Wikipedia:New contributors' help page/Archive/Apr 2007

Adding my link edit

Hi, I have a website on football player websites. I edited some player pages and added my website to it. I am not commercial, and operating on my own! For each player i have a link to a wiki site, if there is one in English for that player. Please let me know if you allow me to continue or not?

Can you tell us the URL?82.153.73.133 22:11, 2 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

  • Whether you're commercial is irrelevant. Non-commercial links can still be spam. Please read WP:EL and WP:SPAM and discuss things before adding any links. If other editors find your site useful, your links will stay, otherwise they don't. - Mgm|(talk) 08:37, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, my URL = Bestplayersdirectory.com

how to display images from some other static url... edit

Anugrah atreya 12:53, 2 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The only images that you can use on Wikipedia are those uploaded to Wikipedia itself and those available on the Wikimedia Commons, so you can't display offsite images here. --ais523 14:52, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Template:Fact question edit

Hi...I am new to Wikipedia and made a few mistakes, but am learning fast. I tried to tag a contributor's text which needed a citation and so I typed bracketbracketfactbracketbracket but what I got was "Template:Fact" instead of the usual "citation needed" link. The text I was editing was in the "Summary" section of an image page. Is there something else that can be done to get the fact template to work on that page? The image is the topmost wikimedia commons image on the page for leprosy. The fact template works on other image pages, why doesn't it work for this one? Image:Leprosy.jpg Thanks Cabinet of Art and Medicine 19:59, 2 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Templates are called using curly brackets rather than square ones. - Mgm|(talk) 08:27, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I did use the curly brackets like this: [citation needed]......but it is not working on that page!!!!Maybe it is protected somehow? Here is the link again:
 
Cabinet of Art and Medicine 14:32, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The image in question is on Wikimedia Commons, which is a separate wiki from Wikipedia. Wikimedia Commons doesn't have a template named {{fact}}, so that's why it's not working.
FYI, if you need to display something like the {{fact}} template without it being interpreted by the wiki software, you can surround it with <nowiki> tags, like this:
<nowiki>{{fact}}</nowiki>
or you can just type {{tl|fact}}, which will look like this: {{fact}}. Hope that helps. —PurpleRAIN 16:35, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Cool! I used :
<nowiki>[citation needed]</nowiki>
Thankyou —Cabinet of Art and Medicine 22:15, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Clear Page History edit

Is there a way to clear history for a page?

Short answer is no, I don't think it is possible under any circumstances (okay, maybe if the page is deleted). As for why, probably to track down vandalism, or for legal reasons or something like that. --LuigiManiac 03:14, 3 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • Administrators can perform deletions and bureaucrats can remove an edit so even admins can't see it, but unless an article meets the criteria in the Wikipedia:Deletion policy, it can't be deleted and only deleting the history while keeping the article violates various legal rules. - Mgm|(talk) 08:25, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Help trying to show notability of article edit

I'm interested in an article that has got the notability tag and I'm trying to improve it to show it conform to the policy, but I'm a complete newbie and the editors adding the notability tag have not helped in determining if I'm walking in the right direction.

Is possible to get some help here?

Article in question is I Ain't Been Shot, Mum!, and you may look at the Talk page to see what I've been trying to do.

Thanks in advance,

(If this is not the place to ask this question, just let me know)

Jack1968ES 16:05, 3 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

replacing images/deleting images. edit

Hi I i;m new to this and I was editng some images for a page and uploed incorect bversions by acident, is there a way I can replace the old images? I tried re uploading with the same name it it gives me an error telling me I need to change the file name. Any help. Thanks. 23:31, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

If you go to the image page, there should be a link to "Upload a new version of this image." thesublime514 (Talk) 01:41, 5 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Nila Banton Smith edit

Nila Banton Smith (1889-1976) wrote a doctoral dissertation at Columbia University titled "An Historical Analysis of American Reading Instruction." In 1934 it was published by Silver Burdett as Italic textAmerican Reading Instruction.Italic text The book is still in print. A special edition was issued in 2002 by the International Reading Association. This book is a key source for those who specialize in the teaching of reading in the U.S.

  • What is your question? Do you want an article about Miss Smith or do you want to know how to find the book? - Mgm|(talk) 12:02, 5 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Delete edit

Dear Wikipedia,

How can I delete an entire page, as in, get rid of all existence of a page? There is a disambiguation page for the search topic "Thousand Oaks" but it contains only two possible search results and one of them does not have an existing page. I constantly view and edit the other existing page, and I would like being able to directly go to the page instead of the useless disambiguation. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Simdictator (talkcontribs).

Yes, you are right. I have restored the disambiguation for now, please read the following explanation and decide what to do with the page.
Disambiguations exist because there is a need to disambiguate a meaning. When there is only one article, you can either move the existing article to the disambiguation page, or redirect the disambiguation page to the existing article. Since the disambiguation page has a "history" (the page got some edits before), you cannot move it, so you will have to request a move at Wikipedia:Requested moves. See the instructions there and follow them in order to request a move.
The second is to create a redirect to the existing meaning. You do this by blanking the page, and adding the text #REDIRECT [[Thousand Oaks, California]] (don't put the nowiki's!). You can check Thousand Oaks, CA to see how it is done. This way, anytime someone types "Thousands Oaks" he will reach to the article.
Finally, a disambiguation page with only one article linked qualifies for speedy deletion. You can tag it with {{db-g6}}. After the article is deleted, if the administrator did not do that, you can either move the article from Thousand Oaks, California to there, or create a redirect again. -- ReyBrujo 05:42, 5 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The more specific tag would be {{db-disambig}} --ais523 11:12, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
  • Since it was such an obvious speedy delete, I've deleted the disambiguation and redirected it to Thousand Oaks, California. (By the way, if you constantly edited the other page, you could've avoided the disambiguation by typing the correct full title to begin with...) - Mgm|(talk) 12:01, 5 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Entry for "Koo" edit

I have a new topic definition for Koo. There is presently a definition for Kōō, with the symbols over the o's. That definition uses Koo, without symbols, as a redirect. The authors of Kōō decided long ago, based on their history log, that they were moving from Koo to Kōō

So, I want a Koo page, no symbols, but still let the Kōō definition either redirect from it or add to my page, because I don't really think people actually enter in Kōō and don't want to ruin their redirect.

What is the proper thing to do? No username yet 71.227.92.241 16:37, 6 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Go to WP:AFC and cross your fingers.danielfolsom ©
I created that redirect. My suggestion is to make Koo into a disambiguation page. Create your Koo article with some kind of suffix that is appropriate like Koo (suffix). Then, edit the newly created disambiguation page Koo and put links to your new Koo article and also the Kōō article. Then, put the {{Otheruses}} template on each of the Koo articles pointing it to the disambiguation page Koo. This way readers going to Koo will conveniently get a list of possible articles to choose from while maintaining usability. Bendono 04:48, 11 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How do I edit the bullets in a hyper link?? edit

I am probably nust missing something, but I just can't figure it out. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ziggyfirst (talkcontribs).

To create a bullet, you usually use the * at the beginning of the line, like:
Is that what you need? -- ReyBrujo 18:30, 6 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Horizontal edit

Is there such a thing as a horizontal toc? I've looked a lot of places now - and I can't seem to find one, but I figure if anyone knew you guys would. One problem is I can't do this like a css type of thing - any user that comes has to see it horizontally. I was hoping for something like this (with less space in between words):

Table of Contents
Welcome to Wikipedia! Great Job on your First edit! Can I have your Opinion Your first barnstar
You have been elected to an admin position You have been elected to the Jimbo position WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? WE'RE RUINED! Thanks to you I won't ever let people edit MY wiki again - Jimbo

Thanks for any help! (PS - this page NEEDS to be archived)—Preceding unsigned comment added by Danielfolsom (talkcontribs)

WOHO! THERE IS!
<div class="horizontal">
__TOC__
</div>

danielfolsom ©

Redirect username edit

Let's say I wanted to have a redirect for my name such as, for example: "Mr. Matte" How would I go about doing that? Mr. Matté 04:07, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you mean in your signature thango to "my prefrences" (next your watchlist), check "raw signatures," and insert Mr. Matte. Then click "save." Note that this will only apply to new pages you sign, your old signature will remain as-is. --YbborTalkSurvey! 13:40, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

From what I understand - your talking about redirecting the page, "Mr. Matte" to your username page. You would go to User:Mr. Matte and type "#REDIRECT User:Mr. Matté" and click save.danielfolsom © 14:44, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The second one was the one I was talking about; thanks! Mr. Matté 20:48, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
No problem! danielfolsom ©

Urban Dictionary as a reliable source edit

Can Urban Dictionary be cited? Because I've seen it be used a few times. Christopher Connor 19:14, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I would say generally if not always no - unless it's an article on urban dictionary and they need to cite something about the site. I say this though because Urban dictionary is almost a wiki dictionary - but people try to be funny - and that doesn't sound very encyclopedic. Think about it - would Webster's cite urban dictinoary?danielfolsom © 14:31, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Plagiarized article edit

Hi. I noticed that this article is pretty much copied from the topic's website: Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony.

I'm a new user. I'm not quite sure what to do.

Any advice would be appreciated. Please reply on my talk page.


Sir Pimpernel 19:46, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

English/American Spelling edit

I'm hardly new here, but I was wondering what Wikipedia's official stance is regarding the differing spellings (program- programme, ised- ized, etc.) on articles. 68.55.111.214 23:27, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, and welcome! I'm pretty sure the general consensus depends on the article. Usually the spelling is how the article was originally created- for example, Uluru is in Australian english. For more information, have a look at this page which is the exact guideline on what to do, and can probably explain it better than I can. Remember, the article needs to be consistent in how it's written. Hope that helped you- CattleGirl talk | sign! 02:34, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
That pretty much covers it - but just for some more information. If the topic is related to a British subject we use English spelling, but if it's related to an American subject (say - the Liberty Bell - we use American spelling. If it's not related to either (meaning most of the articles on Wikipedia) - than use the first spelling that was used when the page was created.danielfolsom © 14:34, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Editing question edit

What is ok for me to edit and what is not ok for me to edit? And additionally, is there anything that I should know that is an "unwritten rule" that people generally follow when editing?Trevbork 22:06, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hey Trevbork, first of all, welcome to Wikipedia! You're free to edit almost everything. You are encouraged to be bold. There are a few pages that will be protected from editing (and many of these will become available after you are an active editor for a couple of days) but the vast majority of articles, template, user pages, are all open to edit. There are certain editing guidelines that you can check out here. Happy editing! --Valley2city₪‽ 22:15, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • Since you're new I recommend you don't edit articles on controversial subjects. It's easy to get into rows over those and Wikipedia should be an enjoyable experience. Also, read as much of the policies and guidelines as you can in one go, or look up the ones that become relevant as you go along. - Mgm|(talk) 09:23, 10 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

ABOUT THE WORD POLAPAIN edit

Hi i want to add a page on Polapain which is a Bengali word for teens to add more search variations to it, i want to also add the site tht relates to it. SO can i do that? it says that the page is in speedy delete list thnx Rafin leo 04:23, 9 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No, you can't. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a place to promote your website. Also, this is the English Wikipedia, so all topics are in English. You may want to check out the Bengali Wikipedia if you want to add stuff in Bengali. —PurpleRAIN 19:19, 9 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

analiz ion chlorid edit

comperision analiz anions and kation ?

  • Your question isn't clear. Please rephrase it and post to the science reference desk which is the right place for questions like this. - Mgm|(talk) 09:20, 10 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    • Material titled "The Bunker" has been moved from here to a temporary author's sandbox page. It appears to have been an editting error, mistaking this section for a Sandbox.Pete St.John 18:44, 10 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Radio waves edit

radio waves deal with sound so why are they included in Electromagnetic radiation where all the regions deal with light.59.184.7.17 15:06, 10 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Radio waves are a form of electromagnetic radiation, such as visible light, ultraviolet light (UV) and microwaves amongst others. The only difference between radio waves and other forms of EMR is the wavelength. - Akamad 15:22, 10 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
This astonishes me; that someone could type the phrase "electromagnetic radiation" but not know the difference between radio waves (received by antenna on radio) and sound waves (transmitted by speakers on radio). And then ask about it by browsing to this page, from that one, and editting a section. I'm thinkin a very bright, but very young, kid? Pete St.John 18:26, 10 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

A software- manual to write wiki articles easily edit

I don't know whether I am asking too much but is there a software I can download which makes FORMATTING, EDITING writng 'new' articles easy? Something like Adobe or MS Word? some free sofware...??--59.182.32.178 16:22, 10 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Well, if you use Firefox there's an extension you can get that adds some buttons, but I didn't find it that useful (you would go to tools, extensions, get more extensions, and do a search for "wikipedia"). You could also check out User:MarkS/Extra edit buttons (you would have to create an account). Let me know by leaving me a message on my talk page if you have more questions about this or need anything else. delldot talk 17:23, 10 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

University of Chicago edit

Hi! There is a an image of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, which is copyirghted to University of Chicago. Is there any one here who knows someone studying/working/in contact with University of Chicago? OR Is there any one here who can give me the email address where I may contact? The website lists no email address.--Scheibenzahl 20:34, 10 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'd say this is a question (permission to use a copyrighted item) for the University of Chicago, not for us. Go to their website and look for Press or Public Relations contact information. Pete St.John 22:13, 10 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Well, I apologize. It occurred to me you meant you could not find email contacts at Chicago's site, and indeed, it was not easy to find anything appropriate. I sugggest you send email to one of the addresses given at the Office of Community Affairs and ask them where you should direct your enquiry about requesting use of copyrighted material for a non-profit purpose. Good luck! Pete St.John 22:23, 10 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Well, thanks anyway. (No one replied! Interesting to know people can be professionally rude without being a manager.--Scheibenzahl 17:37, 14 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Replica Spitfire on the site of the old Thornaby Airfield edit

Sirs, towards the end of your pages on the Spitfire aircraft where you state that a replica has been put on show, I have a photograph that I have taken that you could use in your comments, How do I get the picture illustrated on this Wikipedia topic.

First read this page to understand the process, then you cna upload the image from your computer using Special:Upload. Then add the image to the article, following the process here for full details. If you have any further questions, ask on the help desk (responses are quicker there) or on my talk page. Mr.Z-mantalk¢ 18:41, 11 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Also, you would need to create an account to upload any images — Lost(talk) 18:44, 11 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Bio & User Page edit

Are we allowed to create a user page, I used to have a different account butt got a lot of flak on my talk page because I made a bio thing and I got yapped at for it can u please give me a hand, like where do i out it? what can I talk about , etc? Thanks A Bunch —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sandbrgcatholic2728 (talkcontribs)

Please see Wikipedia:Userpage. It details what is appropriate and what is not on a user page. And please sign your comments using 4 tildes — Lost(talk) 18:39, 11 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Archiving pages edit

I just got a suggestion of archiving my talk page and I don't have any idea how to do that. Can someone elaborate? --Majinvegeta 19:30, 12 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You can do it by hand by creating a user talk subpage, like User talk:Majinvegeta/Archive1 and manually cutting-and-pasting old discussions into it, or you can have a bot do it (easier). I recommend MiszaBot III. Follow the directions listed at User:MiszaBot/Archive HowTo for full instructions. If you have any more questions, either ask the bot's owner (about bot archiving) or me on my talk page. Mr.Z-mantalk¢ 19:48, 12 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Who owns this site and how do you get paid? edit

This probably isn't the right place to ask this, but I couldn't find any other place.

Just curious, who owns Wikepedia and how do you get paid?

Thank you. Rickricardito 23:10, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

  • Please see Wikimedia Foundation. Almost everyone here are volunteers. There are just a few exceptions, mostly programmers. The articles are written by volunteers. Johntex\talk 23:25, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Where can you go edit

If you want to be critiqued by other wikipedians? Say I want to know how i'm doing, or if I should change the way I make my edits, pages, etc. where should I go to ask people? Thanks, Erythromycin 20:04, 14 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Editor review. --YbborTalkSurvey! 20:11, 14 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
And for your articles: Requests for feedback and Peer review. Adrian M. H. 21:58, 19 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

inserting pictures edit

How do you insert a picture to an existing article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Esmemist (talkcontribs)

Simply type in: [[Image:<image name here>]]. For example, [[Image:example.svg]] produces  .
Of course, there's more complex syntax to modify how the image is displayed. Wikipedia:Images#Using_images provides more help. +A.0u 09:09, 15 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

new user...HELP!!! edit

how do i insert a table such as this one on the right of the following article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BET. also, how do i create a contents box with the links to click to go directly to the info under the heading i've tried every button above the edit box-someone help please

The table on the page you mention is an infobox, specifically Infobox Network, see that page for info on using it. More infobox templates can be found at Category:Infobox templates. A Table of contents will only appear if a page has 4 or more headings or if you include __TOC__ or __FORCETOC__ in the page. See Help:Section#Table of contents (TOC) for more details. Mr.Z-mantalk¢ 19:31, 15 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Remembering Salvador Cabrera edit

I searched wikapedia to try to find information on the name of an artist named - Salvador Cabrera ... and i get a name of salvador cabrera ?????? ... so i went to search around Google , and come up with the following... and would like to learn how to get it entered??

<removed copyrighted material>

THANKS

  • Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia. We appreciate your contributions, but for legal reasons, we cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or printed material, and as a consequence, your addition will most likely be deleted.

Feel free to re-submit a new version of the article. You may use external websites as a source of information, but not as a source of sentences. This part is crucial: say it in your own words.

If the external website belongs to you, and you want to allow Wikipedia to use the text — which means allowing other people to modify it — then you must include on the external site the statement "I, (name), am the author of this article, (article name), and I release its content under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 and later."

You might want to look at Wikipedia's policies and guidelines for more details, or ask a question here. You can also leave a message on my talk page. To learn about editing Wikipedia, please see Wikipedia:Introduction and Wikipedia:Tutorial. - Mgm|(talk) 11:10, 16 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

uploading pictures edit

i uploaded a picture to place in the infobox, however, only the file extention appears and not the picture itself.how do i make sure that the actual image appears?

  • It looks like you found out how to do it, but you should return to Image:Siz.JPG and address the source and copyright issues. - Mgm|(talk) 11:08, 16 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How does the GNU licence apply to articles? edit

I was just wondering what happens if I write an article for wikipedia and I decide later to publish it, or something very close to it, as part of a book for commercial purposes? Furthermore, can anyone copy any article for any reason? I didn't quite understand the GNU explantation?CindyBo 00:15, 17 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I read it again and if I understand it correctly, the author of the article holds the original copyright and may reuse their material as they like but may never revoke the GNU licence that they gave wikipedia to use it when they created the article here to begin with. Right?CindyBo 07:34, 17 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

  • And they can't claim copyright on edits made by other people. - Mgm|(talk) 10:13, 17 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Speedy Deletion - what did I do wrong? edit

My article about was tagged for speedy deletion. How can I change it to be an acceptable wiki entry? The page was on Wilderness Inquiry and was modeled after wikipedia pages about similar nonprofit organizations like YMCA Camp Menogyn and Outward Bound. How did my entry differ from those? thanks. Wilderness Inquiry 22:01, 17 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

From your description, it sounds like there was a notability problem. Wikipedia articles have to have information that can be verified by reliable sources, and if this organization hasn't been written about by independent sources, the information is impossible to verify and the article gets deleted. You should read WP:ORG for the notability guidelines for organizations, decide whether this organization fits those guidelines, and if it does, go to deletion review with your sources and request that the deletion be reversed. -FisherQueen (Talk) 22:09, 17 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It's still hanging in there. Wilderness Inquiry was CSD nominated, which has been contested. Adrian M. H. 16:47, 19 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
And if you, like me, wonder what CSD means: I found out that it is Criteria for speedy deletion. Lova Falk 15:37, 20 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

how to start edit

I just added a short article to test the system. It showed up for a few minutes and it was deleted a minute later. Why? How can I make it permanent? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Alrezaei (talkcontribs).

You just said it was a test page. Test pages are usually deleted unless they are notable and have sources, etc.--$UIT 05:30, 18 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia:Your first article provides some advice for newcomers. +A.0u 05:44, 18 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • If you want something you test to stick around longer, it's a better idea to do it on your userpage or a subpage thereof. - Mgm|(talk) 09:30, 18 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Question edit

I wrote the military section of the article on "Jackie Robinson".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson#Military_career

Some one or two people have repeatedly deleted my last paragraph. I've replaced it again a few moments ago. I haven't written an entire section before -- I've only done a little proofreading on a few articles when I noticed an obvious grammar or usage error.

Can you have a look at the discuss associated with this section? Do you think I am off-base (baseball metaphor!). I care about the topic, but don't want to keep replacing what I feel is vandalism, i.e. changes without sound reasoning behind them. Heybai

The paragraph that you wrote was rejected because of original research. At least one of the deleters have added their reason in the edit history summary. It looks like an opinion or interpretation that you created yourself. If you can provide a reference that others have published this idea before you put it in wikipedia then it couls justify the inclusion of your paragraph. The text about forever-unknown looks like pure speculation.
Please keep writing whole big chunks as it will expand the wikipedia! GB 09:39, 21 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Please read WP:NPOV and WP:NOR. Your edits such as this one seem to violate both policies. Wikipedia isn't a soapbox (see WP:NOT), which means that a biography of Jackie Robinson should keep to the facts about him, with a bit of context (ideally, providing wikilinks to other articles which have more details). Describing in detail racism in the U.S. in 1944 i nthe JR article isn't appropriate. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 23:07, 22 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What's the point? edit

If this is a place where everyone contributes

Editing of this article by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled. If you are prevented from editing this article, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or create an account.

What is the point? Creating a username and giving you personal information may not allow me to take part.

I'm new at this and this is my first visit, it just seems stupid to have to "log in" to do something you won't be allowed to do anyway.

Tony

Please sign your posts. You're subject to what you might call the "four day rule", which means that your account must be four days old before certain actions can be performed. These include moving pages (to rename them) and editing semi-protected pages. Semi-protection is one of the measures at Wikipedia's disposal when dealing with particularly heavy and systematic vandalism or a particularly controversial edit war. It is applied only very judiciously, for obvious reasons. If you would like further information about Wikipedia's policies, guidelines, editing methods, or sources of help and advice, post a message for me. Adrian M. H. 21:59, 18 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • Also, registering an account does not require you to give any personal information and suggesting edits for a protected article can be done without logging in, assuming the talk page you need to do this already exists. - Mgm|(talk) 11:17, 19 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

userboxes edit

i just need help making userboxes

Elderleo 00:32, 20 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You'll need to find a place to keep the userbox. For example, you can have it as a subpage of your own userpage (User:Elderleo/userboxname), or your can keep it at User:UBX/userboxname. (See User:UBX for more details on that.
Then you can just use this template to create it:
{{subst:Userbox
  |id       = id text or image
  |id-c     = id background color
  |id-fc    = id font color
  |id-s     = id text size
  |id-p     = id cell padding space
  |id-lh    = id line height 
  |id-op    = id other parameter (CSS)
  |info     = info text
  |info-c   = info background color
  |info-fc  = info font color
  |info-s   = info text size
  |info-p   = info padding (distance between cell contents & cell border)
  |info-lh  = info line height (or distance in between text lines)
  |info-op  = info other (CSS) parameter(s)
  |border-c = box color
  |border-s = border width in pixels
}}
Keep in mind that most of those values are optional. Hope that helps! tiZom(2¢) 03:10, 20 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

different browsers edit

Not sure this is the right platform but i use Windows XP at work and Mozilla Firefox at home. What do I need to do to configure Firefox to allow Wikipedia and all the tools through, the same as windows? Edmund Patrick 06:55, 20 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure what you mean. Internet Explorer and Firefox render Wikipedia exactly the same for me. Firefox isn't lacking any tools. Can you clarify? -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 07:00, 20 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

apologies: wikipedia within Firefox has to date and as far as i am aware; no images - ½ the links are blanked out or shown as a link with no information. for example: main page : in internet explorer there is an image of Lincoln etc in the featured picture. In Firefox . I have the text Pinkerton, Lincoln and McClernand which is an active link to the information page about the image; but there is no image. Edmund Patrick 08:12, 20 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

assistance no longer needed. in case any one else has the same problem I neded to go into the config of Firefox and change the value of the image permissions. Thanks to all. Edmund Patrick 09:22, 20 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

credibility of materials edit

I am criting a paper and need to make sure that all materials received are credible. By using Wikipedia am I gonna get this?

Thank you Janice Mueller

You can't be sure. Mistakes are made in Wikipedia and not always corrected. So you'll have to check references and sources to make sure that everything is correct. And - please edit if you find a mistake! Lova Falk 19:40, 21 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
PS On the other hand, many times Wikipedia has more updated and more elaborated information than I can find in the internet encyclopedia that I pay for... Lova Falk 19:43, 21 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

A couple questions edit

1) For AfD's, does it make any difference if I put Keep vs. Strong Keep, or is Strong Keep just the same as Keep?

It depends on each person's perspective, personally I think it does. As an AfD isn't a vote poll, the value of your opinion is based on the strength of your argument, adding the adjectives "strong/weak" doesn't hurt. A "weak" !vote means the person is not absolutely sure and may change his or her mind later. However a "strong keep" in only worthy when it goes along with a persuasive argument. :). I'm sure others may have different ideas, I think this essay is rather interesting to read. Remember it's also another personal view. PeaceNT 05:30, 22 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

2) Is there any limit to how many articles a user can nominate for ProD, AfD, and Speedy in a certain period of time? Thanks for the help!SuperDT 01:32, 22 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No, there is not. PeaceNT 05:33, 22 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
But if their nominations start to suffer from rushed or faulty reasoning, they should definitely consider slowing down. - Mgm|(talk) 10:14, 24 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I agree whole-heartedly. PeaceNT 14:31, 24 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

translationn edit

how do i translate an article to a different language????????????????????????????????Shantigk69 05:22, 22 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Of course, you can do it yourself. Or, there are Wikipedians to help you at Wikipedia:Translation if you would like further assistance with the process. +A.0u 05:25, 22 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

how does a contents box get created? edit

the one with all the numbered internal links at the top of the page?

Thanks, Ram

I assume you meant Wikipedia:Newcomers help page/Header. For an idea how it was created, you can view its wikitext source code. If you are already familiar with editing basics, there's a more complete editors' handbook from Meta-Wiki. +A.0u 04:41, 24 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Or you may be talking about a page's Table of Contents, which is automatically generated for all pages with at least three headings... For more info, see Wikipedia:Table of contents. tiZom(2¢) 14:42, 24 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

TRANSLATION 2 edit

how do i get to the next part from here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Translation/Ronaldinho  ?

please i need assistance, translating an article on wikipedia isnt very user-friendly:(Shantigk69 04:40, 24 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Well, according to Wikipedia:Translation/*/How-to#Translation stage, it looks like the next step is actually find a translator. You might look at Wikipedia:Babel, and follow the instructions on how to identify someone who appears qualified. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 01:21, 25 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

dictionary edit

I want to look up a couple of (English) words in the dictionary. It couldn't be more Mickey Mouse but I can't work out how to do it. 10:19, 24 April 2007 (UTC)Martin Tucker

This is the address: http://en.wiktionary.org/ Lova Falk 10:57, 24 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Two Albums with the Same Name edit

I created the page for the French, electropop band called Mademoiselle. That group has an album titled Black Sun however as you can see when I put a link to [[Black Sun (album)|Black Sun]] it links to another album of the same name by a group called Primal Fear. How do I resolve this?

The best way to start is to make a new page for the Mademoiselle album, called Black Sun (Mademoiselle album), and use that in the Mademoiselle article.
Then, later on, someone can move Black Sun (album) to Black Sun (Primal Fear album), and make a disambiguation page at Black Sun (album).
NerwenGreen 03:24, 25 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Update: I moved the Primal Fear album, turned Black Sun (album) into a disambiguation page, and redirected all of the links. NerwenGreen 03:58, 25 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Commons-links edit

Is there any possibilty to put the commons-link to the left, for example in the article High Fläming Nature Park, to get a better page layout? --Lienhard Schulz 14:27, 25 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think so; the alignment is implicit in the way that the template is coded. --ais523 17:06, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Width of editing and dif pages too wide edit

When I go to the dif screen or the editing screen, the text on the page becomes wide and goes off the page, so that you have to use a scroll bar to find the remaining text. How can I get rid of the scroll bar and put all the text on one page with only a vertical scroll bar? Christopher Connor 17:07, 2 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

  • What article are you referring to and what is your desktop size? This kind of thing often happens with diffs when someone used faulty coding, but the edit screen is supposed to adapt to the size of your window. - Mgm|(talk) 08:35, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Most articles will do it. My desktop size is 1024*768. Christopher Connor 19:11, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Can someone help me here? Christopher Connor 19:08, 25 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It also happens to me, a lot of the time. For example, in ADHD history, when I compare the last version of Andrewudstraw ("Causes...") with the one of Scuro ("no citation provided..."). It makes comparing unnecessarily complicated. I have the same desktop size as Christopher Conor. Lova Falk 19:27, 25 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know about the diffs, but you can adjust the size of the edit box on your preferences page under the Editing tab. You can manually set the height/width, and there are a couple of other options like "make edit box full width." Try playing around with those. —PurpleRAIN 19:29, 25 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Unfortunately, it's the diffs that create this problem, the edit box is just fine... Lova Falk 08:58, 28 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It is, or can be, caused by long unbroken lengths of text, such as a URL in a reference. Adrian M. H. 20:49, 29 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
That seems right, but what can be done? Christopher Connor 14:19, 1 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Internet Searches re Wikipedia (Not Appearing) edit

It seems some Wikipedia pages appear in internet searches and some do not. Is there soemthing that has to be added to new pages to make them appear on internet searches?

IE I created a page called Stoney creek girls hockey but it does not come up in an internet search (outside Wikipedia). What did I do wrong? M999j 20:55, 25 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You have to wait a while for Google to re-index the Wikipedia database. It's like looking through a store to see what they have in stock; if they add something in between your scans, you won't know about it until you go take another look. Veinor (talk to me) 20:59, 25 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Notability of New Pages edit

I am trying to start a page. How can I be sure it includes notable content so that it is not deleted?Wddiskin 01:17, 26 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You should first read and understand the notability guideline. The subject should at least meet the basic test: "A topic is notable if it has been the subject of non-trivial coverage in multiple reliable secondary sources that are independent of the subject." The article should also explain why the subject is notable. Here are a few links to the right that may interest you; for further help, Wikipedia has some "newcomer's" advice on starting a new article. +A.0u 01:32, 26 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I noticed that you have already created an article, York Country Day School. Schools probably fall under the guidelines for organizations. +A.0u 01:38, 26 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • And while it's not official policy. The more a school article complies with WP:BEEFSTEW, the more likely it is to survive. - Mgm|(talk) 09:29, 1 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"You Have New Messages" Bar edit

Having read the message and verified several times that no additional ones have been posted since then, how do I get this "you have new messages" thing to stop popping up on every page I try to view?

Have you tried clicking on this "you have new messages" thing? Lova Falk 07:58, 27 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Repeatedly. That's what I meant by "read the message"; perhaps I should have been clearer.

It's a known bug in the software (see bugzilla:9213). After a few hours or days, it's likely to go away again. I don't know what's causing it. (Creating an account is a known workaround, which is possibly why it hasn't been fixed sooner, but of course this is not compulsory.) --ais523 13:09, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

(diff) (hist) . .Article Name‎; 12:48 . . (+958) . . Contributor (Talk | contribs) edit

I was simply wondering what the (+958) meant in my watchlist. I'm rather curious. If you don't mind, I would prefer a response on my talk page. Thanks! Besseme 07:05, 28 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

As requested, on your talk page. Feel free to back me up, other editors, or pull my theory (it is just that) to pieces. THE DARK LORD TROMBONATOR (((¶))) 10:51, 28 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Adding to this- the numbers mean the number of bytes added or removed from a page. For more information, see What do the numbers mean? CattleGirl talk | sign! 13:11, 28 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
ahhhhhhhhhhh. i was about to ask the same question. i thought it was like credibility points or somthing. lose them for vandalizing gain them for helping. --Crazydjman 03:13, 4 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Editors without an account edit

I wonder if once upon a time there has been a discussion on Wikipedia if people without an account can edit, and apparently it was decided that they can. If that is so, could somebody tell me why? I'm asking, because when I fight vandalism, nine out of ten (at least) vandalizing edits are "signed" by ip-numbers. I usually leave a warning template on their talk page, but I doubt if they look at it, or even know it's there. So why not ask everybody who wants to edit to create an account? I predict there would be less vandalism this way. Lova Falk 08:38, 28 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, there would be less vandalism, but there would also be less editing, less copyediting, and less content in general. Wikipedia has succeeded as a project largely because of its radical openness -- some estimates suggest that the majority of content is actually produced by anonymous editors (not to mention the large number of current users who started out anon). Believe it or not, this is one of the few foundation-level issues (along with things like neutral point of view or free licensing. You may be interested in the results from groups like WikiProject Vandalism studies. Drive-by editors are at once a significant problem and a significant benefit. Granted, there's a significant (and perhaps growing?) number of editors who feel as you do. Hope that answers some of your question. :) – Luna Santin (talk) 08:44, 28 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you! It makes sense. I was really surprised to read that the majority of content is produced by anonymous editors. Lova Falk 08:56, 28 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

New Nicole Austin page edit

I am in need of help with the page Nicole Austin page. Im going save what I have done so far, but do to where I am I only have one source for the article. Can anyone help me?Russell042003 22:51, 28 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It looks like you got to a good start. I probably don't know the subject as well as you do, but the introduction could be expanded. Instead of merely saying that she is "a model, actress, and celebrity", her achievements (what she did during her career) could also be more greatly discussed. For further help, Wikipedia:Manual of Style (biographies) is a useful guide. I did an internet search, but there doesn't seem to be many reliable sources... +A.0u 01:46, 29 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Question about search edit

The articles I've written don't appear in the results when I do an Internet search. I know that the server has to be updated, but the FAQ says that it should only take 31 hours. I wrote the earlist article in February. Is there a tag that I neglected to add? Please post the answer on my talk page. Jahunta07 00:58, 29 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It takes time for a search engine to find the page and add it to its database. Usually, there shouldn't be a long time; I had new articles added to Google within a week or less. Which article are you referring to? You might or might not see the article in a search results page depending on the exact search term(s). +A.0u 01:21, 29 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How to... create a new page edit

Dear Wikipedia people,

How can I create a page on something new? I can't figure out where to go to create a new page. Please respond.

Blah, Blah, Blah 02:07, 29 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Help:Starting a new page - Just type in the page name and press "Go". You should then arrive at the editing window, where you can edit and later save that page. Wikipedia has some advice on creating your first article. Happy editing! +A.0u 02:13, 29 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Cross-space redirect edit

One of the admins wrote a message on my Talk page, asking me not to make "cross-space redirects." I have not heard of this term before; what does it mean?

For reference, I made the page "Candidates for speedy deletion" move to "Category:Candidates for speedy deletion."

Thanks,

Yoda

Yoda921 12:48, 29 April 2007 (UTC)Yoda[reply]

Well the "space" refers to "namespace" - the Wikipedia:, Template:, User: namespaces, for example. When something doesn't have a prefix (like your Candidates for speedy deletion page, then it's in the article namespace. Things in the article namespace shouldn't redirect to something in a different namespace. As a basic example, my username is Tomtheman5. I should not create and article Tomtheman5, and redirect it to User:Tomtheman5. See When should we delete a redirect? (#5) for more info. Hope this helps! tiZom(2¢) 16:19, 29 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes it does, thanks :)

Yoda921 01:54, 30 April 2007 (UTC)Yoda[reply]

How to publish my article? edit

  1. REDIRECT Hi, I've created an account and have added content to my page. How can I ask others to access my content page? Is there a URL or something that browsers can use to view my content? Thanks in advance. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ennveetech (talkcontribs) 07:49, 30 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]
You created a userpage, which is used to contain information about you and your editing activity on Wikipedia (see my userpage for an example of the sort of information a userpage would contain). However, it seems to have been deleted as spam; see the speedy deletion criteria and the guidelines about spam. Articles about companies should be submitted to article space (see Help:Starting a new page for instructions), but you should probably wait until someone else writes an article about your company; when you have a conflict of interest, it's very hard to write neutrally, and articles that appear to be advertising will be deleted (Wikipedia is an encylopedia, not a web directory). The notablity of the company also needs to be established, using reliable sources to verify its content. Hope that helps! --ais523 09:09, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Helpme edit

answer.com pulls information from this site... when will it be updated with new copy from wiki entry. If it does not update... is there a way to update answer.com ???? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Wbh011 (talkcontribs) 19:57, 30 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

I would imagine that it updates when the webmasters of Answers.com want it to do so; as to when that is, you would have to contact Answers.com. In my experience, it appears to be some degree slower than the search engines. Adrian M. H. 21:26, 30 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]