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October 22

Can't seem to create a thumbnail! Help.

I added a photo I took last night of a celebrity, Lucie Arnaz, whose photo on wikipedia was small, blurry and from 1988. Trouble is I could only get the large image to show on the front page (400px) and it would not generate a thumbnail. What am I doing wrong? I hope you like the photo as much as I do. Geri Lucie Arnaz — Preceding unsigned comment added by G00dnews (talk • contribs) 00:23, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I deleted the |image size parameter, & the |thumb. - David Biddulph (talk) 00:32, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

There are 2 problems, however. Firstly you say that the picture was previously published at www.goodnewsnetwork.org, so you need to go through the process for donating copyrighted material. Secondly, your user name suggests that it represents your organization, rather than you as an individual, so you ought to read WP:CORPNAME & then choose a new user name to represent you as an individual. - David Biddulph (talk) 00:41, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

15:05, 21 October 2013 Deb (talk | contribs) deleted page Nanda Mallawaarachchi (G2: Test page)

Can we ask why this page was deleted even before review? We have abided by all copyrights and have referenced more than 20 items. Please confirm ASAP. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lankalion1 (talk • contribs) 00:58, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I think a mistake may have been made. It seems that you intended to use articles for creation, but created the page in the main article namespace. Is that correct?

I have asked User:Deb to indicate more on why it was deleted at User talk:Deb. DES ^(talk) 01:48, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The formatting of the infobox template cause bad display of the article. I fixed it. -- Jreferee (talk) 02:10, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. I hope the creator understands where they went wrong. If they had used the "review" facility, they would no doubt have realised. Deb (talk) 11:25, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Reflist Problem

I'm having a problem with the reflist on this article which I created: Anne D'Evergroote. It says that there is a reflist error, but I cannot find any error! Everything looks right to me! (By the way, please don't fix it for me. I want to fix it. Just tell me how to fix it. Thanks!). SuperHero2111 (talk) 01:04, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Why won't someone help me? I can't wait any longer! SuperHero2111 (talk) 01:17, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Please don't be impatient. Remember that your questions are being answered by volunteers. The fact that you hadn't had a reply within 13 minutes isn't going to cause the world to stop.

The problem is that you've got your <ref>...</ref> after your {{reflist}} rather than before it. The <ref>...</ref> should be in the body of the article, immediately after the text that you wish to support with the reference. See WP:Referencing for beginners. - David Biddulph (talk) 01:21, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Even if this desk weren't watched by volunteers, I can't think of any forum/board/etc for tech support on any site that promises an immediate response by any of the staff of the organization. Even if they have a chat feature, there is often a line of people in front of you who are waiting to chat with a live person as well. So, in the end, the lesson of being patient applies not just here with volunteers. Dismas|^(talk) 01:27, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I know. I was just joking, I wasn't really angry or impatient. I often like to joke on talk pages, and insert jokes into my edit summaries. :D SuperHero2111 (talk) 02:18, 23 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Switzerland

There is a very strange edit at the bottom of this talk page. Is this vandalism? —Anne Delong (talk) 01:42, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It may well be. Just i case I have hated the post instead of simply reverting. DES ^(talk) 01:53, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Reversing a redirect

I'd like to create an article on Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu, who died in 1361. However there's a redirect in place which takes one from Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu, to Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton, a different person who lived much later. Can I reverse the redirect so that I can create the article? NinaGreen (talk) 03:03, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Go to Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu and let it take you through the redirect. Then at the top of the article you'll see where it says "Redirected from Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu". It's just under the title of the article. When you click on that link, it will take you to where the redirect lives. You can then edit that page with the information that you want to post. It would be best to mention that there are two Barons of Boughton though at the top of the new article and helpfully provide a link to the Boughton article that is now in place. Dismas|^(talk) 03:13, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks so much. It worked perfectly. Much easier than I thought it would be! NinaGreen (talk) 03:48, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Adding content to a previously deleted page.

Hi there, I was going to add some content on a page for Plumbee Ltd, a social games company in the UK, but found that the page has previously been deleted. I can't really find much information on what used to be there or why it was deleted other than:

This page has been deleted. The deletion and move log for the page are provided below for reference.

03:30, 12 August 2013 Amatulic (talk | contribs) deleted page Plumbee (G5: Creation by a blocked or banned user in violation of block or ban)

I have created a page within my own sandbox, here: User:Grepus/Plumbee

Is there any reason not to publish this yet? I have cited relevant sources where possible, etc.

Best regards

Grepus — Preceding unsigned comment added by Grepus (talk • contribs) 10:29, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

As long as the topic passes the notability guidelines, then there shouldn't be much of an issue. If you are unsure, submit it at articles for creation, and the editors there will decide if it's ready to go live. drewmunn talk 10:31, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Well, the reason why the article was deleted is that it was evidently originally created by a sockpuppet. (A blocked user should not be able to edit, but can evade the block by unregistered editing, which is considered sockpuppetry, or by creating an alternate account, a sockpuppet. A banned user should also be blocked, but can evade the block by unregistered editing or by creating an alternate account.) The deletion of articles created by sockpuppets of blocked or banned users is not mandatory, but is a necessary enforcement mechanism. As mentioned above, if the reliable sources back up the company's notability, you can either create the article in article space, create it in user space and move it to article space, or submit it at Articles for Creation. The last has the advantage of getting feedback, but the disadvantage of requiring a wait for review. If you create it in article space, be sure to include your references in the first version, or someone may attempt to speedy-delete it. If you create it in article space or move it into article space, there may be a deletion discussion, but if your sources are reliable evidence of notability, the consensus will be either Keep (which keeps it) or No Consensus (which does nothing and so keeps it).

Pajala-Ylläs Airport

Change the title from Pajala-Ylläs Airport to Pajala Airport — Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.196.35.53 (talk) 13:33, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Can you provide one or more reliable sources that confirm this is the proper name for Pajala–Ylläs Airport? The official site linked to from the current article seems to agree with your suggestion, but it is in Swedish (I presume) and I can not be sure of its content. DES ^(talk) 14:05, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

In any case this would be better taken to the talk page of the article concerned. Britmax (talk) 14:09, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Done Quite true. I have copied the above to the talk page, and asked for assistance from the relevant Wikiproject. DES ^(talk) 15:08, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Typeface Size

The tiny type size is hard on the eye. How can the reader enlarge this for downloads? digger - s— Preceding unsigned comment added by Diggerer (talk • contribs) 14:37, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The size of text is usually determined by your browser, not Wikipedia. In most browsers "Ctrl +" or "Ctrl and roll mouse wheel forwards" will make text bigger, "Ctrl -" or "Ctrl roll mouse wheel back" makes it smaller and "Ctrl 0" returns it to normal. If you mean database downloads rather than normal Wikipedia pages, these are viewed in browsers as well. Arjayay (talk) 15:44, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Brackets Around Reference

When a person places brackets around each end of a reference (e.g. <ref>[books.google.com]</ref>) what is this called? It alters the way the reference appears on the article page, it sort of "collapses" the reference, but I'm not sure what you would call it. What is something a user could use in an edit summary when doing this to a reference? Also what's the purpose of doing it? 24.90.159.87 (talk) 15:14, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The <ref> tags make it a footnote, often used as a citation, and often called a "ref" from the somewhat confusing name of the tag (because a reference is different from a citation.) Ptting a url into brackets is often called an "external link", (which can be done outside a ref tag) and a citation with just a URL (with or without brackets) and no additional data is often called a "bare URL". In any case it is much better style and practice to supply the title and source of the page the link goes to, and the author, date and other information as available. One can use templates such as {{cite web}} to format these in a consistent way, but this is not required. See Referencing for beginners and then WP:CITE for more information about this. DES ^(talk) 15:22, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It's called wrong. You should only do that if you are going to add a descriptor after the URL, viz: <ref>[http://books.google.com Google books]</ref>, which prevents the "collapsing" of the reference.--ukexpat (talk) 15:23, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

defining custom constants in a wiki page

I would like to define a custom constant in a wiki page, to be only used in that page.
In the case in mind it is to be used to replace the page name of a link that appears many times in the page, to both save space and reduce typing errors. But if available it could be used for non-links as well.

I have tried redirect shortcuts, which works but displays unintelligible links in the status lines of browser. It is probably not very efficiant for Wikipedia either.
I have thought of using a template containing only the text required, but it like redirects seems overkill to solve the problem that only concerns a single page.
As well, a constant defined in the page can be made shorter, as there would be no ambiguity or potential conflict.

It would be very convenient if I could use something like {{MP}}="my arbitrary text" at the top of the page in question, and then use {{MP}} in place of the text.
So my question is : is there a way of defining a constant in a page that will only be used in that page ?

You could create and transclude a sub-page, as if it wore a template. If you wanted to do this on User:Example/Test Page you could create User:Example/Test Page/MP and place the desired text on it, and then use {{/MP}} on the page, which treats the sub-page like a template, if I am not mistaken. Whether this would be overkill you would have to determine. DES ^(talk) 15:33, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, that will work. Except in article space where subpages are not enabled and any slash is part of the title. -- Gadget850^talk 17:20, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It looks like subpages as templates will solve my problem. I should have thought of that, I've used/created both subpages (for testing) and templates.

And no, I don't consider it overkill since it is effectively private templates (without risk of conflict), to me a nice clean solution. Although being able to define constants directly would be somewhat better.

I'm now considering converting some existing templates to more compact subpages

Thanks for the suggestion :) André437 (talk) 18:26, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Out of (extremely idle) curiosity, given WP:Overlink, why do you need to "replace the page name of a link that appears many times in the page"? Arjayay (talk) 18:33, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

New article, but the page with the same name already exists

I would like to ask the following question: I'm ready to make "live" a new Wikipedia article regarding the trance music label Avatar Records. My problem is that an article with the same name exists, as Avatar Records is also an American rap music label. How can I solve this issue? Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Petrols (talk • contribs) 15:38, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The guideline is located here. Short version: Perhaps name it Avatar Records (Trance music) or something like that. Jarkeld (talk) 15:49, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You might want to take a look at WP:INCITE as well re: your citations. Jarkeld (talk) 15:52, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) Your draft is not ready to go live. You need to read WP:Referencing for beginners, and then ensure that the statements in the text are specifically verifiable by references to published reliable sources independent of the subject. You need to ensure that by that means you can demonstrate that the subject is notable in Wikipedia's terms, & specifically WP:Notability (music). When you have done that, there is a link in the box at the top of your draft which you can click to submit the draft for review. If the draft is accepted, the reviewer will sort out the disambiguation by adding clarification to the title of each article. - David Biddulph (talk) 15:53, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Need help with a figure file

Hi, I created Neural Plasticity (journal) and took an image of the cover from the journal homepage. However, when I uploaded it here (see article infobox), the (red printed) text on the image that is visible on their website does not display here. I have no clue why, any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks! --Randykitty (talk) 14:27, 17 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I tried to upload a new version, but it showed the same symptoms that yours did, so I'm as confused as you are. :-( - David Biddulph (talk) 17:29, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It's probably a colour space problem - I'll take a look.--ukexpat (talk) 18:07, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, to me it seems fine now! Don't know what David did different from what I did, but it works (at least for me)... --Randykitty (talk) 18:09, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The image on the publisher's web page is actually an svg file, so this probably has something to do with fonts. Figuring it out would probably require knowing the exact details of the download process, the browser, etc. -- but it probably isn't worth the trouble. Looie496 (talk) 18:17, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Interesting that my version looks OK now, though it didn't when I first uploaded it; perhaps a caching problem? - David Biddulph (talk) 18:46, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps. To avoid such things, I have my cache defined at 0 Kb. (But I have a rather fast connection). --Randykitty (talk) 18:48, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I found an svg version of the cover and uploaded that - looks better I think.--ukexpat (talk) 18:19, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It does, many thanks! --Randykitty (talk) 18:25, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The entire Commons has disappeared (or seems like it)

I've just tried to go into some of the commons tags that I've added (and some that I didn't), but instead they all keep going to a Wikimedia Foundation page claiming that "There is currently no text in this page. You can search for this page title in other pages, or search the related logs, but you do not have permission to create this page." This had better be a glitch, and one that doesn't require uploading everything all over again. ---------User:DanTD (talk) 17:27, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

UPDATE - Okay, I just found out that I was still able to get into the commons, but some commons tags still lead to that message for some stupid reason. ---------User:DanTD (talk) 17:38, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Same problem here. I guess that the developers deployed an update to the MediaWiki software and it got things messed up. I hope that they fix it soon. --NaBUru38 (talk) 17:42, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I used a bookmark to go to my watchlist and got to the login page, but was told that my userid does not exist. However, when I went to an image here that is hosted on commons and clicked "see the page there", I got into commons fine, was still logged in, and could click and see my watchlist. Far as I can see, that URL was the same as my bookmark, so beats me why the bookmark doesn't work... --Randykitty (talk) 18:02, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It has something to do with https. My bookmark is simply to http, when I added the "s", it worked fine... --Randykitty (talk) 18:06, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

This is now being discussed over on WP:VPT, probably a more likely place for a solution. DES ^(talk) 18:38, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Creating an article

Can you create an article from scratch or do you need permission to do so? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.32.19.185 (talk) 18:52, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

to create a new article pare a user needs to be "auto-confirmed", that is, a user must have an account, it must have been created at least 4 days ago, and have made at least 10 edits. Users who do not log in or are not auto-confirmed can use Articles for Creation, where experienced editors review drafts. This process is also a good idea for relatively new editors, even if they are technically able to create articles. See also My First Article. DES ^(talk) 19:02, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

According to Wikipedia:User access levels#New users, the 4 days/10 edits limits don't apply in this case - you could create an article with your very first edit after registering an account. But you are much more likely to be successful if you first read the My First Article page or use the Articles for Creation process. -- John of Reading (talk) 20:02, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

And of course follow the advice.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:37, 25 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Unclear question

Awareness of statistics and data manipulation see harpers ixsnay on #1 147 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.233.48.100 (talk) 19:03, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Would you care to explain that, please? DES ^(talk) 19:07, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Is there a rule concerning the deletion of quotes?

Long quotes of respected wp:rs were deleted for no reason. The diff page.

In my opinion long quotes are useful to reduce the clutter in the article, since it stays at the bottom , and the interested reader can read it when the cursor is hovering above the tag. It increase the article loading time, but I do not think it is important, especially since it might be used to move text from the article to the long quotes (explanatory footnotes).

Is there a rule concerning the deletion of the quotes? Ykantor (talk) 20:37, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

update: I have just seen a deletion explanation in the talk page. I do not accept this explanation. Ykantor (talk) 20:48, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure why you say you have just seen it, since you have been involved in that discussion for quite some time. Continue the discussion on the article's talk page, and if you can't reach a consensus then follow the guidance at WP:DR. RudolfRed (talk) 21:08, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

There were 11 minutes only before I updated. Does that worth such a negative response? . Can I undestand that there is no such a rule?

It is even more important than usual to avoid edit-warring, because the article is under discretionary sanctions. You may mention that status on the article talk page if the other editor continues deleting your quotes. Robert McClenon (talk) 23:35, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I understand the edit-warring problem, and I am not engaged in such a situation. I will follow your advice but I am not optimistic since it is not his first time to delete references and I have told him. Anyway, is there a written rule against deleting references for no reason or a bizarre reason? thanks Ykantor (talk) 17:39, 23 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

For some unknown reason, no volunteer has stepped forward to assist us in solving the dispute on the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine [1]. When will I be able to resume editing the article? Trahelliven (talk) 18:16, 24 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Table with different number of rows in each column?

How does one create a table with 3 entries in one row like this:

Name	A	B
1902
	Rontgen	Neutron
	Electron	Current
		Proton

Where instead of the Rontgen+Electron cell allocated space isn't 1/3 and 2/3 in row height:

Name	A	B
1902
	Rontgen	Neutron
	Electron	Current
	Electron	Proton

But rather 3/2 ie divided equally ..?
(to be expanded to other variations too ie 5/3 etc)
Electron9 (talk) 21:11, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Try setting the height of particular cells.

Name	A	B
1902
	Rontgen	Neutron
	Electron	Current
	Proton

Warning: this technique is fragile since it depends on setting absolute pixel heights. percentages apparently don't work in this situation. You could also use a nested table. see Help:Table for lots more detail DES ^(talk) 22:08, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Any technique that is independent of neighboring cells?, ie split 5/4, 4/3 etc of row height. Electron9 (talk) 22:30, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki page edits

Hello,

I have recently created a page and much of the information I provided (picture included) has been deleted. On top of this, there are gramatical errors that are being made during the editing process through Wikipedia.

I went back in and corrected a few things but then it was immediately changed again. Is there any reason why the page would be shortened and littered is mis-edits?

I hope this can be resolved.

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Maxwell J Berlin (talk • contribs) 21:25, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It appears that you are referring to Spencer Proffer. This is really best discussed on Talk:Spencer Proffer, but a few notes here:

The image File:Spencer Proffer picture.jpg was deleted on the grounds that File:Spener Proffer.jpg was a better image showing the same thing. The latter should probably be inserted into the article.
Phrases like " The Entertainment Industry Council's Annual S.E.T. Awards are presented to productions for inspiring and impactful entertainment ..." and " It is the first film to explore how one extraordinary song has changed people’s lives" seem like unjustified puffery and editorializing unless they are direct quotes from cites sources, and they are not so marked.
Many other changes look like formatting changes and improvements in referencing, and seem on a short examination to be perfectly reasonable. DES ^(talk) 21:47, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The unsourced text that was removed was horribly promotional and unencyclopaedic in tone. I have to say some of the stuff that remains is not great either. One consolation - I have fixed the typo that was inadvertently reintroduced with the revert. - Karenjc (talk) 23:46, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I'll start some work on the article. Shooting peacocks, mainly

Yintan 12:42, 23 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

XOWA

Hello! Not even sure this is the right section for my question....anyway.

I just found out that I can edit Wikipedia articles offline using XOWA which is INSANELY COOL for me :D

One question though....after I'm done editing one or more articles,how do I upload them to the website? — Preceding unsigned comment added by The Dark Philosopher (talk • contribs) 22:13, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I looked up what XOWA is, and found this link. If I have understood it correctly, XOWA allows you to download content from the web, and then edit your local copy. But I doubt that, in the case of Wikipedia, it downloads the source files which the Wikipedia web server uses to generate Wikipedia articles. So, I think the answer must be, you can't upload the results of your edits. Maproom (talk) 07:06, 23 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Please take a look at the sources used to support the heading for Andrew Lloyd Webber and discussed on its talk page and weigh in. An editor there questions reliable sources. 107.214.30.15 (talk) 23:17, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It's probably best not to try to use the Help desk as a replacement for dispute resolution processes such as WP:3O and WP:RFC. The volunteers here are here primarily to answer questions, not to jump into disputes. Also, if the issue is truly what is a reliable source and what is not, the best place to get expert opinion is WT:RS. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 01:05, 25 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Speed of signup

Assuming someone picks a unique username at registration, can he or she then immediately login with those credentials, or is there a waiting period, i.e. a confirmation email? My registration involved an SUL conflict, so it was atypical. Alex Kyrios (talk) 23:26, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You can immediately log in. It's optional to give an email address. If you want to use email features in your account then you must first click a link in a confirmation email, but you can log in and edit before doing that. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:32, 23 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]