Help desk
< April 30	<< Apr \| May \| Jun >>	May 2 >

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 1

What the HELL?!

Look at the history of Metal. I have no idea how it happened, but I was editing the article from a public computer (using Internet Explorer, so my monobook.js scripts weren't working correctly) and it somehow deleted half the article without noticing me. It doesn't show up between the two diffs or as a net loss of characters, but when you look at one revision and you look at the next you notice several sections are missing. I've reverted to the full version (and deleted all my changes since then, grr), but can someone explain what the hell happened? Ziggy Saw dust 01:07, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

In this edit you wrote <ref name="morty">, apparently attempting to reuse a named reference. But to do that you should write <ref name="morty"/>. Otherwise the software thinks you are trying to create a named reference and treats the following text as though it is part of the reference. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:17, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wow. That's trippy... Ziggy Saw dust 01:21, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This is an old problem, and there is some current discussion on possible ways to detect and fix this type of problem. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 01:42, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

symbols

what are the diffrent symbols for the freemason. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.112.172.190 (talk) 02:31, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

See Freemasonry#Ritual, symbolism, and morality. If you have further questions, please ask at Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Humanities. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 02:45, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Humanities 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 and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps.

PhD Thesis

I have a difference of opinion with two users who maintain that a PhD thesis is not a reliable source. This seems strange to me, since such a thesis is always peer-reviewed, or rather reviewed by higher qualified scholars. They are easy to verify, too, and I see many references to PhD theses on Wikipedia. Since there is nothing on PhD theses on WP:RS, and the guideline is not exhaustive, I'd like to know how PhD theses are viewed by other users. Where should I ask this? Regards, Guido den Broeder (talk) 09:07, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It's probably worth asking the question at the reliable sources noticeboard. You should be able to get a more in-depth answer there. Hope this helps, Gazimoff ^Write _Read 09:19, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not 100% sure, but from how I interpret WP:RS and WP:NOR an completed and accepted disertation (published and the author has been granted the doctoral degree) would be considered a reliable sources as a peer reviewed document. Disertations still in progress or pending acceptance by a university would not be, however. Mister Senseless™ (Speak - Contributions) 19:07, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I think the main concern is that a thesis is a primary source, and Wikipedia is a tertiary source, so as much as possible we want there to be some secondary sources in between to filter and process the information. I think WP:PSTS covers how to use primary sources. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 23:50, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I see what you mean, I always thought that an article, thesis, etc... if peer-reviewed was still a primary source, but not considered OR at that point. Mister Senseless™ (Speak - Contributions) 02:59, 4 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

ACTUALLY changing the capitalization for article headers

I searched around the FAQ and the reference desks, but wasn't sure how to change the capitalization of the name of the article itself, or if that was even possible.

Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by NeoAlastor (talk • contribs) 10:08, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You have to move the page. Xenon 54 10:35, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Before you make the change, I would recommend checking the article name against the Wikipedia naming convention. StephenBuxton (talk) 11:35, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Could you advise which page you would like to capitalise? Adam (Manors) 13:26, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please sign your post by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box (as shown to the left ←). Do NOT sign in articles....... Dendodge.Talk^Help 15:37, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

collapsing text

How do I collapse a long portion of text so that only the subject shows, with a "show" (hide) box to click on the right?Woonpton (talk) 15:04, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

For me, the best one is Template:Hidden begin.

{{hidden begin|title=abc|ta1=center|bg1=pink}}
<text>
{{Hidden end}}

Thanks, PeterSymonds | talk 15:25, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Protecting my IPs

Resolved

– Discussion thread with IPs removed from talk page history (not by oversight, just normal deletion). —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 17:47, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I recently had to have an autoblock on IPs that I use lifted, and now the IPs I use are revealed on my talk page, something I really don't wish to reveal. Is this appropriate for an oversight? Grsz ^talk 17:06, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

One's a university, so I wouldn't worry about that, you're one of hundreds. If the other's also shared, you should be safe enough...... Dendodge.Talk^Help 17:10, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I can fix this... just a moment. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 17:33, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wow! How do you do that?...... Dendodge.Talk^Help 17:55, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Great, thanks for the help! Grsz ^talk 18:08, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Lock

I was researching the value of the Old Stone House in Washington, D.C. and when I linked the information on the talk page, a lock symbol appeared. I've never come across that before. Can this still be used in the reference section? APK ^{yada yada} 17:56, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That just means that you linked to a secure web site. It can still be used. Cheers, WODUP 18:04, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ahh, ok. Thanks. APK ^{yada yada} 18:05, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please remove statement from Wikipedia's Amdocs page

To Whom It May Concern,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amdocs

We would like to request immediate removal of the following statement:

"Amdocs has been criticized before as a potential source for leaked phone records information that could have been sold to third parties, including organized crime. [http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/01/wireless_calling_records.html"

Amdocs was wrongly accused. If you have any questions, please contact any of the industry analysts listed below who will discount the above statement.

Please confirm receipt of this e-mail and advise how long it will take for the removal to be reflected.

Paul Hughes, vice president, enabling technologies service provider group, Yankee Group, <email removed>

Karl Whitelock, senior consulting analyst at Stratecast (division of Frost & Sullivan), <email removed>,<phone number removed>

Shira Levine, senior analyst at IDC, <emal removed>,<phone number removed> —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mricci4185 (talk • contribs) 18:14, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Done I've removed it for now, but it was cited with a source. Can you provide evidence to show it was wrongly accused? Either here or by my email. Thanks, PeterSymonds | talk 18:18, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It was very well sourced. Grsz ^talk 18:28, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please do NOT include contact details in your questions. We are unable to provide answers by any off-wiki medium and this page is highly visible across the internet. The details have been removed, but if you wish for them to be permanently removed from the page history, email this address.

Please sign your post by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box (as shown to the left ←). Do NOT sign in articles....... Dendodge.Talk^Help 18:30, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Agree that this was well-sourced. I'd argue that the material should be re-inserted, although in such a way that the statement more closely adheres to the source. --Bfigura ^(talk) 18:37, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That's fine; it can just be undone. I thought that, in case some new evidence came about that was after the source, the content might be outdated. If no evidence is provided in a short time then it can be reinstated. PeterSymonds | talk 18:41, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

N/p. I did a full lexis-nexis search and it seems the sources are very conflicted here. Le Monde (basically the french NYTimes) confirmed the story, but a few papers in the Canada called it total BS. So kinda up in the air. --Bfigura ^(talk) 18:49, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Restored the information with language that made it clearer that this is what one source claimed, including the date of the article. Can anybody provide some followup with the information Bfigura mentions? --Orange Mike | Talk 18:56, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

How do I reset my password without email on my account?

Resolved

I registered for Wikipedia a year+ ago and havn't used it in a while. I've forgotten my password and when I ask Wiki to email me my password it says there is no email associated with that account. :-/

How do I get my password reset, or add my email to the UserName? Who do I need to call/email?

207.207.127.243 (talk) 19:01, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You can't, I'm afraid...... Dendodge.Talk^Help 19:05, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The best bet at this point would probably just be to create a new account. Make sure you register an email address this time to allow you to recover a lost password. Mister Senseless™ (Speak - Contributions) 02:57, 4 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

How can I get someone banned or blocked from editing?

The person editing from IP address 207.32.21.29 is a vandal. Take a look at all of the edits for that IP at the following link and you will see that every single edit that that IP has made is blatant vandalism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/207.32.21.29 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Account9000 (talk • contribs) 19:08, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Well, WP:AIV is the place for reporting vandals. Users and IPs are only blocked after they've received four user warnings for their actions. With IPs, they can never be indefinitely blocked, because the person behind the address can constantly change. Therefore, we don't issue bans or long blocks (if we can help it). Looking at the contributions, there isn't a string of recent vandalism, and therefore no block is necessary at this time. PeterSymonds | talk 19:15, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I would look a bit closer at the contributions from the user I linked to because as I said, every one of the edits is vandalism. FOR GREAT JUSTICE. (talk · contribs) 19:25, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It's very slow vandalism though. For the moment, we can just keep an eye on it. If they become a problem again, an AIV can be filed. -- Kesh (talk) 19:40, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That's no reason to issue a block. The IP is registered to an organisation, and therefore the same person most likely didn't add all the vandalism. Only when there is a string of recent vandalism can a block be issued. Please see WP:Blocking policy and WP:Blocking IP addresses for further information. Thanks, PeterSymonds | talk 19:42, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Users and IP's can definitely be blocked if they recieved less than four user warnings though. There is no four warnings before blocking rule. Garion96 (talk) 20:46, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

True, although most admins won't block until the vandal has been given a final warning, which is usually taken to be the third or fourth in the various series of warning templates. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 23:45, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Image question

This image was recently removed from Geography of Europe, because of unclear copyright reasons. It is an altered version of an image already present in Wikipedia, modified by myself. I took this image and added the colours myself, based on the number of neighbouring countries. What is the copyright and license status? How can I add this image back into the article? JIP | Talk 19:35, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

What is the original image? Kesh (Talk) -- 19:42, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The original is noted in the information section. You still need licensing. You should be able to use {{PD-self}} like the original. You should also consider moving this to Commons. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 19:59, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

infobox problem

After fixing the overwiki in the infobox on Pecker (film), it came out like you see. I am unable to undo it, and I'm not seeing the problem in the raw text. Help? Mike P ^talk

20:04, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

There was a missing pipe after the director, so it wasn't seeing the producer. I added it. Leebo ^T/C 20:12, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

wikitravel webpage

Why can I never get it on my screen? Every attempt is unsuccessful because the message comes that Windows Internet cannot display the page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.69.137.231 (talk) 20:24, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hmm, it seems to work okay on my PC: [1]; try refreshing the page or restart the internet. In future, please note that this is a place for Wikipedia questions only, but I hope you have success. Thanks, PeterSymonds | talk 20:30, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please sign your post by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box (as shown to the left ←). Do NOT sign in articles....... Dendodge.Talk^Help 22:34, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Dutch Acadie

Does this page meet the requierments for deletion? Dutch Acadie (Red4tribe (talk) 21:48, 1 May 2008 (UTC))[reply]

Recommended that answers should go to the user's talk page, or the article's talk page. To Red-- this is for asking questions about the use of Wikipedia only. You should have started a discussion at deletion review before recreating the page; that is the way to gather consensus either way. Thanks, PeterSymonds | talk 21:54, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please use a descriptive title in future questions....... Dendodge.Talk^Help 22:35, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Need advice: Private wiki or Wikipedia?

I'm creating an industry collaboration site with software that provides weak wiki support. While people will pay a subscription to access some services on the site, the wiki portion will be free to all. I'm trying to decide whether to use the software and keep the wiki private or use Wikipedia instead. As far as I can tell, the considerations include:

1. Wikipedia is more robust and visible to more people. 2. A private wiki can be less formal; fewer requirements when posting content. 3. On a private site, search will search the wiki and other site content at the same time.

Are there other considerations?

I saw information on how to include a Wikipedia search box on my site. Is it possible to modify the code to restrict the Wikipedia search to a specific Portal? I'm considering creating an industry-related Portal on Wikipedia and referring people from my site there for their wiki needs. However, when they perform a search on my site, I would like the search to search the Wikipedia Portal and my site content simultaneously.

I appreciate any advice you can offer along these lines.

Thank you very much, Gaboy (talk) 22:29, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That is not what Wikipedia is for, use a private wiki...... Dendodge.Talk^Help 22:33, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia is about building an encyclopedia. If content isn't encyclopaedic, notable, verifiable or cited by reliable sources, it may get deleted. You may find that reading what Wikipedia is About as well as what it is not may be of help. Don't forget that the sftware Wikipedia uses, Mediawiki, is open source and freely available. Hope this helps, Gazimoff ^Write _Read 22:35, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Also note that this page is for questions about Wikipedia. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 22:38, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, if you tried to advertise your site on Wikipedia, it would be considered spam and deleted very quickly. As Gazimoff noted, what you probably want is to download the MediaWiki software and use it to create your own wiki. Wikipedia is not free web hosting space. See also the business FAQ. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 23:09, 1 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for asking before proceeding. Another limiting factor on Wikipedia is our no original research policy. Most likely, your users will want to edit their own original content, and on Wikipedia we don't do that. Instead we base everything here on reliable, published sources. So if someone hasn't already published it elsewhere, it doesn't belong on Wikipedia. I suggest that you search WikiIndex to see if someone already runs a public wiki that caters to your industry. There are thousands of public wikis, so you might find one you can use. However, as mentioned above, the MediaWiki software is free for downloading, and with some effort you can set up your own wiki using it. An installation of MediaWiki can live in a separate subdirectory of your Web site, so it doesn't interfere with whatever else you are doing on your site. For more information, see b:Wiki Science/How to start a wiki. You might also want to experiment with MediaWiki as your own personal wiki on your personal computer. See: mw:Manual:Wiki on a stick. That's an easy way to see what administering MediaWiki is like. Finally, to learn about searching on specific parts of Wikipedia (or any other MediaWiki wiki), see: {{Google custom}}. --Teratornis (talk) 01:12, 2 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I added a section to the FAQ to address questions like this: WP:BFAQ#CORPWIKI. --Teratornis (talk) 21:42, 2 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]