Help desk
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September 6

Donations

I am a regular donor to Wikipedia, but I still get the Donations banner on my screen each time I am using Wikipedia. How can I stop this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.161.103.77 (talk) 00:58, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You can dismiss it. I'm going to guess since you have an IP, perhaps it changes depending on where you get on the internet, so if you create an account, it should fix the problem. CTF83! 01:09, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

could someone please fix a page? (list of top gear episodes)

hello, this List of Top Gear episodes page is a mess, someone made a mistake in the syntax. i tried to find the mod so i can revert it, but no luck. the problem is at the section "series 2": -there is a text under the section: "{{Episode list/sublist|List of Top Gear episodes" -the episode number 16 (series 2 episode 6) has an extra cell AND ALL the data before seems could not be parsed by the engine — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.165.211.238 (talk) 01:05, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It actually has to be edited at Top Gear (series 2). I just reverted the last user's edit and fixed it. I couldn't figure out what they did wrong. CTF83! 01:13, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

They were missing the second closing bracket ] on a link. CTF83! 01:18, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Fair Use Licensing Issue

Hello, I just recently used Wikimedia and Wikipedia to upload an image to Wikimedia Commons about Paul Frank. When I was uploading the image it was properly licensed as Creative Commons however I didn't realize that it went against the "Fair Use" regulations. I was wondering if I should remove the image. Please let me know what to do, thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Arios21 (talk • contribs) 01:14, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The image is fine according to Wikipedia:Upload/Flickr. Your upload looks fine to me, you properly attributed it to the source, as required by the original uploader. CTF83! 01:24, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

@Arios21: while the image itself has a proper license, the fact that the image consists of primarily copyright images is likely an issue. you might want to discuss with some subject matter experts at Wikipedia:Copyright_problems. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 17:42, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Page view stats down

Why have page view stats been down for last 4 days ? eg http://stats.grok.se/en/latest/Psychopathy --Penbat (talk) 06:31, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

stats.grok.se is run by a single volunteer editor on his own initiative but is frequently behind, down or missing dates. There is an alternative tool run by the Wikimedia Foundation at https://tools.wmflabs.org/wikiviewstats/. Last I heard (some time ago) they said it was still being tested and they didn't recommend linking it from page histories yet but it seems to currently work well, at least for my test on Psychopathy. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:16, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you.--Penbat (talk) 13:51, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Interlanguage link bug

Hello, I just translated an article from French Wikipedia into English. I tried to add an interlanguage link but it comes up with an error box saying "An unexpected error occurred: $1.". When I click "Details", it says "Invalid token". I tried adding the link from both the English page and from the French page, but the error is the same. — Preceding unsigned comment added by AKRowe (talk • contribs) 07:53, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

interlanguage linking is done via WP:Wikidata-- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 11:13, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The described error occurred when I used the "Add links" link to wikidata under "Languages" as you are supposed to (it now says "Edit links" because there already is the link I added). PrimeHunter (talk) 11:19, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I got the same error from the English page Un fou and didn't try the French fr:Un fou (nouvelle, 1885) but was able to do it under "Wikipedia pages linked to this item" at wikidata:Q16681742. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:04, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

At present the French and English articles appear to be linked correctly. EdJohnston (talk) 19:37, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Lost password email never arrives

I have a Wikipedia account (it's asciident) associated with my Gmail address. I've forgotten the password. When I use the lost password/reset self-service, I enter my email address and receive the confirmation message "A password reset email has been sent." The email never arrives. Not in inbox, not in spam, nowhere. I've tried on a number of occasions spanning years at this point. I guess I could just create another account, but I'd like to understand why the email is never arriving. Thanks. 97.95.213.239 (talk) 10:40, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Are you sure it's the address stored in the account? A wrong address also gives the message "A password reset email has been sent." I think that's for privacy reasons to prevent other people from examining whether an email address has an account. Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)/Archive 129#Gmail labelling Wikipedia email suspicious mentions a problem for some email services including Gmail, but I don't think it goes back years. Creating a new account is OK. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:34, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks very much for pointing this out. I've been trying to reset the password with my default Gmail email and thought the confirmation message indicated that I'd used it on my Wikipedia account. Your reply reminded me that I used a vanity email tied to my domain for my Wikipedia account. :) Thanks again. Melissa Brogan (talk) 09:29, 7 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think you ever registered an email address with that username (it's not a requirement of having an account). I say this because I don't get the 'Email this user' option when viewing that userpage which is usually between Logs and Upload in the 'Tools' section on the left. Of course, you might have turned that off in the accounts user prefs but I doubt it. Nanonic (talk) 12:05, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Special:EmailUser/Asciident says "This user has chosen not to receive email from other users." PrimeHunter (talk) 22:47, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Delete a Profile

Hi there Wikipedia!

Hope you're having a good weekend so far. How can I delete a profile (article)? I would like to delete the profile (article) of Michael Levine.

Thank you for your help, Cczeto (talk) 14:35, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

What do you mean? Michael Levine is a disambiguation page and there can be no good reason for deleting that. If you mean Michael Levine (author), a page you have edited in the past, then you will need to explain why you want it deleted. See Wikipedia:Deletion policy for what we consider valid reasons for deletion. See Wikipedia:Articles for deletion for the deletion process. SpinningSpark 14:56, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

@Cczeto: And if you are considering it a "profile", you probably have a grave misconception of what Wikipedia is and what is appropriate. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and has "articles" that reflect the mainstream academic consensus of the subject, not a CV and not something the subject has any control over. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 17:38, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, sorry ... didn't mean to call it a profile ... meant to say "article." I don't have "grave misconception" (why the condescending words?) I was just asking and sorry again for using the wrong word(s), didn't mean that at all. Yes, Michael Levine (author), I inserted the wrong link. I will look at the Deletion policy.

Thank you again for your help I greatly appreciated it, Cczeto (talk) 18:06, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

"Grave" was perhaps hyperbole, but in my experience, people who talk about a "profile" in connection with Wikipedia generally are indeed framing Wikipedia as something different from what it is. --ColinFine (talk) 21:44, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Creative Commons question

I want to upload a Flickr image that is labeled as Creative Commons Attribution + Noncommercial + No Derivatives, but there isn't an option for this on the upload page. Does Wikipedia not allow No Derivatives uploads? DavidSSabb (talk) 15:58, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Content must be commercially usable. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 16:39, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Likewise, derivatives must also be allowed. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 08:01, 7 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

creating article and images

hello,i am a new user can.If we are writing an article about something can we add photos?and if we can add photos in the article how to add? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bhootrina (talk • contribs) 16:59, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, and yes, you can create an article!

But you should first make sure that the subject of the article meets the basic requirements for a stand alone encyclopedia article: that non-related parties, with a reputation for fact checking and accuracy have considered the subject worthy of note and discussion.

If you have such sources like published books or major newspaper articles, I would then suggest you follow the "articles for creation" process. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 17:10, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

@Bhootrina: Regarding images, be sure that you understand Wikipedia's WP:COPYRIGHT policies. Once you have appropriate images that are either public domain or that you have taken yourself and wish to release for free use, you can find help and tutorials about the technical side Wikipedia:Images#Tutorials_and_help -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 17:26, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

and also note that each person of the "we" needs to have their own individual account. we do not allow joint / sharing of accounts. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 17:27, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

sorry i am using a single account of my own,but mentioned 'We'.thank you for your help--Bhootrina (talk) 15:43, 7 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Deletion

How can one retrieve a created page that was deleted. I created the page The Accumulative Advantage Foundation and it was deleted or several reasons. I spent a lot of time creating the page and was wondering if I could receive the text back. Thank you and sorry for the hassle.

Roy Miller — Preceding unsigned comment added by Millticket90 (talk • contribs) 21:31, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, Roy. The page was deleted by administrator Xezbeth, with two reasons given. One of them is "Unambiguous copyright infringement". According to the message, it was copied from http://kidsadvantage.org/?page_id=17. Since that page does not explicitly release the content under a suitable licence (such as CC-BY-SA) Wikipedia's rules forbid using the content - even if you or the organisation you represent hold the copyright we would need explicit release of the content: see donating copyright materials for how you could do that. But there was another problem (the other reason given): "Unambiguous promotion or copyright infringement". Material copied from a person's or an organisation's website is almost never suitable for a Wikipedia article, because it is not usually neutral in tone. For your own website, that is proper, of course, but it is not proper for an encyclopaedia. Any article about the Accumulative Advantage Foundation should be written in a neutral tone, drawing its content mainly from reliable published sources unconnected with the foundation which have written about it. In fact, as the President, you have a conflict of interest, and should not be writing for Wikipedia about it in the first place. Your best course is:

See if you can find places where reliable sources, unconnected with you or the foundation have already written at length about it.
If you can find these, then the foundation meets the criteria of notability, and you should request and article at requested articles, giving references to the sources you have found.
If you cannot find such sources, then I'm afraid that at present, Wikipedia cannot have an article about the foundation.

Good luck -- ColinFine (talk) 22:04, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

@Millticket90: As an administrator I can see that you made some formatting and modifications to the deleted page. It's still against our copyright policies to make it visible on our servers and your account has not stored an email address, but if you mail me then I can mail you a copy. You can enable email at Special:Preferences and use Special:EmailUser/PrimeHunter, or you can mail me by going to my website linked at User:PrimeHunter. Don't post your mail address here. It's against our policy and may get the attention of spammers scanning this page. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:08, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Ed Ayres biography

I am Ed Ayres. I left a message here some days ago, concerning my distress about the biographical entry for me. In view of Wikipedia's policy discouraging self-written or edited biographies, I asked whether one of your volunteer editors might help. There are two problems with the bio: first it is about 10 years out of date (I don't know who wrote it) and is missing key information (books published, etc.); and second, it is flagged as needing citations. I can provide the missing information and citations, but your Catch-22 policy on one hand doesn't let me do the edit, and on the other hand asks me not to leave an e-mail address here so someone can contact me to obtain the citations. I tried in my earlier note to list some of that missing information and documentation on this page, but when I checked in later nothing had happened.

Bottom line: If Wikipedia can't provide a means by which I can get my bio properly completed and edited, I'd rather have it removed entirely. Wikipedia is a noble undertaking, but if it lacks accountability it also necessarily lacks credibility. If there is no way I can get the bio updated with proper citations, or communicate with a Wiki-approved editor regarding how to get that done, I must request that you (whoever you are!) also delete my biography altogether from Wikipedia.

Ed Ayres — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.33.162.104 (talk) 23:24, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Your previous comments and the responses have been archived.

Wikipedia is not a customer service center, Wikipedia content is handled by volunteers who do what they want to do, when they want to do it. Sometimes, unfortunately, it takes a while for someone to be interested and simply being "out of date", is not something that most volunteers would place high on their list of things to do. You can help the work take less time by using the article talk page to provide your source material.

If there are serious misrepresentations that need to be corrected, please use the WP:OTRS. The volunteers there have placed a high priority upon responding to situations that need urgent review and are generally able to help in a matter of hours. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 01:09, 7 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Ed (if you actually are Ed): the way to handle this kind of thing, is to post the information you'd like to see added to (or corrected in) the article (properly sourced, of course), to the talk page of the article, disclosing as you do so your own conflict of interest and explaining that this is why you didn't just make the changes yourself.

If you register an account, you are a Wiki-approved editor (although bound by our expectations and guidelines). We don't have ranks and hierarchies, except as a recondite little in-joke.

The subject of an article does not have any privileged role in "approving" an article; else we wouldn't have articles on people from Kim Il Sung to Scott Walker to Michael Vick. Anyone can create an article on a notable subject; anyone with an account can propose the deletion of an article: but unless the reason for deletion is valid, such proposals will be defeated. (And, "I don't like what you say about me" is not a valid reason to delete an article; never has been.) --Orange Mike | Talk 01:16, 7 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Just to note that the OP apparently did have an account (User:Willhumansendure) but you blocked him in 2011 for reasons I don't fully understand. SpinningSpark 07:05, 7 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

willhumansendure.com is the name of a website of his, one which he inserted into the article about himself. Thus it was blocked as a spamusername. --Orange Mike | Talk 02:14, 8 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I am sorry that Mr. Ayres is distressed by the state of the article – though that in itself is not a reason for changing the article. I am also puzzled that he is distressed by it. The article strikes me as entirely reasonable about him and his views. I, like I believe most Wikipedia editors, am more sympathetic to his views than are, say, most Republican voters; though of course we try to write neutrally. I think that what the article lacks is recent material, and above all references. I have copied the contents of Wikipedia:Help_desk/Archives/2014_August_26#biography_for_Ed_Ayres to where it belongs, the article's talk page. I hope that someone can provide more references. Maproom (talk) 10:06, 7 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

the version as it stood was rather messy to look at. But i am a bit confused as both then and now the "recent" 15 years seems very well covered and what is missing is the first 50 years! -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 17:52, 7 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]