Wikipedia:Editor assistance/Requests

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Editor Assistance: Requests

The description of the issue with which you need help should be concise and neutral. If you are asking about an article that was deleted, please provide the exact title so that we can check the deletion log. Please avoid copying large quantities of article text to this page. Remember to sign your posts. Please click here to post your request. As always, please do not include an e-mail address or other private details. Discussions related to content disputes might better be addressed at the dispute resolution noticeboard.

If you would like quick access to some advice for the most common questions and issues, this can be found in the Editor Assistance FAQ. Resolved, stale and other old discussions are archived, but if you need to return to an archived discussion, you can start a new section and note the old discussion. You may search old discussions using the search box in the Previous requests & responses section adjacent to this pages contents index. Assistants: Please tag old requests using the appropriate templates, e.g. resolved, answered, unclear, unresolved, stale, moved or stuck, after approximately five to seven days of inactivity. These templates and notes on their usage may be found at Template:Ear/doc. A thread can be archived after being tagged for two days.

Archives

PedrixCake

Hello, recently a user called PedrixCake has been writing vandalic messages on my talk page for no reason, he doesn't stop and I am tired of his vandalics edits on my talk page, insulting me and putting templates for no reason. Thanks for your attention. LuxDavid June, 6, 2019 —Preceding undated comment added 09:28, 6 June 2019 (UTC)

• Users PedrixCake, LuxDavid, and Holybreen all blocked per WP:NOTHERE. – Athaenara ✉ 16:54, 6 June 2019 (UTC)

LuxDavid

Hi, User LuxDavid has been editing my talk page for no reason He started with putting a banned user text in my talk page. I am new to wikipedia so i thought it was something wrong. I tried to complain but he didn't listen to me and keep putting insults in my page. I ask for help for him to stop publishing insults innmy talk page. Edit ban or something like that. — Preceding unsigned comment added by PedrixCake (talk • contribs) 07:42, 6 June 2019 (UTC)

I've looked at LuxDavid's contribution history, and failed to find anything constructive there. I support PedrixCake's view that admin action would be justified. Maproom (talk) 08:09, 6 June 2019 (UTC)

PedrixCake, if you have an issue regarding a user's behaviour, please take it to WP:ANI. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 10:42, 6 June 2019 (UTC)

Users PedrixCake, LuxDavid, and Holybreen all blocked per WP:NOTHERE. – Athaenara ✉ 16:54, 6 June 2019 (UTC)

Regarding edits.

There is no alma mater displayed on the profile of Shamsheer vayalil after opening his page on google. Anyone please do have a look in this matter. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 223.230.131.43 (talk) 18:36, 29 May 2019 (UTC)

I'm sorry, we have no control over what is displayed on Google; Google is a for-profit company unconnected to the Wikimedia Foundation and our projects such as Wikipedia. --Orange Mike | Talk 18:44, 29 May 2019 (UTC)

Citing searchable databases without direct URLs that can't be archived?

I would like to cite two sources (searchable databases) that can't be captured by the Wayback Machine and don't have direct URL. It would be possible to take screenshots. As an example, the "Centralized Disciplinary Database for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement" allows searching by name or sport, but the URL for all searches is https://safesport.org/userviolations/search

I've searched the help documents and can't find instructions. How can I do this? Thank you! --021789et (talk) 12:11, 30 May 2019 (UTC)

I don't think that the fact that they're in a database would prevent their use, you'd give the URL and the search terms used to find them. But I'd have some serious reservations about that information being usable under the BLPPRIMARY policy (and I believe that site would be considered to be a Primary source since it only uncritically compiles and reports the information from the original source sites). It would be far better and better suited for Wikipedia to find it in a secondary source, such as a newspaper or sports publication. Regards, TransporterMan (TALK) 18:23, 31 May 2019 (UTC)

Request for advice re. how to deal with User:ChrisToast1

I first came across the disruptive edits, vandalism, and (what I would consider to be) BLP violations made by the above user in January of this year. For unrelated reasons, I was paring down my raw watchlist today, and decided to check back in on their recent contributions, which after a break from editing, were near identical to the ones I reverted a few months ago. Here's why I feel that I could use advice on how to proceed:

• All their edits are blatant vandalism (nb. I understand that this is a term which should be used with caution), however the articles the user has vandalised so far haven't been large enough to attract attention to their disruptive behavior (niche interest pages that I suspect few Wikipedians watch). For this same reason, their edits often stay as the current version for days at a time. I don't feel it appropriate to take it upon myself to stalk their contributions every few days - this would make it seem like I have a personal vendetta.
• Their response to my first warning on their talk page was entirely unrepentant. Should I be taking a more soft approach than using stop templates? I don't feel tempted to, since they haven't made a single productive edit to date, and you can't squeeze blood from a stone.
• From what I can tell, they haven't at present been given enough warnings to merit me making a request for a block at the Administrator intervention against vandalism board (and again, they're only vandalizing low impact pages, and doing so infrequently).

Any advice much appreciated, and thanks in advance. --Jonie148 (talk) 21:24, 1 June 2019 (UTC)

@Jonie148: I added an additional warning at User talk:ChrisToast1. It seems his (her?) editing has slowed down (nothing since April 27) so this may not be an issue anymore, but if it occurs again, you can start a thread at Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism. TimTempleton ^{(talk) (cont)} 22:45, 4 June 2019 (UTC)

Brilliant, thanks! --Jonie148 (talk) 06:17, 5 June 2019 (UTC)

List_of_Proton_launches_(2010–present)

The numbers on the graph are not good. There shouldn't be numbers like 2.5 or 7.5 because there is nothing such as half a rocket launch. The numbers should be without decimals only. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Proton_launches_(2010%E2%80%93present) 14.162.96.167 (talk) 05:55, 2 June 2019 (UTC)

The chart is correct, just confusing. You'll notice that none of the bar values line up at half numbers. Nonetheless, I posted your question at Module talk:Chart#How to change scale of Y axis to see if the values on the Y axis can be forced to be rounded numbers only. TimTempleton ^{(talk) (cont)} 22:32, 4 June 2019 (UTC)

14.162.96.167 Frietjes responded with a good suggestion that I implemented. It was to add the parameter |y tick marks=5. TimTempleton ^{(talk) (cont)} 20:16, 5 June 2019 (UTC)

Possible attempt to skew vote on an AfD nomination

Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Allie Teilz (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

Resolved

Someone who entered a "Keep" vote on an article nominated for deletion provided a fake signature. They signed it as Arlobutt (talk · contribs) (which does not exist) but then SineBot signed the comment as 157.131.205.94. There has been repeated vandalism on the Allie Teilz page from an IP removing the article for deletion template. I thought that the fake signature could be an attempt to interfere with the vote (e.g. WP:DISCUSSAFD says "the opinions of logged in users whose accounts predate the article's AfD nomination may be given more weight when determining consensus"). Is there a guideline or somewhere to report this kind of thing? (Sorry if I have asked this in the wrong place.) Thanks. Abbyjjjj96 (talk) 21:58, 6 June 2019 (UTC)

Hi Abbyjjjj96, I've been involved in that discussion and will add a remark on the AfD. Orville1974 (talk) 22:10, 6 June 2019 (UTC)

OK, done. I've also cautioned the IP about impersonating other users (and encouraged them to register a username). Thank you for noticing. Orville1974 (talk) 22:24, 6 June 2019 (UTC)

Thank you for helping. Abbyjjjj96 (talk) 22:35, 6 June 2019 (UTC)

Vandalism and Undocumented additions to "Telechrome" article

Re: Telechrome (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Between 2016 and early 2018, I corrected errors in Wikipedia's "Telechrome" article. I also provided authoritative sources. Meanwhile, another author inserted a paragraph alleging that Telechrome could make lenticular, autostereographic images. In "proof" of his fringe hypothesis, the author cited articles in Wireless World and Popular Mechanics. These articles mention Telechrome, but *not* Telechrome autostereography, or lenticular means.

I added a paragraph that explained that Telechrome autostereography is speculation. I then explained why. I cited the patent, which contains *no claim* that Telechrome has an autostereographic capability.

At the end of September 2018, someone deleted my contribution. My references are also missing. (This author erased several of my other edits, too.) The reason that he gave for deleting the "lenticular Telechrome" critique is that his Popular Mechanics reference supports it. Yet his source *never* mentions "lenticular Telechrome." I used the "talk" feature to contact the other author. Within a few weeks, my "talk" comments vanished.

My goal is this: (1) To remove the fringe "lenticular Telechrome" hypothesis. Or (2) to restore my text about how alleged "lenticular Telechrome" would not work. (Example: There are no lenticules in the Telechrome tube. Authoritative sources fail to mention "lenticular Telechrome." ) I seek to avoid an edit war. How may I resolve this conflict? ColorWheel (talk) 05:42, 8 June 2019 (UTC)

Hi ColorWheel! The first step in the dispute resolution process is usually to start a discussion on the talk page of the article (here). You can notify the parties of the disagreement using the ping template ({{ping|their username}}). If they fail to respond after some time you can make the changes you want. If the discussion stalls, generally your options are to list the disagreement at the Wikipedia:Dispute resolution noticeboard to start a moderated discussion or advertise via Wikipedia:Requests for comment to hopefully draw more editors to the discussion. The full policy is documented at Wikipedia:Dispute resolution. Since this is about "original research" (where content added to an article is not in the sources) another option is to list it at the Wikipedia:No original research/Noticeboard. Good luck! Alpha3031 (t • c) 04:55, 10 June 2019 (UTC)

Finding many dead links

I used to be a prolific editor, but fell out after losing my helper, so am out of practice. Would like to contribute again, ie getting rid of dead links to pages no longer relevant or no longer active websites/references. I just need a quick tutorial on how to get back to doing this. Or should I just make a note on the pages “talk page”?

Endobiont 00:55, 10 June 2019 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Careiter (talk • contribs)

Careiter, is WP:LINKROT what you're after? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 07:06, 10 June 2019 (UTC)

Auto-Confirmed Issue

Hello. I have performed way more than 10 edits and my account has been existing for longer than 4 days. Yet, I do not have auto-confirmed status. Can anyone assist with this? I understand that this can happen in rare cases and that it has to be done manually. Thank you in advance. Callofduty259 (talk) 19:34, 10 June 2019 (UTC)

Callofduty259, Please see Special:UserRights/Callofduty259. You are a member of the Autoconfirmed users group. Vexations (talk) 20:03, 10 June 2019 (UTC)

Vexations But I cannot edit any semi-protected articles. Practically, I do not have that even though it says I do. Please see if you can fix this. Callofduty259 (talk) 20:49, 10 June 2019 (UTC)

Callofduty259, what is the article you're trying to edit? Vexations (talk) 21:10, 10 June 2019 (UTC)

Not a specific one. Just I do not even have an option to perform an edit. It is for ALL semi-protected articles. VexationsCallofduty259 (talk) 21:55, 10 June 2019 (UTC)

I have just reached 100 edits. I have no idea why I cannot edit semi-protected articles. Callofduty259 (talk) 21:56, 10 June 2019 (UTC)

Callofduty259, I don't know why you can't edit semi-protected pages. I checked the bug database, phabricator, to see if there are any known bugs. There don't seem to be any that resemble your problem. I would try to log out and log back in. I would try a different browser. I would try to see if the protection level that I see is the same for me and another user (that's why I asked you to name an example). I would try to change my editing preferences for Editing mode to show me both editor tabs, and I would try to purge the page that I cannot edit. I'd also check what the page information link in the toolbar shows me about the page that's not working. Vexations (talk) 23:07, 10 June 2019 (UTC)

Thank you Vexations, it is resolved. Callofduty259 (talk) 00:30, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

Article Porygon

Helped
I redid the article Porygon and I'd like to have it reviewed for it to be a actual article on Wikipedia. I don't know how to do it so can someone please help? Porygon-Z (talk) 02:47, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

@Porygon-Z474: Wow! That was quick. I'll take a look and leave notes on the article's talk page. Orville1974 (talk) 03:12, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

I don't know if I did it right, but at least I tried, right? Porygon-Z (talk) 03:14, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

@Porygon-Z474: I left notes on the talk page and tagged the article itself. It's a good start, but in general, the article needs independent, third party sources and inline citations that demonstrate WP:GNG and/or WP:FICT. Right now, it's unclear where the information came from, and whether Porygons have met Wikipdeia notability standards. Orville1974 (talk) 03:32, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

Can i look online for one? Does that count? Porygon-Z (talk) 03:47, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

Yes it does, but you will need several (2-3) sources talking about Porygons. You'll then summarize the content in your own words in the article, citing where the information came from. Orville1974 (talk) 03:54, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

Where do I summarize it at? Porygon-Z (talk) 03:57, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

Your paraphrasing/summary of the sources is what you use to build the article itself. I recommend taking a close look at other Pokemon articles in the mainspace (including following each citation link), to see how other editors have built articles by summarizing/paraphrasing reliable sources. Orville1974 (talk) 04:01, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

So if I find a site that says the same stuff I wrote, can I just cite it and move on? Porygon-Z (talk) 04:12, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

Writing articles should work the other way around. You write from the sources, rather than trying to find sources that match what you've written. I know in this case, you started with a pre-written and poorly-sourced article, which may have made your job harder. You should start by trying to find reliable sources for what the article currently says (and add the citations into the article). Everything else should be removed. Then anything you want to add after that scrub should come from your summaries/paraphrasing of reliable sources (WP:RS) with additional citations. Orville1974 (talk) 04:20, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

Alright then, Can I use Bulbapedia? Porygon-Z (talk) 04:23, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

No. Bubapedia is another user-sourced cite, so it doesn't meet reliability standards. Orville1974 (talk) 04:27, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

Not sure what I did there, but i think i cited a source, right? Porygon-Z (talk) 04:36, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

Close. I just fixed it. I recommending using the cite button at the top of the page, and pasting the URL into the automatic tab to have Wikipedia help you generate the citation for now as the easier way to include your citations. I also added a reference list template to the page, so you'll see your references popup down there as you insert citations in the article. Orville1974 (talk) 04:42, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

Alright got it! I'll cite some more! Porygon-Z (talk) 04:53, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

How does it look? Porygon-Z (talk) 05:08, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

It's looking better already. I removed some content that was too detailed (read more like a how-to WP:NOTGUIDE) and added citation needed tags for those statements that still don't have sources. Since everything going forward is going to be article content specific, rather than posting here, add comments to the article's talk page to engage other editors and get further help tweaking/reviewing the article. Good luck! Orville1974 (talk) 05:33, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

But since it's a draft, will anyone see it? How can I publish it? Porygon-Z (talk) 13:20, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

Edit your draft in source editing mode and insert this at the top: {{subst:submit}}. Orville1974 (talk) 14:31, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

Alright i'll try. Porygon-Z (talk) 14:36, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

I apologize for not being clearer. You just needed to insert the submit part between the nowiki markup in the last message. I went in and adjusted the article to insert the template. It's now pending review! Keep an eye on it in your watchlist for feedback. Orville1974 (talk) 15:15, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

We have a dispute about a racist mascot at Salesian College Preparatory they used to have

The school used to have the chieftain mascot but it was considered racist by members of the community and declared offensive in this headline from the Contra Costa Times [1], however the link is now dead, does anyone have some better sources for this material that was content removed from the article? Anyone that is good at the wayback machine or lexus nexus for example? I think it is important for posterity to get it right when a school changes its mascot even if it is under pressure.Ndołkah (talk) 10:46, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

While Salesian is not the focus of this article, there is a mention that their mascot was changed: [2]. Orville1974 (talk) 14:28, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

Off-topic talk-page-bloat collapse request

Hello - could a disinterested party to go to this discussion and collapse anything off-topic (WP:FRINGE discussion is about content, not behaviour). In spite of the 'off-topic' warnings, my two tries have been reverted (to cries of 'censorship!'), and the discussion is now a tl;dr bloated mess. Thanks. TP ✎ ✓ 13:02, 12 June 2019 (UTC)

Factual updates

GreggDinino (talk) 17:01, 12 June 2019 (UTC)GreggDinino Hello, I would appreciate editor help adding 3 factual updates to the Partners + Napier wiki page. 1- Can you please updated the page name changing "and" to "+" as this is the legal business name? 2-Project Worldwide is now made up of 15 agencies not 12. Can this number please be updated within the profile? 3- Please update the citation needed for revenue from $17 million to $23 million 4- Please add Sharon Napier as current CEO and Courtney Cotrupe as President GreggDinino (talk) 17:01, 12 June 2019 (UTC)GreggDinino

References

Hi @GreggDinino: In the article's referenced third-party sources, it appears the common format of the name is Partners & Napier. Per our Manual of Style, "Note, however, that Wikipedia article titles are usually given the most common name in reliable sources, which might not be the official name", I've changed the name to Partners & Napier. There is already a redirect in place for Partners + Napier to the article. Orville1974 (talk) 17:17, 12 June 2019 (UTC)

Page update

GreggDinino (talk) 17:10, 12 June 2019 (UTC)GreggDinino Hello, I would appreciate editor help adding additional factual updates to the Partners + Napier wiki page.

1- Please update the citation needed for revenue from $17 million to $23 million and year from 2009 to 2018 2-Please update from 4 locations to 3 3-Add recent Ranked as a "Most Effective Agency" in North America by Effie Worldwide's Effie Index Thank you, GreggDinino (talk) 17:10, 12 June 2019 (UTC)GreggDinino

References

Hi @GreggDinino: The changes you've requested are all derived from primary sources. In order to be considered a reliable source (WP:RS), the information you'd like to change should come from independent, third-party sources. Please also see WP:NOTPRESSRELEASE. As for the name change, in the answer above, you'll see I've changed the name to use an ampersand per our manual of style and the most commonly-used naming convention in the article's references. Orville1974 (talk) 17:25, 12 June 2019 (UTC)

New Article not appearing on Google Search

Hi, I have a question. I created my first article called the Devarakota Estate. However, it is not appearing on Google Search when I looked for it. How can this be resolved? Callofduty259 (talk) 17:26, 12 June 2019 (UTC)

Callofduty259, new articles are not indexed for search engine pickup until they are patrolled. Once that occurs, the article will be set for search engines to pick up, but it will still take some period of time before they actually spider them, and that part is beyond our control. So be patient; as long as no issues are found, it'll show up eventually. Seraphimblade ^{Talk to me} 17:31, 12 June 2019 (UTC)

Seraphimblade Thank you. Is there a place where I have to place this request for patrol at? Like can I ask someone to patrol it that has the ability. Callofduty259 (talk) 17:33, 12 June 2019 (UTC)

No. A new page patroller will get to it eventually. Again, please be patient, and it will show up sooner or later. There are other articles waiting as well; yours is not more important than those. Seraphimblade ^{Talk to me} 17:34, 12 June 2019 (UTC)

Of course. I was wondering if there is anything more I had to do on my part. All articles must be given equal importance, and I have no issues at all with waiting. Thanks again for the help. Callofduty259 (talk) 17:36, 12 June 2019 (UTC)