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Query regarding my first article for creation about Edward Margolies

I'm new to wikipedia and have been struggling a bit with an article for creation for Edward Margolies, an important and still-living (age 86) writer and literary critic. He played a particularly important role in the 1960 and later, which is widely recognized, in bringing critical attention to the works of long neglected African-American writers and he has written widely in other areas. Anyway after being initially rejected late last month, I've now done quite a bit more work and and have resubmitted the article. However I'm not sure I actually successfully submitted it again. Is there anything else I need to do to actually submit the piece? Regarding the submission itself, I think I addressed the concerns raised by the initial reviewer. Any feedback much appreciated. Thanks! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Articles_for_creation/Edward_Margolies

thecobbrooklyn. Thecobbrooklyn (talk) 03:33, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Hey, thecob! Welcome to the Teahouse! I looked at your AfC submission and fixed it, so I think it should be good now. (Just fyi, what went wrong was that the old, declined AfC tag was getting in the way of the new one; I just deleted the old tag and put the new one in its place.) Don't really have time to look at the article itself atm, so I can't really say anything about that, but the submission part of it should be fine now. Thanks! Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 06:20, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Page-worthy?

How can I determine what subject/person warrants its own article? Realnow (talk) 23:29, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Hello Realnow and welcome to the Teahouse! Generally, a person is notable on Wikipedia if they were covered in independent secondary sources. For more specific criteria for a person's notability on Wikipedia, I suggest reading Wikipedia:Notability (people). Hope this helps! -- Luke (Talk) 02:31, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

I have information about a plane called the Nin Hai but the page does not exist and i have never made a page before could someone help?

I don't have any history or about it all i have is the specifications and who produced it is that ok? Shashenka (talk) 18:09, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

It might be OK, but it's difficult to know from the information you have provided. Are you talking about a single plane or a type of plane? Do you know when it was produced? Is there an existing article where your information could go (if we don't have enough info for a useful separate article, that might be better), such as the article about the manufacturer? Lastly, do you have reliable sources for your information? FormerIP (talk) 18:23, 25 March 2012 (UTC)
I the nation it was produced in manufacturer, role the plane was used in, year it was first built, Engine type, wingspan,length, height, weight, maximum speed, ceiling, range, and how many people it took to fly it. Also yes it is a single plane. I got it from a book here is the bibliography for it if you want to take a look.
  • Angelucci, Enzo (1983). The Rand McNally encyclopedia of military aircraft, 1914-1980. The Military Press. p. 149. ISBN 0-517-41021 4. Shashenka (talk) 20:07, 25 March 2012 (UTC)
Hi there. When you're planning to create an article, you need to determine whether or not it is notable. If it is notable, it will be the subject of a number of reliable sources - that is, there will be things written about it from third-parties. Having just an entry in an encyclopedia may be enough; it falls on the line between acceptable and unacceptable. If you believe that it is covered to such an extent that it is notable, then create the article. If you are unsure, it might be wise to go through Article Wizard, which will allow other editors to review the article before it is published. Let us know what you do and how you get on. ItsZippy (talk • contributions) 19:46, 25 March 2012 (UTC)
ok Thanks!Shashenka (talk) 20:07, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Ellis Island

What is ellis island all about? nya811 Nya pritchett 17:56, 25 March 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nya811 (talk • contribs)

See Ellis Island. --Tito Dutta (Send me a message) 18:00, 25 March 2012 (UTC)
Hey, Nya, a better place for this question is probably the Reference Desk. That's a place designed to answer general-knowledge questions like yours. Thanks! Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 18:02, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Changing my name format at the top heading from ie. User:Ronnieciago to Ronnie Ciago

I'm an known session drummer/percussion in the music industry and I just joined Wikipedia want to change change my name format at the top heading ie. User:Ronnieciago to Ronnie Ciago ( 2 words separate with a capital R (first name) C (last name). I don't know how to dod this. Very frustrating !! Can you please, either do this for me or "Show Me The Way" :) thank you very much ! all the best, Ronnie Ciago. Ronnie Ciago 17:13, 25 March 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ronnieciago (talk • contribs)

Hey, Ronnie, and welcome to Wikipedia! There are a few ways of doing this; the first and easiest way is to simply create a new account with "Ronnie Ciago" as the name, and just use that other account in the future. Another way would be to request a change in username, but we generally don't change usernames unless someone has been around a while and made many edits. I see that you don't have too many edits under your belt, so you don't really have anything to lose by making a new account. It would probably be best for you to just start over with the new account that's named the way you want. Just make sure that, when you do start over, you only use the new account and not the old one; using multiple accounts at the same time is generally (though not always) frowned upon here. A good way to make sure that you don't do this by mistake is, once you've made your new account, change your old account's password to a random assortment of letters and numbers, which we call "scrambling" your password. That way, since you don't know your password to the old account, you can't accidentally log in, and it'll make both of your accounts more secure. Hope this helps! Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 17:44, 25 March 2012 (UTC)
Also, check Alternate page title header section here! --Tito Dutta (Send me a message) 17:51, 25 March 2012 (UTC)
I just posted a more in-depth explanation of a few points of Wikipedia policy on your talk page; please read it! Thanks! Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 18:24, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

How am i doing with my edits?

I'm pretty much a complete newbie at coding and don't entirely know how this works yet so i have just been adding a reference from a book i got a while ago and filling the gaps of technical data for the planes. Help with knowing how to do more in depth things would be appreciated! Shashenka (talk) 15:54, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi, in your talk page, {{User:Bzuk]] has posted a welcome message. That welcome message has lots of information. Follow those pages and links there.
About your contributions so far...
I have manually checked 10-15 of your recent contributions, I don't see any problem in your edits. And thanks for writing so detailed edit summary. A well written edit summary really helps other editors! Also note, if you change some information in an article, as you have done here, providing reference is a good option! If you have any other question, you can ask! --Tito Dutta (Send me a message) 17:06, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Where did the cite template go?

Here is the drop down cite menu that I think you are referring too. Nolelover Talk·Contribs

Are there only certain pages where I can use the cite templates. The thing is gone. I edited my preferences recently. It might be that. What needs to be checked/unchecked to use citation templates? Or what other requirements are there for them to be there? Thank you. JBGeorge77 (talk) 02:12, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi! If you are referring to the citations that you can add via the toolbar when editing content, you can find the option "Show edit toolbar (requires JavaScript)" under the "Editing" section in your preferences. Hopefully that will fix it. :) - Bilby (talk) 11:27, 24 March 2012 (UTC)
Thanks for answering, I looked and I've got that checked so that's not it. JBGeorge77 (talk) 01:50, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi there JBGeorge, can you explain a little more? I'm not quite sure I follow your question. What do you mean "the thing is gone"? Are you saying that the cite drop down menu on the refToolbar isn't showing (see image)? They should appear on every page if that is what you are talking about. By the way, you can go directly to the template page, copy the template from there and fill in the parameters. The most common are Template:Cite web, Template:Cite news, Template:Cite book and Template:Cite journal. Nolelover Talk·Contribs 20:01, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Adding Reference/Citation to Image File ( Located in Wikimedia))

How do i add citation to Image File which is located in Wikimedia.

Rajenver (talk) 05:40, 21 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi! Am I right in assuming that you wish to cite an image in a Wikipedia article, and that image is stored on Wikimedia Commons? Images are generally considered a tad iffy as sources, although they can be fine - it depends a lot on the image. The general format follows that of a citing a webpage:
Author Year, Title of image (or a description), Wikimedia Commons, viewed Day Month Year, <URL>
You could just use the same citation as a webpage, but you employ a title or a description (unlike the title only that would be normal for a webpage), depending on what is available.
Is that the problem you had in mind? If I misread it, feel free to correct me. :) - Bilby (talk) 12:04, 21 March 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for your answer. I have specific problem adding URL link to Image File. If i added it as URL , the image is displayed in Reference Section. I want to add just the URL Link to the Image with image being displayed in the section. Rajenver (talk) 12:15, 21 March 2012 (UTC)

That makes sense. What we normally do is use the full URL from the browser, as that won't insert the image and will remain meaningful when the page is printed rather than viewed online. But you can also add a link but not the image, by using a ":" in front of the image reference. So [[:image:hello.jpg]] will display as image:hello.jpg. - Bilby (talk) 12:25, 21 March 2012 (UTC)

Thanks. Perfect Example. Works for creating any internal links as well Rajenver (talk) 09:46, 23 March 2012 (UTC)

Direct link - Commons:Image:hello.jpg. This also works if you wish to link to another Wikimedia project (such as meta or other language wikis). - Mailer Diablo 21:03, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

What is the coolest Wikipedia trick or tip you have learned recently?

See above =) New and experienced editors - what is the coolest Wikipedia trick or tip you have learned recently? No matter how long we've edited Wikipedia, we all come across something cool we've learned about regarding editing Wikipedia and related projects. I'm on a big of a slump regarding super cool new tips...so perhaps ya'll can help me feel inspired :) Can't wait to read your responses... Sarah (talk) 22:55, 20 March 2012 (UTC)

Well, I'm not sure whether this is "cool" or "nerdy", but I was at the San Francisco WikiWomen's Edit-a-Thon last Saturday with my wife ChesPal. A woman we met there called Quirkify was working on a new article called The fair triumvirate of wit. I know how to do references, and that you can call a reference list "footnotes" if you want to. But she wanted to do both references and an explanatory footnote. With help from Steven Walling, she and I learned that there are several ways to do it, which are described at Help:Footnotes. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 00:26, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
The coolest tip of Wikipedia is that there are automated tools like Twinkle that allow you to revert edits and even WARN vandals with only ONE click! That's beast! To enable it, go to Special:Preferences, find the "Gadgets" tab, find "Twinkle", enable it and save your preferences. Then, go to WP:TWPREFS and customize Twinkle. Afterwards, try a diff and see what happens. You can immediately see the difference before you installed Twinkle and after you installed Twinkle. Good luck, and make sure to not abuse it! (Later, you can get the actual rollback feature). --J (t) 01:37, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
OMG. I had no clue that it was that easy to turn Twinkle on. And to think...all this time I thought you had to download something or do something super fancy. Wow. My life surely has just changed. Thanks J!! :D Sarah (talk) 01:44, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
Thanks for the tip! I can see that as handy although it seems a little techie to understand to a newbie :S Yorkshiregeek (talk) 11:38, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
The other great thing about Twinkle is the customisability - If you go to the Wikipedia:Twinkle/Preferences screen, you can change your preferences, for example adding custom welcome templates. I used to use this welcome but I'm currently working on a new welcome and an automatic teahouse invite WormTT · (talk) 10:28, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
Haven't learned anything recently, but I have scripts that allow me to do heaps of stuff. I'd be lost without my large script file :-) Steven Zhang DR goes to Wikimania! 01:57, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
(edit conflict) I only say WikiDiff (also in the gadgets). mabdul 02:06, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
The other day I saw someone mention on a proposals page that adding a.mw-redirect { color: #00aa00; } to one's personal css turns all redirects green... so I had to try it. Turns out redirects are everywhere. Everywhere. In fact, there's one right there... and... crap, I think it saw me. You see, right? Absolutely everywhere. Taking over the wiki. Following me around. It's like they have a mind of their own, because OH GODS THERE'S ANOTHER ONE! AGGHH! *runs away, flailing* — Isarra (talk) 02:20, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
I was completely surprised to learn (on this page, no less) that there is a tool one can use to find when certain content was added to an article...very useful :) Nolelover Talk·Contribs 02:30, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
I haven't really learned any tips or tricks recently... but I finally learned how to make user boxes instead of using the Super Simple Userbox Maker! Rosalina2427 (Talk) 03:06, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
Ooh, yes, and thanks of course for designing our host user box! :) I'd love to also see a user box for our guests..."This user likes to hang out at the Teahouse.." *nudge nudge* ;-) Sarah (talk) 03:15, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
ReelAngelGirl already did ;) She wrote about it here. heather walls (talk) 03:23, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
Doh! So many talk pages..so little time. But hey, the more the merrier? :) Sarah (talk) 03:30, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
I can't say that I really know any cool tips or tricks. Twinkle and WikiBlame were linked already. I'm still impressed by auto-piped-link-filling if that counts. For instance, if I want to link something with a colon in it like [[Wikipedia:Verifiability]] and have it display as Verifiability (piped link with the namespace stripped out) because I'm using it on a new user's page and that user might not understand namespaces, I don't have to manually add in the second half of the link. I can just type the first bit, add a | character and MediaWiki will strip out the part after the colon : and add it in as the display link. For instance, that Verifiability I posted a moment ago was actually [[Wikipedia:Verifiability|]] when I typed it and the software filled in the second bit when I posted it. Banaticus (talk) 05:08, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
I just read Banticus's comment and that's just become the coolest trick I've learned recently. NtheP (talk) 08:36, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
I was going to say the pipe trick too but used to make a bracketed disambiguating word after the name dissapear as when Stane Street (Chichester) can be made to show as Stane Street by adding a pipe. After five years of editing I am still learning new things almost daily.--Charles (talk) 10:32, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
Hey Banaticus and Charlesdrew... I didn't know either of those tips, so those are my new favorites. Thanks! --Rosiestep (talk) 02:50, 22 March 2012 (UTC)
I'm a bit ashamed to say it, but I only recently found out about the Mini-Atlas feature, attached to basically every geographical article on Wikipedia. I knew that if you clicked the coordinates in the upper-right corner, you'd be able to click through to google maps; but I didn't realize that if you click on the little Earth symbol, you get an awesome little mini-atlas pop-up write then and there, with links to near-by Wikipedia articles! I've clearly been missing out. Mlm42 (talk) 17:53, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
The coolest feature I have learned is how to do infoboxes. Those really add alot to an article!YodaFan67 (talk) 19:44, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
I recently found Rami R's rfppClerk. It is very useful around Wikipedia:Requests for page protection to help remove old requests and keep RFPP flowing.
I just joined a few weeks ago--Feb. 29, to be specific. But I've made a couple of my own userboxes. Uporządnicki (talk) 02:43, 22 March 2012 (UTC)
I've recently been promoted to the position of administrator on Hindi Wikipedia. So, there're lots of new things that I'm learning right now. — Bill william comptonTalk 03:25, 22 March 2012 (UTC)
  • I LOVE all these ideas! My newest grandest tip or trick is tapping into the Teahouse. Great questions, Sarah! (Congrats to Bill!) Best regards, Cind.amuse (Cindy) 03:29, 22 March 2012 (UTC)

Recently, the coolest trick I've seen is this Teahouse question box. I will be trying to take it to ptwiki soon.

Not recently tough, (besides all the tricks already mentioned) the coolest one for me is Popups. It is a script (gadget even, can be enabled like twinkle) that makes a little popup when you put the mouse over a link. It even works inside the edit window (just select the link), I use it all the time to check that I've written the correct link. The popup can also do lots of very quick actions, like checking out the history, opening a new section in a user's talk page, or reverting vandalism (care should be taken here). Even diffs show up in it, so I commonly check out my watchlist without opening a single link. Chico Venancio (talk) 05:38, 22 March 2012 (UTC)

Guess I was late to the party. Either that or no one cares about Popups. Chico Venancio (talk) 04:50, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

how to change the topic of my new article

hi how can change the topic for an article that i have created few days back.the article was supposed to be called serial extraction but somehow it appears in the name of user:dr.neha sharma. i dont know how to change it.can u help?Dr.neha sharma (talk) 14:16, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Hey, Neha, welcome to Wikipedia and the Teahouse! What happened was that you haven't actually made an article; you've made your user page! It's a pretty easy mistake to make, so don't worry about it. User pages are not articles; they're for giving some information about yourself to make it easier for other editors to work with you on the encyclopedia. User pages are always titled "User:<user name>", which is why your page was called "User:Dr.neha sharma". If you'd like to make a real article, the best thing to do is probably to submit what you've written to Articles for Creation once you think it's ready. The reviewers there will take a look at it, and if they think it's ready, too, they'll turn it into a real article for you; if they don't think it's ready, they'll let you know why they think so, and what you can do to improve it. If you'd like, what I can do for you now is move your page to a testing space; this will let you work on improving it without having it use up your user page. After writing this, I see that another user has already made your draft an article. Congratulations! You should be set for now. Thanks, and again, welcome! Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 14:45, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

thanx writ keeper. really appreciate your help here. i was wondering if u cud read my article n give suggestions for any improvements needed.thanx again.Dr.neha sharma (talk) 18:05, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

For other hosts, the article referred to is Serial extraction. Nolelover Talk·Contribs 22:30, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
Hello there Neha, I've cleaned up the article quite a bit, and right now I think your biggest problem is that you don't have any sources. Because all articles on Wikipedia must be verifiable, Wikipedia requires that all articles be supported by multiple reliable, independent sources. Right now you don't have any, and unfortunately a lack of sources is actually grounds for deletion. I encourage you to cite the places from which you got this information, but the article looks pretty good apart from that. Nolelover Talk·Contribs 22:40, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

What was the first Wikipedia article you worked on?

My first article was and still is as I'm currently working on it is the Web design article. Might be that your first article says something about you? So what was the first Wikipedia article you worked on? :D WBClarkson (talk) 02:26, 21 March 2012 (UTC)

The first article I ever collaborated with anyone else on (and it was really the experience that turned me into a long-time contributor) was Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, a futuristic video game that I have fond memories of wasting time on. :) It was a hard process (another editor and I got it up to Good Article status after months of work) but incredibly fun. Nolelover Talk·Contribs 02:33, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
The first article I worked on as an anon was Alvirne High School, back in 2005-2006. --Jayron32 02:50, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
My first edits were creating the article Book League of America as I collect those books and there wasn't an article about them. Yup, I'm a bibliophile!--Rosiestep (talk) 03:02, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
The first one I did significant work on was Doom bar - all because I loved the beer and fancied finding out a bit more about the history of the name! WormTT · (talk) 11:41, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
My first article was Dirk van Erp, a biography of an early 20th century coppersmith whose lamps are highly collectible. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 19:53, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
My first article was Annie Lobert and Hookers for Jesus. One was kept, while the other was merged and redirected. I had a total conflict of interest in creating those two articles as one of the founders of the organization. I stayed on Wikipedia merely to monitor the page for the organization. I left the organization in Feb 2009 and came back to Wikipedia the following year. I now focus on freelance writing, while Wikipedia gets me through the writer's block. Beyond that, I love working to support and improve the project in various ways. Registered Mar 11, 2007 and became a Wikipedian in Apr 2010. Best regards, Cindy(talk to me) 04:06, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

My first edits where to the Cuba article. I even had a serious incident that turned me off Wikipedia for a bit of time, a rogue admin blocked me without reason for supposed POV-pushing and being a "suspected sockpuppet", the fact that some six months later an editor reached me to say that the block was wrong and that an admin put that on my block log really made a difference. In part this made me really worry about users first experience in Wikipedia, and ultimately is one of the reasons I am here in the Teahouse. Chico Venancio (talk) 04:47, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

LaSalle, Illinois, because I live there.

HappyWheeler4Life (talk) 00:41, 27 March 2012 (UTC)W4LIFE

Disambiguation Help

I created a disambiguation page for one Article. There are two or more relevant articles.

Issue is one article does not has a qualified name and has name same as title (to be disambiguated). After creating the disambigution page, the search leads only to one article(having less importance) and not disambigution page. What should be done here.

Rajenver (talk) 12:41, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

Rajenver, can you tell us the name of the disambiguation page you created so we can have a look at the page. Without seeing it I can't be sure but I suspect there might be some links that need changing or possibly page moves. NtheP (talk) 12:57, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
I take it you're talking about Chaturbhuj Temple? What needs to be done is this: the current Chaturbhuj Temple article needs to be moved to Chaturbhuj Temple (Orchha) or something similar and the Chaturbhuj Temple (disambiguation) needs to be moved to Chaturbhuj Temple. Once that's done, searches will take one to the disambiguation page as appropriate. To do this, we'll need an admin's attention, though, since an admin will be needed to either suppress the creation of a redirect or just delete the redirect after it's been made. Let me know if you think that "Chaturbhuj Temple (Orchha)" is a reasonable name for the minor article; if it is, I can get the process started for you (or you can just do it yourself; either way!) Thanks. Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 13:15, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
The other article is called Chaturbhuj Temple, Khajuraho India which probably needs renaming as well. I don't think it needs an admin as Chaturbhuj Temple could just be redirected to Chaturbhuj Temple (disambiguation). NtheP (talk) 13:24, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
It could, but MOS says that the dab page should only be named "Subject (disambiguation)" when there is a primary-subject article occupying the "Subject" page. I don't think it makes a *huge* difference, but might as well follow MOS in the absence of a reason not to, I say. Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 13:34, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

Current article Chaturbhuj Temple can be renamed to Chaturbhuj Temple (Orchha) or Chaturbhuj Temple, Orchha. Orchha is Location. name. We can't create a redirect page as article exists with name Chaturbhuj Temple Rajenver (talk) 13:40, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

By the way do we have any template (which can be added to article) for requesting rename. We have one such for WikiMedia.

Rajenver (talk) 13:43, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

I've already done the page move and made the admin move request on Chaturbhuj Temple. Once an admin sees it and responds, we should be in the clear. Thanks! Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 13:44, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
Rajenver, to answer your last question, no there isn't. Uncontroversial moves can be done by any user who is autoconfirmed. Other moves need to be listed at Requested Moves. NtheP (talk) 14:03, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

When should I request for a review on an article?

Hi world! I'm a new wikipedian, nice to meet you all. I'm currently working on a page called Odex, it's a controversial topic in the Singapore anime community and I think is a good place to start in my journey of wikipedia contributing! The page has been tagged as neutrality disputed and I've try my best to remove any POV statements and provided some newspaper articles as citations. I've also posted on the talk page, hoping there's other editors will be interested in the page and help to improve it. But it has already been 2 weeks and there is no answer. So what should I do now? Should I wait for others to edit it since I feel like there's nothing more for me to improve? Or should I request for a review and try to improve from the feedback? --Vaktug (talk) 03:13, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

Vaktug, welcome to the Teahouse and thank you for your contributions so far. If you're not getting any responses on the article talk page I suggest you leave a message at the talk pages of WikiProject Singapore and WikiProject Anime and manga asking for comments. These two projects have both tagged the article are being within their scope so there are more likely to be people there who can help you. NtheP (talk) 07:44, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

Could you please let me know the procedure to upload the JPG files to the page.

Could you please let me know the procedure to upload the JPG files to the page. Anurag PanulyAnuragpanuly (talk) 15:39, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Here you'll get a detailed answer of your question Help:Upload#Uploading, see if it helps, and/otherwise, we'll talk in details. In left navbar of Wikipedia (see left), under Toolbox section, you have "Upload file" link, I generally start from there. Feel free to ask questions!--Tito Dutta (Send me a message) 15:50, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
Hi. It's worth noting that free-use images are preferred. These are uploaded at Wikimedia Commons. If there's no free equivalent, then non-free images can be uploaded providing they meet the non-free content criteria. -- Trevj (talk) 08:14, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

Joining a WikiProject

I'm looking at joining a WikiProject, I just edit my name into the list of active members to do that?Twarther (talk) 00:47, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi Twarther! Yup! That is all you do - just add your name on the member list and join in on editing. What project are you thinking about? Thanks for coming by the Teahouse =) Sarah (talk) 00:52, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
Some projects have welcome templates, in which case you may receive a note on your talk page after joining. And some don't - but in that case, it doesn't matter in terms of your editing! -- Trevj (talk) 08:17, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

hello! I would like some help.

I am pretty new to wikipedia and was wondering, I had an old account were I made the article Ryoka. It was deleted, and i am certainly not asking to bring it back. But why exactly was it deleted? How can I prove it's real? I mean, the micronation Ryoka itsef refuses to join any organisations soooo how do i prove that its real so it doesn't get removed? it is a real micronation, i myself, am the leader, aaaand i would like to know how i can prove it is real. Thank you! I love wikipedia and am trying to contribute!Johnryanz (talk) 22:42, 28 March 2012 (UTC)

The article Ryoka has been deleted multiple times.
Reasons were:
  • Web content which doesn't indicate its importance or significance: Article about an a real person, which does not assert notability
  • Empty content etc!
Who/what is Ryoka? You'll get some help here: Wikipedia:Starting_an_article.
Also mention in your old account that you have stopped using it, see Wikipedia:Sock puppetry.
If you have any question, you can ask! --Tito Dutta (Send me a message) 22:49, 28 March 2012 (UTC)

Hey, Johnrianz, and welcome to Wikipedia and the Teahouse! The problem here is that Wikipedia has a standard of inclusion for new articles; this standard is called "notability." Basically, this means that we need the topic to be significantly discussed in multiple, third party reliable sources. The reason for this policy is that, on Wikipedia, our invormation is only as good as our sources; we need all the information we have to be verifiable in reliable sources to be able to have it. If there are no sources on a given subject, then we can't write anything verifiable about it, and if there's nothing to write, we can't really have an article! If you want to write an article about Ryoka and get it to stay, you have to find multiple sources that discuss it at some length, and that are independent of the subject and reliable. Now, I'm sorry, but I have a feeling that Ryoka's just not going to be notable enough for its own article, but that's okay! Lots of people make articles that end up getting deleted, especially when they first start out; it's no big deal! My advice to you is to find an article that already exists on Wikipedia and try to make it better, remembering to support with good sources any new information you add. You'll get the hang of it, and it can be pretty fun! And, of course, you can always come back here to ask questions. Thanks! Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 22:54, 28 March 2012 (UTC)

Tags on Page

Hello,

I am the main editor for the Birds Nest Foundation wikipedia page. The page was tagged a few weeks back for a need of clean up, to be wikified and reorganization. The page has since been edited. How can these tags be removed?

Thank you.

Kaito.hara (talk) 16:16, 28 March 2012 (UTC)

  • Welcome to the Teahouse! Nice to see you here! I would be happy to take a look at the article and maintenance tags. Generally, once the issues identified have been addressed, you can either contact the editor that placed the tags and ask if you addressed the concerns sufficiently, or you can just be bold and remove the tags yourself. If others are watching the page and disagree with the removal, they would most likely mention it on the article talk page. Best regards, Cindy(talk to me) 16:36, 28 March 2012 (UTC)
    • I've gone ahead and cleaned up the article and made some copyedits. You can review the changes that I made and contact me on my talk page if you have any questions. I've removed the tags, since they no longer apply. At this point, we really need to find references to support the article. Rather than adding another tag at the top of the page to flag the lack of citations, I added notations within the article itself to indicate which content needs citations. Entire sections are unreferenced, including the content presenting awards and recognition. We need to find sources that support the article that are not associated or affiliated with the article subject or its affiliates. There are four references provided. Two cite the organization itself; one cites a blog, which is considered unreliable; and the fourth does not mention the subject. In order to establish notability, we need to support the article through significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or need additional help. Hope you have a great day! Best regards, Cindy(talk to me) 17:56, 28 March 2012 (UTC)

Genghis Khan

I understand that there are ~1000 'Vital' articles in need of attention, but there is one that is a serious mess that needs Admin attention (or anyone who can edit semi-protected articles).

That is Genghis Khan. In addition to being vital, it is of Top importance in three categories. Any assistance in clean-up or copy-edit would be appreciated. The talk page should give you an idea as to where to start. Thanks! ~Eric F184.76.225.106 (talk) 05:28, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Invitation only?

I sort of stumbled upon this page by accident -- is it supposed to be "invitation only"? ~Eric F184.76.225.106 (talk) 05:01, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

No way!! Everyone is welcome and it is super cool that you found us! Welcome, stick around and get to know some people. heather walls (talk) 05:10, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
Great! I don't have to feel like a party crasher. Btw, I'm not a "registered" editor. (No need to explain the benefits of registering -- it's a long story.) ~Eric F184.76.225.106 (talk) 05:18, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
That's okay, too. Feel free to ask anything you want! Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 05:21, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Why was I invited to teahouse?

I am a new editor and was wondering what this message was about. Thank you :)

JHerbertMunster (talk) 00:43, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Why not? :) But seriously, welcome to Wikipedia! We just saw that you were a new user, so we wanted to let you know that the Teahouse is here. The Teahouse is a pilot for a place to give new users a little more personalized help than just flooding them with hours-worth of links to policy pages. Basically, if you have any questions on how Wikipedia works (it gets pretty complicated every now and then), you can ask them here, and we'll do our best to answer. As I said, it's still a pilot, so there's not very much awareness of it yet around Wikipedia. Since it's not the go-to place for help yet, we rely on going out to new users and inviting them, to let them know that there's a place to go for their how-to questions. So, if you have any questions now or in the future, feel free to ask, and again, welcome to Wikipedia! Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 02:59, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Pictures

Hey, i'm a new editor wishing to help other people with their articles! I usually just edit spelling mistakes or wrong context. I'm also making my own articles! The first one i've made was an article called Barrettini. Anyway i've tried to upload images, but i don't now how to! Please help!!! Ragecode (talk) 23:33, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

Hello Ragecode and welcome to the Teahouse! Uploading images depends on if the image is free (the copyright expired or it was released into the public domain or if the image is non-free (the copyright holder retains all rights). First, you need to determine if the image is free, or in the public domain. You can go to Commons:Special:UploadWizard to learn and upload free images. If the image is non-free, then you need to follow Wikipedia:Non-free content to upload a non-free image. Remember, a non-free image cannot be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, as Commons is for free media files only. Hope this helps! -- Luke (Talk) 00:29, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
Wow, Luke! Wikipedia:Non-free content is a LOT of text. And I can't find where it says to upload non-free images if they are not allowed on Commons. Does that mean load them directly to Wikipedia? heather walls (talk) 01:32, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
Correct, you will have to upload non-free images to Wikipedia:File Upload Wizard and choose an appropriate non-free use rationale. You can only upload non-free media to English Wikipedia. Sorry if that was a little confusing. -- Luke (Talk) 02:00, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Bold!!?

What exactly do you mean by be bold. 20th Tryer ⚡✀ 21:12, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

The article Be BoldWikipedia:BeBold makes it seem editors can fearlessly and boldly edit. Yet this is not the case. Just look at the talk page here[1]

and here[2] . Here is a another interesting guardian newspaper link[3]. I may have just created an account yesterday, but I have been contributing for a long time as an IP. So here is what I want to do:

  1. Create a wikiproject helping users Bebold
  2. Create a userbox for bold users
  3. Write an essay about this

20th Tryer ⚡✀ 21:35, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi there 20th Tryer, and welcome to the Teahouse. :) Our "Be Bold" policy is Wikipedia's way of encouraging you to make any change that you believe will benefit the encyclopedia. Because the website is entirely maintained by volunteers, the old Smokey Bear slogan applies here very well: "Only you can prevent [the encyclopedia from degrading]". If you see a mistake or something that needs fixing, there no way of knowing when someone else will notice and take the time to fix it if you do not. Of course, being bold is not a free pass to do anything you want -- we still have rules you need to follow and will hopefully take the time to learn -- but if there's something to improve, please improve it! Nolelover Talk·Contribs 21:43, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
OK Nole, you win the award for one of the most awesome analogies ever. Smokey Bear. LOLZ! :) Sarah (talk) 21:49, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
20th Tryer, you can be fearless by being bold but not reckless. As Nolelover says if you think you are improving things then do it, but make sure that what you do is neutral and verifiable. Too many times boldness is used as an excuse for edits which are along the lines of "I believe this is true, so I'm going to add it" without any attempt at justifying what is being adding. Those edits are mostly made in good faith but if you can't back it up with sources, it is more than likely going to be taken the wrong way bu other editors, and remember they can be bold to and revert your edits. If you haven't already read past the first section of Be Bold to see what it says about putting your editing in context. NtheP (talk) 22:08, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

Need help with twinkle

How do I use twinkle. I thought it was supposed to be give me a revert button. But this site is glitched and the revert buttons aren't coming up.20thtryer (talk) 17:09, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi, to use Twinkle your account needs to autoconfirmed for which you need to have made 10 edits AND your account must be over 4 days old. As you only created your account yesterday, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the weekend. NtheP (talk) 17:16, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
Keep on editing! ;) Sarah (talk) 17:17, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

Rules getting in my way.

All these rules are seriously getting in the way of my edits!!!20thtryer (talk) 16:41, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

Hey there, and welcome to the Teahouse ... I'm sorry you're having a bad experience with editing, however. Could you possibly tell us what Wikipedia rules you have problems with? --McDoobAU93 16:43, 29 March 2012 (UTC)


Hey, 20thtryer, welcome to Wikipedia and the Teahouse! The normal answer to this is that, if a rule is preventing you from improving the encyclopedia, ignore it. You're welcome to try whatever it is you want to try, as long as you genuinely believe that it will improve Wikipedia, and a reasonable person would agree that it does.

**BUT:** you need to keep the following in mind: generally, the rules are there for a reason. If you're finding yourself completely ignoring many or all of the established policies of Wikipedia, it is probably a good sign that the change you want to make will not improve Wikipedia. Tread very cautiously around "ignore all rules" usually abbreviated IAR). Sometimes, you have to ignore them, but the trick is to know when those times are.

If you're not 100% sure that a reasonable person would agree with you on a change, it's always going to be better to ask someone else's opinion on it first. It's easier to ask for permission than forgiveness. And after all, we Teahouse hosts are more than happy to answer your questions about things like this! As McDoob says, we'd also be glad to explain any of the rules if you don't quite understand them. So, in closing, be bold, but don't be reckless. Thanks! Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 16:57, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

Article for creation won't submit, for the second time

Hi everyone. I've been working with a new editor on Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Edward Margolies. Both myself, and Cob have tried to resubmit the article via the "submit" button but the article shows no signs that it has been submitted. Anyone have any idea on how to submit it? Or what is going on? Thanks. Sarah (talk) 15:20, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

Yeah, I think I fixed this problem for that article before. What's happening is that the old submission template is superseding the new one posted by the submit link. You have to take the old submission template off first before you can add a new one. Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 15:24, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
Ok, I've never dealt with articles for creation before. Where is the new template? What's the story with that? Sorry, I'm just confused by the process. Article for creation usability fail. Sarah (talk) 15:27, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
Yeah, the AfC usability isn't great. No worries, I took care of it for you. BTW, I put your name in as submitter; let me know if you want the other editor's name in there, instead. Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 15:29, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
Thank you so much! Actually, the submitter should be User:Thecobbrooklyn. Thanks Writ!! Sarah (talk) 15:31, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
In the interest of teaching a man to fish, this is what needed to be removed:
{{AFC submission|d|npov|declinets=20120326101048|decliner=Dalisays|ts=20120326061421|u=Thecobbrooklyn|ns=5}}*{{afc comment|1=The article <redacted>)}}
I also moved the {{subst:submit}} to the top, since I think that's where reviewers prefer it. Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 15:29, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

Sources

What happens when you use a website for a source (for example nickelodeon.com) and you take current information from it but then the website gets updated then you no longer have a creditable source for the information you took from it? Thepoodlechef (talk) 02:43, 31 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi! This is always a risk when using online sources. When refrencing online sources, you normally add the date you accessed the site, so that people know which version of the page you looked at. This can be used to verify the content if it has been archived in something like the Wayback Machine. (You can also use WebSite to create an archive of the page just to avoid the problem, and include the archive URL in the citation). Otherwise, if there is no access date and/or archive someone checks the site and finds that it no longer supports whatever it is being used in the article, they may tag it as "failed verification" or remove the reference. - Bilby (talk) 04:50, 31 March 2012 (UTC)

How do I auto archive my talk page

I want to add a function to my talkpage that auto archives any comment with no new comments in 24 hours.20th Tryer ⚡✀ 17:13, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Hello again ... you'll want to install MiszaBot III on your talk page. The instructions for doing so can be found here. You just copy the script to the top of your talk page and fill in the parameters requested. It's pretty simple to change how often and where the bot archives your page. I've set up archives to place threads in folders based on the year in which they were started, for example. If it were me, I'd set the archive time a bit longer, maybe 3 days to a week at first, then lower it, unless you're on Wikipedia a lot; if you go a few days between visits, you may miss messages that are important if the bot archives them first. --McDoobAU93 18:19, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

How do I write a Wikipedia essay

well, how?20th Tryer ⚡✀ 16:56, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

I...don't think that's a good idea. If you want to, the normal way would be to just write it on a user subpage, but I really would recommend that you don't... Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 17:03, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
What is a sub-page.--20th Tryer ⚡✀ 17:06, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
A page you create below your user page like User:20thtryer/sandbox. NtheP (talk) 17:09, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
(edit conflict) A subpage would be your userpage (User:20thtryer) with a slash and the title after it. For example, if I wanted to write an essay about referencing I would put it at User:Nolelover/Referencing in Wikipedia. If you wanted to write one about, say, blocking, you might put it at User:20thtryer/Essay or User:20thtryer/Blocking. Like Writ Keeper said though, please be careful... Nolelover Talk·Contribs 17:11, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
What do I need to be so careful about.20th Tryer ⚡✀ 17:14, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
I'm going to reply on your talk page; it'll be easier to follow there, I think. Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 17:24, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
Thanks Writ. Nolelover Talk·Contribs 17:28, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

A place where users get blocked

If you are wondering where users get blocked check out this place where loads of people get blocked everyday.20th Tryer ⚡✀ 16:38, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Yes, ANI is a well-known forum on Wikipedia among editors. Unfortunately, most of the blocks issued there are completely justified....As Writ Keeper said below, we can't let vandals, trolls and single purpose accounts just run free, and there are many of them :( Nolelover Talk·Contribs 16:43, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
Which raises another question ... you've made several posts regarding blocking policy. Would you care to enlighten us as to what has brought about all these concerns? --McDoobAU93 16:46, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Cause everyone says "don't block me".20th Tryer ⚡✀ 16:55, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Anyway, what difference does it make exactly.20th Tryer ⚡✀ 16:58, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
Well, I'm not sure that everyone says "don't block me" -- to date, we've had two editors concerned about being blocked here at the Teahouse -- but if you give us specific examples we might be able to explain or help you understand what is going on. Nolelover Talk·Contribs 17:08, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
Trolls will be quickly blocked but in my experience people are not blocked for trying to contribute constructively even when they are making mistakes. There are a few editors who pretend to be polite while using Wikipedia's own policies to annoy other editors and they may eventually get blocked if they ignore repeated warnings. Generally it is unlikely anyone will be blocked unless they are seriously disruptive. I do not understand where these concerns are coming from.--Charles (talk) 17:30, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Someone needs to rethink blocking policy.

For too long users are being bullied and threatened to a block. So I say no more warnings to AGF users and no more block threats.20th Tryer ⚡✀ 16:27, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Well, that's a good idea in theory, but unfortunately, some new users do need to be blocked sometimes. We get a *lot* of vandals who have no intention of improving the encyclopedia, and we can't just let them run free; we have to block them to limit the damage to the encyclopedia. After all, "assume good faith" is not a suicide pact. Now, anyone who posts here asking a question about how Wikipedia works is probably going to be a good-faith contributor, so there's nothing to worry about here! Just, sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do, and blocking as a tool is something we always need to keep in the back of our toolbox. Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 16:33, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
You are probably one of the better contributor who actually AGF, there are some admins who actually enjoy blocking.20th Tryer ⚡✀ 16:37, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
I honestly don't think any admins "enjoy blocking". It's done because it needs to be done in that particular case. There is no "you do X you get blocked immediately, even if it's your very first edit" on Wikipedia that I'm aware of. --McDoobAU93 16:45, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
I do sincerely believe that many users enjoy blocking and reverting vandals, I can think of good examples straight away.
There is a great difference in block policy or at least it's application across Wikipedia, which reflects the national culture. As an example I saw the other day a user who had been blocked on a different language Wikipedia for a matter of hours. That's not a case I have come across on en wiki. More effort should be put onto streamlining 'vandals' into useful editors faster. It will save Wikipedia. Penyulap ☏ 23:56, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Are you allowed to copy and paste things on wikipedia. Are you allowed to share it. Are you even allowed to remix it????20th Tryer ⚡✀ 16:04, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia! Do you mean copy and pasting things INTO Wikipedia or OUT OF Wikipedia? The first one (into), would be a no. The second is a yes, please read the Terms of Use. If you have any more questions, you can contact me on my talk page. Thanks, Nathan2055talk 16:08, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
Like Nathan says, it all depends on which way the copying and pasting is going. If you, for example, want to copy an article to your blog that is perfectly fine as long as you release that blog post (I think?) under that same license as Wikipedia. Now, you cannot copy most material into Wikipedia (the exceptions being when the owner of the external content has released the material under an applicable license or it is public domain). Because of Wikipedia's edit historys, we also ask that you do not copy content from one article to another Wikipedia page without some sort of attribution of full page move. This is pretty complicated stuff, so I hope that didn't fly completely over your head. We'll be happy to clarify anything for you. :) Nolelover Talk·Contribs 16:27, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia Books

Well a question I asked last time would have blocked me. But I request to my hosts, This is not to be blocked. Okay here is the question :What are these Wikipedia Books?--Monareal (talk) 14:15, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Book are collections are collections of Wikipedia articles that can be saved, downloaded or printed, have a look at WP:Books for more information. They are normally grouped by topic. NtheP (talk) 15:17, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Waxing Wikipedic

Obviously, this is a Q&A forum -- is there someplace else for philosophic WP musings? ~Eric "The Read" F184.76.225.106 (talk) 09:30, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi Eric, welcome to the teahouse! There's no reason you can't wax away here, I'm sure we'd be interested, and might be able to give you a second opinion. The other option a lot of people do is create essays on a topic, which anyone can read. I've been fiddling around with a few for a while in my userspace, for example this rant on civility. I was going to start linking to them when I was happy with them, but at the moment, it's just a place for me to muse. WormTT · (talk) 10:58, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Questions

Okay, I am bold enough to ask a question here by now, I think so. Okay Can we propose a thing we want to make on Wikipedia?--Monareal (talk) 08:33, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Propose away, it might be all we can do is point you to a different place on Wikipedia where there are people who are better placed to help or advise you, but this is as good a place as any to start. NtheP (talk) 09:10, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Well, I proposed on Wikiproject Spaceflight but the members were busy. So I got only an answer 4 days later.--Monareal (talk) 09:14, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Than you for your enthusiasm to contribute. Things do take time here because people are often busy in real life. I would allow a week or more for people to see a new section and comment.--Charles (talk) 09:23, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Yeah but in teahouse, I get answers in hours--Monareal (talk) 09:30, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Owww, thanks. But that's just because we are many, and we worry about peoples experience in Wikipedia. Most projects (and community spaces, such as the village pump) will not have as many fast responses. This is normal Wikipedia behavior, it is just that we like to spoil our guests with very quick, great and hot tea! Chico Venancio (talk) 12:50, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

In a second, Wikipedia turned into Mein Kampf!--Monareal (talk) 13:51, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

I mean, I encountered a disaster!--Monareal (talk) 15:59, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

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