Wikipedia:Help desk
- For other types of questions, use the search box, see the reference desk or Help:Contents. If you have comments about a specific article, use that article's talk page.
- Do not provide your email address or any other contact information. Answers will be provided on this page only.
- If your question is about a Wikipedia article, draft article, or other page on Wikipedia, tell us what it is!
- Check back on this page to see if your question has been answered.
- For real-time help, use our IRC help channel, #wikipedia-en-help.
- New editors may prefer the Teahouse, a help area for beginners (but please don't ask in both places).
September 6
[edit]Quoting sources in the citations
[edit]Is there a general guideline for quoting material from the source in citations? Particularly, approximate max length of quotes, and whether multiple quotes from the same source in different instances of a citation are counted together for copyright considerations. Thanks! Tsavage (talk) 03:12, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- @Tsavage For example Template:Cite_book#Quote doesn't say anything on length. Guidance at MOS:QUOTE and WP:QUOTE (essay) boils down to "don't over-use." Use your best judgement, if someone disagrees, they might tell you. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 05:49, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Yeah, well I'm one who will say that when a quotation is necessary for the article, put the quotation in the article body and cite it. Quotations require citations; citations do not require quotations. If you must put a quotation in a citation, keep it brief; don't quote paragraphs of text.
- —Trappist the monk (talk) 06:45, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- I entirely agree with Trappist the monk,quotations are very rarely necessary in references Jimfbleak - talk to me? 10:09, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- @Tsavage I think the most common use of quotes in references is for foreign-language sources, where it is the
|trans-quote=
that's most helpful to readers. In terms of copyright, I don't think it would make any difference whether the quote was in the body text or the citation. We have multiple large {{blockquote}}s in good articles like Albert Einstein. Mike Turnbull (talk) 10:30, 6 September 2024 (UTC)- Thanks to all! My takeaway is to use one's own judgement and be sparing in their use. Tsavage (talk) 16:55, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- @Tsavage I think the most common use of quotes in references is for foreign-language sources, where it is the
- I entirely agree with Trappist the monk,quotations are very rarely necessary in references Jimfbleak - talk to me? 10:09, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
Bhitarkanika national park
[edit]Please change update new website www.bhitarkanikaecoresorts.com Contact number + 91 7008748100/91 7008955210 Bhitarkanika Eco Resorts (talk) 03:47, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- It is not appropriate to add the website of a private resort to an article about a national park. Wikipedia is not a phone directory. Usernames that are the names of businesses are not permitted. Cullen328 (talk) 03:56, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
AI-detector
[edit]I've been using https://gptzero.me/ a little, but now it thinks I've had enough freebies. Any recommendations? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 10:48, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Google has some suggestions for alternatives. I've not tried any of them. Mike Turnbull (talk) 11:56, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
Search tool
[edit]As of yesterday, you seem to have redesigned your web page. However, the SEARCH tool is missing! How are we to search for items? It is very much needed. Please put it back! Thank you. Misslucy2023 (talk) 10:55, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Hi. It would help to know how you are accessing Wikipedia(desktop version, mobile version, app), but the search function is represented by a magnifying glass. In the desktop version, when at the top of a page, an entire search bar will appear in the top left corner, but if you scroll down, this is minimized to just a magnifying glass. 331dot (talk) 10:59, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thank you.
- I access Wikipedia via my iMac desktop, which I have done for many years without any problem. The magnifying glass symbol used to search topics is missing as of yesterday. Why? Misslucy2023 (talk) 11:01, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- @Misslucy2023 Is it possible you have used "zoom in" in your browser to make the text bigger, and this affected how WP-pages appear? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 11:21, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Try clicking on Special:Search to confirm the functionality is still there. Mike Turnbull (talk) 11:48, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Are you viewing Wikipedia here at en.wikipedia.org? What is your skin at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-rendering? Is search also missing when you log out? Note as said above that maybe (depending on circumstances) you only see a magnifying glass icon without a search box until you click the icon. The icon or a search box should be near the top of all pages. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:26, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thank you all for your input.
- Problem has been resolved now by following one of your suggestions to zoom out.
- Now everything is back to "normal". :-) Misslucy2023 (talk) 12:33, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- I didn't know the magnifying glass icon can disappear at high zoom levels but I see it now. There is also a level where I see a small triangle instead. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:56, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Are you viewing Wikipedia here at en.wikipedia.org? What is your skin at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-rendering? Is search also missing when you log out? Note as said above that maybe (depending on circumstances) you only see a magnifying glass icon without a search box until you click the icon. The icon or a search box should be near the top of all pages. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:26, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Try clicking on Special:Search to confirm the functionality is still there. Mike Turnbull (talk) 11:48, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- @Misslucy2023 Is it possible you have used "zoom in" in your browser to make the text bigger, and this affected how WP-pages appear? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 11:21, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
Places near me search words
[edit]I am trying to find a way to search for places that are "near" me while driving. I know the Wikipedia mobile app DOES HAVE the "places" feature, so I assume there is a search string to use in the main web based site, but can't identify it. Alternatively I suppose an API script might help. My goal is to be able to use hands free voice commands in an iPhone "Siri" short cut to have it read Wikipedia Articles to me as I drive near places while on a road trip. Robvann (talk) 12:50, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- @Robvann: Can you use Special:Nearby? PrimeHunter (talk) 13:01, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Yes, that should do nicely. Thank-you.
- I found I can use the search term "Special:Nearby" to get to that page for my shortcut :-) Robvann (talk) 13:08, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
Access to edit history of a deleted article
[edit]How can I access the edit history of a deleted article? Who do I ask? Strangelooper (talk) 13:25, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- @Strangelooper Are you talking about Peter Bradley-Fulgoni? What is it you want to know from the history, or are you asking for a WP:REFUND of the content? Nthep (talk) 13:34, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- You can probably ask an Admin, but other than that, I honestly don't know.
🍗TheNuggeteer🍗
13:35, 6 September 2024 (UTC) - You can try your luck with Internet Archive, assuming someone already uploaded a saved version of the article you are looking for. Tutwakhamoe (talk) 16:15, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- OMG! What a waste of archiving space. This URL confirms that the Internet Archive does indeed save some article page histories, not just the articles themselves. Mike Turnbull (talk) 19:47, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Pure metadata about deleted articles (authors, timestamps) can be found via the API or wiki replicas. I doubt that's what Strangelooper is looking for, though. * Pppery * it has begun... 20:24, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thank you all for your replies. Indeed it is the contents of the edits I am after. Mike Turnbull: I couldn’t have put it better myself. A glance at the deletion discussion page will reveal how absurdly correct you are. Strangelooper (talk) 21:11, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- @Strangelooper I can userfy the contents for you. Before considering it for publication, it would have to address the issues raised at the deletion discussion and be mindful of WP:G4. Nthep (talk) 11:33, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- This would be much appreciated Nthep. I do not wish to publish anything, only to view the contents.
- Thanks a lot,
- Strangelooper (talk) 12:22, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Ok, it's at User:Strangelooper/Peter Bradley-Fulgoni. Once you've done with it, you can mark if for deletion with
{{db-g7}}
.Nthep (talk) 16:59, 7 September 2024 (UTC)- Thanks so much Nthep! I just had a look and I can’t seem to find the edit history… I’m specifically looking for an edit made in early 2012 by an unregistered user with an IP starting 192
- Would it be possible for me to see any edits from around that time?
- Gratefully, Strangelooper (talk) 17:06, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- @Strangelooper there's no edits from an IP range starting 192 anywhere in the history. Nthep (talk) 20:05, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Ok, it's at User:Strangelooper/Peter Bradley-Fulgoni. Once you've done with it, you can mark if for deletion with
- @Strangelooper I can userfy the contents for you. Before considering it for publication, it would have to address the issues raised at the deletion discussion and be mindful of WP:G4. Nthep (talk) 11:33, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thank you all for your replies. Indeed it is the contents of the edits I am after. Mike Turnbull: I couldn’t have put it better myself. A glance at the deletion discussion page will reveal how absurdly correct you are. Strangelooper (talk) 21:11, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Pure metadata about deleted articles (authors, timestamps) can be found via the API or wiki replicas. I doubt that's what Strangelooper is looking for, though. * Pppery * it has begun... 20:24, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- OMG! What a waste of archiving space. This URL confirms that the Internet Archive does indeed save some article page histories, not just the articles themselves. Mike Turnbull (talk) 19:47, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
Wikipedia information on a Google My Business Listing
[edit]Hello,
I'm the owner of the business listing: MaineHealth - Maine Medical Center - Portland
There is a bunch of incorrect Wiki information appearing on the listing and I would like to have it removed. My team is not responsible for updating the info on Wiki, we just want the info to stop appearing on our business listing. 63.247.57.10 (talk) 13:40, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
Are you by any chance referring to a photo or text shown to the right of a Google search? Google's Knowledge Graph uses a wide variety of sources. There may be a text paragraph ending with "Wikipedia" to indicate that particular text was copied from Wikipedia. An image and other text before or after the Wikipedia excerpt may be from sources completely unrelated to Wikipedia. We have no control over how Google presents our information, but Google's Knowledge Graph has a "Feedback" link where anyone can mark a field as wrong. The same feedback facility is also provided on Bing and some other search engines.
- If you see errors which are displayed directly on the Wikipedia page Maine Medical Center and not merely on an external page linking to it then what are the errors? PrimeHunter (talk) 13:52, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
what happened to the search bar
[edit]what happened to the search bar Mom666mom (talk) 15:31, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Do you mean Special:Search? The Wikipedia search bar hasn't gone anywhere, at least on my skin (Vector 2010 legacy). If it's gone on yours, you can click on the link above, but if it truly is gone, you'd be better off asking at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical). Check your current list of extensions, especially for any sort of content blockers (Wikipedia doesn't have third-party advertisements or tracking like many other sites so adblockers shouldn't disable anything except potentially donation messages).
- If you're having issues with a browser specifically or third-party search bar, or anything else not associated with Wikipedia, I'm afraid we cannot help you here. GeorgeMemulous (talk) 15:49, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- I believe the search bar can be hidden if there is too little space. Cliccking on the spyglass icon towards the top of the screen should display the search bar. TSventon (talk) 16:10, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- @Mom666mom Is it possible you have used "zoom in" in your browser to make the text bigger, and this affected how WP-pages appear? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 17:10, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- If you use the good old fashioned Vector 2010 Legacy skin, a search box will always be prominently displayed on the upper right. Politeness forbids me from giving my opinion of the developers of the "new and improved" software that frequently makes the search bar hard to find. Cullen328 (talk) 09:12, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
Home Page Search button
[edit]Where is the Search button currently located on the Wikipedia home page? Lbrewer165 (talk) 20:33, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- It may depend on how you are viewing Wikipedia(app, mobile, or desktop). In the desktop version, it is in the upper left corner of the screen, represented by a magnifying glass. If you scroll away from the top, the search bar minimizes to just the magnifying glass. 331dot (talk) 20:35, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
WERE IS THE SEARCH BUTTON
[edit]SEARCH IS GONE VEED80 (talk) 16:46, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- It is not gone. Please see the answers to previous questions about this. RudolfRed (talk) 16:51, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
Search box disappeared
[edit]The search box on the main page is not displayed. What can I do to bring it back? 2604:2000:8FC0:B:25FC:46EC:E511:79E (talk) 17:41, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- See the previous questions on this page. If you are on mobile, see Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical)#No_search_box_for_default_skin RudolfRed (talk) 17:52, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
search box
[edit]the search box no longer appears on the Main Page 2604:2000:8FC0:B:25FC:46EC:E511:79E (talk) 21:27, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Please see #what_happened_to_the_search_bar. -- Hoary (talk) 22:46, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
Age at death
[edit]Why do you list a person's age at date of death using the word, "aged" (for example, Ronald Reagan aged 93). Shouldn't it be, age 93? R.Ramsdell (talk) 20:29, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- @R.Ramsdell: It's controversial. Some previous discussions: Template talk:Death date and age/Archive 1#Aged, Template talk:Death date and age/Archive 2#"Aged" is for wine and cheese. "Age" is for humans., Template talk:Death date and age/Archive 2#Use "age" instead of "aged", Template talk:Death date and age/Archive 2#"Age" versus "aged", Template talk:Death date and age/Archive 3#"Age" versus "aged": 2019. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:05, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- I would say either "aged 93" or "at the age of 93". "Age 93" seems incomplete.--User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 21:26, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
- Contrariwise, to me "age 93" seems like an ordinal, which is reasonable (perhaps because "page 93" is normal), while "aged 93" or "at the age of 93" seems to lack something (93 what?). —Tamfang (talk) 01:25, 9 September 2024 (UTC)
September 7
[edit]Article italicization
[edit]I can't find the code in Peter Potamus, which shouldn't be italicized. Clarityfiend (talk) 00:45, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- @Clarityfiend: {{Infobox television}} will automatically italizise the title unless you set "italic_title=no" RudolfRed (talk) 00:51, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks. The article is actually about the TV series, which should be italicized, so I have requested a page move. Clarityfiend (talk) 03:05, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Clarityfiend, the article is confusing because the lead seems to be about the character but the title and infobox seem to be about the TV show. Can you correct that? Cullen328 (talk) 04:16, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks. The article is actually about the TV series, which should be italicized, so I have requested a page move. Clarityfiend (talk) 03:05, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
Sfn in Efn (or something better)
[edit]Draft:Marienaltar (Conrad von Soest) (not my creation) had [ a laborious referencing system]; partly to improve the draft, partly to increase my fluency with Template:Sfn (which I've usually been too lazy to use), I suggested replacing it. I got approval, and have started. As you'll quickly see, the conversion is currently ... half baked.
Note (d) currently reads "For example [12]." I want it instead to read "For example Engelbert 1995, pp. 161ff.", though I'm most open to the alternative, better suggestions of editors skilled in the necessary arts. -- Hoary (talk) 02:54, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Hey Hoary. Maybe you'd like to use Template:Harvnb? It's like Sfn that isn't wrapped in ref tags (I'm simplifying). Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 03:00, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Excellent, Firefangledfeathers; just what I wanted. Thank you! -- Hoary (talk) 04:15, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
bookmark or watch list a page
[edit]Hello, When I find an interesting article on the web I can bookmark it with a title that is provided or I can rename. For the life of me I can't find a star or a watch button anywhere on any page I visit. I would think it would be easy to keep track of your studies. Please help me. Thanks I'm a newbie but a monthly contributor. Deanprine (talk) 05:36, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Deanprine, this does not seem to be a question about Wikipedia (which is what this page is for), but instead a question about the web in general. You could ask it at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing; but if you do so, be sure to specify the browser that you are using. -- Hoary (talk) 06:10, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- @Deanprine: See WP:WATCHLIST for how to get notifications when an article or other Wikipedia page changes, but I am not sure that is what you mean. RudolfRed (talk) 19:09, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
Paragraph line break issue
[edit]When I insert two newlines in Chocolate#History it is formatting it as a space. Rollinginhisgrave (talk) 06:53, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- I'm not sure which edits you are referring to but the net effect of your recent changes has been to remove large chunks of the article. I don't doubt you have good intentions but I think you should have mentioned on the article's Talk Page that you intended to make such big changes, with a summary of what you are hoping to achieve. Mike Turnbull (talk) 10:31, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- The edits I'm referring to are "containers.[24][25][26] While Spanish" are separated by a space, even when I try to make it a new paragraph.
- I've just rewritten History of chocolate and have nominated it for GA. So have rewritten Chocolate#History as a summary of that article, and used Template:main to try to denote that it is what I'm doing. Rollinginhisgrave (talk) 10:46, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- I added a {{clear}} template which fixed the problem, which (I guess) was caused by the adjacent image. Mike Turnbull (talk) 11:18, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thankyou, very helpful. Good to know about that template. Rollinginhisgrave (talk) 11:40, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Spoke too soon, on my device I can see it has created a very large gap in the page. Rollinginhisgrave (talk) 11:41, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Yes, that can sometimes be a problem with that template. Just revert my addition. I don't know why the standard double newline character didn't work. I tried three newline characters, which did work but gave extra space. We'll have to wait for User:PrimeHunter to explain how to fix it! Mike Turnbull (talk) 11:51, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- I would have made the same fix as Deor. I actually tested it in preview but didn't have more time. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:14, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- Yes, that can sometimes be a problem with that template. Just revert my addition. I don't know why the standard double newline character didn't work. I tried three newline characters, which did work but gave extra space. We'll have to wait for User:PrimeHunter to explain how to fix it! Mike Turnbull (talk) 11:51, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- @Rollinginhisgrave: I'm not sure why it worked, but I've added a carriage return after the image call at the beginning of the section, and it appears to be displaying correctly now. Deor (talk) 15:00, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- I added a {{clear}} template which fixed the problem, which (I guess) was caused by the adjacent image. Mike Turnbull (talk) 11:18, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
Citing ProQuest
[edit]What's the best way to cite an article from ProQuest? Should I enter "https://www.proquest.com/docview/" + the article id in the URL parameter or should I use the template:ProQuest in the id parameter? Or should I do both? Or can I put the template in the URL parameter? Or is there a completely different and better way to do this? TipsyElephant (talk) 09:21, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- @TipsyElephant There are some good examples of ProQuest sources in the article Elayne Harrington created recently (not by me). Citations #9, #11, #14 and #16 show the result. Mike Turnbull (talk) 10:25, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Mike beat me to it, I had the same example in mind. I saw the ID-thing somewhere else and used it. These takes manual work to fill in the data, I don't know of any autofill-gadget that "gets" ProQuest. Come to think of it, using both url and ID params may be redundant, though harmless. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 10:30, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Yeah, redundant. But if you must include
|url=
, mark it with|url-access=subscription
so that readers don't click away from en.wiki only to discover that they don't have access. When using|url=
also include|via=ProQuest
so that readers aren't surprised when the land there when they expected to land at Sunday Independent, etc. - —Trappist the monk (talk) 12:08, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Good point. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 13:24, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- Yeah, redundant. But if you must include
- Mike beat me to it, I had the same example in mind. I saw the ID-thing somewhere else and used it. These takes manual work to fill in the data, I don't know of any autofill-gadget that "gets" ProQuest. Come to think of it, using both url and ID params may be redundant, though harmless. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 10:30, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
Any way to mass categorize pages?
[edit]Is there a way to create and add to a category a group of pages at once, without having to go to each page separately? BlackYaroslav (talk) 17:02, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
- BlackYaroslav You could ask at Wikipedia talk:Categories for discussion. This would be a bad idea if the category is in any way controversial. TSventon (talk) 17:20, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
September 8
[edit]Flagging article for deletion/merging?
[edit]I've stumbled upon a page that, at its very best, should be merged into another page. More realistically, this page is full of biased viewpoints; single-sided references that ignore a large amount of peer-reviewed literature in an area of scientific research that is currently being hotly debated online, at conferences, and in published research papers; and subtle jabs at anyone who holds different viewpoints. Further, almost the entirety of this article has been written and edited by a single Wikipedia user. I'm not super experienced with all the rules here, but everything about this article seems... antagonistic to the spirit of Wikipedia.
How do I go about bringing this article to the attention of someone more experienced with matters such as this? FoldedGenes (talk) 02:05, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- Well, you could start by posting a WP:BLUELINK here, so we would know which article you're referring to and could review for ourselves. :) DonIago (talk) 02:40, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- Seed_oil_misinformation URL replaced by wikilink by ColinFine (talk) 09:04, 8 September 2024 (UTC) FoldedGenes (talk) 04:44, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- FoldedGenes, I am endlessly bemused by editors who come to the Help Desk to complain about some article without mentioning which article. There are 6,880,084 articles at this moment, and Help Desk volunteers are not mind readers. Cullen328 (talk) 06:14, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- Cullen328, to be fair to FoldedGenes, it seems reasonable to me to want to avoid confusing (A) general problems as these arise (in FoldedGenes' judgment) in Seed oil misinformation with (B) matters that are specific to Seed oil misinformation and (again in FoldedGenes' judgment) irrelevant to the problems. But to look at the complaint/question: It's normal for "almost the entirety of [an] article has been written and edited by a single Wikipedia user". There's nothing wrong with that. Is this single user proprietorial about the article they've created? If so, then there is (or at least seems to be) a problem. I note that there's currently no discussion at Talk:Seed oil misinformation, which is probably where to start. If you believe you're likely to have a policy-based reason for merging the valuable part of the article into some other article, then take a deep breath, read and digest Wikipedia:Merging, and proceed according to its requirements & recommendations. -- Hoary (talk) 07:40, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- A serious article on seed oil and health should mention that while consumption of unprocessed seed oil may be harmless, partially hydrogenated seed oils are mildly carcinogenic. The partial hydrogenation results in trans-linked double bonds in the product. Maproom (talk) 07:05, 9 September 2024 (UTC)
Please check ref. 32 - it is in red, thanks 2001:4479:6502:2F00:ADA8:1E6C:FB01:A10B (talk) 03:35, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
Done please note that the
title=
field typically refers to the title of the specfific article you're citing andwork=
/jounrnal=
/newspaper=
refer to title of the whole thing. -- D'n'B-t -- 06:04, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
Please check ref number 22. - I got it wrong and I'm confused. These are the pages: 390-391. Sorry 2001:4479:6502:2F00:ADA8:1E6C:FB01:A10B (talk) 03:36, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
Done see above. -- D'n'B-t -- 06:04, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
Disambiguating categories
[edit]Hello. I've noticed that there's a category requiring disambiguation, but I can't find any policy guidelines on the right way to do it.
Category:People from Midlothian is for people from the county in Scotland, and it's a subcategory of Category:Midlothian -> Category:People associated with Midlothian. There's also Category:People from Midlothian, Illinois, and Category:People from Midlothian, Virginia, which are for places in the US named after the place in Scotland. I haven't searched yet, but I'm betting that bios for people from one of the five Midlothians in the US are getting added to Category:People from Midlothian by mistake.
I could hatnote Category:People from Midlothian, since it seems to be the category equivalent of a WP:PRIMARYTOPIC, or I could start a CFD discussion to move Category:People from Midlothian, Scotland with the redirect then containing Template:Category disambiguation, which would probably bring the Wrath Of Scotland down upon my head. :-) But it seems likely that I just haven't found the policy guideline on this yet. Thanks for any advice. Wikishovel (talk) 11:21, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- Wikishovel You could ask about the policy at Wikipedia talk:Categories for discussion. In practice categories can be disambiguated when the article isn't, e.g. Birmingham and Category:People from Birmingham, West Midlands. Category:People from Midlothian already has a note "This category lists people from Midlothian, Scotland". I have previewed the members of the category and almost all of them are Scottish or British and the remainder were born or brought up in Midlothian, Scotland. TSventon (talk) 12:20, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks for checking that category, and also for the idea of asking at CFD talk - I'll try that. Wikishovel (talk) 12:32, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
Media person Billy Carson AKA William Tyrone Karlson
[edit]Hey!
Hard to find where to post about this. I am new here and was wondering if some one could save some fools from falling in to this scam and make an actual wikipedia page about this person. To my knowledge he and his guru business have been getting a lot of publicity during past years and his team is attacking critical publications by doing search stuffing and copyright reporting. For example they have done a fake Wikipedia page about him at Wikitia.
Here is a video about the mediaperson and self claimed guru in question: https://youtu.be/eKRybDUCKU8?si=EFdmL6l16kvQGvXC Jr.dumbo (talk) 16:24, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- Hey @Jr.dumbo. Inclusion of living people on Wikipeida usually must meet the basic notability guideline and according to a quick Google search, both of these names don't seem to meet it. You must also remember that Wikipedia is not for advocacy. So while I understand why you would like an article on Wikipedia about him, I don't believe he should get an article. Also for clarification, Wikitia and Wikipedia aren't in any way associated, they just both use the MediaWiki software. Wikitia is a "paid" wiki. Regards, win8x (talking | spying) 17:13, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- He has appeared on shows like Joe Rogan show and has apparently published multiple books. Jr.dumbo (talk) 23:48, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- Anyone can publish books these days; that is not relevant. Shantavira|feed me 08:03, 9 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks for replying. Anyone with a bit of money has been able to publish books for over 100 years, and e-books for over 25 years. I stated it because it was just one mentioned criteria somewhere in the guideline jungle. This person has tens of millions of views on his appearances in different entertainment / alternative education formats like JRE and he is portrayed as some sort of academic expert (which he is absoliutely not).
- From what I have done little research on this person he is a very notable public figure in the field of alternative truth; about pretty much everything from physics to medical science and history. Thus I do firmly believe you guys would make a favour to many uneducated people, who look up to wikipedia as a source of validation and autherity, by hosting a fact based site about this public figure. Jr.dumbo (talk) 10:58, 9 September 2024 (UTC)
- Anyone can publish books these days; that is not relevant. Shantavira|feed me 08:03, 9 September 2024 (UTC)
- He has appeared on shows like Joe Rogan show and has apparently published multiple books. Jr.dumbo (talk) 23:48, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- , "the field of alternative truth" is generally termed "fringe [whatever]" here; e.g. "fringe physics". (There are other terms; e.g. for history there's "historical negationist".) Recommended reading: Wikipedia:Fringe theories. -- Hoary (talk) 11:44, 9 September 2024 (UTC)
Protection for certain pages: touchy religious topics
[edit]I was a major contributor to Asherah and Kuntillet Ajrud Inscriptions, they've been rather chipped away at by the sensitive pious since I stopped paying attention to them. Could an admin protect them, and El Shaddai? Temerarius (talk) 17:13, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- WP:RFPP is the right venue for this. win8x (talking | spying) 17:17, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks, I've submitted requests there.
- Temerarius (talk) 21:40, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
Correct approach to list style - Lists of works
[edit]Hi all -- I've helped put together a few articles that are lists of works by specific artists - List of works by Sam Gilliam, List of works by Félix González-Torres, List of works by Faith Ringgold, etc. - and I'm currently working to clean up and expand List of works by Dan Flavin. I was wondering if there are any clear guidelines about list styles - in this case, I'm wondering if a series of basic plain lists or a series of tables would be more appropriate. I recall reading somewhere that tables are less accessible for screenreaders and thus generally less desirable, but I also remember reading something about tables being cleaner in terms of data separation. Is there any guidance on which option would be more appropriate? Thanks! 19h00s (talk) 19:14, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- IMO only use a table if NOT using one will be quite confusing. If you can get away without a table, do so. TooManyFingers (talk) 23:35, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- I am not familiar with the detail, but the Wikipedia:Featured list criteria link to Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Lists for lists and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility/Data tables tutorial for tables. TSventon (talk) 01:29, 9 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thank you! 19h00s (talk) 02:05, 9 September 2024 (UTC)
Best auto-archiving bot?
[edit]Is there a consensus about which bot is the best for automatic archiving of talk pages. I'm thinking of adding one to Talk:Electoral fraud in the United States. Jc3s5h (talk) 19:36, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- See Help:Archiving a talk page. There are two bots you may use, User:lowercase sigmabot III and User:ClueBot III. Both do the job well, but I believe sigmabot is more common. win8x (talking | spying) 21:41, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
Requesting revdel via oversight
[edit](Just asking) If a page justifies at least revdel, then is it alright to contact WP:OVERSIGHT since there isn't a place to do that for some reason? JuniperChill (talk) 22:55, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- That's what I did before I had my mop if it was bad enough to not discuss on an admin talk page. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 22:58, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
Pkilla Musik
[edit]I want to publish this on Wikipedia's main page I really want a rapper Wikipedia page for Pkilla Musik? Pauldowe3 (talk) 22:58, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- Hello, Pauldowe3
- When a new editor tries to create an article, they usually have a frustrating and miserable time, because they have not yet learnt much about what a Wikipedia article requires.
- My earnest advice to new editors is to not even think about trying to create an article until you have spent several weeks - at least - learning about how Wikipedia works by making improvements to existing articles. Once you have understood core policies such as verifiability, neutral point of view, reliable, independent sources, and notability, and experienced how we handle disagreements with other editors (the Bold, Revert, Discuss cycle), then you might be ready to read your first article carefully, and try creating a draft.
- Your draft is nothing like a Wikipedia article. Wikipedia has little interest in what the subject of an article says or wants to say about themselves, or what their associates say about them. Wikipedia is almost entirely interested in what people who have no connection with the subject, and who have not been prompted or fed information on behalf of the subject, have chosen to publish about the subject in reliable sources. If enough material is cited from independent sources to establish notability, a limited amount of uncontroversial factual information may be added from non-independent sources. ColinFine (talk) 23:02, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
Goddess on the Throne
[edit]Courtesy link: Goddess on the Throne
Do you think that this is sound reasoning and use of tools (resored revision)? It makes little sense in my book and I wanted to seek another opinion. [1] — Sadko (words are wind) 23:15, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- Instead of asking leading questions, please just state the problem. TooManyFingers (talk) 23:40, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
- Better still, OP, please follow the process at WP:DR. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 08:30, 9 September 2024 (UTC)
September 9
[edit]What is wrong with this doi please?
[edit]In Forests in Turkey as you can see there is an error for the “Bilir, Nebi” cite. I looked at the help info but I am not very familiar with doi and am struggling to figure out the problem. Any clues appreciated. Chidgk1 (talk) 06:54, 9 September 2024 (UTC)
- @Chidgk1: You had an incomplete DOI value; fixed here. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 08:24, 9 September 2024 (UTC)
Political
[edit]Sdpi secular dermicular party of India member kolar 2409:40F2:3E:A219:8555:7203:C2D9:FE32 (talk) 11:25, 9 September 2024 (UTC)
- Hi there, did you have a question about editing Wikipedia? Qcne (talk) 13:28, 9 September 2024 (UTC)