Jump to content

Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2016 March 25

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Help desk
< March 24 << Feb | March | Apr >> March 26 >
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.


March 25

[edit]

What is the template to add notes in an article?

[edit]

Where are the appropriate templates that assist in placing "notes" in articles? I don't mean footnotes and references. Rather, when an editor adds a little "note" to some statement (usually in a table). And I'd prefer a template that consecutively numbers the notes. And does not interfere with "References". Thanks. Hope this question makes sense. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 00:57, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

You can accomplish this with {{efn|text of the note}}. Must also add {{notelist}} where you want the notes to be listed in the article. MB (talk) 04:49, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. I will try that. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 09:25, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
This forum post on Wikipedia offers a valuable question and solution for anyone editing articles that require internal notes. The differentiation between footnotes/references and editorial notes within tables is a helpful distinction. 2405:201:4040:A0CC:8CCB:1:E422:9AA (talk) 08:16, 20 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Resolved

Question from User:G.gagananand

[edit]

User:G.gagananand, wrote: My Name is G.Gagananand. I work in a Research Firm and would like to know more about Notability. a query was posted to Help Desk Team of Wikipedia regarding this from my user login. Thanks in Advance.

The original poster had written, on 3 March:

Respected Sir/Madam, I have created an article in Sandbox Area in my User. I would like to publish the article for public viewing in Wikipedia. kindly provide me the complete details about the process. Thanks in Advance. G.Gagananand

Another editor wrote: “The two guidelines are:WP:Notability and WP:Notability (web). If you find any trouble understanding, leave a reply here.”

Then the author asked on 7 March: What are the procedures to get Notability of my article if it has to be published in Wikipedia? Please guide me through.

The article in question is User:G.gagananand/sandbox.

This sandbox has not been submitted for AFC review, which is good because it will not pass AFC review. However, I have other problems with it besides that it doesn’t establish notability. It isn’t clear to me what it is about. Does the author have some idea that he wants to brainstorm? If so, Wikipedia isn’t the place for brainstorming. What is the author trying to ask or say?

We can try to answer questions here about the notability policy, but I don’t know what the question is from this author.

Robert McClenon (talk) 01:26, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

User:G.gagananand posted here twice, and now at my talk page once, and provided one sandbox draft that isn't related to the questions, but won't respond to real questions. Either they can explain what they want, or we can conclude that they may be a very quiet form of Troll. Robert McClenon (talk) 15
14, 26 March 2016 (UTC)
[edit]

Dear Wikipediateam! Almost two months ago we tried to publish the following text written by us:

The Words Hear the Light

After some hours the text and the uploaded image were deleted because of a suspense of a violation of copyright. We´ve already send one time a letter, where we declared to be the only authors of the text and image, but nothing happened until now.

The wikipedia system found some homepages as http://worldfilmpresentation.com and maybe www.imdb.com that have similar contents. We are participating with our film at the world film festival, that is why they published our material (text and image) that we send them while applying to the festival.

The case of IMDB it´s similar, it´s us who manage the information. Then it doesn´t make much sense, when the past festival participations and awards of the film (which will be always the same) are intended as copyright violation, only because it´s just the same words found by the search engine.

We would like to know, what can we do to resolve this issue. We are the authors of the film mentioned in the text and image.

Thank you very much for your patience. Greetings, PhilosophischeGEBILDE (talk) 09:19, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

There's no misunderstanding. Wikipedia refuses contributions that violate copyright law. It does so even if people who claim to own the copyright say that they don't mind.
There are two things you could do to resolve the problem. One is for someone who does own the copyright, and can prove it, to submit a formal copyright release. The other is for someone to rewrite the article in their own words, not derived from another source. The latter is preferable, because as well as avoiding the copyright bureaucracy, it is more likely to result in a neutral article, without promotional language. Maproom (talk) 12:14, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
The problem is that We´ve already send one time a letter, where we declared to be the only authors of the text and image, but nothing happened until now. It looks like PhilosophischeGEBILDE has already submitted such a release. Nyttend (talk) 14:46, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Well it depends what they have said in the "letter" - it is not enough for User:PhilosophischeGEBILDE to declare that they are authors of the text and the image: they need also to have released these under a suitable licence according to donating copyright materials. --ColinFine (talk) 20:48, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

How do I prevent the bottom row from being sorted in a table?

[edit]

How do I prevent the bottom row from being sorted in a table? Say I am dealing with the chart below. I want the final row to be "frozen" and to remain stagnant. I don't want it to move around when the sort buttons (arrows) are clicked. What is the exact command for me to type and where? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 09:40, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Apples Name Bananas
7 Will 2
12 Mike 9
4 Jane 1
23 Total 12
@Joseph A. Spadaro: I have modified your table by adding class="sortbottom". That seems simplest to me, but there are other ways to do it, described at Help:Sorting#Excluding rows from sorting. -- John of Reading (talk) 10:17, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
@John of Reading: Perfect. Thanks! Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 17:40, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Resolved

Query

[edit]

How to create, add and edit text on Wikipedia for my company? If I create a page, it blocks the user (me). Any solution for the same? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.201.21.38 (talk) 12:42, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

It isn't clear what you want, or what you mean about blocking the user. Read the conflict of interest policy and it will tell you basically that you should not create or add text about the company that employs you. If you use Articles for Creation, you can create pages that will be reviewed. However, if your company is not notble in itself, then nothing will help your company create an article about itself. If your company is notable, then you can create a draft article with reliable sources and have it reviewed, but it will probably be accepted after the article is made neutral and all of the peacock language that you have inserted will be replaced. Trying to use either AFC or direct submission to article space to create an article about your company is a painful process, and is meant to be one. If your company is notable, someone will create an article about it. Can you please further clarify your question? Robert McClenon (talk) 12:54, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
It occurs to me that you may have already tried to create an article about your company using a username that was the name of your company. If so your corporate username may have been blocked. If so, you are block-evading by posting here as an unregistered editor. Follow the instructions given with the block to request a change in user name. Do not try to evade a block by editing logged out. But please clarify your question. Robert McClenon (talk) 13:24, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Blocking text

[edit]

I was sure that there was a warning at Special:Block telling everyone not to block for non-integer amounts of time (e.g. 12.34567890 days) because it would confuse the software, but it's not on the current version of the page, and I didn't see such a thing when I looked at several old revisions of MediaWiki:Blockiptext going back to when I became an admin in 2007. Did I look in the wrong place, or did I overlook something that should be obvious, or have I just imagined it? Nyttend (talk) 15:02, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Recent edit denied

[edit]

Hello Wiki;

Tom Cryer (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Reading over the page on Tom Cryer, who was acquitted by a jury for not filing a tax return. Ref # 10's and 11 linked to pages that are no longer active. I changed the description and provided references. My edit was denied because my edit was 'not constructive'. My edit listed he was acquitted and provided an actually working web page. How is this not constructive?

The effect of your edits to that article was to remove properly referenced content, and replace it by content with two dummy references which did not cite anything. I think that was not your intention, but it is what you did. The result was not constructive. Maproom (talk) 17:21, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Social Security number (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Also, months ago, I edited the page for 'Social Security Number'. Since I have a letter from the Soc Sec Admin that says that the Soc Sec Act DOES NOT require Americans to have a Soc Sec Number in order to work, and that, as an American I legally work without a Soc Sec Number, I pointed this out with codified citations. Again, my edit was denied. How was my edit no constructive?

Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.217.20.236 (talk) 16:31, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Dear user at IP 76.217.20.236: Regarding the article on Tommy Cryer, the mere fact that the links are dead does not mean that the footnote references to the source material should be deleted. Also, you deleted the text itself in the body of the article, not merely the citations in the footnotes. The fact that a particular source is no longer on the internet does not mean that the source should be removed.
On the article on the Social Security number, your comments appear to be similar to fringe arguments -- bouncing around the internet for many years -- about the legal requirements for Social Security numbers. That may or may not be the reason your material was deleted from that article. At any rate, if you are a U.S. citizen, whether the Social Security Act itself (which is just one of many Federal statutes) requires you to have a social security number to "work" is not really important. What is important is that under the Internal Revenue Code, you are required to have and to use your Social Security number as your identifying number for the purpose of filing U.S. federal income tax returns. If you are a U.S. citizen, you are also legally required to inform your employer (and certain other people who provide you with compensation) of your Social Security number.
For all intents and purposes, a U.S. citizen is legally required to have a Social Security number to "work" -- if he or she wants to be paid for working. So, adding information about the lack of a requirement in the Social Security Act itself may appear to be unconstructive -- as an attempt to try to leave an erroneous impression, etc. Famspear (talk) 17:19, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Famspear, as regards the social security number, you are talking here in term of the content of the IP's edit. That may be relevant, but the more general point is that Wikipedia articles must be based on reliable published sources. An unpublished letter, no matter who it is from, is never valid as a source. --ColinFine (talk) 20:52, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Agreed. Famspear (talk) 20:57, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Page to be deleted

[edit]

I created a new wiki. and imediatly it said it was going to be deleted. for school i am making a wki that does not have completly true info to show that you cant trust every thing on the web — Preceding unsigned comment added by Webninja (talkcontribs) 19:23, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

This is an interesting counterpoint as to why some things can be trusted more than others. -- The Voidwalker Discuss 19:28, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Anyway, please see this essay on page deletion for more information. -- The Voidwalker Discuss 19:30, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Webninja, however virtuous your intention may have been, the fact is that you knowingly introduced false content into Wikipedia. Please don't do this: it is regarded as disruptive editing, and may get you blocked. --ColinFine (talk) 20:56, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
@Webninja: Did your teacher tell you to create a fake article on Wikipedia? If so, they may want to read over Wikipedia:Student assignments. To create a bogus article here on Wikipedia would be similar to going to a library and changing a physical copy of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
That said, you said you are "making a w[i]ki". A wiki is not the same as a Wikipedia article. A wiki is a web site that uses some form of wiki software of which there are many types. If you need help making a wiki, then the Computing Reference Desk can help you. If you need help making a Wikipedia article, then we have many that you can try to create at Wikipedia:Requested articles. Though, the learning curve for creating an article from scratch can be steep. Dismas|(talk) 21:19, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Help with National College of Natural Medicine Page

[edit]

Hello:

There are a few problems with the page for the National College of Natural Medicine,

National College of Natural Medicine (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

I have posted some suggestions on the talk page there to improve the article. As an employee of the college, I can't make edits directly.

Thanks,

68.178.107.196 (talk) 19:50, 25 March 2016 (UTC)ncnmwriter[reply]

Page title that includes a "/"

[edit]

How does one prevent the "/" character from splitting the page into a sub-page with the title being only the part that comes after the slash? This is about Draft:30/70. -- Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 22:06, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

In article space, subpages are disabled. So if you move the (sub)page to the proper title, the "/" becomes part of the title. -- [[User:Edokter]] {{talk}} 22:13, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Right, and it only depends on the namespace. Editors cannot change it. {{AFC submission}} could be coded to handle it better but it currently has no parameter or other feature of help. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:37, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Dodger67, see the AC/DC article for an example; it's a standalone page, not a subpage of AC. Subpages are still possible in talkspace (they're used for talk page archiving and occasionally redrafting of content), so the software thinks that Talk:AC/DC is a subpage of Talk:AC, but that's not particularly a problem. Nyttend (talk) 00:52, 26 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, good to know it's not a problem. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 06:29, 26 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Linking in text to foreign language wiki page

[edit]

There is a bio on German wikipedia that is not yet available in the English language version. Is there a way to create a link similar to "Wikipage" or can I only place it in the reference or see also? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Antzblu (talkcontribs) 23:18, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Like so: Arbeit. See also, Help:Interlanguage links. Dismas|(talk) 23:45, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
I don't recommend doing it that way, Dismas, because it gives the reader no notice that it is linking to a non-English source. I recommend using the {{ill}} template, Antzblu: for example, {{ill|de|Dachtel}} displays as Dachtel [de], with a redlink to the English article, but a bluelink (labelled 'de') to the German one. But if anybody ever creates an English article Dachtel, the English go blue and the de link will be surpressed, without anybody having to change the link. --ColinFine (talk) 18:03, 26 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, ColinFine. Dismas|(talk) 18:18, 26 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Broken logo in article

[edit]

On the Homestar Runner page's logo, the logo is displayed incorrectly on every browser I've tried and is supposed to be displayed like the thumbnail on the file page. I'm not sure what the issue is, and I think it might be an overlap issue but I'm not very sure and the thumbnail appears to be correct. What happened, and how can this be fixed? Thanks! -Liancetalk/contribs 23:40, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

It displayed fine for me. But it also had a size limit on it. I've removed that limit so that the template can figure out what size it should display as. Dismas|(talk) 23:53, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Strange, it seems to work now. Not sure what happened before. Thank you! -Liancetalk/contribs 21:31, 31 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Is my draft article in the right place to be seen and reviewed?

[edit]

Hello. I have just finished my third Wikipedia draft. Previously, I have had two accepted: Yana (singer) and Astor Club. I have just finished one which seems to now be under name "Draft:Draft:Rainer Schlosser", but there is no box at foot of page saying "your review is in a queue for review" or similar. Am I in the wrong place and if so, how can I get the draft reviewed? Thank you. Granitic (talk) 23:43, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

When asking questions here about a specific article, it's generally considered courteous to provide a link. That said, the article is at Draft:Draft: Rainer Schlosser. To get it reviewed, there's a submit template but I don't know it off the top of my head. Maybe someone else will know it and post it before I find it... Dismas|(talk) 23:57, 25 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
As Dismas stated, when asking question about a specific article, rather than just mentioning an article, it is helpful to provide a link. Otherwise the editors here have to crawl through your edit history. In other words,Please try to help us help you by providing a link. 15:10, 26 March 2016 (UTC)
@Granitic: Yep, here you go: {{subst:submit| username}} where username is the username of the article's creator (left blank it will assume it is you). Which I found at Template:AFC submission/submit. Good luck with your submission! Dismas|(talk) 00:00, 26 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Just a comment: according to one of the sources cited, no. 21, his name was Schlösser. His correct name should be at least mentioned in the article, and preferably used throughout it. Maproom (talk) 00:20, 26 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]