WikiPedia:Help desk
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Welcome to the Help desk! This is a place to ask questions about Wikipedia and get help with editing problems. We mostly answer questions from newcomers, but veterans are welcome too. Remember to check this page again (how about a bookmark?) to see if there have been any replies. In addition, if you are a newcomer and feel like you will need an extended period of help, try posting at clueless newbies (don't take the title too seriously, after all, we were all once clueless newbies!).
If your question is a common one, you could get the answer you're looking for more quickly by checking the topical index or the tutorial.
If your question is not specifically about the Wikipedia, you'll probably find the Reference desk a better place to ask; if you want to start a more detailed and inclusive discussion, try the Village pump.
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Old Archives
| Archive 1 | Prior to June 2, 2004 |
| Archive 2 | June 2, 2004 - June 18, 2004 |
| Archive 3 | June 18, 2004 - July 2, 2004 |
| Archive 4 | July 2, 2004 - July 18, 2004 |
| Archive 5 | July 19, 2004 - July 31, 2004 |
| Archive 6 | August 1, 2004 - August 18, 2004 |
| Archive 7 | August 18, 2004 - September 5, 2004 |
| Archive 8 | September 5, 2004 - September 25th, 2004 |
| Archive 9 | September 26, 2004 - October 15th, 2004 |
| Archive 10 | October 16, 2004 - November 6th, 2004 |
| Archive 11 | November 6th - December 13th, 2004 |
| Archive 12 | December 14th, 2004 - January 8th, 2005 |
| Archive 13 | January 8th, 2004 - January 27th, 2005 |
| Archive 14 | January 27th, 2005 - February 28th, 2005 |
| Archive 15 | March 1st, 2005 - March 13th, 2005 |
| Archive 16 | March 14th, 2005 - March 13th, 2005 |
| Archive17 | March 15th, 2005 - April 12th, 2005 |
| Archive18 | April 12th, 2005 - April 24th, 2005 |
| Archive 19 | June 2, 2005 - June 10, 2005 |
| Archive 20 | June 11, 2005 - June 19, 2005 |
Copyright question
Are the insignias of the military free use?Howabout1 Talk to me! 00:50, Jun 20, 2005 (UTC)
Well, I'm going to be gone from the 22nd to July 3rd. If anyone knows, can they drop me a note at my talk page. Howabout1 Talk to me! 15:39, Jun 20, 2005 (UTC)
USS New York LPD 21
I want a mailing address for Mr Bat Robinson, V.P. of Northrip Grumman Shipbuilding. (I saw his photo and name on the History Channel, about the building of the Uss New York), I'm trying to obtain a small piece of stell from the World trade Center in New York City.
I am the Chaplian of the USS ASHLAND LSD ASSOCIATION, Inc.(for 9 years) I am a Past President, and hosted our reunion in Niagara Falls in 1997. I want the piece of steel, from the World Trade Center disaster, to make a small cross that I can carry with me to our reunions, to allow many of our members to use the cross as a prayer connection item. Most of the old crew, has never had the chance to touch a piece of that steel. I have, at the New York State Fair and in Dewitt, NY. I served on the USS Ashland LSD-1 during the Korean War for three years. I can do the milling, or recutting of the steel. It should not be bigger than 2.25" x 4.50" x 1/8" thick.
We hold our annual reunions in a different city every summer. It will be in Philadelphia in 2006.
I've tried several state politicians, for information, as to whom to contact for a piece of steel.But they have no idea, how to find a piece. Please contact me with an address.
John J. Cooper 151 Norwood Ave. Syracuse, NY 13206, or by Email my phone is (315) 463-8089
Copyright
I am in need of some pictures for the publication of a history book. I was wondering if the pictures on Wikipedia are public domain, or would I need to pay for them? Thank you.
- Every image has a its own individual status, indicated on the image's page (click on any image, and possibly select another link for images on commons). Some are in the public domain, while others are under the GFDL. Some are fair use or used with permission, but this is now rare. In general, you can't contract with Wikipedia for the rights; you would instead need to contact the original copyright holder. I should also point out that, even if an image has an appropriate tag on its page, using it in a book may place an onus on you to verify its status for yourself. If you indicate which images you're looking at, we could be more specific. By the way, you can sign your comments here and on talk pages by appending four tildes (~~~~). You can point us at the relevant images by using an extra colon, e.g. [[:Image:Some filename.jpg]], to avoid inlining the picture itself. Bovlb 04:22, 2005 Jun 20 (UTC)
- You should also take advice from your printers on image quality and resolution issues. An image from a web site is very rarely of a good enough quality to use in a book, no matter how it looks on a screen. Without getting too technical, there aren't enough dots; printed paper needs more dots. (Some pictures in Wikipedia, do, however, offer higher resolution versions.) Notinasnaid 08:55, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
stupidest request. but I really want
This may sound very stupid so yeah.... I was recently counting my numbers in here (http://kohl.wikimedia.org/~kate/cgi-bin/count_edits?user=Pmam21&dbname=enwiki) and I noticed that I was nearing my 1,000th edit. I cautiously waited till I got to 1,000 then suddenly I forgot and ended up making my 1,000th edit a stupid edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:B-Con&diff=prev&oldid=15478400) related to my forum activities. I really wished my 1,000th edit be a special one but I messed up... Is there any possible way to undo an edit? Just that one. I wouldn't mind if my 1,001st edit was 1,000th... Just please? any possible way? thanks pmam21talkarticles 05:15, Jun 20, 2005 (UTC)
- I'm afraid not, unless one of your older edits gets entirely deleted from the database, you're stuck with it. - 131.211.210.13 08:08, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- Edits are only deleted from the database if they're part of a page that is entirely deleted. That's unlikely to happen to a user page any time soon. - Mgm|(talk) 12:00, Jun 20, 2005 (UTC)
- One of the earlier edits was adding a VfD to one of the pages. If that page infact gets deleted, would that edit disappear? (please please please...) pmam21talkarticles 18:34, Jun 20, 2005 (UTC)
- I believe so - my edits around the 2000 mark (I was watching, I confess...) went a bit screwy because I happened to be tagging a lot of articles as speedy, so they'd get that edit counted and then discounted as soon as the page went. Shimgray 19:18, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- One of the earlier edits was adding a VfD to one of the pages. If that page infact gets deleted, would that edit disappear? (please please please...) pmam21talkarticles 18:34, Jun 20, 2005 (UTC)
What do I need to do to make an article searchable?
Greetings.
I have created the following page, which I can view at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Tsunami_PTSD_Center
However, I am unable to find this via search, even when I enter the exact term in the search tool.
Please advise. I thank you in advance for any help.
Best,
Joe (uname: JKustelski) Update I have just created this page: which is searchable by the exact term. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunami_PTSD_Center Is this all that I need to do, or is the next step to go and link the Tsunami PTSD Center into applicable articles? Thanks, JK
- You couldn't find the article because you created it in the "Wikipedia" namespace (where we create policy) instead of the "Main" namespace (where we create articles). The search feature does not search the "Wikipedia" namespace unless you specifically request it to. Then, you recreated the article in the "Main" namespace by cutting and pasting, resulting in two separate articles.
- Basically, this is just a minor issue, an easy mistake to make. In the future, when creating articles, make sure you put them in the "Main" namespace (in other words, don't prefix "Wikipedia" to the beginning of the title). However, when a page is in the wrong namespace, or is at the wrong title, we use the "move" command at the top of the page to move it, rather than cutting and pasting, because cutting and pasting results in extra work. Don't worry, however, we'll get it straightened out. Please do not edit this article again until we get everything fixed.
- If you have other questions, ask them on my talk page. -- Essjay · Talk 06:19, Jun 20, 2005 (UTC)
routers, hubs, gateways and possibly switches
can anyone put together a comparison chart or explain the actual differences and similarities between the three or four confusing items ? all that i read is just wimpy, airey, meaningless, wordy definitions. thanks tom mcintyre mcintyremcintyre@hotmail.com
- Hubs and switches are passive network components that provide network connectivity on the hardware level (with today's equipment, usually ethernet) and rely on the network software (today, usually TCP/IP) to handle the connections - which basically means that all machines connected to a hub/switch must be configured in such a way that they are able to see each other on the network. The difference between a hub and a switch is that the hub just provides one common backbone connection for all machines connected to the hub whereas a switch establishes a separate connection for each machine that wants to talk to another machine (which gives a performance boost because on a hub, two computers interchanging large amounts of data will slow down the whole backbone while on a switch, these two computers will have a connection for themselves without influencing other computers connected to the same switch).
- Routers and gateways, on the other hand, are active components that provide some sort of interconnectivity between different networks (these might be different IP subnets, an IP subnet and some other type of network, or whatever) - the difference being that a router is generally assumed to be a hardware device that can be configured to provide gateway functionality while a gateway is the logical funtionality rpovided aby a router (the distinction makes sense since gateway functionality does not necessarily have to be provided by a router, it can be provided by any computer with at least two network adapters). Most routers also provide the functionality of a hub/switch, and the terms "router" and "gateway" are often used without a clear distinction, so I guess there's in fact some confusion about those terms :P -- Ferkelparade π 08:04, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sir, Can you make a link to this article on your MLK assassination page? http://crimemagazine.com/05/martinlutherking,0612-5.htm
David White?
I was just scrolling through the Wiki obits, when I came upon David White, who had drowned at the age of 50, in his swimming pool on Gibralter, this past January 8, 2005. I went to see who he was, and came up with somebody supposedly born in 1916 (? - I may have the year wrong), who had his big career break in the 1960s as a soccer manager, and died around 1990. I don't know who either of these people are, and I don't know how to fix this. But something obviously is wrong with the links and/or information. Help? --Mothperson 18:58, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- We've only one entry for a David White (who must have been some kind of miracle-worker, if he got Dundee to win anything); my guess is that someone entered the name, saw it wasn't a redlink, and didn't bother to check it was the right person. It's quite common for names like this, which are almost guaranteed to be shared by two people; unfortunately, no idea who he was, or I'd put in a disambiguation page. Shimgray 19:03, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- Oh, here we are - senior military officer in Gibraltar. [1] (http://news.mod.uk/news/press/news_press_notice.asp?newsItem_id=3055) Death was a bit odd, given it was viewed as unlikely to be accidental, but the police ruled out foul play. Shimgray 19:04, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- There also seems to be a David Patillo White, so if you make a disambiguation page put him in too. Howabout1 Talk to me! 19:07, Jun 20, 2005 (UTC)
- Shimgray already knows how useless I am with moving stuff around. I don't know how to make a disambiguation page. But if one or both of you would give me intructions, that did not involve entering one of those dreaded Wiki roundabouts, I would like to learn. --Mothperson 19:16, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- Okay. Start tutorial - We have David White. What we want is to end up with a disambiguation page, linking to all three. Go to that link, click "move page", and send it to... oh... David White (footballer). This'll make "David White" a redirect to "David White (footballer)". Shimgray 20:15, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- Next, when you've done that, click on the link to David White. It should redirect you to ...(footballer), and you get a link saying "(Redirected from David White)" Click on that, it takes you back to the redirect page. Edit this page, add {{disambig}} to it (which notes it as a disambiguation page), then write links to the three articles in question - David White (footballer), David Patillo White, and our naval chap - not sure what to call him. [[David White (officer}]], perhaps? May as well leave it as a redlink anyway. And we have our disambiguation page! Let me know if this doesn't work. Shimgray 20:21, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- Well....... At one point I had a page with a blue David White (footballer), a blue David Patillo White, and a red David White (naval officer) listed on it, under a "1. Redirect from etc." Then I saved it, and now I don't know where that page is, and what I have is a David White (footballer) page, and David White (redirect from David White (footballer) page , although I suppose I could find the David Patillo White page if I went looking. So, maybe I did the right thing, and maybe I didn't. I can't tell. But I did read your instructions several times, and they seemed pretty clear. So is the plain David White our officer, even if he was in red? And now what, since only the footballer has any information on his page? You must understand, you are trying to instruct (and very valiantly!) someone who wore mismatched shoes to the post office, and - omg - everywhere - today, and did not realize it for over 5 hours. severely organizationally challenged Mothperson 21:04, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- Hmmmm... I just change the redirect page David White to a disambig page. Either you put it in the wrong place or it didn't show on my computer. You're listed in the history of David White. Howabout1 Talk to me! 21:13, Jun 20, 2005 (UTC)
- It's all working now, at least... two with content, one redlink, who's the drowned guy we were looking for in the first place. Shimgray 21:15, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
So did I completely screw up, or only mostly almost completely screw up? Which David White history am I in - the footballer or the no-description? --Mothperson 21:19, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC) And I added the disambig thing at the top of the page - was this the wrong place?
You're in the history of David White, the disambig page - but it seems, for some reason, that when you deleted the redirect and added the disambig template it didn't save properly [2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_White&diff=15517573&oldid=15516119). Otherwise, worked fine. Shimgray 21:22, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- Aha! I get it. I've been having problems with my "save"'s lately. I think I did it right, except for that, then. Thanks to you. Yay! Shimgray, I've saved your directions on a separate document. If I can teach myself two systems of CAD, I ought to be able to master some of this wiki stuff, even if my shoes don't match, damn it. Thank you very much, both of you. --Mothperson 21:36, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Except now I've just read about David White, and am depressed.
reference citing
How do I cite Wikipedia for a grad. paper? Havene't done one in 20+ years & I can't figure it out. Just the name & web address or what? Please hurry! Thanks 6/20/05. watts.
- See Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. Shimgray 20:42, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
qs and gs
When underlined words appear, one never knows if g's are g's or if q's are q's. The underline covers the bottom part. Could you please fix this problem? Thx.
- Test: gq gq. I see a difference, but in a small font only one pixel.--Patrick 22:42, Jun 20, 2005 (UTC)
glossary
Dear Wiki! I didn't find glossary in the encyclopedia page. I am in the Business of earthquake, his origins and his forecast. A terminology in the use of Wiki portal is strange to me. Respectfully, konstantin oz@oz.pro.br
You can use the Search/Go bar, which should be in the left column of your screen. Type in a keyword and press enter; if there is an article, it should go there, otherwise it searches all the articles. Wikipedia has an article on earthquake here- see if that helps you. Flcelloguy | A note? | Desk 22:17, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- A page of Wikipedia-specific glossary terms (which I think is what you want) is at Wikipedia:Glossary. The Portugese-language Wikipedia (I apologise if I'm guessing wrong - I'm guessing you speak Portugese, as you're Brazilian) doesn't seem to have a specific glossary page, but it has help pages here, which may help if you're more comfortable in that language. (Wikipedia:Help has a lot of links to help pages in other languages, on the left-hand side of the page) Shimgray 22:34, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Duplicate articles, not sure what to do.
I was browsing through unmanned space mission articles and came across a duplicate entry for the Kecksburg Incident. Here are the two articles in question.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kecksburg_UFO_incident http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kecksburg_UFO_Incident
I'm not sure what to do in this case. I feel the first article is superior to the second, should it be deleted? I'm not sure how I would go about doing that if that's the case. My only editing of Wikipedia articles so far as been reverting obvious vandalism, making minor edits, or adding new information.
Thanks in advance.
- You could be bold, and merge the material together into the first article, changing the second article into a redirect. Bovlb 05:05, 2005 Jun 21 (UTC)
- Wikipedia:Duplicate articles describes what you could do if you don't have enough time to do the merge yourself. — Sebastian (T)
05:00, 2005 Jun 22 (UTC) </font>
Template for telling people not to post copyrighted material?
Is there a template similar to Template:Test1 or Template:Test2 that I could post on people's talk pages, telling them not to post copyrighted material on Wikipedia (and perhaps explaining why)? TheCoffee 05:59, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- I created Template:Cv for my own use, but I must note that this is not an "official" template. Gamaliel 06:04, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
This template is also available: {{subst:nothanks|Article}}. It produces:
Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia! We welcome and appreciate your contributions, such as Article, but we regretfully cannot accept copyrighted text borrowed from web sites. For more information, take a look at our policy library. Happy editing!
Hope this helps. -- Essjay · Talk 06:11, Jun 21, 2005 (UTC)
the difference between subst and nothing.
What's the difference between using the template normally and using subst:? pmam21talkarticles 06:53, Jun 21, 2005 (UTC)
Just for the benefit of other editors who come along and may not know, using just the template causes the template name {{example}} to apper when editing the page. Using "subst:" (as in {{subst:example}} causes the template text to appear as it is displayed on the page and makes the text editable.
An example: The template name is {{example}}, and when inserted shows the text "This is an example template." If you just use the template, when an editor clicks on "edit this page" they will see {{example}} and will not be able to edit the template text. If you use "subst:", when an editor clicks on "edit this page" they will see "This is an example template" and will be able to edit the text.
-- Essjay · Talk 07:39, Jun 21, 2005 (UTC)
- less bandwidth usage is the only goal with subst:. I'm starting use it but not all the time. lol pmam21talkarticles 08:01, Jun 21, 2005 (UTC)
It also has the benefit that it doesn't confuse new users if you use one of the welcome templates on their talk pages. It can be disconcerting when you click "edit" but the text doesn't show up. I try my best to subst: any time I use a welcome template. -- Essjay · Talk 08:40, Jun 21, 2005 (UTC)
- Template:Welcome, IIRC. Shimgray 16:56, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Also, Wikipedia:Template_messages/User_talk_namespace has several. I use {{welcome4|Essjay}} because most of the time, someone else gets there before me. (To use welcome4, the |Essjay should be changed to your username). -- Essjay · Talk 05:49, Jun 22, 2005 (UTC)
create a -pedia
how do u create a -peida? eg: Bulbapedia (http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page) about Pokémon? please do be replying on my talk page - Supersaiyanplough|(talk) 09:36, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
68.14.62.73
where do i report vandalism (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions&target=68.14.62.73) by User:68.14.62.73 -Bijee 09:44, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Try Wikipedia:Vandalism in Progress. If it's particularly nasty, try Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism. -- Essjay · Talk 09:56, Jun 21, 2005 (UTC)
- Thanks a lot -Bijee 10:36, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Uploading an SVG image source
I'm trying to upload an SVG source of a PNG used in an article, but I get rejected every time with the message:
'".svg" is not a recommended image file format.'
...and there is no way to ignore the warning and upload it anyway. Does wikimedia use any file format detection, or does it just look at the file ending? If it does, I could change the name to something accepted, but it would be rather confusing and ugly.
What's the reason for it being blocked any way? Security issues?
It's not going to be used directly in an article, just linked from the PNG's page to allow others to edit it (like Wikipedia:Image_source_files says).
--Gustavb 10:01, 2005 Jun 21 (UTC)
- I think it is because of security, see also m:Help:Images and other uploaded files#Supported file types; miscellaneous. You can put the source in a page, see e.g. m:Image:Flago de Esperanto.svg (here the source is in the page in addition to being uploaded, when this was still possible). --Patrick 11:57, Jun 21, 2005 (UTC)
- I see...thanks for the directions! --Gustavb 17:01, 2005 Jun 21 (UTC)
Product Submission
I would like to list my companys software product "AdventNet Simulation Toolkit" in your site. What should I do ?
Regards, Latha.
Latha: Thanks for your interest in Wikipedia. However, one of Wikipedia's policies, What Wikipedia Is Not, explicity prohibits advertisements. Our goal at Wikipedia is to create an encyclopedia, and as part of that, anything that is not encyclopedic is prohibited. Perhaps you could list your software at a software-specific reference site?
If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask on my talk page. -- Essjay · Talk 12:34, Jun 21, 2005 (UTC)
Question about Douglas County Missouri moved to Wikipedia:Reference desk DJ Clayworth 14:11, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Request for merge removal
How do I get a "request for merge" notice removed? The article in question was about four hours old, created by me out of an article I was expanding. The initiator of the request did not bother to look at the history, nor give a reason why he thought it should be merged. Now, he is abstaining from comment, and the request is still in place. Is this some sort of diabolical Wiki torture I must endure for an unspecified amount of time? I have continued to work on the article since the request, but I won't any longer until the merge request is removed. Please advise. --Mothperson 13:19, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- From Wikipedia:Duplicate articles, you can remove the notice or change "merge" to "mergedispute" and discuss the issue on the article's talk page. Since you've tried to discuss it with the user who added the notice, it sounds to me like removing it would be perfectly justified (but if it comes back, then change it to mergedispute and try to resolve it on the talk page). -- Rick Block (talk) 14:17, Jun 21, 2005 (UTC)
- Thank you. --Mothperson 14:29, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Watchlist filtering
Can I hide the edits made by myself, like being able to hide minor edits? I know what edits I've made, so I don't really need to be informed of them! (And they're always on the contibutions page for when I do) MyNameIsClare talk 13:24, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- User:JesseW has a bookmarklet that does just this. I haven't tried it myself, but I hear it's worked well for others. --David Iberri | Talk 17:37, Jun 21, 2005 (UTC)
Question about Birthdate of Adam moved to Wikipedia:Reference desk#Birthdate of Adam. DJ Clayworth 14:09, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Wikipedia in my browser...
I use Mozilla Firefox as my primary browser and Wikipedia does not display correctly (though looks fine in IE). To be specific, none (or few) of the images load. I think this has to do with how the page is set up. An apt question might be, "Why does Firefox not display Wikipedia correctly?", but until it does, why does Wikipedia not display correctly in Firefox?
- I doubt it's firefox's fault, there are hundreds of regular wikipedians who use firefox. Check your proxy settings, perhaps disabling proxies altogether will solve your problem? If it doesn't, try copying the proxy settings from your internet explorer configuration. --W(t) 16:14, 2005 Jun 21 (UTC)
- I use Firefox, and it seems fine. You may have the images blocked on your browser. Go to a spot a picture would normally appear (say, the featured picture on the main page), and right click it. See if the "Block Images Upload.Wikimedia..." is checked. If it is, uncheck it. This is an ad-blocking tool from Firefox; you may have checked it accidentally. Hope this helps. Flcelloguy | A note? | Desk 20:31, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- This is on a Mac so it might be slightly different for you, but in my Firefox preferences there is a checkbox on the 'Web Features' pane for 'load images'—underneath this there is a checkbox titled 'for the originating web site only'. My browser will only load images on Wikipedia pages if the first checkbox is checked and the second one unchecked. JeremyA 20:53, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Video and DVD covers
Take a look at these two templates:
Why does video tape covers have to be low-resolution and not DVD covers according to the templates? • Thorpe • 16:41, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Length of a article
How can i find out how many characters or bytes a Wikipedia Page has?
- View the source and paste into a word processor with a letter counting tool? If the page is larger than 32 kilobytes a warning will appear at the top of the edit window, but that will only give you the rounded size in kilobytes, and only works if the page is larger than 32k. --W(t) 18:18, 2005 Jun 21 (UTC)
- The size (in kilobytes and words) of each matching article is indicated in the search results as well. This size is as of the last time the search indices were rebuilt, so may not be useful if you want strictly up to the minute size information. -- Rick Block (talk) 01:17, Jun 22, 2005 (UTC)
Images
How do you edit a page to replace an image with another image of your own?
- I'm not 100% sure this is what you're asking about, but to replace an existing image with an updated version, just upload the new image using the same exact name as the existing image. But in many (most?) cases you should just upload your image separately (i.e. not replacing the existing one), keeping the original image intact. Then edit the article to refer to your new image. --David Iberri | Talk 22:24, Jun 21, 2005 (UTC)
- If you want to replace an image in an article, simply update the file it links to. Can you give specifics? It would help to give a more detailed answer. - Mgm|(talk) 07:39, Jun 22, 2005 (UTC)
South Amboy New Jersey
Hello! My name is Jennifer Owens and I am the local historian/local info person for our library--Sadie Pope Dowdell Public Library. I was actually doing a project citing the top sources for quick local facts and came across your page. I did read that topics are open to editors and contributors and was wondering what type of material you would be interested in posting about South Amboy? I see that you have the general census and geographical data but I wanted to see what we could work out together to make your site a good source for people looking for local info. Let me know what you think--my contact info is pixxiebear (located) yahoo.com I look forward to hearing back soon----- Jennifer
- Email fired off, and email here obfuscated to avoid web-crawlers... Shimgray 23:00, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Edit didn't happen!
I attempted to edit the page dedicated to Margaret Thatcher, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher - which as I type only contains the text "MARGARET THATCHER IS A WAR CRIMINAL. ARREST HER IMMEDIATELY."
Specifically, I reverted to the most recent legitimate version. However, after submitting my change, nothing happened .. my change didn't hit turn up on the page's history, nor in my own list of 'Contributions'.
Wh'appen? :-/
Thanks, James Jamesgibbon 23:46, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- I can't tell you for sure what happened, but I do notice that it appears to be protected at the moment. See the relevant discussion here. It may be that it was protected between the time that you hit the "edit" link and the time you tried to submit your change. —HorsePunchKid→龜 00:54, 2005 Jun 22 (UTC)
- That seems unlikely, since the 'vandalised' version was in effect following my attempted reversion. However, it's been fixed now as you know. Thanks for your reply. Jamesgibbon 01:16, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Excel chart
I want to upload a chart and a table created in Excel in an xls file. I have saved the particular chart and table to use in a Word file as well. How do I upload this image to use in an article. I have searched all over for instructions for transfer of this to an image in Wikipedia. Apparently, I must make a jpg or png file of an Excel chart and cells. Thanks
- May I humbly suggest that, irrespective of whether it is technically possible to upload them, Excel files are not generally a good method to represent information here. Not all potential readers have access to Excel, or a compatible spreadsheet program. Jamesgibbon 00:28, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- If you want, open up your Excel file, and press "Print Screen". Then open up Paint, and press Control+V (Paste}. This will paste the screen shot onto paint, where you can crop it, save it, and then upload it. Flcelloguy | A note? | Desk 00:38, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I usually copy the table to Microsoft FrontPage and save it from there as HTML. If you don't have FrontPage, you can export to XML spreadsheet and get the following in the middle of a lot of gobbledygook :
<Table ss:ExpandedColumnCount="2" ss:ExpandedRowCount="2" x:FullColumns="1" x:FullRows="1"> <Row> <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">Jon</Data></Cell> <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">Doe</Data></Cell> </Row> <Row> <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">Jane</Data></Cell> <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">Doette</Data></Cell> </Row> </Table>
Then replace the <Row> and similar tags with either correct HTML syntax or with the Wiki table syntax, and you got a nice table in Wikipedia! — Sebastian (talk) 04:40, 2005 Jun 22 (UTC)
Atlantis?
I know where Atlantis is?
And it is not in the Atalantic or anywhere close?
wattsb@ucihs.edu
Please refer factual questions to the reference desk. Thanks. Flcelloguy | A note? | Desk 00:38, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Were I wanting to rename my account.
Just a minor change, removing the last name. Is there a page with relevant information or protocol? Shem(talk) 01:59, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
create a -pedia
how do u create a -peida? eg: Bulbapedia (http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page) about Pokémon? please do be replying on my talk page - Supersaiyanplough|(talk) 04:58, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Help
I want to put up a subject for others to research. Where do I post it? How do I do that? Please help, I find this a bit confusing and I'd hate to get it wrong.
Zebedee
If you want a certain question answered, try the reference desk if you want an article, you can post it on Wikipedia:Requested articles. Alternatively, you can look for a fitting WikiProject to pose your suggestion. - 131.211.210.13 11:01, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Basilicas (language question)
I want to add the list of basilicas in The Netherlands to List of basilicas. What's the policy? Original Dutch names or English translation? The page isn't very consistent right now. Fnorp 10:49, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- Probably best to go with English translation; many of the English speakers wouldn't have a clue of what the Dutch names mean. (I know I wouldn't.) -- Essjay · Talk 10:52, Jun 22, 2005 (UTC)
- Thanks, I will do that. Fnorp 10:56, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
transport maps between SAARC nations
sir/madam i am a student and require the transport (rail,road and air) maps in between the SAARC nations. your help will be highly appreciated. yours sincerely anumod
mail me at anu100mod@rediffmail.com
Anonymous Contributions
I'm sorry if this is mentioned somewhere in the help section already, but I've been looking for a while. I've made a few contributions anonymously, and I just decided to sign up. Is there a way to list the contributions I made anonymously under my username rather than my IP?
- Currently, no there isn't. There used to be a way, Wikipedia:Changing attribution for an edit, but the service has been suspended. As it stands, there is currently no way to gain attribution for previous anonymous edits. (But see that policy for suggestions on how you can keep track of your anon edits.)-- Essjay · Talk 11:33, Jun 22, 2005 (UTC)
- You could just use this tag (cut and past): [[Special:Contributions/Your IP# Here|Your IP# or message here]] on your user page. Admiral Roo (Talk to me)(My Contributions) 18:56, Jun 22, 2005 (UTC)
Remove this adware from my computer now
Try Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/), or any of the other anti-spyware tools. JRM · Talk 16:40, 2005 Jun 22 (UTC)
- Put them at the bottom. Like they are now, they appear more important than they really are. (In disambiguations, you can add them behind the sentence they used to be part of), so people can easily use them to make a full article. - Mgm|(talk) 21:19, Jun 22, 2005 (UTC)
Help
Can someone help wikify all of my personal pages so the meta tags {{Wikipedia}}, {{Wiktionary}}, and {{Wikiquote}} pleas? I seem not to know how to make the tags correctly. And in the future, can someone pleas tell me how to make these tags correctly?
Thank you. Admiral Roo Talk to me|My Contributions 17:38, Jun 22, 2005 (UTC)
- Those templates are not designed to do what you requested. Please use these links instead:
Inline External Links
What is the consensus about the use of external links in articles? I know that normally, they are supposed to be at the bottom in the 'External Links'. However what about the ones in these two articles: The Game and Street photography? --Silas Snider (talk) 20:44, Jun 22, 2005 (UTC)
- I am not sure what you are asking about Street photography. What I can tell you is that The Game is actually a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. Thus, they are generally just a list of links. Zzyzx11 (Talk) 21:43, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
What happened to my edit?
I've read alot of information trying to figure out why my edit was changed. It was about the most recent name change to Texas State University-San Marcos. While my bit was lengthy, it was unbiased and highly accurate. I just want to know why it got cut down so much. My current hypothesis is that 1) it was too long and had too much detailed information to be in an encyclopedia, and/or 2) it was somehow interpreted as biased.
Thanks,
ktex83
- According to the edit summary listed on the history of this page (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Texas_State_University-San_Marcos&action=history), the user who edited that paragraph wrote "greatly shortened absurdly excessive discussion of the name change process". Zzyzx11 (Talk) 21:43, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Question about adding external links
Having used Wikipedia many times over the last year or so as a research source for my schooling, I am highly aware of the wonderful service the Wikipedia community provides to their users. I recently contributed to my first article and ran into a problem however, and would like some advice.
The article in question is about Constantine Maroulis. I happen to run two fan sites for this performer, and I wanted to contribute to the article (especially since there were factual errors and personal information that did not need to be there!) I also noticed that one of my sites (Maroulis Media Online) was included in the External Links list, though the other (Greek Speak) was not. So one of the first corrections I made was to add my other site as a resource. I have since updated other links on the lists and edited the main article itself.
Two other contributors have disputed my edits and have repeatedly removed one of my sites (Greek Speak) from the list (even accusing me of spamming!) While I'm aware that Wikipedia discourages self-promotion, I didn't feel that my inclusion of a site that I happen to run fell under that category since I did not advertise that it was my site, nor have I edited the article content to promote my site (plus my site is relevant to the subject of the article.) Yet one of the other contributors insists that my inclusion of the site in the links list is a violation of Wikipedia policy.
Is this accurate? Are we not allowed to include links to fan sites in the external links portion of a celebrity's Wikipedia article? I did some random research and found at least 10 other celebrity articles that include links to fan sites in thier external links list, but I would still like to know if I'm violating some Wikipedia policy or not.
(I should note that this is not a request for mediation or dispute resolution since I'm confident I can work this out with the other party. I just want to cover all of my bases.)
Any input you can offer is appreciated. And thank you again for starting this project!
Edit: I just noticed I wasn't logged in anymore! My username is Bonavox.
--64.60.174.2 22:55, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- The policy is described at Wikipedia:External links. For your (and other's) convenience, I'll copy and paste the relevant sections below:
- Maybe OK To Add...
- 3. Fan sites: On articles about topics with many fansites, including a link to one major fansite is appropriate, marking the link as such. In extreme cases, a link to a web directory of fansites can replace this link.
- Hope this helps. BTW, you can check "Keep me logged in" if you are on your own computer- that way you don't have to bother signing in every time! Flcelloguy | A note? | Desk 23:10, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- Thank you very much! I'll inform the other person and see if there is a better way to list the links that we can both agree on. Bonavox 23:42, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Iran
There is a table of content on the Iran page that needs to be moved to allow the main article to be visiable. I do not know how to move it.
anon.
- I don't see any particular problem with the Table of contents. You'll have to scroll to see the full page anyway. You may want to consider registering. If you do, you can set an option in your preferences to not show the table of contents in an article. - Mgm|(talk) 08:38, Jun 23, 2005 (UTC)
Locked data
Since 18th June, whenever I load Wikipedia on my home computer, the title page is locked at that date. When I view Wikipedia through my computer at work, the title page is update. What is goin on?
Peter Maggs--Peter M 05:37, 23 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- Your computer has saved old pages for quicker serving you with a page, try Wikipedia:Bypass your cache for more info. - Mgm|(talk) 08:35, Jun 23, 2005 (UTC)
