Help desk
< August 29	<< Jul \| August \| Sep >>	August 31 >

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.

August 30

Clicking "edit" gives blank page

Hey everyone,

I've been editing Wikipedia for a few months on Internet Explorer with no problem.

Today, however, when I click "edit" on an article, it just gives me a totally blank white page. No error message even. This is only for articles. I can edit here, I can edit my talk page, I can edit an article's talk page, etc.

When I use Google Chrome, however, it lets me edit perfectly fine. But I'd rather not use it, because ProveIt often messes up on Google Chrome for me, and when I click "save" on Google Chrome I often get extra lines put in and spacing, or my work just doesn't show up. I use Internet Explorer, and I'd like to get this solved.

Thanks. --Activism1234 01:22, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Just tried IE9 with a random article, and it's absolutely fine. It may be a problem on your part. A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 04:10, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Yes but how would I fix this? Is it perhaps something to do with a subpage of vector.js or commons.js, which I recently added a script to today? --Activism1234 04:24, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Are you using IE9? Ryan Vesey 04:34, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

It might be a cache problem with Internet explorer. See Wikipedia:Troubleshooting#Cache problems with Internet Explorer. Ryan Vesey 04:36, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Yes I am using IE9. I will try doing the cache thingy. --Activism1234 04:39, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

OK I went back to IE9 and tried editing a Wikipedia article without following the rules in that link you sent, and now all of a sudden it works! Thanks anyway for the help. One more thing - I've used Google Chrome on multiple computers, not just mine, and I always have the same problem I mentioned above with ProveIt. It inserts it in the article, but leaves out the <ref> and </ref> tag. Is it like this for all Google Chrome? Do you know what I can do to fix it? If not, don't worry. --Activism1234 04:43, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I've never liked ProveIt but it does include the ref tags. Have you considered using the cite button on the reference toolbar instead? Ryan Vesey 04:46, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I'll use that instead if I use Google Chrome. Thanks. --Activism1234 06:36, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

How to propose an article for 'Wikipedia:In the news'

I want to propose a new article I've written for Wikipedia:In the news, but I am not entirely sure about the procedure. The article is Leistungsschutzrecht and I already added it at Portal:Current events/2012 August 30. How do I propose it for ITN? -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlk−ctb) 08:01, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Nominations are proposed at Wikipedia:In_the_news/Candidates, or WP:ITN/C for short. A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 08:31, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, I added it at Wikipedia:In the news/Candidates#Leistungsschutzrecht. -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlk−ctb) 08:49, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Adding links into the text

HI, Please could you tell me if words in the article I'm writing that link to other pages in Wikipedia will automatically 'light up' as links in the final page or is this something I have to do myself? If so please could you let me know how to do this? Before or after publication? Thanks very much for your help! Vemuss (talk) 11:00, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You have to add the links yourself. You can do this by typing [[2 square brackets]] before and after the text you wish to link. For example, adding [[Tattoo]] will make it show up as Tattoo.

Now let's say you want to link to United States presidential election, 2004 but you want the text to say "Presidential election of 2004". Then you would type

[[United States presidential election, 2004|presidential election of 2004]]

with a pipe (which looks like | ) separating the article you want to link and the text you want to show up. Now the link will show up as presidential election of 2004 and when you click on the link it will take you to United States presidential election, 2004. A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 11:12, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Note that you can do this any time you want to, before or after it goes up in mainspace. A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 11:13, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

See more at Help:Link. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:20, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

OJJDP and NIJ Facebook Pages

Good Morning,

I work for the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. We were recently approved to establish a social media presence in our agency and we are beginning to create Facebook pages and Twitter accounts for our Bureaus and Offices. I found that you have a Facebook page already created for two of our Offices OJJDP (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Office-of-Juvenile-Justice-and-Delinquency-Prevention/116071225073574?rf=116316181716207) and NIJ (http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Institute-of-Justice/119563081423443?rf=144901145523357).

We do not want to confuse the public. While we appreciate the fact that you took the initiative to establish a Facebook presence while we worked through the approval process, we would like for OJJDP and NIJ to have one Facebook page. I am asking for the removal of these two pages, our official Facebook page is located here http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Office-of-Justice-Programs/184230948375628 if you would like to direct people to this page instead. Thank you for your assistance. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 149.101.1.120 (talk) 12:53, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

This is the help page for users of Wikipedia. Your request refers to Facebook. Facebook does, as you have found, copy material from Wiikipedia, and does so in a way that we at Wikipedia have no control over. That said, I find that WIkipedia does indeed have two articles, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and National Institute of Justice. These appear to me to describe different agencies – but I know nothing about this field. If you believe that the two articles should be merged, the right place to discuss it would be on the "Talk" pages of the two articles. Maproom (talk) 14:01, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Here is a standard reply to posts about Facebook copies of Wikipedia articles:

Facebook community pages may incorporate content from Wikipedia—such use complies with Wikipedia policies on reuse of content. We at Wikipedia have no control over how the content is included nor can we help to remove it. Facebook does have a topic on Community pages and profile connections on their Help Center. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:27, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Problems with editing and inserting a reference

Hi I really need some help with a reference citation that I'm trying to enter following a small edit to a reference on a page

It's reached the point where I need some help as despite everything I have read or tried to do - it is not correcting. I even tried to undo the edit but could not do that either

Please can I have some help

Thanks

ML Eastop MLCollard 13:28, 30 August 2012 (UTC)

MLCollard 13:28, 30 August 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mleastop (talk • contribs)

It seems I've fixed the references now. A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 14:13, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you very much - though it would be helpful to know what I was doing wrong for future reference! Very grateful for your prompt help! MLCollard 15:54, 30 August 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mleastop (talk • contribs)

It was so extremely complicated that I didn't mention it, but you can get an idea of what I did here. A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 19:11, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Take a look at WP:Referencing for beginners.--ukexpat (talk) 19:22, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Reminder service

Does anyone know of a bot or script that can be used in-wiki to provide task reminders (in the same manner as Outlook's reminder function)? Having just come back from a long-ish break, I find that I'm struggling to remember the little wikijobs I intended to complete on my return - a bit of software that did it for me would be jolly handy. Yunshui 雲‍水 13:48, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I just use my userpage.

show userpage

“

→ The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them -- words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out. But it's more than that, isn't it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you've said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That's the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller but for want of an understanding ear.

”

Benzband Talk Awards

Links

I'm ben (talk • email • contribs • logs • groups • sock • global)

Tip of the day

Tip of the day...

What can be included in Wikipedia?

Wikipedia has only a few limitations on what topics it covers. Recipes and how-to articles are not included in the main namespace, but just about everything else is.

In which other encyclopedia do you find a list of sex positions, an article about nose picking or one about William Shatner's version of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds? As long as an article is verifiable, informative and neutral, it has a pretty good chance of being acceptable (see Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not for some other common rules). We strive to collect the sum of human knowledge, some of which may be trivial, but nevertheless is part of our cultures and our histories. Wikipedia is not paper‍—‌we need not worry about space constraints.

Prior tip – Tips library – Next tip

Tasks

wikify an article
clean up articles
clean up refs (syntax • reformat • fix format • ref list • params • naming)
fix template issues
write a lead section
fill in coordinates
categorize a page (uncategorized pages)
add an infobox
clean up linkrot
clean up dab pages (disambiguate links • dab solver)
proofread single-editor articles
review pending changes
investigate copyright problems (101)
help 0 wikipedian(s) (help desk • editor assistance • teahouse)
create an article (images • afc • redirects)
open tasks • job center • boredom cure
backlog (status)

Vandalism

	1			2		3			4		5
edit purge view		Moderate to high level of vandalism					4.05 RPM according to EnterpriseyBot 20:10, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

This is a Wikipedia user page.
This is not an encyclopedia article or the talk page for an encyclopedia article. If you find this page on any site other than Wikipedia, you are viewing a mirror site. Be aware that the page may be outdated and that the user in whose space this page is located may have no personal affiliation with any site other than Wikipedia. The original page is located at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Help_desk/Archives/2012_August_30.

benzband (talk) 16:06, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I also have a list of things I routinely do on my user page. But if it does change from time to time (e.g. new articles) just create a to-do list. A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 19:08, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I do already have an ongoing to-do list on my usepage, to which I add and subtract as I go. What I'm after is something more akin to a diary reminder - for example, if I want to do something on a specific date in the future (review a newly-released journal, for example, or check that an event I was preparing an article for has taken place) it would be handy to have something like the new message bar pop up. Leaving such things on my usepasge for weeks at a time seems inefficient, somehow. But meh, it's not that important; if it doesn't exist then I'm not going to learn to program just for that. Maybe I'll request it at the Village Pump at some point. Thanks for the suggestions. Yunshui 雲‍水 20:40, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-08-06/Op-ed… benzband (talk) 21:06, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Namibia

Good day! As I warned, I'm backward in the forward world. The entry re climate, Namibia, demands my citation reference. I wish to enter <ref> Data on file" paper and digital Climate Section, Namibia Meteorological Services, plus compilation of 700 rainfall stations by J Olszewski <ref>(myself). Am in difficulty getting this into the citation point:please help! — Preceding unsigned comment added by JohnDS Olszewski (talk • contribs) 16:55, 1 September 2012‎

For the formatting, you need to change the second <ref> to </ref>. As for the rest, I'm not sure how you would show it.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:42, 3 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

GAs and FAs by length

Is there any way to get a list all GA or FAs, sorted by length?--Jsjsjs1111 (talk) 13:52, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, the Wikipedia:CatScan tool has an option to sort by page size in bytes. -- John of Reading (talk) 15:46, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

File requests

Hi, I've been using Wikipedia for a while, but I haven't gotten into file uploading and modifying until recently. Where can I request a specific file or ask someone to modify a file for me? Thank you. Van Gulik (talk) 15:26, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

To ask for a file to be uploaded for you, the "official" answer is Wikipedia:Files for upload, but you could try posting the file's URL here. To ask for a previously-uploaded file to be modified (cropping, contrast adjustment, and so on), there's the Wikipedia:Graphic Lab. -- John of Reading (talk) 15:42, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

(e/c) You might ask right here. If it's not something someone here can do, we would need to know the specifics in order to pinpoint where to direct you further. Generally, though, see Wikipedia:Graphic Lab, Wikipedia:Requested pictures, Wikipedia:Files for upload and {{reqphoto}}. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 15:47, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, evrybody. Now I know what to do.

Love the username, Fughettaboutit. Was just on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge the other day.;)Van Gulik (talk) 19:52, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Changing Article Name

I work for ADAA, and our name in no longer the Anxiety Disorders Association of America. We are now known as the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. How can I edit the title of the entry to reflect that change?

I also need to change the logo to reflect the new name of the organization, but I understand I need to have at least ten edits on Wikipedia before I can do anything with photos. As I only have an account here in order to work on my organization's entry, is there any way to waive that requirement? If not, I understand, but I appreciate the consideration of it.

Thank you for your help.

Kate Mewhiney — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kmewhiney (talk • contribs) 16:15, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I confirmed the name change and moved the article to Anxiety and Depression Association of America. I have deleted the logo from the article for the moment. To get help with uploading a replacement for the ADAA logo file, you can go to Wikipedia:Files for upload/Wizard and follow the instructions. Let us know if you need any more help. Regards, Ka renjc 18:17, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Is there a noticeboard on WP for seeking help with finding sources?

It's in the subject basically. I've hit a brick wall in looking for sources and would like to ask for help, but don't know if there's anywhere to do that? The only place which seemed appropriate is the article rescue squadron, but since it's not an article rescue issue it didn't seem appropriate to distract attention from articles which need scrutiny because they're on a timer. Any ideas? Someone another 17:11, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Would WP:REX help? --Jayron32 17:34, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I think that's perfect, unless they tell me to pike off because it's for a pop. culture list. Thanks for your help! Someone another 18:25, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Charlie Siem

Could I get an administrator to check into this article? There have been two reversions regarding an uncomplimentary review that may not be appropriate for inclusion. One of the editors isn't responding to requests for discussion. Pkeets (talk) 18:14, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I hope I'm not steering you wrong, but try WP:ANI.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:52, 3 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Book creator: Can't add linked wikipages, can't add chapters, and can't drag-and-drop article to change their order

When I use the Book Creator, and hover over a link, there is no longer a yellow rectangle allowing me to add the linked wiki page to my book. Also, when I have a set of articles and review (manage) my book, there is no link to "Create a chapter", and I can't move the articles up and down via "drag-and-drop".

What could be going on here? I have searched the archives, and think that I'm not the first one experiencing these problems, however, I have not seen any solutions posted. Any suggestions? Mehinger (talk) 19:33, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I think this is a new issue. Somebody else posted to Help talk:Books#Structuring today. The help desk archives have several posts from users who lost their book or couldn't download it but I don't recall reports of the problems you describe. I'm not very familiar with the normal operation of the book creator tool but I can confirm it currently behaves as you describe and not as claimed at Help:Books. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:56, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

If this is a bug in Wikipedia, is there somewhere one can post and make the Wikipedia programmers aware of the problem? Mehinger (talk) 05:13, 31 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The bug has now been reported on WP:Bugzilla. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mehinger (talk • contribs) 06:47, 31 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Afrikaans speaking Wikipedians

Is there anyone here that I can speak to that has some command of Afrikaans? I need help for an article I want to write based on Afrikaans speaking peoples. Thank you.

Is daar iemand hier wat ek kan praat wat 'n bevel van Afrikaans? Ek het dit nodig vir 'n artikel wat ek wil om te skryf wat gebaseer is op Afrikaanssprekende volke. Dankie.

--Gautengeleng (talk) 19:47, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

There is an Afrikaans Wikipedia located at http://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuisblad . You may have better luck asking directly there for someone bilingual in English and Afrikaans. There's also Category:User af which has over 500 members. --Jayron32 19:53, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Also see Wikipedia:Translators available#Afrikaans-to-English-- OBSIDIAN†SOUL 23:09, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

length for GAs

Is there any requirements of length for GAs? Cause I found lots of them were too short and didn't say much, such as Texas Recreational Road 7 and Texas Recreational Road 10. And would "too short" be a good reason for asking a reassessment?--Jsjsjs1111 (talk) 19:55, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The critera are listed at WP:GA?. There is no length or "comprhensiveness" requirement, so being short does not disqualify an artitcle for GA status, as long as it meets all the criteria. RudolfRed (talk) 20:15, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The criterion for a good article is that it must be complete and focused, not long and wordy. However, stubs can never be good articles. Reaper Eternal (talk) 20:18, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Well, articles like Texas Recreational Road 7 are clearly "stubs".--Jsjsjs1111 (talk) 21:43, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) I always tended to think of it as "As long as needed to say what is necessary, but without saying anything superfluous". It can be too short or too long, but there is no absolute limit. Some GAs say all they need in one page of text; others are too short at 2-3 pages, if they leave out huge chunks of relevent info. It needs to be decided on an article by article basis. --Jayron32 21:44, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

No, they are not stubs, at least not in the Wikipedia sense of the word. WP:STUB RudolfRed (talk) 21:59, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know. Is there any vital piece of information missing from the article about a 2.4 mile road? I think it looks as complete as it can be. --Jayron32 22:17, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

WT:GAN would be a better venue for your question. Regards.--Kürbis (✔) 08:55, 31 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I am corresponding

with the descendants of an artist, trying to get copyrights stuff straightened out so that I can use my pictures of the artist's works on wikipedia. And they want to know what the law actually says on the subject. Somewhere on wikipedia are the actual laws, but I can't find them. Can anyone direct me to them? Thanks, Einar aka Carptrash (talk) 20:11, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

See if WP:COPYREQ has what you need RudolfRed (talk) 20:18, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, I'll look and hopefully we'll get some usable pictures for the Samuel Cashwan article. Carptrash (talk) 20:35, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

My ~ ~ ~ ~ fails to provide link to my userpage or talk page?

Hi all, veteran editor here I noticed some months ago that MarketDiamond 22:06, 30 August 2012 (UTC) fails to provide link to my userpage or talk page? Please help. MarketDiamond 22:06, 30 August 2012 (UTC)

Should work but I noticed some of your sigs are a stange format, just to amuse can you just put the four tildes on this page without anything else so we can see the result, thanks. MilborneOne (talk) 22:14, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

In the signature section of the first page of your preferences, is the "Signature:" field empty, and the checkbox next to "Treat the above as wiki markup...." unticked?--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:17, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

testingMarketdiamond (talk) 22:22, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Fuhghettaboutit it worked! All hail wikitech! Thanks Fuhghettaboutit and MilborneOne! Marketdiamond (talk) 22:23, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Additional notice: If you though want to change your signature, simply write [[User:Marketdiamond|MarketDiamond]] ([[User talk:Marketdiamond|talk]]) (or sth like that) in your preferences - than it will link to your user-/talk-page and everything is fine ;-) 111Alleskönner (talk) 00:25, 31 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You're welcome.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:47, 31 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

new login

How do I get a login and password? I have been writing a weekly financial column since 1998 that goes to about 200 newspapers of the IFPA. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.104.186.178 (talk) 22:49, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Everybody can create a Wikipedia account at Special:UserLogin/signup. There is no review process. If it isn't a Wikipedia account you want then you are in the wrong place. This is a help desk for the encyclopedia Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:20, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]