Help desk
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May 22

Question about Wikitables

I am creating an article, Puppet States of WWII. In it, I would like to make an expandable section inside one of the sections. To be specific, I want to have the name in one table, and then have an expandable chart showing its name in whatever language it originally was. Is that possible? I have researched it some, and have found nothing that could answer my question. Thanks, Cnd474747 (talk) 00:45, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It probably can be done, but I'm not sure I understand what you are trying to do. You might be looking for Template:Hide. Spinning Spark 10:37, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Please also note, per MOS:COLLAPSE#Scrolling_lists_and_collapsible_content, that it may not be desirable to do that. Collapsible elements are allowed in navigation templates and in some infobox elements, but if I understand your question correctly, it should not be done in your case.--S Philbrick (Talk) 14:33, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the help. The one that I have found that works the best is Template:Collapsible list. Now, however, I have run into another problem. The "hide"/"show" button partially covers the text (or vice versa). Is there a way I can keep this from happening? Also, it removed the background color from the next box. Thanks, Cnd474747 (talk) 19:08, 23 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Peter_Olsson_(Motorsports_driver)

Hi, we recently got this page published on Wikipedia:

Peter Olsson (Motorsports driver)

However, we would like to get some information up about Olsson's expertise in chiropractic care since retiring from racing driving. He has run a successful practice in Bedford UK for almost a decade now and can provide copies of his qualifications, multiple references from patients - but unfortunately hasn't been interviewed in local press about it - so it's a little difficult to provide the types of citations we'd like to provide.

What would we need to provide to include a few sentences about his practice? Thanks for any guidance you can provide.

Note: I tried asking this same question in the article help forum but got no answer - so I am trying here instead. Mstephens01 (talk) 07:10, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I see a difficulty here. Olsson is notable as a successful former racing driver. But his current career in chiropractic care, while successful and worthy, is unremarkable. There is nothing about it to justify mention in Wikipedia. Maproom (talk) 07:44, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I wonder who "we" are - it sounds as if you work for, or are otherwise related to Peter Olsson, in which case you should read and follow our advice on conflict of interest. Please also note that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and we are not here to promote your business. - Arjayay (talk) 10:11, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Uh, disagree slightly with Maproom's analysis there. While it's true to say that a career in chiropractic medicine isn't quite as stellar as that of F3000, the fact that it followed on from that of an F3000 driver makes this particular career noteworthy. The trouble is to source such claims. Google has little to say on the matter - apart from this link I dredged up: Old racing drivers.

The current article makes no mention at all of his chiropractic career, and without promoting a business, there's nothing wrong with inserting a comment to say that after retirement he qualified as, and opened up, a chiropractic centre, using the above as a source. In fact, I see from the page history that the chiropractic area has been mentioned but removed as unsourced. I thikn this qualifies, with the proviso that it's only to mention his career change, and nothing specific. Chaheel Riens (talk) 12:46, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

FYI, I have just created Peter Olsson (disambiguation)...--ukexpat (talk) 13:45, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Factual inaccuracies: The Cobra Group

Hello,

I represent Cobra Group and Appco Group and I am concerned that there are a number of fundamental inaccuracies in the Cobra Group Wikipedia entry (The Cobra Group).

I have posted 2 edit requests on the Talk page (one in December, which I had very little response to) and one today. At the moment there are numerous fundamentally inaccurate statements on the page, which are completely misleading.

I appreciate that I can't go in and make the factual changes myself, but I would like the page reviewed so that it is actually correct.

How do I go about doing this?

Many thanks for your help. Callcott1 (talk) 10:32, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Your first request was not accompanied by an edit request template. Since the page is watched by very few editors it is not very surprising that there was no response. Your second request was only posted yesterday. Please be patient, the template has the effect of putting the request on a list and a volunteer will service it eventually.

Your request may well be rejected because it is too difficult for an uninvolved editor (who may not be familiar with the subject) to carry out. The expected format for these kind of requests is "please replace <foo> with <foobar>" where foo and foobar are the exact article text. The edit also needs to include a reference that verifies the statement is factually accurate. Again, an outside editor may well not be willing to add unsourced material.

It may also be advisable to break your requests into a number of smaller requests to make it easier to service. Spinning Spark 11:07, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

If you are looking for some more in-depth help than those kinds of simplistic edits you could try asking on the talk page of WikiProject Companies. Someone there might be interested. Spinning Spark 11:18, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Bill Bohack

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Bill_Bohack_Sarasota&gettingStartedReturn=true

I have been getting stalked by a guy named David Tibbs for some time now. (Redacted). I am not the only person David has done this too. Recently I was advised by an editor of SearchEngineLand.com to post a blog about my experience, I did this on LiveUnitedBlog.org.

He decided to go after a wikipedia.org page about me.

Is there anyway to get his edits down?

He said he would make me out to be a pedophile and has done his best.

The David Tibbs of Digital Maze kept to his threats.

collapsing material

1.

Bill Bohack warning sick and injured people (Redacted)

If you suffer from (Redacted) and you smoke, consider quitting smoking. Inflammation caused by smoking irritates the tissue in …

2.

Bill Bohack warning sick and injured people – Great Guide … (Redacted)‎

Great Guide On How To Achieve A Snore Less Life Learning ways to alleviate any unwanted (Redacted) that occurs as you sleep, …

Here is a copy of an email from him

Here are some of David Tibbs emails to Us.

David tibbs (Redacted)Sep 25

to william

(Redacted)

Eventually BPClaims.org would get a manual penalty from Google.

Thanks, Bill

I have blanked the user page and will ask for it to be oversighted. I have also reported that user name and the other that edited the user page for blocking.--ukexpat (talk) 13:55, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I've blocked User:Digitalmaze as a vandalism-only account, and since I find the User:Bill Bohack Sarasota account highly suspect, have also blocked it under WP:IMPERSONATE. Yunshui ^雲 _水 14:05, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

And the user page content has been oversighted. Thanks everyone for the quick action.--ukexpat (talk) 15:12, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Named references error

CARE (relief agency) has some errors with named references, which you can see at the bottom of the references section. Could you fix them? I just edited the page, but the errors were there before. I've seen <ref name=x> used in normal citations, including today's featured article, but I've never seen this kind of referencing and don't know how to fix it. 149.160.172.210 (talk) 13:59, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

PS. I just got an edit conflict, even though I was adding a new section, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Help_desk&action=edit&section=new. How could this happen? UKExpat's edits didn't modify this section, since I hadn't created it yet. 149.160.172.210 (talk) 13:59, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Just as the error messages said, there were 3 references which were defined in the list but not used, so I've deleted them. --David Biddulph (talk) 14:24, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It looks as if those refs were used until this edit from about 4 weeks ago. The replacement material seemed to be largely unsourced, so it is possible that in the longer term someone may decide to return to sourced information. --David Biddulph (talk) 14:31, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

That method of definition is described at Help:List-defined references, as shown by the link to WP:LDR from the first wikilink in the error messages. The second wikilink went to Help:Cite errors/Cite error references missing key. --David Biddulph (talk) 14:38, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Each error message had a link to a help page. Were there issues with the guidance on the help pages? -- Gadget850^talk 14:42, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Sending User Talk message to a list of users

Is there a mechanism for posting a User Talk page message to all listed members of a WikiProject? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dodger67 (talk • contribs)

No, and it's not usually a good idea to do it manually. Usually posting to the wikiproject talk page is sufficient. If editors are no longer watching the wikiproject they are probably not interested. If you have a really good reason for doing this you can make a request for a bot to do it. However, things like delivering newsletters etc are only done to a list of users who have explicitly signed up for the service. Spinning Spark 15:23, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks - so an explicit "subscriber list" seems to be the sensible way to do it. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 20:25, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Hard to say without knowing specifically what you are intending to send out. I would say that sending people a weekly newsletter without their explicit request is not acceptable. That's spam. On the other hand, messaging the members of a wikiproject with a link to where they can sign up for a newsletter would be acceptable. Messaging members that their wikiproject is about to be shut down for lack of interest and asking them to comment is also probably acceptable. Spinning Spark 00:56, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

request edit

Below is a link to my workplace: 'Millfield School's Wikipedia page. Recently we have redesigned our logo, therefore are wanting to make an edit to the logo appearing on the Wikipedia Page. This link should take you to that page: Millfield By clicking on the logo on the right side of the page it take you to this page: File:Millfieldlogo.jpg From here I am unsure as to how I can edit the logo/if this is even possible - but we do need it updated if this page is to exist. Please respond with a solution to this issue ASAP. Thank you.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Critchleyhope (talk • contribs)

Hello, person who didn't leave a signature. You would need to upload a new version of the logo, in a way which met all the criteria in non free content criteria. --ColinFine (talk) 15:18, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

And if you need help uploading it, please make a request at WP:FFU.--ukexpat (talk) 15:20, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

NPOV and external links

I have read a policy or guideline saying that the neutrality is to apply less strictly to external links. I cannot find it again. --Wickey-nl (talk) 16:18, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

See WP:NPOV. It applies to external links also. RudolfRed (talk) 16:58, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You may be looking for WP:BIASED although that is talking about sources, not external links explicitly. WP:UNDUE applies here, it may be appropriate to add biased external links but it should not be done in a way that gives undue weight to sites with one view over another view. Spinning Spark 17:56, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

And maybe WP:EL? When in doubt you can begin a discussion at WP:ELN.--ukexpat (talk) 19:41, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I remember a very specific paragraph and hoped some else also did. Anyway, thanks. --Wickey-nl (talk) 10:04, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

At last found it here #4.

Sites that fail to meet criteria for reliable sources yet still contain information about the subject of the article from knowledgeable sources.
Though I was there, I overlooked it in the overwhelming info. --Wickey-nl (talk) 12:57, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

That is a reliability criterion, not neutrality. Spinning Spark 13:20, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

SAGE TELECOM

WE HAVE SERVICES WITH SAGE TELECOM AND WE ARE BEING CHARGED ALL KIND OF SERVICES. PLUS THE HELP ONLINE SERVICE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO GIVE YOU INFORMATION, ABOUT YOUR SERVICES, AND THEY WILL NOT LET YOU SPEAK TO ANY SUPERVISOR. THIE SERVICE WITH SAGE IS AWFUL, AND WE WANT TO CHANGE TO ANOTHER COMPOMANY. BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHO SERVICES MISSIOURI, ANY MORE FOR IN HOME PHONE SERVCES, AND THEY IS AWFUL. ATT&T OVER CHARGES THERE CUSTOMERS FOR EVERYTHING YOU ASK FOR. IS THERE A WAY WE CAN GET SOME HELP, IN CHANGING OUR PHONE SERVICE, AT ALL. WE CAN BE REACHED AT (Redacted). THANKS, THE TEAGUES...AND I DID NOT LOG IN...DIDN'T SEE IT. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.126.148.2 (talk) 17:53, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 6 million articles and thought we were 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 for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right 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. AndyTheGrump (talk) 17:55, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Capitalization rules for cited publication titles

I wonder which capitalization rules apply to the titles of publications cited under "References." Is sentence or title case prescribed or should the original case be retained? What about titles written in an all caps style?--Emaster82 (talk) 20:16, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It is title case in italics for the name of the book/journal, and sentence case in quotation marks for the name of the chapter/article within the publication, see WP:CITE/ES. This is a matter of house style and should be done regardless of the style used in the publication. In general, all the references in any given article should have consistent styles (although the style is allowed to vary from article to article). Spinning Spark 00:24, 23 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Help with tables please

Would someone who is more adept at table formatting that I am, please take a look at this one and try to fix the table formatting problems? Thanks.--ukexpat (talk) 20:43, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Looks like Nthep (talk · contribs) was able to fix the problems 2 minutes before this message :) Unless there's something else that needs fixing? ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 20:47, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

No that was it, thanks.--ukexpat (talk) 13:37, 23 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Reminding an editor not to misuse WP:MINOR

I've encountered an editor who seems to be using the "minor" checkbox for rather more substantial changes - like this one. Is there a template to remind them not to?

As an aside, is there a way to wikilink to that diff?--Otus scops (talk) 22:36, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Template:Uw-minor. I think you'll have to link the diff outside the template. --Onorem (talk) 22:46, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

For future reference, Wikipedia:Template messages/User talk namespace contains all the user warning templates. A quick Ctrl + F will find whatever you need. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 23:08, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you both.--Otus scops (talk) 17:41, 23 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Updating info for a website

Dear Wikipedia, There is a Wikipedia article about Marcel Ciampi. There are lists of his students and some associated websites have 'dead link' written next to them. The website www.sallysargent.com is an live website. It is in the process of being updated, but it can be accessed and is online. Please explain how one can revive the link. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cewsms (talk • contribs) 23:34, 22 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Are you sure you need all that long list of students? Are they all notable? Anyway, the thing not to do is remove the reference just because the link has gone dead. That remains the source of the information even though it is no longer accessible and another editor may well be able to retrieve it if the information is left on the page. Sometimes a site is just temporarily unavailable and one just has to wait for it to come back. That appears to be the position with the Sally Seargent site which is being reorganised. However, the url to the relevant page may well be different and neeed updating when it comes back. This is a frequent reason links go dead. That seems to be the case with the Grant Foster deadlink. The site is still there and it still has a page on Foster, but at a different location. I found it by going to the home page of the site (Australian Music Centre) and putting his name in the search box. Some of the others may likewise be recoverable.

In other cases the site may just have taken the page down, or the site has been taken down altogether, or may have moved to a new location. If you know some of the exact wording that was on the site a google search will sometimes find the new location. Failing that, an old copy of the page can sometimes be found stored at an archiving site like the Wayback Machine or Webcite. In fact, it is good practice to archive all your refs at Webcite when you create a page, that way you can be sure of retrieving them if they go dead. Spinning Spark 00:51, 23 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]