Help desk
< March 4	<< Feb \| March \| Apr >>	March 6 >

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.

March 5

Can't change my skin

I can't push the save button on my references —Preceding unsigned comment added by The1edit (talk • contribs)

Considering the headline, I assume you mean preferences. Try this link to enter your preferences in MonoBook. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:23, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thank You —Preceding unsigned comment added by The1edit (talk • contribs)

You're welcome. Your big thank you post was oddly formatted so I took the liberty of reformatting it. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:57, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Userbox question

Where might I find a userbox for people who think barnstars are dumb? Jtrainor (talk) 02:08, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You can create one using {{userbox}} and Image:Barn star free zone.png. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 02:24, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Read WP:UBX to learn how to create one yourself. Visit me at Ftbhrygvn (Talk|Contribs|Log|Userboxes) 05:07, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Page division

First, thanks again,Teratornis, for the advice you gave me a while back on advanced editing sources. It's proving very helpful in writing my first article.

I can't find an answer to this, though: I want to put two columns of text on my User Page in the "Useful Links" section. The one on the left will be the Wikipedia Links that I've already listed - the other column on the right would be External Links. (I checked Help desk archives and searched all the Editor's commands with Control-F, but no joy.) Retarius | Talk 04:08, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I gave an example of how to do this on your userpage. There are other ways. If this isn't what you want just revert. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 04:44, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It's good that you tried searching before asking. With enough practice, you can find the answer to almost any question about Wikipedia that has an answer, because people have written, somewhere, about almost every important editing issue. (When they haven't, then you could be the first to write about some topic. A cool aspect of Wikipedia is that everything we do to help ourselves here can also be useful to other people, so Wikipedia is like a giant system of Pay it Forward. We benefit from all the work by people who came before, and we add our little bits to the knowledge pile to help the next wave of people.) Search the Help desk for: column finds several previous questions and answers relating to your question. That search also finds a number of results that aren't relevant, but some relevant results do appear on the first page, and they are recognizable from the sample text that Google displays. If you don't find results from your first attempt to search the Help desk, try again with different terms, fewer terms, or more general terms. Some things can be pretty hard to find, however, for example when you don't guess the particular synonym people have used to describe a particular topic. But the more you read the friendly manuals, the more you learn Wikipedia's jargon, and the better you get at searching. You'll know you're making progress when you can answer questions on the Help desk even though you don't know the answers when you first read the questions. --Teratornis (talk) 20:49, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

identity theft

someone is posting messages under my username, how is this possible, is it possible to have the IP address for a specific posting?Granite07 (talk) 06:02, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hmmmm, it is possible if you keep yourself logged in to Wikipedia on multiple computers - if this is the likely source, then I suggest checking on each computer you've ever used. Also, it is possible that you have a compromised account. Wisdom89 _{(_T / ^C)} 06:04, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You may want to post this question at WP:ANI for further insight. Wisdom89 _{(_T / ^C)} 06:07, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

An outside possibility is that someone could be spoofing your signature. Do the posts in question appear in Special:Contributions/Granite07? —teb728 t c 06:46, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Someone is linking to a commercial site from an article with suspect credentials

Hi

This article already has too admin notices about not conforming to Wikipedia standards, now someone has added (I presume it would have been taken down if it had been there all along) a link to a commercial site.--Rui ''Gabriel'' Correia (talk) 08:09, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It would help us if you specified which article you are referring to. Raven4x4x (talk) 08:23, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Raven: I could have swornn I had inserted the link .... could be age ... the clouds .... who knows ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pueraria_mirifica --Rui ''Gabriel'' Correia (talk) 08:59, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please do not post ubseen pics

My son keeps going to the penis page on Wikipedia, as inappropriate it may be. I have even set parental control and blocked this website, but he still goes to it. What can I do? I have used up all the latest software.

I am being serius here. whoever the fuck decided to put fucking pics of a penis and a vagina are sick.

Have a chat to your son. Be a decent parent and teach him about sexual organs, so he doesn't have to learn from a website. --Pump me up 09:34, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

He has a tendency to be homosexual. But I am still proud of him. Anyway, this is off-topic. bye!

WP:CENSORED. Wisdom89 _{(_T / ^C)} 09:40, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Also, surf the Internet with him. That can solve 90 percent of your problems. User:Zscout370 ^{(Return Fire)} 09:56, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Exactly. The internet is no more a babysitter than a public street is. There's lots of stuff to do on both, but both have their pluses and pitfalls. --slakr^\ talk / 10:00, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If he can type "penis" find the page etc, than I am sure he is old enough - and it is a drawing, not a photo - he could be going to much worse sites! At least here, he can learn a lot!--Rui ''Gabriel'' Correia (talk) 11:29, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I am of the opinion that we may be providing nutriment to under-bridge-dwellers here.Gladys J Cortez 01:35, 6 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

about fix maintenance in ibm aix

about fix maintenance in ibm aix —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.13.168.1 (talk) 12:36, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Care to expand a bit? Personally, I have no idea what you're talking about. Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 15:30, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Unethical Use of Volunteers (adm) for FAN CLUB BIOGRAPHY

TO WIKIPEDIA FOUNDATION: RE: Unethical USE OF "VOLUNTEER" STATUS (adm) for WikiPedia to GUARD "FAN CLUB" VERSION of "Actors" for PROFIT***

IT has recently come to our attention that several fan clubs are making money off the WikiPedia Biography and "Presidents" of those "Fan Clubs" are requesting "volunteer" (adm) status to "guard" the page for monetary gain. Most Notable is the WikiPedia Page created for actor "esai morales" by a volunteer using the id "Black Kite" or several other "names". This "volunteer" (adm) used his "volunteer" status to "block" any negative facts and writes absolute "psychotic" jibberish.

Please refer this matter to WikiPedia Board to prevent the unethical use of "volunteers" (adm) for "Fan Clubs" and Profit. Specifically the "esai morales" page and the comments by the "volunteer" (adm) "Black Kite" or his other ID's and Terminate his "volunteer" (adm) status with WikiPedia fo prevent future unethical and bizarre use of "volunteer" (adm) status for "fan club" Page.

Thank You —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nofanclubwikis (talk • contribs) 12:46, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This is not the wikipedia Foundation. Their website can be found here --Fredrick day (talk) 12:50, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If you have issues with the actions of User:Black Kite I suggest you discuss it with him on his talk page. You'll find that Black Kite is a very approachable editor. Pedro : Chat 12:52, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Black Kite's name doesn't even appear in the history of the Esai Morales article. --Onorem ♠Dil 13:33, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Errrmmmm ... I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. As Onorem says, I haven't ever edited that page. If you'd like to explain on my talk page (you can get there by clicking here), I would be happy to attempt to help you out. Black Kite 14:31, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I believe this is the latest sockpuppet of User:Ciotech, who was blocked back in August 2007. Take a look at the relevant postings, and compare to those of User:Nofanclubwikis. It's the same obsession with this Morales guy. --Orange Mike | Talk 14:43, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

could somebody please help me?

my topic has be listed for deletion on the grounds of notibility etc. i have referenced numerous websites and since the last time i was on the computer i see a third party has also added more references, i am a professional motorcycle racer in ireland i have a raced at a national/countrywide level and am scheduled to race overseas, so could someone please tell me how to stop my topic being deleted. thank you in advance Smck125 (talk) 13:58, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You should argue your case at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Stephen McKeever rather than here. If you are the subject of the article (which I suspect from your username and comments here) you should review our guidelines on conflicts of interest Pedro : Chat 14:05, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Adding a Business Listing

I was wondering what your policies and procedures were regarding adding a business listing to your encylopedia that has when the organization was founded, it's mission statement and pictures of the owners, etc... I've seen it for other businesses and wanted to add one myself. I also don't understand how to select a category for such a listing. Is there a generic business category or is it based on what the business does, etc. Thanks for you help and if I missed a posting that already documents such procedures please forward me the link. Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mcuttino (talk • contribs) 14:22, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia is not a directory. We do not have "listings." Our editors are encouraged to create articles about notable companies, organizations, etc. There are many other wikis out there which will accept "listings" for even the smallest of companies; but we restrict coverage to those which are considered notable. For further information, read WP:COMPANY. (And please note: we have firm restrictions on conflict of interest and attempts to advertise oneself on Wikipedia.) --Orange Mike | Talk 14:32, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You may like to check out WikiCompany which is a site for business listings. (In fact, I believe the aim is to have a listing for every single company!) --Kateshort forbob 21:15, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

OK. Thanks for the information. I definitely don't want to violate your policies and procedures which is why I asked first and also I didn't want to advertise I was just going to post some background information but I'm know where near notable so I'll follow your advice and go elsewhere. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.7.12.10 (talk) 01:01, 6 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

RURAL ENGINEERING

WHAT IS THE DEFINATION OF RURAL ENGINEERING? WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF RURAL ENGINEERING IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rlrathod (talk • contribs) 18:28, 5 March 2008 (UTC) why no one has given ans pl. give ans & help me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rlrathod (talk • contribs) 19:38, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Two problems. First, typing in all caps is very rude. Second, this is for question about Wikipedia. Perhaps you meant to as this question at WP:RD instead. -- kainaw ™ 20:00, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Oddly, we don't seem to have an article on Rural engineering. But Google finds some links for you: "rural engineering". Also see: {{dyoh}}. Personally, I DON'T MIND ALL CAPS, BUT IT DOES BOTHER A LOT OF PEOPLE, so don't do it. --Teratornis (talk) 22:32, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

WP:HD: old revision shown when logged out

This question is about this WP:HD. When I'm logged out, I only see an old revision of this page, with the latest question being IFTHENELSE. When I log in, all the updates appear. Browser's cache shouldn't be the problem - this happens on Opera Mini (which doesn't use disk cache) and my sister's Firefox (she doesn't even know about Wikipedia namespace). The history tab shows all the changes. Any ideas? --grawity ^{talk / PGP} 18:45, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Edit: it now appears fine. Server-side cache problems? --grawity ^{talk / PGP} 19:01, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Since the majority of Wikipedia's visitors are anonymous users, pages are cached heavier for them. If you need to see the most recent version of a page when logged out, add ?action=purge to the URL. Mr.Z-man 19:11, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Log in

I was permanently logged in on my home computer, but now I am not. Further, my login id seems to have been deleted. What happened? Can it be fixed? Or should I just create a new one? If I create a new one, is this going to happen again? And where o where is "my preferences" page?

Halp!

(e-mail address removed) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.117.209.73 (talk) 18:51, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Preferences are only available to registered and logged in users. (I'm not sure, though - you can still try Special:Preferences.)

Also, what is (was) your username? --grawity ^{talk / PGP} 18:58, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Or, if you can't remember your username, what page(s) do you edit a lot and what did you say so we can look at the pages and see what username did the editing. -- kainaw ™ 19:57, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Use of Wikimedia photo images

Our professional education organization is a 501c3 organization and publishes a series of 12 books for students studying music history. We would like to use some Wikimedia composer images in these books. The books are sold at a price slightly above the production cost, but are not intended to turn a big profit...just pay the bills.

I understand these images are copyright free and available for us to use. Is this correct? Robertag (talk) 19:40, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Everything on Wikipedia should be free for commercial use. However, people upload copyrighted work all the time. So, just being on Wikipedia doesn't ensure it isn't copyrighted. It only means that it should not have copyright restrictions. -- kainaw ™ 19:56, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Basically that means that you should check the source & license info of each image, which should be on its description page.. Yzmo ^talk 20:19, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Very little is actually copyright free (public domain). All the text is released under the GFDL and most images are released under the GFDL and/or Creative Commons licenses. For both the GFDL and CC licenses, some form of attribution is required. Some images however are still fully under copyright protection but used under the doctrine of fair use and you should verify that this will still apply for your books (if they're educational, it should) but these tend to have further restrictions. Mr.Z-man 04:59, 6 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Crediting piracy groups with releases

Has a precedent ever been set here? I'm against it, since ego is a motivating factor and to provide named credit is clearly to stroke that credit's owners'. This is the edit that raised the issue; it was a major event, but I don't think the impact of a release should come into it. --Tom Edwards (talk) 19:57, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure, but a precedent might have been set with the whole "AACS encryption key controversy" fiasco. In other words, if there's a reliable source out there that confirms what the group did, then there should be some mention of the group in the article.--TBC !?! 22:04, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Was there ever a discussion about it? It isn't a very strong precedent if nobody ever thought to question it! :-p --Tom Edwards (talk) 22:16, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There was a discussion over the "09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63-56-88-c0" numbers, and whether or not adding it would simply be publicizing the numbers further. It's a Streisand effect sort of thing.--TBC !?! 04:48, 6 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That hardly seems relevant. Nobody is going to be damaged or rewarded by the statement of an obsolete encryption key! --Tom Edwards (talk) 08:58, 6 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It wasn't obsolete when it was first hacked... (HD DVD died just a week ago, if I'm not mistaken) ;) --TBC ♣§♠ !?! 17:28, 7 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Obviously, the purpose of Wikipedia isn't to damage or reward anyone. My opinion on the matter is that media crackers should get a mention on Wikipedia iff there are sources available to establish their notability. This would mean that an instance of some media being cracked could still get a mention even if the people responsible aren't mentioned at all. --Dachannien^Talk_Contrib 22:35, 6 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed.--TBC ♣§♠ !?! 17:28, 7 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

medicine Raynaud's disease

information on Raynauds disease —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.93.65.13 (talk) 20:26, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

See Raynaud's disease. If you have a specific question: Have you tried the Science section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:09, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Up to date picture

i would like to place an up to date picture of mark anthony porn star on the wikipedia web page with his details on but wen i upload the pic it doesnt go on the page that asks if you have a recent pic click here?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Avesta69 (talk • contribs) 20:27, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm pretty sure what you're talking about is the placeholder used in infobox templates, so is only there if someone puts it there. To put an image in an article, you use [[Image:Example.jpg]] with various options as described by Wikipedia:Picture tutorial, or you look for the infobox and read up on how a picture goes into that. However, speaking of the image you uploaded, Image:Mark anthony 2008.jpg, you have not specified a source for the image or a license, which means that I've had to tag it and it will be deleted in 7 days unless you can give the appropriate information (and given that this is a picture of a living person, it will need to be releasable under a free content license). If you need help with that, leave me a message on my talk page. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 22:37, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Growing Up Sitka Deer

Hello!

Thank you for the wonderful program about Sitka Deer!

Our daughter is interested in animals of all kinds and working in that field (she owns her own pet-sitting business) and is a single adult with a master's degree.

Could you please tell me where this program was filmed--Fish and Wildlife center, private grounds, etc.? We would love to visit and see the beautiful sites in Alaska.

We appreciate your programming.

Regards,

Jan Hart —Preceding unsigned comment added by 143.43.214.96 (talk) 20:36, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hello. I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over two million articles, and thought that we were directly affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the online free 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 that is not fruitful, we have a reference desk, divided into various subjects areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:06, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

logged out

Hi I have been loged out from my account Excitinginterception7 and am using my ip address to write. I have forgotten my password and can't log on. I thought I gave my email address on my account but when I hit email a new password it said i didn't have the email feature on. could some big boss go in and see if i put in my email address in the user prefances for me. It would be helpfull.24.250.26.95 (talk) 22:24, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think this requires a big boss. I went to your user page and clicked "Email this user". Unfortunately, however, I received the message "This user has not specified a valid e-mail address, or has chosen not to receive e-mail from other users." so it looks like you may not have provided your email. I'm not sure what the best thing to do would be. I believe it is very rare for users to be able to "retrieve" their accounts without a password. Perhaps you could set up a new account and link to your old account from your new one (obviously taking the information at WP:SOCK into account). Maybe someone here with more expereince could advise you? --Kateshort forbob 20:23, 6 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

My Account

Hello,,

I do recall creating an account, but, Now I want to actually go into Wikipedia and do work, Here's the thing, I want Photopaul as my username,, i can't remember the password, and when I hit send me password, no email is associated with that name. So could you please assist me in so that I can use Photopaul and move foward

Thank YOU

22:45, 5 March 2008 (UTC)69.204.225.163 (talk)

User:Photopaul isn't a registered user, so just go to the sign-up page and you're set! (To check, either go to the userpage above, and see if a "User contributions" link appears in the sidebar, or go to Special:Listusers and type in the desired username to see if it shows up.) Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 23:12, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

User:PhotoPaul exists. Prodego ^talk 23:27, 5 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That would explain it. Dang MediaWiki weird case sensitivity issues. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 04:49, 6 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]