Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2014 March 18

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March 18

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User page accidentally in mainspace

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I have made a 'user page' and wonder how it becomes a regular article within the Encyclopedia.

Can you answer this question. I am listed under people from the article entitled Woodville, Ohio.

108.89.246.64 (talk) 00:31, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You are no longer listed under the People from Woodville, Ohio due to this edit. In general, people should have an article first before being added to these lists. Since there was no article, the link was removed. I do see that there is a user page at User:Ray W. Clarke. This is not the same as having an article in the main space. While you may meet our notability requirements, see WP:BIO, it is generally suggested that people not write about themselves. See WP:AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Dismas|(talk) 05:00, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
If you must write an article about yourself, I suggest using the Wikipedia:Articles for creation process where you will get experienced editors looking over your text and offering advice. The content on the user page would not be an acceptable article. --NeilN talk to me 12:26, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Since this was intended to be an article, your userpage could be potentially be deleted as per WP:FAKEARTICLE. Generally speaking, if you are notable, somebody else will create your article. Jason Quinn (talk) 03:01, 19 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Long loading time

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Why does the login page take more than thirty minutes to load? This is unacceptable. What can I do about it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.178.95.236 (talk) 01:27, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You seem to be the only one experiencing this judging from the fact that you're the only one asking about it. Therefore it is likely something to do with your computer and not Wikipedia itself. Dismas|(talk) 05:04, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
No. The Verizon IP wasn't the only person experiencing this problem. See a discussion of performance problems with Verizon users at WP:VPT that has recently been solved. The complaint was logged somewhat before the problem was solved. Robert McClenon (talk) 03:08, 20 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Can I make my wikipage private?

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Want to keep my work private for the moment as I am working on info and would rather not have it edited.. is this possible? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Darkmale25 (talkcontribs) 03:58, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Hi @Darkmale25: If you don't mind other editors seeing your work, you can create your article on a subpage of yours (such as at User:Darkmale25/Sandbox), and then make a request over at Wikipedia:Requests for page protection to prevent other editors from editing it. People will still be able to see your work, but won't to be able to make any changes to it.
If you don't want anyone to be able to even view your work, unfortunately that's not possible. If you don't want others to see your work, I recommend writing up your article locally (in a Notepad file or something of that sort), and then using the preview function anytime you wish to see how your article will appear live. Hope this helps! ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 04:48, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
That said, most editors will not go looking for sandbox articles. And even if they happen upon it, they generally don't edit in someone else's sandbox without that person's permission. If you want, you can go the requesting protection route but, in my opinion, that's overkill. A notice at the top of the page politely asking other editors not to edit the sandbox article should be enough. Dismas|(talk) 04:55, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
This is all assuming that you are creating an article which will eventually be moved to mainspace and edited by others. Even in user space, the content should be (1) material used in article development or (2) material related to Wikipedia activities. You should see some of the stuff that people add to Wikipedia that they don't want others to edit - score sheets for fantasy football games, love notes to their girlfriends, resumées, short stories, recipes, tirades about their bosses, copies of company web sites, etc., etc.! —Anne Delong (talk) 05:12, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Are they supposed to do that? Is it frowned upon but look the other way stuff, or against policy and report if found stuff when editors use space for fantasy leagues and resumes? I found one who makes fantasy league stuff right on their User: page... not on talk or sandboxes. Fyunck(click) (talk) 06:10, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
That kind of stuff should go to WP:MFD. Also, I thought page protection couldn't be limited to an individual user... *searches* - Purplewowies (talk) 06:21, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Users can request protection for any of their own pages/subpages, excluding their talk page :) ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 06:27, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Instructions on dealing with such pages are at
Wikipedia:User pages --> Ownership and editing of user pages --> Handling inappropriate content --> On others' user pages.
If it is a subpage, speedy deletion or miscellany for deletion may apply. --Guy Macon (talk) 06:33, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Users have no extra rights for protected pages in their userspace. If a page is fully protected then that user will also be unable to edit it (assuming it isn't an administrator). If it's semi-protected then all autoconfirmed users can edit it. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:06, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Derp, I misunderstood the question. Thanks for the clarification. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 12:08, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

unable to open mega file

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when I click on a mega file, it lead me to the MEGA icon but nothing happens after that....what's the problem — Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.255.2.230 (talk) 08:20, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 6 million articles and thought we were affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 08:33, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Ovo Energy

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The Ovo Energy page has an out of date logo and have left a message suggesting the logo be changed. Is this something that can be looked at?

Ovo Energy — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mbrien12 (talkcontribs) 10:20, 18 March 2014‎ (UTC)[reply]

I have moved your question to the foot of the page, as that's where new topics go. I have also added a section heading, & changed the URL in your question to a wikilink. --David Biddulph (talk) 11:35, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
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Looking for a four letter word and do not know the third letter how do I indicate a gap? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.32.199.176 (talk) 10:42, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The Wikipedia search box does not support this. If you using a different site, you'll need to look at that site's help pages; for example, at www.crosswordsolver.org you indicate a gap by leaving a box empty. -- John of Reading (talk) 10:55, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I need help with the article "Erika Eichhorn Bourguignon." Someone attached a tag at the top of the article saying it was an orphan since no other articles link to it. I did, therefore, link it to two other articles, "altered states of consciousness" and "Felicitas Goodman." I believe that the note about lack of linkages should therefore be removed.

Also, someone tagged the article for not being reviewed. If someone could review it, that would be great. Actually, it was reviewed and approved by an appropriate Wikipedia person several weeks ago -- before I removed it so that Erika Bourguignon could look it over before I uploaded it again.

Thanks!

Athana (talk) 12:09, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, Athana. If you believe that one of the maintenance tags at the top of a page is no longer appropriate, you may remove it. Be sure to leave an edit summary explaining why you think this is the right thing to do. As you say, it is no longer an orphan, but the reliance on primary sources remains an issue: it needs references to sources unconnected with Bourguignon. If you are in contact with Bourguignon, please be sure you understand Wikipedia's policies on conflict of interest. --ColinFine (talk) 13:25, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Log in

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I am having trouble with the log in, It said there was no account,, when I tried to open a new account it said there was already an account with the same name, Kinda of a catch 22 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Meadow Museum (talkcontribs) 13:09, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You appear to already be signed in fine! Samwalton9 (talk) 13:10, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Removing tags from the article re: Erika Eichhorn Bourguignon

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I need help with the article "Erika Eichhorn Bourguignon." Someone attached a tag at the top of the article saying it was an orphan since no other articles link to it. I did, therefore, link it to two other articles, "altered states of consciousness" and "Felicitas Goodman." I believe that the note about lack of linkages should therefore be removed.

Also, someone tagged the article for not being reviewed. If someone could review it, that would be great. Actually, it was reviewed and approved by an appropriate Wikipedia person several weeks ago -- before I removed it so that Erika Bourguignon could look it over before I uploaded it again.

Thanks!

Athana (talk) 13:29, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

See the section #Erika Eichhorn Bourguignon above. --David Biddulph (talk) 13:34, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Footnotes

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There are two footnotes, [a] and [b], referenced in the third and fourth columns of the leftmost table HERE. I want to have the same things repeated in the same places in the rightmost table. If the form of the footnote indicators — [a] and [b] — needs to be changed to accomplish this, I'd prefer that the new form is something that doesn't make the columns wider. For example, [Note A] wouldn't be too good. Feel free to change the page yourself; I have other pages to do this on, and I can follow your example there. Right now, it's beyond my capability. Lou Sander (talk) 13:59, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It can be done with {{efn|name=...}} as in [1]. It may be a little confusing that note a and note b each have backlinks to occurrences linked on "a" and "b". You could consider another {{efn}} group name than the default lower-alpha. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:57, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Perfect! Thanks! Lou Sander (talk) 15:19, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Maggie Thrett

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Maggie Thrett (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Maggie Thrett.. aka..Diane Pine.. did not have three children .. she was their step mother... after leaving Hollywood, she went on to work at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, NY part of the North Shore LIJ Health System.. she recently retired from her position there after almost 30 years, she was a Telephone Operator... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.108.131.168 (talk) 16:24, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Do you have reliable sources for these changes you want made?— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:22, 21 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Referencing video games as sources to themselves

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I think video games should be allowed as a source onto themselves; rather than having to use their instruction manuals simply because they have page numbers. The freedom of video games is difficult for citation as even units of time that could be used for citing a film are meaningless when progression is based on the players actions. Most video games take longer to play than even multiple comic book story arcs; so pinpointing when or where something occurs in the game is incredibly difficult for a referencing system designed mostly for written material. If this is something for the village pump please let me know. CensoredScribe (talk) 16:53, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

This is the Wikipedia help desk - it is intended solely to answer questions relating to the use or editing of Wikipedia. You don't appear to be asking a question. AndyTheGrump (talk) 17:10, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Video games is probably the place you want. Or maybe Wikipedia talk:Identifying reliable sources. InedibleHulk (talk) 17:53, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Reference help requested. I caused this error as I was trying to enter information. I am unsure how to correct it or add the info I was attempting to insert. This is my first attempt at adding info to Wikipedia and I failed miserably. I still want to add additional info. Any suggestions on how to proceed. Thanks, WWW3ii (talk) 17:51, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

every "open" needs to be "closed" and there was a missing "close". I just guessed where to place it, so that it includes as the "note" the list of 10 things. If that was not what you intended, feel free to move the close. see Help:Referencing for beginners

Unwanted user page subpages

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I've created several subpages to my user page. They have served as sandboxes, but they aren't named as sandboxes. They have now served their purpose. Can I get rid of them, and if so, how? Lou Sander (talk) 18:33, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You'll want to look at CSD U1. Samwalton9 (talk) 18:35, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  Done Thanks! Lou Sander (talk) 13:39, 19 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Adding a Photo

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I am working on the page for Kon Trubkovich (Kon Trubkovich) . I have received permission from the artist and representing gallery to publish a photo of his work. It was recently removed because it lacked the proper copyright licensing information. Please tell me what that is and how I go about obtaining that info. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Intern.mbg (talkcontribs) 19:44, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

See donating copyrighted materials. Keep in mind that the artist must be willing to release the work under a free license for this purpose. Otherwise, it may still be included on Wikipedia, but it will have to follow certain policies. Anon126 (talk - contribs) 21:05, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Remove redirect

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How do I remove the redirect of my sandbox to the article Chaz Guest? — Preceding unsigned comment added by AEN2013 (talkcontribs) 20:26, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

From your sandbox, hit the edit button, and blank it or change it as you wish. --David Biddulph (talk) 20:34, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
For another time, see Help:Redirect#Creating and editing redirects for how to get to a redirect. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:58, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
you can either just keep reusing it, or you can request a speedy delete Wikipedia:SPEEDY#G7._Author_requests_deletion. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 20:59, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Tim Medvetz

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add Tim Medvetz — Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.8.52.2 (talk) 20:31, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

We volunteers at the Help desk answer questions related to using or editing Wikipedia; we do not obey commands from random people. If your intent is to request that an article be created, that can be done at WP: Requested articles or you can do it yourself at WP: Articles for creation. 71.20.250.51 (talk) 20:55, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

status of a submission

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I submitted an entry a while ago for the dancer and choreographer Eryc Taylor. Is there a way to find out the status of that entry? Will I be notified?Edmo49 (talk) 21:21, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You can go to the bottom of Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Eryc Taylor and find a notice that reads "Review waiting". Once it is reviewed, you should receive a notice on your talk page. Anon126 (talk - contribs) 21:28, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]