Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2010 February 7

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February 7

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login to valid account after personal email changed

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suggest consider alternate login method for users with valid account and forgotten password but who have changed to a different ISP who gave them a new email address, and hence have lost ability to recieve new password resets from Wiki and therefore cant login at all. Common industry password recovery includes answering secret question(s) and providing account setting details in order for password recovery/reset to proceed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.48.100.114 (talk) 01:11, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This may address your needs Template:User committed identity. Tiggerjay (talk) 07:23, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks TiggerJay - the template for placing a hash is helpful. I would like to know how to reclaim my account after not logging in for a long time, have forgotten my password, and have since changed ISPs so I now have a new email address and do not have access to the email that is associated with my wikipedia userid? I suppose i could establish another new account and attempt to usurp my own old userid but that method seems so pedestrian. Is there a clean way to regain access to my account/userid? Thanks in advance. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.48.100.114 (talk) 19:30, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Same login for different products of wiki

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I have a login for ta.wikipedia.org which does not work for en.wikipedia.org or www.wikimapia.org. Would it not be good if the same login makes me accessible for different services of wiki? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.92.115.196 (talk) 01:49, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Read m:Help:Unified login to learn how to make your login work on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. Be aware that Wikimapia is not a Wikimedia Foundation wiki, and also note that a "wiki" is simply a type of website and not all wikis are related. Xenon54 / talk / 01:55, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Robot Editor

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For about two weeks an external link I have contributed to a Wikipedia article has been frequently deleted by a robotic editor, and also by an author of another external link to the same article.

(1)How can I find out if this other external link contributor to the same article is responsible for unleashing this bot on my external link?

(2)How can I find out precisely what this bot finds objectionable in my link?

(3) How can I get this bot to quit targeting keywords in my external link, or equivalently, get some person(s) with administrative authority over robotic editors to examine these cases of robotic editing and exercise intervention if needed. I am about 100% positive a robotic editor can never make a scientific evaluation of the contents of an external link concerning quantum mechanics, and so this bot must be keying off something else.What would that be?

(4) Is it possible for some author of one external link to program a bot to repeatedly delete another author's external link to the same article? This would be a conflict of interest, clearly, whether the second author did the deleting or caused a bot to do it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rekcana (talkcontribs) 04:24, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The bot is attracted by the website host, Bravehost.com. This site is a free web host and, since it may have been created by anyone regardless of knowledge, is not a reliable source and should not be included. In fact, Bravehost is included on Wikipedia's link blacklist. The website you are attempting to add also has several other issues: It appears to be someone's research and thus may be a copyright violation, it uses Wikipedia as one of its references and thus violates WP:CIRCULAR, and it may be link spamming. It also fits Wikipedia's guidelines on external links to generally be avoided.
For what it is worth, XLinkBot (talk · contribs) is not targeting you specifically and is not operated by User:Michael C Price. Since you are interested in the topic, I hope you will contribute to it through references to reliable sources. Thanks, Liquidlucktalk 05:22, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
P.S. When commenting on help or discussion pages like this one, please sign your username by typing four tildes, like this: ~~~~ Thanks!
The bot is reverting links to sites like Geocities, Bravehost, Yahoo, etc. We very rarely link to self-published material. --NeilN talk to me 05:23, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Impostor

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My name is Maurice Karnaugh and you have my biography. It seems that some one else has placed his own photo at the end of it. This is the same impostor's photo that appears in Facebook with my name and bio. Please remove that photo and, if you can, give me his email address.

Maurice Karnaugh 74.88.237.148 (talk) 05:05, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The picture at the end of Maurice Karnaugh comes from the Template:US-physicist-stub template. It is not meant to represent you. --NeilN talk to me 05:12, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
(after edit conflict)As far as I can see, there is no image in the Maurice Karnaugh article, unless you count the tiny image that accompanies the "US-physicist-stub" tag. That image is on every stub sized article of physicists and is not at all directly related to you, nor is it intended to be. Dismas|(talk) 05:15, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
However, the image is of someone who was a writer (or appears to be; he doesn't seem to have an article), so this brings up the question — why not a physicist in the physicist stub tag? I'm going to change it. Nyttend (talk) 06:11, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Getting rid of the Try Beta link?

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I'm one of those people who, once he figures out how to work something, generally prefers to stay with it instead of going with new upgrades that don't provide major improvements. Accordingly, I have no interest in trying Beta. Is there any way to get rid of the "Try Beta" link next to my username and user talk links in the right side of the top of my screen? Nyttend (talk) 06:07, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Assuming you are using monobook, add li#pt-optin-try { display:none; } to your monobook.css file. Prodego talk 06:15, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Trans Fat

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I just visited the page for "Trans fat" and I noticed there's been a series of vandalism on that page. I have no clue what the deal is about it, but I figured I'd take the time to volunteer and call it out here since I don't really even know how to edit well, nor revert at all. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.79.75.41 (talk) 06:49, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for bringing up the vandalism on that page, however there is not enough recent vandalism to suggest some sort of page protection is in order... yet... for more information, you can checkout WP:Vandalism and WP:PP. Tiggerjay (talk) 07:17, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Domain Eukarya

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I have seen people adding Eukarya or Eukaryota to pages. This is not required. It is an epic fail, and in all nature books I've read there is no mention of the three domains. So this is absolutely unnescary. 89.240.239.157 (talk) 11:42, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

What on earth do you mean by "an epic fail"? And on what grounds do you say that the domain is "not required"? It is no more and no less required than any taxon above the level of genus. I regard your reversions as completely inappropriate. --ColinFine (talk) 11:49, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Also, on Gecko you have reverted the same edit by two different editors within a few hours. This comes close to WP:edit warring, and I strongly advise you to discuss the matter on the talk page before making any further reversions. --ColinFine (talk) 11:54, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Well, if that's the case then it shouldn't be on articles like Dog or the like. And antway, I've discussed it on Reptile 89.240.239.157 (talk) 11:56, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, and also, some pea-brains even consider Life to be a taxonomic rank. 89.240.239.157 (talk) 12:00, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I've replied on Talk:Reptile. I don't understand what you mean about Dog: it is there, and in my view should be.
Incidentally, Colin Tudge's The Variety of Life (OUP, 2000) discusses the three domains. --ColinFine (talk) 12:20, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, but I haven't read that. It isn't really required on Species (like Mountain Zebra) or subspecies (like Dog). 89.240.239.157 (talk) 12:24, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I think 89.240.239.157's point is all life from the bacteria level up is Eukaryotic, and an animal's place in the structure is just a specification, and in comparison to everything else more complex than a bacteria, it's an irrelevant specification, as if someone can't tell a bacterium species is different from a Reptile or Dog. I thought prokariotes only existed in one Kingdom anyway, making the distinction pointless --Nutarama (talk) 00:32, 11 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Rotating images

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Does anyone know how to display a number of images in a rotating sequence (on a userpage)? Theleftorium 12:54, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You could make an animated GIF or a video. I don't think the software does it natively. Xenon54 / talk / 13:28, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I was thinking more of a way to make a random image come up when you reload the userpage. Theleftorium 13:42, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I have a vague memory of seeing a proposal to have such a feature some time ago, but consensus was against it. Nyttend (talk) 14:00, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
It's possible, using {{Rand}} and some parser functions. I use such a set-up on my user page. ​​​​​​​​Niagara ​​Don't give up the ship 17:40, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
{{Rand}} can be used as input to #switch. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:52, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Templates

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Could someone please help me with constructing a template. And please don't send me to some confusing instuctions. I just need to figure out exactly what to type in or whatever to get the template to show up like all of the others. Here, have a look. Template: The Cosby Show. Mr. Prez (talk) 13:10, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed it for ya. :) Theleftorium 13:16, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

How? Mr. Prez (talk) 14:29, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The page history shows Theleftorium added [1] a missing }} at the end. Before this fix the code was not interpreted as a template call. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:35, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
OK, but wait, it's not working again. Mr. Prez (talk) 14:39, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I fixed it again. The "}}" part should only appear at the end of the page. Theleftorium 15:10, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I am so sorry

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Hi there, I did´t now that I cold not register my web page in the external links.

I will not do it anymore.

I am the owner of The Forest Whitaker Information Site.

With warm greetings for Iceland

Fridrik Kjartansson —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.197.244.214 (talk) 13:55, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for the notice. You may find our external links guide useful, as well as our information on conflicts of interest. TNXMan 15:18, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
We all learn by mistakes. Perhaps you'd find it useful to read |What Wikipedia is not. --ColinFine (talk) 15:20, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Cite

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Which page has the most references on? (Cited things)? Just wondering. Post in my user talk page please (if you know). Neobenedict (talk) 15:15, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The largest I recall seeing is 911 at List of Barack Obama presidential campaign endorsements, 2008. I doubt it is a record. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:54, 8 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Merge the pages

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Hi, I'd like to merge the pages "Rating curve (hydrology)" and "Rating curve" into "Rating curve" and merge the content of both. How can I do that? I'm not adept at deletion process. Thanks --Marturius (talk) 15:52, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Follow the directions at Help:Merging#Performing the merger. What you do is edit Rating curve and copy content into it from Rating curve (hydrology) that you want merged. When you have finished, edit Rating curve (hydrology), remove all content on the page, and replace it with #REDIRECT [[Rating curve]] {{R from merge}}. This will create a redirect so links to that article will point to the other, which will contain all content merged into one article. --Mysdaao talk 04:59, 8 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Beta won't allow me to leave.

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  Resolved
 –  – ukexpat (talk) 17:07, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I tried beta but I don't like it and I want to leave it but I can't. I've logged out and back in many times but each time WP logs me in with beta software. Archives on this subject indicate the way to leave beta is by choosing a "leave beta" option but I don't see one anywhere. I keep getting the "try beta" option even though I'm already in beta. What's going on here and how do I leave beta? Moby-Dick3000 (talk) 16:49, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Go to Special:Preferences, click on the "Appearance" tab, then select the radio button next to the skin you were using before - the default is monobook. Click "Save", then clear your browser cache. – ukexpat (talk) 16:55, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, that worked. Moby-Dick3000 (talk) 17:03, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
No problem. – ukexpat (talk) 17:07, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Problem

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Whenever I go to Gender-neutral pronoun, it says that I have new messages which I have checked. 89.240.239.157 (talk) 16:59, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Clear your computer's cache memory.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 17:14, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

bowel ultrasound to locate foreign body or narcotic capsules

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Hi I am a clinical sonologist I want to know how to locate foreignbody or if any body carrying narcotics casules in gut. by ultrasound how findings will be helpful Thanks Dr Asif —Preceding unsigned comment added by Drasifraza (talkcontribs) 17:57, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia does not give medical advice. Xenon54 / talk / 18:04, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
  Resolved

I am only new to wikipedia, I have made a couple of edits on the UFC 110 page, I have already encountered a <removed> can someone with some common sence please intercept this battle LOL. thanks guys--219.90.217.250 (talk) 19:34, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry to hear your having problem...I will look and see...Buzzzsherman (talk) 19:40, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
219, please don't make personal attacks. Xenon54 / talk / 19:47, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

WIKIPEDIA PAGE

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Hello I would like to create a wikipedia page on the area of work I am in my name is dorothy spry...author of psychmetric testing, emotional intelligence specialist and author cognitive behavioural coaching 2010...how do I go about getting this set up?

<e-mail redacted>

Thank you

Dorothy —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.97.34.28 (talk) 21:11, 7 February 2010 (UTC) First, you need to create a user account, as only registered users are able to create a new page. Once you have created a user account, you can create any new page, but prior to creating your page, you are strongly advised to read this page an should consider using Article wizard to create your new article. Also, the following links may be helpful.[reply]

Regards. Immunize (talk) 21:29, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Also, please read WP:YFA, WP:OR, WP:Notability and WP:RS. There is also a new and improved article creation wizard that can help you get started. – ukexpat (talk) 22:03, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Wikitravel

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I was wondering how you copypaste info from wikitravel. I know you have to cite it and etc. but i'm a bit confused. help...--Theologiae (talk) 22:14, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Open wikis are not considered to be a reliable source, and remember Wikipedia is not a travel guide. If you absolutely must include the information, what's wrong with summarizing, rather than copy-and-pasting? Xenon54 / talk / 22:40, 7 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
What changes do you want to make to what articles on Wikipedia? --Teratornis (talk) 06:35, 8 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
We can't accept copy-pastes from Wikitravel as it uses the CC-BY-SA-1.0 license which is not compatible with ours, CC-BY-SA-3.0. Stifle (talk) 12:56, 8 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]