Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 January 31

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January 31

Singing Shape Notes, Converted to Piano Playing Notes

My wife is trying to find a grand Staff Singing notes Converted To Piano Playing Notes, a chart between the two Differances side by side. She is learning to play piano and has a song she wrote ,but the notes were written in shape notes, my wife was a mennonite at the time,. A mennonite lady wrote shape notes to my wifes song. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Michael Karla (talk • contribs) 00:15, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Try the reference desk.--Kerotan^{Leave Me a Message} Have a nice day :) 00:18, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Which is here. XENON54 | talk | who? 00:33, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Does Wikipedia take a couple of days to update?

I have just returned from Sydney doing a photo shoot of old terraced (row) houses and yesterday inserted a 'houses' section with a small gallery in the Wikipedia article on Camperdown, an inner city suburb of Sydney. http://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/Camperdown%2C_New_South_Wales When bringing up the article today I see that my section has not yet appeared. However when I go into "history" and look at latest changes then bring up the page from there, my new section is there in all its glory! I take it that the server takes a day or so to update? I have noticed this in the past with other articles. Just want to ensure that I'm doing the right thing. Cheers. --MichaelGG (talk) 01:32, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Did you try purging the server cache? --Hdt83 ^Chat 01:33, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

(edit conflict)Its because you browser in caching the page, preventing the page from updating, if your using IE hold shift and click refresh.--Kerotan^{Leave Me a Message} Have a nice day :) 01:35, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

See more at Wikipedia:Bypass your cache. Some ISPs cache some pages before they reach the customers. Bypassing the browser cache doesn't help in that case. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:53, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Translating Pages

Are there any licensing issue for translating wikipedia articles in English to other languages for wikipedia essentially verbatim? Commment (talk) 01:58, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

No, Wikipedia content is free to use anywhere. —Travis^talk 02:02, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

With the caveat that the GFDL license would seem to require that you acknowledge the source. On en.wiki, you can use Template:Translation/Ref; I assume your target wikipedias have a similar tamplate. If you can't find it on one of them, you can ask there. --barneca (talk) 02:08, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

See also Wikipedia:Translation. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:30, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Juandrezh: A new language

I have been looking for the rules and regulations for making a new article, and in order to avoid any future problems, I'd like to explain the article I plan to make. I and a fellow student have developed a new language, or creole as its a mix of several languages, and wish to publicize its grammar and vocabulary. Juandrezhconsists of completely unique verbal conjuguations, orthography, etc. These grammatical elements are controled by a bipartisan group called the Academuzia Juandrezha dilla Lenguzia - Reglamentum dilla Grammaticuzia e l'Ôrtôgrafuzia. Many people have asked to be taught this language and I thought putting its grammatical rules into a wikipedia article would be much more efficient than private lessons. Will any probelsm arise if I proceed to create this article? Juandrezh (talk) 02:05, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The subject of your article doesn’t sound like it would meet Wikipedia’s notability guidelines and would seem to violate the restrictions against original research. Wikipedia cannot be used to establish notability - notability must already be established. —Travis^talk 02:12, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, Wikipedia is not a publisher of original thought and is not for things made up in school one day. • Anakin ^{(contribs • complaints)} 02:23, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

See the Constructed language article, and {{Constructed langyages}}. For a constructed language to earn notice in Wikipedia, it would have to be the subject of independently published reliable sources. If you have not published any academic papers about your constructed language yet, you could write about it on another wiki which accepts original research, such as: WikInfo; also see: wikiindex:Category:Language. Good luck with your language, and thanks for asking before creating a new article here. --Teratornis (talk) 20:56, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Holy cross high school, Waterbury, CT

Hi, before i posted a picture on the holy cross high school page of waterbury, CT. I put it under basketball and it was the three captains of 2005 along with the coach. It came on first, but than was deleted. Why? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jumpshtocap25 (talk • contribs) 02:40, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Note: The image in question is Holycross.jpg —Travis^talk 02:51, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The license apparently said it was only allowed to use on Wikipedia. Wikipedia allows others to reuse images and does not accept images that are only allowed on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia:Uploading images. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:05, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

HTMAL MESAGE

HOW TI GET THE NET SITE UDSED FOR HTML MESSAGE —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.172.7.157 (talk) 02:54, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Proper English please, I can't understand what you are trying to say. --FastLizard4 (Talk•Index•Sign) 02:56, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

What tags to put on brochure using a Wikipedia image

Hi there. I'm working on a brochure and we would like to use the following image [1] which is available for use under GNU 1.2. Thing is what tags should I put in the brochure? Couldn't see any firm instructions on this. Thanks for your help.Saganaki- (talk) 07:41, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Depending on your particular use, you will find usage instructions both at The GNU Free Documentation License, the General disclaimer page, and the image page itself. It may be some heavy reading, but it's important stuff. Hope this helps a bit! --omtay38 07:45, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, I've already trawled these and still couldn't figure out what to put. Trying to find some examples of sourcing via the search engines, but not luck. As wikipedia itself currently seems to be silent on the issue, if anyone is able to offer anything definite, perhaps we could consider adding a section to the image use page itself? Saganaki- (talk) 07:53, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Unfortunately, the GFDL is stupid. Thus you are required to include (as stated in part 2 of the license) not only a notice saying who holds the copyright and the 'released under the GFDL' blurb from the image page, but also the entire text of the GFDL itself. In addition, if making more than 100 copies, you are required to link to a 'transparent' version (i.e. the Wikipedia image page) and to take 'reasonably prudent steps' to ensure it remains there and is not deleted. Algebraist 10:37, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

I thought you just had to credit the source in a little footnote and state what the license was, surely? • Anakin ^{(contribs • complaints)} 13:25, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia does not own GFDL images and cannot legally decide how they are allowed to be reused. Wikipedia:Reusing Wikipedia content and Wikipedia:Verbatim copying may have some tips but note that Wikipedia does not give legal opinions. Sorry this may seem unsatisfactory. You can attempt to contact the original Japanese uploader of [2] at [3] but I don't know whether English will be understood. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:29, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Anakin: I'm afraid not. Read the GFDL. Algebraist 18:47, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Why is our "little" companies profile not meeting the Wiki standard for publication?

Is a Starbucks or Game Stop wiki entry an advertisement? If these companies have wiki entries why are other companies and their corporate profiles rejected. Who decides when a company will be included in wiki? Would anyone within the wiki world help me write a profile correctly to meet the standard? Thank your for your time in advance! Treynia Treynia (talk) 07:55, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi there and welcome to the help desk! Wikipedia has a set of notability guidelines for organizations and companies. Basically, these guidelines are a measure of whether or not a company or organization is a valid subject for an encyclopedic article. If you would like assistance creating an article or an opinion as to whether or not an article meets these guidelines, I would suggest creating a draft of the article in a subpage of your userspace. Then feel free to leave a message on my talk page or re-post here asking that the draft be looked at for notability and merit. Hope this helps! --omtay38 08:04, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Assuming that you are T. J. Reynia, you also have a severe conflict of interest in writing about GamesXchange, and would be very strongly discouraged from attempting to do so. --Orange Mike | Talk 14:43, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia does not want articles about every company, but Wikicompany does. I agree with the opinion that Wikipedia's notability requirements have the side effect of handing free exposure to large, established companies, but there's nothing we can do about that. (Strictly speaking, Wikipedia does not accept any content about a company which reads like advertising, but merely writing neutrally about large companies indirectly increases their exposure to potential customers.) Wikipedia does not want to become a comprehensive directory of every company in the world (see: WP:NOT#DIRECTORY); that's what Wikicompany is for. --Teratornis (talk) 21:05, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

ans me

should pakistan enetr into free trade with india ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.38.58.7 (talk) 08:26, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Try asking at Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Humanities with heading "Pakistan" or something useful. CarbonLifeForm (talk) 11:29, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The Reference Desk is not an appropriate place for questions of opinion. Corvus cornix_talk 20:00, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The question is ill-posed because it asks for a normative answer, which makes the answer subjective, and thus a function of who you ask. A better question is:

• If Pakistan and India sign a free trade agreement, what effects will this have (on specific industries, etc.)?

That is a positive question, one which admits objective answers, which all sane people might potentially agree on if they have access to the same data, regardless of whether they support or oppose such free trade. --Teratornis (talk) 18:06, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

I didn't do it!

I don't know if this is the place to go or not, but after reviewing the options, here goes. I was looking up "typhoon", and I saw a message box on the screen. The message told me to stop changing things, articles about high schools or sports I think, and I don't know how I could even have gotten messages. After looking everywhere, I saw someone else's message about the same kind of thing, and it was mentioned that someone might have used their IP address. 1 How coould someone use my IP address if that is what happened in this case? 2 I don't have an account, so how did I get this message? 3 How can I find the message again? --65.54.98.27 (talk) 08:45, 31 January 2008 (UTC)--65.54.98.27 (talk) 08:45, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

1 precisely because you didn't register. You appear to be using a shared ip address. Best thing is to register an account.

2 see the bottom of the page.

3 by clicking the blue talk link against your IP address. CarbonLifeForm (talk) 11:33, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

User talk:65.54.98.27, the talk page for the IP address used to post here, has warnings but does not mention high schools or sports. It's possible you have a dynamic IP address and got a message on another IP talk page. If that is the case then we cannot say which it was. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:14, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

BUYING FROM WIKIPEDIA

Resolved

 – Wikipedia’s [www.cafepress.com/wikipedia cafépress shop] pointed out to user

Have asked before but didn't have the time to buy before my travel, and now I forgot where to find it... - Where do I find the page where one can buy posters, T-shirts etc from Wikipedia? Do I need an account to be able to buy? All the best, Charlie —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.247.50.178 (talk) 09:44, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

There might be other places, but [www.cafepress.com/wikipedia here] is one. Algebraist 10:27, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

VERY MUCH THANK YOU !!!!! Now finally I could order. All the best to you - Charlie —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.247.50.178 (talk) 11:24, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Editing a page with no Editing link

A well known personality has certain details displayed in Wikipedia which I have been asked if I can remove. I have created an account as normal, and logged in, but there is no link on his page to allow me to edit the details. Neither is there a padlock indicating that it is locked.

Am I missing something?

Bob Jury —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bobjury (talk • contribs) 11:21, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

You have a conflict of interest. If the details don't violate Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons then you are discouraged from editing the article. You can make a suggestion on the talk page instead (click "discussion" at the top to get there). See Wikipedia:Contact us/Article problem/Factual error (from subject) for some types of problems. Some articles have no edit links to the right but only an "edit this page" tab at the top. Protecting an article and adding the padlock are different actions which don't always happen together. Click "history" and then "View logs for this page" to see a log which will include protections. If it's only semi-protected then you can edit it when your account is 4 days old. If it's fully protected then you can place {{Editprotected}} on the talk page with your request. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:10, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Unresolved

Is there an opposite of template:resolved ? CarbonLifeForm (talk) 11:24, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

In some situations you can use one of {{Unresolved}}, {{Stale}}, {{Stuck}}. If it appears people have just overlooked an old section then it sometimes helps to make a new post there, visible on watchlists and the page history. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:17, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Reverting banned user

Can I remove the POV edits and POV statements in an article talk page by a sock of banned user. If I delete or revert the edits in article talk page by the sock, will it be violation of any policy? Otolemur crassicaudatus (talk) 11:59, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Be bold and do it. CarbonLifeForm (talk) 13:11, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

If the statements on the Talk page are not violating any Wikipedia policies (such as WP:NPA), I would simply leave them to be archived later. POV edits to an article, though, can be removed immediately. -- Kesh (talk) 16:40, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

log in

hi...i'm having trouble logging in...never had this trouble before...sent for a new password and still can't get in...what gives...thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.48.13.232 (talk) 14:00, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Is anything at Help:Logging in of help? Did you receive the new password and use correct capitalization? PrimeHunter (talk) 14:03, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

template format question

I am trying write {{sep entry}} to link to articles at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy but am having trouble with the code.

I need

Zalta, Edward N., ed. (2008-01-31). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/Helpdesk/. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

to read

[4] entry at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy by Wikipedians, 2008-01-31.

Thanks in advance, and ignore this message if the two lines above appear identical. скоморохъ ^ѧ 15:15, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The above links don't appear to work...? Scarian^{Call me Pat} 15:39, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Apparently the goal was merely to make the template call {{sep entry|Helpdesk||Wikipedians|2008-01-31}} in the first line produce the text in the second line. The template has been edited since the post and currently produces an identical line so I guess the problem is resolved. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:51, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Looks like it is working to me. You got the template to append the "Helpdesk" page name to the link base. So, if you put that template on a philosophy page that has a matching entry at SEP you are all set. Seems like you should add a pipe (|) and repeat the page name variable so that the initial link shows up as word instead of a number. —Noah 15:55, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

My talk page is getting too long

Does somebody want to teach me how to archive?the juggreserection ^IstKrieg! 15:40, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

I haven't done it myself, but this page seems helpful.—Noah 15:42, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

I would like to replace Levamisole.svg with Levamisole2.svg but I'm a new user

Levamisole was listed as being in need of replacement in SVG so I went to the trouble of creating a nice .SVG image. But, someone beat me to it with what I think is not quite as nice an image. Look at how the wedge bond joins with the benzene and the proper ACS use of atom labels. (Although my image does have text issues with FireFox 2, but not FireFox 3). I thought I saw a notice saying I would have to ask the help desk to move the image for me.

oldimage

versus new image —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.71.243.155 (talk) 16:23, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

So could someone make a judgement and replace the original if it's deemed worthy. I will try to avoid replication in the future. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.71.243.155 (talk) 16:21, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Responded on user talk. --omtay38 16:28, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Template for something that needs translating into another language?

I have come across an Islam-related article (namely, Sadaqah) whose title needs translating into Arabic at the start of the article (like the other Muslim terms in their respective articles - see, for instance, Zakat). Which template do I need in order to flag this issue up and have someone provide a translation?

Thanks in advance! It Is Me Here (talk) 18:42, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

I don't know, but something on Wikipedia:Template messages/translation might work. --Teratornis (talk) 20:48, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

List of questions

Would I break a rule/law if I compile a list of most... well... dumbest questions on WP:RD and publish it in a website? --grawity ^{talk / PGP} 19:15, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

You'd have to comply with the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Other than that... myself, I'd argue that it might be deemed a violation of WP:CIVIL to mock the querents like that; but then, I'm a Quaker, and take civility unusually seriously. --Orange Mike | Talk 19:24, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

WP:CIVIL only applies to Wikipedia; the list would be on another site, where WP:CIVIL does not apply. Wikipedia has no grounds for telling other sites what to do, other than comply with the GFDL as it applies to copying Wikipedia's content. The whole point of the GFDL is that we allow people to re-use our content as they please, even in ways we may personally dislike. Also, such a list would not necessarily constitute mockery, provided that it merely lists some questions which already appeared on WP:RD. (If some readers conclude on their own that a question is mockable, that's up to them to decide. Lots of people laugh at lots of things, and there isn't much we can do to stop them. But we can choose not to submit to our own "embarrassment genes.") To constitute mockery, the list would also have to include some commentary telling us what the site owner thinks about the questions. And even if the site owner expresses a negative opinion, it's still up to the reader to decide whether to agree with it. Making fun of other people is a comedic mainstay; people like Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien have earned fortunes from it, and have become extremely popular as a result. They probably would not be so popular if they habitually insulted their audiences - most people find it much easier to laugh at other people than to laugh at themselves. --Teratornis (talk) 20:45, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Userspace question

Is there an easy way to view a complete list of user subpages for a given user?--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back (talk) 19:56, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Sure. Go to Special:Prefixindex, type the user's name and set the namespace first to user, then to user talk.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 20:05, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

If you want to put links on your user page to all of your own user subpages and user talk pages, this handy markup does the trick:

*[{{fullurl:Special:Prefixindex|namespace=2}}&from={{PAGENAMEE}} See all my user subpages]
**[{{fullurl:Special:Prefixindex|namespace=3}}&from={{PAGENAMEE}} and all their talk pages]

See it in action here: User:Teratornis#User sub-pages. --Teratornis (talk) 20:26, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the quick reply.--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back (talk) 20:36, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Display trouble

I'm not sure where to ask this question, or whether it might be a problem with my browser, but here goes...Until a few days ago, I always had a little bar across the bottom of the screen (when in WP) that would show the name of the link when I hovered over it with my pointer. Now it's gone and I don't know why and it's really bugging me...I didn't realize how much I used it! Anyone know how I can get it back? SlackerMom (talk) 20:07, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Chances are it's a browser problem. What browser are you using? --omtay38 20:14, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

If you are using Internet Explorer, you need to go to View/Toolbars and make sure that Address Bar is checked. SpinningSpark 20:18, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The bar at the bottom of the screen is the Status Bar. --teb728 t c 20:44, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Oh, perfect! Thank you VERY much. Yes, it was actually the "Status Bar" that needed to be checked. I must have unchecked it by accident in some editing fury! Much obliged! (All is now right with the world...) SlackerMom (talk) 20:46, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The Dim Mak

I was wondering if there is any documentation concerning the Dim Mak secrets in physiology? The time aspects etc are they an intrgral part of this study of Dim Mak(Oriental...Death Touch)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 150.135.162.85 (talk) 20:56, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Hello! This is the help desk, a place for asking questions about the usage of wikipedia. This question may be better suited for the reference desk. Best regards! --omtay38 20:58, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. The Helpful One 21:15, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

How to edit a section

How do you edit a section? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lmboone2 (talk • contribs) 21:02, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

See: Help:Section#Section editing. --Teratornis (talk) 21:10, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

There is usually an [edit] button on the left of the section title. Click it to do a sectional edit.

How to create my own page

how do i create my own page-a completely new one? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hurricaneroger (talk • contribs) 21:06, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation.

The Helpful One 21:13, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure, but I think that Hurricaneroger may have meant user sub-pages. Information on that can be found here. Icestorm815 (talk) 21:16, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

homeless people

hello i am doing a scince fair prodject on how homeless people might have mental problems do u have any pages that are about that?? it would be a lot of help.. from sarah —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.29.26.232 (talk) 21:37, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. --Orange Mike | Talk 21:46, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

See Homelessness which does detail this issue. Unfortunately, it is not a very well verified article. Be wary of any text that does not have a citation after it. Ideally, you should be looking to the sources cited, and not the encyclopedia article, for rigor in academic research.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:24, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Add text to a image

How do i add text to a image on wiki? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ohrchodosh (talk • contribs) 21:47, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi. Use this code.[[Image:name of image|thumb|caption text]] The placement is defaulted to the right of the page, but you can add a placement parameter such as "|left" to change the default. You can also change the size (usually not recommended) by typing "|(numeral) px." Just a note on terminology. This place is Wikipedia. A wiki is any site using wiki software (there are thousands of them). Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk)

Loss of session data

On Jan 30, I attempted to create a new page/article (my first)titled, "Cooperative living arrangements"

After spending considerable time to input text,, I hit "Save page".

I then got a screen that said "Sorry! We could not process your edit due to loss of session data. Please try again."

My new article appeared on the screen as "Preview". When I clicked "Article", it disappeared.

In spite of much searching, I have not been able to find it again.

How does this happen?

Can I retrieve my input in any way?

Do I have to start all over again? If I do re-input all the text, how do I know that the same thing won't happen again?

Please advise.

Thanks!Speers (talk) 22:01, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

On my browser, at least, immediately clicking 'back' returns me to the edit screen with all my edits in place. If it's longer ago, you may be able to find your data in your browser history. 131.111.8.104 (talk) 22:28, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

No, if you click article, you will have gone to the article page again and lost all the text. You should have clicked on "Save" again. This error happens if you have been composing your message too long. The edit page is not sure anymore about who you are and where you are from, and needs an intermediate step to confirm that you really did press the submit button. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 22:33, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Your text is gone and no, you don't know that it won't happen again. This eventually happens to anyone who writes online a lot if they don't take precautions. The lesson learned is: never click save/post/submit on any online forum, website, etc. without at least highlighting and copying your proposed text, and if it's lots of text that you've slaved over, saving it somewhere such as in a wordpad document.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:16, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Even if you clicked "article", you may be able to get back to where you were typing in your text by clicking "back" on your browser. If you've done other things after that, you still might get there by clicking "back" a number of times, going back past everything you did after that, until you get back to where you were editing. I did that just now, to test: I clicked "project page" (which is like clicking "article", except that the help desk isn't an article) and I then clicked "back" and got back to the edit box with half this post still in it.

In other words, I don't think it's saved at Wikipedia, but it might still be in your browser's cache or whatever.

Sorry you lost all that work.

I'm not sure, but I think it might help next time if you click "preview" every couple of minutes. Then the Wikipedia server knows you're still there. If you're adding a lot of material, it's probably a good idea to click "save page" after every few paragraphs, so that if your Internet connection gets broken or anything, you only lose a few paragraphs at most. Or, save it now and then in another application as someone suggested above. Saving after every tiny little change is discouraged because it adds too many lines to the page history and to the Recent Changes log. --Coppertwig (talk) 00:46, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Creating a Wikiproject Banner TEMPLATE

I need help creating a template to house my wikiproject banner. I'm not confident enough to make one on my own, however with some help I might be able to have it done by weeks end.  :: RatedR ^{Leg of Lamb} 23:16, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

You can request templates at Wikipedia:Requested templates. However, if you provide some detail about what you want in the template, depending on its complexity, someone here might just bang it out for you; impossible to do without those details. You can explore other Wikiproject banners here. It would likely be very helpful in any request for the template for you say you want it to resemble/have the features of an existing template you can name.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:31, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

3.5 FLOPPY

3.5 floppy:how do i download WIKI erial to disk off the internet, and then retrievE the information off the disk whether online or offline ? i think i'm not finding a character somewhere. NOTE:I HAVE WINDOWS 98, AND AMERICA ONLINE. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.215.29.80 (talk) 23:32, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The Help Desk if for asking questions about using Wikipedia only. Cheers, LAX 23:35, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

This is technically about Wikipedia. Anyway, in most browsers, including AOL, there should be a "Save" option in the File menu. Save the page (it should be an HTML file) to the floppy. As floppies can only hold ~1.39 MB of data, an article of average length should fit on there fine, however if you want to store pictures or multiple articles you will run into problems. XENON54 | talk | who? 23:36, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

3.5 floppy part 2

im trying to retrieve wikipedia material (error in last message)from the disk, i know it went through, i just can't call it up. looking for the proper setting and where to find it.63.215.29.80 (talk) 23:42, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

This sounds like a question for the computing reference desk. The nice folks over there know everything there is to know about computers and hopefully can help you with your problem. XENON54 | talk | who? | 23:45, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Signature question

I have a question of my own about signatures. Some users (O and Mercury come to mind) have complicated signatures that display the post time in a format of their choosing. As you are probably confused by now, let me create an example of what I'm looking for:

• XENON54 | talk | who? | 31/01/08, 23:51_GMT

How do I do that? You can see that I've attempted to do this in my above posts, but I have been unable to override the time that automatically appears. XENON54 | talk | who? 23:51, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Maybe you can use Help:Magic words#Time. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:23, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure, but here are some things to try:

• Click "my preferences"-->"user profile" and click the "raw signature" box.
• Include the formatted date-time as part of your signature, then get in the habit of signing your posts using only three tildes (~~~), which leaves off the time.
• If all else fails, ask one of the users who has a nifty signature like that how they did it. :-) --Coppertwig (talk) 00:38, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

I think Xenon is just looking for tildes -- Use ~~~~ to add your User name and the date and time to all Talk page edits. Corvus cornix_talk 03:51, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

No, no, I know all about tildes. I want to compress my signature by formatting the time a certain way. Anyway, as you can see, Coppertwig's method works - thanks! XENON54 | talk | who? | 01 Feb 2008 11:47_GMT