Wikipedia:Help desk

NOTE: This is not a page about specific factual questions (e.g., Who was the first Pope?). For that type of question, see Wikipedia:Reference desk.

Welcome to the Help desk! This is a place to ask questions about Wikipedia and get help with editing problems. It's mainly for newcomers and users who don't yet have an account, but anyone is welcome to ask a question. Remember to check this page again (how about a bookmark?) to see if there have been any replies.

If your question has already been covered in one of the help pages, you could get the answer you're looking for more quickly by checking the topical index.

If your question is not specifically about the Wikipedia, you'll probably find the Reference desk a better place to ask; if you want to start a more detailed and inclusive discussion, try the Village pump.

View old Archives

Archive 1	Prior to June 2, 2004
Archive 2	June 2, 2004 - June 18, 2004
Archive 3	June 18, 2004 - July 2, 2004
Archive 4	July 2, 2004 - July 18, 2004
Archive 5	July 19, 2004 - July 31, 2004
Archive 6	August 1, 2004 - August 18, 2004
Archive 7	August 18, 2004 - September 5, 2004
Archive 8	September 5, 2004 - September 25th, 2004
Archive 9	September 26, 2004 - October 15th, 2004

Post a question here!

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Problems with underlined texts(i.e. hyperlinks)

I am using Mozilla Firefox v 1.oPR. Whenever I access any Wikipedia page, the text and the underlines ovelap, making it difficult to read the letters such as capitalized L. And I found this problem exists when I use Mono Book skin. In other skins, it worked fine. And I tried with MS Internet Explorer, and the display was fine.

But I really like to use Mono Book. Is there any way to use Mono Book skin without having to decode the overlapped texts?

Hi; it seems you're not the only one to have this problem, but I can't seem to reproduce it myself. Clear your cache, and if the problem's still there, perhaps you could give some more details: What version of Windows/MacOS are you using? Does anything other than the skin make a difference (e.g. logging in/out)? - IMSoP 17:45, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC)

subst:vfd versus vfd

When nominating a page for deletion, some of the documentation says to put "vfd" (in double braces {{}}) at the top of the nominated page, and some says to put "subst:vfd" at the top of the page. So which is it, or does it not matter?

(Also it seems hard to find the documentation of "subst" -- where is the easiest place to look? I eventually found it by crawling around wikimedia.org.) -R. S. Shaw 22:05, 2004 Oct 16 (UTC)

If you put 'subst' in front, then the text from the template is copied into the article. Without the subst, the text is reconstituted from the template each time it is rendered. I prefer the latter, because if the template changes, then each view of the article will reflect the change. [[User:Noisy|Noisy | Talk]] 23:01, 16 Oct 2004 (UTC)

• Right. But the question is, which for "vfd"? There is much mention of using "subst:" for vfd. I've just found this discussion on it: Template_talk:VfDFooter. That doesn't really clear it up. Is it just an ongoing debate?

Something is seriously screwy with WP's cache

I keep finding articles that I've added to (or someone else added to) and find that the last change isn't updated in the current revision. I have to manually purge the page to view the changes. The latest article this happened on was in Strathfield. Also has happened on my userpage and on WP:RFA. Anyone know what's wrong here? - Ta bu shi da yu 03:12, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC)

It's been going on for some time. I've posted about it here over the weeks. Sometimes it lasts for a few minutes, other times for a few hours. I've noticed that the changes will eventually appear, though. --Viriditas 09:37, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Another history merge

Requesting that radio frequency interference and its history be merged back into electromagnetic interference, which has twice as many hits on Google, and covers the fact that RFI is only one type of EMI. Thanks again.   –radiojon 03:54, 2004 Oct 17 (UTC)

Given that the RFI article just got written, you should discuss this with the author first. History merges are near-irreversible (requires a developer to undo), and this isn't a clear-cut case like copy/paste page moves. -- Cyrius|✎ 04:37, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Link to Wiktionary

I know how to use the square brackets to link to another article on Wikipedia, but is it possible to easily link to a definition in the wiki dictionary? There are some words that I feel could use a link for a proper definition, but do not warrant a full wikipedia article. For instance, I wrote an article on urchin when a dictionary entry would suffice. Kainaw 15:09, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)

To link to articles on a sister project, you would type [[(sister project):(title name)|(word name)]]. For example, help is done by [[Wiktionary:Help|help]]. Skyler 15:21, Oct 18, 2004 (UTC)

"DE" Link

Someone put a link at the bottom of an article I'd written, Julia Stiles, that was "de" followed by the title of the article. Is this a link to the German language edition of Wikipedia? If someone searched for this article in the German edition, would they be redirected to this page? Ave! PedanticallySpeaking 19:28, Oct 18, 2004 (UTC)

It is the German Wikipedia entry for Julia Stiles (love that girl). On the left side of the screen, pages often say "in other languages". Your Julia Stiles page now has Deutsch as one of those opinions, so if someone wants to read about Julia in German, they can click there. Skyler 19:42, Oct 18, 2004 (UTC)

Project Liberty Ship copyvio

I am the author and owner of material, Project Liberty Ship, that was flagged for copyright violation. How do I get the page reinstated? Oldfarm 03:59, 19 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I've done it for you, but for future reference. You add a note to the talk page explaining thatbyou are the copyright owner, then you go to the page history, click on your previous version, click "edit this page" ( ignore the warning) then save. Theresa Knott (The torn steak) 08:17, 19 Oct 2004 (UTC)

How do I filter out my changes from my watchlist?

Most of the changes on my watchlist are my own. How can I make my watchlist only list other people's changes? JesseW 06:57, 19 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I don't think that's possible. There is no such option on the preferences page, neither on the watchlist page. — Kieff | Talk 07:19, Oct 19, 2004 (UTC)

Ok. I'll hack up a bookmarklet and post that. Sigh. Hopefully it'll be easier than the last one I tried to make, which is 95% done and stuck. JesseW 08:21, 19 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Amazingly enough, this one actually gelled. It is available on my User page: User:JesseW#Bookmarklet. Enjoy it, and feel free to make improved versions! JesseW 09:26, 19 Oct 2004 (UTC)

That's pretty nice. I'm now using it. Thanks. - MattTM 10:55, Oct 19, 2004 (UTC)

I'm so glad you like it! It's great to know it's being used by people. JesseW 04:43, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

How do you invoke this script? Paul August 03:28, Oct 20, 2004 (UTC)

Make a bookmark whose location is the text of the script. See bookmarklet, including the external links. Tell me on my Talk page if you have any trouble. JesseW 04:43, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Need an image removed.

I uploaded an image today for my User page, one which proved to be darker displayed on a web page than in Photoshop. I lightened it, then uploaded the same image with another name. How do I get the attention of a Sysop to facilitate removal of the first one?--NathanHawking 08:08, 2004 Oct 19 (UTC)

I've done it for you, but for future reference don't change the name. The new image will then replace the old one (you may need to refresh the page by pressing F5 in order to actually see the change) You can then go to the image info page and delete the old image yourself.(You need to be an admin to delete all versions of an image but anyone can delete old versions). Theresa Knott (The torn steak) 08:22, 19 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Thanks, TK. I think I refreshed the pages, but failing to do that may have been why the images didn't seem different. Thanks for cleaning out the deadwood!--NathanHawking 08:48, 2004 Oct 19 (UTC)

Slowdown

Hi.

1:44 am. Oct. 20, Pacific Coast Time. Your site has slowed down over the last several days to the point where it is virtually unusable. This saddens me, because I love Wikipedia. I don't know if there is an answer, but if there is, I am [email protected].

Thank you.

Dick HIndman

Yes, I've noticed the slowdowns at this time as well. --Viriditas 09:25, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Mp3 files on Wikipedia

I have been editing the files for The Duke of Wellington's Regiment, specifically the Regimental Insignia, of which I have created jpg's. I would like to improve the entry where it lists our regimental march. Is it possible to upload an mp3 file to enable people to hear it whilst online, if so how. - Anon

See Wikipedia:Sound. Mp3's cannot be used, but other sound file formats can to some extent. Skyler 15:35, Oct 20, 2004 (UTC)

Deleting templates

Do templates use VfD or is there another place to list them? Template:War is unused and quite POV, and should be deleted as a matter of housecleaning. Isomorphic 16:18, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Templates should go to Wikipedia:Templates for deletion. - 16:24, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC) Lee (talk)

Bibliography

Hi, I'm doing a bibliography on this site. My search was on about 'Bali'.

I need:

-author's surname, initials
-(year)
-Publisher
-Place of publication

Thank you!

P.S: If you feel untrustworthy about me needing a bibliography, don't hestiate to contact me. I'm doing this for my Bali assignment.

Ye Ji Kang

[email protected] or [email protected]

• Aloha. I'm not sure if this is correct, but the way I've seen it done is like this:

1. Bali. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia Web site. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali. Accessed October 20, 2004.
   --Viriditas 09:30, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Kindly change my username

Kindly change my username from "Rajasekaran Deepak" to "R. Deepak". --Rajasekaran Deepak 09:56, 2004 Oct 21 (UTC)

Please go to Wikipedia:Changing_username and follow the instructions. --Viriditas 10:10, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Marriage?

What do we do with marriages here? Say, for example, Patrick Stewart marries Emma Bunton, and she changes her name to Emma Stewart, do we move Emma Bunton to Emma Stewart, or leave it as it is? Also, when referring to a person post-marriage (that is, say they got married in 2003, and I'm talking about them in 2004) would I refer to Emma Bunton as EB or ES? Many thanks. - Vague Rant 10:06, Oct 21, 2004 (UTC)

Most notable people tend to stick with one name, regardless of who they marry or divorce. So, it's really not a problem. However, if the problem does arise, you just go with the name the person uses in public, which for publicity reasons is unlikely to change anyway. I think there is a precedent for using legal names in the article itself, and for redirecting article titles to the common, notable name. See Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (pseudonyms). But, I could be wrong. --Viriditas 10:27, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I suppose we'd add redirects. In your example, Emma Bunton would still be known under that name by a lot of people because of her career. If people saw, for example, the Spice girls movie and wanted info on her, we need the old name to point them to the current article. [[User:MacGyverMagic|Mgm|^(talk)]] 10:51, Oct 21, 2004 (UTC)

Right, that's what I did with Heather Mills a while ago. It now redirects to Heather Mills McCartney. But then I started to wonder if I'd done the right thing. But I figure, her domain name has been updated to http://www.heathermillsmccartney.com/, so she's probably pretty sure about wanting to be called a McCartney, and most likely legally so, also. - Vague Rant 11:39, Oct 21, 2004 (UTC)