Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2014 February 22

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February 22

Wikipedia Account Maximum Amount Of Username Characters Question

Hi Wikipedia — I am looking to create a Wikipedia. I have always had a thing for creating Account Names that use the maximum allowable amount of characters for the specific website I'm registering an account for. I'm curious about what the maximum number of characters might be for a Wikipedia Account Name. Knowing ahead of time, I could draft my Wikipedia Account Name before even initiating the Account Creation Process. I'd think of a nice phrase that would suit me. Also, however, are there various conditions (such as a number of numeric and/or alpha characters that are required in a Wikipedia Account Name)? Probably, there aren't (because I've seen several Wikipedia Account Names that do not feature any numeric characters in them) but I'm just asking. Once an account is created, would that mean that I'd no longer need to include the four tildes at the end of any message I leave on talk pages? 50.138.170.28 (talk) 00:00, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

I don't know what the max name length is. You can see the guidelines for names at WP:USERNAME. You still need to sign your posts. RudolfRed (talk) 00:28, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

The maximum number of characters is 235 (apparently that's a software's limit), but the practical limit was was set at 40 (I think following this discussion, where 42 was initially discussed), i.e., if you try to choose a name over this length it just won't let you. Please note WP:UNCONF, which states in part: "Some usernames appear problematic without fitting clearly into any of the above categories. This is often the case with confusing or extremely lengthy usernames, which are highly discouraged but which are not so inappropriate on their own as to require action." (Emphasis added). There are no requirements for a certain number of different types of characters but there are some technical limitations (for example, you can't use @ / # < > [ ] | { }). No, you still must sign using for tildes, although once you sign up you will have a button available to place the tildes with a click. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:32, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

• Part of the limit comes into play as the maximum length of your signature. Your signature is limited to 255 characters, which once you subtract the no customization wikicode required (square brackets, namespaces, pipes, text), subtract the maximum length for the timestamp ("##:##, ## September #### (UTC)" is 31 characters), and divide by 3 (the default signature is [[User:Example|Example]] ([[User talk:Example|talk]])), leaves you with 64 characters for a username. — {{U|Technical 13}} ^{(t • e • c)} 06:04, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Hmm, so it seems that having an incredibly lengthy Username would most likely make me seem like a less reputable editor and thereby heighten my chances of getting Blocked by Administrators if I do enough things wrong. That being said, do you suppose it might be a better idea for me to avoid generating a Username that is as long as possible?

50.138.170.28 (talk) 16:55, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

No because many do not take IP editors very seriously either. Franky having an ovely-long username makes things harder for those trying to work with you. You would be well advised, if you want to be a "reputable editor", to chose a user name that is reasonably comprehensible and easy to recall and to type when needed. But it is your choice, within the policies. DES ^(talk) 17:30, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

The 40-character limit at the English Wikipedia is controlled by .{40,} <newaccountonly> in MediaWiki:Titleblacklist. Unregistered users and regular users cannot create longer usernames (administrators and some others can but shouldn't). Many users will find it annoying if you edit actively with a username approaching the 40 characters. It should be a way to identify you and not to test limits. The limit is not determined by the length limit on signatures. The 255-character limit there is excluding timestamp, and our rules only require the full username to appear at least once in a customized signature. PrimeHunter (talk) 04:20, 23 February 2014 (UTC)

Michael Mansell

"Michael Mansell (born June 5, 1951 in northern Tasmania) is an Australian lawyer and activist of partial Aboriginal descent,"

The reference to 'partial Aboriginal descent' is racist and in breach of the Racial Discrimination Act. Contributors are not generally referred to by their 'degree' of ancestry, nor should Aborigines. the use of such terms is an attempt to discredit and deter Aborigines from participating in public debate- white people may participate freely without reference to their line of biological descent which is rightly irrelevant to their comments. To print such biological ancestry only for Aborigines is to treat Aborigines differently and less favourably on the grounds of race.

Please remove the reference and simply describe me and other Aborigines as that- Aboriginal. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 147.69.148.76 (talk) 01:54, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Please do not make or imply legal threats. It can result in yoru being blocked from editing.

Welcome to Wikipedia. I just looked at Michael Mansell. Most Wikipedia articles do not describe their subjects by race at all, but in some cases it is relevant, as in this case about a person who has been an activist and advocate for a particular racial group. Where it is relevant, a Wikipedia article ought to use all the information available in reliable sources. I haven't yet reviewed the sources on this article. If those sources mention a mixed descent, then so should the article. if they do not, than neither should Wikipedia. You might want to discuss this further on Talk:Michael Mansell. (If you are in fact the subject of the article, you should not edit it directly, as per our conflict of interest guideline. You may find it helpful to sign up for a free account, then you will be able to use a watchlist to monitor this article and other articles of interest, get email alerts, and have a fixed talk page with which to communica3e with other editors. But that is not required, of course. DES ^(talk) 15:37, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

I should add that I strongly oppose any form of racial (or other) discrimination or racism, but I do not agree that identifying someone by ancestry, when and only when it is relevant, is a form of racism or is intended to exclude such a person or deter his participation. Others may disagree with me on this point. DES ^(talk) 15:44, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Two pretty much unrelated questions on usernames and user space

Resolved

User space question: If a user page is inordinately long (say, over 100,000 bytes) and filled almost entirely with test material (i.e. repeated iterations of signatures, random words, line breaks, and '''Bold text'''), and its size is enough to make a modern, should-be-adequate computer freeze up when it loads, is it alright to boldly blank it or cut its material down?

User name question: (This is not a question about a real username I've seen; it's hypothetical.) If a username resembles an email address (like addresshotmail.com), is that grounds for a warning or..? I looked through the username policy but only found policy on emails relating to promotional usernames.

Any help would be great; thanks. - Purplewowies (talk) 02:39, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

• Question 1, WP:MfD it I would say. Question two, WP:UPOL#Promotional names says "Email addresses and URLs (such as "Alice@example.com" and "Example.com") that promote a commercial web page and don't simply identify a person. While plain domain names (without .com, .co.kr, etc.) are sometimes acceptable, such as when the purpose is simply to identify the user as a person, they are inappropriate if they promote a commercial Web page." it goes on to say that they must not only have such a username, but they must also "engages in inappropriately promotional behaviors in articles about the company, group, or product, can be blocked." Finally, it also has its WP:UPOL#Exceptions. Other than that, those usernames "alone" are not grounds for a warning unless they offensive, confusing, disruptive, or misleading in some other way. — {{U|Technical 13}} ^{(t • e • c)} 05:53, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Ah, all right. Thanks. - Purplewowies (talk) 06:37, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Examples appended to article

In Analytic hierarchy process, it'd written Their decision process is described in depth in an appendix to this article. and the appendix is linked to Talk:Analytic hierarchy process/Example Leader. While the example is a useful explanation, I think it isn't something that suitable for a talk page? Where should it be put? C933103 (talk) 02:42, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

C933103, See my suggestion at Talk:Analytic hierarchy process#Example pages. Thanks for bringing this up. DES ^(talk) 15:20, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

@C933103:. DES ^(talk) 15:21, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Table problem

At Denver Sheriff Department I have added a nice little table of officers killed on duty. It looks nice. For some reason, the table insists on being at the bottom of the page rather than under the "Slain officers" heading. I have had this problem before so I suspect I need some instructions on how to fix this, lest I become a complete pest. I have watchlisted this page, or you can reply on my talk, or on the Denver Sheriff page, as you ike. Paul, in Saudi (talk) 03:48, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Fixed by closing the table correctly with |} on its own line.[1] PrimeHunter (talk) 04:03, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Thank you.Paul, in Saudi (talk) 04:05, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Unfortunately I have had to remove this section as it conflicts with WP:NOTMEMORIAL. Sorry. Britmax (talk) 09:57, 23 February 2014 (UTC)

Referencing errors on Excel Maritime

Reference help requested. For each reference I inserted I also included it at the bottom in a 'reflist|group='

I think I'm missing something as to the data structure for referencing

This page already had "Cite error: There are ref tags on this page, but the references will not show without a reflist template (see the help page)." at the bottom so it is possible that the reference bot has flagged my edit because I did not clean up the existing problems. Thanks, DmacG (talk) 04:12, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

It's actually not a bot, but rather a component of the software. The problem is that you have a few references without groups specified. These require a plain {{Reflist}} for them to show. (I've added it already.) But honestly, I don't see a need for any groups in this case: If you want groups, they should be clearly marked; otherwise the numbers mysteriously reset in the references list. Anon126 (talk - contribs) 05:11, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Reporting SPAM

They're promoting their Products and Company Profile on Wikipedia:

Piriform (company)

I hope, this page is infringing the Terms of Wikipedia. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.177.37.85 (talk) 08:49, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

This is a page about a definitely notable company, in my view, and while some cleanup would be a good idea, i don't find it blatantly promotional -- certainly not compared to many pages ZI have deleted or tagged for deletion. DES ^(talk) 15:24, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Bolded template fonts

Could someone give a hint on how to restore the previvous fonts in templates instead of current bolded ones (like dates in Today's featured article templates and "Competitor for ..." in sportspeople templates?) Is it in preferences or something else? Brandmeister^talk 10:15, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

The place to get an answer might be WP:VPT.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 19:37, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

uploading a picture taken by me

I have uploaded several pictures of Honduran White Bats, which might actually be another species. The photos are mine and copyrighted in my name. They have been removed twice. I have been trying to upload them again with no success. 1) Why were they removed? 2) How do I go about uploading them again? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kolcapuchins (talk • contribs) 10:55, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Looking through your contributions, I don't see any edits to anything this year other than this question and the same question at the Tea House. Where and how were you trying to add these images? Dismas|^(talk) 13:13, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

If they are as you say "copyrighted in my name", under what license are you trying to upload them? have you released that copyright? and if so, how? - Arjayay (talk) 14:58, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

He uploaded them to Commons, where they were likely deleted because they were not freely licenced. — Edokter (talk) — 15:13, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

1) they are copyright in a book publication. 2) how or can you send me to a help page to show me how to attach the photos to the page Honduran White Bat?190.241.116.2 (talk) 20:07, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

Changing font size

My browser (Firefox) recently got hijacked and I had to restore the default version, but now I find the fonts in wikipedia pages are too small, how do I change the font size? I thought you could do it in preferences but I can't see an option for it there. Gatoclass (talk) 11:07, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Hold down the Control key and press the + key. Or hold down Control and scroll the wheel of your mouse. Dismas|^(talk) 13:11, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

That was easy - thanks very much! Gatoclass (talk) 23:31, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Editing a name

I wanted to find out how to edit the name of someone with a Wikipedia page?

Tasneem21 (talk) 12:23, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

If you mean that you want to change the title of the article, then it would have to be moved to the new title. What page are you referring to? Dismas|^(talk) 13:09, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

I'm guessing that you're referring to Hélène Hayman, Baroness Hayman. It has already been moved from Helene Hayman, Baroness Hayman and an administrator will have to move it back if it is to be moved again. You can request a move at Wikipedia:Requested moves. Dismas|^(talk) 16:16, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Listed on the Requested Moves.Naraht (talk) 16:27, 23 February 2014 (UTC)

John Popper and {{Infobox musical artist}}

In this revision, for me at least, the infobox image in John Popper appears at its full size. The only way I could find to return it to a reasonable size was by changing the image parameter from "JohnPopperNY.jpg" to "[[File:JohnPopperNY.jpg|200px]]", which goes against the infobox's documentation. Given that several months of past revisions show the image full-size, I assumed a recent change to a template was to blame, but none of {{Infobox musical artist}}, {{Infobox}} or the Module:Infobox seem to have been edited recently. Have I missed something obvious? – Arms & Hearts (talk) 16:36, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Been fixed. Template_talk:Infobox_musical_artist#Serious_malfunction --NeilN ^{talk to me} 16:42, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Trying to source information

Can someone tell me what www.adisc.org is all about? I am trying to get information from it but I do not know. Thanks. --SoundsBloodyAwful (talk) 18:00, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

As a forum and blog of the Adult Baby / Diaper Lover Support Community it doesnt appear to be a reliable source. MilborneOne (talk) 18:06, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Yup; a web forum is not a reliable source for our purposes. --Orange Mike | Talk 18:07, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

A diaper lover forum? Well, that sounds interesting. Just out of curiousity are diaper lovers common? --SoundsBloodyAwful (talk) 18:13, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

One suspects that WP:DNFTT is applicable here. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 18:25, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Okay thanks guys. I will not source the info from the diaper site. And to the RedPen guy, no, I am not a troll. Goodbye. --SoundsBloodyAwful (talk) 18:47, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Sotomeyer Article

I was just reading the article on Justice Sonia Sotomeyer. I noticed it mentions that she attended Princeton University on a full scholarship. This is technically inaccurate. Princeton does not give out any scholarships. Nor do any of the Ivy leagues. They provide to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. She may have received a full ride from Princeton, but that was because her family demonstrated a clear financial need. Princeton considers all of their accepted students as clearly top students and they do not pick one over the other for any scholarships merit or athletic. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.176.30.7 (talk) 18:32, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

@76.176.30.7: If her full scholarship came from another benefactor or benefactors, would it still be inaccurate to say that she attended on a full scholarship? Cyphoidbomb (talk) 22:00, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Princeton's policy of providing need-based full rides to all qualified students is less than 2 decades years old, see [this article from 1998 laying out the plans by Princeton, Yale, and Stanford as a way to improve enrollment from middle-income and lower-income students. Sotomayor attended Princeton quite a bit earlier than that, in the early 1970s. I'm not entirely sure what Princeton's scholarship policies were in 1972, but they may have given her a full scholarship back then. Or as noted above, it could be that an organization unaffiliated with Princeton gave her a full scholarship. The statement in Sotomayor's article is well referenced here. So take it up with that publication if it is in error. --Jayron32 05:18, 23 February 2014 (UTC)

MadmanBot notice re: copying from other sites

I just completed a split of existing content. I moved character-specific content from A. J. Raffles to a dedicated page for the character, A. J. Raffles (character). I did not write any of this content, I just moved it. This is when User:MadmanBot notified me that this content may be copied from http://www.factualworld.com/article/A._J._Raffles and indeed that article looks nearly identical to the pre-split A. J. Raffles article. Is it possible that factualworld.com copied wikipedia? Copying from them seems unlikely as an, albeit quick, review of the page history shows alterations over time, culminating in the pre-split article. Please advise. --Morphovariant (talk) 21:40, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

I just looked up Sherlock Holmes in factualworld.com and again, the content looks identical - down to the picture and the sidebar. I think they are copying Wikipedia content; if they are allowed to, then MadmanBot needs to stop noticing similarities, right? Sherlock Holmes and http://www.factualworld.com/index.php?q=Sherlock%20Holmes --Morphovariant (talk) 21:54, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Yup. It looks self-evident to me that factualworld.com has copied our article. Along with many others. Without appropriate copyright attribution - which is not allowed. It also seems to have been cited as a source a few times. I'll remove the citations, and ask that it be blacklisted. AndyTheGrump (talk) 21:55, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Thanks much for the quick reply! --Morphovariant (talk) 21:57, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

(edit conflict) It is possible and in this case I think highly likely. The page source for http://www.factualworld.com/article/A._J._Raffles includes <span class="mw-headline" id="Character_appearances"> and <li id="cite_note-1"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b> <a href="/article/Special:BookSources/9781906210625" class="internal">ISBN 978-1-906210-62-5</a></li> which looks very much like a direct copy of Wikipedia HTML, particualrly since that site does not have a page Special:BookSources/9781906210625 while Special:BookSources/9781906210625 is a blue link. DES ^(talk) 21:59, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Question

How do I add formatted text in edit summaries? Kusochinko (talk) 23:48, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Unfortunately that is not possible except for wikilinks (example: [[User:Anon126|Anon126]] will give Anon126). If you want to emphasize something, you could put asterisks (*) or underscores (_) around it. Anon126 (talk - contribs) 23:54, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Thanks! That's what I thought — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kusochinko (talk • contribs) 23:55, 22 February 2014 (UTC)