Jump to content

Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 January 16

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Help desk
< January 15 << Dec | January | Feb >> January 17 >
Welcome to the Wikipedia Help Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current Help Desk pages.


January 16

[edit]

Abuse or misuse of AfD?

[edit]

A user has separated content from an article into its own article, and then immediately nominated the new article for AfD. Because the AfD was initiated by the article's own author, it was deleted as db-author. Is this an abuse or misuse of AfD procedures? Would it be acceptable to add the content back into the original article, where it really was acceptable in the first place? Wyatt Riot 00:06, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That really does seem like "gaming the system" to me. .V. (talk) 00:14, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
You may want to look into Wikipedia:Deletion review. Xiner (talk, email) 00:23, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

User Page Elaboration

[edit]

How can I add the captions and images, such as "this user plays guitar" or "this user is a teenager" on my user page? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Fading Into Green (talkcontribs) 00:22, 16 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

You're probably talking about Wikipedia:Userboxes. You can always press the "Edit" button on anyone's page to see their code. Xiner (talk, email) 00:24, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

TOMATOES

[edit]

65.9.93.200 00:53, 16 January 2007 (UTC) DEAR GENTS: I AM LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ABOUT WHEN TO PLANT TOMATOES IN FLORIDA (MIAMI)[reply]

NOT FOUND IN THE FLA. AGRICULTURAL PAGE, NO IN THE UNIVERSITY OF FL.COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE PERHAPS SOMEBODY IN WIKIPEDIA CAN HELP WITH THIS QUESTION.

THANKS JULIO KLEIN

Please ask at Wikipedia:Reference_desk, and use lower case. Thanks. Xiner (talk, email) 00:56, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Try the early Spring. By the way, this isn't the place to post this. You might be looking for the Reference Desk. .V. (talk) 00:57, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Lines under headers

[edit]

I have a formatting problem involving the headers.

The = and == headers both give a horizontal ruled line below the header text.

However, the === header doesn't have that horizontal ruled line. To add the horizontal ruled line below the === header, i added a "----" below the header. THe problem is, this creates a slight gap between the header text and the actual horizontal ruled line, which looks very bad.

The point is, does anyone know any fancy tricks to incorporate a horizontal line into a === header (like the way a line is incorporated into the == and = headers)? --Saintmagician 00:56, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Such subsections should not have the horizontal line, for they're but minor subdivisions within an article. Xiner (talk, email) 00:58, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
That really doesn't help. The point is - we need to use the === to show a MAJOR division within the article. The only other alternative we had was to use the ==, but then that meant using = in some parts of the article, which some editors seem to have a problem with. Now does anyone actually have a constructive answer to this problem? --Saintmagician 01:10, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with Xiner (and complaining about Xiner's answer isn't constructive either). What article is this? My instinct is that you need to sit on the editors who are whinging about using =. --Tkynerd 01:13, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The articles in question are the Digimon species articles, which are currently going through a major merge. (see Agumon for an example). We're merging all the different forms of digimon together into one article. Each of those sections *is* a major section. However, the way the articles are laid out means we need them indented by one on the TOS. So that means we either use = and ==, or == and === + ----. So here i am asking for a method to combine the === and ----. Getting told the === doesn't need a ---- doesn't help. In this case it does, but we can't quite figure out how to add it.
And what do you mean by "sit on the editors who are whinging about using ="? --Saintmagician 01:27, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If you want an example, here is an article using === + ----. and here is an article using the = and == format. --Saintmagician 01:29, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
By "sit on those editors," I basically mean ignore their whining and get the job done (i.e., use =). As another point, articles on Wikipedia really don't need to be several times as long as Agumon, so I would question the wisdom of this merge on that basis alone. I think the fact that you are finding yourself needing levels of topic separation that you can't get (at least, not in the form you want) is also an indication that the merge may not be very wise. Just my $0.02, though -- I'm not familiar with the subject. However, what you're being told is that the MediaWiki software can't do what you want. Your choices are: (1) live with that; (2) file a bug report to get it changed somehow (and that will probably take a very long time); (3) start your own wiki and either use some other wiki software, or modify your copy of the MediaWiki software to work the way you want it to. That may not be "constructive," but it's the way it is. If you have an example of an article that actually accomplishes what you want to do, then I'm wrong about MediaWiki not being able to do it -- but in that case, all you have to do is use the "edit this page" link at the top of that article page to see how it's done, then copy the method for your own article. --Tkynerd 01:46, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Well, the MOS does actually say not to use = headers in articles. I don't understand why, i figured it was just another arbitraty formatting decision, but i don't want to argue with the MOS. As for the article length, i think you misunderstand, Agumon as it is now is the merged version. Most of the other merged articles aren't that long either - take Guilmon. --Saintmagician 02:00, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the clarification. (I told you I wasn't familiar with the subject! :-)) Actually, on further reflection, I am inclined to agree with the MoS guidance, because the article title at the top of the page is in the same type size as a = header, so such headers in an article would appear to be on the same level as the article itself. Where that leaves you is that you simply can't do what you want to do with the MediaWiki software on Wikipedia as it currently works. Your main choices are as I described them in my previous post above. You got another suggestion at WP:VPT, but as was said there, it's an ugly hack and can't be counted on to work with all skins. PS I don't think it was appropriate to accuse Xiner of not assuming good faith (below). You may not have liked those answers, but I don't see any reason to believe they were not given in good faith. --Tkynerd 02:08, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
well, i'm just about to ask why that suggestion won't work on all skins. I would have thought html would show up the same no matter how you view it. As for Xiner's answer, i just found it unhelpful really. But anyway, i think i'll stop here. I was really hoping someone here would understand how the horizontal rule is incorporated into the = and == headers, but i doubt i'm going to get such an answer here. --Saintmagician 02:14, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I'm sorry you didn't find my answer helpful, Saintmagician, so let me try again. Sometimes when we have to try very hard to achieve something few others seem to want, it may be time to question if it's worth the trouble. Tens of thousands of pages live happily with the convention. What makes this case so different? I think those pages of yours look good without the unique formatting. Xiner (talk, email) 01:35, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The problem with your answer, is that you took one look at my question and went "oh...this person doesn't understand what headers are for", and gave me a textbook answer from the MOS, telling me that the === don't have a horizontal line because they're for minor divisions and therefore don't need one. The fact that i'm asking, it should have been obvious that i'm talking about a very specific case where such a 'minor division' does need a horizontal line (and did have horizontal lines, but with the ugly gap). The 'minor divison', in fact, isn't minor at all. It's a major division in the article, but for variuos formatting reasons, we have parts of the article that are an even major-er division. In other words, we need two divisions that both have the horizontal rule.

Now how about you assume good faith next time you answer help desk questions, and not make assumptions such as "something few others seem to want", and "tens of thousands of pages live happily with the convention". Now if you've read my last reply, you may realize that i'm not trying to change any pages which 'live happily' as you say. The DIGI wikiproject just started a mass article merge, and despite all the planning before hand, it seemed that we overlooked this detail. Or rather, i didn't think anyone would have such a problem with just using the = headers.

So finally, does anyone here actually have a constructive answer to the question of how to incorporate a ---- into a ===. Or at least reduce the space that's created when a ---- is placed below a ===? --Saintmagician 01:44, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, I read your talk page before I responded. Anyhow... Xiner (talk, email) 02:10, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I have just restored the above comment from User:Xiner, which User:Saintmagician deleted. Saintmagician, you have absolutely no business deleting (or otherwise changing) other people's comments on talk pages. Don't do it again. --Tkynerd 02:17, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
No, I have no answer. The whole point of a third level heading is that it doesn't have a line. As far as I know there's no way to add it the way you want to. - 131.211.210.17 08:57, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If the <h3> heading had an underline, it would look too similar to an <h2> heading. What's more, it is a good idea to bear in mind the semantics that are produced by Wiki headers and the significance that they have for blind users by keeping them as orderly as you reasonably can. And lastly, let's not flame people who try to help: your question could easily have been asked by someone who did not know the Wiki header conventions or the MoS, so the respondent replied accordingly. You should know better than to obfuscate talk page discussion with retrospective editing. Adrian M. H. 16:58, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

National Mint of America

[edit]

Hello, Unlike most of your articles, when I enter "National Mint of America wikipedia" into Google, the related article does not show up. Why is this so?

Thank you, Sherv54

If you are looking for the article about the official government mint, it can be found at United States Mint. If you are looking for National Mint of America, which is a one-sentence article about what seems to be a private firm, it probably does not show up in a Google search because the article was only created last week. It can take some time before the Google bots index all the new pages. Newyorkbrad 01:53, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Bah. Newyorkbrad answered that kinda. Anyway, Google operates under a system called PageRank. If you were to search for "National Mint of America wikipedia" in google, and you found the wikipedia article and clicked on it, that link's "score" would go up. Kind of. A link's score determines where it is in relation to every other hit. Kind of. This is the reasoning behind Googlebombing. GofG ||| Contribs 01:55, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]


[edit]

There is currently a link at Shawn Hornbeck that leads to a profile he has created at a social networking site. Is this an appropriate link? Is it a "posting personal information" issue? John Reaves 05:33, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's being taken care of. Thanks. Xiner (talk, email) 17:27, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Image Using

[edit]

I already had started using wikipedia and found it to much benefiting and interesting.Among the others,I had a user page and an article on it,But I want in that page to appeare the image I insert. Thank you verry much —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Yonas (talkcontribs) 05:51, 16 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Did you want to insert an image onto a page? This is done by placing [[Image:{name}]], where name is the name of your image, into the source code of the page. See WP:IMG for more details. —Mitaphane talk 04:20, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Restrictions

[edit]

I am researching for a debate tournament in which one of the topics has to do with and the good and harm it has done. I have no doubt the other team will refer to Wikipedia as being an unreliable source for information so I was wondering whether or not that was true. What restrictions are there on editing and posting information on articles? My tournament is on January 20, so the sooner you could get back to me, the better. Thank you very much. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.134.158.153 (talk) 06:11, 16 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

As it says on the main page, anyone can edit. You should not consider wikipedia as a reliable source by itself, but articles often provide references which are reliable. You should look at those if you need to be certain. --Sopoforic 06:17, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

New browser

[edit]

Hi!

When i make the line to other page, i'd like to make at new browser. How can i do that? --The preceding unsigned comment was added by 58.151.182.190 (talk) 06:31, 16 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Hi there and welcome! I'm not sure we exactly know what you mean - what do you imply when you say "line" and "new browser"? Cheers! Yuser31415 06:45, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It really depends on which browser you're using. For Internet Explorer, right-click on the link to the page you want to go to and select "Open as New Window." For Firefox and Mozilla, right click on the link and select "Open Link in New Window." .V. (talk) 07:06, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

who is selected as best employee in optus

[edit]

i want to know the name of employee who is selected as the best employee in optus. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 210.212.113.50 (talk) 08:57, 16 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

companies who reinvented

[edit]

companies who reinvented themseles —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 59.144.182.122 (talk) 09:52, 16 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

I don't understand what you're trying to ask. It doesn't seem to be about Wikipedia, though, so you're probably better off trying the Reference Desk. --ais523 09:59, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

Is it Possible to change my domain.

[edit]

i'm a graduate in b.tech,frm the stream electronics and communication....(2005passout).My wish was always to become an architect, but becoz of som unfortunate reasons i had to opt b.tech.... is there any possible way for me to change my domain now???...Ofcourse i knw..i cud join b.arch, but other than tat, any other ways...??? I want to do master's in Architecture i am currently wrking as a software consultant...!!! but i lack interest in it?? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.196.200.27 (talk) 10:28, 16 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Offline browsing for some topic

[edit]

i'm interested in mythology and found a good one at wiki.riteme.site/wiki/List_of_mythologies the problem is i wanted to "download" all the link there for offline browsing. unfortuneately the database article was to huge.

can someone help me with this ? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.152.240.212 (talk) 10:37, 16 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

[edit]

I don't understand what the N does. [[Category:User en|N]] vs. [[Category:User en]] The first tag is in use at the page Category:User_en-N --Tunheim 11:31, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

First posted here Category_talk:User_en-N#Some_details_about_how_language_tag_categories_work? --Tunheim 11:32, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
[[Category:User en|N]] would place a page (usually a userpage) in the category Category:User en and sort it by 'N'. The function it usually used to sort people correctly by their surname, eg [[Category:User en|Anderson, Zebedee]]. If you mean Category:User en-N, then that is used to denote people who are native speakers of English, in the way that Category:User en-3 denotes people who have a certain level of skill in the language. Hope this helps. --Cherry blossom tree 13:05, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Derivatives

[edit]

I got an email saying that my entry of myself, Dean Parisian, was taken from my website, Chippewa Partners. This is correct. I am Dean Parisian and would kindly ask that you leave the wording exactly as is. It is absolutley correct and I would ask that you not delete it or take any corrective action.

Thank you in advance. My phone number is (personal info removed) and my email address is (email removed to prevent spam) if you would like to speak to me directly. Thank you.

Dean ParisianChippewa Partners 12:51, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately, nobody owns a Wikipedia page: see Wikipedia's policy about ownership of articles. By posting to Wikipedia, you agreed to licence your text under the GFDL, which, among other things, gives a licence to people to make derivative works. Wikipedia is 'the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit'; all entries are subject to editing and correction. --ais523 12:55, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

Wiki Defcon

[edit]

Hi there, If you move level up or down on the Wikidefcon (the vandalism counter thing), how do you know for sure that your changing it to the correct level or do you just change it when you notice increases on recent changes. Tellyaddict 12:55, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

WikiDefCon is set by vandalfighters according to the level of vandalism they're experienceing. If it's set incorrectly, it's likely that someone will change it to a more correct value quickly (in much the same way that errors are corrected anywhere else on Wikipedia). --ais523 12:58, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

How to deal with an uncooperative editor?

[edit]

Hi. I've been involved in a content dispute for a while now. It originally consisted of, primarily, myself and another editor.

Because we couldn't reach any sort of compromise, I opened it up for a Request for Comment. Several people responded, all in favor of my proposed action. As there were no opposing viewpoints in the RfC, and no opposing rebuttals from editors previously involved, I waited several days after the last RfC comment and made the change. It was reverted immediately by the user above (marked as a minor edit.)

It seems like we're at a deadlock. I invited the user to come discuss the issue further on the talk page, but he hasn't. I told him that if he didn't want to discuss it further, we should have it mediated. He hasn't responded, although I know he's read the message (he responded to other things on his talk page, for example.)

How do I deal with a user that won't discuss the issue and is ignoring my suggestion of mediation, but is still intent on having his edit? .V. (talk) 14:12, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You seem to be in the right, so revert his changes and ask in the edit summary for a discussion on the talk page. Warn him that any future reverts will be considered 3RR or vandalism. Xiner (talk, email) 15:35, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia has an escalating policy for dealing with a content dispute - see Wikipedia:Resolving disputes. If you can't resolve the problem by discussion, you can ask for mediation; if the other editor refuses that, you can force arbitration. Both mediation and arbitration are labor-intensive processes, so everyone appreciates it if you're able to resolve the problem less formally.
You might also consider dropping a note to one or two of the editors who commented in the RfC, saying that you appreciated their comments and that if they wouldn't mind helping deal with a problem editor, it would be appreciated. Generally when there are multiple editors against one, the one either starts discussing, quits the fight, or runs into WP:3RR and gets blocked, so if you can get help, you might be able to relatively easily resolve this. John Broughton | ♫♫ 20:36, 18 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Renaming a page.

[edit]

L.S.

Before asking this question, I've looked through the FAQ but couldn't really figure out how it worked.

The problem is that I've created two article with a title that is wrong. The first is: Muse CandyLo. The second is: Fantasy CandyLo. I've tried to redirect it but to no avail. Is it possible to have both Muse CandyLo and Fantasy CandyLo redirected to pages named Muse and Fantasy,m without of course compromising the existing pages under those names? Thank you very much in advance. Narqalaq 14:38, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You'll want to move them to Muse (Candy Lo album) and Fantasy (Candy Lo album), according to WP:NAME. Then you should add a link to those pages to the disambiguation pages for each term. --Sopoforic 14:43, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
To move an article, open the article and click on the move tab at the top (near history and watch). You can then specify a new name for the article. The old article name will automatically become a redirect to the new page. Using the article names suggested by Sopoforic above is a good idea, since there are already articles named Muse and Fantasy. You might also put a link in at the top of Muse and Fantasy telling people where to go if they're looking for the Candy Lo album. The template {{for}} can be used for this. —PurpleRAIN 17:10, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

CC-NC

[edit]

Why is this license not allowed at all on Wikipedia? It's not listed under Category:Non-free_image_copyright_tags. -- Zanimum 16:47, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's disallowed because our data is used by for-profit companies, and additionally because we may wish to sell print or DVD versions of Wikipedia (indeed, I believe the German Wikipedia has already done this). We want to give people the freedom to do what they like with the encyclopedia, including charge for it. --Sopoforic 16:51, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

best approach for editing an article that appears to be narrow in scope

[edit]

The article for "maternal effect" only addresses the topic from one perspective. This is also an important term in quantitative genetics and has important and broader meaning. The two topics and the two uses of the term are related. I feel confident in my ability to flesh out this article, but have never before contributed to Wikipedia. Should I directly edit the existing article, or should I somehow submit a new article?

Michael Morrissey —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 131.104.144.166 (talk) 17:27, 16 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

I'd recommend editing the existing article to include the new information. If it is later decided that the information belongs in a separate article, it will be easy to move. In general, it's best to include closely-related topics in one article unless the article becomes too long. --Sopoforic 17:32, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

{{PAGENAME}} in URL format

[edit]

How can I get the template {{PAGENAME}} to display in a URL format?

What I want to do is create an automated page-name that will be compatible for URL entry (example: "Wikipedia:Help Desk" to "Wikipedia%3FHelp_Desk"). I think that <tt> tags will do that, but I think that would screw with the link.

For example, say I want to make an auto-Google search for an article.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q={{PAGENAME}}

for the article Foo bar would generate

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=Foo bar

The problem here is that the pagename is represented as "Foo bar" instead of "Foo_bar", which fouls up a URL.

Please help. ~ Flameviper Who's a Peach? 17:38, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You want {{ARTICLEPAGENAMEE}}, I think. See Help:Magic words. --Sopoforic 17:46, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Gee, thanks! ~ Flameviper Who's a Peach? 17:38, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How to create an article

[edit]

How do I make an article? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.11.201.134 (talk) 19:42, 16 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Please read this page. Thanks. Xiner (talk, email) 19:43, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Template for absentee users?

[edit]

I seem to recall there is a template you can place on the user or user talk page of a user who has not edited in a long time. It said something like "This user has not edited wikipedia in a long time and may have left the project and may not respond to messages". Anyone know the template? —Dgiest c 19:46, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've done this without a template, see for example user talk:John Fader or user talk:Eequor. -- Rick Block (talk) 19:59, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I can only find Template:User_temporarily_inactive, which is not the same I know. Xiner (talk, email) 20:13, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Do we want to be doing this? I wouldn't try to stop someone from doing it for themselves, but I'd be concerned that putting such a tag on a page (and having a category for it) is akin to saying 'Hey vandals! Here's a page you can screw around with, 'cause nobody's gonna be watching!' TenOfAllTrades(talk) 20:35, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Some people like/need to advertise the fact that they will be away for a while. I wouldn't slap it on anyone else's page as it'd seem unnecessary. I'm not sure about the rationale for the category, although templates do save code duplication. Xiner (talk, email) 20:45, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Well just because a user is inactive/gone doesn't mean nobody has the page watchlisted. But it would be good to have a heads-up "don't bother posting a message here". —Dgiest c 20:50, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Also {{nothere}} (which is I think what you are looking for) or {{User inactive}}. —Pilotguy (ptt) 21:36, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

{{not around}} would be it. Thanks. —Dgiest c 22:33, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

ip addresses

[edit]

how often do aol ip addresses change?--Crocadog 20:48, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

They may every once in awhile, but not as much as they used to. Anonymous AOL users should only be editing through the 172 IP range. —Pilotguy (ptt) 21:37, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Talk page formatting help

[edit]

I want my talk page to have the {{signpost-subscription}} template to be on my talk page in the empty space under my archive box and to the right of the table of contents, but I can't quite get it to work. Can anyone please help me? Thanks! Reywas92TalkSigs 22:10, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I can only get it to stay left of the Archives and above the TOC. Xiner (talk, email)

Image tags

[edit]

I have requested the proper permissions and have copied permissions at wikipedia dot org for the following images. Why are they listed for deletion? What tags am I suppose to add? Image:20040712rocknrollmcd.jpg and Image:20040713hendrix.jpg —Preceding unsigned comment added by TonyTheTiger (talkcontribs) 22:52, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Please read the notices on the images. Basically you can't license it only for Wikipedia. Xiner (talk, email) 22:57, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I didn't knowingly choose only Wikipedia. There were only two types of licenses related to having been permission by the copyright holder. One was limited for educational uses and the other was general. I chose general. What was I suppose to choose. TonyTheTiger 23:34, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Go ahead and explain this on the AfD pages for the images, and they'll help you select proper licenses for the pictures. Note that if you did not take the images yourself, there may be problems with permission. -- Kesh 23:37, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It looks like you should be able to tag them with {{GFDL}} ~ BigrTex 23:39, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Entering new animal, how do I get to use a taxobox

[edit]

I've entered an animal I didn't find an entry for before. Now I would like to place a taxobox in the entry but all the links say the template is restricted. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Laurarsmith (talkcontribs) 22:57, 16 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

The easiest way is to copy the code from a similar animal and edit the info. I'm putting an example on your talk page. The editing of the template itself may be protected, but you can still use it. For more info, see Wikipedia:Templates. Xiner (talk, email) 23:00, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Questiopn about film clips, and education movies???

[edit]

Hi Ya guys, I new here and was wondering if there is a movie, or film department, or something along that line?? I have been doing stained glass for the past 31 years, and am looking for example's of how to do certain hot glass techniques. And, is this a great place or what, I have all these questions to ask, and I think I have finally found the right place. Your doing a great job. Many Thanks, William B. Mack

Please try Wikipedia:Reference_desk. Xiner (talk, email) 23:38, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
[edit]

if i posted a new idea or article that has never been discussed and is one of my areas or research, will it be infringed and who will support this infringment if i did not registered a patent for it yet? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.198.28.229 (talk) 00:27, 17 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

If you posted a new idea, you'd still own the copyright on it, but you'd have granted an irrevocable license for it to be used under the terms of the GFDL. On the other hand, original research isn't allowed on Wikipedia, so don't add it anyway. --Sopoforic 00:30, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Pop Group

[edit]

Hi how do i set up a page for my pop group on Wikipedia? i have registered my email address and started an account.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Johnd 2000 (talkcontribs) 19:49, January 16, 2007

Replied on user's talk page. Xiner (talk, email) 00:51, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

browsing history

[edit]

Is there a way to delete the browsing history on Wikipedia? (the items I've typed in the search box)

This is a function of your browser, not Wikipedia, but I believe you can just click on the item to delete, then click the delete key in most browsers. Prodego talk 02:48, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Use your keyboard or mouse scroll to highlight the item you want deleted, then press Delete. Xiner (talk, email) 02:50, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
This is a question for the Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing, and it depends on which browser you're using. The saving of search history isn't a Wikipedia feature. In IE 7, you click Tools, Internet Option, and then the "Delete..." button under "Browsing history"; click "Delete forms...", and you're good to go. In Firefox, it's just ctrl-shift-delete. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 02:52, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Well, that's a pretty drastic action that can delete info stored for other websites. If the user just wants to delete the search terms they typed in the Firefox search box, they can right-click in the box and select Clear Search History. Xiner (talk, email) 02:55, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It doesn't clear saved passwords/cookies by default, so that's likely not an issue. I still should have said that it would affect any page. I also completely forgot about the right clickery; too big on keyboards. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 02:58, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki cost

[edit]

Just how much does it cost to run a Wiki? I see the box above and it shows that Wikipedia needs more than 1 mil to finish its goal. Is it the same for all wikis? --JDitto 03:32, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Isn't that a fundraising goal? Xiner (talk, email) 03:35, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
But obviously they need that money to run their wiki...or are they keeping the extra profits to themselves? --JDitto 03:42, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Cost varies, but all Wikimedia Foundation projects are non-profit. (hence .org in URL). The English Wikipedia in particular requires a lot of money for hardware because it is accessed so much. Less popular wikis (and also those with fewer, shorter articles) are generally less expensive to run. You may find this interesting. Dar-Ape 03:45, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Thereès the Financial statements link up there on the banner; though I am unable currently to see what that it, I assume it consists of financial statements. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 03:47, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It costs virtually nothing to run a wiki if you don't need to support a lot of traffic - nearly all of them are open source so all you need is a web host. Wikipedia is one of the top 10 or so websites in the world (by number of hits). Supporting this level of traffic requires extremely serious computing resources. This site is run on a complex of several hundred servers with a sophisticated multi-tier caching architecture, supported by a paid staff of something like 3 people. I don't know what Microsoft spends supporting the microsoft.com website, but I'd guess it's several orders of magnitude more than Wikipedia's budget. -- Rick Block (talk) 03:54, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I'd imagine so... unlike Wikipedia, Microsoft hosts a great deal of large downloads that are being constantly retrieved around the clock. Running that system must be tough. .V. (talk) 04:01, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If you have a broadband connection, you could host a Wiki off your home computer, if it's going to see very light duty use. .V. (talk) 04:00, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Some webcomics host their own wikis right on the same server with the comic itself. Both come from the same set of funding. So, as usual, Your mileage may vary. -- Kesh 04:17, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, thank you all. Now I feel inspired to make my own wiki!--JDitto 03:41, 19 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]