Jump to content

Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2012 February 4

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Help desk
< February 3 << Jan | February | Mar >> February 5 >
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.


February 4

[edit]

I don't even know where to start?!?!

[edit]

My name is james, I make music with my record label Echoscape Records. We've put out a couple releases and I'd like to get the info on here, as I see plenty of other artists have. My main problem however though, is I would like to use wikipedia to make the distinction between The Jamie Starr Scenario, Jamie Starr ( Prince's pen name ), and Jamie Starr ( myself as a performer ) I spent lots of time on wikipedia and i know phrases with multiple meanings are separated by category, I however have no idea how to do this. If anyone could please help that would be great, I know wikipedia is a community contribution, whoever can help me, I'll gladly give free copies of my music too ( Its days worth I promise ) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Echoscape (talkcontribs) Echoscape (talkcontribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.

For disambiguation of articles seeWikipedia:Disambiguation. For the reasons why you should not write about yourself see Wikipedia:Autobiography. —teb728 t c 03:15, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

King Elementary - noteworthy?

[edit]

'King Elementary' had one album and then disbanded. The group and the record got a decent amount of press in the time they were active:

And on Amazon and iTunes: http://www.amazon.com/Kudzu-King-Elementary/dp/B0009X76KU http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/kudzu/id67357852

My question is: is this band noteworthy enough for an article?

Thanks, w — Preceding unsigned comment added by Walker222 (talkcontribs) 02:14, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Criterion 1 of WP:BAND is relevant here. I think it is debatable whether the band meets that criterion. – ukexpat (talk) 02:35, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I did a Google News Archive search and here are a couple potential sources.[1][2] A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 02:58, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Deleted image still shows

[edit]

File:Charlie.png was recently deleted because it was redundant to another image; because the name is non-specific, the image was recreated as a placeholder image, identical to File:Name.jpg. However, the thumbnail down below still shows the old image. Any idea how to get it to go away? I've tried purging, both by Control-F5 in IE and by clicking the clock gadget in the top right corner. Nyttend (talk) 03:10, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Added `?1` to the end of the thumbnail's URL as described at Wikipedia:Purge#For images. Problem solved. PleaseStand (talk) 07:22, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Rejected Article

[edit]

May i know the reasons why my created article "Kolkata Hospital Fire" wasn't accepted and ultimately rejected. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Work2win (talkcontribs) 04:46, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Because Wikipedia is not a newspaper, it is an encyclopedia. The content as you created it is more suitable to Wikinews/Wikinews multilingual portal. The fire is covered at AMRI hospital fire#Fire incident. I suggest you see if you can add anything to that section or investigate if the incident is covered at any of the various language-editions of Wikinews and perhaps contribute to Wikinews. Shearonink (talk) 05:11, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

about delivery of new city Honda 1.5 V MT Exclusive with sun roof

[edit]

Dear sir , This is regarding delivery of New city Honda 1.5 V MT Exclusive with sun roof . I am interested to purchase this model car and on could not get any definite answer from your dealer when the car will be available with them . Hence I personally request you to kindly infomr me about this . Yours prafulla kumar — Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.93.129.114 (talk) 07:20, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 3.8 million articles and thought we were affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. —teb728 t c 07:33, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Program For Editing

[edit]

Is there an program I could use (I've heard people use AWB for editing Wikipedia (possibly other sister projects)) that could give me a list of articles which use the prefixes:

  • fam
  • great
  • well
  • know
  • best

?

(You'll see that on my user page I mention that these "prefixes" usually are used to indicate some sort of pov (usually, these words are added by inexperienced editors.).)

I've resorted to using CTRL+F to find these words on articles, but is there a program that can do this for me when I click on "Random article"?Curb Chain (talk) 08:08, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I think AWB would probably be able to do that for you. Once you've got the list of articles you want to check, use the 'Find' box to enter a search term; I think it will then find and highlight instances of those words. I'm not 100% sure (I don't use AWB a great deal), but I think that should work. You have way more than 500 edits, so should be accepted by default to use it. If that does not work, AWB has a discussion page where you can probably get further advice. I hope that helps. ItsZippy (talkcontributions) 17:45, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Is it just a simple CTRL+F feature? Because my Chrome does that.Curb Chain (talk) 03:10, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
AWB will go through all the articles on your list and find you instances of the search term. So if you put "best" into it, it will run through the list and stop every time an article with the word "best" somes up, and highlight it for you. It is a bit like Ctrl+F on Chrome, but it will only show you articles where the search term occurs and skip the rest, allowing you to do it faster. There is also a Find & Replace function, but I don't think that's quite right for what you want. ItsZippy (talkcontributions) 16:51, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Oops, this discussion is now going on in two places, here and here. But, briefly: given an article, the AWB "Find" function is configurable enough to highlight all the words beginning with all of these prefixes. -- John of Reading (talk) 17:06, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
[edit]

Can external links be anywhere in an article, or just in the "External links" section? -- Dougher (talk) 08:09, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

External links can be provided in the body of an article if it is extremely relevant and helpful to what is written there. However, if there is a Wikipedia article about the same thing as the external link, it is preferred to make an internal link instead. Someguy1221 (talk) 08:16, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The Nurturing Network

[edit]

I don't know where to begin with this. In reading about the Komen controversy, I ran across comments about the political views and organizational affiliations of its executives. Jane Abraham, a board member, is founder of the Susan B. Anthony list, a pro-life organization. She is also founder of the The Nurturing Network

The word on the net is that the Nurturing Network is a right wing front that uses misinformation and bullying to prevent women who come to it from getting abortions. However, the Wikipedia article on the Nurturing Network is very laudatory, with not a hint about that, but most of its sources seem potentially biased.

So I just wanted to throw out a shade of doubt about the wikipedia article. Googling for the Nurturing Network turns up a first few pages of normal looking stuff, although including citations from Catholic organizations. You have to dig around to find the "we help women avoid abortions" stuff. Trudyjh (talk) 10:15, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

It does look excessively promotional to me. You can challenge it by adding a {{POV}} tag on the article and explaining your reasons on the talk page. If you don't know how to use templates, see Help:Template. Specific usage instructions are also in the first link.-- OBSIDIANSOUL 14:49, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I seek some advice re a user who marks most edits as minor.

[edit]

An infrequent user has marked most of his recent contributions as minor edits. See Special:Contributions/Avaloan. They haven't been - there's been page moves, blanking his talk page, adding/changing article content and replying on talk pages. I've mentioned this as part of a thread on AN/I - Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/Incidents#Ashoka. I've also shared my concerns on his talk page. I don't want to forum shop this. (And I hope that asking here isn't forum shopping. :)) My questions - a) Is there a better place for me to mention this than the tail end of an AN/I thread about the user's page moves, or should I just leave it there? b) Am I over-reacting? I think it's a significant issue, but I'm not sure if others do - should I just drop it? With thanks, Colonel Tom 10:19, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The edits marked minor that are not minor (in otherwords, misleading) are the recent page moves he's made. An AN/I has already been reported about this. The minor edits (I have not investigated) that are not the recent ones may be minor. But it seems that the issue here are the bold page moves he's made. I would let this go.Curb Chain (talk) 10:33, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. Colonel Tom 23:55, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

How do I view a deleted page ?

[edit]

Hi,

Noting the untidy deletion of 'Whicham', I wonder if the content of the page can be e-mailed to me, thanks.

My e-address can be found on the Millom page by following the first external link.

Mike. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.190.50.27 (talk) 11:11, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Please file a request at Wikipedia:Requests for undeletion.-- OBSIDIANSOUL 14:44, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I see that Whicham was deleted because it was created by blocked a user in violation of the block. Are you that blocked user? —teb728 t c 23:39, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

About Prophet Muhammad

[edit]

Dear Sir/madam,

Please remove the picture of prophet muhammad( peace be upon him) from wikipedia as it is not allowed to make imaginary pictures of our prophet ,also please note that the angel gabriel is not a female as shown in the picture and no one knows the gender of the angels.

thanks

Mansur khan .. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.101.149.10 (talk) 13:02, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Please read Talk:Muhammad/FAQ for explanations as to why the images are used. Talk:Muhammad/images is the place to discuss it further, including the angel issue. Яehevkor 13:18, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

A page exists in English Wikipedia but not on French Wikipedia

[edit]

I want to create the page Robert Naylor (actor) on the French Wikipedia but before I do, I was wondering if there are specific guidelines to follow or it is simply a matter of recreating the page there?Winniep32 (talk) 14:25, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Translation and fr:Projet:Traduction. Edokter (talk) — 14:37, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
If you are translating the English Wikipedia article (as opposed to just creating it there out of new cloth) then please be sure to provide attribution. A statement in the references section such as (in equivalent French) "This article draws heavily on the corresponding article [[:en:Robert Naylor (actor)|Robert Naylor]] in the [[:en:|English-language Wikipedia]], accessed in the version of 31 January 2012‎ is appropriate. Also, you can place on the talk page the french equivalent of {{Translated page}}, which is at fr:Modèle:Traduit de.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 21:45, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Infobox & image layout

[edit]

If you have a short article which is part of a larger subject, you might include an infobox or topic box (which uses the {{sidebar}} template), and you might also want to include an image. An example is the Epicenter article. Is there a way to layout the article without the image and sidebar stacking up on the right? The current layout seems OK, but the sidebar is too low down the page. If I swap the sidebar and the image, then the image is too low down the page. I've tried moving the image to the left (although I dislike squishing text between two boxes), but it wouldn't stay where I put it between two paragraphs and instead appeared to mess up the references section. Astronaut (talk) 17:38, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

How is [3] where the image is to the left? PrimeHunter (talk) 17:58, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Yes. That's much better. Thank you. Perhaps I should look into {{stack begin}} and its partner.Astronaut (talk) 18:02, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
 Done

Boma

[edit]

What is the connection between BOMA and ANACONDA please? Crossword Clue - Anaconda Answer - Boma. My research has failed to link the two words. Thanks. 84.93.163.71 (talk) 19:14, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

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. RudolfRed (talk) 19:20, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Disambig page

[edit]

Columbus City Hall (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

I can't find any guidance on this issue. Is it appropriate to have a disambig page that has nothing but redlinks (like the one above)? If not, would it be a candidate for speedy deletion (G6), or would it have to be AfD'd?--Bbb23 (talk) 19:45, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Disambiguation pages and lists with nothing but redlinks are fine if the lists are a recognizably notable topic, or disambiguation entries show notability, normally by including a link in the explanation, with the expectation that this helps build the project by allowing editors to stumble upon items which may interest them (or so I was told as an IP). NHRP listing are considered presumed notable, though low-quality/new articles are periodically challenged. They result in improvement or userfying, I haven't noticed an outright delete result. As another example, many 19th century [Medal of Honor] winners are on surname pages, even though sufficient information for a full length article is unlikely. Dru of Id (talk) 20:17, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
No, it's not. Disambiguation is needed where "there is more than one existing Wikipedia article to which that word or phrase might be expected to lead." (emphasis added). We don't even create DAB pages unless there are more than two existing pages that need it (see WP:TWODABS). There has been debate in the past about whether we should allow red links in disambiguation pages at all. A direct statement on the issue is at MOS:DABENTRY: "A disambiguation page should not be made up completely of red links or have only one blue link on the entire page, because the basic purpose of disambiguation is to refer users to other Wikipedia pages." See also MOS:DABRL. I have deleted these in the past under G6. That does not mean necessarily that another administrator might not.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 21:34, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Your example Columbus City Hall has a blue link with more information in every entry. The link is in the annotation but that's OK. If an entry is not considered notable for its own article or not linked from anywhere else then the red link can change to unlinked text but the entry would still belong on the disambiguation page with a blue link in the annotation. See MOS:DABRL. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:28, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
One of the red links is now blue.[4] There was an existing article with a slightly different name. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:38, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Heh, I read what Fuhghettaboutit said and slapped a G6 tag on the article. After that, PrimeHunter posted his message, so I reverted. Frankly, I'm still not sure how to interpret these guidelines (not even policy but style guidelines). So, if Fughettaboutit reads this, do you agree with PH that this particular page should not be deleted because it has additional information that is linked, even though the terms themselves have no articles at all? I guess it makes some sense as it permits the reader to find something, no matter how small, about the subject.--Bbb23 (talk) 22:40, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
MOS:DABRL is for the situation where the issue is not whether the DAB page should exist at all, but what to do with red linked entries to be added to a DAB page. The page should not exist at all per MOS:DABENTRY. Moreover, until such time as either of the other two entries are created, Columbus City Hall should be the title of the existing article (and should remain there even after such creations if it is the primary topic), which should not be parenthetically pre-disambiguated. See WP:DAB and WP:PRECISION. I have done a history swap, so that when sufficient other entries are actually created, the DAB page can be revived.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:56, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Just looking at what you did made me dizzy. I hope it was easier (for you) to do than it looked.--Bbb23 (talk) 00:12, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Anytime. It's is easy once you've closed a few hundred requested moves, which require lots of these types of actions.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:33, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I don't see justification for speedy deletion in MOS:DABENTRY. Which part are you referring to? Now Columbus City Hall has no indication of the two other Columbus City Hall we have information about in List of Mississippi Landmarks (very little information) and National Register of Historic Places listings in Bartholomew County, Indiana (includes a photo). And the main body text of Columbus City Hall doesn't even say that it's about the Wisconsin building. The Indiana building is also in the National Register of Historic Places. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:40, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
He quoted the part in his first post.--Bbb23 (talk) 00:55, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
That quote was: "A disambiguation page should not be made up completely of red links or have only one blue link on the entire page, because the basic purpose of disambiguation is to refer users to other Wikipedia pages." I don't see how that applies to a page where each of the three entries had a blue link. Two (originally all three) of the blue links were in the description but the quote says "the entire page". Should the Flibbygibby example at MOS:DABRL on the same guideline page be speedy deleted if it was a real page because the blue links are only in the descriptions? PrimeHunter (talk) 01:14, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Not to sound indecisive, but I can see both arguments, so I'll let you two discuss it, although you might wish to address it in a different forum. I think it would be worthwhile to resolve from a policy standpoint. If you do take it somewhere else and you remember, please let me know so I can follow it.--Bbb23 (talk) 01:24, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Your interpretation goes against the scheme of disambiguation and requires us to pre-disambiguate existing titles with parenthetical disambiguation in order to have a DAB page for possible future entries, which directly conflicts with other policies. The Flibbygibby example is a partial entry to provide an example of what to do and not do for red link entries, not to show that only two entries is proper on a DAB page, and if it's not, it is in conflict with long standing consensus on when DAB pages should be made. When MOS:DABENTRY says "blue links" what appears to be intended is blue link DAB entries proper, not red link or non-link entries which also link to existing articles that have some information.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:31, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe I misunderstood before, but I can see how someone could reasonably have been looking for any of the three entries listed when the issue was raised here, and found as much information as we had... Now 2 of the three won't be found, although I don't know what portion of viewers were looking for the current article. ? Dru of Id (talk) 10:34, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

forwarding wikipedia articles

[edit]

I can forward Wiki URLs quite successfully EXCEPT when a closing bracket ) is at the end. It will then not function - so why does a simple ) defeat the system ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.139.204.222 (talk) 19:57, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Some software interpreting the link is thinking the link is written inside parantheses instead of the parantheses being part of the link. Replacing ) by the percent-encoding %29 will probably fix it. The left ( corresponds to %28 but may not need to be replaced. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:14, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Apropriate User Talk page content

[edit]

Is it acceptable for a user to place what looks like a highly promotional article draft on their talk page, such as this one? I'm not entirely clear on where in Userpace drafts are acceptable (I use a sub-page of my user page "sandbox" for my drafts.) Roger (talk) 20:16, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Apparently not... Sven Manguard Wha? 21:18, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Request moving a category

[edit]

Hi, due to recent moves related to Startling by Each Step (novel), it becomes necessary to me to ask the administrators for help of moving its categories. Please move Category:Startling by Each Step (novel) to Category:Bu Bu Jing Xin (novel), and its subcategory Category:Adaptations of Startling by Each Step (novel) to Category:Adaptations of Bu Bu Jing Xin (novel). Thank you.--NeoBatfreak (talk) 21:44, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I wonder if the article move may violate WP:Use English. —teb728 t c 22:12, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I only followed the advice of another user, Lonelydarksky, because he said the traslated English title from the Chinese is not the official and claimed that should be changed to pinyin transliteration. ANYWAY, PLEASE HELP.--NeoBatfreak (talk) 01:23, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
In the first place, Wikipedia does not title articles by an “official” name but rather by what the subject is most commonly called in English. So it is rather premature to rename the categories when it is up in the air what the article should be moved back. In the second place, categories cannot be moved—rather a new category is created and populated, and then the old category is deleted. Thirdly, this renaming is controversial; so if you think the categories should be renamed, you should propose the change for discussion at WP:CFD. —teb728 t c 04:43, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I'll let Lonelydarksky read about this discussion.--NeoBatfreak (talk) 05:57, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Delete the category. There's only one adaptation of the novel. I don't see a point in creating a category just for that one article. Lonelydarksky (暗無天日) contact me (聯絡) 06:09, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Agree. I nominated Category:Adaptations of Startling by Each Step (novel) for deletion. Also Category:Adaptations of works by Tong Hua (writer) and Category:Novels by Tong Hua (writer). —teb728 t c 06:49, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
But user teb728 thinks renaming the book's article is a mistake, perhaps even Xuanyuan Jian. I don't know.--NeoBatfreak (talk) 06:15, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
teb728, can you discuss with Lonelydarksky of your thought on moving pages of Startling by Each Step (novel) and Xuanyuan Jian: The Scar in the Sky, since he's the one who asked to me of doing so? I don't want to start an edit war.--NeoBatfreak (talk) 06:29, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I already posted at Talk:Bu Bu Jing Xin (novel); talk pages are the place for article discussions. I don't know about the other article. —teb728 t c 06:55, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Let's continue this discussion at Talk:Bu Bu Jing Xin (novel) from this point onward. Lonelydarksky (暗無天日) contact me (聯絡) 07:52, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Map coordinates, no seconds?

[edit]
Resolved

I've added the geographic coordinates 5°10′N, 9°38'E to Lake Bermin, but if you click on the link to the map it doesn't match exactly (the lake only appears when zoomed greatly in). The lake is a bit to the south. The nearest coordinates using only degrees and minutes, 5°09′N, 9°38'E are about the same distance to the south of the lake. To get the pointer in the lake I need seconds in the coordinates (coordinates are degrees, minutes, seconds; see minute of arc), but I can only get the coordinate template to work with degrees and minutes. Is it possible to add seconds or is the current "close to the lake" enough? RN1970 (talk) 21:58, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Just after I wrote the above I got an idea and it works. RN1970 (talk) 22:02, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Could you explain more explicitly how the template didn't work with seconds added? I tried {{coord|5|09|31|N|9|38|02|E|type:waterbody|display=inline,title}} in my sandbox, and it worked fine. Deor (talk) 10:22, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
The problem was that I only added seconds in one of them. Using your example:
{{coord|5|09|31|N|9|38|E|type:waterbody|display=inline,title}} – bad.
{{coord|5|09|31|N|9|38|0|E|type:waterbody|display=inline,title}} – good.
Since I only had seen this template used for degress and minutes, I assumed it automatically detected the lack of one of the entries for seconds as "0". RN1970 (talk) 12:05, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]
It can also work with decimal fractions of a minute, as {{coord|5|09.52|0|N|9|38.033|0|E}} or even with decimal fractions of degrees. Versatile template, but not quite so versatile as to be helpful when we try to mix the different methods for different axes. Jim.henderson (talk) 12:52, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Problem With Wikipedia App for iOS

[edit]

I think there is a problem with the Wikipedia app for iPhone and iPod Touch. The back and forward buttons don't work properly and keep skipping through the same two pages. Is this a bug that will be fixed as I would like to be able to go back further than the last two pages. — Preceding unsigned comment added by JTG.Turbo (talkcontribs) 22:30, 4 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Go to this page: [5]. You'll find an e-mail address for asking for support and help of the Wikipedia Mobile app. RudolfRed (talk) 00:44, 5 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]