Help desk
< December 20	<< Nov \| December \| Jan >>	December 22 >

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.

December 21

Question

i just bought a 1976 mercedes 280 sl but on the trunk it has 500sl and the people has owned the car for 15 years and said the 500 sl has always been on there. the 280 sl emblem was in the glove box. can you tell me where to look for the vin number ?? i have found these numbers on the car. 1078201064R and 225602-ORECHTS and the number 001101 plus the car is a EURO. i will not get the title until net week so i can not check the vin number until then. thank you. ^{[details removed]} —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.144.71.11 (talk) 00:40, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hi 71.144.71.11, the Help desk is only for asking question about how to use Wikipedia. I suggest you try the reference desk which is dedicated purely to help answer general knowledge questions. Furthermore, please don't add any personal contact details to your questions as these pages are highly visible, if you ask a question here, we'll reply here. Thanks, Jeffrey Mall (talk • be merry) - 01:23, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

And finally, please don't title your question "Question". Since that could apply to pretty well every item posed here (or on the reference desk), it is absolutely unhelpful. --ColinFine (talk) 23:30, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

using my name in a disambiguation page

I would like to add my name, Andrew Taylor, to a disambiguation page and then link it to another page, Andrew Taylor (Andrew Lincoln Taylor), which would contain a brief biography of facts about my life. Problems?MrAndrewLincolnTaylor (talk) 04:40, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Yup. You should not edit articles about yourself in any way. Furthermore, it does not appear you, as a subject matter, merit an article at Wikipedia. --Jayron32 04:42, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

In the category: 1987 Births...

I clicked on a couple peoples names and every single one of them was either on a sports team or ran for some kind of position...people I haven't even heard of. My question is, can I add my name to the list even though I'm just an everyday kind of person? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Satchelofgoodness (talk • contribs) 07:08, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Not unless you are notable and can verify that with reliable sources. Ks0stm ^(T•C•G) 08:23, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Organized AnonIP vandalization

Where should organized anon-IP vandalization be reported. Looking at WP:AIAV, I see three anon IPs all performing the same vandalization. Looking at recent changes, I see many more. I know the standard process is to warn 3 times and then block - but these are apparently automated, so by the 3rd warning, there will be dozens of reverts. -- kainaw ™ 07:43, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It's already at WP:ANI#Welcome to Wikipedldia! if that's the event you refer to. Ks0stm ^(T•C•G) 08:21, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

bv3dsxcssdq

What does the edit summary "bv3dsxcssdq" mean in this edit and the one before it? (BTW, don't worry about the spam; it has been removed.) 08:01, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

That was an automated spambot test. The accounts have been blocked. -- kainaw ™ 08:03, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

contacting admins

is there a way to directly find admins to talk to? --Brunk500 (talk) 11:54, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Administrator's noticeboard/Incidents. Ks0stm ^(T•C•G) 11:59, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Red Panda

Red Panda entry has nothing there. —Preceding unsigned comment added by ProjectWorldPeace (talk • contribs) 11:57, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Be bold and add information, so long as it is verifiable and sourced with reliable sources. Ks0stm ^(T•C•G) 12:02, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure what you mean but Red Panda is a long article to me. Try to bypass your cache if you see nothing there. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:15, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Page history shows no recent blankings... Intelligentsium 23:16, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Adding links to Wikipedia articles to my website

Hello there,

From what I can tell, I should be able to put in links to Wikipedia articles on my website. My website features web pages on science fiction topics (books, movies, games) and will feature affiliate advertising. I'd like to provide Wikipedia links to my visitors on some of my favorite authors and/or specific novels, so that they can get some useful information on them. Can I do this? Thanks for your help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.232.122.83 (talk) 16:06, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Anyone can indeed link to the articles from their website. Just use the code <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/article-name">Wikipedia's entry about article-name</a>. Please make sure that you make clear that this is a link to a Wikipedia article though! -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 16:18, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. But if you want to reuse Wikipedia content, see WP:REUSE. – ukexpat (talk) 16:20, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Also, see Wikipedia:Diff#Linking_to_a_diff for how to link to a specific version of an article. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 16:22, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

TFD

How do you close an template for deletion? Btilm 16:20, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

see Wikipedia:Templates for discussion/Administrator instructions, Template:Tfd top and Template:Tfd bottom -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 16:23, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Btilm, since you're not an administrator, if you wish to withdraw the nomination you made at Wikipedia:Templates for discussion#Template:User Carthage, that would qualify as a speedy keep, and you can perform a non-admin closure. --Mysdaao ^talk 16:36, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

BRAD101

I would like to get in contact with BRAD101 and any related advisers pertaining to the original Frigates of the United States Navy.

As you may already know, I have been representing and dedicated my life to the Frigate USS UNITED STATES since September 1978. I was able to establish this frigate as the first United States Navy war ship. I have muster rolls which continue to grow. And I have construction plans and data on the frigate as well. Currently I am transcribing the Carpenters' Reports, acquired from the Pennsylvania Historical Society.

You can imagine there are countless numbers of organizations and associations related to these subjects. This is why I do not "join" them. However, I do enjoy donating information, and over the past 30 years I do so without charge, fees, or memberships. Sharing information about our first frigates has brought me joy in dealing with the public as to the importance of these first ships. Not bad for an ex-Army member.

If you would please pass on my contact information to those you know who share such information I would be most honored to hear from any of them. I find such conversations stimulating and educational. You may wish to post my contact information as well

Your most humble servant;

USS UNITED STATES Foundation Edward C. Zimmerman, Jr. Founder, President, & CEO <email redacted> National Headquarters: <address redacted> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.193.6.211 (talk) 16:25, 21 December 2009 (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. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 16:28, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

To contact Brad101, leave a message on their talk page -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 16:28, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

That would be User talk:Brad101. Note that usernames on Wikipedia are case sensitive after the first character. If you like to share information, you should learn how to edit on Wikipedia and other wikis. For example, a search on WikiIndex finds NARCIKI - Naval Architecture Wiki Project. --Teratornis (talk) 19:08, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Importing from Wikia?

Yes, I'm an admin, I should already know. There are lots of things I don't know, however, even though I am an admin. One of them is whether we can import material from Wikia sites, in this case the Warriors Wiki. At Talk:List of ThunderClan cats (Warriors) I mentioned that a family tree icon might be useful, and got a response that the Warriors Wikia site has some such icons. Would they qualify as free use, and thus eligible for direct importing? Thanks for any responses to teh stupid question. John Carter (talk) 19:11, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

What you need to do is to look at the licensing of the original source of the icons. If it was created by a member of the Wikia, then it would depend on the licensing of that Wikia - if it is originally from another website, then it would depend on the licensing of that website. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 19:42, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Velm, Inc.

I came across a product called Hot Squirt, it is a Windshield Hot Wash. An Automotive product. On the bottom it says assembled in <blanked>, which is not an available number and <blanked> must have been reassigned to another business. I am just interested what this product costs or the value of this product. I have done tons of research on it but not much info. I did find something similar on ebay from a Bus CO in MN selling 10 of them and I may call them to get information if they have any, which I doubt. I have it in the original box with all the parts, brand new, never used.

If you could give me anything I would appreciate it.

Thanks

Terri <blanked> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.109.1.149 (talk) 20:36, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hello. I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our roughly three million articles, and thought that we were directly 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 a help desk for asking questions related to using the encyclopedia. Thus, we have no inside track on the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the left hand 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. TN X Man 20:42, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

This could almost go at Wikipedia:Unusual requests. I'm sorry, but this isn't the site you're looking for. Ks0stm ^(T•C•G) 20:44, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Collapsed tables

When creating a collapsed table, is it possible to make the tab say something other than "show/hide"? Intelligentsium 21:00, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not aware of a way of doing this (which doesn't mean that it isn't possible) - but I'm curious to know what you want it to say instead? -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 21:02, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Possibly something like "view" or "expand", to add variety. However, my main goal is to create something that will be in the form [view | edit] so a user could edit a transcluded subpage within a collapsed box (like a Shoutbox) and view it using buttons within close proximity. Intelligentsium 23:11, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Please fix category

Thanks Fugitive (song) is in Category:2007 singles, whereas it was released in 2009 (as the article states.) —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 22:26, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Done -- Bfigura ^(talk) 22:34, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Request IP check

A registered user who was blocked two weeks ago for repeatedly plagiarizing copyright-protected material from a website into an article (he did it four times, and ignore four warnings) should be unblocked by today. Also today an anonymous IP did the same thing to the same article. Where can I request an IP check to see if the IP is the same as the registered user? Nightscream (talk) 23:33, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You need to head on over to Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations and file a report there, with relevant diffs to back up the allegations. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 23:36, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

"This article does not cite any references or sources"

My article on Ferdinand A Brader has received a "This article does not cite any references or sources."

I am a collector of this man's work and have been collecting and researching Brader and his work for over 30 years. There is very little know of him and there has been nothing written on him that I can refer to. If the truth be told, others have been referring to this article. What should I do? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Katmaan (talk • contribs) 23:52, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

If there are no sources of information available (other than your own, which might be considered to be Original Research, which isn't allowed in Wikipedia), then it would mean that Mr Brader would not meet either the General Notability Guidelines or Notability Guidelines for Creative professionals, which unfortunately would appear to mean that they are not suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia. A quick look for sources came across The Pennsylvania Dutch Country By Irwin Richman, which has one paragraph about him which basically says he was an itinerant artist about whose life almost nothing is known (see here) - and that was the only significant coverage I could find (all other references on Google Scholar/Books/News were about individual paintings, and basically who owned "xyz" painting, as were all references to "Ferdinand Brader"). -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 00:03, 22 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]