Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2006 December 11

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.

December 11

Icon

Why does Wikipedia (and other websites) automatically download it's icon to my desktop and how can I stop it? 66.232.210.219 00:44, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

We don't. It sounds to me like you have some spyware installed. Try downloading and running Ad-Aware and SpyBot, both excellent anti-spyware programs. If that doesn't help, try asking the Computing Reference Desk. --Sam Blanning^(talk) 00:54, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Posting Pics On The Top Of The Page

I'm having trouble putting images on Wikipedia. I already have the file downloaded as a PNG, but I don't know how to add it to the right of the screen. (It should go on top).

Generally the code for adding an image to the right of the screen would be [[Image:Pix.gif|thumb|200px|caption]] (replacing '200px' with your preferred size, in pixel width, and 'caption' with a caption). Add this code at whichever point you want the image to appear. For more information, try the picture tutorial. --Sam Blanning^(talk) 00:52, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Audio files on wikipedia

I have tried to access a few audio files and it comes up with a box telling me to save it - which I do, but I'm unable to view the file either through the internet or windows media/realplayer. I know It's pbably something really obvious but I'm not exactly a techno wiz! 82.3.249.255 00:49, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia audio files are in the Ogg Vorbis format, which is rather unusual (rather than the WAV and MP3 formats you're probably more used to). Help on listening to these files is at Wikipedia:Media help. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:51, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Media help (Ogg) specifically. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:52, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Icon

Why does Wikipedia and other websites automatically download it's icon to my desktop and how can I stop it? Using IE 7.0. Thanks St107st 00:54, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

See three sections above. --Sam Blanning^(talk) 00:56, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

My Uploaded Files Not Recognized?

After I download a file, it goes to the screen where it shows the picture you just uploaded, and underneath, it has a link, where is shows the name of the file, and then what type of file it is. (Ex. Monkey.JPG) So, I simply copy and paste that link to the page I want to do it on. (Ex.

caption

) But when I copy and paste that link to the page I am editing, it still does not show the picture.

Am I doing something wrong?

From the output it seems it wasn't uploaded at all. But if you saw it uploaded, then it might be a linking problem. Try to use the image's pagename instead of that link underneath it. Parutakupiu ^{talk || contribs} 02:24, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

If your file is Monkey.JPG then I don't think it was uploaded because your logs indicate you have uploaded 3 images, one has been deleted and the other 2 are Image:Johnny Christ.PNG and Image:Johnny Christ.JPG. Just upload it again, though make sure it has correct copyright status! See WP:UPIMAGE. 03:44, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

• Make sure the name can be distinguished from other images. With a title like "monkey.jpg" there's too much chance of an accidental override. I usually include my name in images I upload. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:47, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Writing articles about your own site

I am a webmaster of a site that I consider to be fairly professional. (in nature, of course, since we are just a fansite) I was wondering if I am allowed to write a Wikipedia article about my site, Ani-Gamers! (anigamers.ms11.net) I would obviouly write it in NPOV, but am I not allowed to write it at all since there is a potential for bias? If I am not permitted to write this article, is it possible that another volunteer could write one for me?

Also, when writing an article like this, am I allowed to use information from my own knowledge, since it is my website and I know the most about it?

I'm sorry if this whole thing sounds like an advertisement, but I think any site with any sort of force on the internet deserves an article, even if it is not necessarily well-known.

Thanks in advance for your answer.

Check out WP:COI. Cbrown1023 02:13, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, is it possible then that another volunteer could write this article? I read an above post, and it seems that all information put on it would have to come from a veritable source, even if I know it is true. Would posting it on a "site history" page on Ani-Gamers! count as a veritable source? -Vampt Vo

You could always try to list it at Wikipedia:Requested articles, but the site still has to pass the various notability requirements. If an article is written, and the site isn't regarded as notable by Wikipedia's standards, the article is likely to be deleted. Bjelleklang - talk 03:02, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

That, and your forums have exactly 5 members. Of course, that's not the only notability criterion, but irregardless, your site doesm't meet WP:WEB, sorry. --Wooty Woot? contribs 03:13, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Display issue

On the page USS Missouri (BB-63) there is a template at the bottom for the Iowa class battleships, which she is a part of; however it wont display right. Could some one take a look at it see if they can fix it, because I am getting tired of trying and failing. TomStar81 (Talk) 03:24, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

I think you have an unclosed tag somewhere. Cbrown1023 03:31, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Weirdly enough, when one clicks the references section edit button it previews the template correctly. Parutakupiu ^{talk || contribs} 03:34, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

I fixed your problem, you didn't have a terminating }} somewhere. Cbrown1023 03:35, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

I noticed that as well, that is how I knew it was a coding problem further up in the article. :) But it doesn't matter anymore. Cbrown1023 03:36, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Thank You very much, that looks a lot better than it did. TomStar81 (Talk) 04:43, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

links to dates

Hello. I'm very new to editing Wikipedia, but am trying to find some small things to do to try out my technical skills. I've noticed that a lot of dates are linked - meaning that the phrase "March 13" is linked to another page describing things that happened on March 13. This seems a little trivial to me in the context of most articles. Is this a Wikipedia standard? If so, it would be good to know before removing such links. In addition, I notice that sometimes the date is linked and sometimes it's not. If it's supposed to be one way over the other, than I don't mind going with the Wikipedia standard. Thanks, Trigari 04:29, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

You want to look at the Wikipedia:Manual of Style (dates and numbers).—WAvegetarian•(talk) 04:35, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Perfect - exactly what I was looking for - I better go back and "undo" a few changes I've made to dates now... Thanks. Trigari 04:55, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Multiple uploads

Is there an easy way to upload multiple photos? I'm hoping to add over 100 photos under the same license. -- CoolGuy 04:33, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

If you want you can upload them to the Wikimedia Commons so that people can use them on any language wikipedia and other projects such as wikibooks. There is a question like this in the Commons FAQ and it says you can. If you still want to upload them to only wikipedia, I'm not sure you can upload many at once. James086^{Talk | Contribs} 05:13, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

I just wrote my first article

It's a teensy-weensy stubby-stub, but the sources are rich and it will continue to grow as I have time. How do I list it? Isn't there a place I'm supposed to announce it somewhere? Thank you NinaEliza 05:30, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

What you can do is insert the article in certain categories to which the subject might relate to (i.e. sports, politics, and more specific categories) and people can see it when they browse those categories. You can do that by tagging the article with the [[Category:"Category name"]] tag. But here it explains better - WP:CAT and FAQ. Parutakupiu ^{talk || contribs} 05:37, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Provided you made the article in the namespace it should be fine. Simply wikilink (place 2 square brackets around it [[the article]]) the title of the article and it should be there. Or you can search it on the sidebar. There's no need to announce a new article, but if you want help with a new article (feedback) then try Requests for feedback. I hope this helped as I'm not entirely sure what you meant. James086^{Talk | Contribs} 05:44, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks both. Parutakupiu, you were right on the money. Thanks again to both of you. NinaEliza 05:54, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

pronunciation

How is "Wikipedia" pronounced?

"Wee-kee-pee-dee-uh" or you can see the Wiki article. James086^{Talk | Contribs} 05:44, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Depends on dialect, though.martianlostinspace 22:47, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Transsexual

Is there a policy on how articles about transsexual persons should be written? I'm looking for info specifically on which pronouns should be used to refer to the post-op person. Dismas|^(talk) 08:01, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Nevermind. Found it. Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Identity. Dismas|^(talk) 08:06, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Translate Article

How can I translate a current article into the other languages and publish it?—Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.175.144.3 (talk • contribs)

Most translation is into English for posting here, but you seem to be suggesting the opposite. We do have translators at Wikipedia:Translators available who might help you.--Kchase T 08:56, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Gmail

how can i transfer the articles from wikipedia to my gmail account—Preceding unsigned comment added by Nprakash434 (talk • contribs)

I suppose you could copy and paste (select what you want to transfer, press "Ctrl" + "C" then go to write an email and press "Ctrl" + "V"). Alternatively you could link the article (copy and paste the address from the address bar at the top of the page). I hope I've answered your question, it threw me a little :) James086^{Talk | Contribs} 09:10, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Deleting an entry

Hi, I'm a new user of Wikipedia and want to submit an article (which I have not finished writing yet!) I submitted the subject this morning by accident and cannot delete it, the article won't be finished until after Christmas. Basically I'm wondering will I be blocked for submitting a subject title with an empty body. Can you delete an entry and resubmit it again when the article is finished? Thanks! Mary Marywalsh80 12:13, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

• No, you won't be blocked. Someone already proposed its deletion and I did it since you requested it. - Mgm|^(talk) 12:21, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for fixing my problem!!

Missing edit/How to "talk" on a page

On the "Monoclonal antibodies" page, I tried adding simpled sentence about "Herceptin", because it is am important clinical monoclonal (fragment) approved and in use. The upload seemed to take, that is the page finished loading, and there were no error messages. This was Sunday evening, EST. However, the edit is not there. Any clue as to what happened.

I wanted to post this question using the "talk tab", but I did not see a link to add a question.

I amusing FireFox, do I need to be using IE?

TIA

Karl

According to your contributions list, you've never edited any page but the Help Desk. It's possible that you clicked 'show preview' rather than 'save page' and forgot to save. As for Talk-page discussions, they're just like any other page; Wikipedia:Tutorial has a section on Talk page editing (read the Introduction first if you haven't already). --ais523 12:59, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

How to I add myself to various categories of wikipedian?

I think it's cool that wikipedian user pages shpw what categories they are in and what languages they are proficient in. How do I do this ? Johncmullen1960 14:26, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

You can add yourself to a category simply by adding its name to your userpage in double square brackets, e.g. [[Category:User en-N]] will add you to the category for native speakers of English. However, many of these categories are also added by Userboxes, particularly the language templates, which are covered more thoroughly at Wikipedia:Babel. --Sam Blanning^(talk) 14:47, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Articles with similar names to existing articles

So I'm thinking about writing an article on Positive Selection in the context of the immune system.

The thing is, "positive selection" is also an evolutionary term, and this usage is probably more common.

So a search for positive selection is redirected to directional selection

Once I made my article, how would I go about linking to it?

Wedgeoli 15:30, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

• You probably want Wikipedia:Disambiguation. - Mgm|^(talk) 16:18, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Category link not working

I've been trying to add 'Lung volumes' category to Peter Reed (rower). I have done it but the link does not work. Peter Reed is cited on the lung volume page as having the largest reported lung volume but i can't put a link his page to that one. Please may you help me?

There is no Category:Lung volumes (hence the red link). Are you sure that such a category exists? It would be a strange topic for a category. --Sam Blanning^(talk) 16:56, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Suggestion

I do not know how else to contact you, but since this is a reference site and many people probably refer to it for research papers it would be great if you could cite yourselves at the end of the articles. That would increase the publics ablility to cite because no one knows how to cite a website correctly as it is and seeing it done correctly would be awesome.

Have you tried the "Cite this article" link in the toolbox that's on the left-hand side of every article? I think that provides the functionality you want. Cheers, Tangotango 16:09, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

• Incidently, it also has a "Contact Wikipedia" link too. - Mgm|^(talk) 16:19, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Unsourced article tagged by SmackBot has beeen repaired. What happens next?

A bot tagged an article I wrote for not having sources. (Blockhead!) I went back and cited sources for the article, but the tags are still there. Does someone come by and remove the tags? Or do I do that myself? Knulclunk 16:43, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

You can remove them yourself. --Sam Blanning^(talk) 16:53, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Creating a page

how do you create a page or article about something —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Tomsigsworth (talk • contribs) 16:54, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Your first article and then Help:Starting a new page. --Sam Blanning^(talk) 17:07, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Portal:Spaceflight

Something is wrong with this pages layout. I can't find the problem though. Could someone take a look? Rmhermen 18:25, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

I got it. The problem was vandalism on Portal:Spaceflight/Selected picture. I've also begun updating the portal. It doesn't look like it was being actively maintained Thanks for noticing the formatting issue. Canderson7 ^(talk) 20:56, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

hair problem

Hello Tyra,

i like your show very much.i saw your last beauty emegency show,it was amazing.

i have some question.can you help me about my hair problem?

my hair is very thin and don,t growing up.i have dandruffe also.so what should i do?

i want thick hair.sometime i don't other hair style. please give me some information about hair product .i always still suffer on this problem.

HELP ME! Thank you. sheetal removed email address for submitter's safety

I do believe you've posted this to the wrong place. If you have a general question, try the Reference desk. -- Kesh 19:32, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Deleting My Account

How do i delete my account? Chesterman247 19:03, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

This is not possible, but you can simply stop using it at any time. Notinasnaid 19:07, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Finance question: Which reference disk?

I've got a theoretical question about stock options. Which reference disk should I pose this to? Humanities, Science, Mathematics, Misc.?

I would say Humanities - "law" and "society" are probably closest to the subject. --Sam Blanning^(talk) 19:50, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

If you're asking something about ways to model the price of stock options, though, I'd recommend Mathematics. Confusing Manifestation 10:55, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Add an edit to my Watchlist

I was apparently not logged in when I made an edit to a page. How do I "claim" this and have it added to my watchlist of changes?--Attorneykid 20:58, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

If you mean you want to add the page to your contributions list of edits you made, unfortunately there is no way to do this. However, what is important is not the number of your edits but how much you can contribute to our project.

If you mean you want to watch the page for future changes, you can click on the "watch" tab in the upper right hand corner of any page. Welcome aboard! Newyorkbrad 21:02, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks! I appreciate the information. Yes, I did mean that I wanted to add the page to my contributions list of edits I have made. I'll just watch the page, however, to keep tabs on the changes. --Attorneykid 21:05, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

You could post something on the anonymous User page indicating that it's really you. User:Zoe|(talk) 00:16, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

mecury messenger of the gods logo

Where can I find an mercury (messenger of the gods)image? Also looking for advertising pictures of signs. Thanx. 20:49, 11 December 2006 (UTC)~gregory20:49, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Mercury (mythology) and Advertisements. Cbrown1023 21:14, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Guidance in contacting our Congressman

        I am not sure where I am suppose to go to write a letter to our Congressman.  

I have a problem in Reno, Nevada with out of control Social Workers. I could not find out who to contact with my situation. I was told that I have to write my Congressman. Is this true? I've never had to deal with situations like this before. But enough is enough. There has to be a way to fight back when you get an out-of-control Social Worker that is playing God. Please help or guide me in the right direction. Thank you very much, and I'm sorry if I'm in the wrong department, Kathy GrayTookrazy4u 21:28, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Hi, welcome to Wikipedia. I suggest you take your question here [1]. The Ref Desk are better for answering these questions. And don't worry if you've got the wrong department... anyone who hasn't got patience with the new kids on the block shouldn't really be here. No worries. martianlostinspace 22:43, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Problem logging in

I'm positive that I have an account (Jil) in en.wikipedia.org as I have it in commons.* and fi.*. The problem is that I cannot log in to en.* site. I tried to email me the password for the account in en.*, but at least so far haven't got the email. It might be that I didn't supply the email address way back when I created the account. This is not the place to argue how stupid it is to demand a separate account and login for each wikimedia project, there are reasons for that, I understand. I just need to find a way to get ahold of the account here now that I finally found an inspiration to contribute, starting from the fi.* site. What is it that I need to do to make it happen? Just creating a new account isn't an option -- I want to have a consistent account name on every site. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.197.9.123 (talk) 21:49, 11 December 2006 (UTC).

Sorry, but if you look here [2], the account "Jil" apparently doesn't exist. I apologise for suggesting this (you've already ruled it out), but if you do create a new account, then you can still change you signiature to anything - even if it isn't your account name. (Just keep it reasonable.) Have you made many edits? If you are successful in re-locating your old account (even if you can't access it), then you could leave a message on your user-page, saying you're the same person - you just forgot you password. Have you checked your junkmail? You need to get it exactly right.martianlostinspace 22:38, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

And no, the old account can't be deleted, and then re-created for you... sorry.martianlostinspace 22:39, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Actually, that account does exits. Cbrown1023 22:46, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for your help so far. The first thing after not getting in was to try and create the account again and found out that the account exists. Since it's been quite a while since I last logged in using the account, I wasn't sure if it had been removed or something. I also checked my trash mails with no luck. I know that I haven't edited any articles on en.* site, so there's no log for the Jil account, but the account's been around for a year or two. My only edits are on the fi.* site.

Unfortunately, there isn't any way to get into an account without the password. If you don't have an email set in your account (and the result of clicking "Email this user" on your userpage suggests you don't), then you can't get in. However, single-login is coming, and if you have edits under that account name elsewhere, you will take control of that username here by default (when single login goes live). Additionally, there is a discussion at Wikipedia:Usurpation to allow users to seize unused account names; discussion seems to be primarily in favor of that, so check back in a few weeks and we may be able to help you there. Essjay (Talk) 00:38, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Sourcing a modified image

Hello all,

I am currently doing an essay on the breakup of the Soviet Union, and I would like to include a map that I got from the Wikipedia Commons (Image:Soviet_Union_Map.png). I have modified the map, so I am wondering how I would state my source. Should I give the address of the original map, and mention that I have modified it? Or do I need to name a source at all?

Thanks very much for your help! (Moonbeast 22:49, 11 December 2006 (UTC))

I would list the previous image just in case. Cbrown1023 22:56, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Incorrect Information

Dear Sirs: Truly I have looked to the Wikipedia for information on health issues, history, and so on, finding information thinking it was accurate. Until I looked up the information that you have linking the Jehovah's Witnesses with the MILLERITES? And to highlight especially that Charles Taze Russell was a MILLERITE is insulting, because what he was, was a BIBLE STUDENT. He was constantly, as hopefully your business is, updating and refining any theological study he did. If your inaccurate information links Russell with the Millerites, then why does it not contain the fact that Sir Isaac Newton(1642-1727)wrote that he too thought that Christ would return and reign, and it would be "invisible to mortals." Couldn't Russell also be linked to NEWTONITES? Or would that give him some credibility to Russell's Bible search? As in the days of Jesus Christ when the people were looking for the Messiah, so were the Theologians or Bible Students of the mid 1800's, (Seiss, Wilson, Keith, Storrs,Wendell) not necessarily, were MILLERITES, but were looking for the Invisible Second Coming of the Christ. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.229.219.26 (talk) 23:08, 11 December 2006 (UTC).

I think that, if you assumed Wikipedia was always 100% accurate, you missed the point that this is the encyclopedia that anyone can edit. You are welcome to join us in our task: Wikipedia has an objective to report all significant points of view, with appropriate sources. Notinasnaid 23:55, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Bogota Clumbia

I am trying to find a picture of Bogota Columbia for my daughter for school.I am having no luck at finding it.All she needs is a picture of the state so I can print it for her to take to school.Please can someone help me find this.She needs this tomorrow 12/12/06.Thank you so much. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.247.21.101 (talk) 23:23, 11 December 2006 (UTC).

Here you have a map of the Bogotá, D.C. state (Image:Mapa_administrativa_Bogota.png) which is included in its article page (Bogotá). Parutakupiu ^{talk || contribs} 23:50, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

What kind of picture? A map? A panorama? Anchoress 23:57, 11 December 2006 (UTC)