Help desk
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March 8

How do you get a Wikipedia page

How do you get a Wikipedia page — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bouhamdi... (talk • contribs) 00:36, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I've just put a "welcome" message on your user talk page, which has links to help you get started.86.20.193.222 (talk) 00:42, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

If you're asking about an article about yourself, keep in mind that most people are not notable enough for their own Wikipedia articles. Benjamin (talk) 08:25, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Cannot figure out where an unused line-defined reference is

In Squanto at the end of the reference section is this error message: Cite error: A list-defined reference named "FOOTNOTEArber1910I:219" is not used in the content (see the help page).

I have spent much time trying to figure out where this is but can't find it. Thanks AnthroMimus (talk) 04:12, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Achhh! I figured it out. It never fails that after I submit help request I suddenly find the problem. (It was a "{{sfn" inside a reference which I don't think is explained in the help for this error message. Or else I was too frustrated to understand it. Thanks again. Sorry to bother you. AnthroMimus (talk) 04:40, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Password recovery without email

Hi, I would like to use an account I created years ago to start editing again. Is there a way to recover a password when I don't have access to the old e-mail address anymore? Is there some other way to manually authenticate myself? Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.204.155.30 (talk) 11:38, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Passwords cannot be recovered. In rare cases like accounts with high user permissions a server administrator can add an email address to an account so a new password can be mailed. They don't try to authenticate owners of ordinary accounts who can just create a new account. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:12, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Show up on web search?

Hello,

I created an article roughly 12 hours ago, and it still does not show up in the search results on Google. I have created a few articles before, and none have taken nearly as long to show up. Does anyone know why this is happening? The page has been reviewed. This is the link. Thanks.RES2773 (talk) 13:14, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hey RES2773. Looks like although it has been reviewed, it hasn't been indexed yet, which is a search-engine-side problem. Non-reviewed pages are marked with a "no index" that actively prevents indexing by search engines, but the absence of a "no index" doesn't actively encourage search engines to index, it just passively allows them to whenever they actually get around to it. TimothyJosephWood 15:54, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I think our noindex policy for new articles causes an extra delay. Google used to detect article creations very quickly and include them in searches. If they visit a new article with noindex now then it may take a long time before they come back and discover that noindex has been removed. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:07, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

adding a news link

hi i want to add a news link to support my content but i am unable to do that .please help. thanks Alekh99Alekh99 (talk) 14:57, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Alekh99: As a new user you have to fill in a CAPTCHA to add an external link. This is no longer required when your account becomes four days old and has made ten edits. You already have ten edits but have three days left. If you have problems with captcha then try saving the url without the http:// part. Then it doesn't produce a clickable link but another editor may fix it or you may come back in three days and fix it. It's also possible it will be rejected if the source is considered too poor for the content. An old newspaper article as source for an unapproved medicine with no clinical trials seems poor for Wikipedia. You sound like the son of the inventer so see Wikipedia:Conflict of interest. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:58, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hey Alekh99. For help with referencing see Help:Referencing for beginners. However, although the content about the medicine might be relevant to the article about the plant, additional content about the individual almost certainly is not. Content in an article should be about the subject of the article and not about other related subjects which may or may not have their own main article. TimothyJosephWood 15:58, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

adding a page about another Navy ship in the same class

I want to avoid plagiarism as much as possible so want to make sure that I am following the rules. When creating a page about a specific ship that has a sister ship already in Wikipedia, what are the rules about copying the text from the sister ships? Do I quote the Wikipedia article, or can I just 'copy & paste'? PhoenixAF24 (talk) 15:10, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@PhoenixAF24: You can copy and paste, but for copyright reasons you need to acknowledge the source. Including "Copied material from Article name" or similar wording in the edit summary is sufficient. See Wikipedia:Copying within Wikipedia. Deor (talk) 15:27, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Deor: Thanks for letting me know. I will do that. PhoenixAF24 (talk) 15:41, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@PhoenixAF24: I suggest you also put a {{copied from}} on the article talk page. That helps to keep track of who-wrote-what. 86.20.193.222 (talk) 17:54, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Text and/or other creative content from this version of Wikipedia:Help desk was copied or moved into [[]] with this edit. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists.

Clarification. Naval ships have huge {{infobox}}en. Deor, PhoenixAF24 may be referring mainly, or solely, to copying and pasting the infobox from an earlier related article.
I believe that attribution is not required when one copies and pastes metadata -- that it is only required when copying intellectual content. As per the SCOTUS ruling in Feith v. Rural, the contents of {{cite}} templates, {{infobox}}en, and other metadata, would be "a list of facts". Under US law the SCOTUS ruled "lists of facts" were not normally eligible for copyright, because they lack a spark of creativity, or originality.
I believe since they are not eligible for copyright there is no intellectual property obligation for attribution.
Cheers! Geo Swan (talk) 22:27, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The reason I am asking is because if one looks at one of the sister ships for the HMCS Prince Robert - for example the HMCS_Prince_David_(F89), there is a lot of material in that page that can be replicated for the Prince Robert as they shared a significant amount of history and commonality but I don't want to just copy and paste another page without giving appropriate credit (or plagiarizing another Wikipedia author's work. PhoenixAF24 (talk) 03:19, 9 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The whole point of the copyright licenses we use is that people should be able to copy other people's writing with few limitations other than attribution and releasing the new work under the same license. As long as you link the source page as mentioned above, you're giving proper credit and attribution, and anything you add to Wikipedia is automatically released under the same license. So as long as you properly supply the links suggested above, you're good. Nyttend (talk) 03:02, 10 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Help with editing page for Lisa Fritsch

We have tried to go in and fix the flag to update this page to make it accurate and biographical; however, after editing for nearly an hour, we were given an error and unable to make the changes. Please advise.

Thanks,

DL Gunner for Lisa Fritsch — Preceding unsigned comment added by DLGunner (talk • contribs) 18:19, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@DLGunner: Hi, looks like you got a 'false positive' from the edit-filter log, probably because your edit contained the word "BITCH" in mentioning website "THATBITCHWHO.COM".

The edit is visible if you click your 'contributions' (up top) and then 'edit filter', where you'll find this.

I'm just explaining what happened; I don't have the powers to fix it; maybe others will respond and do so.

Also worth noting, you seem to have added unreferenced information, and removed referenced info. So the edit might not be allowed anyway.

Please be very careful editing an article about yourself (or 'on behalf of' someone you are with). It's OK to fix obvious errors, but for other changes, you should post suggestions on the article talk page, Talk:Lisa Fritsch. You may also post concerns on the biographies of living persons noticeboard and ask that uninvolved editors evaluate it. 86.20.193.222 (talk) 19:02, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Updating an image on commons

I am having trouble finding the instructions for replacing an image file on commons with a new image, keeping the name the same. The file is here[1] and my edited version has the colors changed to be more readable for those who have red/green colorblindness. I have done it before but I forgot the details.

Also, after I upload the new .svg, do I have to do anything special to cause the .png files to reflect the new .svg file? --Guy Macon (talk) 19:15, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Guy Macon, on the top of the screen there is an "edit" button. On the right of this button is an arrow. Put your mouse on the arrow to reveal a drop down menu. Click "upload a new version of this file". All files are seperate and need to be updated seperately, so you will have to manually create .png versions. All the best, Taketa (talk) 19:19, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I don't have a menu there so I guess it depends on settings. I do have "Upload a new version of this file" at the end of commons:File:Wikimedia Foundation financial development multilanguage.svg#filehistory. The scaled png versions will be generated automatically. I guess Taketa was thinking of other files based on it like File:Wikimedia Foundation financial development.png. Such files must be updated manually if you want them to be similar to your new version of the svg file. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:39, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

No arrow for me either, but the link at the end of file history worked fine. Thanks!

If anyone reading this happens to be red/green colorblind, please take a look and tell us if you can tell the columns apart by color. --Guy Macon (talk) 21:49, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Google search color blindness simulator finds some tools which may be useful. I'm not color blind and haven't tried any of them. Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Color also mentions some tools. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:17, 9 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@PrimeHunter: Don't! its made hard for you to do on purpose. It is against Commons policy (commons:Commons:Overwriting existing files) to upload a new image over an existing one, upload with a new name, something along the lines of "old file name-colour corrected".--KTo288 (talk) 11:40, 11 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

commons:Commons:Overwriting existing files#DO overwrite includes "minor and uncontroversial color correction", but I don't know whether this would normally be considered within that. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:56, 11 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Depends if anyone notices, and if anyone takes issue with it as to whether it would be considered uncontroversial or not, for this file it would not be one in which I personally would insist on keeping the original, however im my experience if you look over the file history the greater the number of editors there are and the greater their investment in a file the greater the possibility of precieved controversy. My advice in this case is to upload under a different name.--KTo288 (talk) 12:14, 11 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

"jay"

I was looking for the meaning of "Jay". As an Indian, we use "Jay" as greeting with adjoining word ie. Jay Shree Krishna, Jay Ambe, Jay Mataji, etc. for conversation and/or writing an email. It is possible to add this in dictionary so it can provide clear meaning.

Thanks Mukesh — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.83.102.134 (talk) 19:44, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry, but Wikipedia is not a dictionary, and this is the English Wikipedia. In English, the word almost always refers to the bird, so that is the "primary topic". We do have Jay (disambiguation) for other uses of the word.86.20.193.222 (talk) 20:37, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

There is also our sister project the wiktionary at https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Main_Page which is a dictionary and spans multiple languages. RJFJR (talk) 00:46, 9 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Jay Mukesh. ;) I guess this question would fit in quite well at the language section of Wikipedia's Reference desk. See: Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Language. Jahoe (talk) 19:45, 9 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you Jahoe & RJFJR for those helpful positive directive responses. Much appreciated. Maineartists (talk) 14:33, 10 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Potternewton

In the Potternewton Hall section of this page, there are some strange symbol around the word "circa" in the first line. I did not do this edit. Please fix Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.105.164.74 (talk) 22:43, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Done This was just an error in the template's syntax. I fixed it so it should be OK now. -- Marchjuly (talk) 22:48, 8 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]