User talk:SandyGeorgia/arch1

Welcome!

Hello, SandyGeorgia/arch1, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. If you are stuck, and looking for help, please come to the Wikipedia Boot Camp, where experienced Wikipedians can answer any queries you have! Or, you can just type {{helpme}} on your user page, and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions.

Here are a few good links for newcomers:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Where to ask a question, ask me on my talk page. Again, welcome! Dr Debug (Talk) 20:28, 3 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Help has arrived

Yes, the templates you are looking for are called userboxes. Go to Wikipedia:Userboxes, and down the bottom there is a directory to all the different types. Ask me more questions here if you get stuck.--Commander Keane 21:31, 3 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Userboxes

There is a whole list at: Wikipedia:Userboxes. Dr Debug (Talk) 21:32, 3 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

THANKS

Wow, that was fast -- thanks so much !!

You're welcome. We have a rapid response team ;). You can sign your messages using ~~~~ BTW. Dr Debug (Talk) 21:44, 3 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Me Again !

How do I right justify UserBoxes? I haven't been able to locate a basic formatting page, and the one I did find, doesn't mention how to left, center or right justify ? Sandy 23:02, 3 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Well if you want them to be aligned on the right in a column, take a look at how User:Bjelleklang did his. You just put {{Boxboxtop}} above the first userbox, and {{Boxboxbottom}} below the last one.

For other ideas on how to set them out take a look at userpages in Category:User_ubx-5.

Or, just tell me exactly want you want and I'll align them how you want.--Commander Keane 23:11, 3 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, Keane -- I'll try to poke around and see what I can do myself first. I'm not really sure what I want yet, other than a non-blank user page! Sandy 23:15, 3 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Specific editing help needed

I'm in the middle of trying to improve the Tourette_syndrome page. I'm not well-versed in medications, but am trying to work on the page, which was (still is) sparse and marginally accurate. Where in Wikipedia can I go about looking for a Wikipedian with copy-editing experience in the pharmaceutical medications area to review and improve my work in the treatment section of that entry ??

Try Wikipedia:WikiProject Medicine. - Ta bu shi da yu 16:07, 4 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki linking

I just typed an enormous list of medical condtions into [this entry]. Is there any quick way for me to discover and insert Wiki links to the long list of medical conditions, or do I actually have to search on each term to insert the Wiki links ?? Thank you in advance for all the help ! I'm so high maintenance ...

Simply put [[ and ]] around the name of each condition, and then hit preview. If it shows up as a blue link, this already exists, however if it is red then it does not exist (but may do under another name). Talrias (t | e | c) 18:45, 4 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Should have used my easy button for that one ! THANKS !!!

Duplicate pages

Oh, for gosh sakes, I know I'm really high maintenance now. I'm only in my second day of Wikiland. I've been to every place a beginner can find to go, and I don't know what to do with this. There are duplicate articles on Georges Gilles de la Tourette -- one of them is an almost empty stub. Should it be nominated for deletion, or should it be redirected elsewhere? Is it a candidate for speedy deletion? In either case, I don't know how to do either of those things!?!

Here is the almost empty entry, which needs to be deleted or redirected:

Gilles_de_la_Tourette

And here is the more complete article:

Georges_Gilles_de_la_Tourette

What should I do next? Thanks, again, in advance. Sandy 04:30, 5 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Sandy! If this was a controversial problem then the correct process would be to propose a merge. However, since it's so simple, all that needs to be done is incorporate any good info from Gilles_de_la_Tourette into Georges_Gilles_de_la_Tourette. Then you can just redirect Gilles_de_la_Tourette to Georges_Gilles_de_la_Tourette. To make the redirect you just replace the text at Gilles_de_la_Tourette with "#REDIRECT [[Georges_Gilles_de_la_Tourette]]". You can do this yourself, or ask me to do it for you. Hope that helps. And you are not high maintenance - you are improving Wikipedia :)--Commander Keane 04:39, 5 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Cool beans - I think I did it. Thanks, Keane !! Sandy 05:22, 5 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Warnings for vandalism

I'm ready for an advanced skill LOL !! Thanks for all the help so far!

It is the unfortunate nature of the beast that the Tourette syndrome page is often vandalized with profanities (the "swearing disease" and all that). I've figured out how to revert, but I'd like to start issuing warnings to the vandals. Where do I find info on how to do that? Am I able to do it? Is there a template? What should be done about repeat vandals ? Sandy 02:17, 6 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes there are templates. Basically all the info you need is in Wikipedia:Vandalism. Have a read through that and then ask if you have any questions.--Commander Keane 02:21, 6 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have gotten Tourette syndrome listed on a WP:CVU vandalism bot, so hopefully other vandal fighters will see vandalism there and it will ger reverted more quickly.--Commander Keane 02:51, 6 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks - awesome :-) I figured out how to it myself, as well. Sandy 03:22, 6 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You're welcome!

I'm happy to help on the Tourette's article :-) --Uthbrian (talk) 04:12, 8 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

PANDAS

I don't know how to fix this. Still a beginner, and don't know how to go about working on something at this level, so need step-by-step help, or else for someone else to set up the new redirect and correct the title.

The entry for: Pediatric_Autoimmune_Neuropsychiatric_Disorder_Associated_with_Streptococci was defined incorrectly when it was set up.

1. The correct term (which people would be more likely to search on) is

Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections (note: s at end of disorder, streptococci = streptococcal and word infections missing.

so, does a new redirect need to be created for the correct term, redirecting to the current entry? Or does the current entry need to be replaced, and redirected to a new entry? I've not yet created a new entry, and don't know how to do that, although I do know how to make a redirect now.

Yes, just create a new redirect. You can do that by making a link to the new name you want to redirect from, say on your user page or the sandbox, then follow the red link that creates. To make the redirect, you would then type something like the following in the edit box: #redirect [[P.A.N.D.A.S.]] - UtherSRG (talk) 14:48, 8 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

2. The title of the article is incorrect, and I don't know how to edit that. It is stated as

P.A.N.D.A.S <-- no period at the end.

It just needs a period at the end, but I don't know how to edit that.

Should I just create a new article with the correct name (don't know how to do that), copy the info over from the old article, and redirect the old article to the new article?

Thanks in advance ! Sandy 14:35, 8 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

No. Do not create a new article with copy-and-pasting. Use the "Move" tab at the top of the article to move the article to a new title. - UtherSRG (talk) 14:46, 8 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Working here:

P.A.N.D.A.S.

Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections

Looks good. - UtherSRG (talk) 15:44, 8 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Tobias Picker

SandyGeorgia, you seem to be making valuable contributions to Wikipedia in the area of Tourette's syndrome. However, someone's medical diagnoses would not be appropriately mentioned in an encyclopedia article unless relevant to their public life. In Tobias Picker's case, simply mentioning the diagnosis is puzzling and where you put it is wrong. One would never guess why the visitor is being informed about Picker's diagnosis. It would be better to put your contribution into context by describing how Picker's devotion to music may have been enhanced by his having Tourette's, how his compositions have been influenced by the condition and how he has contributed to the work of the Tourette's Syndrome Association. At least superficial information or commentary about all this is readily available on the Web. Perhaps you could weave it into the article on Tobias Picker. People with some expertise in music may then pitch in (sorry about that one) and strengthen whatever you come up with. Moreover, Picker has expressed the notion that Tourette's has enhanced his writing. This is intriguing and may warrant followup and creation of a new section on positive aspects (a poor title) in the Tourette Syndrome article, especially since it may have resonance with a similar suggestion by Oliver Sachs, whose writing may contain a hint of a better title for such a section. I'm very uncomfortable with this: it's OK for, say, a person in remission from cancer to declare that the experience of facing a potentially fatal illness and undergoing chemotherapy has opened his eyes, made him see what's important in life, etc., but for an "outsider" to talk about the advantages of getting cancer seems insensitive and flippant. If you can pull something off in this area that would be great. Picker, by the way, is probably pretty accessible if you try to contact him. Myron 05:19, 10 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the helpful feedback, Myron! As you can see, I'm still very new to Wikipedia, and still on a steep learning curve :-)) That entry came about because I'm going through all of the famous people listed on the Tourette syndrome page and trying to establish references. I know little about Picker or music at his level, don't feel comfortable trying to write something on his page, and am not much of a believer in the whole "tourettic creativity" concept. My view on people with Tourette's is that they are pretty much like people without Tourette's: some are creative, and some are terrible bores. I also share, with most of my friends with tics, a less than favorable view of Sacks' fictionalized writing about sensationalist aspects of Tourette's. The average, uncreative persons with TS don't make it into the books, and there is no evidence-based reason to believe that people with TS are more or less creative than people without TS. As they are not medical books, Sacks' fiction is not subject to the peer review that medical articles are subjected to. (Disclaimer: I have relatives with TS who are incredibly creative and musical as well, but I think that's just them, not their tics.) In other words, I'm not sure I'm the best person to expand or better incorporate the information into an entry either here or there. Knowing my lack of knowledge of Picker/music, would you feel comfortable doing whatever you think best with the info on the Picker entry ?? If it needs to be deleted from there, I'm fine with that, too ... or, I could add a paragraph near the bottom about his contributions to the Tourette Syndrome Association, which is really the extent of my knowledge of him? Suggestions welcome! Sandy 13:47, 10 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

SandyGeorgia, hopefully someone less jammed for time than I will pick up on Picker, but I'll see what I can do if I ever get out from under. Anent tourettic creativity, there are two aspects: 1) Disorder X (Tourette's or whatever) makes a person more "creative" or stimulates or energizes creativity; and 2) Disorder X influences, shapes, provides material or is somehow expressed in a person's art. The former aspect can be discussed in a "controveries" section. A person can be very creative but not create, or can have talent but not develop it or pursue it. A prolonged illness or a stigmatized disorder can socially isolate a child and give them an opportunity to develop a lifelong passion for some creative endeavor. Validity of the second aspect -- influence -- can also be quite controversial in some cases. There have been claims that the characteristic styles of various impressionist painters were determined (more than influenced) by visual aberrations. Experiences of derealization and other distortions of reality associated with epilepsy may be seen in some of Dostoevsky's writing. In Tobias Picker's case, he himself seems to have said that he has learned to take advantage of something about Tourette's in writing his music. His subjective opinion about himself hardly amounts to science, but it seems worth exploring how whatever he was referring to may have been taken advantage of by the well-prepared mind of an already-creative individual. Myron 22:28, 10 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

No problem

No problem, any time! --Khoikhoi 15:33, 10 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Linking to French Wiki

How do I link correctly to the French Wiki article (below)? Thanks in advance. Sandy 15:15, 11 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Another French doctor, Jean Marc Gaspard Itard, reported the first case of Tourette syndrome in 1825, describing Marquise de Dampierre, an important woman of nobility in her time.

The external links have a different format to the internal ones. What you want looks like Jean Marc Gaspard Itard (done by [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Itard Jean Marc Gaspard Itard] - you don't need the "|", just a space between the URL and the description). Keep in mind that you would never link the French Wikipedia in an English language article.--Commander Keane 15:31, 11 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

References

I noticed the referencing work you were doing at Tourette syndrome - great work, citation is important. Just thought I'd let you know that {{an}} actually redirects to {{ref}}. So even though {{an}} works perfectly well, some editors may more familiar with {{ref}}. Similarly {{anb}} redirects to {{note}}.--Commander Keane 16:17, 11 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, Keane! (I copied that method off of the asthma page.) User Splash just recommended another method that will handle reference numbers automatically: m:Cite/Cite.php. I'll go back through everything so that the article will be less troublesome for future editors, but don't want to spend any more time on references until I can get some work done on the real stuff -- the content -- and until I can find some other editors to get involved in the project. Thanks for keeping an eye on my newbie efforts! Sandy 12:53, 12 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Broken talk page

Another editor appears to have inserted some wayward HTML code in the TS talk page, Talk:Tourette_syndrome. The page won't fully load, the edit and history buttons aren't loading either, I can't revert to an earlier version to discover the error, and there is some wayward HTML coding at the very bottom of the page. Need some help in restoring the page. TIA Sandy 20:05, 15 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Seems fine now, can you confirm (might have been a dodgy server)?--Commander Keane 20:09, 15 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Done - thanks Keane - have never seen something like that ? Sandy 20:11, 15 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Mediation

Hi, I'm your friendly cabal mediatior, the mediation has been accepted. Sorry for the long wait you've had. Could you revisit the mediation page and trim it down to the precise points that currently need addressing. You can put the more lengthy description on the talk page. Thanks :) - FrancisTyers 00:48, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

OK, I'll do that -- I'm sorry that it grew over the two weeks. Sandy 01:20, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]