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Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 August 17

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August 17

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The League For Spiritual Discovery

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The links at the bottom of the page supposedly for the League for Spiritual Discovery instead take you to a spam site with automatically downloads something, either malware, a virus or a trojan horse. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.237.128.169 (talk) 01:48, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It looks like one of the links was a bad link. I have removed that link. GB fan please review my editing 01:52, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Bach's Minuet

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Why does the article on Bach's Minuet in G have a link only to a promotional arranged score that is not the original when the original is available for free? And only positive survey questions? ==

There are much better free versions online that don't contain self-promotional dreck.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.22.34.142 (talkcontribs) 01:54, 17 August 2011

When you leave messages, please remember to "sign" your name, by putting ~~~~ (four tilde signs) at the end. This will add your name, and the date and time. You can also do this by clicking the 'sign' button, pictured to the right.
Thank you for your suggestion. When you believe an article needs improvement, please feel free to make those changes. Wikipedia is a wiki, so anyone can edit almost any article by simply following the edit this page link at the top.
The Wikipedia community encourages you to be bold in updating pages. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes—they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. If you're not sure how editing works, check out how to edit a page, or use the sandbox to try out your editing skills. New contributors are always welcome. You don't even need to log in (although there are many reasons why you might want to).  Chzz  ►  01:56, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Touchscreen Article

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Please include a section explaining about the ElectroMagnetic Fields generated by the various touchscreen technologies, and the effects upon users of the EMF and/or ElectroMagnetic Radiation that the devices in which touchscreens are used produce.

64.24.27.150 (talk) 02:14, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your suggestion. When you believe an article needs improvement, please feel free to make those changes. Wikipedia is a wiki, so anyone can edit almost any article by simply following the edit this page link at the top.
The Wikipedia community encourages you to be bold in updating pages. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes—they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. If you're not sure how editing works, check out how to edit a page, or use the sandbox to try out your editing skills. New contributors are always welcome. You don't even need to log in (although there are many reasons why you might want to).--Jayron32 02:16, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, but to do that, you'll need reliable sources that actually said that the EMF fields (if they actually exist) had any effect on users. What makes you think they do? AndyTheGrump (talk) 02:20, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Browser troubles

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I am having browser problems, especially with Wikipedia. I have Firefox 1.x on Linux 9.0. The problems really began this recent April. When I try to do any editing, the browser crashes. I find that my login has been cancelled. I sometimes have crashes when I am just reading, but thus far not on your Main Page. Scott Tillinghast, Houston TX (talk) 02:42, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Unless I'm misunderstanding you're using a Firefox version from five years ago that been made archaic about 50 times over. Try downloading Firefox 6, just released.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 03:21, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. Scott Tillinghast, Houston TX (talk) 04:12, 18 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Formula One WikiProject template

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I believe {{WikiProject Formula One}} is slightly broken. As I understand it, if you specify the "class" parameter as "redirect", "category", "template", "disambig", "file" or "portal", the template is supposed to automatically include the talk page in Category:NA-importance Formula One articles, without you having to specify a value for the "importance" parameter. Currently, if you specify the "class" parameter as one of the listed values, the template does correctly include the talk page into Category:NA-importance Formula One articles, but it also incorrectly leaves the talk page in Category:Unknown-importance Formula One articles, unless you provide a value for the "importance" parameter. Could someone knowledgeable in the intricacies of {{WPBannerMeta}} please have a look? P.S. The template is currently protected. Thanks. DH85868993 (talk) 03:55, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

PayPal Topic Hacked / Hijacked

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Hello,

I just came across what appears to be a hacked or hijacked Wikipedia topic page. This page was navigated to by simply typing "paypal" into the search field.

[[1]]

This does NOT look like your usual vandal edit, as it appears to have its own scripted box that continuously floats at the top of the page, regardless of where it is scrolled vertically. This is what has lead me to believe that it has been hacked or hijacked.

The floating box contains the following text and links:

JOIN DESTROYERS DYNASTY INCORPORATED TODAY! | http://xat.com/ddizone | http://ddizone.com

Since it covers over the top of the usual edit/version links, I tried to guess the URL required to revert to an older revision, but could not seem to get the right one.

Before I clicked on the "Save Page" button to send this message, I quickly checked to see if the PayPal topic had changed at all, and the floating box had disappeared.

I presume that the problem has been fixed, but still the question remains of how easy it can be to do this kind of thing. Is there a way to prevent this king of thing from happening? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.221.229.165 (talk) 07:39, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • No hijacking going on. He coded the spam in such a way that it remains visible no matter where you scroll. Someone already reverted the changes and banned the editor who was responsible for it. - 194.60.106.38 (talk) 07:44, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Archive

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Can someone check the top of the talkpage of Matroska and see if I have set up an archive correctly - I don't think I have. --Cameron Scott (talk) 09:35, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Here's a more direct link: Talk:Matroska. Dismas|(talk) 10:20, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
You set it up correctly, but I modified it to archive every 2 months. I also created an archive box. Ryan Vesey Review me! 13:06, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Pigment Volume Concentration

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I have been sent a German version of what I need, but can't find an English translation, or way to translate it.......... Following is a copy of headings sent...............rgs, Tony

Pigment-Volumen-Konzentration aus Wikipedia, der freien Enzyklopädie Wechseln zu: Navigation, Suche Die Pigment-Volumen-Konzentration (PVK) oder Packungsdichte ist eine Kennzahl zur Beschreibung von Farben und Lacken.

Inhaltsverzeichnis [Verbergen] •1 Definition •2 Kritische Pigment-Volumen-Konzentration ◦2.1 Definition ◦2.2 Berechnung •3 Einfluss auf die Lackeigenschaften ◦3.1 Glanz ◦3.2 Bewitterungsverhalten ◦3.3 Mechanische Eigenschaften ◦3.4 Deckvermögen •4 Anwendung der PVK ◦4.1 Unterkritische Formulierungen ◦4.2 Überkritische Formulierungen •5 Einzelnachweise — Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.26.54.10 (talk) 11:24, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The German Wikipedia article is de:Pigment-Volumen-Konzentration. We do not appear to have a corresponding article on the English Wikipedia, only the more general article Pigment. You may be able to get the gist of the German article by using a service such as Google Translate. We also have a Language Reference Desk which might be able to help. --Kateshortforbob talk 12:19, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

time format

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what is the time format mentioned in the veiw history option like IST, UTC, PDT etc — Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.178.221.245 (talk) 13:14, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

All the times are in UTC. GB fan please review my editing 13:17, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
If you want to know what the other abbreviations mean, try List of time zone abbreviations. - David Biddulph (talk) 13:19, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
UTC is, oddly enough, Coordinated Universal Time. As to why it is "UTC" instead of "CUT", see the notation section. It's pretty much the same as GMT.  Chzz  ►  16:46, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I believe it was originally (certainly I was taught) "Universal Time, Coordinated" hence the UTC. It's technically not quite the same as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Universal Time (UT). -- PhantomSteve.alt/talk\[alternative account of Phantomsteve] 10:16, 18 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
It was called UTC due to insane over-political-correctness, as explained in our article. It's same as GMT except for treatment of leap seconds, hence my saying "pretty much the same". But, being as time was invented in England,[citation needed][neutrality is disputed] GMT is all that matters.  Chzz  ►  04:31, 19 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

pronunciation

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Hello,

I'd like to offer an idea to improve the Wikipedia experiance. It would be very helpful if you could include a pronunciation of the key word or phrase (similar to a talking dictionary). Hope you will consider this improvement. Otherwise great job, I love your website. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.240.90.36 (talk) 16:22, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Some articles include this already -- mostly articles with foreign-language titles or names that are otherwise unfamiliar to the average English speaker. Remember that you are at an encyclopedia, not a dictionary. Wiktionary, Wikipedia's sister project, includes recordings of many more mundane dictionary words. Xenon54 (talk) 16:25, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
For example, Vidkun Quisling, Antonin Scalia, Marian Rejewski, and Manitoba.  Chzz  ►  16:43, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Remember also that the pronunciation of some words varies quite a lot around the English-speaking world. Not a reason against putting pronunciations in, but it means that you need to be careful about their generality. --ColinFine (talk) 20:39, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Image 'gremlin' in infobox template?

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I've set up a new page with a infobox, using the standard 'organization' template, for Oxford Policy Management yet when I load up the logo it incorporates this text above the image: [[Image: |200px|alt=]] . This appears to be embedded in the CSS for the infobox template, which is protected so I can't alter it. Any ideas of how to remove this unwanted bit of text above the image? — Preceding unsigned comment added by KeithConlon (talkcontribs) 17:29, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I have fixed that for you, you do not need the "file" tags in the info box, see Template:Infobox organization. The article still has notability issues, however. Please read Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies), which should help you address that. Яehevkor 18:07, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]


Thanks a lot. Will sort the notability issues. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.49.63.138 (talk) 08:44, 20 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Creating an article based on a foreign language stub

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We don't have an article about the Austrian pioneer of the Kayak roll, Edi Hans Pawlata; he was the first non-Inuit to master the skill. He has a type of rolling technique named after him; it's the first roll that a beginner learns, so most kayakers will have heard of him. He's mentioned in a couple of English WP articles and probably should be included in a few more. There is a stub article about him on the German WP [2]. Could I use a translation of that to create an English stub about him or should I wait until I can find a decent bio in English? I'm struggling to find anything worthwhile on the net. Alternatively, could I link his name from an English article to the German one? Alansplodge (talk) 18:16, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I can't find enough information in English reliable sources to show notability. The problem with using the info from the German one is, we don't really know if all the information in their article is covered in the book under "Literatur".
My suggestion is, to create a redirect from Edi Hans Pawlata pointing at Kayak_roll#Pawlata_Roll, and then adding a mention of the inventor on that article - just saying that he invented it - until/unless you can find other information. This book might help.  Chzz  ►  18:25, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
You shouldn't link to the German article since this is the English WP and people expect to be taken to an article in English when they browse. You could use a translation of that to create the stub (a stub is better than nothing) and add English sources as you find them. Foreign language sources aren't prohibited. Dismas|(talk) 18:28, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the advice - I may go with Chzz's suggestion of a redirect. I have a dim recollection of reading a brief biography of him, but it was probably in a canoeing mag long since recycled. Alansplodge (talk) 12:45, 18 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Resolved
There may be sufficient sources to sustain an article. See this search.

(If I could I would ban use of the resolved template and then take it out back and set it on fire).--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:49, 20 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Cancer treatment help

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(Redacted) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.191.92.60 (talk) 19:11, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

We cannot offer medical advice. Please see the medical disclaimer, and contact an appropriate medical professional. Avicennasis @ 19:16, 17 Av 5771 / 19:16, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

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i have just edited the section on Ancient Egyptian Mythology in Popular culture. i am not sure how to leave a reference or if i should, i wrote about the author Rick Riordan and his Books, 'The Red Pyramid' and 'The Throne of Fire' and how that is also connected to Egyptian Mythology. How can i leave a reference or a note? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.131.249.116 (talk) 19:18, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Try reading Wikipedia:Referencing for beginners. That should give you a good tutorial. --Jayron32 20:10, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Ryan Moats false information

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Hi, My name is Tamishia Moats. My husband is an NFL player who is currently a free agent. Some how Wikipedia says he has announced his retirement. This information is not accurate and it's causing him not to get contacts from certain people. It's really hurting our family and his endorsements. If you would please remove this comment. He is not retired. Thank you for your help. Tamishia Moats — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.129.132.226 (talk) 19:23, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

First, simply remove it (actually it has already been removed). It was unsourced vandalism - the result of a page that anyone (including you) can visit. Second, NFL teams actually go to Wikipedia to see who is retired and who isn't? -- kainaw 19:26, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
(ec) Hello Tamishia. I have removed the text, as it was not attributed to any sources. As Kainaw said, it is nearly always acceptable for anyone to remove unsourced text from an article on a living person. Thank you. Яehevkor 19:32, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Jean Kirkpatrick, Ph.D

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Why is there no mention of Ms Kirkpatrick's involvement in Women for Sobriety (WFS) an organization she created? 98.244.87.15 (talk) 20:03, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Well, if you have reliable sources which can verify that fact, than you can add that fact yourself. The reason there is no mention of it is because no one wrote it yet. Wikipedia only exists because people, no different from yourself, have written things here. You can do so too! --Jayron32 20:09, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Jean Kirkpatrick redirects to Jeane Kirkpatrick which is another woman so do not add it to that article. We have an article about Women For Sobriety with many details about the founder Jean Kirkpatrick. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:15, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Adding sources to Wikipedia biographies of living people

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I added three sources to Frank Sanello's biographical article on Wikipedia.

The formatting has a minor problem. Two sets of references appear on the page. One with links but not the title of the references/books. The other reference section has book titles/authors, but no links.

Can someone with superior computer skills to mine PLEASE fix the formatting?

Thank you.

Frankanthonysanello (talk) 21:45, 17 August 2011 (UTC)Francis Xavier[reply]

I have formatted one of the references for you. The first two seem unreliable and I am unsure how the last one is related to the subject of the article. May I point you to WP:Referencing for beginners. I would also like you to read information for people who may have a conflict of interest. The problem that appeared on the page was that there were two sets of reflists. I modified it so there is just one. You can always try using the tab at the top of your editing window which says "Cite". Ryan Vesey Review me! 22:43, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

How to give a different colour to templates' lower lines.

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Resolved

Hi.
I want to solve a problem in a it.wikipedia template, please don't consider me as an idiot if I'm asking this to you, because I consider you as more experienced and skilled for solving it.

I'm asking you about this question because all navigation football templates in it.wikipedia like this one here is different than yours where no background colours at all are defined in the first two lines like in this one (even last line colour isn't defined, but could you ?)

I've been given an answer from the italian help desk ( insert: " | belowstyle = " in the line containing detailed links )

but I'm unable to understand how to solve the problem, just because every attempt failed in order to give same upper colour to lower line.

Could you help me, please ?. Thanks in advance.--Nipas (talk) 21:59, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your help, but I found the right page (Template:Navbox generic) containing instructions how to fix the problem.--Nipas (talk) 22:54, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I need some help with IPA

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Hi, I'm currently improving Malin Åkerman's article, and I feel that it should be noted how her name is pronounced. I'm no good with the International Phonetic Alphabet so I could use some help. This is what I've got so far: (Swedish pronunciation: [mɑːlɪn oːkərman]) Is it correct? How her first name is pronounced can be heard here, just click on the clip by "skogstrast". Pancake (talk) 22:52, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It's correct, because ° over A changes sound from a to o.--Nipas (talk) 22:56, 17 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]