Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2009 February 13

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February 13

Chat room

does this site got a chat room? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.75.255.112 (talk) 01:54, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Nope. We're a reference project, not a social networking site. --Orange Mike | Talk 01:58, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Au contrair, mon ami. We do have one. Several, in fact. See WP:IRC. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 02:19, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
An IRC is not a chatroom as I understand the term. --Orange Mike | Talk 02:22, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
In my experience, chatroom or chat room is a common synonym for IRC channel. It's used three times in the lead of WP:IRC, for example. Algebraist 03:26, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Chatroom can also mean forum, (a very spammy one). Of which Wikipedia should not be but unfortunately often is.
c) 03:42, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]
Inter Relay Chat mainly used for Chat Channels or Chat Rooms (depending on if you want to use "channel" like the old CB radios or "room" like all them new net kiddies). -- ]

Error in audio article

I just wanted to mention that the audio article version of Julie Kirkbride contains a mistake. The reader says that she attended the university of carolina, but in actual fact the article states that she attended California, Berkley. 79.75.255.112 (talk) 01:59, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

That audio version is about 2 years old! You can mention this in the article's talk page though. Audio versions not able to catch up with written versions is a known problem. Jay (talk) 12:24, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I think it's more a case of a mistake on the part of the reader to be honest. 79.75.254.203 (talk) 18:37, 14 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
You're right, that was a good catch! I checked the article history and it is California indeed. You can help review spoken articles though. Jay (talk) 09:42, 16 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Is There A Way to Add a New Article to Wikipedia

I need to know if there is a way to add a new article to wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.101.231.31 (talk) 04:03, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Your first article
.
  1. Ensure that you have an account and you are logged in. If you don't have an account, create one
  2. Make sure the subject is notable enough to have their own article
  3. Find
    references
  4. Make sure no article on the subject exists under a different title by typing the subject into the search box to the left (←) and clicking 'Search'
  5. Type the page name in the search box to the left (←) and click 'Go'
  6. Click 'Create this page'
  7. Create the article, including all your references, making sure you adhere to the
    article layout guidelines
  8. Be aware that Wikipedia
    c) 04:05, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
    ]

You need to be a logged-in user to create a new article. Michael Hardy (talk) 04:45, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Um... that's the second thing I said...
c) 04:56, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]

I'm a bit confused

In

Hidden messages#Windows Fonts I edited the section to make it clear that the fonts should be viewed in Internet Explorer. Another editor changed it to say the fonts can be viewed "on computers with these two typefaces installed". So I changed it back, because I was a bit confused with the previous version. Then I began to question my edit. While I think the I.P. that made the edit may have had a point, I was wondering that since these fonts are created by Windows, they own the rights to them and wouldn't allow them to be used on any non-Windows OS, right? I honestly don't know what to do. --Whip it! Now whip it good! 05:10, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]

You might want to ask on
reliable source to support his/her edit; then you could check the source - and this situation illustrates why sources are so important. Did you find anything when you Googled? --Teratornis (talk) 07:11, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]
i don't know the answer, but: using/not using Internet Explorer is not the same thing as having/not having a Windows OS (for example, i have a Windows OS and use firefox). why not discuss the question on the article's talk page?
Sssoul (talk) 07:22, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]

Protection of “Mainpage”

Mainpage” is a redirect link to Main Page. Should it be protected against faux edits? - Hello World! 05:54, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]

WP:NO-PREEMPT
says:
  • Preemptive full protection of articles is contrary to the spirit of Wikipedia and this policy.
That doesn't say anything about redirects to protected articles. The history of the Mainpage redirect shows no activity since
Main page probably look there more often than here. --Teratornis (talk) 07:06, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]
WP:BEANS beans the musical fruit... --Jayron32.talk.contribs 03:10, 14 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]
WP:NO-PREEMPT. I'm thinking when it comes to ordinary page vandalism, the cat is pretty much out of the bag already. --Teratornis (talk) 05:46, 14 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]

unknown metallic properities.

platinum - 80 to 85% + titanium - 3% + gold - 2 to 2.5% + uranium 0.65 to 0.75% + cobalt 6% & above what is the metal's name? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.238.184.163 (talk) 06:07, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia will not do your homework for you. —
t c 06:50, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]
{edit conflict) That's a pretty good (
Reference desk is if you can't find anything by Googling. Your question does not make clear whether you are looking for a man-made alloy, or some naturally-occurring metal or ore. --Teratornis (talk) 06:55, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]

nonsense added to BTU entry

I do not have the time today to learn how to edit wikipedia, but the entry for BTU seems to be vandalized with the insertion of "13 pound infant" into the definition of a british thermal unit. Is there a wiser person than me who a) knows a better definition and b) can edit the entry appropriately? greenjeans101 Greenjeans101 (talk) 11:42, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Moving text from "see also" section to the main body of the article

Resolved

In an article text which is meant to be in the main article has been mistakenly moved to the "see also" section. Also, when the section is opened for editing, it appears to be in the main article but when the article is viewed the particular text is shown in the "show also" box. How to rectify the situation? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.93.246.42 (talk) 12:27, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not really sure what you are describing. Do you have the name of the article in question? TNXMan 12:48, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I've fixed it. End of table was missing. This caused table from another section to be displayed in the last (See also) section. But while editing the See also section, the malformed table is not to be found as it actually in another section. Hard to explain actually, and can't be understood from page history. Jay (talk) 13:21, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
just guessing from the poster's contributions, s/he probably means
Sssoul (talk) 13:14, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]

Is it a good source?

I've forgotten where to go to find out if a particular source is good for citation verifcation and whatnot. There's a list around here somewhere, isn't it? If so, could someone provide a link? I hope I've phrased my question properly; if not please let me know and I'll try to ask it again lol. Thank you, Rivka (talk) 14:52, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Though not exactly a list,
WP:SOURCES describes the criteria for assessing source quality - the basic rules being that good sources are reliable, independent, and have a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. Does this answer your question? Gonzonoir (talk) 14:59, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]
If you want to discuss whether or not a particular source is reliable, then see Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 15:19, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
If the above links aren't what you meant, see
WP:EIW#Source for (hopefully) everything else the Wikipedia community has documented about sources. --Teratornis (talk) 22:03, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]

Article translation

How to post the translation of already existing article in the Arabic language, I mean, the translation is in Arabic? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.200.184.75 (talk) 16:03, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Translation. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 16:28, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Huggle

When I change a setting in Huggle [Queue - Manage Queues - Queue Options - Remove Edits after x minutes] and click 'OK', it does work. But when I close it and open it again, the edits don't go after x minutes. Is this a general glitch in 0.8.5., or is it my PC? 86.45.151.251 (talk) 16:48, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hello? 86.45.151.251 (talk) 17:18, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Yes we are here. Presumably you have a user account with rollback rights? In any event, you should be asking this at the
feedback page. – ukexpat (talk) 17:21, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]
Yes, that was me above. I logged into Huggle and assumed that I was logged in here as well. Thanks, I'll take it to the feedback page, Queenie Talk 17:24, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Indexing

My old school has a page which is indexed under "Synge Street CBS". How can this be indexed under "Synge Street" because if you search for "Synge Street" you find nothing. In addition, if you look at the pages of a past pupil like Cornelius Ryan (Author), he has Synge Street mentioned on his pages but it doesn't link back to "Synge Street CBS"

Can we change indexing to just cover "Synge Street" ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.120.152.15 (talk) 17:10, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You can
redirect it to Synge Street CBS. 86.45.151.251 (talk) 17:13, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]
(e/c)It appears to have the proper title as it stands now. If you use the Wikipedia search engine and search for "Synge Street" the school does appear as the first hit see: [1].  – ukexpat (talk) 17:17, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I used the PIPE method and it's worked a treat. However, how can any references to "Synge Street" be automatically changed to link to "Synge Street" i.e. Cornelius Ryan - He was born in Dublin and educated at Christian Brothers' School, Synge Street, Portobello. ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Championc (talkcontribs) 11:38, 15 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You'll have to do it manually. Otherwise you can use ask someone who uses AutoWikiBrowser to do this for you if there are many such instances. Chamal talk 11:47, 15 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

post photo

I am having difficulty posting a photo. I would like to add a picture of a mineral on the titanium section. How do I paste a JPEG image? 17:30, 13 February 2009 (UTC)~~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mineman99 (talkcontribs)

Images cannot be pasted into articles. In order to add an image, you'll need to make sure the image has been uploaded to Wikipedia or Commons, then link to it by typing [[File:Name image was tagged with]]. TNXMan 17:35, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
For uploading see
WP:FU. If it is an image that you have created, you should consider uploading it to Commons. Note that your account must be autoconfirmed (10 edits and at least 4 days old) to upload to Wikipedia, but Commons has no autoconfirmation requirement. – ukexpat (talk) 20:08, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]

Want to delete userpages

I have a couple of userpages I want to delete. I found the template to use, but I'm not sure where to put it. Should it go at the top of the Article page? Thank you.Hammerdrill (talk) 20:41, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You can really put it anywhere on each page you want deleted. The template adds the page to the list of pages to be reviewed/deleted. TNXMan 20:45, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I see you have used {{
db-user}} on pages in your userspace. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:00, 14 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]

Posting Stub Notes

I was just wondering how you post stub notes, as a few articles have been brought to my attention.--GameHazard (talk) 20:58, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Add the stub you want to the bottom of the article. You can read more at
this guide. Stubs should be look something like this: {{Writer-stub}}. TNXMan 21:07, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]

How to remove Wikipedia warnings

Last night I got help posting this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science.gov Wikipedia gives three warnings about the page:

(1) This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations.

(2) This article may not meet the notability guideline for web content.

(3) This article needs additional citations for verification.

I've updated the article to hopefully address these concerns. Is there a way to request a review of the page to see if I've adequately addressed the objections or will the page be re-assessed automatically after some period of time?

Thanks. Slederman (talk) 21:21, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Anyone can remove the warning templates if they believe that the issues are resolved. If another editor re-adds them, discuss it on the talk page before removing them again. See Wikipedia:BOLD, revert, discuss cycle for more advice in this vein. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 21:28, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I added those tags. I think they are pretty self explanatory, but just in case:
  1. In the references section there is a list of external links - can you use those as references for any of the content in the article using tagged references (<ref></ref>)? At the moment most of the inline citations are to the subject's own website and that kind of self reference is not a
    reliable source
    .
  2. At the moment I don't think the article shows the "significant coverage in reliable sources" required to establish
    notability
    , especially in view of item 1.
  3. This item is really a variation on 1 and 2 above.
Hope this helps. – ukexpat (talk) 21:32, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Sounds like y'all need to take this to the article talk page and work it out. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 21:47, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
 Done – ukexpat (talk) 21:57, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

saying i changed things when i haven't

I have no idea why you think or whoever thinks i changed things but i haven't changed one thing...who is doing this? how do i see what was changed supposly? are people hacking in to my computer or something?21:38, 13 February 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.191.197.27 (talk)

I'm not sure to what you are referring. Your IP address only shows one contribution (this one) and your talk page has no warnings about inappropriate edits. TNXMan 21:42, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
You have a dynamic IP address. Your ISP (AOL) assigns each user a new IP address each time they log on. A vandal vandalised, then logged off of AOL, freeing their IP address which was then assigned to you. Meanwhile, whoever reverted the vandalism left a warning which reached you instead of the vandal. It is an unavoidable side effect of anonymous IP editing; the only way to get around it is to
register an account. Xenon54 (talk) 21:47, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]
If you are not logged in and want to see which edits are registered to the IP address currently assigned to you then click here: Special:MyContributions. Another way is to sign a post, click "Show preview" (Save is not needed) and then click on the displayed IP address. Logged in users have a link called "my contributions" on every page. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:55, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Tilde Problem

Resolved

I need help every time I sign talk or discussion pages with the four tildes it never provides a link to my user page or my talk page I will give an example by signing this one now; can anyone help? L07ChLeo3 22:15, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

What is the status of the "Raw signature" check box in the User profile of your Preferences? – ukexpat (talk) 22:28, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It is checked L07ChLeo3 23:18, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

Please then uncheck it. That will fix it.
 GARDEN  23:22, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]

Ok thank you very much this problem can be marked as resolved thank you --

talk) 23:25, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply
]