest truth, I dont remember. Let's go with that and see where that leads us :-) « Gonzo fan2007 (talk ♦ contribs) 07:18, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Thank you very, very much, that was it! Thanks again! « Gonzo fan2007 (talk ♦ contribs) 07:19, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Where to best ask? anonblock / schoolblock

The WP:AIV page has the exhortation "The vandal must be active now, ...". And the WP:AN page says "To report persistent vandalism, see administrator intervention against vandalism." So... where do the persistent school/anon IP's get mentioned, that haven't edited in the last N hours, but whose charming "Space fight" graffiti get overlooked?

My example is 64.5.147.101. Fresh off a 6-month block (and 3 month and 1 month blocks before that), and starting within 5 days of the end of that block, all of the last 24 edits but 2 have been vandalism (or self-reverts of same). Checking the latest edits and pages edited makes it clear it it is a school or school-associated library in Eastern Virginia.

So where does one go with what clearly isn't high or immediate priority, but shouldn't wait until the latest person reverting just happens to be an admin? Shenme (talk) 08:08, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

File an abuse report at WP:ABUSE. The project isn't that active, though. In the meantime, report it at AIV every time it starts vandalizing and amasses 4 warnings. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 08:15, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

A public IP address that has been blocked multiple times and is just coming off a long-term block doesn't need four more warnings. One should suffice. If they continue after the one warning, then report it to [[WP:AIV with an explanation of the vandalism history. Corvus cornix_talk 20:29, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Illustration

I'm new . . . . how do add an illustration to an enrty. I have an illustration on my PC in "My Pictures" how do I get it from there to the article? Visqueen —Preceding unsigned comment added by Visqueen (talk • contribs) 09:58, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

• If you want to upload an image from your computer for use in an article, you must determine the proper license of the image (or whether it is in the public domain). If you know the image is public domain or copyrighted but under a suitable free-license, upload it to the Wikimedia Commons instead of here, so that all projects have access to the image (sign up). If you are unsure of the licensing status, see the file upload wizard for more information. Please also read Wikipedia's image use policy.
• If you want to add an image that has already been uploaded to Wikipedia or Wikimedia Commons, add [[File:File name.jpg|thumb|Caption text]] to the area of the article where you want the image to appear – replacing File name.jpg with the actual file name of the image, and Caption text with a short description of the image. See our picture tutorial for more information. I hope this helps. Xenon54 10:39, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Please sign your post by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box (as shown to the left ←). Do NOT sign in articles....... Dendodge.Talk^Help 14:44, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Joining

How do I join this website? The top link to 'create a new account' leads to 2 empty boxes for user name and password. I fill these in with a proposed password and it doesn't accept my entries, saying that my user name is not recognised. Of course it isn't because I havn't joined yet! <e-mail removed> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.154.155.214 (talk) 10:28, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Above the two boxes is a link to create an account. Xenon54 10:38, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Please sign your post by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box (as shown to the left ←). Do NOT sign in articles....... Dendodge.Talk^Help 14:43, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

How to colour a page?

I wanted to add a background colour to the whole of my user page. But I don't know how. Help me. Σαι ( Talk) 11:08, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Write <div style="background-color:red"> at the start of your user page and </div> at the end. (You'll probably want to choose a colour other than red, which I'm using as an example here.) Hope that helps! --ais523 16:41, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. How about to colour all of the text in it? Σαι ( Talk) 02:26, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

69.145.123.171

What happened to him? His last edit was made last year. Did he register for an account or did he disappear? Just curious about it. Chenzw (talk · contribs) 11:35, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

There's no way to know. You could try posting a message on the IP's talk page, but there's no guarantee it would get to the person who was using that IP address to edit. Powers ^T 13:45, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

He's here, but he left Wikipedia. Sorry. weburiedoursecretsinthegarden 20:46, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Template problems (conditionals?)

There are problems with using the family of templates at Template:ME-ref. Could someone help? Click forward through this page history from this point. Carcharoth (talk) 11:36, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Humm, I tried making it subst like it wanted, and it nowikied the ref... strange. How do they work on other pages, are they affected? -mattbuck (Talk) 12:02, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Check here for other pages that use ME-ref. Carcharoth (talk) 12:14, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Change from cite to ref and it appears to work now. -mattbuck (Talk) 16:35, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! That was embarassingly simple. :-) Carcharoth (talk) 22:03, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

"What links here" out of date -- purging cache doesn't work

The "What links here" list for the redirect MotoCoaster includes articles that transclude the template Template:Darien Lake Theme Park Resort Coasters. That template was edited a couple of days ago to change the link from MotoCoaster to Orange County Choppers MotoCoaster. The articles that transclude that template (such as The Mind Eraser and Boomerang: Coast to Coaster) are on the "what links here" list for MotoCoaster but not on the list for Orange County Choppers MotoCoaster. I've tried purging the cache on the template and on the redirect, but the lists are still out of date. Is this normal? How long does it take for the lists to be updated? Powers ^T 13:44, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Updating What links here is a "low priority" job for the servers so it will update when the server has time. This can take anything from a couple of hours to a couple of days depending on the Job Queue length. The servers are "very" busy at the moment so it might take a while. Don't worry, it will update eventually. Woody (talk) 14:30, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

This doesn't seem to be urgent, but if you ever need this done immediately, a null edit to the linking page causes 'what links here' to update immediately. Algebraist 15:02, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

QUESTION!

I was looking information about Leonidas Trujillo, Ex-President of Dominican Republic and I found that you classified him as a DICTATOR, because he was in power for 31 years,that correct! BUT I look for Fidel Castro Ruz and Wikipedia refers to him as a President, INCREDIBLE! Fidel Castro Ruz is in POWER for 48 years, HE IS A REAL DICTATOR! AND MORE HE IS A KILLER, REPRESIVE TIRAN AND ANTI-FREE AND DEMOCRACY, sorry but I don't trust in WIKIPEDIA ANY MORE! I'm so sorry about the investigator or investigators who look for this information, they are totally wrong, as a Cuban exiled thanks Fidel Castro I can tell the true about his totalitarian regimen,about the repression against people who love freedom and democracy, about the human right violations, about non free of speech, etc.... so I don't TRUST ANYMORE in Wikipedia, you are not well informed. Jose C. Barja —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.233.218.161 (talk) 14:26, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Please sign your post by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box (as shown to the left ←). Do NOT sign in articles. Wikipedia must be written from a neutral point of view...... Dendodge.Talk^Help 14:42, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

I would suggest you bring it up at in the relevant talk pages for Rafael Trujillo and Fidel Castro then. Issues such as this can be controversial, so it is important to discuss it civilly - the tone of your post does not come over particularly well, no matter how civil you are trying to be. I would suggest that before you do discuss it with the other editors, please can I ask you to have a read the policies and guidelines on civility, ettiquette, and because of your strong opinion on the topic, neutral point of view. StephenBuxton (talk) 16:49, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Adding external link

I am trying to add an external link to pages for special needs, special education and developmental disability. The link, www.specialneedsneighborhood.com, involves a website which contains great resource material for parents/caregivers of children with special needs. I do not understand why this link is being blocked. Please explain how this link is irrelevant.--Kwq318 (talk) 14:31, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Normally, it is better to take this up on the article discussion page or discuss it with the editor who removed your addition. In this case, it was I who removed that link and some other material from special needs. The question is, how does it expand on the content of the article? Your link is a list of links in Austin, TX. If every city or county in the U.S. alone added their link, then the article would be little more than a list of links, thus degrading its value as an article. The applicable guideline here is Wikipedia is not a mirror or a repository of links. On the other hand, the Open Directory Project is a directory of links. As soon as I find the proper link into their site, I will add it to the article. You can then follow that link and suggest that the ODP add those links. As I understand their policies, they will not link to a page of links, but directly to the linked pages. Please let me know if we can help further. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 15:01, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

I add an Open Directory link to special needs. Please follow that and use the suggestion link at the bottom of the page to suggest links. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 16:11, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Contesting a ruling

Hi, I have received an article ban which I find completely unfounded (ruling admin assumes another motive than is provided by my edit summary and has failed to discuss this first). How can I contest this ruling? Guido den Broeder (talk) 14:49, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Contact that Admin or contact another. Which article? SimpsonsFan08 (talk) 14:59, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Vereniging Basisinkomen. The article is in less than adequate shape since it was completely rewritten. Guido den Broeder (talk) 15:07, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Could you, in depth, explain this. Sorry. SimpsonsFan08 (talk) 15:13, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Please see Appeals process. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 15:15, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

I would edit this (but I shouldn't) and I think a higher authority should be contacted. (E.G. an admin). A one of the top of my head is Andrevan. SimpsonsFan08 (talk) 15:19, 24 April 2008 (UTC) Answer Updated:SimpsonsFan08 (talk) 15:28, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks.

@SimpsonsFan08: The ban was given because I removed the COI tag, which I did because the user who completely rewrote the article does not have a COI (but could not remove the tag himself). I.e., I acted in good faith, but the ruling admin apparently believes otherwise. Guido den Broeder (talk) 15:31, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Please see WP:COI/N#Guido den Broeder vs. others for the discussion leading to this. -- Kesh (talk) 15:43, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Note that I was not informed that at the end of this dead discussion suddenly this tag was mentioned. As I understand it, this means that I cannot file an appeal, since there has been no process of dispute resolution. Guido den Broeder (talk) 15:48, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

There was a discussion that you participated in, you were banned and you were notified on your talk page. If you wish to appeal the ban, then use the appeals process. This is not the forum for continued discussion of this subject. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 15:58, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

I am not banned on a daily basis, so forgive me for coming here and asking about the procedure. I still don't know what it is. Guido den Broeder (talk) 16:17, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

No- it looks like you were banned only from the one article. Please see Wikipedia:Banning policy#Appeals process. I recommend you review the entire page so that you understand the process of banning and appeals. We will be glad to answer questions about the process, but this is not the place to discuss why you were banned or any of the related discussion. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 16:29, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, I have filed accordingly. [2] Guido den Broeder (talk) 18:13, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Is getting declined though. Redirected to dispute resolution... Guido den Broeder (talk) 19:36, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

I'm not so sure the ArbCom appeals process applies to article/topic bans; "community ban" generally refers to a site ban. But that's probably moot here anyway, since ArbCom routinely declines requests where WP:DR has not been attempted (or exhausted). Avb 23:21, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

How to best follow up on discussions

Hi

I've been trying to follow up on some Wikipedia discussions at the Village Pump and other high traffic pages. I was wondering if any experienced wikipedians could give me tips on how to best follow up on discussions in those pages. The Mediawiki software doesn't have the features of a bulletin board program which allows to keep track on fast flowing discussion. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Almogo (talk • contribs) 16:23, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

You can add the page to your watchlist, but in my opinion the best way is just to check the page manually every once in a while. Hope this helps, Malinaccier Public (talk) 16:26, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

The inability to monitor individual discussions on a talk page is a perennial issue. There have been a number of discussions on it, but nothing has resulted as yet. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 16:32, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Please sign your post by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box (as shown to the left ←). Do NOT sign in articles....... Dendodge.Talk^Help 16:52, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

I just check back more often if the discussion is particularly fast flowing. Astronaut (talk) 22:22, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Monobook.js not functioning

Resolved

Nothing in my monobook.js is working. All my extra tabs (Twinkle and Friendly) have gone, as have Lupin's AVT and all my interface config etc. I've reverted to before I last imported a script and it's still not fixed. I've purged twice and refreshed about 30 times. What's happened? Thanks in advance...... Dendodge.Talk^Help 17:08, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Try blanking your .js, then purge. Disable all gadgets, then purge. Enable Twinkle and Friendly through gadgets and purge. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 17:16, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Fixed! Thanks! ...... Dendodge.Talk^Help 17:45, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Citation Question

What is the appropriate way to cite a television news story or documentary? --Jeremy ( Blah blah...) 17:30, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

I personally can't help, but check out WP:CITESimpsonsFan08 (talk) 17:59, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

{{cite episode}} might be what you're looking for. ...... Dendodge.Talk^Help 18:02, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Also, check WP:Citation templates. Probably the best one would be {{cite news}} or {{cite video}}. PeterSymonds | talk 18:04, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, they seem better to me...... Dendodge.Talk^Help 18:17, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

care centre

There is a single lady, working in your organization, and she has requested for the day care centre for her child at the workplace. As an HR manager what will be your response? 􀂾 If you accept her request, then why and how will you manage it? 􀂾 If NO, then what other different measures you will take? Justify your decision. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.125.143.66 (talk) 19:16, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Miscellaneous reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps.

Please sign your post by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box (as shown to the left ←). Do NOT sign in articles....... Dendodge.Talk^Help 19:29, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Playing Wickipedia selection (Beethoven Sonata Op 111) on quick Time

Your message read"you're missing the Xiph QT component of Quick Time. I have Windows 98, and it's not supported by some programs any more. What can I use to play my favorite Beethoven Sonata from Wickipedia. Thanks for the help. Judy <email address removed> 19:26, 24 April 2008 (UTC)208.103.138.92 (talk)

This is for using Wikipedia (not Wickipedia). See the reference desk for more details. And also, please don't leave your email address. I've removed it but, it still will be visible. SimpsonsFan08 (talk) 19:41, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Computing reference desk. They specialize in answering computer questions and will try to answer any question in the universe except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 20:01, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Article hits across the last month

Resolved

Recently, I came across a link somewhere in Wikipedia where you could type in an article name and find daily hits for the last month. This was a page designed by a Wikimedia user, not Alexa or anything like that. Anybody know where I can find this? Thanks, Fbv65edel — t — c // 19:44, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

http://stats.grok.se/ PrimeHunter (talk) 19:52, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

One way to find this item is to search the Help desk archive for: "hit counter" which leads to Wikipedia:Technical FAQ#Can I add a page hit counter to a Wikipedia page? which gives the link to that site. --Teratornis (talk) 19:56, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Font

Resolved

How can I change the font to something I can read? I have to study each word and it is so slow to read that I have almost stopped using it —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.38.236.2 (talk) 21:32, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

<font color="#0000FF">TEXT</font> would produce TEXT. Just replace 0000FF with the hex color code. It is not suggested you use this in articles. SimpsonsFan08 ^talk 21:38, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

If you just want to enlarge the text that you see in your Web browser, try pressing Ctrl + (that works in Mozilla Firefox and possibly some other browsers). See Wikipedia:Skin for information about changing how Wikipedia appears to you (but you will have to create an account if you want to change your default skin). --Teratornis (talk) 22:02, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

I should specify that there is a difference between (a) changing the font that everybody sees, vs. (b) changing the font that you see. Normally on Wikipedia we do not mess with the former much, but there are lots of ways to do the latter. --Teratornis (talk) 22:07, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Why does my watch list not work

I have 'watch edited pages' on yet nothing's ever shown up in my watchlist. Who ordered 137? (talk) 22:13, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Go to your Watchlist and click on "View and Edit Washlist" at the top. Do you have anything listed? -- Kesh (talk) 22:50, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, it lists all the pages, but it always says 'None of your watches items was edited in the time period displayed' no matter what I click on. Who ordered 137? (talk) 22:59, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Try adding this page. It should show up. :) Guido den Broeder (talk) 23:03, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

At Special:Preferences, the Watchlist tab, what does it say at "Days to show in watchlist:", does "Expand watchlist to show all applicable changes" have a check mark, and what does it say at "Maximum number of changes to show in expanded watchlist:" ? PrimeHunter (talk) 23:14, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

7, yes, and nothing. I also refresh these preferences and nothing changed. Who ordered 137? (talk) 23:40, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Have you tried a WP:PURGE? -- Kesh (talk) 23:41, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Nothing at "Maximum number of changes to show in expanded watchlist:" sounds wrong. Try writing a number, for example 250, and click Save. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:47, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Yes, it's working now. Why do you have to change an obscure preference to get the watchlist working? Who ordered 137? (talk) 11:16, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

I think it's supposed to have a default value. Maybe it was accidentally deleted and then interpreted as 0 (meaning 0 changes shown in the watchlist). PrimeHunter (talk) 11:39, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

ES Pictures

I have found a picture located on the Spanish Wikipedia that I would like to use on the article I created here on the English Wikipedia. Is there a way to link to this? --I Write Stuff (talk) 23:22, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

It would have to be re-uploaded to the english Wikipedia, or transwiki'd to commons if it's a free image. Someguy1221 (talk) 23:24, 24 April 2008 (UTC)