July 1

I presume there is some kind of name for this (link pimping?), but I suspect someone of littering their website through a bunch of wikipedia pages to improve their Google ranking. Is there some way to search for a domain name through wikipedia articles? (searching for "example.com site:wikipedia.org" only finds specific "example.com" listings, not a full stem search (ie. "*.example.com/.*"). Also, is there a wikipedia policy on this? ie. where does the line fall between adding relevant content and self-promotion? Thanks! Natebailey 00:32, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, there is a policy against it, which is called linkspam. It is at

WP:SPAM. Sorry, but I don't think you can search for a specific name to fight. Reywas92^Talk 01:08, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

The way to find all instances of a particular spam link is with linksearch. You can use a search function like *.example.com which will find extensions of the name.--Fuhghettaboutit 04:49, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for! :-) Natebailey 06:33, 4 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Could someone please get me a link to the voting at the meta board of trustees election? When I click the link there, it stops me because I don't have 400 edits at meta, but I do here. The link was previously on the watchlist header, but now I can't find that. Thanks! Reywas92^Talk 01:05, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Special:Boardvote is what you need, I believe. – Luna Santin (talk) 01:37, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

where do i go to to create a article page ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lil story (talk • contribs)

See

(what?) 01:12, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

You're welcome. Glad to help with this service. -- Kesh 02:31, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you like

neutrality. If those other wikis did not exist, more non-neutral types would probably stay on Wikipedia and fight

. Most people who harbor strong beliefs not conclusively supported by the facts experience the following two types of emotion:

• They feel distress when confronted with facts which contradict their beliefs (see: Cognitive dissonance).
• They feel positive emotions when surrounded by people who agree with their beliefs while systematically ignoring any disturbing facts (see: Groupthink).

Therefore, almost anyone who harbors a strong belief not conclusively supported by the facts is likely to feel less comfortable (possibly much less comfortable) on Wikipedia (where many if not most belief systems are represented) than they will feel on a wiki catering to their particular beliefs. Since most people prefer feeling comfortable to feeling uncomfortable, over time this has the effect of encouraging authors who value their beliefs more than they value the facts to leave Wikipedia and edit elsewhere. That makes it easier for the remaining Wikipedia editors to keep Wikipedia focused on the facts.

While one might deplore the existence of obviously biased wikis, their very existence represents a kind of concession on the part of people whose beliefs turned out to be insufficiently supported by facts to be generally convincing to the diverse community of Wikipedians. Since the facts are the only things the vast majority of people can generally agree on (for example, almost everybody accepts the fact that cutting one's own arm off is a bad idea, unless the situation is such that the alternative would be even worse - we can all agree on that sort of thing), a site like Wikipedia which tries hard to limit itself to facts will have the widest possible appeal. The various axe-grinding sites are unlikely to become as popular as Wikipedia, and they are unlikely to be as generally

meteorologists found no evidence that sacrificing virgins has any effect on rainfall (and the virgins themselves probably complained). Instead the biased wikis will tend to exist primarily for the entertainment and emotional reinforcement of people who already agree with them. --Teratornis 15:19, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

--Gustyfalcon 03:36, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You placed a pipe | in the wrong place. It's {{db-reason|reason goes here}}. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Kesh (talk • contribs).

{{

db-reason}}. The real problem is that your symbol ¦ above and in your test [1] is not a pipe which should be |. Depending on your keyboard, you may get a pipe by holding Alt Gr down and pressing a key near backspace. Or you can click the symbol a little to the right of "Wiki markup" in the box you probably have below the "Save page" button when you edit. PrimeHunter 04:05, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

I am working on an article. When I use a referance like (¹), I want to link the refarance I have on the page. I am familiar with programming, so feel free to just give me code. I understand that using [[article#section will link to a section, but I want to link to a specific refarance. The article is Job costing. Thank You! MRME4 04:24, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The code for what you want is ^{[[ARTICLENAME#referencename|1]]}, but that's not an efficient method since it will require you manually specify anchors, and there are several better standardized formats. Have you read

talk 04:33, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

Not a problem, I'm glad to help.

talk 04:48, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

verifiable, and that's a lot. Because Wikipedia covers so many topics, it attracts a very large number of contributors, and fortunately the very smart people who started the project figured out the right mix of policies and guidelines to allow the project to grow without becoming entirely deadlocked in Edit warring. Although it may still be a bit early to judge, I suspect Wikipedia may eventually be recognized as one of the most significant technological innovations in history, perhaps on par with the World Wide Web itself. --Teratornis 19:29, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

Do you have a question about Wikipedia? -- Kesh 05:02, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How do I change my user name?—Preceding unsigned comment added by Paulbat (talk • contribs) 04:57, July 1, 2007

You've only got two edits besides this one, so I would suggest simply creating a new account and putting a redirect on your current User page to point to your new account. -- Kesh 05:00, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The inconveniently named

talk 05:04, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

Thanks for the help. I've created a new user. How do I create and add a "redirect"????—Preceding unsigned comment added by Paulbat (talk • contribs) 05:08, July 1, 2007

Just put this text on your current Userpage:

#REDIRECT [[User:Newusernamehere]]

And that should do it. -- Kesh 05:10, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ok Kesh.... sorry I have no information re: tight muscles.... However.. re: redirect I'm really stupid here, where on what page do I put it???? It's ok to LYAO. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPs. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Help_desk"

If you are

wikitext Kesh gave you above, except of course that you would replace "Newusernamehere" with your new user name. Since you did not tell us your new user name, we cannot tell you exactly what to type. --Teratornis 15:30, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

I need to know if you have any information about muscels being so tight that they rasie your hip upward—Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.127.85.221 (talk • contribs) 05:11, July 1, 2007

Wikipedia is not a place to get medical advice. If you're just seeking general information, the reference desk is where to get that info. -- Kesh 05:14, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ok Kesh.... sorry I have no information re: tight muscles.... However.. re: redirect I'm really stupid here, where on what page do I put it???? It's ok to LYAO.

Visit Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science and ask your question there, just like you did here. No problem, I won't laugh. :) -- Kesh 05:45, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I tried to figure out how to update an article but I am lucky if I get this thing turned on. Your article on Granite Oregon is outdated. As Mayor You have Pat Fielding. The presemt mayor was elected on Nov 7 2004 and took office on Jan 1 2005. and was reelected on Nov 7 2006 His Name Is Fred Neal Corbin. Thank you Fred

You did pretty well at editting this page. I changed the facts for you. I couldn't find any facts as you as mayor, but you were the fire chief and elections were held. Don't shy away from editting,

Be Bold and just click on the "Edit this page" tab at the top, remember that any changes can be reverted, so don't be scared. Tdmg 05:49, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

I tried to find the FAQ on this question, but I couldn't find it. I was editting the Castle Ashby article, and it started off "Castle Ashby is the name of a civil parish ..." However, I think they meant "Castle Ashby is a civil parish ..." Is this something that deserves editting? I know philosophers care a lot about this, but I don't know about encyclopedias. I'm going to change it, but I'd like some guidance. Tdmg 05:38, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, your version sounds much better.

Be bold and fix it! :) -- Kesh 05:47, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

Is there an API for searching content? I found the MediaWIKI API and Query API but those seem to only deal with titles, not with content at all. I was curious if there was a programmatic way to search article content? pw 06:01, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

WP's search engine is notoriously bad. Hopefully that's something they are working on.

^T/_C 13:41, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

See

structured wiki for other approaches to organizing wiki information for flexible retrieval. --Teratornis 15:41, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

Also, if you give some specific examples of searches you want to run, we may be able to recommend specific methods. When you ask a question on the Help desk (or on any Internet help forum), it's advisable to state your ultimate goal as clearly as possible, rather than asking about something which is merely one means to an unstated goal (the means may then become a red herring for people who respond to the question). An API approach to searching Wikipedia may or may not be the best means to whatever goal you have in mind, but that's hard to know when we don't know what your real goal is. --Teratornis 16:28, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

¬¬¬¬I have written a stub in the category 'Trinidad and Tobago People Stubs'. Whereas other articles in this category appear in the alphabetical listing by the name of the person, my article appears under 'T' - 'Trinidad and Tobago People Stubs',and NOT under the name of the person, in this case 'Peter Boyd'. Can you please explain how to get it listed properly? I have searched everywhere for this information and cannot find any instructions to this effect. Thank you.

First, Template:Trinidad-bio-stub needs to be restored. (Apparently you moved it by mistake.) Then transclude the template onto your article - i.e., add {{trinidad-bio-stub}}. If the name still appears out of order, add {{DEFAULTSORT:Whatever}}, where Whatever is the name for sorting purposes. Shalom ^Hello 09:20, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved

 – Shalom ^Hello 10:12, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How can I see images of a particular place of my choice ?

Try Google Maps Dep. Garcia ( Talk + | Help Desk | Complaints ) 09:10, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Although I have 24,000+ edits on the English Wikipedia, when I go to the vote page I am told I am ineligible because I do not have enough edits. I am registered on Wiki Commons but have no edits there as I cannot figure out how Wiki Commons works. Does this mean that voting for board members is ruled out for editors on Wikipedia only? (I am probably asking this in the wrong place, but it is so hard to know where correct places to ask are. Please forgive me.) Sincerely, Mattisse 10:23, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hm, you need to have registered before March 2007 and have at least 400 edits, those are the only requirements I'm aware of, and you've clearly met both of them. Are you following the link from meta, or another project, perhaps? If so, you'll need to go to a project where you do meet the requirements, and visit Special:Boardvote. – Luna Santin (talk) 10:28, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Voting is possible from all Wikimedia projects, incl. Commons and Meta, however you need to fulfill the rules Luna Santin outlined on the project you vote from. --Mbimmler 10:32, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I a so very sorry but I do not understand what you are saying. I registered in May of 2006 and have 24,000+ edits. I am following the link at the top of my Watchlist on the English Wikipedia to get to the voting. When I do that I am immediately switched to Wiki Commons. If I do not sign in at Wiki Commons, I clearly cannot vote. If I do sign in, I am ineligible. The Special:Boardvote leads me to the same situation. Perhaps people like me are not supposed to vote? Sincerely, Mattisse 10:44, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You definately should be able to vote. Just click on Special:Boardvote at the english Wikipedia and you should be redirected to a page on Meta. This page should say "Welcome Mattisse@enwiki!" at the top. It will then have instructions on voting etc. Does this happen for you? Raven4x4x 13:44, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Actually it isn't meta, it is an external site. There is a security warning you will need to click to open the page. Log in here, go to Special:Boardvote, wait 20 seconds, click to accept the security certificate, and then click vote. I believe you may also need an email set, but that shouldn't be a problem. Prodego ^talk 18:35, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe I am misunderstanding your instructions, but I have done as you say above. I wait the 20 seconds, accept the security certification, and the click to vote. (I don't know what you mean by email set, but and email is entered for my Wikipedia account.) When I click to vote, I get the message that I am ineligible because of too few edits. Am I missing something here? (I'm not very technical). Sincerely, Mattisse 19:02, 2 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Does the page you come to say "Welcome Mattisse@enwiki!" on the top? If it does you should definately be able to vote. Raven4x4x 02:04, 3 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I already know how to upload a file, but ¿¿how do tell its uploaded?? And how do i create my own signiture and templtes? user:naj da man

Creating your own signature can be done by going into Special:Preferences and adding HTML coding into the Raw signature filed and checking the below it, if the tags are incorrect it will tell you this, if its suitable it wil save them for you once you click save. When uploading images via Special:Upload it will appear on screen when successfully uploaded so you can click the watch tab by the edit this page icon or you can see it at or Special:Log/upload. Hope this helps. The Sunshine Man is now Qst 12:33, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Do we report people who are spamming external links to WP:AIV? Recurring dreams 11:46, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If people are

AIV but the warnings have to be within a close period of each other. Regards --The Sunshine Man is now Qst 12:28, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

If you are interested in fighting spam then see Wikipedia:WikiProject Spam. PrimeHunter 12:31, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I am a designer and builder of a few medical type components that connect to a PC via USB. there are many terms used on my sites that are not comonly used by the average individual. i was wondering if i have rights to use your link pages on my site? or what i have to do in order to add your links legally

sincerely,

Ab Baum.

Hi. I think

^T/_C 13:39, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

If you merely link a

Citing Wikipedia applies. I'm not an attorney, so consult one if you want to be sure. Also see meta:James explains law. --Teratornis 14:17, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

Am I allowed to add images on my talk page? Spinkanini 13:20, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes you are, but only images which are under a free license (eg.

Fair use copyrighted images cannot be used on your talk page. Will (aka Wimt) 13:26, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

OK, thanks. Spinkanini 13:28, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I sighted references that I sourced the facts from but it still says no sources or references sighted. do i need to do something else to cite sources? I even provided direct links. How does this get updated and wickified? How do I insert a table of contents?

I removed the template. Look over

^T/_C 13:34, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

See

manuals. However, Wikipedia is an enormously complicated project; the manuals are therefore long and you have to spend much time reading them if you want to contribute productively here. This is actually much better than in many areas of real life, where most of the necessary instructions aren't written down anywhere that we can find. You only have to spend a few months being confused on Wikipedia, whereas real life is confusing for up to 80 years or so. --Teratornis 14:05, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

Are anons allowed to participate in RFA'S? 81.132.77.133 14:00, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, with limitations. You can't participate in the Support, Oppose, Neutral, but anons are encouraged to participate in the discuission section. --Evilclown93_(talk) 14:01, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How can one protect a deleted page to prevent recreation? I tried to do this on my personal wiki, but the protect button disappeared after I deleted the page. SalaSkan 14:45, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There are three methods that I know of, see

WP:SALT. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 15:06, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

Cheers! SalaSkan 15:39, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

how do you start your own page?

See

(what?) 17:01, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

If you mean your own user page, see

WP:WIAA. --Teratornis 17:18, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

Also note that

getting deleted. Articles which "stick" are subject to heavy editing by others. Therefore, before you spend hours editing a new article here, be sure you can write the kind of article Wikipedia wants, and you are comfortable with the idea that large numbers of people you will never meet can edit your work in ways you cannot control. If you aren't sure about your idea, ask us. --Teratornis 17:32, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

The Help Desk is intended to help editors use Wikipedia. For non-Wikipedia questions, see the

Reference Desk. Shadow1 (talk) 17:17, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

Start by reading

Reference desk. --Teratornis 17:20, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

I made an article for healthcare '08 then decided it would be better if I actually spelled it right so made the same thing for health care '08...so I would like someone to delete the first one.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kenziejoy (talk • contribs)

Actually the proper way to rename articles is to follow the procedure in

history of pages we rename. Hopefully an administrator will see this question and clean things up. --Teratornis 19:04, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

Try searching on

reference desk. We don't have an article on Jane Mago. Shalom ^Hello 19:32, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

I'm trying to fix Image:Types_of_Carbon_Nanotubes.png which appears to have been corrupted in March 2007. I have the fixed image on my disk, but I have no idea how to upload it so that it replaces the old one -- neither on Wikipedia nor on Wikimedia Commons... The upload link seems to be missing on both sites, so perhaps the image is protected somehow? How could I request unprotection? --Ma Baker 19:58, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

First of all, the image looks perfectly fine to me. But if I'm not seeing what you're seeing, you should leave a note at

the administrators' noticeboard requesting an admin to move an image to make way for uploading a new image. Someone whould be able to help you or to indicate that it's not necessary. Shalom ^Hello 20:38, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

Thanks for the reply; the issue is that the lower 20% or so of the image is completely black so the lower tubes are truncated and their legends are missing. --Ma Baker 20:49, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The image was hosted on commons, that's probably the reason why you couldn't upload it. I did the upload for you (and credited you in the licensing part, I didn't know how to do it) -- lucasbfr ^talk 22:59, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How do I go about reproducing images for use in a book I am writing? Is there a special form which needs to be filed?

This is the Wikipedia Help Desk, intended for help on using Wikipedia. Wikipedia does not hold copyright on any information or images on its site. If you would like to use an image, you should contact the source of that image. If the image is in the public domain, you are free to use it however you like. Many images here are under free licenses - you should consult the terms of those licenses to determine how they can be used elsewhere and who to give credit to. Hersfold ^(talk/work) 01:20, 2 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

My English is not fluent enough. I would like to ask for editing help for the whole category articles, but my entry to help desk becouse of unknown reasons was blocked. Ttturbo 22:18, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It was not blocked, and in fact is still visible on this page. -- Kesh 23:25, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, but when I've marked my page by {help} it was removed soon threatening to ban me if I ask again. Is it possible to ask for editing help for all category?

Ttturbo 23:32, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The help template is always removed when someone comes to help you. That's standard practice on Wikipedia. You were warned, not for asking for help, but for trying to push your own opinions and accusing other editors of crimes. -- Kesh 23:37, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This was not true. I've asked for some editing help and information about redirecting, but help mark was removed without any explanations and threatening -please don't disrupt ant don't attack me accusing in not telling the truth!. Remeber please general warning about responsibility.

Ttturbo 00:37, 2 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

(reduce indent) This user has made some

Miranda 02:21, 2 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

One of the accusations in the voting debate for deleting was poor language, and Miranda says -don't edit the article for deleting. So, Miranda continues disruptive personal attack against me - the author of category Red Army crimes articles.Ttturbo 09:50, 2 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Red Army crimes article is not fluent enough. Please, help. Ttturbo 00:37, 2 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

how can i delete my profile?—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.153.232.98 (talk • contribs).

If your mean your

contributions to other pages cannot generally be deleted. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 22:57, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

A variation of this question is in the

very FAQ -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 00:13, 2 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

*A bullet,<br/>another line
*Another bullet

Can't think of anything else though... tiZom_(2¢) 00:57, 2 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The other way involves a colon and another indent:

• item

  item

  item

• item
• item

• item

  item

It does basically the same thing as your working example does - it puts a newline character into a list item. Your code is easier, and I think, is better HTML. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 02:33, 2 July 2007 (UTC) -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 02:33, 2 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

We are a foreign company based in China Foshan City and wish to employ students recently graduated from your electronic marketing classes

Can you direct me where to look on any of your web sites

Thanking you

Bill Dryburgh

This is the wikipedia help desk, we help users understand how to use wikipedia and it's functions. We don't have any electronic marketing classes as we are not a college or a university - therefore we don't have any pages that contain that information or any students. --Fredrick day 23:14, 1 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The questioner may have been reading a

encyclopedia that (almost) anyone can edit. Wikipedia has many articles about schools (among other things). Most school articles here should have one or more links that you can follow to find contact information for the school. Unfortunately I know of no way to determine which article the questioner might have been viewing, so unless he tells us the name of the school we cannot give him more clues about how to contact them. --Teratornis 06:04, 2 July 2007 (UTC)[reply

]