Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2012 February 28

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.

February 28

Removing orphaned images

Please help removing orphaned images:File:The Vigilantes In Masks (intertitle).jpg,File:Underworld (film logo).jpg, aND File:Scream (franchise logo).jpg.--NeoBatfreak (talk) 01:50, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

To mark an orphaned fair-use image, add {{subst:Orfur}}, or, to save having to remember these strange codes, enable the "Twinkle" tool and use its "DI" option. However, none of these three images are currently orphaned. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:30, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

However the old, superseded, versions of those files are orphans and should be deleted. – ukexpat (talk) 14:01, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

On further examination, why aren't File:Underworld (film logo).jpg and File:Scream (franchise logo).jpg tagged as {{PD-text}}? – ukexpat (talk) 15:35, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

I just want to extra images to be remove.--NeoBatfreak (talk) 18:47, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Sorting troubles

I'm having trouble sorting in the "release date" column of this article. Specifically, I cannot get the three letters "TBA" at the top of an ascending sort and vice versa. I've tried doing this on other tables, and it sorts properly. I am using {{sort}}, but I also tried it with {{hs}} and I do not get the desired result. Am I missing something obvious? – Zntrip 06:17, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

It's working fine for me. Dru of Id (talk) 06:22, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Not working for me. I also tried <span style="display:none">2020-01-01</span>TBA but it still sorts "TBA" next to the earliest date in the column. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:40, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Any idea what the problem might be? – Zntrip 07:41, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Making the 'Show' button on a collapsed table look right

I decided to collapse a lengthy table, but the 'Hide' button shows up in a rather ungainly place – could someone please show me how to fix it? Here's the table in question: 1994–95 Vancouver Canucks season#Regular season; the game log table. Thanks a ton. Been looking for comparable tables to help me out but they haven't had any luck. Vranak (talk) 06:25, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Apparently that's where the [hide] link always goes; see Help:Collapsing. Widening the "No." column to 6% makes it look a little better. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:46, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Thanks. 8% got it considerably better. :) Vranak (talk) 08:55, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

improve this article template removal

Hi, this tag has been attached to the Battle of Romani for some time. I was told by Okeyes (WMF) that it was only a test and it would end early in February but its still on this GA. Is there any way to get this tag taken off? p.s. I have asked Okeyes on several occasions questions regarding this tag and its removal, without success. --Rskp (talk) 06:34, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

The tag should not be interpreted as saying "This article is sub-standard". Eventually, when the tests are over, something like this may end up on every article. But here is a fairly recent post by Okeyes (WMF) (talk · contribs) on the timing of the end of the current test. -- John of Reading (talk) 08:02, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Rskp, please stop forum shopping. I am replying to your post on my talkpage now; when you left it, I was asleep. Okeyes (WMF) (talk) 11:11, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

How dare you sleep.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:43, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Okeyes has been leading me a merry dance for months. He has answered none of my queries; he only prevaricates and adds side issues. After soo long without any answers, it is not forum shopping to try a help site. And it has worked. Thank you John of Reading for the informative link above. --Rskp (talk) 00:26, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Good grief, its gone. How fantastic. --Rskp (talk) 06:08, 1 March 2012 (UTC)

Inserting improved photo

I recently inserted an improved photo that has been deleted by a user, apparently, there was issue with the liscense of photo. The photo however, is public domain having been made before 1923. I am trying to reload the photo. Wikipedia does not allow the photo to register stating that the photo was deleted. This seems to be a never ending cycle. How can I insert a photo that has been deleted? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cmguy777 (talk • contribs) 06:38, 28 February 2012

What is the article? William W. Belknap? With some details, people could determine who deleted the image, and they could be asked why it was deleted, given what you say above. Johnuniq (talk) 07:43, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Maybe the easiest way would be to ask the deleting to restore it, explaining that it is {{PD-US}}. If you had told us which photo, we could have told who the admin is. —teb728 t c 08:17, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

The file deleted earlier today through lack of licensing information was File:W. W. Belknap Brady-Handy.jpg. - David Biddulph (talk) 10:29, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Undeleted. The source was given, contrary to the assertion of the tagger and the decision to delete - the url in question was simply put in a non-functioning template parameter ("location=" instead of "source="). Anyone looking at the wikitext should have seen this, but mistakes can happen. I have undeleted it and fixed the template. Bencherlite^Talk 12:03, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

... and I've restored the image to the article page. - David Biddulph (talk) 12:07, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Yes. The file was the William W. Belknap photo. I must have put location instead of source. I appreciate Bencherlite for restoring the photo. I need to make sure I have all the parameters set properly before uploading the photo. Thanks to everyone who help in this endeavor. Cmguy777 (talk) 15:40, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

How to handle situations when a fellow editor appears to be mentally/cognitively deficient in some or other way

Is there any guidance available for handling a situation when it become apparent that a fellow editor has some or other mental issue? I am aware that this is a very sensitive issue with possible ethical/moral/legal considerations, so what is the correct way to handle a fellow editor's contributions if it appears that he/she may have an "abnormal" obsession, be delusional, incapable of understanding other editor's views, etc. I'm not referring to any particular instance, this is just a question about the general principle. Roger (talk) 07:02, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

I don't know if this is correct or directly applicable, but this was what I found and skimmed, and I thought I'd post it before I got off for the night: WP:Wikipedia is not therapy. -Purplewowies (talk) 07:30, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Thanks! and goodnight. Roger (talk) 07:39, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Competency is required is a somewhat more general take on the subject. —teb728 t c 08:33, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

So it seems that telling the obsessive but wrong Aspie, or the Schizo conspiracy nut, to please go away is ok - as long as one does it in a WP:Civil way. Roger (talk) 09:26, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Well, maybe you or I couldn't, but a consensus of the community could. —teb728 t c 21:11, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

If I (an Aspie) am ever both obsessive and wrong in my editing, please feel free to call me out on it on my talkpage. :P But also what teb728 said. And if someone hasn't disclosed a mental health issue/condition/disability, don't say that they have one (if that isn't an obvious thing you shouldn't do). - Purplewowies (talk) 21:38, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Indeed it's completely unacceptable for anyone to "diagnose" a fellow editor. That brings us back to the basic rules of AGF & Civil. So even if one suspects the editor has a problem, treating them differently from any other editor would amount to discrimination.

@Purplewowies, on a personal note, my experiences of interacting with people with Aspergers has been universally positive except for one occasion when I got involved in a very convoluted argument. I found myself unable to communicate the subtle nuance of my position to my "opponent". His rigidly literal POV (AIUI) was impossible to shift. (It was not on WP.)

Thanks for helping me get to grips with this issue. Roger (talk) 07:59, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

"current" AFD out of whack

At WP:AFD, I found that "Today's AfD log" is linked to Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Log/2012_January_29. I tried the Reload button, but no change. How do I get to today/yesterday's AFDs? Do I have to WP:bypass or purge? I think it's something else, as someone would have complained already if the Jan 29 AFD had been there for x-thousand updates during the last 30 days? 217.251.167.66 (talk) 08:05, 28 February 2012 (UTC) Did Jimbo forget to wind Wikipedia's clock? ;)

I have purged the WP:AFD shortcut. Does that fix it for you? What do you see if you go to Wikipedia:Articles for deletion directly, without using the shortcut? -- John of Reading (talk) 08:15, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

thanks. Both look good now. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.251.159.107 (talk) 09:41, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Pages that redirect to another page will sometimes redirect to an old version of the page for users who are not logged in. This is a known issue and has been reported. Purging the page should fix it. The time of the displayed version can be seen at the bottom of the page after "This page was last modified on". PrimeHunter (talk) 13:09, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Planespottingworld.

Reference planespottingworld A380 production. This wiki was taken over by PSW but has since 08/02/2012 been locked?. Is there any other means of contacting the owner as no response is forth comming. It seems the page has grown to big and needs to be devided in pages as editing an entry does not want to save. Is there any boffin that can help with this or could you advise me how to do it. Regards Joe Fourie — Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.145.186.92 (talk) 09:26, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Are you referring to the Wikipedia page List of Airbus A380 orders and deliveries? That page is not locked and has been edited several times since 8 February. If your problem is with a page at planespottingworld, no one here will be able to help. I suggest you try that site's help forum, which I think is this page. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:52, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Watchlist quiery

What is indicated by the scores displayed on my watchlist (and on recent edits)? And who/what decides it? --MattMPh (talk) 11:41, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Scores? I'm guessing that you mean the green or red numbers. That is the number of characters that were added or taken from the article with that edit. So if someone changes the word "ask" to "as", you'd have a red 1. Dismas|^(talk) 11:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Ahh. That makes much more sense. Thanks --MattMPh (talk) 11:48, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

You're welcome. Dismas|^(talk) 11:51, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Archiving DYK nom page

How to archive a DYK nom page? --SupernovaExplosion ^Talk 12:02, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Nevermind, I just noticed the DYKsubpage parameter before the article heading. --SupernovaExplosion ^Talk 12:48, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Role of agriculture in economic development

what is the role agriculture in economic development — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.84.1.19 (talk) 14:34, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

(Refactored) Dru of Id (talk) 14:39, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Please do your own homework.
Welcome to the Wikipedia Help desk. Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misevaluation, but it is our policy here not to do people's homework for them, but merely to aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn how to solve such problems.
Please attempt to solve the problem yourself first. You can search Wikipedia or search the Web.
If you need help with a specific part of your homework, the Reference desk can help you grasp the concept. Do not ask knowledge questions here, just those about using Wikipedia. - David Biddulph (talk) 14:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

closeing account

I received a warning that I had to send a kinds of information to you or my account would be closed. Is this true or a scam? James Matthews — Preceding unsigned comment added by 166.250.1.236 (talk) 15:18, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Out of curiosity, where did you receive this request (on-Wiki, via e-mail)? Also, for what kinds of information was it asking (generally, of course)? --McDoobAU93 15:35, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Wikipedia accounts cannot be closed but in some situations they can be renamed if they don't make edits and another user wants the username. You were not logged in when you posted so I cannot see whether this is the case for your account. Your description doesn't sound like it. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. Some people confuse us with one of the thousands of organizations and websites we have articles about. If it's about something other than Wikipedia then I cannot say whether it's a scam. However, I personally get many scam emails of this kind, claiming my account somewhere (often a place I have no account) will be closed if I don't reveal personal information or a password. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:39, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

There is also the possibility that you received notice that your account might be blocked which is not the same as closed. We really need more information like a username and quotes from the message you received. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

• Without more information it's impossible to say, but you might be the victim of phishing, someone trying to obtain your login details by faking official Wikipedia messages. -194.60.106.17 (talk) 10:29, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Technical request

{{subst:requested move (Client First Settlement Funding}} Client First Settlement Funding is the legal name of the business located in Boca Raton, FL. Client First is merely a nickname. Please rename the title of the article to Client First Settlement Funding. Lynnssheft (talk) 15:47, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

I have moved it to Client First Settlement Funding. – ukexpat (talk) 15:52, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Note that Client First will still redirect to the new title, which is fine as long as it's an in-use nickname. Don't be surprised if one link takes you to the other. UltraExactZZ ^Said ~ Did 16:20, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Tool

Is there a tool somewhere which will show a date range of the redlined revisions of a page on a single page without having to page through them one revision at a time? Regards, TransporterMan (TALK) | DR goes to Wikimania! 15:53, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Looks like HAPPI might do something of the type, but I'm not sure. Liam987 16:25, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

My user name does not exist

It says my user name does not exist but ive used my account many times before, please help ! User talk: Steph Kobe — Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.205.243.242 (talk) 23:04, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

User:Steph Kobe does not exist. User:Steph kobe with lower case k exists. Usernames are case sensitive except for the first letter. If you would like to be renamed to User:Steph Kobe then see Wikipedia:Changing username. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:48, 1 March 2012 (UTC)

Referencing problem

I was recently improving the bare references the McGraw-Hill article, and one of the references already there was this. The link is to a blog, and the author of the post on the blog quotes someone who was quoting a newspaper. Take a look at it. Anyone know how to reference this properly? Thanks, Liam987 16:19, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Ideally, you'd reference the newspaper directly. Even if it's not available online, you'd still be able to cite it by author, publication date, and page, if you have that information. If not, "Some newspaper a few years back" isn't sufficient as a citation. In this case, my google-fu may be weak today; I can't confirm that the Florida Times-Union ever published an article entitled "Bush ties prove to be lucrative", in 2006 or ever. UltraExactZZ ^Said ~ Did 16:24, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

See also WP:RSN. --lTopGunl (talk) 16:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

You can make a request for the original article to be made available to you at Wikipedia:WikiProject Resource Exchange/Resource Request. There's no guarantee, but they've often provided to me quite hard to find sources. For what it's worth, I just checked newspaperarchive.com but they don't carry the Florida Times-Union. A Google search does indicate the article was published, as it's mentioned by title, author and date at a few locations, including the credited author's bibliography.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 16:53, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Table needs fixing

Hi. Please see Rick Hansen#Early life and show how you fixed the table. Thanks. ~AH1 ^(discuss!) 16:41, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

 Fixed in this edit and in the next edit, I moved the medal table to follow the ibox. – ukexpat (talk) 16:45, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

economics

Evaluate the role of the public sector in the economy with special references to its socio-economic responsibility in the south african context under the education aspect — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.186.31.244 (talk) 17:07, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

You may have more luck asking your question at the humanities reference desk. Please note that they will not do your homework, though. TNXMan 17:10, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Deleted Images

Thanks for your various attempts to help, but I am thoroughly confused. I uploaded two images a couple of weeks ago and put them in the article Lake Worth Historical Museum. I do not understand copyright law or copyright jargon. So I probably did not properly document the right to use these photos. Here is what happened. Perhaps you can tell me how to proceed.

I visited the Lake Worth Historical Museum with a friend who is a professional photographer with the understanding that the photos of the Museum would be free and available to the public without restriction. He sent me the photos with his company name which I, in turn uploaded to Wikipedia and placed in the article. I was then told to remove the watermarks, which I did with the verbal permission of the photographer and reuploaded the images. I was sent a release form to fill out and send back to you as proof of right to use them in the Wiki article. The form had lots of codes and parameters and I could not figure out exactly what you wanted to have done. I have tried to fill it out showing that these images have been released to the public domain, but somehow that was not properly communicated and the images have been removed. Neither I nor my photographer friend understand the legalisms in the proposed release, how to fill it out, how to get the images reinstated, etc. HELP!!!!

Is it possible to talk to someone on the phone who could explain things in plain English? Every explanatory page seems to be another maze of codes.

Tedbro (talk) 18:42, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

There is a backlog at OTRS where permissions are processed. When did you send the consent? – ukexpat (talk) 18:54, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Viewing talkpage datestamps in local time

Is there a script for viewing all of the talk page datestamps appended to signatures in local time (+5 GMT for me) instead of the current UTC one? --lTopGunl (talk) 18:45, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

First, change your timezone at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-datetime. Then go to your gadgets, and enable Wikipedia:Comments in Local Time, labeled "Change UTC-based times and dates, such as those used in signatures, to be relative to local time.". Goodvac (talk) 18:48, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Oh, I missed that in the gadgets... great! Thanks. --lTopGunl (talk) 19:02, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

The copyright status of images with quoted text in them

Hi, I was wondering: if I uploaded an image with a quote in a specific font within it, would there be any copyright implications? (I'm thinking an image would be easier than manually changing the <font family> as I don't suppose every operating system would have Deutsche Zierschrift installed, for example, but I'd welcome any other ideas...) -- Mentifisto 20:03, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Typefaces are not protected by copyright laws in the United States. See Eltra Corp. v. Ringer. – Zntrip 07:47, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Is it possible to submit a sound clip?

Is it possible to submit a sound clip of a male American Kestrel that I recorded for this Wiki page:

American Kestrel?

I have created web pages before, and I guesss I need to know a little about Wiki itself. Are pictures, sound, etc actually stored at Wiki, or are links to external sites utilized?

KestrelCamMan (talk) 21:03, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

You should upload it to Commons so that it is available to all Wikimedia projects. Note that it will have to be in Ogg Vorbis format, see Commons Media Help. – ukexpat (talk) 21:08, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Query a fact

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodenticide states second generation anti-coagulants in concentrations from 0.001% to 0.005%. This means that a kilogram of bait contains only 0.01g to 0.05g. Do you mean 0.001 to 005 ie 0.1% to 0.5%? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.195.227.244 (talk) 21:42, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

This page lists some commercial preparations of Brodifacoum, a second generation anti-coagulant. I checked the MSDS for three of them and each stated the Brodifacoum was present at 0.005% concentration, consistent with the information at Rodenticide. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 22:21, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Why are the periods stripped out?

In the second ref on this page, which uses {{cite book}}, why are all the periods in the ref (separating the parameters) stripped out? - Purplewowies (talk) 21:45, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

I'm afraid I don't understand your question. The wikicode of the reference looks normal to me, and it renders correctly in the final page on my browser. Are you actually referring to periods, which look like this (.), or the pipe symbol, which looks like this (|)? Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 21:53, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

I've WP:PURGEd the page on the off chance some kind of server glitch was corrupting the display at your end. Does the page appear differently now? Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 21:55, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

The periods in the text the template rendered are absent. Instead of "Van Cleve, John Vickrey, ed. (2007). The Deaf History Reader. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press. ISBN 978-1-56368-359-6." (what's supposed to happen) I see "Van Cleve, John Vickrey, ed. (2007) The Deaf History Reader Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press ISBN 978-1-56368-359-6", which is incorrect. However, I have no idea what's screwing it up (your purge and a bypassing of my browser's cache did nothing). - Purplewowies (talk) 22:05, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Ah, sorry, I see. Well I don't know what was causing the problem, but I seem to have fixed it in this edit. I just put the ISBN you provided into the Diberri Template builder, tweaked the output using the editor names from your page, and pasted that into your article. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 22:47, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

The template was doing what you told it to. The separator is normally a period, but |separator= with no value sets it to no separator. We recommend that you don't include unused parameters. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 23:04, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

See the documentation at the end of Template:Cite book#Description. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:06, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Facepalm Ah. I was attempting to create it as I went and didn't see that separator was one of the parameters (though if I had seen it, I would've known that was the problem). I only had all the unused ones still in there because I wasn't done creating the ref when I noticed the problem, and I saved it that way. (I was making the general refs for the book I was using before adding the content). - Purplewowies (talk) 23:13, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Added to WP:CS1PROBS. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 23:42, 28 February 2012 (UTC)