Wikipedia:Help desk

Welcome—ask questions about how to use or edit Wikipedia! (Am I in the right place?)

• For other types of questions, use the search box, see the reference desk or Help:Contents. If you have comments about a specific article, use that article's talk page.
• Do not provide your email address or any other contact information. Answers will be provided on this page only.
• If your question is about a Wikipedia article, draft article, or other page on Wikipedia, tell us what it is!
• Check back on this page to see if your question has been answered.
• For real-time help, use our IRC help channel, #wikipedia-en-help.
• New editors may prefer the Teahouse, a help area for beginners (but please don't ask in both places).

Ask a question

November 14

I did not create this ... not intentionally, anyway

A strange situation has come up, and I was hoping somebody can explain what is going on. Background: I often run AWB against recently created articles to pick up typos etc. But I was just notified that back in June, I am listed as CREATING a article (Draft:Turkic conquest of Asia Minor (please salt original)). The page history shows the first edit is me using AWB to fix some typos, but this shows up as a page creation. I can see that Fram subsequently moved the original version to Draft and added the "please salt original" to the name. But why am I shown as creator? And can I then delete it? Gronk Oz (talk) 00:28, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

I presume that Fram knows what happened. TSventon (talk) 01:03, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Maybe you started editing one of these but didn't save until after it had been moved? DuncanHill (talk) 01:55, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

@Gronk Oz: Yes, Fram moved a version of Turkic conquest of the Minor Asia to Draft:Turkic conquest of Minor Asia () without leaving a redirect.[1] Before this you had started an edit of the page (or at least AWB had loaded the page) but you saved it 14 minutes after the move.[2] At the time it became a page creation since the original page had been moved without leaving a redirect. I don't know what a browser edit would have done in this situation but AWB just created the page. The diff of your changes to the moved page is [3]. Fram then also moved your accidental page creation to draftspace. Pages can only be deleted by administrators. Do you want me to delete it? PrimeHunter (talk) 02:16, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

@PrimeHunter: - Wow, that is a trap for young players (and not so young). Thanks for explaining what happened. Yes, I would be grateful if you would delete it.--Gronk Oz (talk) 08:34, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

I have deleted it. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:06, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Jean Gabin

Apparently, this is Wikipedia's current article for improvement – and I can help edit it!

But that final exclamation mark in that header pissed me the fuck off. Gabin is one of my screen heroes. I would have done my very utmost to find new sources, and added them to at least the References, or even to the Bibliography with approved citations, templated or not according the article's existing reffing scheme - main non. Je me fous de tout point d'exclamation. C'est tout a fait inutile d'employer tel point, soit réportage cité d'un expression d'éclat, un sursaut personnel, un éruption d'esprit mal contenu. Mais ce n'est pas ce qu'on veut. A celui qui a osé d'écrire cet invitation: ta mère. Point maudit! MinorProphet (talk) 02:11, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

This this the Help Desk for English Wikipedia. Please use the appropriate language. 192.168.1.255 (talk) 02:15, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Perhaps Google Translate has missed some subtleties of your prose (my French has half a century of rust on it), but the cause of your annoyance evades me. This is a standard template text (not tailored for this particular article) reminding ordinary readers of the fact – doubtless surprising to many – that they too, not just some elite, can contribute to Wikipedia by improving articles. As such the exclamation mark is, in English prose, entirely appropriate. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.7.95.48 (talk) 02:34, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Yeah, Exclamation mark#English includes "may indicate astonishment or surprise". PrimeHunter (talk) 02:52, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

standard template text (not tailored for this particular article) let alone to the reader! Oops I did it again! Recursively! —The poster formerly known as —Tamfang (talk) 01:57, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

If a humble ⟨!⟩ can trigger such a conniption, MinorProphet, then co-editing this sprawling encyclopedia may not be a good fit for you. But I appreciate the way you sneaked one into your response. (Me, I think they're OK in small doses.) -- Hoary (talk) 11:59, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

I'd like to apologise for my unseemly outburst. Thanks all for your measured responses. I'll just need to remind myself that I don't need that mild level of exhortation (it's like using All Caps), and it just doesn't apply to me. Cheers, and happy editing. MinorProphet (talk) 12:33, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Editing a page

•  Courtesy link: Lisa de Leeuw

I am trying to edit the Wikipedia page for Lisa de Leeuw. Everytime I publish it gets reverted. Her Fan-club would like a proper Wikipedia page. prior to my edits it was very short with some false information. It didn't celebrate her legacy at all. What should I do? Lisa de Leeuw Fan (talk) 04:13, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Hi Lisa de Leeuw Fan. Wikipedia article content is expected to be in accordance with relevant Wikipedia policies and guidelines. In addition, Wikipedia articles aren't intended to be celebrations of the subject's legacy; article content (positive or negative) is expected to be written an encyclopedic and neutral manner based upon what reliable sources (as defined by Wikipedia) have written or said about the subject. Wikipedia articles aren't the property of their subjects, and neither the subjects of articles nor their representatives have any special editorial control over article content. So, the fan club is free to do as it wants on its own websites or social media accounts, but it doesn't get a special say when it comes to Wikipedia.

Now, if you or anyone else feels there's incorrect information in the article, you're free to discuss that on the article's talk page and explain what needs to be changed and why. If you're able to establish a change/correction needs to be made because doing so is in accordance with relevant Wikipedia policies and guidelines, the change/correction will almost certainly be made. On the other hand, if you just claim it needs to be made because it's what the fan club wants, the change/correction won't be made. Since you seem to have tried to make this change several times yourself and have been reverted each time, it's probably best if you stop doing that and instead follow Wikipedia:Dispute resolution from here on. If you continue to try and force the change/correction through, there's a good chance it will be seen as Wikipedia:Edit warring regardless of how right you think you are, which could lead to an administrator stepping in and taking action against your account.

Finally, scanning a photo from a magazine you own doesn't make you the copyright holder of the photo. The copyright holder of a photo is, for the most part, the person who takes the photo, and only that person can release their own creative work under a copyright license that is OK for Wikipedia or Wikimedia Commons. If you've got a photo of de Leeuw that you took yourself, perhaps at some fan convention, then you can upload it for use on Wikipedia as long as it's 100% your own work and you're OK releasing it under a copyright license that Wikipedia accepts; you can, however, do this with someone else's work with providing some formal way for Wikipedia to verify their WP:CONSENT. -- Marchjuly (talk) 05:18, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Where could i begin with editing? Like do i start with small entries then slowly level my way to higher ones?

I haven't been able to really edit as much as I'd like to; but I would genuinely love to contribute to semi-protected wikis- DoritoSandwiches (talk) 06:55, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

I infer that you haven't actually begun editing. So feel free to begin, with carefully-thought minor improvements. When you've acquired experience and skill, be more ambitious. -- Hoary (talk) 11:48, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

You can offer edits to semi-protected articles by using the edit request wizard. (Note that the whole of English Wikipedia is one wiki - one of thousands on the Internet. I know that people unfamiliar with wikis sometimes use "a wiki" to mean "an entry in a wiki", but that can be confusing here). ColinFine (talk) 16:15, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

@DoritoSandwiches:I started (in 2006) when I saw minor grammar and spelling errors in articles I was reading for personal interest. Pick a few articles that interest you and read them. You are likely to see stuff that can be improved. Follow interesting-looking links and read those articles also, and do the same. If you are interested in some area of knowledge and you find an article that you think is weak or incomplete, you can try finding sources to use to improve the article and try your hand at adding sentences, then paragraphs, then sections, and finally entire articles. An area of interest can be just about anything, from plumbing to philosophy to hard rock (music or geology). Keep playing as long as it is fun, and take breaks if your enthusiasm decreases. Carefully use edit summaries for every edit, and engage on article talk pages if there is any reason to do so. And thanks! We appreciate your help! -Arch dude (talk) 17:26, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Alright, thank you very much for the advice! DoritoSandwiches (talk) 06:03, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Stacking infoboxes using Visual Editor

I am writing a new article using Visual Editor and need to stack two infoboxes.  I see how to add the Stack template but not how to bracket the two infoboxes inside it.  Can you please help?

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?action=edit&create=Create+new+article+draft&editintro=Template%3AAfC+draft+editintro&preload=Template%3AAfc+preload%2Fdraft&summary=--+Draft+creation+using+the+%5B%5BWP%3AArticle+wizard%5D%5D+--&title=Draft%3AIn+a+Whole+New+Way Speedypick (talk) 12:47, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

@Speedypick: You haven't saved anything in Draft:In a Whole New Way. If you save your draft on the confusingly named "Publish page" button then we can fix it. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:13, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Thanks. Just saved it. 2603:7081:3700:62:4447:8DD:371F:94AF (talk) 14:01, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Actually it failed to save. I may have to restart the page from scratch. 2603:7081:3700:62:4447:8DD:371F:94AF (talk) 14:03, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

I just restarted the page and clicked Publish. If you can fix the poorly stacked Infoboxes now, that would be great. 2603:7081:3700:62:EDF3:F8FE:F6A9:FBBC (talk) 15:53, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

I can't help with the infoboxes, but just a tip: if something happens like this and you lose your edit, often if you go back in your browser history you will be able to reload the editor with your edit in it. If you then preview it, you should be able to continue working on it and eventually publish it. I'm not sure if this works with the visual editor though. Ivanvector (^Talk/_Edits) 16:02, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

@Speedypick: {{Stack}} is for other issues and wasn't required here so I removed it and moved the infobox code to the top in the source editor where you can see the location of the code.[4] It's harder to control in VisualEditor. You can switch between the editors on a pencil icon at the top right. See Help:VisualEditor#Opening VisualEditor. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:50, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Thank you so much!! 2603:7081:3700:62:E9D8:8A52:519B:CBD2 (talk) 20:04, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for the tip! Speedypick (talk) 20:36, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Another question

How would you know if an article is considered a stub User332224 (talk) 18:56, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

@User332224 Stub articles are remarkably short, bare bones articles, truly skeletal. They are or ought to be written tightly and referenced sufficiently to both assert and verify notability. They almost beg to be expanded.

However, some very short articles are complete in all respects, and are not stubs.

You knew that would not be simple, didn't you? 🇺🇦 Fiddle^Timtrent Faddle^Talk to me 🇺🇦 19:02, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

User332224, another thing to be aware of is that many articles originally classified as stubs are gradually improved as time goes by and are no longer stubs, even though the tag remains. I routinely go to the talk pages of such articles and change "stub" to "start". Cullen328 (talk) 19:20, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Lost friend

Is there a SHip builder from Idaho named Randy Smorhh 31.118.187.198 (talk) 19:02, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Google is your friend. In the interests of balance, other search engines exist. 🇺🇦 Fiddle^Timtrent Faddle^Talk to me 🇺🇦 19:03, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Updating the main image of a Wikipedia Article

Hello,

I didn't manage to find any actual help in the Search Box or in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contributing_to_Wikipedia.

I would like to add this up-to-date picture

Dhafer Youssef, Tunisia, 2023 by Zayene Bechir

for the article about a jazz musician https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhafer_Youssef

I would love to know how I can proceed to do that.

All the best, JB JibéWiki (talk) 19:31, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

You just need to swap “Dhafer Youssef (223157).jpg” with “Dhafer Youssef, Tunisia, 2023.jpg” in the Image field of the infobox. Tutwakhamoe (talk) 19:41, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

@JibéWiki: Click the "Edit" tab on the article. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:49, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

@JibéWiki It would be unusual to caption the infobox image to include the photographer's name, unless perhaps s/he was notable enough to have a Wikipedia article. The photo's attribution is available on Commons. Mike Turnbull (talk) 14:53, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

How to add a page

How to add a page Foothill Farms (talk) 19:40, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Are you referring to creating an article? You can start creating an article by clicking on a redlink, or by typing the title of the article you wish to create into the input field at WP:HTCAP. Make sure that the article you wish to write can pass WP:GNG or any other relevant notability guidelines. Tutwakhamoe (talk) 19:49, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Hello, @Foothill Farms. While Tutwakhamoe's answer is technically correct, I would very very strongly advise that, unless you are experienced in creating Wikipedia articles, you use the articles for creation process to create a draft and submit it for review. See your first article. ColinFine (talk) 21:50, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

@Foothill Farms: Any article on Wikipedia must be about a notable subject, using our definition of notable, not yours. Therefore, before you waste time on leaning the mechanics of creating an article, please spend some time verifying that the subject is notable. Start at WP:N. -Arch dude (talk) 05:14, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

I really, really deeply hope that you were not planning to create a "page" which would be an advertisement for the food company "Foothill Farms". Because that is never what we do here. --Orange Mike | Talk 13:24, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Creation of -arguably- big topic

The current Israel-Hamas war has spillovers is many countries in the region obviously. In Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present), every theatre is Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)#Events by country has a main, more in-depth article except Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)#Syria. I want to create an article detailing the spillover from strikes, statements, and especially the Recent ground operations, Israeli military constructions within Syrian territory (whcih also included resulted in some notable incidents. at the same time, I want it to be coordinated, and sure to be justified and in-form of the general Wikipedia mode of publication/operation. Do I create a Draft and submit it somewhere? Or do I just create it and publish it after it is in enough depth? Or is there a specific place to discuss such matters? please guide me as I want to be in line and to avoid wrongdoings. RamiPat (talk) 21:19, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Drafts are usually for new editors or articles that are in such a bad shape that they don't qualify for mainspace. Personally I think you should create the article directly and fix any issues later. You can also enlist help for your article at the talk page of any relevant wikiproject, in this case Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history. Tutwakhamoe (talk) 12:56, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

November 15

Wiki shielding convicted rapist?

How does Mike Tyson’s article not mention he is a convicted rapist who spent 3 years in jail. Despite the article having a whole section on his “legal troubles” and mentioned other rape allegations- he was charged and convicted of rape in the 90s. This article is locked but this is a gross omission. 2607:FEA8:FF01:48D5:5DD:A820:1B1A:6CBB (talk) 03:21, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

It mentions it in the lead as well as in a several-paragraph subsection of his professional career section. It does mention it. - Purplewowies (talk) 03:32, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

This isn't a matter for the help desk – please discuss this at Talk:Mike Tyson, the article's talk page. Note that while the article is protected, the talk page is not. jlwoodwa (talk) 04:58, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

His rape conviction is described at Mike Tyson#Trial and incarceration. Cullen328 (talk) 17:54, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

User infobox

Is there any user inforbox which I can place in my userpage where detailed about me parameter are present and where I can add a picture of myself? CometVolcano (talk) 05:01, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Template:Infobox Wikipedia user.--♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 07:55, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

How to create a secret string

My question is in the title above! 🙂 Augnablik (talk) 11:46, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

@Augnablik: If you refer to a committed identity for your account then you choose the secret string yourself. See Template:Committed identity and Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-05-14/Committed identity. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:03, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Yes, @PrimeHunter, a committed identity (sort of a strange term!) is what I’d like to get. Not that I’m really worried about needing one, but it seems like a good idea.

The directions for using that template are a bit challenging for me to follow, though. They seem a better match for those who are comfortable editing with the source code rather than the visual editor.

But thanks for at least pointing me somewhere… Augnablik (talk) 15:58, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

If you're asking how to create a hidden comment in a page's source, it's the same as in HTML: surround the hidden text with <!-- hidden comment here -->. Text between the -- tags will not render on the page. This works in the source editor, I'm not sure if you can make hidden comments in the visual editor. Ivanvector (^Talk/_Edits) 14:01, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Block tally

I should know the answer to this, but I do not, so I'll ask here: how can an editor like me determine the number and dates of all blocks/bans, and unblocks/unbans, performed by an administrator? JoJo Anthrax (talk) 13:42, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Head to the admin's userpage or contributions, find the link titled 'logs for this user' or 'user logs' (eg Special:Log/Zzuuzz), then choose 'block log' in the dropdown. The total number is a bit more complicated. One method is to head for WP:ADMINSTATS. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 13:52, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

(edit conflict) User:JamesR/AdminStats (shortcut WP:ADMINSTATS) is a bot-updated list of different administrative actions and the top 100 administrators by count of each of those actions. If you're looking for all stats for a particular administrator, some admins have enabled a bot to periodically create a table of their own actions; these will be at :[[Template:Adminstats/<<admin username>>]], for example mine are Template:Adminstats/Ivanvector. That is opt-in, though: not every administrator has enabled the bot. There are probably other ways, these are just the two I know of.

For any administrator, a record of their blocks is recorded at :[[Special:Log/block/<<username>>]], for example Special:Log/block/Ivanvector. This link works for any username, but for editors who have never been administrators the report will be blank. This is only for blocks; bans are community actions and are not logged by the software. Ivanvector (^Talk/_Edits) 13:59, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Incorrect Information

Good morning,

When searching the R.M. of Clinworth No. 230 it says the Reeve is Krista that is not correct the Reeve is Tyler Trew. If this change could please be made it would be greatly appreciated. 71.17.184.254 (talk) 14:54, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

 Courtesy link: Rural Municipality of Clinworth No. 230

Your best option, if you can't make this change yourself, is to request the change at the talk page for the article itself. In either case, you'll need to provide a reliable source so that the information you'd like incorporated into the article can be verified. Cheers! DonIago (talk) 15:04, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

The government ref in the infobox isn't working at the moment, but I've changed the reeve to Tyler Trew per this government page. Deor (talk) 23:13, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Overlinking - guidance

The first sentence in Van Morrison's early life has six wikilinks, most of which strike me as redundant, serving only to clutter the article. Is there an experienced editor who can advise which if any should be removed?

"George Ivan Morrison was born on 31 August 1945, at 125 [Hyndford Street], [Bloomfield], [Belfast], [Northern Ireland], as the only child of George Morrison, a [shipyard] electrician, and Violet Morrison (née Stitt), who had been a singer and [tap dancer] in her youth." Jack C (talk) 15:56, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Only five, I think. Bloomfield, Belfast is just one wikilink. Wikilinling shipyard seems questionable - don't most people know what a shipyard is? But I wouldn't argue about it. Maproom (talk) 17:10, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

MOS:GEOLINK says, "For a geographical location expressed as a sequence of two or more territorial units, link only the first unit." So Northern Ireland should be unlinked. I don't think the street counts, so Bloomfield, Belfast can stay linked. Perception312 (talk) 20:00, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Going to point out that wherever possible, MOS:SEAOFBLUE should be considered. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 06:27, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

Many thanks folks - the geolink/seaofblue items are very helpful. Jack C (talk) 13:42, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

Vector Legacy search acting up

Hello,

When I search for a page in the Vector Legacy skin, it only selects a couple articles at random when using the up and down arrows on my keyboard. The Vector 2022 skin doesn't exhibit the same behaviour. I have reproduced this issue on a couple of browsers.

Is this a bug?

Thanks.

Urbanracer34 (talk) 17:30, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

It seems so. See Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical)#Search_autocomplete_selects_random_results_when_arrowing_down. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 21:09, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Thanks! Nice to see I'm not alone. Urbanracer34 (talk) 21:16, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

A page for me

I have been approached by a "Wikipedia Moderator." He has offered to create and edit a page for me. How do I know if this is legitimate or if it is a scam. He indicated there would be a small fee for his services. 98.149.176.176 (talk) 19:32, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

This is always a scam. Legitimate Wikipedia editors will never ask for payment in return for their services. * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 19:36, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Pppery is correct: this is not legitimate. See WP:SCAM for more information, and consider emailing paid-en-wpwikipedia.org with a copy of what the scammer sent you. jlwoodwa (talk) 21:14, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Or you could just post it here, so that we can have a good laugh at the scammer's expense. -- Hoary (talk) 22:03, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

We ought to have a wall of shame for such material. —Tamfang (talk) 02:03, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

How do you create a page from screatch

How do I create a page from scratch not edit existing ones? Sirlongwoodthepenal (talk) 22:38, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

@Sirlongwoodthepenal: If you want to create an article at the English Wikipedia then see Wikipedia:Articles for creation. Otherwise, which type of page and where? PrimeHunter (talk) 22:43, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

It's highly advised that you first learn about how Wikipedia works and what is expected of article content by editing existing articles, before attempting the very difficult task of writing a new article. 331dot (talk) 23:09, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

@Sirlongwoodthepenal: Any article on Wikipedia must be about a notable subject, using our definition of notable, not yours. Therefore, before you waste time on learning the mechanics of creating an article, please spend some time verifying that the subject is notable. Start at WP:N. -Arch dude (talk) 05:14, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

November 16

Need advice on unknown birth-dates

I am trying to get a birthday of Hamida Salim yet can't find any sources stating her full birthday, only 1922. I am just wondering how can I tell the reader that the woman's full birthday is unknown.

For clarification, I checked every single page and none of them state her full birthday, closest I could get is 1922.

Thank you! ミラへぜ (talk) 00:05, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

Without reliable sources establishing a full date of birth, then there really isn't anything to be done. A lack of information itself isn't necessarily indicative of anything, unless there was a notable reason for it's omission. TiggerJay (talk) 00:43, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

It would be presumptious to actually say in the article that "[her] full birthday is unknown" – that suggests no-one now knows it, which is possible but unlikely (for example, Javed Akhtar likely knows it). It may be published somewhere you haven't seen yet, or she may not have wanted it published. However, in the absence of a reliable (or any) source, there is no need to make any further mention beyond the existing "Salim was born in 1922 in Rudauli, in Uttar Pradesh." 94.7.95.48 (talk) 00:46, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

I've added Category:Date of birth missing to the article; this is a hidden category, so most readers will not see it, but it's still useful for maintenance. jlwoodwa (talk) 04:54, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

What does 'authority control' do / mean?

I see it added to various articles I have uploaded and am interested to know what it does, Thank you BJCHK (talk) 05:31, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

BJCHK The {{Authority control}} template "links Wikipedia articles (and user pages) to the corresponding entries in library catalogs of national libraries and other authority files all over the world." (from Wikipedia:Authority control). The library catalogue codes, etc., need to be added to the article's Wikidata item. TSventon (talk) 05:40, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

@TSventon thank you for the quick reply. Is it something I can/should add to each of my articles, or is that call made by someone higher up the chain? ThanksBJCHK (talk) 06:02, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

I am afraid that is a bit beyond my knowledge, the information page says it is most useful for people and book titles and "similar well-defined entities", so perhaps start with people. It is likely to be people with a specialised interest who add missing templates, rather than "higher ups". TSventon (talk) 06:20, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

@BJCHK: Authority control is a term of art used by information scientists. It refers to the use of an authoritative name to use to find information about a subect in a catalogue or a database. In my opinion, it is a gross disservice to our readers to use this obscure term of art. The typical reader will not know that the funny "authority control" thingee at the bottom an article provides access to a large number of databases that contain entries about the article's subject. -Arch dude (talk) 06:39, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

BJCHK, you might want to read the Purpose section of Wikipedia:Authority control to see more about what it does when used on a WP article. You might also want to click on "show" for one of the examples (or in an article where you noticed it) and then click on a few of the Authority control links, to see what kind of info they display. I first noticed it on an article about an academic, and it linked to his research, and when I added it to the page of another academic, it autopopulated (though I'm not sure that it always does that). There's no reason to add it to all articles, as it doesn't apply to the subjects of all articles. But it sometimes does make sense to add it, and you're free to add it yourself, no need for a "higher up." FactOrOpinion (talk) 19:02, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

@FactOrOpinion: In case you're curious, {{authority control}} autopopulates with identifiers from Wikidata. If there is no Wikidata item associated with an article, or if its item doesn't have any of the identifiers that {{authority control}} uses, then the template will not display. jlwoodwa (talk) 02:39, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Link to Wikisource

How can I link to Wikisource in my userpage for a book title? Is there any template? CometVolcano (talk) 15:58, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

CometVolcano, you can use raw interwiki syntax like [[:s:A History of Japanese Literature]], or {{Ws}} / {{Ws2}}. Folly Mox (talk) 16:26, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

How to creat a Wikipedia page

S Snahwh (talk) 18:13, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

See WP:YFA, but you should get experience by working to improve existing articles first. RudolfRed (talk) 19:26, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

Email Service Believes the best on Earth

Please could u teach me to put a Website Host redirection through Wiki Timo Nirvana (talk) 21:31, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

It sounds like you're trying to create some kind of spamlink or spam "page" in Wikipedia. We have zero tolerance for such efforts. --Orange Mike | Talk 21:53, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

incorrect information in preface

the preface for the information on Castroville Texas is incorrect; the town was colonized by Henri Castro, not "alsatians". The moniker "The Little Alsace of Texas" is a misnomer and came about when Ruth Lawler (then mayor and teacher at St. Louis Catholic School-see historical records) held a contest only for St. Louis Catholic Students. Students were asked to submit a nickname for Castroville. The winner was a Haby boy with ...the little alsace of texas...Castroville Council then adopted the moniker to promote tourism through segregation. Pasrsvp (talk) 21:53, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

1. Such topics should be discussed at Talk:Castroville, Texas, the article's talk page.

2. Do you have any reliable sources for your assertion? --Orange Mike | Talk 21:57, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

Methanogen entry has a nonsensical sentence

I was reading the “Methanogen” page when I saw a sentence in the “Ecology” section (immediately after the “21”footnote), which would appear to be key, except that it appears not to make grammatical sense, and gives no obvious sense of what word or words are missing. To wit: “Most of those environments are not categorized as extreme and thus methanogens that inhabit them.” (Something missing after “thus”, perhaps?). I looked for a way to contact the most recent editor of the page but that was beyond my Luddite skill level, so I searched and found this page. Hopefully, I’m correct on this sentence and haven’t wasted your time. And hopefully someone will know the answer. Thank you from Australia 1.158.12.125 (talk) 21:59, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

I don't know anything about the subject but I think that "Most of those environments are not categorized as extreme and thus methanogens that inhabit them" should be followed by " are not extremophiles." TSventon (talk) 22:22, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

1.158.12.125, like TSventon, I have no expertise here. One solution would be to delete the text "and thus methanogens that inhabit them." But if you go to the article's talk page, at the top it lists two WikiProjects that have an interest in that article, and the people who participate in those projects are more likely to be able to help. I'd ask on the Talk page of the Microbiology Wikiproject. (FWIW, it looks like that text was introduced by Microvenator in this edit. In theory, you could ask Microvenator on either their user talk page or by pinging them on the Talk page for Methanogen, but it doesn't look like Microvenator edits regularly, so you might not get a response for a long time. If you're wondering how I found that edit, click on the "View history" tab for Methanogen, and towards the top of the history page you'll see an external tool called "Find addition/removal," which lets you search for the edit where text was added or removed; I found that insertion by searching on the word "inhabit.") FactOrOpinion (talk) 22:48, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

November 17

Donations

To who it may concern: I couldn’t find a more appropriate link to write this. I donated again either yesterday or the day before and have donated several years in a row to you but not only am I still getting the donation pop ups, but apparently I’m getting internet obstruction to Wikipedia and I’d like to know if it is Wikipedia that’s causing the problem with my latest Wikipedia result. In other words, is Wikipedia not recognizing my donation to your latest request and is doing something on their end to cause this new issue. I know-this sounds silly to think Wikipedia would do this, but it’s not happening with other internet pages I have open. It’s cutting in and out at a very fast pace, sort of like a heartbeat, probably around 60-90 flickers per minute, and has a box notification about the Wikipedia internet interface and also has something about donations, but it’s flickering so fast I can’t read it all. Or could you please direct me to the correct department for this matter?

Thanks, and kind regards, Debra Poley 96.18.12.231 (talk) 00:48, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Hi! There's two parts here. Wikipedia doesn't know whether or not you have donated. If you create an account, you can supress all of the donation request banners.

It seems extremely unlikely that Wikipedia is in any way effecting your net connection. Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 01:10, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Unless you open many pages at once, as one does. Or at least as I do. Sometimes. —Tamfang (talk) 02:08, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Here is the Contact page for the Wikimedia Foundation. You will see a specific email address there for questions about donations. The WMF has no way of connecting a specific donation to your IP address and even if that was possible, it would be a privacy violation. I too consider it highly unlikely that Wikipedia is related to your screen flicker problem. Cullen328 (talk) 04:02, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

reasons for piping

Is there an obscure feature that sometimes requires piping with matching text, like [[Example article|example article]]? And have I misremembered/misunderstood how to use nowiki?? —Tamfang (talk) 02:12, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Tamfang I think [[example article]] works, and WP:PIPING deprecates

N [[Public transport|public transport]]

,

The WP:NOWIKI code is <nowiki></nowiki>. TSventon (talk) 02:38, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

I have fixed the nowiki tags. jlwoodwa (talk) 02:41, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

D'oh! —Tamfang (talk) 02:45, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

There is often a shortcut with a format like [[WP:PIPING]], i.e. WP, colon, the word you are asking about in capitals. TSventon (talk) 02:53, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

This is usually a bug within Visual Editor in my experience. Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 12:25, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Map overlay

Trying again. I need some help with the map overlay. On my sandbox, I've been working with the {{Location map many}} template and trying to overlay File:Blank map of Europe 1914.svg (or something similar!) on top for contemporary borders. I can't seem to figure it out. Any help would be well appreciated; thanks in advance. ThaesOfereode (talk) 03:04, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

When did Wikipedia begin Sponsoring Disinformation

Clearly not a help desk question. Just Step Sideways from this world ..... today 03:43, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

wikipedia used to be a great source of information. I've donated to you several times. Now, I consistently see political bias garbage that does not belong in anything I search whether it be current events and people, or historical events. I want the truth, not BS through an agenda filter. My question is- When exactly did you become so corrupt? Wikipedia didn't used to be this way. Were you paid or bribed, or was it of free will? 2600:6C5E:1E00:34E:55EE:385F:5BBF:DC (talk) 03:24, 17 November 2024 (UTC) Contents on Wikipedia are written by volunteers, monetary contributions do not affect what can be written here. If you disagree with anything on the website and you have at least one reliable source backing up your claim, feel free to make the changes yourself. Tutwakhamoe (talk) 03:40, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Article moved to mainspace

Hi - I moved an article to mainspace Sarah Roberts (subject of vampire legend), but it was in my sandbox, not draft, and now I can't use my sandbox. I'm not sure what to do about this. Thanks. Blackballnz (talk) 05:31, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Blackballnz, you can edit User:Blackballnz/sandbox by clicking on the link and then clicking on the blue link to User:Blackballnz/sandbox near the top of the page. If you want to create more articles you could use Wikipedia:Userspace drafts which avoid turning your main sandbox into a redirect when you publish an article. TSventon (talk) 05:44, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Thanks TSventon (talk) - do you mean I should I click the blue edit button? But when I do this, a box comes up which tells me its a redirect to the Sarah Roberts page (as above). I can no longer edit my sandbox. Blackballnz (talk) 08:01, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Blackballnz You can edit your sandbox, but my instructions seem to be insufficient. You can click on https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Blackballnz/sandbox&redirect=no and then on edit. Or you could follow the instructions at Help:Redirect#How it appears to the user. TSventon (talk) 08:17, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Finding out the creator of a previously deleted article

I can find deleted articles created by user by looking at their "articles created" at the bottom and the Xtools dash will show deleted articles as well. Righteous Vendetta has been previously deleted by an AfD and re-created. The page log doesn't show anything about what happened before the deletion. Is there a tool to look up who created the article the first time around? Graywalls (talk) 05:46, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

I don't know a tool, but User:Mikmania said they wrote it at the AfD and they were informed of the AfD on their talk page. TSventon (talk) 05:55, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

If the creator had left a comment like that, then you can go use the Xtool to see what they created, but I'm looking for a similar tool to look up creator of a deleted article. I want to find who created Red Cord Records the first time around, but I can't find it. Graywalls (talk) 05:58, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Perhaps you could ask at WP:REFUND who created the article? TSventon (talk) 06:20, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

I know asking someone with admin user rights is always an option, but I was hoping for self-serve solution similar to Xtools, so I don't have to ask each time. Graywalls (talk) 07:28, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Looks Like I found by chance the First creator of Red Cord Records. If you look at the TP of User:Labelman77, they were informed of the Speedy Deletion of the article.

I found it via the "Missbrauchsfilter-Logbuch" (Because my interface is in German, this should translate to MisuseFilterLog (?)) of the article, where the user was logged. Hope this helps! Maresa63 ^Talk 08:24, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

That was the creator of the version Fastily deleted on 13 October 2011. JaeNewly created the version deleted at afd in September 2012. See authors of deleted revisions. —Cryptic 12:56, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Api (sandbox). —Cryptic 07:56, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Presumably [5] doesnt give you the page creator from 2017? Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 12:43, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

It does, but so does history. Graywalls was asking for the creator of the deleted 2012 version, which my api links show. —Cryptic 12:56, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Facebook link

How can I add facebook link in Infobox Wikipedia user? CometVolcano (talk) 15:07, 17 November 2024 (UTC)