Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2010 May 13

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May 13

Why would you destroy a good article and leave only the negative information which happens to be incorrect anyway.

Sirs or Madams

You had an article in your "famous persons from Michigan City" article which included the following persons: Rev Tina Redden: International Gospel Singer songwriter musician Rev Neil Singleton: 6 time world heavyweight kickboxing champion Ken Young: National 16 time National Heavyweight Tae Kwon Do Champion Timothy Redden: National Middleweight Tae Kwon Do Champion Terry Redden: National Heavy weight Tae Kwon Do Champion

All of these statements could have been very easily substantiated. However, they were removed and the only African American listed was Johnson Van Dyke Grisby who was noted for spending the most time in the Indiana State Prison and he was not from michigan City Ind any way. We have many minorities that has made tremendous names for themselves and this town other than one that was not born here but committed a crime and was imprisioned in the state the crime was committed.

The five persons first mentioned does reside in Michigan city and has accomplished what was written about them, google their names and find out.

Johnson Van Dyke Grisby was not from michigan city, this type of article gives our young people nothing to be proud of and they are being instructed not to include wiki in any of their school studies as well as the local higher education facilities. You need to correct this. Making African Americans to look only as prison material is not what wiki should be striving for. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.239.178.165 (talk) 00:10, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

If you have some reliable independent sources of information that verify that those five individuals meet Wikipedia's notability guidelines (and especially the guidelines on the notability of living people), then please do add them to the article, with those citations. With regard to Johnson Van Dyke Grisby, if you have reliable sources which show that he is not from Michigan, then remove his name and cite the sources in your edit summary. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 00:16, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

One thought I had was the Michigan City, Indiana article could have been subject to vandalism to deliberately remove some people and not others. However, I am now puzzled by 71.239's question. The list of 10 prisoners who have been held at Indiana State Prison was removed in January 2010 (incorrectly IMHO since it seems many prisoners were quite notable, including John Dillinger, though I cannot say whether Johnson Van Dyke Grisby was notable but he has never had an article written about him). It is also worth noting that it was a list of prisoners held at the prison, not prisoners from Michigan City.

As for the Redden/Young/Singleton family, they were added in April 2007 and then removed three times in Aug/Sept 2007, each time because there were no articles about these people. The list is for notable people, which many people take to mean they should have a Wikipedia article about them. However, like PhantomSteve hints at above, if they meet Wikipedia's notability criteria then please do write articles about them. I'm sure once articles are established, there will be no difficulty adding them to the Michigan City article and having them stay there. Astronaut (talk) 09:16, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

{{Notwiki}}Ojay123 ^{(Talk•E-Mail•Contribs•Sandbox)(Respond on my talk page!} 17:32, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

User talk page question

I have been taken to task by an editor for responding to another editor's comments on his/her own talk page. I was a bit surprised by this as it seems to be fairly common for editors to do this. On checking the user talk page guidelines I cannot find anything that forbids editors from responding to comments on user talk pages not made by the user. I will appreciate any information or advice on what is considered appropriate in this respect. Thanks. Afterwriting (talk) 05:15, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

If I understood you correctly, then you're User C in this situation: User B posts on User A's talk page, and User C notices B's post.

Many User As don't mind if user C replies to user B on their talk page, especially if A and C know each other on Wikipedia. Such is the case with User:Jimbo's talk page. However, if A asks C not to carry out discussions on their talk page, it would be polite if C respected that request. If community discussion is required, it can be done on an article talk page and user C can request A and B to join in there.

Did I understand your question correctly? liquidluck✽talk 05:29, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for replying. Yes, I am User C in this situation. The editor who was critical of my commenting was User A who criticised me for commenting on a message from another editor ( User B ). I can appreciate an editor asking me not to comment in this way if that is their preference - but I cannot find any policy or guideline about this and User A seems to believe that such a policy exists. Any further clarification about this will be appreciated. Thanks. Afterwriting (talk) 05:47, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

There is no such policy, because users do not actually own their userspace. However, it really is so pointless to argue about, it's better to just let the user have his way. Almost no good ever comes from trying to convince someone otherwise. Someguy1221 (talk) 05:58, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. I'm not interested in arguing or asserting a right to make such comments - I was only really interested in having this matter clarified in terms of policy or etiquette guidelines, especially since other editors have sometimes made unwelcome responses to other editors' comments on my own talk page. Afterwriting (talk) 06:10, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

You are allowed to remove posts from your own talk page as you desire (with certain exceptions). Its preferred that you archive them, but it isn't necessary. Check out WP:REMOVED and Wikipedia:USERTALK#Editing_of_other_editors_user_and_user_talk_pages for more information. liquidluck✽talk 01:00, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Beta today

Could someone point me to the discussion that showed that people have to use Beta from the start and then turn the features off, instead of the usual layout with the option to turn them on? And that it is switched from this week? Simply south (talk) 08:39, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I can't find it offhand, but it was discussed at meta - as it involves all the WMF projects. If you are on the mailing list for announcements, it was there; I'm pretty sure that the Signpost covered it a while ago. I'm also pretty sure that it's been covered in the press as well. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 11:38, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Also see this post on the Wikimedia Technical Blog. Graham87 14:29, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Socks 01 - WWE Socks

Is it possible that my old user name Socks 01 could be "joined" with WWE Socks. I was formerly Socks 01 previous to 2007 and now only use WWE Socks. Could those edits made with Socks 01 ever be transfered to WWE Socks or not? Just asking. Thanks WWE Socks 08:39, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

As it appears that you created a new account rather then ask for your old one to be renamed, the edits cannot be re-allocated to your new account. You could have your old talk page redirect to your new talk page, and on your old user page have a note explaining that this is your old account, and linking to the new account. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 11:17, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Need help on creating page.

I have created a page for my company and product. But don't know how to edit the things in WikiPedia. I need help from someone. Kindly find the page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinken. Asking someone to help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mhgroupbd (talk • contribs) 10:13, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Hello, and welcome! Unfortunately, it looks like your page will be deleted soon under our criteria for speedy deletion because it seems to exist purely to promote something. Wikipedia is not here to be used to advertise companies or products. Unfortunately, your username could also be a problem as it does not comply with our username policy. Again, the problem is that it is promotional, and the fact that it appears to represent a group of people. Your username must only represent one individual (you!) You are welcome to request a username change to something non-promotional, but even then, you should not write articles about companies or products that you are connected to in real life. See: Wikipedia:Conflict of interest and Wikipedia:Autobiography. Please post if you have any other questions. --BelovedFreak 10:39, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Get rid of beta

I want this new "beta" style gone but I don't and can't have an account. How do you get rid of it without signing in? 82.44.55.254 (talk) 10:56, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

As far as I am aware, the only way to do so is to have an account. All unregistered users need to use the default "Vector" skin. When I logged out and looked, there was no option to change it (as you don't have "preferences" unless you are logged in. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 11:15, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Would it be possible to write a greasemonkey script that could force monobook to be the default skin? 82.44.55.254 (talk) 11:18, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I don't know! You said that you "can't have an account" - the IP doesn't appear to be blocked from creating an account, so do you mean that you don't want to? Is there a particular reason why you don't want to? -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 11:37, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

On some computer networks in schools and workplaces, there are filters to stop people creating accounts, at least in my school there is. This could be why... Chevymontecarlo. 12:15, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I feel we should allow IP's to have some option of getting out of the new features, but I am not sure if it is technically feasible. Immunize (talk) 14:55, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

See the page where you can request an account that will be created.--moɳo 02:15, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

a new look for the environment

To whom it may concern,

Recently I heard that dark backgrounds for one's screen saves more energy than Light backgrounds, this apparently is because using a white screen requires more energy. This is why Google has created a custom search known as Blackle (http://www.blackle.com/), where the screen is completely black. Now, I know that Wikipedia is a very well known source of information and many people around the world use it. So I was wondering If we could save energy together for our planet's sake and change the main color of Wikipedia to black. It may not be big but every bit counts..and we have come to a point where a change must be done. I thought that to save the environment, I might ask you to please make this change. I know maybe this might make the layout less pleasant But I find it important we do so!

Thank You and please do consider my comment. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.129.235.3 (talk) 11:09, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

An interesting idea! However, the Help desk is probably not the best place to ask - you might consider placing a proposal about this at the Village Pump (proposals) - To make it easier, here is a link to create a new section there. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 11:31, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

A couple of things, 1) Blackle is unconnected to google and 2) Google themselves reject the idea saying that it would use as much energy if not more. --Cameron Scott (talk) 11:38, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Registered users can go to Special:Preferences, click a tab called Gadgets and select "Use a black background with green text". It's unlikely to become default due to readability. Note that only CRT monitors may have a noticeable energy reduction with a black background. LCD monitors work in another way. http://hubpages.com/hub/How-much-power-do-we-save-if-GOOGLE-screen-turns-black-or-grey says: "But an LCD monitor displaying any color is using far less power than a CRT monitor displaying a dark screen. If you're concerned about energy savings, use LCD over CRT." See also http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/is-black-new-green.html which says: "flat-panel monitors (already estimated to be 75% of the market), displaying black may actually increase energy usage". The 75% must have increased since 2007. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:54, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

New Article to appear when searching wikipedia

I have recently created a article in my user space at: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:GoldsmithKA/The_Second_Regional_Forum_on_the_Prevention_of_Genocide&redirect=no I moved the article out of my space to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Regional_Forum_on_the_Prevention_of_Genocide

When I search for the page on wikipedia main page, it does not appear as the new page and i have to search first using my username page one. How can I make the new page appear in the search results and how do I stop to username page from doing so.? —Preceding unsigned comment added by GoldsmithKA (talk • contribs) 12:07, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

It may take a while for the server to update itself, so maybe that's why you can't get it in the main area search results yet. Chevymontecarlo. 12:14, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

The page was moved only two hours ago. It often takes time for search results to be updated with new articles. Just wait a day or two. --Mysdaao ^talk 12:13, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Why is there hundreds of German place articles tagged here?

Did a bot just blitz all of these articles and tag them all? Not too long ago there was only a couple of pages in this category, now there are thousands and they're all German places. Why is this? Chevymontecarlo. 12:13, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

It is due to a change to {{Infobox German location}}. On May 7, the template was changed to automatically add a reference for population data. It was discussed and requested at Template talk:Infobox German location#Automatically updated population numbers. The template is fully protected, so if you want it changed, you'll have to discuss it on the talk page. --Mysdaao ^talk 12:19, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

(Automatically updating population figures? That's really cool!)

According to Category:Pages with missing references list, SmackBot should fix this (i.e. add in the missing <references /> tag) when it next runs - it last ran on 7 May.

Cheers, TFOWR^{This flag once was red} 12:22, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks a lot for explaining that. I think I'll wait until SmackBot is run again before I start helping to fix the other articles in the category, since it's going to do that anyway so I'll be sort of wasting my time trying to clear the backlog myself. Chevymontecarlo. 12:02, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

No worries! My first thought, when I saw the category, was that I'd simply start working through the list myself, adding <references />... 200 entries and we're still only at "A"? No chance! I'll wait for SmackBot too! TFOWR^propaganda 17:50, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Coord not working

The coord function seems to have gone haywire. For example, the coordinates here Lot_(river) were working yesterday. GloverEpp (talk) 12:54, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Which problem do you see? Does it help to bypass your cache or purge affected pages? There was a coord problem 3 days ago which may still require some unedited pages to be purged, but Lot (river) has been edited since then. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:14, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Maybe it's just me. Can you find a site that has a coord that is working correctly. If so, show it to me and I'll give it a try. GloverEpp (talk) 13:22, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I don't see a problem in Lot (river) or other tested articles. Can you please be more specific about what you see and what you were expecting to see. The problem 3 days ago involved an error message displayed in some articles using coord. Is your current problem an error message in articles, or the way coordinates are or are not displayed in articles, or what happens when you click on coordinates, or something else? There are several coordinates in Lot (river) so also be specific about which of them give you problems or whether it is all of them. We may see different things for a number of reasons. I'm not looking at your screen. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:42, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Disregard this problem. It appears to be working correctly now. GeoHack was giving error messages that it is no longer giving. GloverEpp (talk) 13:55, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Yes, I was seeing them too. I assume it had something to do with the rollout of the new Vector skin, but it apppears to be sorted out now. Deor (talk) 15:07, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

What's happened

Something about the design of Wikipedia has changed today, and I would like some way to opt out of it.Twinkle is harder to use, WP:Friendly does not work, and I overall dislike the new look of Wikipedia. Please change it back. Immunize (talk) 13:07, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Click here to turn it off. Or, if that doesn't work, click the take me back link at the top right or your screen. See also stockwatch article on the (then planned) changes Spitfire^Tally-ho! 13:09, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

That's what the "Take me back" link does. —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 13:10, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Alternatively, you can do what I did which was to change my preferences back to monobook. The main reason that I am using Monobook instead of vector is that even copying my monobook.js file to vector.js, some of the scripts I use do not work under Vector, and they are too useful for me! -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 13:31, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Likewise, the new design is cool, but that is outweighed for me by script functionality. – ukexpat (talk) 16:52, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Contacting someone on the Supreme Court

How does one go about contacting anyone on The Supreme Court? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Spiritjohn1 (talk • contribs) 14:26, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

How does one go about contacting the Supreme Court? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Spiritjohn1 (talk • contribs) 14:30, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I have added a header to your question to differentiate it from others on the page.

This is a help desk dedicated to questions about how to use Wikipedia. Your question would have been more appropriate for the Reference Desk. However, assuming you're asking about the United States Supreme Court, there is a contact page on their website here that may be what you're looking for. Karenjc 14:34, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Oxybenzone page problem

In trying to look at Oxybenzone (sunscreen) page, I click the link and am immediately prompted to save or run a file. My firewall blocks the page; unusual, as most wikipedia pages are clean and easy to view. any ideas? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 159.53.46.140 (talk) 15:12, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

It works for me. What link did you go to? Try this: Oxybenzone--Unionhawk ^{Talk E-mail} 15:27, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Still giving me a security warning (unknown file type 11kb). Not sure...thanks for looking at it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 159.53.110.141 (talk) 18:49, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Need to be able to upload an image to replace an outdated one

I need to change an image on the page for the institution for which I work. I have had a Wikipedia account for 4 years but I am not yet an "autoconfirmed" user. Is there any way to become a "confirmed" user, or do I just need to go make more edits first? —Preceding unsigned comment added by VanessaR (talk • contribs) 15:15, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Yes, you need more edits. Autoconfirmation requires 10 edits and 4 days. You have the time, but you need two more edits.--Unionhawk ^{Talk E-mail} 15:25, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

IP up to no good

I believe this IP 209.104.237.162 is up to no good. I corrected the change it made to a site I watch, but not to the others it has changed. GloverEpp (talk) 15:52, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

It appears to be vandalism. If the IP persists, you can report them to WP:AIV, where an admin can block them from editing. TNXMan 15:55, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Help me choose a username!

I really hate usernames, but Wikipedia requires one to have an account. So help me decide. I want a username isn't long, annoying, pretentious, or related to me in any way. Go! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.70.113.44 (talk) 15:45, 13 May 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.70.113.44 (talk)

You are not required to have an account. If you choose to edit anonymously, your IP address will be recorded in the edit history. Xenon54 (talk) 16:26, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

You need a username to have an account. I need help choosing a username. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.70.113.44 (talk) 16:42, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I think IP wants to change the skin, and knows the only way to do that is with an account.--SPhilbrickT 20:13, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Why not a random latin name like one used for a species, like Striella for example, there are plenty of place on here you could look, that came from Sphaeromatidae. 86.7.19.159 (talk) 21:29, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Try wikt:Special:RandomPage if you want to get a random word from a multitude of languages. Just put a couple together (e.g. Secare Pettava) and you have your username. PleaseStand ^(talk) 21:36, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

You could also create a username by combining a random word with a random combination of letters after it, or change some of the letters of your names into numbers - for example, R94N or L3W7S. Chevymontecarlo. 11:50, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Or you could even create a username that refers to your IP address, like Mr.98 has chosen to do. Buddy431 (talk) 03:06, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

Dead Generals are always good too. RadManCF ☢ open frequency 21:21, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

←My name, Mono, came from the fact that I thought it sounded cool. Please don't add 8465683 or any string of numbers to your username as that is really annoying.--moɳo 02:17, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

Is this customary?

I noticed that the bulk of the article Treaty of Rapallo, 1922 is simply the text of that treaty. Is it customary to include the text? Shouldn't the article focus more on the motivations and implications rather than just reproducing this material? Sir Nils (talk) 16:18, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

You're correct. I've removed the text, since we're not a secondary source. If you have other material to add, please do so! TNXMan 16:26, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Maybe the text could be added to Wikisource if it's not already there? – ukexpat (talk) 16:45, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Thank you very much for the helpful responses! I'd never heard of Wikisource before, but I've copied over the treaty text http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Rapallo, which I hope I did correctly. I'll do my best to expand the Rapallo article this evening. Cheers. Sir Nils (talk) 18:43, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

How to go back to the new (improved) wikipedia?

Resolved

 –  – ukexpat (talk) 16:46, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Is it possible to switch back and forth between the two wikipedia's (the old- and the new one)? I pressed the 'take me back' button, but after that I wanted to give the new improved wikipedia a try, but I don't know how to change back. :s --Robster1983 (talk) 16:19, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Go to New features and click on 'Click here' under Try them out! Homework2 ^{pass a note}sign! 16:20, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Thnx Hereforhomework!!! :) --Robster1983 (talk) 16:32, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Added a biography

I added a mini biography for a stub article you had for Robert Naylor voice actor (he is my son). Now, if you search Robert Naylor, the article no longer comes up. I am not sure what I did wrong??

Thanks

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.66.187.83 (talk) 16:22, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

The article still exists: Robert Naylor (voice actor), but your mini biography has been removed because there were no references to reliable sources. As his father, you are not likely to be a neutral information-giver. Lova Falk 16:34, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Hello, do you mean Robert Naylor (voice actor)? It looked like your edit worked, but I'm afraid I have removed what you have added. One problem is that you have added material that is unreferenced. It's very important (especially with articles about living people) that you add references to reliable sources, to make sure that all information is verifiable. I understand that as your father, you probably know him better than anyone, but as I'm sure you can imagine, anyone could claim to know him and then add whatever information they liked. Another problem is that the information wasn't completely neutral. Thirdly, as the subject's father, you have a clear conflict of interest, and it is strongly discouraged that you edit such an article. The best thing for you to do would be to find references to reliable secondary sources (such as newspaper articles), and add any changes you think should be made to the article talkpage at Talk:Robert Naylor (voice actor) so that impartial editors can add the information. Hope this helps, --BelovedFreak 16:36, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Change to account name

Is the first letter of account names alwsys capitalized, whether or not the registrant made it so? I didn't think that I typed it in as a capital letter; I prefer that it not be. But it appears as a capital letter. Is it possible to change it to a lower-case letter? Thanks. Uofmproffice (talk) 16:37, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Sorry, but all usernames are automatically capitalized. You can, however, adjust your signature to only use lowercase letters. I should also let you know that our username policy only permits usernames that represent one person. Your username seems indicate a group account. Is this the case? TNXMan 16:39, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

And if you want your user and user talk pages to display with a lower case letter (see mine for example), just add the {{lowercase title}} template to the top of both pages. – ukexpat (talk) 16:42, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Sourcing a Reality TV Show plot summary - what to do?

Hello, I've recently finished getting Big Brother 2009 (UK) to GA level and that article has a well-sourced weekly summary (aka plot section). I'd like to replicate something similar for a new article I'm working on; Junior Apprentice. However, I'm finding accurate sources describing what happened in the first episode very hard to come by (most articles that include the plot summary only go into the basics or are very vague). I then came across WP:PLOTSUM and noticed that a plot summary does not actually need to be sourced - but what about one for a Reality TV programme? Is this different as the events really occurred? Should I use only secondary sources, a combination of secondary sources and the cite episode template (my ideal preference) or no sources at all/just the cite episode template? I'd really like to get the article up to GA level once the programme is over. KingOfTheMedia (talk) 16:43, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Hi King, Wikipedia:PLOTSUM#Citations seems to mention you do need sources. The article anyway is an essay, not a policy or an official guideline. Reality TV programme plot summaries are no different from normal wikipedia entries. Depend on RS only. And if getting RS is tough, then try harder. That's about it. ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ _―Œ ^{♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣} 12:00, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

New features

The new features added are supposed to include an updated editing bar. I'm using the Vector skin and see no changes. Is this normal? Thanks, Rock drum (talk·contribs·guestbook) 16:44, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

The edit bar should be new if you formerly used Monobook, which is the case for all anonymous users and registered users who did not participate in the beta test. If you were in the Vector beta test you should see no difference. A picture of the new bar can be seen at Special:UsabilityInitiativePrefSwitch. Xenon54 (talk) 16:47, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Ok, thanks, But, what about the link wizard? Rock drum (talk·contribs·guestbook) 17:12, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

The link wizard is part of the new editing toolbar. Click the link icon (third from the left) on the top of the new editing toolbar to use it. --Mysdaao ^talk 17:33, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Please see

Moved to Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)/Archive 136 § Problems with editing under New features

. Several of us have reported mal-functions in the new interface and are wondering where?/who? to address the problems to. Thanks, --Funandtrvl (talk) 17:39, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Mysdaao, but I meant the inernal/external link wizard. Rock drum (talk·contribs·guestbook) 18:35, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Er...no. The link wizard is behind the chain icon, which is the third button from the left. This particular icon is to the right of the separator (to the left of which is bold/italics) and to the left of the small picture icon. Xenon54 (talk) 19:00, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Interlanguage links

Quite often I see edits in my watchlist from either IPs or red linked users where the edit is just the addition of interlanguage links. 99.99% of the time, it seems that way at least, they don't put in an edit summary. Because they're IPs or red link users, and there's no edit summary, I check them to see if the edit is vandalism. So why don't these users put in an edit summary? Something like ".ru wiki" at the very least would be incredibly helpful.

Yes, I realize that none of you are psychics and can't tell me exactly but there are so many users that make these edits who don't put in edit summaries that it seems like there must be some underlying reason. Any ideas? And am I the only one who's noticed this habit/phenomenon? Dismas|^(talk) 18:11, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Perhaps because they're editors from the links' target-language Wikipedias, and they don't feel competent communicating in English (even if it's just to add ".ru.wiki" or the like). Deor (talk) 18:15, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Most people don't use edit summaries. IPs almost never do. I wouldn't imagine that interlanguage edits are particularly different in this regard to other edits, just that you've noticed them more because you've been examining them. Chris Cunningham (not at work) - talk 18:42, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Some people don't see any reason to use edit summaries for minor edits. Some of the people adding interwiki links may not speak any English, and it just may not have occurred to them to put something like ".ru wiki". Another thought is that perhaps using edit summaries isn't as widely used on other language Wikipedias.--BelovedFreak 22:36, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Spelling

why does wikipedia use incorrect spelling of words such as "baptised" and "neighbour" as opposed to the correct english spelling, baptized, and neighbor? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.91.86.243 (talk) 19:38, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I find it particularly amusing (in a sad pathetic way) that you condemn the actual spellings used by actual English people as not being "the correct english spelling"! --Orange Mike | Talk 13:36, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

I personally have nothing against the spelling of our American neighbours, but when I read this... I lolled irl. "If it isn't what we do, it's WRONG!". Pfft. Ale_Jrb^talk 17:44, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

I want to clarify: I'm an American of Irish descent, perhaps a bit of an Anglophobe (I've described the peculiar Anglophobia of the American ruling class and their obsession with "the royals" as being somewhere between necrophilia and coprophilia). I don't use Britspeak except as a novelty; indeed, I've been known to fulminate at great length on the pretentious Anglicization of perfectly good words like "theater" and "center" because the English spelling is considered more upscale. Nonetheless, I'm also a historian, and know the history of English-language orthography. As somebody else said, it's one of the more irritating, albeit harmless, forms of American exceptionalism. --Orange Mike | Talk 18:35, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

Please see: WP:ENGVAR, it explains the differences between the various English spellings, and that WP doesn't prefer to use one spelling over another. So, the spelling variations are not "incorrect", but different, depending on where you are from. --Funandtrvl (talk) 19:47, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

...and in particular depending on the subject matter of the article. – ukexpat (talk) 19:50, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

See also American and British English differences. As others have hinted at, Wikipedia's guideline is to use the correct regional variety in articles dealing with that specific region -- so you will see "neighbor" and "baptized" in articles about American topics, and "neigbour" and "baptised" in articles about topics elsewhere in the English-speaking world. The original variety is used if the article does not have specific regional ties, for example articles about scientific or mathematical topics. (Spelling is just another example of how us Americans have to be weird -- along with disliking football, clinging stubbornly to customary units, being one of the last democracies on earth where the leader is elected indirectly, and holding on to a bizarrely confusing color-and-shape system for road signs. What a country!) Xenon54 (talk) 21:14, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Point of order! Point of order! I grew up with the Commonwealth spellings ("colour", "honour", etc), and I find use those spellings to this day. I do feel, however, that Noah Webster had a point, and it's some regret to me that his spelling reforms didn't spread further than North America. The US being weird? I'd prefer to think it's the rest of us being old-fashioned :-) TFOWR^propaganda 21:23, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

One area where American exceptionalism is actually rather nice is the remarkably forward-thinking policy of the US Federal Government to put most of its works into the public domain. That's way better for Wikipedia than that Crown Copyright stuff, no disrespect intended. The UK followed us into Iraq, hopefully it will follow us into the brave new world of information sharing too. --Teratornis (talk) 00:32, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

<even smaller>Don't hold your breath on that one - I think the new coalition government has bigger fish to fry.</even smaller> – ukexpat (talk) 14:57, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Adjusting View

Wiki is huge, is there anyway to adjust the page size, I would need a 40" monitor to view the pages. [email removed to protect against spam] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.192.38.254 (talk) 20:07, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you mean. Many Wikipedia pages are long and require scrolling down, for example with a Page Down key or by using the mouse on a vertical scrollbar in the right side of the browser window. This is standard on the World Wide Web. We are not going to reduce article size to fit everything on a typical computer screen. Do you mean there are pages where you are unable to see the content in any way? Or is the problem that the text size is too large for you. In that case, try holding down the Ctrl key while pressing the minus key '-' or scrolling down the mouse wheel. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:36, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Or did you mean you'd wish to see the whole of Wikipedia in one 40`` monitor? :) ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ _―Œ ^{♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣} 11:47, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

What just happened to the font

I was sitting here reading a page and some kind of adjustment happened. Now the font is very light, small, and hard to read. I tried it on another computer and it is the same way. Thats too bad. I hope you guys fix it because this just went from the best site on the web to almost unusable. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kpg4923 (talk • contribs) 21:21, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

You have a username, so you can click "Take me back" at the top of the screen when logged in and you can have the old Wikipedia back. By the way, what web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc.) are you using, and what operating system (Windows XP, Vista, 7, or Mac OS X)? Some people have the problem with the new look, some don't. PleaseStand ^(talk) 21:29, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

But I thought that the new look didn't change the font. --Pgecaj (talk) 02:35, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Hi KPG, If the issue is with your browser, press the <CTRL> key, and while keeping the key pressed, scroll up using the mouse roller. If the issue is with the way Wikipedia's new look has changed your experience, you could click here. When you go to the bottom of that page, you'll see a link that allows you to switch off the new features. Make sure you're logged in when you do this, so your preferences are saved. ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ _―Œ ^{♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣} 10:41, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Is anyone keeping track of the percentage of active users who opt to keep their screens the same as they were? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:53, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

The preferences statistics wouldn't be useful so soon into implementation. ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ _―Œ ^{♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣} 12:03, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Redirects vs. Disambiguation

I'm interested in posting a page about a company. However, a company with a similar (not identical) name has posted a simple redirect to their page. (e.g. I want to create a page about Daisy Software, but Daisy Soft has a redirect from {Daisy Software} to their own page.)

My question: what is the protocol for changing/removing the redirect? I have no problem setting up a disambiguation page, but do I have to notify them?

Thanks in advance. VestigalSanity 22:13, 13 May 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Msaarima (talk • contribs)

1. Make sure that the subject of your article meets the general notability guideline or you may find your article deleted. Note that if the company is your own company, creation of the article is a conflict of interest and should not be done.
2. You will see the text (Redirected from Daisy Software) when you are redirected. Click on Daisy Soft.
3. Click "Edit" at the top of the page.
4. Paste in the text of your article. If you have already done a userspace draft, try to move the page to the correct location using the "Move" function (which may be under the drop-down arrow). Capitalization does matter. If it does not work, ask for help at requested moves.
5. Add {{distinguish|Daisy Soft}} at the top and save the page.
6. Add {{distinguish|Daisy Software}} to the top of the other page.

Regards, PleaseStand ^(talk) 23:03, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Articles for same-named folks

Hello help desk! I wanted to ask some people knowledgeable on procedures before I wrote an article and maybe stepped on someone's toes.

I want to write a biography of an individual, but that person's name is the heading of another article about a different person. The original person doesn't seem very notable and has been dead for a long time, and doesn't have many links pointing there, so I was wondering if it would be okay to just "take over" this article and make it about this still living, more notable person, or if I should try to get the article deleted due to notability and then remark the article. Thanks. Peter Napkin Dance Party (talk) 22:41, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

You should do neither. To resolve title conflicts, a qualifier in parentheses after a topic is used. If there is no primary topic, the unqualified title becomes a disambiguation page. If there is, the pimary topic occupies the unqualified title with a hatnote pointing to a relevant disambiguation page. Intelligentsium 22:49, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

To elaborate, if the person is a musician named Winston Churchill, for example, you could name the article something like Winston Churchill (musician). Then add {{for|the musician|Winston Churchill (musician)}} to the top of the other article so that readers can find yours. PleaseStand ^(talk) 22:53, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Ah! Thanks for the information and the quick response. I really think the article that is currently at the person's name is not notable, would it be okay in this case to create a new article with (whatev) after it, and then delete the article that is just the name, and then move (whatev) to the name with the ( )? This is assuming, of course, that there is made a consensus that the article is not v. noteworthy. Peter Napkin Dance Party (talk) 22:58, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Move the existing article to the new name and then where it says (Redirected from Winston Churchill) when you go to the name you want to put the article at, click that link and then use the "Edit" function at the top of the page to add your article. If you have started a userspace draft, you should use the move function to move the draft over the redirect you have just created by performing the first move (you should not need to be an admin to do that, but if it fails ask at WP:RM). PleaseStand ^(talk) 23:14, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

If you think the existing article should be deleted, you can nominate it for deletion. Please read WP:deletion policy, which explains the different processes and criteria for deleting articles. --ColinFine (talk) 23:19, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for your help dudes! I really appreciate it. I just added a prod or something to the unsourced, imnotable person article. I appreciate ur help here. :) Peter Napkin Dance Party (talk) 23:27, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I have removed your ProD; you used the BLP prod, but the subject is not a living person. In addition, having competed in the Championship Car series seems to meet the criterion of "competed at the fully professional level of a sport, or a competition of equivalent standing in a non-league sport such as swimming, golf or tennis, [...]" of WP:ATHLETE. Intelligentsium23:34, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

LOL, I knew that person was dead, but for some reason it didn't register when I kept reading living person. Sorry for the mistake! I did look at the WP:ATHLETE and thought that it proved this guy wasn't notable. I'm not the best rememberer when it comes to policy and "what it is that it means." I just took a look at the motorsport section of WP:NSPORT and I guess this guy does meet the requirements. Please do not look down upon me for being a bit too hasty. :) Is there anyway to get him deleted since the article has been around for years, doesn't cite anything, and has very few articles pointing at it? Peter Napkin Dance Party (talk) 00:29, 14 May 2010 (UTC) (thanks for all of ur help everyone)

Notability is permanent; if the guy meets our standards, he stays. Just go ahead and create the new article for the second person, with the distinguishing characteristic [(frog breeder) or (comedian) or whatever] in parenthesis after. We don't create a disambiguation page for situations where there are only two people of that name. --Orange Mike | Talk 13:39, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia doesn't work on the PS3 browser

Not sure if this has been raised as an issue already, but Wikipedia pages do not seem to render correctly on the browser built into the PS3, since the introduction of the new page style. I seem to get two vertical blank strips, about a third of the way and two thirds of the way across the page, which probably blank out about half of an article's content. I have tried various settings on the browser but it always seems to render the same. SilverTrack (talk) 22:57, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

This appears to be a known issue as there are several users who already posted this issue on the feedback page, you may be interested in 1, 2 and 3. Cheers, Jeffrey Mall (talk • contribs) - 23:43, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Jeffrey. Hope they can fix it soon because I, along with one of the other posters, tend to use the PS3 for a lot of browsing, including Wikipedia. Thanks again SilverTrack (talk) 18:59, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

im not a spammer i just want to help people

Im not a spammer and never have been. I believe the content on my sites is very valuable information for other readers also on some blogs there is some very good medical help for sufferers. My comments say that some of my sites are the biggest source of information they have foun don the web as some are over 1000 pages long. So am i still allowed only to post a couple of links? Or can i post more? I just dont want to get banned, i prefer to go by the rules. Please advise, thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Owlpal (talk • contribs) 23:52, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

If your content is valuable, people will find it. That's how the Web works - there are all sorts of ways for people to recommend things they like to their friends. Stuff that isn't being promoted by its consumers probably is not valuable. Read WP:EL and WP:SPAMHOLE. On Wikipedia we generally don't need or want a lot of external links; what we need and want are reliable published sources to use in footnote references. Also see WP:COI, WP:NOBLECAUSE, and Wikipedia:Medical disclaimer. Wikipedia does not issue medical advice, nor would we want to seem to be endorsing sites that do, unless they are properly licensed to practice medicine. If you want to see coverage of your sites on Wikipedia, get your sites written about in the news media. Get enough media coverage, and eventually some of that may filter into Wikipedia. If the news media doesn't care about what you are doing, then it probably is not notable enough for Wikipedia. --Teratornis (talk) 00:25, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Nicely said. Also, see WP:NOT for more info related to the subject.--moɳo 02:21, 16 May 2010 (UTC)