Wikipedia:Help desk

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Arch dude (talk | contribs) at 17:02, 28 December 2023 (Is Paraphrasing scientific description copyright infringement?). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.


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    December 25

    Uploading images without an account.

    How can I upload images without an account? The following page says this is possible but does not seem to say what to do, other than get an account.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Files_for_upload/Wizard Welcome to Files for Upload! This wizard will guide you through the process of adding an image to Wikipedia if you don't have an account.

    On the above page I pushed the button, "The image is free and I'm not autoconfirmed." That led to the following page that seems to incorrectly assume I have an account. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Files_for_upload/Wizard/Non-Autoconfirmed I made my images with my own camera (relevant to an article I added text to) and have no interest in copyright. Thank you. Also I mailed a check this month to help contribute to Wikipedia. 99.113.71.3 (talk) 00:46, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Sadly, your lack of interest in copyright, while laudable, does not help. Your image is copyrighted by default action of copyright law, and neither you nor we can prevent that. Therefore you must take a positive action to license the image. I hate this, but I did not write the law and I do not make Wikipedia policy. "Non-autoconfirmed" would still be an actual (but new) account. Ginven this nightmare, The easiest for us if is you create an account, even if you never use it again. There is no way that I know of for anyone within Wikipedia or outside Wikipedia to trace that account back to you. We can probably figure out an alternative, but it will require extra work for you, or for us, or both. Completely separately, you can and probably should edit the "metadata" of your image to add you copyright license release to the image itself. There are lots of image editor programs that can do this. You can specify something simple, like CC0. -Arch dude (talk) 01:36, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    I think if the image is posted to flickr it could be imported to Commons by editors with the appropriate permissions, but yeah :c:Commons:First steps/Uploading files § Help before you begin says You need an account on Wikipedia or Wikimedia Commons to upload files. Sorry, 99.113. Thanks for donating to the Wikimedia Foundation. Folly Mox (talk) 01:52, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Some images on Flickr are licensed appropriately for uploading to Commons, but not all. See WP:Flickr. ColinFine (talk) 14:47, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Uploading artwork

    Hi, I want to upload "fair use" artwork of a single (music). I tried once, and it was flagged for speedy deletion because "fair use isn't allowed on Wikimedia Commons." However, for example this artwork remains up.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuthering_Heights_(song)#/media/File:Kate_Bush_-_Wuthering_Heights.png

    How can I upload similar artwork to the above? Thanks. BrightOrion (talk) 01:43, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @BrightOrion: You need to upload it here at en Wikipedia, not to commons. RudolfRed (talk) 01:48, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    (edit conflict)@BrightOrion: it's non-free, just like your example. This means it cannot be added to Commons. Instead, you may add it as a "free-use" file at en.Wikipedia, just like your example. In the upload wizard, click on the "non-free" button and go from there. -Arch dude (talk) 01:52, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    (edit conflict) Images can be uploaded both at Commons and here at the English Wikipedia. Commons images can be seen at all Wikimedia wikis. File:Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights.png was uploaded here and can only be seen here. The English Wikipedia does allow upload of fair use images in certain cases. Start at Wikipedia:File upload wizard (it's linked on "Upload file" in a menu at the English Wikipedia). PrimeHunter (talk) 01:53, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    BrightOrion, the relevant policy can be found at Non-free content/Images Cullen328 (talk) 03:23, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Thank you everyone. I have uploaded it here. It seems to work now.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kate_Bush_-_Wuthering_Heights_(single_cover).png BrightOrion (talk) 11:10, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Middleton family

    References 4 and 34 in this section - "Family law and woollen manufacturing firms" - do not need the attached quotes. Theses citations are used more than once for different reasons. The quotes are fine when they first appear but not when they are reused in the section titled "Family law and woollen manufacturing firms" Can the quotes be removed when they appear in this section - but be left in elsewhere?? Thanks 175.38.42.62 (talk) 12:31, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Yes. This is why using |quote= in citation templates is a bad idea. Don't do it. If the quotation is important to the article, put the quotation in the body of the article and cite it. Quotations require citations; citation do not require quotations.
    Trappist the monk (talk) 13:11, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    I can't alter it so I'll leave it all alone...unfortunately. Srbernadette (talk) 13:17, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Do any of these sources provide significant coverage for Scale of the Universe?

    Earlier this month, I started a section on the talk page of WP:BFDI containing a source assessment table pertinent to the topic of Scale of the Universe. The other day, I went to the WP:RSN to ask about the reliability of some sources, and that helped me color nearly all of the Reliable? column in greens and reds. (I didn't mention the Harvard source, as an editor previously stated it made "just a brief mention" of Scale of the Universe, so it wouldn't have counted towards GNG either way)

    Now most of what's left to determine is whether or not the following sources cover Scale of the Universe significantly:

    On the other hand, a user at the reliable sources noticeboard has commented on the coverage given by a few of the sources I listed there, so it might seem redundant for me to ask about significant coverage here as well. However, none of the sources I mention here are ones I've mentioned there, or vice versa. – MrPersonHumanGuy (talk) 12:47, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @MrPersonHumanGuy: Hello! Per WP:SIGCOV, significant coverage addresses the topic directly and in detail, so that no original research is needed to extract the content, so I think the sources you provided here satisfy the definition. Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 12:54, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Excellent. Would the coverage within Astronomy Picture of the Day and It's Nice That also be considered significant, or just partially so? – MrPersonHumanGuy (talk) 13:22, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @MrPersonHumanGuy, I think the latter could pass as the significant coverage, but the former can't be considered significant coverage, it's just a brief mention. Doesn't mean it shouldn't be included in the article, just make sure the article doesn't mainly rely on sources like this. Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 13:32, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    How to challenge a new article

    I have spotted a new article which I think should not be in WP. In my opinion it fails on notability and encyclopaedic quality, as well as on lack of citations, grammar and spelling. Rather than me trying to fix it, I think it should be reverted to draft and returned to the creator. I have already expressed my opinion on the talk page. Is there another means to flag it for admin attention? Masato.harada (talk) 12:53, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @Masato.harada: Hello! You can nominate the article for AfD (Wikipedia:Articles for deletion) and write there that you want it draftified and explain your reasons for it. Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 12:58, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    These pages are not Visible, when searching on Browser Dreri Kali Pora and Jamia Masjid, Shopian Challawaheed-Shopian (talk) 14:49, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @Challawaheed-Shopian: Hello! Do you mean like Google search? If so, see Wikipedia:Controlling_search_engine_indexing. Pages are newer than 90 days and they are not patrolled - they won't be visible on Google search. Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 14:51, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Yes Like Google search,
    What to do with these articles such that they will be visible Challawaheed-Shopian (talk) 14:54, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Challawaheed-Shopian did you bother to read Wikipedia:Controlling_search_engine_indexing? Wait 90 days and it will be indexed. If it is reviewed by the New Page Patrol it will be indexed sooner. Qcne (talk) 14:57, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    They are visible in the search box at top of Wikipedia pages. I guess your browser has a search feature which uses en external search engine like Google. They will be visible eventually (assuming the pages are not deleted). The author doesn't have to do anything. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:01, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Challawaheed-Shopian: Wait 90 days (or after review by the New Page Patrol) and it will be eligible for indexing. We can't control how fast Google will actually index it. GoingBatty (talk) 16:22, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Referencing errors on Chino Rodriguez

    Reference help requested. Please assist me by adding the title where needed. Nathanielbapela012 (talk) 15:15, 25 December 2023 (UTC) Thanks, Nathanielbapela012 (talk) 15:15, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @Nathanielbapela012 When I access the URL you claim to be using as a source, I get a message "The page you are looking for is no longer here". Hence you are going to have to seek a backup from The Wayback Machine or a different URL on fania.com for that reference and its title. I doubt that fania.com is a reliable source but that's a separate consideration. Mike Turnbull (talk) 15:29, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Punic people

    Merry Christmas everyone! I would like to ask one small thing: on this page, in the "Short description" it says "People of Ancient Carthage", but shouldn't "Ancient" of "ancient Carthage" (like "ancient Rome") be in lowercase initial? JackkBrown (talk) 16:11, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @JackkBrown: Hello! Which page are you referring to? Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 16:13, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Deltaspace42: I wrote it in the title. JackkBrown (talk) 16:14, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @JackkBrown: Just be bold and change the description. If someone disagrees with you and reverts your edit, then discuss it with them on the talk page. Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 16:20, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Deltaspace42: the main question would be: is it correct to write "ancient Rome" (see page Ancient Rome), but is it correct to write "ancient Carthage"? The Punic people page uses the uppercase initial. JackkBrown (talk) 16:24, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @JackkBrown: I think it would be a good idea to start a discussion on the relevant talk pages. Also, there was a discussion on Manual of Style regarding the capitalization of the word "ancient". Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 17:01, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Deltaspace42: thank you! Done. JackkBrown (talk) 17:11, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    How to use Template:IPA correctly

    Hello, and first of all, Happy Christmas to everyone!

    I'm asking for help because I'm currently struggling to implement the IPA template correctly on some of the articles I've worked on. I previously used IPA-ar on this page, and it looked to work pretty nicely, but then I noticed that all of those specific templates had been deprecated and, likely, re-united under the same "umbrella".

    So, I've tried to use the standard IPA template on Kenan Yıldız and this draft of mine, in order to insert the correct pronunciation for both names (in Turkish and Greek language, respectively); however, the graphical output was way worse than I expected, being without any kind of link... What went wrong?

    [On a side note, is anyone able to double-check my transcriptions, and see if I've got them right?] Oltrepier (talk) 17:32, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    You'll want to use the language code as the first parameter to {{IPA}}, like {{IPA|el|(IPA phoneme glyphs)}}. Folly Mox (talk) 18:01, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Folly Mox It worked! Thank you for helping! : D Oltrepier (talk) 18:40, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Mistake in Indian actor Prabhas name h

    Prabhas fullname was "Uppalapati Venkata Satyanarayana Prabhas Raju" instead of satyanarayana Wikipedia mentioned suryanarayana please make it correct 27.6.120.189 (talk) 19:07, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Hello! If the page is protected, make an edit request on the relevant talk page. If it is not protected, be bold and correct it yourself. Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 19:10, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Error

    " Lua error: not enough memory.Lua error: not enough memory. " at Google Chrome. tgeorgescu (talk) 23:56, 25 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    A purge fixed it. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:17, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply


    December 26

    Middleton family

    Ref number 58 is in red - partly. I get so confused. I will have a break. Please fix. Thank you 175.38.42.62 (talk) 01:42, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

      Fixed. The year on the source read "20023". 🛧Midori No Sora♪🛪 ( ☁=☁=✈) 01:59, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    why my page is not published?

    Page not published Aksh1990 (talk) 05:46, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @Aksh1990: Are you working on a draft? Please provide a link. RudolfRed (talk) 05:54, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    hello profile submission

    I need to submit my company profile. Please guide me how i can do needful 103.132.31.30 (talk) 05:47, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    This is an encyclopedia, not a venue for promotion. RudolfRed (talk) 05:53, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Hello IP, welcome to Wikipedia. You might like to read WP:BOSS as well as WP:COMPORG. ayakanaa ( t · c ) 06:08, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Please explain and clarify this "need" of yours.Cullen328 (talk) 08:53, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    We don't have company profiles here, not a single one. We have articles about certain companies that meet our criteria. There are millions of companies in the world, the vast majority of which do not merit articles. If you just want to tell the world about your company, you should use social media or your company website. 331dot (talk) 10:05, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Eppendorf, Hamburg

    In the pronunciation part with audio this page seems to have problems. JackkBrown (talk) 06:40, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @JackkBrown: It plays ok for me. Please clarify what error you are getting. RudolfRed (talk) 06:52, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @RudolfRed: from a mobile device, the part where there is the pronunciation turns blue and then disappears and flashes. JackkBrown (talk) 06:54, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Tried it on mobile via the app and through a browser with no problems whatsoever. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 07:00, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    It works perfectly for me on my Android smartphone. Cullen328 (talk) 08:45, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Questions

    I would like to ask two things; the first: why is "Imperator" on the Imperator page written in italics? "Imperator" is a common word (I think); the second: why in pages like Genius (mythology) is "genius" written without italics and the plural with? Shouldn't the rule be that if a term is not written in italics, it should not be written in italics in the plural form either? JackkBrown (talk) 07:07, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    The reason, JackkBrown, as you have been told repeatedly, is because some volunteer editors made those editorial choices, probably without much familiarity with the Manual of Style. If you run across things in articles that you believe to be wrong stylistically, then please just fix them, instead of asking other editors to engage in a fruitless mind reading excercise. Cullen328 (talk) 08:51, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @JackkBrown: Have you checked the manual of style before asking yet another tedious question on your favourite subject? I doubt it. Bazza (talk) 09:52, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Imperator is not a common word in English, unless in some specialized context. —Tamfang (talk) 20:33, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Category:Chess gambits (Unanswered - please help, I don't want to wait until someone WP:G4's this category ;_;)

    Hello! I've just created this category and only then I decided to check the Category:Gambits and noticed that it was merged before (in 2018).

    Now I don't know what to do, because I read the discussion and I completely dissatisfied with the decision. First of all, I don't feel like the consensus was reached (only two supports vs one oppose). Secondly, I disagree with both arguments which were provided in Support.

    Should I make WP:DRV? But I've already recreated the category (but with different name and before I knew that it was merged before). Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 16:36, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    I don't know if this is relevant, but User:BrownHairedGirl who closed the discussion is now banned. Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 16:42, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Zero interest here in the topic or the question, but...
    BROWNHAIREDGIRL IS GONE??? I'm afraid I can't fathom the concept; Wikipedia without BrownHairedGirl! And to find that out on my birthday--a trauma nobody should ever experience! Uporządnicki (talk) 19:11, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @AzseicsoK: Yeah, there was some dispute related to categories and ArbCom decided to ban her and some other user. P.S. Happy Birthday! Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 19:52, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Categories, of all things! My favorite category! OK, thanks for the wish, and I'll try. I didn't even get to say goodbye! (Sniff!) Uporządnicki (talk) 20:15, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    having issues in the ummagumma article

    whenever i try to edit the side 3 track listing of the Ummagumma article, it won't let me start a new line in the text boxes. it works fine on the others.

    any chance that this is caused by faulty documentation? keep in mind that i use visual editor, so it might just be a bug there. or i could be stupid. either way, it's a bit of a pain. Vancouvercalico (talk) 18:47, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @Vancouvercalico: Can't say I'm familiar with the template being used, but have you tried adding <br> to force a line break? —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 19:36, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    The problem occurs because you are trying to cram wide text into a narrow column. Try this:
    1. change {{flatlist}} to {{plainlist}}
    2. remove the parentheses – the first is before 'Part I' and the other is at the end of the {{refn}} template
    3. move the {{refn}} template to the same line as *13.32 (that should be *13:32?)
    4. wrap each part timing and its associated reference with {{nowrap}}*{{nowrap|Part I. 1:10<ref>...</ref>}} etc. – this will stretch the column width so that each part's time is on a separate line
    Don't use visual editor.
    Trappist the monk (talk) 20:20, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Why asking for donation?

    You are funded by the elite for the purpose of manipulating information.

    I wish you close doors, but I know you will not, sadly. 4.34.67.138 (talk) 19:45, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Help desk volunteers have no control over the fundraising. You can create an account and then hide the banners if you wish. Should you have any problems donating, or other questions, please email donate@wikimedia.org RudolfRed (talk) 19:48, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    You are, of course, free not to access the manipulated information. —Tamfang (talk) 20:34, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    And for the record, no funders of Wikimedia have any overt influence whatever over the diverse volunteer editors (who are not Wikipedia/Wikimedia employees), who determine the contents of Wikipedia articles by mutually monitored processes that require consensus. Some funders could be covertly sponsoring editors with undisclosed conflicts of interest, but if and when detected, biased COI editing is expunged, and the huge negative publicity that such a cheating funder would incur if detected make such "elite" manipulation unlikely.
    Avoidance of content influence is one reason why the editing and fundraising functions are set up to be carried out by unconnected persons under different organisational umbrellas. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.205.111.170 (talk) 07:41, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Is there any way to get a random page from a "what links here" list? For example, I prefer using Special:WhatLinksHere/Template:Cleanup bare URLs over the proper clean-up category for bare URLs because the latter also includes inline templates instead of just the general template, but it always shows the articles in the same order and I'd like to not just tackle the ones on that first page of results without having to scroll through the pages. I'm aware this exists for categories, but I don't know of any way for just "what links here" pages. Suntooooth, it/he (talk/contribs) 20:43, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Not that I'm aware of (at least not conveniently - petscan can do it, for example). An easier alternative, since the template categorizes the pages transcluding it, is Special:RandomInCategory/All articles with bare URLs for citations. —Cryptic 21:16, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Yes, I'm aware of that link for the category, but as I said I prefer using specifically what links to that template, since that category also includes {{Bare URL PDF}} and {{Bare URL image}} as the bulk of its contents, and I'm not really interested in those. I'll look into Petscan! Suntooooth, it/he (talk/contribs) 21:20, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    The search hastemplate:"Cleanup bare URLs" gives articles using the template. You can add &sort=random to the search url. User:PrimeHunter/Search sort.js makes links to repeat a search with many sort orders including random. It uses the same &sort=random. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:32, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Thanks! :D Suntooooth, it/he (talk/contribs) 21:35, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Absolute anonymity for donors

    I would be a generous financial donor to Wikipedia if I could do so with absolute anonymity. Why is that not possible. Many worthwhile sites share the flaw but I will not reveal my identity for any reason except health information and therefore my money accumulates. If you can fix it, I will check back on occasion... 142.79.90.35 (talk) 23:48, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Help desk volunteers have nothing to do with the donation process. Please contact donate@wikimedia.org. RudolfRed (talk) 00:11, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Depending on where you live and the amount of money, you may be able to purchase a money order anonymously with cash. You can then send it by snail mail to the Washington, DC address found here. Cullen328 (talk) 08:05, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    You might be interested in services such as Silent Donor which send donations anonymously. GoingBatty (talk) 15:54, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    December 27

    GrtE on Google Play

    GrtE on Google Play @ 2A02:CB80:4100:4250:E473:A212:4C25:BC6A (talk) 02:04, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Do you have a question about editing Wikipedia? RudolfRed (talk) 03:40, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Special research resources available for editors with over 500 edits

    Hello dear Wikipedians,

    I'm trying to find the resources for research and referencing available only for editors with over 500 edits. I saw this once, but can't find it now.

    Anyone can clarify this for me?

    Thanks in advance! CarlosFelix1 (talk) 02:21, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    CarlosFelix1 you are probably talking about WP:The Wikipedia Library. Sungodtemple (talkcontribs) 02:22, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Yes precisely! Thank you so much for your reply. Happy 2024! CarlosFelix1 (talk) 04:32, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Logging in to Wikipedia

    Is there a way to stay permanently logged in to Wikipedia. Have already made a donation and have no trouble loggin in. Just wondered if can make my login last for a year. Thank you so much for your guidance!! Hanniebear (talk) 03:15, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Hanniebear staying logged in is controlled by cookies. Your browser might be deleting or blocking them. Make sure you are using the same browser on the same computer every time as well. Sungodtemple (talkcontribs) 03:39, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    THank you so much for your help with this! 97.112.14.25 (talk) 03:44, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    And make sure to select "Keep me logged in (for up to one year)" on the login screen. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:52, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    PAYMENT

    I wanted to make a donation, but your form did not allow me to enter my card information! (12/26/2023 ~ 9:30 p.m. PST 208.74.106.13 (talk) 05:31, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    The Help Desk can't help with donation problems. Try https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ways_to_Give. Should you have any problems donating, or other questions, please email donate@wikimedia.org . — Preceding unsigned comment added by RudolfRed (talkcontribs) 07:16, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Reducing the size of a citation superscript

    I am writing an article section with several paragraphs which is based on a single, reliable source (there is only one). If I cite the source for the section at the end of the final paragraph, it looks like only this one paragraph has a source. Is there any way to place the citation superscript (e.g. [3] ) in the section's title without it showing at the same size as the title? Or is there a better alternative? If I use a general reference at the end of the article I'll get picked up for lack of inline citations. Masato.harada (talk) 11:04, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @Masato.harada: Hello! You can also use the same reference in multiple places: first place<ref name="cit">the reference</ref> ... second place<ref name="cit"/> ... third place<ref name="cit"/> Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 11:07, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Thanks, I'm aware of that.technique, but it would mean having every paragraph in the section ending with the same number superscript, which is inelegant. Masato.harada (talk) 11:29, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Masato.harada, section titles should not contain citations per MOS:NOSECTIONLINKS. Folly Mox (talk) 11:54, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    If your single source has page numbers, you could use shortened footnotes to cite separate page spans for each paragraph of your prose, which will result in different citation numbers for each paragraph, as this seems to be a concern of yours. Folly Mox (talk) 12:00, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    If you don't want to use shortened footnotes, then the template {{rp}} will allow page number ranges to be shown. Mike Turnbull (talk) 12:48, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Question about SPI

    If I know an account or an IP address formerly used for block evasion, but it has already been blocked for it, should it be reported to SPI? I have a specific example in mind, where a SPI case was opened for one IP, but another IP (of the same person) was blocked for block evasion without bringing it to SPI. The sockpupettry/block evasion was evident in that case. Janhrach (talk) 14:49, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    WP:SPI is more for investigating sockpuppetry, rather than catching block evasion. If it's blatent, ANI might be suitable. Feel free to revert blatant block evasion, per WP:DUCK and WP:EVASION. Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 14:55, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Thank you. Janhrach (talk) 15:06, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Question about rendering templates

    I have some modified wikitext, where some templates and sections have been removed, and some templates have been added, of some Wikipedia Articles which I would like to convert into html. This would be hosted on an external website (specifically, I am trying to implement a Wikirace website). However, using the API for parsing wikitext to html does not convert templates into their final html. I've tried to use expand templates and to use substitution or pre-save transform but these have not worked. What would be the best way to do this?

    One unpreferable way would be to make a user subpage, edit it with the wikitext I have, and web-scrape the resulting html. While this is not the intended use of user pages, would this method be ok if I subsequently deleted them once the html had been obtained? Many thanks, Jamezofchez (talk) 15:01, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @Jamezofchez: A strict interpretation of our rules would say "no, don't do that" because your user space is supposed to be used to help build Wikipedia. However, if you intend to do this in a non-automated way for a relatively few pages, I think you can justify it because it is helping you use Wikipedia. The "right" way to do this is to download a copy of the entire Wikipedia database and implement your own clone on your own server, which is completely acceptable by our rules. Since your proposed approach will consume far less total Wikimedia resources, I think the rule of reason applies here. Others may have other opinions. -Arch dude (talk) 15:14, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Thanks for the response. I would like to clarify that I intend to do this automatically, but the amount of articles I do this method on should be relatively small. I will also add a declaration of intent to my user page here: User:Jamezofchez/WikiGame Jamezofchez (talk) 15:51, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Jamezofchez: Preview the wikitext without saving and use your browser's view source function on the preview to copy the html (Ctrl+a and then Ctrl+c in Windows). If you cannot do this then what is your browser? PrimeHunter (talk) 15:22, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    I'm planning to use the MediaWiki API similar to this Special:ApiSandbox#action=parse&format=json&page=United States&prop=text&useskin=vector-2022&formatversion=2 to get the HTML. I believe that the content will have to be saved before the API can retrieve it. Jamezofchez (talk) 16:06, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Jamezofchez: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=parse does not require that you save the wikitext to Wikipedia beforehand - you can do something like https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=parse&format=json&text=%23REDIRECT%20%5B%5BSomewhere%5D%5D%0A%0AThis%20is%20an%20example.%0A%7B%7Bnumber%7C42%7D%7D%0A%5B%5BCategory%3AExample%5D%5D&prop=text%7Cdisplaytitle|wikitext&disableeditsection=1&disabletoc=1&useskin=vector-2022&contentmodel=wikitext&formatversion=2, passing the Wikitext in the URL or POST body (though for longer wikitext I'd absolutely recomend using POST with Content-Type:multipart/form-data instead, to avoid going over URL size limits). I do have to warn you to take things slow though - Passing large quantities to the parse API in a short amount of time is a surefire way to get IP-blocked. See also mw:API:Etiquette. Victor Schmidt (talk) 22:15, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Login attempts

    I woke up this morning to a grand total of 30 attempted logins to my account. I would like to know if anyone else has had a large number of login attempts recently? It might be a mere coincidence, but I have been semi-active for a while and recently opposed an RFA, so I am wondering if there is some kind of malicious connection between the login attempts and this oppose, and if anything can be done about this. Willbb234 15:19, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    I have this semi-regularly on my account. Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 15:22, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Willbb234: Nothing really can be done about it – as long as you have a good password there isn't anything to worry about. Tollens (talk) 15:24, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Well, you could sign up for WP:2FA Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 15:26, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    It never happened to me but others have said it sometimes happens. I would just ensure a strong password, and disable the notifications at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-echo if they get annoying. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:27, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Quargnento

    On this page I can't insert the en dash in the paragraph "Twin towns...", this is the first time it has happened to me; when I write the dash, the page turns it into the current one. JackkBrown (talk) 18:19, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @JackkBrown: Hello! I've found methods to insert en dash: MOS:DASH. Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 18:25, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Deltaspace42: no, I know how to insert it, it's a very very basic Wikipedia rule. The page seems not to accept this type of dash, I have tried several times to add it. JackkBrown (talk) 18:31, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @JackkBrown: I've inserted it now, does it look fine in your browser? Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 18:33, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Deltaspace42: yes, thanks. JackkBrown (talk) 18:35, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Question about source code

    If I use <!-- --> to hide this line of Wikipedia syntax {{talk header|noarchive=yes|search=no|arpol=no|wp=no|disclaimer=no|bottom=yes|force=true}} {{User:ClueBot III/ArchiveThis |archiveprefix=User talk:StarryNightSky11/Archives/ |format=Y/F |age=24 |archivebox=yes |box-advert=yes }}


    Will CluebotIII still archive conversations? StarryNightSky11 🎄 18:31, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @StarryNightSky11: There shouldn't be any need to comment out the template. {{talk header}} is purely cosmetic and doesn't affect page archiving, so it can be left out completely, and the ClueBot III template doesn't produce any visible output if archivebox is set to no or omitted. An example of what you're looking for would be {{User:ClueBot III/ArchiveThis |archiveprefix=User talk:StarryNightSky11/Archives/ |format=Y/F |age=24 }} Tollens (talk) 18:37, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Contradicting information

    I've recently been researching Peru's EEZ for an article I'm creating. I've been trying to find the total area it covers; however, I'm now confused after I found contradicting information around Wikipedia. On article likes geography of Peru and exclusive economic zone, they state that it covers an area of 906,454 km2 (349,984 sq mi). But they do not cite any sources for verification, so I decided to try to research on my own to confirm, however, found that these claims cannot be confirmed. In fact, I instead found a reliable source stating that the total area is actually 857,000 km2. So, what source should I trust? SonOfYoutubers (talk) 19:32, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @SonOfYoutubers: Hello! You should trust the one that is reliable (obviously), feel free to replace the contradicting information on Wikipedia with the one which the reliable sources contains and don't forget to cite new info with this source. Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 19:35, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    I was wondering how to make a dotted underline wikilink on Wikipedia. I've seen it done before, but I can't remember where. Thanks in advance! Cessaune [talk] 20:18, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @Cessaune: I don't see anything about that at WP:CHEAT or Help:Link. If you could find an example, that would be great. There is a preference option under Appearances to underline links, if that's what you are looking for. RudolfRed (talk) 20:29, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Cessaune: Dots indicate a tooltip, e.g. made with {{Tooltip}}. Don't try to make dots without a tooltip. It will confuse readers who expect it's a tooltip. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:37, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Not dots, dashes. And I have no idea where I saw it. Cessaune [talk] 20:40, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Are you trying to do this for everyone or just yourself? If it's just for you you can go and edit the CSS (accessible through Preferences → Appearance → Skin) of whichever skin you're using. I can't say I've done it before, but I imagine you'd add something like
    a {
        text-decoration-style: dashed;
    }
    
    to your CSS. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 20:55, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    I'm trying to do it for everyone. Cessaune [talk] 21:20, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Could be a template, but what's the purpose of underlining a link? —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:39, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Cessaune:(edit conflict) try something like
    [[Foo|<span style="text-decoration: underline dashed">Foobar</span>]]
    
    Which renders as Foobar Victor Schmidt (talk) 21:45, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Cessaune: Where and why do you want to do it? It doesn't sound like something we should do in an article. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:31, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    In short, on the Donald Trump page we once tested out section links. The looked like this§. It was shot down. Now the idea's being reproposed. I definitely think that this looks better. Cessaune [talk] 04:34, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    I personally wouldn't recommend it for the reason PrimeHunter stated above. I fail to see why section links need to be differentiated, especially when other articles do it without any additional decoration. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 05:03, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Well, it's just a proposal. Cessaune [talk] 05:05, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Also, thank you guys for your help. Cessaune [talk] 15:36, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Related to the earlier question, Help:Link#Changing_link_appearance says By changing the "Underline links" or "Format broken links like this" value on the Appearance tab of user preferences.. When I look at my preferences setting I do see the Underline links setting but I don't see the "Format broken links" setting. Does that option still exist? Is it only available in some skins? I am using that legacy Vector skin. RudolfRed (talk) 20:34, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    The preference was removed in 2012. I have removed the mention.[1] PrimeHunter (talk) 23:54, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Thanks for the explanation and for fixing the help page. RudolfRed (talk) 00:04, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Babel templates for language proficiency

    Hello there!

    Please anyone can inform me where can I find templates to insert in my user page that specify the languages I spreak and the level of proficiency? I've tried to insert directly but coudn't find the correct names.

    Thanks! CarlosFelix1 (talk) 20:50, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @CarlosFelix1: Hello! Here is from my user page: {{#babel:ru|en-3|tok-2|py-3|haskell-3|Lua-3|java-2}} Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 20:52, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    {{#babel:}} - it is container for userboxes related to languages. Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 20:56, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Thank you very much, got it! Do you know if there is a Babel portal or community where I can find explanations about the various levels of proficiency (1 to 5)? CarlosFelix1 (talk) 21:09, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @CarlosFelix1: Try Wikipedia:Babel. GoingBatty (talk) 22:12, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Thanks, that's what I needed. Have a good one! CarlosFelix1 (talk) 00:33, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    PLEASE get this donate BS offline. I am sick and tired of seeing it. I donated $10 and am sick of looking at the donation crap. I've clicked the already donated button a hundred times! Turn this shit off or I'll never donate another fricken penny! 50.53.22.136 (talk) 23:31, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Hello! I am just going to copy RudolfRed's answer: You can create an account and then hide the banners if you wish. Should you have any problems donating, or other questions, please email donate@wikimedia.org Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 23:34, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    As you use an IP, there is no way to know that the person on your device at any given moment has seen a donation request or donated. As noted, you can create an account and then hide the fundraising banners in the account preferences. 331dot (talk) 23:48, 27 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    December 28

    I don't understand your scribbling

    I don't understand a bit of all your scribbling . Please make a little bit easier to understanrd. I enjoyed reading your articles on different topics since the first day. 104.36.119.6 (talk) 02:24, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Which page are you referring to? —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 02:35, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Hi there! If you have an issue understand a specific article, you can share your specific concern on the article's talk page. You might also be interested in the Simple Wikipedia. GoingBatty (talk) 02:40, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Peter Finch Martineau

    Could the recently added portrait be made a bit smaller please. I cannot do this. Sorry ! Srbernadette (talk) 07:35, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Done, it might be worth adding infobox person.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 08:21, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Hello, folks, and hope you're enjoying the year as it winds down. I was wondering what the best way to go about correcting a large number of wikilinks as described in the section heading.

    Background: I just closed the RM at Talk:Saiō#Requested move 13 November 2023, where the now-blocked nom said: I have since changed almost all links to Saiō to Ise Saiō, but nothing in that RM showed that Ise Saiō is a real phrase. However, the list at is daunting, so I was wondering if there were a semi-automated way of doing it. Thanks in advanced! Rotideypoc41352 (talk · contribs) 08:09, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @Rotideypoc41352: Yes, ask at WP:BOTREQ and someone with a bot, or access to AWB, will do it for you. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 12:37, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Rotideypoc41352: At the risk of contradicting Pigsonthewing, I suggest WP:AWBTASKS instead, due to the small number of articles to be changed. GoingBatty (talk) 13:55, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Thanks! I'll keep this for future reference; it seems someone else has already helped me cut the links down to 61, so I went ahead and cut it down further to 51. Rotideypoc41352 (talk · contribs) 16:23, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Peter Finch Martineau

    Please add the page number - which is page number 4 - into citation number 14. Thank you in anticipation,

    Srbernadette (talk) 08:46, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

      Done - Dents (talk 🖂) 10:59, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    Zucchero Fornaciari

    The reference n. 80 doesn't work. JackkBrown (talk) 09:36, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    JackkBrown, go here to (try to) recover broken links – for this case, you can use this working link. Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 10:17, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    I have been working on describing plants, fungi, and animals. The edits include facts which consist of description of measurements or where an plant is found and I have made similar publications in published scientific journals with no issues. But here I ran into issues with several users claiming copyright infringement on my content. Sometimes when there are new discoveries or reclassification of species there are limited sources making creating issues with descriptions. Several users on copy patrol have been scrutinizing my edits and blanking facts which are describing the species. These all come from scientific descriptions that are facts.

    In this edit I spent time paraphrasing the description from this source and I added attribution.

    Also I copied a list of synonyms from kew and added attribution.

    On this page I had my edits of a single sentence of 18 words stricken from the history because my statement of the facts are too similar to the source material where they made the description. Here on this page I added the description for the new classification of Chantarelle mushrooms and the editor again blanked the one sentence description for copyright violation. It is difficult for any edits to be made distinguishing mushroom parts other than the words used there.


    I thought these list of information was allowed based on the supreme court opinion from Feist Publications, Inc., v. Rural Telephone Service Co. case where:

    • "The first is that facts are not copyrightable; the other, that compilations of facts generally are. Each of these propositions possesses an impeccable pedigree."((Feist Publ'ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co. (1991) 499 U.S. 340, 344)
    • That there can be no valid copyright in facts is universally understood."No author may copyright facts or ideas. The copyright is limited to those aspects of the work -- termed 'expression' -- that display the stamp of the author's originality. (Id at 350. citing Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises)
      • The descriptions I am adding are measurements and shapes of a the plant written by taxonomist distinguishing the difference between them
    • "To qualify for copyright protection, a work must be original to the author. See Harper & Row, supra, at 547-549. Original, as the term is used in copyright, means only that the work was independently created by the author (as opposed to copied from other works), and that it possesses at least some minimal degree of creativity" (Id at 345)
      • I believe the use of a scientific description of a plant or a group of plants is similar the Feist case where the work author of this source copied the measurements from other books as listed in their bibliography

    It is my understanding that using paraphrasing to represent facts is fine because of the Feist opinion where "This inevitably means that the copyright in a factual compilation is thin. Notwithstanding a valid copyright, a subsequent compiler remains free to use the facts contained in another's publication to aid in preparing a competing work, so long as the competing work does not feature the same selection and arrangement." (Id at 349)

    Here is a link to the Feist case.

    Is there a reason this is not allowed on wikipedia? or am I misinterpreting the supreme court ruling here or are the other users misinterpreting the copyright law? Please advise --Cs california (talk) 08:41, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @Diannaa and GreenLipstickLesbian:, whose edits are questioned. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 12:35, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Thanks for the ping Andy. Here are links to the previous/ongoing discussions:
    To sum up my comments from those two discussions: facts are not copyrightable, but prose is. Wikipedia has a very strict copyright policy, stricter in some ways than copyright law itself, because our fair use policy does not allow us to copy material from copyright sources when there's a freely licensed alternative available. In this case the freely licensed material is prose that we write ourselves. It's okay to copy from compatibly licensed sources, but attribution is required. This is typically done using templates. — Diannaa (talk) 12:45, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    @Cs california, Diannaa, and GreenLipstickLesbian: IMO your edits do not violate copyright law or Wikipedia's strict interpretation, for the reasons you described. However, we need a simpler way to resolve these challenges in the future: a multi-paragraph query here at the help desk for each incident is not very efficient. I think we need a guideline page that is crisp and to the point and not intermixed with all of the rest of our copyright guidance. Then, whenever you or another editor creates a one-sentence fact-only cited summary, you can just add a link (maybe WP:FACTONLY) to your edit summary and/or to any subsequent WP:BRD discussion. -Arch dude (talk) 17:02, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    edit notice

    So maybe it's just not enough coffee yet...I added an edit notice and when I looked at the page, it was visible in Read mode. What am I doing wrong? Thanks for any help! Valereee (talk) 11:33, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @Valereee: Hello! What do you mean by Read mode? All I see is that you added a template to a page and then reverted your edit. Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 11:37, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    I think you need to go here: Wikipedia:Editnotice#Creating_editnotices to add an editnotice, not in the article page itself. Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 11:41, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Yes, I added it, then realized I'd screwed up and reverted it and came here. :) I am template-impaired. It always takes me at least one screwup to get a new template use correct.
    Oh, no kidding, I have to go fill in a form page? Good grief. So many of our how-to pages are so complex and make so many assumptions of what people already know. I swear I was at the how-to page just before I came in here, and I didn't notice that. I'll go look again, and thanks, @Deltaspace42! Valereee (talk) 11:48, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    Editnotices work in the opposite of the opposite of how you'd think they would. It is conveniently crazy but our guide does do a so-so job of explaining how to make one. Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 13:45, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
    hahaha! I did find it, once I knew what I was looking for. :D Valereee (talk) 14:47, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    New donate channel

    Hi Experts, I am from China. I want to donate. I have AMEX credit card, but things go error. I will keep trying, but will you open the wechat or alipay channel? These two are easier to donate. RobertRivers9 (talk) 13:50, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

    @RobertRivers9: Hello! If you have any questions about donating, please email donate@wikimedia.org Deltaspace42 (talkcontribs) 14:38, 28 December 2023 (UTC)Reply