Wikipedia:Help desk

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The Wikipedia help desk is a place where you can ask questions about how to use or edit Wikipedia. For other types of questions, use the search box or the reference desk.
  • For other types of questions, see Help:Contents and Are you in the right place?. 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.
  • We are all volunteers, so sometimes replies can take some time. Please be patient. Check back on this page to see if your question has been answered.
  • If you need real-time help, you can join our IRC help channel, #wikipedia-en-help.
  • If you are a new editor, you might prefer to ask your question at the Teahouse, an area specifically for new users to get help with editing, article creation and general Wikipedia use, in a friendly environment.

May 24[edit]

Television shows by topic[edit]

I notice that there are two categories Category:Television series by topic and Category:Television programs by topic. "Television series by topic" is a subcategory of "Television programs by topic". Does anyone know the difference between the two categories? When I clicked to edit the talk page, it said I should ask here since not many people watch category talk pages. I suppose television programs can include documentaries and specials, where television series includes series of episodes, but this isn't really clear. Some of the categories that are in "Television programs by topic" but not "Television series by topic" still include episodic television series. Should the categories be merged or renamed to clarify the difference? Nine hundred ninety-nine (talk) 01:36, 24 May 2020 (UTC)

  • @Nine hundred ninety-nine: The two categories are very different from a purpose point of view. The 'programs by topic' category is a "container category", meaning is should not contain any articles but only categories. The six articles that are included in the category need to be re-classified to sub-categories. The 'series by topic' is specifically related to television series, but the inclusion criteria isn't stated as to whether it would include both intended multi-year series and mini-series or not. Does this help? --User:Ceyockey (talk to me) 02:12, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
    • It helps a little. However, I think both categories are container categories. I can't think of shows that are not either shows that air a single time, mini-series, or regular television series. Does this mean the subcategories of "Television programs by topic" should contain shows that air a single time, and the subcategories of "Television series by topic" should contain shows about a regular television series? Nine hundred ninety-nine (talk) 19:45, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

May 26[edit]

Andy Coulson edit was valid. Why was it reverted? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.219.199.173 (talk) 04:58, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Another editor thought it was unconstructive. If you disagree, then discuss it on the talk page of the article, which is at Talk:Andy Coulson. Just looking at it, it was ungrammatical and made a point that is already discussed in the lead section, but I think you can make a case that it belongs in the first sentence. Please assume good faith (WP:AGF) and work collaboratively with the other editor, and you can probably work something out. -Arch dude (talk) 05:38, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

citation does not identify source adequately[edit]

What tag should I put on a reference that does not adequately identify the book (presumably) that is cited? Citation needed clearly does not do the job as there is a citation there - just don't know what it refers to.

The example is on Baltimore Clipper, the reference just says "Gardiner 1999", and is used twice. I have identified a possible author, but cannot find any book that he wrote in 1999.ThoughtIdRetired (talk) 07:50, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

It may be worth asking User:Olikigotho, as that was who added the reference. --David Biddulph (talk) 08:03, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
@ThoughtIdRetired: In the event that you don't get a reply from the editor who addd the reference, or where it isn't clear who added it, you can use {{full citation needed}} for cases like this. – Arms & Hearts (talk) 19:23, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

All black[edit]

My late dad Charles Herbert Smith (Herbie ) said he played league for some random place also the photo on his page is not of my Dad. My email address is <redacted> Thanks Winsome Marshall — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.61.68.123 (talk) 08:26, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

By the looks of it, you're looking at the wrong article. The article about your Dad is Charles Smith (rugby), whereas Charles Smith Jr. is about the rugby league player. Also, if you're getting the information from Google then you'd need to contact them- I don't see a picture of the rugby league player's article. Joseph2302 (talk) 09:00, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Updating a page[edit]

Hi, I need to update a page but it’s not letting me. What do I do?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_Texas — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.185.51.5 (talk) 10:54, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Hello! That page doesn't appear to be locked, so you should be able to edit it? Ed6767 (talk) 10:58, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
If you are one of both of the IP addresses that yesterday inserted tendentious and unsupported epithets on particular individuals in 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, please stop it. They were quite rightly reverted. If you are talking about something else, please make it clear what it is that you need to add. (Or better still, make your case on the talk page Talk:2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas). --ColinFine (talk) 11:01, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Copyright of copied passage: Edward Albert's "A History of English Literature"[edit]

I notice that a paragraph of Wikipedia's article on Thomas Wyatt (poet) (starting "Wyatt's poems are short but fairly numerous") is copied verbatim from Edward Albert's "A History of English Literature" without attribution. The latter text is freely available on the Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.544236) but I am doubtful whether it is free of copyright. I'm sure we should at least attribute the source, but does the whole paragraph need to be re-written? Mrmedley (talk) 12:38, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

It's by Edward Albert, and revised by J A Stone for publication in 1955. I know nothing offhand about either writer, but it seems unlikely that 70 years have elapsed since Stone's death. -- Hoary (talk) 13:09, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Thanks, Hoary, for pointing out my mis-rendering of Albert's name in my heading (now corrected). I hope someone can give further advice about what to do. Mrmedley (talk) 13:41, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

@Mrmedley: Thomas Wyatt (poet) died a long time ago, so that verbiage may have been in the first edition of the book, in 1923. If we can find the first edition and find that material, we can use it verbatim because it is in the public domain, but we must attribute it to meet our plagiarism guidelines. -Arch dude (talk) 16:58, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Thanks, Arch dude. With this perspective in hand I've brought up the matter on the article's talk page. Mrmedley (talk) 02:50, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

UPLB Museum of Natural History[edit]

This article appears to have just one substantial author: Florante Apellido Cruz (although my contributions might be considered substantial too, they were basically rearranging and reformatting the text; I did not actually write anything).

Florante Apellido Cruz has declared a conflict of interest in relation to this article. The discussions on their talk page, in particular, User talk:Florante Apellido Cruz#Copying material from the museum’s website, show that the user has a poor understanding of copyright, even after warnings. In response to this, the user appears to have given up:

This is too all complicated for me. I would rather request that my simple intention to publish photos which I and my colleagues took as people of the museum be negated. I would be amenable for the editors to all delete all my contributions both in Wikipedia and Wikimedia. If my intended contribution also to Wikipedia will become a waste of everybody's time, I am also amenable to a deletion of that entry

I have made extensive efforts to assist this user, but I won’t continue down that path after my contributions were revdel’d in order to remove this user’s copyvios (I have explained this to them and they seem to understand).

Even though an admin has identified several copyvios, hence the revdel, we should assume there are more, based on these comments:

May I explain? In scientific writing, I was trained that it is okay to copy some text from a source but with citations. That was the process I think I did there. I have copied in a phrase or so, highlighted it, clicked on the citation tool, and put in the necessary details. If the Wikipedia policy does not allow that, then I will go over the text of the article again and again and put revisions. Thank you for the comments.

The article surely can’t stand in its current state. I think the only safe course of action is to rewrite the whole article. The article doesn’t seem to meet the deletion criteria (looks notable: source 1, source 2 + linked from many other articles + could technically be fixed through editing). So what should we do? Brianjd (talk) 13:10, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

“King Arthur”[edit]

I noticed you have my dissertation listed in the bibliography. I later published a thorough, updated, and much better version which I would prefer as a reference. I have also published a book on Arthur’s historicity specifically which might be a useful addition. How can I emend the bibliography of that semi-locked page? I have had this account for some time and have made a few accepted edits. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tallhwch (talkcontribs) 14:36, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Hello, Tallhwch. Citing your own works is regarded as a conflict of interest (even though you are just proposing to replace one cited work with another) so the recommended action is to post an edit request on the article's talk page. --ColinFine (talk) 14:42, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
@Tallhwch:Thanks for your help. We need all the experts we can get. Sorry about the extra hoops we ask you to jump through when self-citing, but it's part of our attempt to maintain objectivity. In King Arthur, If the existing reference is freely accessible on the web but the newer one is not, please recommend that the new one be added but the old one be retained. Otherwise, if you feel the newer one is in every way a better ref, recommend the replacement. -Arch dude (talk) 16:09, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Double redirects from subpages used as draft[edit]

Hello, I've created some articles using subpages as draft. After moving the articles to the Namespace, the subpages have become double redirects to the main page. How do I correct these subpages? Is there a way to remove these subpages, as they have served their purpose? Thanks. Santoshdts[TalkToMe] 17:02, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

@Santoshdts: If you're referring to subpages in your user space, such as User:Santoshdts/National agroforestry policy, you can have them deleted by adding {{Db-u1}} to the top of each page. (You can, of course, elimnate the redirects by simply blaking each page, but I assume that you don't want to reuse these titles for any other purpose.) By the way, your sig needs to include a link to—at least—your user, talk, or contributions page; see WP:SIGLINK. Deor (talk) 18:00, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
@Deor: Thanks for helping me out with double redirect and also for pointing out the error in my signature, which I had altered recently. It's been rectified now. Thanks again. Santoshdts[TalkToMe] 18:51, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
FWIW, there is a bot that cleans up double redirects (as in an article that redirects to a redirect). You are welcome to delete (with U1)/change/blank or keep the redirect in draft/user space. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 21:42, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Abdelslam elaskary[edit]

Article content

Biography


Dr. Abdelsalam Elaskary is the founder of the Elaskary & Associates clinic and educational institute located in Alexandria, Egypt, he is  currently a visiting lecturer at University of New York NYU, He authored three text books in the field of dental Implantology and oral Reconstruction , “Reconstructive Aesthetic Implant Surgery” &  “fundamentals of aesthetic implant dentistry”  and  “ Advances in  Esthetic implant dentistry”  all published by john Wiley, Translated in to several  languages,  Added to that a rich contribution to the literature by numerous published  articles in the recognized reputable journals , he is a member of the editorial review board of the international journal of oral implantology

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Abdelslam elaskary (talkcontribs) 17:53, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

@Abdelslam elaskary: Did you have a question aside from posting content about yourself, which is strongly discouraged on Wikipedia? —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 18:24, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Someone hijacked the links of my company's article page, and editing it back caused our actual homepage to get added to the global blacklist so we cannot undo the hijacked edit[edit]

Basically the subject says everything that happened. The timeline of events:

April 10 - A new Wikipedia user performs their only edit - on our company's page, changing the URL to a domain under their own control (but not the text of the link). This ultimately redirects the user to our homepage, after setting some referral links along the way.

May 22 - We notice the change and revert that edit to the page, resetting the link to our official home page.

May 23 - The user changes the URL on our page back to their hijacked domain.

May 26 - The global spam blacklist is updated with our home page URL.

We are no longer able to revert the edit. How do we proceed from here? Reading through the recurring requests section, it seems like simply asking for it to get removed will be denied, yet at the same time someone is allowed to hijack our URL - this does not seem like what Wikipedia was built for. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Swbvofficial (talkcontribs) 18:33, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

It is not easy to help you, unless we know the name of the article. Theroadislong (talk) 18:50, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
Sorry, I did not want to link it if that would be considered spam - the article is BeenVerified Swbvofficial (talk) 18:57, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
I hadn't come up on this previously, but it looks like you could ask for it to be added at MediaWiki talk:Spam-whitelist. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 19:12, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Getting listed on Wikipedia[edit]

Hello, We manufacture commercial buses in New Paris, In and I am inquiring to see how we get our company listed on the website.

Thank You, — Preceding unsigned comment added by Turtle Top Buses (talkcontribs) 19:09, 26 May 2020 (UTC) @Turtle Top Buses: You don't. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a directory. If unrelated editors find your company to be notable by Wikipedia's standards, someone will write an article on the company. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 19:14, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

@Turtle Top Buses: You could look on WP for related topics to your inquiry and see if your company falls within the guidelines of notability for inclusion: [1], [2], or [3]. These compile as lists manufacturers of buses from articles on WP. Good luck! Maineartists (talk) 19:29, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

How to add an image that wikicommons doesn't recognize?[edit]

I recently created a wiki page for the artist Charles E. Gagnon and have an image of him that I want to upload to the page.

It won't let me upload the image, saying that wikicommons doesn't recognize it.

How do I get past this?

Also I have searched for my new wiki page on wikipedia and google and cannot find it. Is there a grace period before it gets truly published? — Preceding unsigned comment added by IceIllex (talkcontribs) 19:29, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

IceIllex - you might need to be a bit more specific about your first part - did you take the image of the person? Did you try to upload it to commons?
All new articles are patrolled at WP:NPP before they are indexed on Google. This can take a few days. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 19:34, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
Did you mean User:IceIllex/sandbox? If so, this is a WP:DRAFT and isn't a real article. You'd need to put it to WP:AFC to be put into mainspace. However you will need to show why the subject meets our notability guidelines Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 19:36, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
This is a draft of moderate length that provides no reference for anything that it says. For it to succeed as an article, every assertion must be backed up with evidence from a published, reliable source. Also, the article would have to refer to its subject as "Gagnon", not as "Chuck". -- Hoary (talk) 23:54, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Trying to adjust a client's wikipedia career page[edit]

Hello we are trying to adjust a client's page and get this after trying to update her career section "An automated filter has identified this edit as potentially unconstructive, so it has been disallowed. If this edit is constructive, please report this error. Disruptive editing may result in a block from editing." — Preceding unsigned comment added by Avalonlany (talkcontribs) 21:17, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Please read and digest WP:COI. -- Hoary (talk) 21:36, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
@Avalonlany: Please read and comply with WP:PAID. Disclosure of your status is mandatory to comply with the terms of service of this web site. Your paid status prohibits you from editing that article directly, but it is perfectly acceptable for you to suggest changes, which you do on the article's talk page. Pretty much any reasonable, encyclopedic, properly-sourced suggestion will be accepted. -Arch dude (talk) 22:11, 26 May 2020 (UTC)


May 27[edit]

New article about a scientist for the Women in Science project - by a first-time Wikipedia writer-dude[edit]

Hi,

I just wrote my very first Wikipedia article about a scientist, and did it in response to this Women in Science project: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Women_in_Red/Missing_articles_by_dictionary/Biographical_Dictionary_of_Women_in_Science

My draft which I just submitted for review is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Mildred_Hoge_Richards

I had a couple questions. 1. I confirmed that Mildred Hoge Richards, who my article is about, was missing a Wikipedia article in the first link. If/when my article is approved, how do I connect my article to the people doing the WiR project? 2. How do I get feedback on my article before the 5 weeks it takes for approval - I am sure I am not doing things exactly right and would appreciate slightly quicker feedback/help on my article before it gets turned down a month+ from now.

Many thanks!!

First-time-Wiki-Dude — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ohiram (talkcontribs) 00:01, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

To answer part of your question 2, you're unlikely to have to wait 5 weeks. One thing which you can do while you are waiting is to read the WP:Manual of Style. One specific problem which you can correct while you're waiting is the punctuation of references, see WP:REFPUNC. Another point is that you can't use Wikipedia as a reference, see WP:CIRCULAR, so you probably want to change that from a reference to a wikilink. --David Biddulph (talk) 00:21, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
@Ohiram: Presuming the draft becomes an article, the Mildred Hoge Richards link at Wikipedia:WikiProject Women in Red/Missing articles by dictionary/Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science will automatically change from red to blue. I also added {{WIR}} to Draft talk:Mildred Hoge Richards, so it will always be connected to the Women in Red project. I also added a Notes section for you. Happy editing! (Please remember to sign your posts on talk pages by typing four keyboard tildes like this: ~~~~.) GoingBatty (talk) 01:49, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
@Ohiram: Welcome and thanks. You might try to attract an interested reviewer and/or ask for suggestions by posting at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Women in Red. -Arch dude (talk) 01:58, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
It's an interesting article. Well done. Another little point, though: Don't call her "Mildred" (other perhaps than when describing her as a child, in the context of family life). She's "Hoge" (or, where appropriate, "Hoge Richards"). The result may seem repetitive, but such are the rules hereabouts. -- Hoary (talk) 06:43, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
As I suspected, the review didn't take long, was accepted, and the article is now live. --David Biddulph (talk) 09:41, 27 May 2020 (UTC)


Thank you all for your inputs and help - there was a lot of editing but it made it look and read much better. Thanks again! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ohiram (talkcontribs) 11:23, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

Mudança da foto principal[edit]

Não estou sabendo trocar a foto principal. Vocês podem me ajudar? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Joaosant (talkcontribs) 05:09, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

The "foto principal" of what? -- Hoary (talk) 06:25, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
This is the English language Wikipedia. If you are looking for the Portuguese Wikipedia you'll find it at pt:. --David Biddulph (talk) 09:45, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
Joaosant the helpdesk for Portugese language Wikipedia appears to be at pt:Wikipédia:Tire suas dúvidas. Joseph2302 (talk) 11:15, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

Website[edit]

How Can I create a new website? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Musa Willie (talkcontribs) 05:09, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

If you're asking about a new article within Wikipedia, please see Help:Your first article; if you're actually asking about a new website, then this requires a hosting service (among much else), and Wikipedia isn't a hosting service. -- Hoary (talk) 06:37, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

How to find an expert willing to / already in charge of reviewing quality of articles in a specific expertise domain?[edit]

Hello I had the idea that some real-life experts had specific roles in reviewing content quality of wikipedia articles in their domain (wether it is mycology or greek tragedians etc.). Is it true, and if yes is it self-appointed? And more importantly, how can we find them and how to contact them? I am asking the question because I'd like to find someone motivated to collaborate in improving quality of wikipedia pages related to greek antiquity / classical culture (which is the basis of European and US cultures even if it seems disappear quickly). Thanks Shehekan — Preceding unsigned comment added by Shehekan (talkcontribs) 09:34, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

@Shehekan: you may also want to try Wikipedia:WikiProject Greece, Wikipedia:WikiProject European history, or Wikipedia:WikiProject Classical Greece and Rome. Another option you may want to try is WP:Peer review, which is a way to receive feedback from other editors about an article. An article may be nominated by any editor, and will appear on the list of all peer reviews. Other editors can comment on the review. Peer review may be used to establish an article's suitability as a good article nomination or featured article candidate. Peer review is a useful place to centralise reviews from many editors (for example, from those associated with a WikiProject). New Wikipedians are welcome. Seagull123 Φ 12:58, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

Current time in IST[edit]

Is there any template which displays current time in my timezone: IST? Harsh Rathod Poke me! 13:50, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

The most obvious is usually the best... try {{time}}. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 14:46, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
@Harshrathod50:—In case you are still confused ... the template {{time}} supports the addition of a timezone abbreviation. On my user page, I use this template with "EST" as the timezone. As noted at Template:Time#Supported time zones, "IST" is among the supported time zones. --User:Ceyockey (talk to me) 04:22, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

Mouse over images incorrect[edit]

The {{Private spaceflight}} box seems to have some problems which I can't work out. Pegasus (rocket) and Antares (rocket) for example both have the same mouse over image that is pulled from the {{Private spaceflight}} box rather than their own primary images. --High Tinker (talk) 14:28, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

Part of the issue might be because Pegasus (rocket) is a redirect to Northrop Grumman Pegasus, that might solve a few issues. I also did a purge of the template, which can fix these issues sometimes. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 14:45, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
@High Tinker: There is no error, just a poor automatic choice. The image in the default hover feaure ("Page previews" at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-rendering) is chosen automatically by mw:Extension:PageImages#Image choice. It only picks images from the lead. Wide and tall images are rejected which may affect those infoboxes. {{Private spaceflight}} is displayed below the infobox but the code is in the lead so the image is eligible. We usually don't care much unless the image is directly harmful. Don't change infobox images just for the purpose of affecting this. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:49, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
@PrimeHunter: ok thanks, I suppose rockets would naturally be vulnerable to the wide/tall filtering, good to know the reason --High Tinker (talk) 14:59, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

Translating articles into English[edit]

Hi, I'm looking to translate from Japanese to English and have been to the 'articles that need translation' page and they appear to all be done already? There must be articles that need translating, but I've been round and round with little luck. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Grammargopher (talkcontribs) 15:04, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

@Grammargopher: our main guide is at WP:Translation. It points to, among other things, a tool that is a preformatted Wikidata search: tools.wmflabs.org/not-in-the-other-language The tool (apparently) operates by looking at Wikidata article items that have an article in your source language, no article in your target language and and article in at least one other language. If you are brave, you can learn how to customize the search further, but you can also just use it and then pick articles that catch your interest -Arch dude (talk) 15:48, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

Leaf Peeper advertising link[edit]

I put a link to a website that I run to help people the world over (average 250,000 views per year) and it was probably with good reason taken out but you have the foliage network in there that serves a similar purpose. I've been on CBS Sunday Morning, the BBC and PBS, being interviewed for helping people explore New England... I would ask that this be looked at again. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jeff Foliage (talkcontribs) 15:55, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

Jeff Foliage Please review conflict of interest and paid editing and make the required declarations. It is a severe conflict of interest to add a link to your own website and it seems that you are trying to promote it. Every business owner feels that a link would help people. Please review policy on external links and if you truly feel that a link to your website merits inclusion, please do not add it yourself, but discuss it on the article talk page to get consensus. If you feel that other links are inappropriate, please mention that as well. 331dot (talk) 16:00, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

edit[edit]

what does edit source mean — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sorable (talkcontribs) 17:05, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

@Sorable: If you mean in general, then I'll tell you that Wikipedia editors are all volunteers. Everyone is encouraged to be bold and contribute to the encyclopedia. So it's hard to believe, but the edit source button means you can edit Wikipedia. If you mean what the "source" part of edit source means, it means you are editing the actual code, Wiki Markup Language, as opposed to using the Visual Editor, which just looks like you're editing the actual article without the code. Hillelfrei talk 17:10, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

Default language of not-logged in user[edit]

Hi,

I don’t have an account with Wikipedia nor do I need one. However, for some reason, each time I visit Wikipedia it defaults to German on my iPad (Safari). I can’t seem to change this odd behaviour anywhere. All my settings on my iPad are for UK English. Changing the article to English doesn’t make a difference for when I visit it next time.

So, how do I fix this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7F:147C:7300:2C0B:982B:1E9:2CED (talk) 18:52, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

Is the URL www.en.(m).wikipedia.org or www.de.(m).wikipedia.org? Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 19:16, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
And where do you start? If it's at https://www.wikipedia.org then select "EN" at the right of the search box before starting a search, or click "English" in the language list at top and search from the page you get to. Once you reach any page at de.(m).wikipedia.org, you are at the German Wikipedia and there is no automatic language selection. en.(m).wikipedia.org is the English Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:29, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

The problem occurs when I enter something in the address box in the browser. When a Wikipedia entry pops up and I select it, it will go to the German language version. Quite annoying. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7F:147C:7300:19A9:2252:CD75:5B0 (talk) 23:41, 28 May 2020 (UTC) Edit to say that the pop up is in English but the link takes me to the German version. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7F:147C:7300:19A9:2252:CD75:5B0 (talk) 23:51, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Changing a picture[edit]

Hello! How can I permanently change the photo for my boss's Wiki page? In the past he changed it only to have it replaced by the older picture. He is a prominent figure and we'd like to have a photo of our choice as the permanent photo on his page.

Thank you! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Theclubfive (talkcontribs) 20:12, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

  • The photo you use would have to be freely licensed. I'm guessing that in past the one used was found published on the Internet somewhere (web site) and is thus copyrighted. After that, you need to get consensus on the talk page of the article to do that, especially since you have a Conflict of Interest. CrowCaw 20:15, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
Theclubfive, you cannot "permanently" do anything to a Wikipedia article: nobody owns or controls a Wikipedia article, least of all people closely connected to the subject. The article belongs to Wikipedia, and its contents are determined by a consensus of Wikipedia editors. If your boss or anybody closely associated with him wishes Wikipedia's article about him to be changed, they should not edit it, but should make an edit request at the article's talk page. In addition, they should declare their conflict of interest in the article, and if they are in any way paid in connection with editing (as you presumably are) they must make a formal declaration of this fact: see paid editing. --ColinFine (talk) 21:46, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
@Theclubfive: summarizing the above advice: first, take a picture of your boss yourself. that way, you own the copyright. (If another photographer took a picture you wish to use, then have that photographer perform the next step). Then, upload that picture to Wikimedia Commons, giving it a CC-BY-SA license. Then, on you own user page here, declare your paid status. Finally, on the talk page of the article, make a request that your new picture be used in place of the existing picture. If your picture is clearly superior, your request will be honored. If the choice is not clear, this will lead to a discussion in which you can participate as to why the new picture should be used. -Arch dude (talk) 01:40, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

This is all very helpful, thank you. I will be sure to follow these steps and follow proper procedure. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Theclubfive (talkcontribs) 16:40, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States, February 2020[edit]

There is something wrong with List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States, February 2020. Please {{ping}} me if you know what it is. --Jax 0677 (talk) 22:30, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

Jax 0677, if you're referring to the table being under the wrong section, I fixed it. It seems like the stray </onlyinclude> was the issue. If anyone can corroborate this it would be much appreciated. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 22:35, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
No, it had been moved to the right section by the OP's edit just before your change. The error was when the table code ended with |- instead of |}. --David Biddulph (talk) 22:54, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

possible wikipedia editing scam[edit]

Hello,

I received an email today from address Jonathan-at-wikiexpertsinc.com claiming he was a Wikipedia editor who caught me submitting an article about myself ("Meredith Ringel Morris") and said that he rejected the articles as being against the rules for self-authoring, but then offering the paid services of his own company "WikiExperts" to write such an article. First, I most definitely did not submit the article in question. Second, this seems like some sort of illegitimate scam where Wikipedia Editors are rejecting legitimate articles so that they can then charge people money to write those same articles. Is someone looking into this issue?

Thank you, Merrie — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.35.79.101 (talk) 22:54, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

Hi, the article is Draft:Meredith Ringel Morris and it seems to have been (correctly) rejected because it does not show that the subject has been covered in depth by multiple independent sources. It is also tagged "A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject", possibly because the editing account has only contributed to that article and uploaded a photograph as their own work. I suggest that the scam is that "WikiExperts" find articles that have just been rejected and send the subjects an automated email offering their services. That way "WikiExperts" save time and avoid the risk of being caught rejecting legitimate articles. TSventon (talk) 00:36, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
Anyone on Earth can edit Wikipedia, 50.35.79.101. "Jonathan-at-wikiexpertsinc.com" may or may not have a Wikipedia account, and may just be monitoring article submissions looking for rejected articles about living people. The "expert" uses the article rejection as a hook to lure in people to exploit, based on "his" presumed "powers" to place articles in Wikipedia. No editor has such powers, and we are all volunteers. Their goal is to receive cash in advance for services never rendered. Meanwhile, Draft:Meredith Ringel Morris may ultimately get accepted,if its creator, Wheatara or other editors can get it into shape. --Quisqualis (talk) 08:04, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
(i) wikiexpertsinc dot com appears to have trouble writing English prose; I wonder how clumsy the mail from "Jonathan" was. (ii) One problem with Draft:Meredith Ringel Morris is that the majority of its many references don't specify the authors, giving rise to the suspicion that they're written or cowritten by MRM herself. However an article can't be based on what the biographee says about herself. (ii) If you are MRM, please stop; read Wikipedia:Autobiography. -- Hoary (talk) 12:57, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

This may be what is described at Wikipedia:Articles for creation/Scam warning. That page asks you to forward any 'scam' emails you received to arbcom-en@wikimedia.org. Please see that page for more information. Seagull123 Φ 19:34, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

May 28[edit]

¡Exijo! que borren mi cuenta y toda la información de que disponga Wikipedia asociada a esa cuenta.[edit]

Debido al doble estandar y bajísima calidad intelectual de quienes tienen la función de administración (y definen qué contenido es válido y cuál no). Este proyecto es un fracaso, una jungla de poses, intereses y mediocridad. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Laboralv (talkcontribs) 00:42, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

@Laboralv: El Wikipedia en español es aqui. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 01:03, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
  • ¡Exijo! que borren mi cuenta y toda la información de que disponga Wikipedia asociada a esa cuenta. Not possible. each time you wrote anything for es:Wikipedia, you were informed: Al editar páginas, aceptas todos nuestros términos de uso; en particular, cedes tus contribuciones de manera irrevocable bajo las licencias CC BY-SA 3.0 y GFDL —por lo que podrán ser utilizadas y modificadas libremente, incluso con fines comerciales [...] (my emphasis).
  • Este proyecto es un fracaso, una jungla de poses, intereses y mediocridad. Then feel free not to use it.
-- Hoary (talk) 00:24, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

Can't upload ogg fair-use file from my mac using File Upload Wizard[edit]

(I'm running macOS Catalina 10.15.5 on a MacBook Pro.) In fact, when I click the <choose file> button on the File Upload Wizard page, all my file-types are greyed-out (non-uploadable) except jpg/jpeg and pdf. The glitch is limited to Wikipedia uploads only; for uploads elsewhere on the internet, all my files are accessible. I then recreated my ogg file using Audacity s/w but still no joy. Birdman euston (talk) 00:52, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

@Birdman euston: Technical issues like these are better addressed at the Village Pump Wikipedia:Village pump (technical). The Teahouse is for more general editing questions. TimTempleton (talk) (cont) 17:54, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
Thanks for the steer; will do. Birdman euston (talk) 18:09, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Discrepancy between spelling in title of page and title of talk page[edit]

I just noticed that the talk page for Texaco Star Theatre is headed Talk:Texaco Star Theater. Should one of them be changed for consistency? Eddie Blick (talk) 01:40, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

@Teblick: Yes, it should match. And, oddly, Texaco_Star_Theater redirects to Texaco Star Theatre. Looks like a page move gone awry. I'm not sure how to fix it, hopefully someone else will be able to. Thanks for reporting it. RudolfRed (talk) 01:46, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
RudolfRed, You're welcome! I had no idea how to fix it, either. Let's hope someone who sees this post will know what to do. Eddie Blick (talk) 01:49, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

@Teblick and RudolfRed: The movers in question were SchroCat and Krychek, the latter of whom created a discussion titled "Do not move this page" 5 years ago. I've left them a comment to see if they can clarify. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 01:52, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Thanks, Tenryuu.Eddie Blick (talk) 01:56, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Mater Christi College[edit]

Refs number 2 and 8 are the same. Can you please "double them up" as is the norm? Thanks 203.132.68.1 (talk) 02:34, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Yes it was identical. You copied the ref to a new place, so why didn't you just reuse the ref properly? I believe we've asked you before to stop creating messes and then asking the help page to fix things.
I have simply removed the new ref. You added content to the quote which obviously was not part of the ref, and if it was supposed to be new text it is not something we need to include. We don't describe our references. I will fix the other duplication of that ref. Meters (talk) 02:51, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

How many days should I wait to see my information added to the wiki article?[edit]

After so many days, I posted a text here about adding information to the wiki article. Source How many days should I wait to see my information added to the wiki article? Ram nareshji (talk) 06:06, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

The website which you claimed to be a source is a wiki, so not acceptable as a reliable source, see WP:USERGENERATED. --David Biddulph (talk) 07:01, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Locking a page for a specific reason.[edit]

Would it be possible to lock down an article so just I could edit it? Or would that violate WP:OWN? Americanfreedom (talk) 06:07, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

No, pages are only protected in the event of ongoing disruptive editing. You can, however, signal to other editors that you are in the middle of making major changes; see Template:Under construction. Alternately, you can make a userspace copy (making sure to include a link to the original article in your edit summary for attribution purposes), make changes in your userspace, then copy the updated version to mainspace. – Teratix 06:19, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
@Teratix and Americanfreedom: Note that the {{under construction}} template welcomes other people to help editing. If you don't want others to edit for a short period of time, I suggest you try {{in use}} instead. GoingBatty (talk) 22:01, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
Yes, that one might be more useful. – Teratix 01:15, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

@Teratix and GoingBatty: Thanks for the info, I'll save it in case I need it somewhere down the line.Americanfreedom (talk) 00:08, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

My page deleted, I need content to edit.[edit]

Hi team,

I have created a page and the page has been deleted violating Guidelines. We want to see and edit the mistake that we have made but we are not able to see our page. Please let us know how we can view our deleted page source. Page name is Young Singh Link has been : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Singh

please help — Preceding unsigned comment added by Harkiratsinghsethi (talkcontribs) 09:01, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

I suggest that you work afresh from independent, reliable, published sources (if these exist). -- Hoary (talk) 12:32, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
  • Deleted under criteria for speedy deletion A7 and G11. See those criteria, the comment above and possibly WP:COI and WP:PAID. Brianjd (talk) 12:37, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Make a Biography page for Actor[edit]

Hi, I am a Melbourne, Australia actor, music artist, writer, director and music producer. I am wanting to make a Wikipedia page in relation to all these aswell as myself. Please help — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kameron hood (talkcontribs) 09:48, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

I don't understand. Do you want to create a page about yourself? If so, don't. (See Wikipedia:Autobiography.) -- Hoary (talk) 12:34, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
Hello, Kameron hood. I'm afraid that, like many people, you have a fundamental misunderstanding of what Wikipedia is. Wikipedia is not here to help (or hinder) anybody's career. If at some point you are notable enough (in Wikipedia's special sense) there could be an article about you. It will not belong to you, you will have no control over its contents, and it won't necessarily say what you want it to say. Please have a look at What Wikipedia is not. --ColinFine (talk) 15:40, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
@Kameron hood: You may also want to read WP:Autobiography - about why writing an article about yourself is discouraged, and what you can do. Seagull123 Φ 19:30, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Help:Cite errors/Cite error included ref[edit]

I have amended the bell details for Hells Bells (song) as I have expert knowledge. Unfortunately I don't understand the fault with the referencing citation and don't know how to correct it as I am not very computer literate at age 76. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.61.200.173 (talk) 10:21, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

  • I have taken the liberty of adding a link to your comment, to make it easier for other editors to follow up. Brianjd (talk) 12:39, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
    • Fixed. :) I made a couple of other minor improvements while I was there. Unfortunately, I have no knowledge of this subject, so others will have to take it from here. Brianjd (talk) 12:42, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Speedy deletion of David Sakvarelidze (director)[edit]

Hi there,

I helped contribute an article about a theatre director that has been deleted as it infringed copyrighted material from a website. I have since been in touch with the website who has contacted Wikipedia and donated the content. Is it possible to get the article reinstated?

Many thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by TessaDeterding (talkcontribs) 11:13, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Wikimedia Commons Cannot be opened[edit]

Wikimedia Commons Cannot be opened https://commons.wikimedia.org/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ouyayu12 (talkcontribs) 11:44, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Mere seconds ago, it worked well for me. -- Hoary (talk) 12:35, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

How to[edit]

   How do I create another section in a article? Thanks.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ilovecats817 (talkcontribs) 12:40, 28 May 2020 (UTC) 
  • To create a new section, type two equals signs, then a heading, then two equals signs. Like this: ==Section heading goes here==. To create a section within a section, use three equals signs, like this: ===Subsection===. To keep nesting sections, you can use more equals signs on each side, but such nesting is normally bad. Brianjd (talk) 12:55, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

This user has recently created the draft Draft:Mask Vending Machines (Singapore 2020), with a single citation. That single citation appears to be a WP:RELIABLESOURCE that demonstrates WP:NOTABILITY. As an autoconfirmed user, should I move it to article space and label it as a stub? Brianjd (talk) 13:07, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

How to report when someone deletes others contirbutions?[edit]

I see the user Lugnuts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Lugnuts has rude language in his talk profile and also has deleted my contribution which was made with citation to an interview.

Please see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Cannes_Film_Festival — Preceding unsigned comment added by Torrescarlitos (talkcontribs) 15:15, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

@Torrescarlitos: Don't engage in an edit war. See WP:BRD. If your edits are deleted, then start a conversation on the article's talk page, don't just keep re-inserting it. RudolfRed (talk) 15:24, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
@Torrescarlitos and Lugnuts: this issue should be discussed at the article talk page. ({{Ping}}ing Lugnuts so they know this discussion has happened). Seagull123 Φ 19:24, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

English[edit]

Steve Biko died at the young age of thirty,but he is remembered as one of the great leaders of the black people in their fight against apartheid in South Africa. The ideas of Black Consciousness which he worked hard to reinforce amongst the black people had their roots in organisations which the government had banned in 1960,namely the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan African Congress (PAC). These organisations were expressed out. In March 1960, the police opened fire and killed 69 black people who were demonstrating against the pass laws at Sharpsville. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.113.22.185 (talk) 18:32, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia. If you have ideas for improving an article, please start a discussion on that article's talk page. RudolfRed (talk) 18:42, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Side by side Commons templates[edit]

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park - At the External links section can the second template of External video C-Span be placed side by side with the Commons template. There seems to be a lot of whiter space in the center there and it should fit. It's beyond my technical ability to do. Thanks.--Doug Coldwell (talk) 19:37, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Jznz — Preceding unsigned comment added by মোছাঃ নূরুন্নাহার (talkcontribs) 19:55, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

@Doug Coldwell: According to Template:External media#Where to use, the template should be moved to the appropriate place within the article, or the template should be removed replaced with a regular link like the other four external links. GoingBatty (talk) 22:44, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

problem at WikiProject Deletion sorting/Bands and musicians[edit]

Not sure if anyone else has reported this yet. Starting early on May 27, Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Bands and musicians currently has a completely different WP page, Wikipedia:Articles for deletion, sitting in the middle of it. The second of those is presently acting as several new sections after an AfD listing for a band called Torment. I'm stumped on why this is happening. Thanks. ---DOOMSDAYER520 (Talk|Contribs) 21:28, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

@Doomsdayer520: Image Fixed, for some reason, one of the deletion discussions was set to transclude the whole of the WP:AFD page. (my edit here). Seagull123 Φ 22:02, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
Thanks for your help. ---DOOMSDAYER520 (Talk|Contribs) 22:38, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

May 29[edit]

Ref Desk Science Table of Contents is hidden[edit]

At Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Science, the table of contents is somehow inside the collapsed section. How to get it to appear above that section? RudolfRed (talk) 00:46, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

  • Image Fixed by adding __TOC__ where the table of contents should be. Brianjd (talk) 00:48, 29 May 2020 (UTC)
@Brianjd: Thanks! RudolfRed (talk) 00:53, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

Article Posted[edit]

How long does it take for my article to be confirm and posted?q — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuck901 (talkcontribs) 03:47, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

  • @Tuck901: Article drafts in your User-space, in this case at User:Tuck901/sandbox, are not reviewed for inclusion in the encyclopedia. Your User-space is not 'monitored'. There are a couple of paths forward for the article you've composed. One is to migrate it into article space (I'm not sure of the formal process for this, but as an Admin, I can do this); however, I guarantee that the article in it's current form will be tagged for deletion quickly. The primary reason for deletion? I'm thinking that you are the "Tuck" who is the subject of the article. It is NOT acceptable for people to write articles about themselves for inclusion in the encyclopedia. What are the ways that people can get articles about themselves into Wikipedia? That is a good question, which I've not considered before. Personally, I think the best route is via Wikipedia:Requested articles. It can be years to never for an article to be created from the lists associated with this article, but if you add your bio as a requested article, provide a brief statement of the article content, add reliable sources to support the article and include a link to your draft in your user space, it will be considered for inclusion in the fullness of time. One thing to remember about wikipedia is that "there is no rush" - this is an encyclopedia, not a breaking news site. If reliable sources emerge over the years (yes, years), you can add those to the requested articles entry as they emerge. There are many many many people who feel that they should be represented in Wikpedia. It is not up to the individual to decide this, but to the editing collective abiding by the policies and norms of the encyclopedia. Thanks for trusting to the community. --User:Ceyockey (talk to me) 04:44, 29 May 2020 (UTC)
@Tuck901: Please do not try to move the article to main space in its current state. As Ceyockey said, it will just be deleted. You are strongly discouraged from writing about yourself: see WP:AUTOBIOGRAPHY. If someone else writes such an article the very first requirement is to establish notability. We can fix any other problem. We cannot fix (lack of) notability: see WP:AMOUNT. -Arch dude (talk) 05:26, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

How can I publish my wiki article to the public wiki? Neil Patel - Dentist[edit]

How can I publish my wiki article to the public wiki? Neil Patel - Dentist

Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Themolarmechanic (talkcontribs) 06:48, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

I presume that you mean User:Themolarmechanic/sandbox. Well, you have to (i) remove the promotional tone ("This DSO is poised to shake up the $140 billion dollar US dental industry", etc, phrasing I expect to find in the messages that go straight into my spam folder), (ii) make sure that every assertion is backed up reliable, independent, published sources (of course "independent" means "neither written nor paid for by Patel, or by friend, employee, family member, classmate, etc"), and (iii) show that Patel meets Wikipedia's notability criteria. Since he is, you say, still a student, it's unlikely that he does. Better let him wait for a few years. -- Hoary (talk) 07:05, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

Bogus draft help[edit]

Hey there. So basically, I've found a user who has recently been making a bunch of fictional drafts/drafts for things that would probably never be accepted into mainspace (a transcript for an episode of a cartoon, of which the episode in question is barely notable whatsoever). In terms of 'fictional', some of the drafts of are episodes 'they' created because they will 'be a producer when they grow up' - 100% WP:FANCRUFT. Plenty, if not, all of the drafts in question can most likely be deleted. Is there a certain way to get these drafts quickly/easily deleted, or should I go straight to the Administrator noticeboard and explain the issue there and give links to the drafts in question?

I know of the whole Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion area- but I'm honestly not the best with nominating things for deletion. If that is the best route, I'm pretty sure G3 would apply to the fictional/fan-made drafts, so would I just add {{db-hoax}} to the tops of those drafts and wait for them to be deleted? Also not sure what those transcript drafts would fall under, but I would assume WP:PLOT since Wikipedia is not the place to post the full transcript/script of an episode, which would be more appropriate for a fan-run Wiki.

One of the mainspace articles they had previously created was taken down after I had proposed it for deletion (was using Twinkle, I believe I was meaning to use 'XFD', but accidentally went on with 'PROD' instead).

Thanks in advance. Magitroopa (talk) 07:49, 29 May 2020 (UTC)