Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 April 21

Help desk
< April 20	<< Mar | April | May >>	April 22 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Help Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current Help Desk pages.

April 21

Template link colors

Resolved

Can someone change these template link colors so that they are readable.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 00:39, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

forgot template: {{Coinage (United States coin)}}--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 00:48, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

 Done If you wish to change the link colors (currently #fff or white), just change the html notation inside the <span style="color:#fff"> in the respective links. For example, if you want to change the link color of [[Dime (United States coin)|<span style="color:#fff">Dime (10¢)</span>]] to orange just change #fff to #f80.--Obsidi♠n^Soul 01:42, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Thanks.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 02:12, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

N Not working correctly. When I am on a page with the template the white row header text is not turning black.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 06:59, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

I'm afraid that's the price you have to pay for custom link colors. Besides, if it turns black it will again become invisible against the dark blue background. See Wikipedia:Link color for more info.--Obsidi♠n^Soul 07:31, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Also, some of the links are redirects (like US$ in the title bar) that wouldn't turn black anyway. This is part of the reason why the Navbox documentation recommends you don't make custom styles. If you absolutely have to, use lighter background colors so you can use the default link colors. — Bility (talk) 07:44, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

I fixed the redirects and removed |titlestyle = background:#003366;color:#ffcc00; |groupstyle = background:#003366;color:#ffcc00; , but it did not work and made the wikilink colors almost illegible.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 16:10, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Just needed to remove the spans coloring the links as well. — Bility (talk) 16:30, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Thx.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 07:48, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Customizing the link colors in that manner won't work for those of use who have custom link colors. There are a lot of folks using User:Anomie/linkclassifier.js. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 20:33, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Mulberry Tea

Resolved

How do I get Mulberry Tea to go under the letter M in the list of Teas by letter? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mattun0211 (talk • contribs) 02:57, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Which article are you trying to add Mulberry Tea to? I see no List of Teas at Wikipedia... --Jayron32 03:07, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

I guess you are thinking of a category and not a list. See Help:Category#Sort order. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:44, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

I think the answer you are looking for is to remove the |* from [[Category:Tea|*]] in Mulberry tea. —teb728 t c 07:06, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

I have fixed it. Like the others said above you can either use [[Category:Tea]] (since it would have sorted itself alphabetically by default) or [[Category:Tea|Mulberry tea]], either way it shouldn't be [[Category:Tea|*]] which is used only for items that should not be alphabetized along with the others (like the main article for Tea). --Obsidi♠n^Soul 07:42, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Main Page not updating

Hi there, I don't know why my main page does'nt update each time I click my link back to wikipedia. I t has events dating back over a month ago. It used to chage every day but now it does not so I can't automatically see the news of the day. Am I doing something wrong?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.215.24.24 (talk) 12:15, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Bypass your cache. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:21, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Categories loop

Is it acceptible for Category A to be a subcategory for Category B and vice versa? See United States Mint and Directors of the United States Mint. Really makes it look wierd when you expand things in the categories.Naraht (talk) 16:45, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Fixed; looks like somebody misunderstood the impact of adding a category link to a category.

btw I don't know if in general this creates a loop problem; this particular case was illogical. --AndrewHowse (talk) 16:53, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Feedback requested

I'm currently drafting a new user warning template on my sandbox. It's basically a good faith notice for people who are likely to have violated WP:SOCK out of ignorance, not malice, so newcomers who resort to sock puppetry without knowing how much it is opposed have a chance to stop before being dragged into the investigation process which isn't newbie-friendly at all. I'd appreciate it if you'd help me by improving the wording/content, adding some template magic and, of course, by providing comments on the overall feasibility of such template. All help is welcome. Zakhalesh (talk) 17:27, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

The idea is very good, indeed. Well, I'm not sure how it should be improved now, looks good already. It doesn't need to be very long, it just should include the main points and links community standards, WP:SOCK and stuff, which it already seems to do. DARTH SIDIOUS 2 ^(Contact) 17:57, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Thank you! Feel free to edit it though, especially to add functionality present in other uw-templates. Zakhalesh (talk) 18:05, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

IM HERE!! Feedback ^☎ 18:10, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Good Heavens, I thought you'd never come! Zakhalesh (talk) 18:46, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Lawl. And yeah, a very good idea Zakhalesh. I had a recent experience with a new user who was tarred and feathered for mistakenly creating a new account instead of going to WP:CHU after being told that she needed to change her username for COI reasons (it was eventually sorted out). Sockpuppets are ruthlessly hunted down, despite not being stressed enough as forbidden to new users.--Obsidi♠n^Soul 05:43, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Well, I know I'm prone to excessive self-criticism but I never expected someone to call this idea "very good". Thanks! Zakhalesh (talk) 06:03, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for all the comments! There's now another discussion on WT:UTM#AGF-Sock, hopefully leading to this template being made official. Zakhalesh (talk) 06:47, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Copyright Issues When it's Your Own Content on Another Website

Hi there,

I am a first time contributor and have been assigned as part of my job to create a Wikipedia page for whom I'm working for, Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim. They both are referenced in several Wikipedia pages but do not have a page that is solely theirs. They each have a biography in which they've written that appears on their website, and I have been advised to copy and paste it for their Wikipedia page as the primary content.

The article has since been flagged and deleted because the 'robots' found the exact written content on their website. With the authors permission and consent to create a Wikipedia page for them, how do I - acting as the author of their page- get around the copyright issue? Do I, or do they, have to create an entirely new biography solely for Wikipedia to avoid the copyright issues even thought they are the owners and creators of the content that was found on an external webpage?

Please advise how to move forward in order to get a Wikipedia page up as soon as possible for them both.

Thank you in advance for your response and attention to this matter.

Sincerely, WM — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pnorthcutt (talk • contribs) 20:05, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Even if your employers released their autobiographies under a compatible license, we likely wouldn't be able to use them due to conflict of interest concerns and because they are self-published and primary sources. You personally have a conflict of interest (with this website) regardless of whether you copy or write an original biography for your employers. — Bility (talk) 20:16, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

[edit conflict]Instructions on what to in these circumstance have already been provided on your talk page, if your bosses are willing to release their copyrights; but the text as written is not very encyclopedic and may not be suitable for use here anyway. I will also point out that you've also been cautioned that in a circumstance such as this where a severe conflict of interest appears, you are very strongly advised not to create articles such as these. --Orange Mike | Talk 20:18, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict)Two things, entirely unrelated, but which will answer both the question you have now, and one you are bound to have concerning problems that are sure to come your way.

1. See WP:IOWN for information on donating previously published materials to Wikipedia; it is possible but it requires the owners of the copyright contacting the appropriate people at Wikipedia to expressly re-release the text under a new license.
2. Completely unrelated to the question, but sure to run you into serious trouble, is that Wikipedia does not work like social networking sites (like Facebook and Myspace and Linkedin) nor, indeed, much like any other site in the world. First of all, Wikipedia articles are supposed to be written from a certain perspective, known as the "neutral point of view", see Wikipedia:Neutral point of view. Text written by someone, for publishing on their own website, is plainly not neutral, and so is likely wholly inappropriate for content of a Wikipedia article. Secondly, Wikipedia is not a complete free-for-all regarding the subjects which are appropriate for articles. Wikipedia requires all articles to be verifiable, see Wikipedia:Verifiability, and people are not necessarily reliable sources for information about themselves (see Wikipedia:Reliable sources), so Wikipedia requires that all information should be referencable to an independent reliable source, and text written by the subject themselves, for publishing on their own website, is simply not independent. If very little information has been independently published about the subject, then the subject simply doesn't merit a Wikipedia article. Thirdly, once published, an article does not belong to the person who writes it, or to the subject. See Wikipedia:Ownership of articles. So, unlike your own website, which you have the right to maintain whatever text you want, at Wikipedia someone can come along and alter the text after you, and so long as their contributions meet all of Wikipedia's core policies, you can't stop them. Lets say a newspaper has published some unflattering information about your clients. You can't keep someone else from citing those newspaper articles and publishing it in the article. Finally, being paid money by the clients in question, you have a conflict-of-interest, in that your interest, which is to promote your clients, is in conflict with Wikipedia's interest, which is to write an encyclopedia. See Wikipedia:Conflict of interest

So, yes, feel free to go through the proper procedure to donate pre-published text to Wikipedia. You are perfectly fine in trying to do so. Expect that to be your smallest problem, however, in getting the information you want to be published here. --Jayron32 20:27, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

I am afraid you have been given a job which it is probably literally impossible for you to perform, because the very fact that it is your job makes it almost impossible for you to carry it out within Wikipedia's rules. Sorry. --ColinFine (talk) 23:46, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Dear sir.

Dear sir.

I am a new user of your this amazing web site my name is Faisal Jan I am living in Pakistan in which Karachi city I want to say to you I see this web site is different languages but my native language is URDU because I am Pakistani and I want to say to you kindly do a more facility for reading your web news for Pakistani peoples in URDU language. Thanking you You’re truly Faisal jan — Preceding unsigned comment added by Shah32 (talk • contribs) 22:06, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Well, there is a Wikipedia in Urdu, if that's what you mean. DARTH SIDIOUS 2 ^(Contact) 22:13, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

If, however, you wanted a translation of pages on the English Wikipedia, I'm afraid that this is not possible. -- PhantomSteve.alt/talk\^{[alternative account of Phantomsteve]} 23:04, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Actually you could get a crude machine translation from Google translate. And if an article in English Wikipedia has اردو in the sidebar, you could click on it to get a corresponding article in Urdu Wikipedia. —teb728 t c 23:24, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Clickable Facebook icons on your pages, so my Facebook friends can click on the heading and read the Wikipedia page.

Hey folks, it will only give you more income if Wikipedia users can share a page with friends. Lots of other websites allow users to share by clicking the Facebook icon. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.139.68.41 (talk) 22:20, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Sharebox is a script that reorders your toolbox. It adds new buttons that make it easier to mail, print or share an article on Facebook or another linksharing service. You must have an account to add Sharebox to the sidebar. See User:TheDJ/Sharebox for more information. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 22:26, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

"CSPWC's Royal Collection Project" deleted.

Re: CSPWC's Royal Collection Project For those who made helpful edits, thank you very much.

I tried logging on to Wikipedia yesterday, several times. Each time a page informed me they were having hardware issues, thus I could not go forward with any additional changes.

The entry was deleted. Today I added more references and links (but could only link back to my "user page", thus did not help I think). I am hoping to resolve the issues.

The Canadian society of painters in watercolour approved the text and it was also cleared by the staff of the Royal Library at Windsor Castle as being factual in tone and content and that is why they cross referenced the information to their inventory numbers.

Still new to Wikipedia, so help in getting this page up again is much appreciated. Artisforme (talk) 22:40, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Someone userfied CSPWC's Royal Collection Project to User:Artisforme/CSPWC's Royal Collection Project because they thought it was not ready for article space. —teb728 t c 23:31, 21 April 2011 (UTC) I wonder if the information might be better merged as a section of Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour. —teb728 t c 23:36, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

To be sure you understand, although the article may be about the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, it is not subject to their approval or that of the staff of the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. —teb728 t c 23:44, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Indeed, the OP may want to read Wikipedia:Ownership of articles. Once it has been submitted to Wikipedia, it will be edited in very unapproved ways, and the Society has absolutely no control over that. Indeed, given that the Society (and likely Artisforme from the description of the relationship) has a clear conflict of interest (see Wikipedia:Conflict of interest), they shouldn't be creating text or editing text about it at all... --Jayron32 23:53, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Adding a Canadian Poet to the list.

Hi, I've been trying to add a local poet from my town of Port Elgin, Ontario Canada but it keeps removing it. Jennifer Frankum and her 3 poety books are popular in the Grey Bruce area yet every time I add her name and info to the list of Canadian Writers its deleted 20 minutes later. I was wondering how I would be able to add her name and poety books to the list without them being removed moments later.

Thanks, Mekieo Sahowna Mekieo Sahowna (talk) 23:57, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

I see you are referring to the List of Canadian writers. All the writers on this list have wikipedia articles, and as Jennifer Frankum does not have an article on wikipedia your additions were removed. If you click on "view history" next to the edit button you can see that this was done by two different editors for this reason. Therefore, your solution would lie in creating an article about her! For help in doing so please see Wikipedia:Your first article. Bear in mind that this is an encyclopedia and we therefore cannnot have articles about everything and everyone, and only topics considered notable are included. Please read WP:GNG for our general notability guidelines and WP:AUTHOR for some more specific criteria for authors; if either of these are met, then we can probably have an article about Jennifer Frankum. Has there been coverage about her in books or newspapers? Searching Google News and Google Books can usually be quite helpful. doomgaze (talk) 00:17, 22 April 2011 (UTC)