Wikipedia:New contributors' help page

What would you like to do?

Ask a question	Do something
Ask a knowledge question that you cannot find the answer to in the encyclopedia. (e.g. Did Leonardo da Vinci build a working flying machine?)	Learn about how and where you can help Wikipedia (information and resources on the basics needed to comprehend, comment on, and contribute to Wikipedia)
Ask a question at the Teahouse about using or editing Wikipedia that you cannot find the answer to in the Frequently Asked Questions. (e.g. How can I fix this problem with this article?)	Create an article now (see Your first article before you start)
Ask a question about a practical problem you have that is not related to using or editing Wikipedia. (e.g. I was cheated by a builder. Please Help.)	Request that other editors review your new article

Ways to get help

If you place {{helpme}} on your talk page, a helper will visit you there as soon as possible!
Join the #wikipedia-en-help IRC channel for real-time chat. New to IRC? Click here to be connected instantly!
The template below outlines Wikipedia's help pages and can be viewed at the bottom of most related pages.

(Click "show" on the right to expand the template)

sending images to wikimedia commons

Is there a simple way to send images from wikipedia english to wikimedia commons without uploading the original files one at a time? I had added about 60 images to wikipedia before someone told me that other language users can't access them.

Profberger 07:42, 1 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I believe you will need to upload them all again, then tag the local copies for deletion. I cannot offer any more detail, so I suggest that you ask at VPA or perhaps a talk page of one of the image help pages. Adrian M. H. 14:51, 1 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Aha I think I have seen a loophole! If I clearly state that I cede these images to wikipediacommons then they may be sent by effectivley any user - am I right? - see my

and the message attached for transefering to wikicommons. I certainly do transfer the rights on all my images but do I have to do each one? I know I'm being a pedantic a**hole but I'd like to see the system work more smoothly....

19:05, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

New article "help"

This is much more of a labarath than I anticipated. I'm pretty fluent in HTML, but I'm having difficulty understanding the Wikipedia way. Things like the "Sandbox" also confuse me further. I'm of above above average intelligence and think would be great to add some things that I find no reference to, but this is hard!

Is there anyone who could hold my hand and maybe tutor me a little until I get the feel?

Fishing464 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Fishing (talk • contribs) 15:32, 1 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Read WP:FIRST. It will give a good idea of how to actually write the article. Also, Wikipedia does not use HTML. We use what's called Wikitext. I highly recommend you read that article, as well as the ones it links to, as it will give you a good idea of what do to. Wikitext is designed to be an easy to learn method of formatting text, as well as being able to be read and look just fine in it's plaintext version. I also highly recommend This Index of good things to know to any new users. If you need any help, feel free to stop by my talk page (it's in my signature and leave a comment) --Longing.... 14:38, 1 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

how to create a page

WP:FIRST --Longing.... 18:16, 1 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Obie Stillwell

I recently tried to create a page about Obie Stillwell. I am gathering more information but I wanted to begin the process to figure out the proper way to post this. Anyway, I received a "delete" message and I wanted to see what I am doing wrong. This person, Obie Stillwell, was recently voted as one of the most inspirational former student-athletes at The Ohio State University. As a former teammate of his, I thought it would be great to let people know (especially young kids) about the power of hardwork and determination. Can you please help me on this? I am new to this whole process... I guess if I had a template or checklist of "to-do" items then I could better prepare the article. Well, thanks for you time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ryan.millerM2 (talk • contribs) 19:21, 1 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Your talk page and the deletion log show that CSD A7 – or the absence of sufficient notability was the reason. Adrian M. H. 18:48, 1 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

RE: the Paul Liberman information

What is written there is ambiguous. I do not think Paul himself was the source of that information. The MJAA has quite a liberal viewpoint on many topics. The UMJC is quite conservative and some of them venture into orthodoxy. Does it make sense that a very well known leader of a liberal messianic movement would be a co-founder of a conservation movement? Although it is true, some Rabbi's of the two movements will interchangeably speak as guests at conferences, it is not likely that an executive of MJAA (which is true) founded their competition (probably not true). Their business practices and teachings can be quite different.

To the best of my recollection it was the Segals who were heading the Joseph Project in Israel. Paul was the CEO of the Jerusalem Counsel II organization that sought out legal rights for messianics in Israel. Rumor has it he spent much time in the Israeli courts.

You want to bring this up on the "Discussion" page of the article, e.g. this Discussion page re Paul Liberman. That's where people are interested in the actual subject matter and the correctness and apropriateness of the material. Here at the New Contributor's Help page we're interested in answering questions about the mechanics of contributing.Pete St.John 15:40, 13 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Executive Producer

I understand that Darren Bagert, the two-time TONY Award-winning producer, has been hired in the past to Executive Producer other shows in NYC and elsewhere. Does anyone have contact information for him or his InvestBROADWAY.com website? Much appreciated.

This board is for help on the basics of Wikipedia, not a general chat page. That said, I recommend taking this to perhaps Texags.com and check out their culture or general forum. — BQZip01 — ^talk 06:36, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Fixing missing images in articles

I found an article with a thumbnail of a now-gone file. What do I do? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Digitalgadget (talk • contribs) 18:09, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you know of no alternative, just remove the wiki syntax that displayed the image. Adrian M. H. 17:17, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, I did. I wish there was something more I could do. --Digitalgadget 17:22, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

need to delete page

I am a new contributor. I wanted to change the title of my page, and instead of moving it (which I didn't know I could do) I just made a new page with the same information. I'd like to delete "184th Wing" and keep "184th Wing Kansas Air National Guard." Can someone help me do this? 184jayhawks 17:35, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You cannot delete it, only administrators can but you should move it not create a new one with the exact title. Ds.mt 17:36, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I read something about "Speedy deletion" tags. --DigitalGadget 17:50, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes per the WP:CSD, Ds.mt 17:51, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I Can't Find the Article I was Prepping

Hi. I started working on an article about bowler Buzz Fazio. I had to stop momentarily so I saved the work, or so I thought, by clicking the "Save" button on that page. Now I'm back but I can't find my work. Can you help? Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Information Outlet (talk • contribs) 18:58, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Did you create it? If so it must have been deleted because your only contribution is to here, what was the article called? Ds.mt 17:59, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Buzz Fazio - There you go. Please also consider reading WP:BIO and WP:RS. PeaceNT 03:25, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Tables: Formulas?

Are the Tables in Wikipdia able to process mathmatical formulas?

In other words, if I want the sum of cells A1+A2 to appear in cell A3, can I do it?

In calculating the populations of countries, it would sure be nice to be able to have it add all the numbers in the column and sum them up in a total box.

Does Wikipedia already have this feature? If so, where can I find the formulas that work in cells? I've been looking all afternoon trying to find information but without success.

Thanks!
(TS Brumwell 21:18, 2 August 2007 (UTC))[reply]

Nothing beyond what you will find in Magic words and Parser functions. Adrian M. H. 21:37, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The second one, incidentally, can get complex to the point of being annoying. Adrian M. H. 21:38, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

unknown band using wiki for advertising

Hi, I brought up a local band here in Portland that has a wiki page that is only used for advertising. I spotted it like 6 months ago and tried to edit it, but the mods put it back. I am wondering how this band can get away with having a wiki site when they are not popular, unknown, unsigned and have incorrect info throughout their page. It is basically a myspace site wihtout the friends. the band name is " Still Pending " if anyone would care to ive me some info. If they are OK having a page, can I create a page for a few better known bands that actually DO have major endorsements and product sponsors and do actually get on tv a lot? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Maxpowersimpson (talk • contribs)

Well, it appears that Still Pending might be unsigned, but it's also got quite a few citations and appears to have been on Cartoon Network as well as involved in some interesting programs. The article was deleted through AFD but overturned at Deletion Review not long afterwards due to new information being provided. If you feel it should be deleted, you can always try another Articles for Deletion discussion. If there are problems with the article, then discuss them on the talk page if your changes are reverted. As for adding other bands, if you feel they meet the music guidelines, especially with regards to having multiple, non-trivial reliable sources indicating why they're notable, then go for it. Tony Fox (arf!) 03:51, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Articles with limited sources

I guess you could say I'm a fan of the underdog and a huge contributer to putting information online about rising stars... or neglected ones! Sometimes though, the problem is that I don't have an extensive range of sources to use. While I do have few of them (incuding TV.com and IMDB.com for the most part) I'm worried that only citing two websites in an article (or more, depending) will promote its proposal for deletion. Are TV.com and IMDB.com considered reliable sources for Wikipedia? I know that I've tried submitting information to both these sites and had my contribution rejected because my source was not reliable enough (the reason was that it was not an official site, etc) which gives me the impression that the information found on these websites are completely, or as close as can be, to accurate. In less words, are TV.com and IMDB.com good enough sources for information on new actors, musicians and models? I'm mad about adding the information I can find (given that it is reliable) to profiles of upcoming names, and Wikipedia is a great way to get the information known... I just don't want to encounter 'vandalism' deletions or have my articles proposed for deletion. Thankyou!

--Rosario 01:15, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Please see our reliable source policy, specifically Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Examples#Use of electronic or online sources. PeaceNT 03:26, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See WT:RS: The IMDB is not considered to be a reliable source at all. The discussion there outlines why. Adrian M. H. 09:37, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Patti Smith Early Years

I have a different account of Patti Smith that I would like to post. How do I do that? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Puluki (talk • contribs)

Well, the Patti Smith article is right there; if you have information that would be of use in that article, then as long as it's verifiable and properly sourced, you may be able to insert it there. If it's something that might be contentious, though, discuss it on the talk page of that article, and see what other editors think. Tony Fox (arf!) 03:57, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Removing biased and personal views from a page

Hi, I want to edit the page on Brain Gym. As it stands, the page has a large part of the content that reflects the personal antagonistic and biased view of a particular person who is conducting what amounts to a vendetta against the Brain Gym technique, its practitioners and the many people who have written to him to say he is wrong!

I have tried to edit out the middle paragraph (included below to show the situation) so that this personal view is removed and the content becomes more balanced. However, the Wikipedia system has not allowed me to do this.

Paragraph that I would like to remove:- Brain Gym has been particularly criticized by Ben Goldacre of The Guardian's Bad Science pages. He found no supporting evidence for the assertions put forward by Brain Gym proponents in any of the main public research databases.[2] Upon learning that the program was used at hundreds of UK state schools, he called it a "vast empire of pseudoscience" and went on to dissect parts of their teaching materials, refuting for instance claims that rubbing the chest would stimulate the carotid arteries, that "[p]rocessed foods do not contain water", or that liquids other than water "are processed in the body as food, and do not serve the body's water needs."[3] Many teachers responded by writing letters in support of Brain Gym. Goldacre reiterated his point that exercises and breaks were good for students, and that he was merely attacking "the stupid underlying science of Brain Gym".[4] In a separate column, Philip Beadle sided with him, adding that Goldacre's "argument is with what Dr Barry Beyerstein, a professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada, describes as 'commercial ventures promoted by hucksters who mislead consumers into thinking that their products are sound applications of scientific knowledge'." [5]

Please advise me.

thanks Braingymer Braingymer 15:02, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, but it's a well sourced entry. You should probably not remove it. Discuss it on the article's talk page --L-- 15:05, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

More on Brain Gym entry

A respondant replied to my recent post saying that I should not remove a biased, personal view, because the paragraph was well sourced.

Just because an article is well-sourced does not mean that the sourcing accurately relates to the topic of the article!

For example, look at the last sentance of this paragraph.

"In a separate column, Philip Beadle sided with him, adding that Goldacre's "argument is with what Dr Barry Beyerstein, a professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada, describes as 'commercial ventures promoted by hucksters who mislead consumers into thinking that their products are sound applications of scientific knowledge'." [5]"

The included quote about hucksters was NOT about Brain Gym. It is very biased to include this incorrect, implied connection between hucksters who mislead consumers and Brain Gym, which was published elsewhere without foundation, just on the grounds that it was published so must be included!

I'd appreciate more advice, please!

Braingymer 15:20, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

As L suggested, it's best to take discussion of major edits to the talk page of the article itself; you'll find discussion ongoing there regarding your edits. Tony Fox (arf!) 15:37, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

please help!

PLEASE HELP! I cannot understand the instructions. There's a file I scanned of a Ballantine promotional marker (ballantine_marker0001.jpg) that I'm trying to upload AND link to the Ballantine page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballantine).User:chameleonesta. It seems to upload, but is not visibly connected to that page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chameleonesta (talk • contribs) 11:41, 4 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It seems the image has been deleted by Quadell. The rationale provided for this was "Image with unknown source or unknown copyright status which has been tagged as unknown for more than 7 days (CSD I4). Speedy concern: Image with unknown source or unknown copyright status which has been tagged as unknown for more than 7 days (CSD I4)."

Would that be the reason why it won't show? Onnaghar (speak.work) 14:10, 4 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

color??

i am attemping to edit a page alana http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alana_%28transformers%29 and on the right hand side Her name appers in white and i dont know hor to get the red rectangle block to appers

please help me — Preceding unsigned comment added by Optimus omega supreme (talk • contribs) 21:31, 4 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's infobox formatting; it's supposed to be that way. :-) —« ANIMUM » 21:35, 4 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Also because the 'Autobot Friend' should be Autobot for it to automatically go red. :) -- Stwalkerster talk 21:37, 4 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

thank you both — Preceding unsigned comment added by Optimus omega supreme (talk • contribs) 21:39, 4 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Content

on most pages theere is a section for content in the top left of the article i think i need to add it to remove the things wrong with my article

nevermind

Hi! for us to help you you will need to tell us which article you are refering to. :-) Stwalkerster talk 22:43, 4 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

same name, two different persons

What if I want to write a article on a person but there is another article on another person with the same name ?

al_forcier — Preceding unsigned comment added by Al forcier (talk • contribs) 14:56, 5 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hi! you can do something like this: an article on John Smith exists, and he is a singer. However, you want to write about John Smith the actor. Create the article named John Smith (actor), and place on John Smith the following:

:''This article is about the singer; for the actor, see [[John Smith (actor)]].''

I hope this helps. :-) Stwalkerster talk 15:01, 5 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This and related issues are covered in NC, DAB and MOSDAB. Adrian M. H. 15:13, 5 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Song lyrics

I'm looking for lyrics for a Rush song, can you help? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.32.190.217 (talk) 20:00, 5 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

As it says at the top, this page is for questions about editing WP. Try the Ref Desk instead. Adrian M. H. 20:08, 5 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Formatting Question

Hello,

I recently uploaded an image to Wikipedia - could you please let me know how to format text to wrap around an image?

Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Natalya178 (talk • contribs) 17:45, 6 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

For all your imaging needs, I recommend:

— BQZip01 — ^talk 17:55, 6 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

And IUP and ICT. Very important, those. Adrian M. H. 18:17, 6 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

making a new entry

I have an entry about a musician that i would like to put on your site....how do i do this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Twerpuser (talk • contribs) 20:17, 6 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

First of all, you should check through some of the very important and useful links that are shortly to appear on your talk page. Then if you think that this subject is notable enough and verifiable enough, you can have a go at writing it. As always, I strongly recommend working offline or in a user sub-page before uploading and seeing your effort deleted because it was not up to scratch. Message me if I can help. Adrian M. H. 20:40, 6 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

John Roy Lynch

Information about John Roy Lynch — Preceding unsigned comment added by 161.11.121.38 (talk)

Ref desk

I would normally phrase that more politely, but you didn't.... Adrian M. H. 20:37, 6 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Peacock terms

Dear Editors,

I have noticed the "peacock terms" of my future school at International Institute for Management Development and tried my best to remove all such terms. However, it still shows "The quality of this article or section may be compromised by "peacock terms". You can help Wikipedia by removing peacock terms.". Would you please kindly enlighten me what's wrong with the revised article now?

Thank you & wish you a nice day!

Shalom — Preceding unsigned comment added by Shalomtang (talk • contribs) 08:40, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If the problem is fixed (you must apply neutral unbiased editorial judgment) then remove the tag. Adrian M. H. 10:47, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Fixing numbers blending into images

How do I fix numbers in the reference list that blend into an image - see Rinkhals (Hemachatus haemachatus)

Profberger 17:02, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's a problem with numbered lists and 'floated' images. One solution is to make sure that the image that overlaps that section is floated to the right, rather than the left; if this would be inappropriate on the article, you could write {{-}} just before the references section to move it below the image, but this opens up a lot of space in the article (which can be fixed by writing more text in the article so that the space is filled). Hope that helps! --ais523 17:06, 7 August 2007 (U T C)

Thanks! That did the trick!

Profberger 17:37, 8 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

article name

Is there a part in the editing process where I get to name my article, or will it just appear to be the username? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cqgmarcomm (talk • contribs) 17:06, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The name of the article is the name of the page. If you make a link to [[foobarbaz]] (any new title; "foobarbaz" is supposed to be a random example) and then click on that link, if the page does not already exist, it will be created (named "foobarbaz") and you will be editting it.Pete St.John 17:21, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

please be sure to read WP:OWN – it will not be "your" article. Adrian M. H. 17:31, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Semi Protected Pages

How can I submit information that has pertinence to a to a semi-protected page for posting evaluation? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Fascinated (talk • contribs) 17:51, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Easy, actually. Wait 96 hours. You'll see what I mean once that time has elapsed. Adrian M. H. 17:53, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you want to add it sooner than that, you could also try suggesting it on the talk page of the article, and hopefully someone else would be able to add it for you. Tra (Talk) 18:45, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

My entry on sexual identity therapy

My entry on sexual identity therapy was deleted as an advertisement. This is an inappropriate deletion. I am having trouble figuring out how to communicate with Phil Sandifer who deleted it to learn how to reintroduce this content. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wthrockmorton (talk • contribs) 18:04, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

In my experience, SDs are rarely inappropriate; but a usually result of a misunderstanding of content guidelines. Please view the links on your talk page to understand more about content guidelines and the deletion process. Adrian M. H. 18:08, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Paragraph added to History of numerical approximations of pi, Miscellaneous formulae

19:39, 7 August 2007 (UTC)19:39, 7 August 2007 (UTC)19:39, 7 August 2007 (UTC)19:39, 7 August 2007 (UTC)19:39, 7 August 2007 (UTC)19:39, 7 August 2007 (UTC)19:39, 7 August 2007 (UTC)19:39, 7 August 2007 (UTC)19:39, 7 August 2007 (UTC)19:39, 7 August 2007 (UTC)19:39, 7 August 2007 (UTC)19:39, 7 August 2007 (UTC)David W. Hoffman 19:39, 7 August 2007 (UTC)Earlier today I posted a paragraph adding to the article on History of numerical approximations of pi under the subheading of Miscellaneous formulae. My paragraph presented and discussed a formula I discovered a few years ago, which is quite elegant and which my research has determined to be previously unknown. I spent several hours learning how to use the protocol for mathematical formulas. My paragraph was almost half a page and contained three formulas. I believe it was non-controversial, as anyone could try the formulas for themselves to determine that they do indeed yield the first ten digits of pi (a number of other formuas appear in this article, some less accurate than mine, some more accurateDavid W. Hoffman 19:39, 7 August 2007 (UTC). Shortly after posting the article I looked it up and found it, but now a few hours later my contribution seems to have disappeared. I did append my user name as requested. My questions are, did I do something wrong, how do I find out what happened to it, and why was it deleted?[reply]

You seem to have created a bit of a mess here. When you sign comments on talk pages and project pages, you need to place four tildes (or three or five for certain types of formatting) at the end of the comment. Or use the sig button in the edit toolbar. You cannot sign article edits, unless you entered four tildes into the article!!! In the absence of a wikilink, I will have to go away and check your contribs to find out exactly which article you edited. Adrian M. H. 20:55, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Well, the summary seen in this diff explains it clearly. Original research. Material must be verifiable by reference to independent sources, preferably with non-trivial coverage of the subject, that can be deemed to be reliable. Whether your formulae were verifiable by testing is irrelevant because we cannot accept original research in any form. That and verifiability are content policies, and very important ones at that. Sorry if this system, or the revert, seems harsh, but this is the process that we have to follow. Edits that do not meet relevant guidelines are likely to be re-edited. Adrian M. H. 21:04, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's compuationally ineffective to use a formula with thousand-digit numbers to compute a 9 digit number; better to just write down the 9 digits, than write down the thousand digits of his formula (I don't mean "thousand" literally, I don't care how many digits are in a Google). The work is not publishable, IMO, as original mathematics, even in math journals. One could invent endlessly many such formulae. Pete St.John 17:15, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

remove ip address

Hi: I just edited my own page and realized that I had not logged in (I screwed up), and therefore my ip address appeared in history. Due to vandalism vulnerability, how do I have that number removed? Please advise — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nancycalef (talk • contribs) 18:48, 8 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You cannot. Revision history is far too important to be subject to the oversight method because of an IP. Thousands of regular contributors do so anonymously. Oversight is reserved for the removal of things like sensitive or damaging personal information, which does not include an IP. Adrian M. H. 19:00, 8 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No edit button on page

Hello, There is no way to edit this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying . Someone has removed a link to our charity website so I'd like to add it please. Thanks Liz Carnell Bullying Online www.bullying.co.uk — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dinnermoney (talk • contribs) 13:19, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The page is semi-protected which means no one with an unregistered account or an account newer than 5 days old can edit. The external links section is already extremely long and, more than likely, fails to meet Wikipedia policy regarding external links. Lara ♥Love 13:49, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That list should really be cut by about 80%, I would say. Only the most appropriate, most relevant, and best quality. Adrian M. H. 13:59, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Related: WP:AN/I#LinkSPAM binge by Dinnermoney. And please remember that Wikipedia is under no obligation to support a certain charity. It is an encyclopedia. x42bn6 Talk Mess 17:20, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If I remember rightly Bullying is semi-protected because there were so many downright silly edits appearing (of the "fred has a big nose" school of editing). But the external links really are out of control as well. The trouble with an article like Bullying is that there are a) A lot of people with personal websites who think they should be included (most should not) and b) A lot of really good websites that would be worthy of inclusion if only there were not SO MANY of them. The only answer is to raise the bar on inclusion very high indeed, limiting it to National, Government sites and totally unique information. --Zeraeph 16:50, 10 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Adding pages

Hi

I notice that you have some pages that are not editable like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Online_dating How do I get something added to this?

thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.208.140.244 (talk) 19:00, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you want to list a page in a category, add [[Category:Online dating]] to the bottom of the page. Hut 8.5 19:10, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There may be a bit more to it than that, though, because you often need to sort them. Help:Category should cover it. The old fashioned way (with which I see nothing wrong, actually) is [[Category:Online dating|Name of article as it should be alphabetised]], such as Smith, John. It doesn't affect the title as it appears in the category, but it will be under S rather than J. The newer method is {{DEFAULTSORT}}, which is actually less a template and more a magic word. Adrian M. H. 17:46, 10 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Screwing up redirects

Hi guys. In trying to be helpful, I broke the Powell Memo set of pages. I have it mostly fixed except that now Powell_memo is a page that needs to be deleted due to a double redirect issue. Can someone look at Powell Memo, Powell memo, Powell_Manifesto, and Powell_Memorandum and toss some help? I really think I've got it so if you just delete Powell memo everything works. And sorry... Beutelmd 20:58, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've gone through them; they should be OK now. Tra (Talk) 21:26, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

speedy deletion unfair!

I've been trying to get the article I wrote for Pike County Arts & Crafts into Wikipedia but just received an alert that it is under attack by a "speedy deletion." It's not blatant self-advertising (I don't think -- it's a nonprofit award-winning arts organization). Is it that I had it listed by user name Elizabethcmurphy -- who I am, incompetent as I may be? I'm a newbie and sorry for not understanding how to submit the new article. Thanks for your help. Elizabeth

Hello Elizabeth. A few things:

Please sign your comments by ending them with four tildes (~~~~). This will automatically sign them with your username and a timestamp.
Your user page isn't the place for what's ostensibly an article. (See WP:USER for some words on what should go there.) That's probably why it was deleted; people who spam Wikipedia often post such things on their user space as a sort of last resort. However, if you created (for instance) your own personal sandbox, it's unlikely content will get deleted from there.
As an article, Pike County Arts & Crafts needs some work. It doesn't cite any sources at all, and the "Current Work" section is particularly unencyclopedic in tone.
Please do note that if one of your articles does get speedily deleted, you can usually ask an administrator to userfy it -- that is, restore the deleted text to a subpage of your user space.

Don't be discouraged, though -- although writing articles for Wikipedia is complicated, you're already well on your way. Iknowyourider (t c) 17:31, 10 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Metric system.

I realize that most collaborators are probably from USA, and therefore are not used to the metric system. But even after living in the US for some years, I still think in meters and kilograms.
According to wikipedia's own article, the metric system is very close to a world wide standard.
My question is:
Would it be OK if I "translate" any measures given in Imperial system to Metric, and leave the Imperial value as secondary? I mean, change "20 inches" for "51 cm (20 inches)" ? I know it might not seem important, but I would like to help, and I don't have the knowledge or time to write a full article, or even make important / interesting additions.
Diego bf109 04:49, 11 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See WP:MOS#Units_of_measurement. --Sopoforic 04:54, 11 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Firefox formatting issues

I noticed the formatting is messed up in Network layer on Firefox (and not on IE). The text runs into the five-layer TCP/IP model box. Any thoughts on how to fix it? Egret 07:46, 11 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's really the CSS in the template that needs improvement, but I haven't got the energy, so I made a quick fix by repositioning it further down the page. You are welcome to do this sort of thing yourself. Adrian M. H. 10:49, 11 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! Egret 04:26, 12 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

i want to know nanning expo2007-oct 20 to 23 detial buillding and how many dement

I am than htun aung when i get invite letter very instery iwant to see expo building want to know jade bangle ,bead carving how many deman .what are they intresting kind of jade attending 1person lower rate cost per day — Preceding unsigned comment added by Thanhtunaung (talk • contribs) 08:52, 11 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I have to reiterate what it says in the header: this page is for questions about editing Wikipedia. I think you may have intended to post this at a different website entirely. It's not really a Ref Desk question either, which is where we would normally send questions that do not relate to WP. Adrian M. H. 10:45, 11 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Correct Way of doing External link/Reference

In making an External link/Reference is there a preferred "Wikipedia way" to refer to an article or source that is private, members only. For example you have to be a member of AIME, specifically Society of Mining Engineers (SME), to retrieve an article from or through their website. I am about to reference an article on Construction Aggregate from the June 2007 Mining Engineering (www.smenet.org/service) in the Construction Aggregate wiki. Mining Engineering would be available in major libraries.

Please reply on my talk page.Bmhtayl 19:34, 11 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hi! You may wish to take a look at Wikipedia:External Links because this says that some types of links should normally be avoided, including Links to sites that require payment or registration to view the relevant content. Sites that require registration or a paid subscription should be avoided because they are of limited use to most readers. Many online newspapers require registration to access some or all of their content, while some require a subscription. Online magazines frequently require subscriptions to access their sites or for premium content. If old newspaper and magazines articles are archived, there is usually a fee for accessing them. A site that requires registration or a subscription should not be linked unless the web site itself is the topic of the article. I hope this helps, :-) Stwalkerster talk 19:41, 11 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

image-link

hi i am new in wikipedia, my classmates and I just created an article about our University(UEES) as a class project. i put some pictures of the buildings and there is a little bit of information of each building at the beginning of the article. so i want to link the word: Building A, Building B, etc... with each picture that is on the bottom of the article! can someone please help me?!?! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Romina m (talk • contribs) 20:12, 11 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I had to check your contribs to find UEES. First of all, have a read of Wikipedia's naming conventions because the article will need to be renamed. There are other issues that I won't go into here for reasons of time, but they are important, so I might message you later. What you have at the bottom is an image gallery. See the images section of the Help menu (link on the left) for how to add captions, but you cannot add anchor links as far as I know. Adrian M. H. 21:32, 11 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Convert account to another Wikipedia

I have created account in this Wikipedia. I want to use it in another Wikipedia. How can I do it?

Every Wikipedia is different; you need to register an account on the other Wikipedia as well. --Haemo 07:49, 12 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Image Removed?

Hello. I have read the FAQ's and I still have not figured out what happenned to an image on an article I wrote a couple weeks ago. (article: Buzz Fazio)I did not see it's removal on the deletion log. I do believe it was posted within the rules. I have reviewed my settings on my computer and yet it does not appear. Can you confirm for me whether or not it was removed by Wikipedia? Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Information Outlet (talk • contribs) 16:09, 12 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you did not act on the bot-generated notice on your talk page in good time, then the image was destined for deletion, which is what happened. It is essential (for reasons that I hope are obvious to anyone who adds images or any other material content to Wikipedia) that all images are appropriately licensed and described accordingly. if the image can meet the licensing requirements, just upload it again and make certain that it is correctly described. Adrian M. H. 16:39, 12 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Rowland White

Dear Sir, I have in my possession a plaque named to Rowland Abert White. CWGC states he lost his life on 11/11/14 while serving on HMS Niger.There is an article on one of the pages that states there was no loss of life? Regards j.a. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.151.90.223 (talk) 16:58, 12 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Which article is it? I'm not sure if a plaque really meets Verifiability, but you could be bold and improve the article. I would not change it myself, since I have no verification to support the change. Adrian M. H. 18:11, 12 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The Controllers (band)

How do I edit or rewrite my article? I cannot find it. All I can find are your editors admonitions. Do you protect minority opinion at Wikipedia? Sincerely, DOA Dan G. Davis, M.A. of The Controllers(Punk77)

See WP:COI for why this is a bad idea --Lu c id 22:01, 12 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Help with Custom sig

I edit on Uncyclopedia, and when I came here, I made a custom sig. I tried to set it as my sig, but the code for the Preferences is different on the two Wikis. If you could set me straight on the code for setting a sig subpage as my sig would be greatly appreciated (I feel like such a noob for asking this)! --KRAPENHOEFFER! talk 03:36, 13 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

WP:SIGNATURE should be helpful to you. Lara ♥Love 03:58, 13 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thank You. --KRAPENHOEFFER! talk 20:00, 13 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Upload

Have registered as Threshold Pilot on 12 August 2007. Have written an article (with no extra images) for Mathematics/Primes section. Have checked preview and attempted to upload. Not sure about Source and Destination Titles - used the article's title. Wikipedia response is 'File is empty'.

What's wrong, please?

Threshold Pilot — Preceding unsigned comment added by Threshold Pilot (talk • contribs) 10:02, 13 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Can you clarify this please? Articles are not uploaded as such, which makes wonder if you tried to upload a file. Your contribs show that you have not really done anything yet. Adrian M. H. 10:10, 13 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

User has posted to my talk page and I have responded there. Adrian M. H. 13:21, 13 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

PLEASE HELP

Someone keeps vandalising my notable group link (Group Help Center) from the MSN Groups article. The person concerned is 76.1.25.152 and I cannot find the warning templates to warn them to stop being a troll and because they have already exceeded the three reverts per day rule! Please can someone also revert the vandalism on the MSN Groups page to re-include my notable group (Group Help Center) as if I revert the article I will also break the three reverts per day rule, which I dont want to do. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.104.30.123 (talk)

The link you added has been removed by a few different users because you did not show why your group is notable. This is especially important for an article like MSN Groups because it would very soon be swamped with hundreds of links to different groups if the article editors allowed it. There are also comments relating to this on your talk page - if it helps, you could read through WP:LINKS to understand why your link is considered be unsuitable. EyeSerene^TALK 16:04, 15 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

how do you post an article?

how do you post something? — Preceding unsigned comment added by User:Dogrl123 (talk • contribs)

Hey there, and welcome to Wikipedia. You may want to take a look at the Getting Started list of topics to give yourself a start on editing here. To answer your question, this tip explains how to start a new article. Be sure to read the guidelines regarding verifiability and reliable sources before you do - to make sure that your article is both. And, you may want to do a search to ensure that the article doesn't exist. If it doesn't, take a look at the notability guidelines as well to see if the topic is notable enough for a Wikipedia article. I'll drop a welcome message on your user talk page in a moment so you have some handy links to work with. Also, please sign your posts with four tildes, like ~~~~ this. Welcome to Wikipedia! Tony Fox (arf!) 04:54, 14 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

To Adrian M. H. (or whoever deals with this)

Thanks again. Apologies that I still haven't adequately grasped the plot re procedures. The basic question remains: How do I get my original and ready-to-upload article, which so far as I can tell doesn't infringe any rules, approved for uploading as a contribution to the mathematics/prime numbers section?

Please reply to My Talk page. Thanks in anticipation,

(Threshold Pilot)— Preceding unsigned comment added by Threshold Pilot (talk • contribs)

I already responded on my talk page, but I have had no feedback from you. Adrian M. H. 16:36, 15 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Responded on user talk page. EyeSerene^TALK 16:43, 15 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Alun Jones

Could you help me promote Alun Jones (an Australian tennis player) bursted out on the scene this year and has a respectable ranking of 129. This is considered high and notable and this ain reflected on the amount of info i wrote and others wrote (none). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chrishello92 (talk • contribs) 11:14, 14 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia is not here to promote people or subjects. If they are notable enough and the material can be verified with the required independent sources, then someone is likely to initiate an article. Notability is measured primarily by the quantity of non-trivial written treatments that a subject has received from the aforementioned independent sources and secondarily by their achievements in their field. I suggest that you post at Requested Articles with as much pertinent information as you can provide. Adrian M. H. 16:42, 15 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Primary source usage?

I'm a bit confused about the rules on primary sources. If I have, for example, a series of original documents from Medieval Spain, one of which is a Visigothic code of laws that contain stringent regulations on non-Christian groups, can I cite that as evidence of the legal environment at the time? Or is that original research? Of course, I am analyzing the document to a certain extent, and I suppose, another more knowledgeable than I could say, 'oh, that document is famously known to be inaccurate,' or something like that, but it seems like the improvement to the article would be far greater than anything else. --Sammermpc 17:53, 14 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Oops! Wrong page!

I added a minor edit to "Pagliacci" in which I wrote the lyric of the song "Tears Of A Clown" by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles in which Smokey sings, "Just like Pagliacci did, I try to keep my sadness hid." I wanted to add it beneath the previous entry about "Tears Of A Clown", but it wound up in the media section, where you press to play bits of the opera. Can you please move it back to where it should be? Or tell me how to do it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ida Knows (talk • contribs) 19:14, 15 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've moved it to the trivia section, and merged it with the other entry, as there's a fair bit of overlap between the two lines. If you make a mistake editing, just press the "edit this page" tab, and fix up your mistake. Happy editing. Recurring dreams 11:39, 16 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Recently edited pages

Where can I go to see pages that have been recently edited or created? I just want to do my part to cut down on vandalism to make Wikipedia a truly reliable source.

You can use Special:Recentchanges, but I'd actually recommend you have a look at the tools and tricks of the trade found at Wikipedia:Recent changes patrol -- Twinkle, VandalProof, Lupin's tool, and IRC come pretty well recommended. – Luna Santin (talk) 22:59, 15 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

(Edit conflict) You can always look at Special:Recentchanges, but several edits are made to Wikipedia per second, so it isn't very useful. Usually, most users use some sort of tool to filter useful edits out; these are listed in more detail on the Cleaning up vandalism portal.

As for new pages, the volume is not as high, so you can monitor Special:Newpages too.

Overall, this process is called Recent changes patrol, and there are loads of info about the subject on the pages I linked before. Hope that helps, Titoxd^{(?!? - cool stuff)} 23:00, 15 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]