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Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2009 July 4

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July 4

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italian cruis ship msaugustas —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.116.183.111 (talk) 01:55, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

What exactly are you asking? Fingerz 02:07, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
We have an MS Augustus article. Does it answer whatever question you are not asking? --Teratornis (talk) 02:35, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Article Searchability

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Why is it when I search for my article on Wikipedia, it does scroll down as I'm typing the name in the search engine? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Philippe Laguerre (talkcontribs) 06:05, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]


As you enter text in the search box, it may auto-fill the box. This may be done by Wikipedia or by your browser. By default, Wikipedia will show a list of suggestions based on the entered text. To disable this you must have an account and must be logged in. Go to Special:Preferences, select the Search tab, check the box by 'Disable AJAX suggestions' and click the Save button at the bottom.

When the search suggestions are disabled, your browser may keep a history of searches or may auto-fill— these may be cleared through a browser option:

  • Internet Explorer 7: Tools → Internet Options → General → Delete → Form Data → Delete Forms → Yes
  • Firefox 3: Tools → Clear Private Data → Saved Form and Search History → Clear Private Data Now
  • Safari: Edit → Preferences → AutoFill → Edit → Other Forms; remove Wikipedia from the list

AJAX suggestions may be temporarily disabled if the servers exhibit performance issues.

---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 06:08, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

credit card fraud

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one of my friends has had £750 taken from his bank,so he informed his bank about this and they said they would look into it when they got back to him they said they will not refund the money because the original card was used, but his card was sitting at his home is it possible for them to know it was a proper card or a copied card that was used on his account please, —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.7.16.116 (talk) 09:12, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. Calvin 1998 (t·c) 09:41, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

PNG better than SVG if the logo is copyrighted ?

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Months ago I've created this File:Luton Town.svg to replace the PNG version logo for Luton Town F.C., suddenly yesterday user Jappalang changed it back to PNG. The reason for the change can be found here – Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Luton Town F.C./archive1. As far as I know it violates WP:Logo & NFCC. As for now I've changed the article logo back to SVG, please do correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks. Arteyu ? Blame it on me ! 10:16, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

    • Please leave your comments here.

Trouble with FaQ and sandboxes

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Ok, so the FAQ and help pages are both completely useless.

I can't find the sandbox to lay out the article I want to write, nor can I figure out how to publish anything other than an edit. The FaQ tells me I need to be logged in to create a new page, but since I am logged in, it's no help whatsoever.

Any help? Thanks. Nicko9000 (talk) 10:45, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry that you think they are useless! I've created a sandbox for you in your user space, User:Nicko9000/sandbox. You can make edits there and save them, and then when you are ready, you can use the "move" tab at the top of the page to move the article into article space. You can read WP:MOVE for more information on moving pages. Hope that helps, ask if you need any further information. Maedin\talk 10:59, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict)Did you read the links given in the FAQ? They describe in detail how to create a page, and those instructions are the ones we can give here too. Anyway, here are the standard instructions:
Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.
Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.
If you still think an article is appropriate, see Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation.
As for the sandbox; the wikipedia sandbox is here, but you might want to create a personal sandbox like User:Nicko9000/sandbox (you can replace "sandbox" with the title of the article you intend to create) to create an article draft. Just click on the link, edit the page and save - that's all there is to it. Chamal talk 11:02, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

saving options

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how to save a file from wikipaedia to the computer? --122.174.66.205 (talk) 11:08, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You can do this in a number of ways.
To save an article or another page in Wikipedia
  • Use your browser's "Save As" function, usually found in the "File" menu.
  • Save a PDF version by clicking the link on any Wikipedia page, usually found in the column on the left-hand side.
  • User Special:Export to save pages in XML or save a number of pages in a category
To save an image from Wikipedia
  • Right-click on the image, and choose your browser's "Save Image As" or "Save Picture as" function
To save a sound file
  • Right-click on the link and choose "Save link as", "Save target as" or a similar option (depending on your internet browser). You will need a media player capable of reading Ogg files.

If you intend you use Wikipedia content for other purposes, you might like to read WP:REUSE which explains the licensing issues involved. --Kateshortforbob 12:18, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

color in content

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how do I highlight a name or reference in blue? I like the use of it, but can't figure out how to do it.slolsen —Preceding unsigned comment added by Slolsen (talkcontribs)

You're probably talking about making it a link, which will make it blue. You do this by placing [[ and ]] around what you want linked. See WP:Wikilinks. hmwithτ 16:33, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
If you're new to Wikipedia editing, try working through WP:TUTORIAL. And keep WP:CHEAT handy. You can add links to your User page so you can easily get back to help pages you found useful. --Teratornis (talk) 17:29, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
<font color=blue> Blue Text </font> gives Blue Text . All the best, Kayau (Talk to me! See what I've done! Sign my guestbook!) 14:29, 6 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Using a Social Network site in External Links.

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I can understand not normally including social network sites in the External Links section due to the potential flood of links that could be added. My question is, would the case be different when the organization of topic is using a social network site as a web presence site and recognizes the site as representing their organization? (Maybe the social site in question is the only web presence they have.) The external link would convey information such as history, schedules, contact information and direct links to media that would be of interest to Wikipedia users that follow organizations such as the one listed below. Also, if in this case the link could be used, is there a way that the link should be tagged so that an editor would not automatically reject the link? (example of page utilizing a social media site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwind_Drum_and_Bugle_Corps) --17:31, 4 July 2009 (UTC)~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chopman001 (talkcontribs)

SN sites can be used in the external link section if the linked page is maintained officially by the group.(see [1])
However, the references used to cite their history and all should be independent — such as news stories. If no reliable sources are used then the article may be listed for deletion on notability grounds. --59.95.108.155 (talk) 17:52, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, I see XLinkBot reverted the link to their Myspace site: [2]. Not sure what to advise here. Dougweller (talk) 18:32, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Edit Process

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If I want to add a name to a list already on here, what must happen for the name to be added? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Monsterrunner (talkcontribs) 18:15, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

First of all, you should make sure the name you're adding is notable and fits encyclopedic guidelines. Then go to the page containing the list and click the "edit" tab. The box you see contains the syntax of the page. Just add the name to the appropriate list, following the format of the rest of the list. Then press the button that says "save page" under the edit box.
Many new users confuse lists and categories. If it's a category then a name can only be added if there is an article with that name. See Help:Category. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:26, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Searching for or linking to "wiki:foo" redirects to a blank page at c2.com

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A few days ago I wanted to search for something in the Wikipedia namespace, but mistyped it as wiki: instead of Wikipedia: in the search bar. I got redirected to a blank page on c2.com which looks like some sort of hijack. Here's an example: wiki:foo

What's going on here? Is this intended? What's the possible purpose of this? --RabidDeity (talk) 20:12, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It seems to be intended. See the Interwiki map. Xenon54 (talk) 20:15, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, definitely intended. WikiWikiWeb at c2.com was the first wiki. There is a discussion at meta:Talk:Interwiki map#wiki:. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:30, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Filth embedded in document

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Please check this following page and kindly get it off line http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_Mud_Horse ~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.49.50.142 (talk) 21:42, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

What's wrong with it? Algebraist 21:45, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
If you are referring to the profanity used in the article, then please note that Wikipedia is not censored. Xenon54 (talk) 22:22, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

My irony alarm just blew a circuit breaker. The article in question refers to an internet phenomenon that sponaneously arose as a satirical protest against Chinese government internet censorship. The satire takes the form of using chinese homonyms for vulgarity as the names of newly-invented "mythical anamials." The artiles has to stand as the best example ever of why Wikipedia is not censored. -Arch dude (talk) 14:31, 5 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Deleting my Wikipedia account

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Is there any way to delete your own Wikipedia account? Spongebob Forever3116 (talk) 23:03, 4 July 2009 (UTC)Spongebob Forever3116[reply]

No. Algebraist 23:04, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
But you have a right to vanish. See WP:RTV. hmwithτ 00:29, 5 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Why doesn't my new page here come up when I type in its subject?

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I'm a brand new editor with a new account and I put in a couple of paragraphs about "narcissexual". The page came up with the heading "User_Originator/Narcissexual". When I do a search for "narcissexual" my page does not come up though. My page doesn't come up at all under any search! What am I not doing? I can be contacted at <email removed>.

User Originator —Preceding unsigned comment added by User Originator (talkcontribs) 23:04, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

For your security, I removed your email address. We do not reply via email, and this page is highly visible across the Internet. (For convenience of other responders a link to your page is User:User Originator/Narcissexual.) —teb728 t c 23:31, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Because your essay is User space, not in Article space, the search feature will not find it unless the searching user explicitly asks for a search of User space. But if your essay were in Article space, it would be speedily deleted, because it is an unencyclopedic personal essay, because it appears to be original research, because it does not assert the notability of the subject, and because it is not verifiable with citations to reliable sources. Sorry.
See Wikipedia:Your first article for general help on creating an article. —teb728 t c 00:00, 5 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]