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October 12

Honor Swinton Byrne

Honor Swinton Byrne

I tried - and failed - to add in another role (in 2024) as Princess Beatrice in 2024's A Very Royal Scandal

Here is a citation for it: https://www.vogue.com/article/honor-swinton-byrne-a-very-royal-scandal

Please fix and please don't get angry at me. I am always trying my hardest with this editing - and so are my students who often (accidentlly) ask for help with the same type pf problems. 175.38.37.197 (talk) 02:48, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

Here's the problem with the last reference in A Very Royal Scandal. You've got "url-status=live |", but no archive information. So simply remove "url-status=live |". Incidentally, if a tweet merits citing, then Template:Cite tweet is a better choice than Template:Cite web. -- Hoary (talk) 04:33, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

I'm not seeing a problem: the role is already entered in the Television table, apparently by yourself 5 minutes before posting here (though without a citation). You then added a superfluous '}' 1 minute later. Are you still not seeing the entry? Were you trying to add the citation? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.2300.195} 94.6.86.81 (talk) 04:34, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

In your edit, IP, you messed up the table. So I reverted your pair of edits. In future, here's what you need to do: (i) Essay a change such as this. (ii) Hit "Show preview". (iii) If what you see is what you want, hit "Publish changes"; if not, hit "Cancel". If you find that you've sleepily hit "Publish changes" despite having made a mistake (and certainly I have done this and far stupider things in my time), then self-revert. -- Hoary (talk) 04:42, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

@Srbernadette: You have been trying [your] hardest for almost the past ten years. Perhaps you should consider writing down what other editors have been saying so that you have a "common mistakes made" note that you can reference to the side of whatever device you're using. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 05:36, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

Noticeboard for requesting inaccessible source material

I vaguely remember some kind of noticeboard where editors could request access to paywalled/print sources they couldn't access, and others would share the requested material if they were able to. Does anyone know what I'm referring to? I haven't been able to find it. Mooonswimmer 14:24, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

Wikipedia:WikiProject Resource Exchange/Resource Request * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 15:12, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

That's it, thank you! Mooonswimmer 16:23, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

Is there a way to modify my random wiki pages?

I want to get some randomised wiki pages based on my preferences on specific topics TheSinO'Pride (talk) 16:35, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

TheSinO'Pride try the newcomer homepage or one of the links at Wikipedia:Random. Does that help? Sungodtemple (talk • contribs) 17:22, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

TheSinO'Pride more specifically, Special:RandomInCategory allows you to enter a category you are interested in. - Arjayay (talk) 17:44, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

Thanks, just what I needed TheSinO'Pride (talk) 19:58, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

TheSinO'Pride, there's also a way to sort search results randomly, documented at :mw:Help:CirrusSearch § Explicit sort orders. This can be combined with the articletopic keyword to find random articles on software-assigned topics of your interest.

For example, this search returns a randomly sorted list of articles taxonomised as STEM. Folly Mox (talk) 18:05, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

Search for malformed redirects

Is there any way to find pages that consist of redirects that are broken? I don't care about redirects with redlink targets; I'm interested in mainspace pages that are meant to be redirects but have broken code. Proper redirects consist of this code:

#REDIRECT Target

and I'm interested in something like

REDIRECT Target
#REIRECT Target

Not just these two variations, but anything of the sort. I'm guessing that a single search wouldn't work (too many possible permutations), but I don't know how to search for any version of these, since I don't know if Special:Search will find broken code like this. Nyttend (talk) 20:34, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

@Nyttend: Working redirect pages cannot be results in Wikipedia searches but any failed attempt at a redirect will be a normal page with searchable content. However, there are users monitoring Special:ShortPages so most failed redirects in mainspace would quickly be found and fixed. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:54, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

October 13

How to add article and how to create a page

Add Syed Nayyab Haider (talk) 00:56, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

@Syed Nayyab Haider: You're going to want to read WP:YFA, but as a new user I suggest editing preexisting articles first, as creating a new article from scratch is one of the hardest things you can do on Wikipedia. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 01:16, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Can't download as pdf

When I try downloading a wikipedia page using "Download as PDF"...I'm getting a "HTTPError 500 internal server error". What's going on and how do I fix it???? Rvdude007 (talk) 05:40, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Rvdude007: You're not alone – see § Unable To Download Wikipedia Pages As PDF from a couple of days ago. ClaudineChionh (she/her · talk · contribs · email) 05:50, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Tracked in Phabricator
Task T376438

The Great Banyan Vs Thimmamma Marrimanu Vs General Sherman (tree)

Apparently all three of these trees are the largest in the world. Not only that, but The Great Banyan and Thimmamma Marrimanu use exactly the same sources to show that [i]t was recorded as the largest tree specimen in the world in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1989. My confusion is compounded by the myriad of different ways in which a tree can be the "largest", but according to List of superlative trees, both Thimmamma Marrimanu and General Sherman are top of the tree (sorry) in respective categories, but The Great Banyan doesn't get a mention.

Of the attached sources one is on Archive.org - which is currently down and inaccessible - and the other two are dead links. A Google search suggests that General Sherman is generally considered to be the "largest tree", (especially by Guinness) with Thimmamma Marrimanu getting an honourable mention, and The Great Banyan getting no mention at all. I'm tempted to remove the claim from Great Banyan, and tag the others for dead links and better source needed, but thought I'd ask here first for opinions. Chaheel Riens (talk) 08:07, 13 October 2024 (UTC) Chaheel Riens (talk) 08:07, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

What do you mean by largest? The Great Banyan covers the widest ground area but is not very tall. Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:32, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

And so you see the problem. It's not what I mean by "largest", but what does Wikipedia mean by largest, and that seems a very broad definition. However, my main point is - I think - still valid in that The Great Banyan and Thimmamma Marrimanu cannot both have been declared the largest tree specimen in the world in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1989 - so which is it? Chaheel Riens (talk) 09:08, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

From Guinness Book of Records 2022 (Sept. 2021), Guinness World Records Limited, ISBN 978-1913484118, pp. 44-45:

"Largest canopy on a tree: Banyans spread by sending down cord-like appendages from horizontal branches that take root and become new trunks, so one tree can resemble an entire grove. Located in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India, Thimmamma Marrimanu is an Indian banyan (Ficus benghalensis) whose multiple crowns merge to form a 2.19-ha (5.41-acre) canopy – equivalent to three soccer fields."

"Widest crown on a tree (single trunk): Chamchuri is a rain tree (Albizia saman) with a crown diameter of 60.4 m (198 ft 1 in), located on the Thai Army cavalry grounds near Kanchanaburi, Thailand. As of 2018, its trunk girth was 9.15 m (30 ft) and the tree stood 17.6 m (57 ft 8 in) tall."

"Giants of the forest: A coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) nicknamed Hyperion had grown to 116.07 m (380 ft 9 in) by 2019, making it currently the world’s tallest tree. It was discovered on 25 Aug 2006 inside Redwood National Park in California, USA. To Hyperion’s left [illustration] is Centurion, the tallest hardwood tree at 99.82 m (327 ft 5 in); the mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) was measured in 2014 in Tasmania, Australia. Alongside Centurion is a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) named General Sherman, currently the largest tree by volume at 1,591 m 3 (56,186 cu ft). It stands 83.6 m (274 ft) in Sequoia National Park, also in California."

          Tallest trees around the world
          Continent      Height   Species
          North America 116.07 m Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
          Oceania        99.82 m Mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans)
          Asia           98.53 m Yellow meranti (Shorea faguetiana)
          South America  88.50 m Red angelim (Dinizia excelsa)
          Africa         81.50 m Muyovu (Entandrophragma excelsum)
          Europe         72.90 m Karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor)

It all depends on what you mean by 'biggest', as Prof. C.E.M. Joad used to say. MinorProphet (talk) 12:13, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

@Chaheel Riens: I think we need to go back to first principles here. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia whose mission is to provide accurate information to the general reader based on cited reliable sources. When sources disagree, we are supposed to explain the discrepancy. We are not supposed to take sides. So how can we apply these principles in this complicated situation that spans multiple articles? Here is my reccomendation: In each affected article, add a qualifier in parentheses, e.g. (largest canopy), or (single trunk), or (by mass). Also add a footnote. -Arch dude (talk) 15:56, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

With all due respect, people are missing my point that the same three references are being used to claim that both The Great Banyan and Thimmamma Marrimanu were recorded as the largest tree specimen in the world in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1989. All three sources are - for different reasons - unavailable, so what should be done about that? Clearly both cannot be the world record holder, but I'm at a loss as to how to validate either of the claims. They're both Banyan trees, so it seems likely that the claim is for the same type of "largest". Chaheel Riens (talk) 16:05, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

@Chaheel Riens: If you cannot get a copy of the reference (e.g., via an interlibrary loan), then you may be able to ask another editor to look it up for you. See Wikipedia:WikiProject Resource Exchange/Resource Request. If the source is self-contradictory, then note the discrepancy in both articles. -Arch dude (talk) 17:54, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Alternatively, @Chaheel Riens:, in all the relevant articles, remove the texts and (outdated and unretrievable) citations that you have noticed are inadequate, and replace them with the relevant information from Guinness Book of Records 2022 that MinorProphet has retrieved above, citing it to that more recent work. We are not obligated to retain cites to older, poorer sources (which will anyway be preserved in the page histories) when newer and better ones have become available. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.6.86.81 (talk) 20:52, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

References

Notes

Publishing articles written in the sandbox

Hi, I have created an article about sports business expert Joern Schlimm in my Sandbox, but I cannot seem to be able to officially publish the article. Can you please help me? Thanks. SBRacademy (talk) 14:07, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

@SBRacademy You seem to have moved that to Draft:Joern Schlimm and submitted it for review. That's the correct location and you can now WP:BLANK your sandbox or re-use it. Your draft needs to have its sources in the correct format, not as bare URL. See {{cite web}} and Help:Referencing for beginners. Mike Turnbull (talk) 14:32, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Many thanks. I will fix the sources accordingly. SBRacademy (talk) 15:57, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

@SBRacademy: I converted your "bare URL" references to templated references in a couple of seconds, using WP:reFill. I'm unclear why neither User:Idoghor Melody (who declined your draft), nor User:Michael D. Turnbull (above), did this. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 16:45, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

.... because I prefer to teach people to fish. Mike Turnbull (talk) 10:53, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Thank you Andy Sebisays (talk) 16:47, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Deprecated sources

I expanded an article with some text that I supported with inline citations. Then I got a Wiki-warning that one of my sources was deprecated and not permissible. But the message didn't tell me which source was the problem! How can I find out so that I can fix this? When I search for "deprecated sources" I get nothing. Thanks, BuzzWeiser196 (talk) 14:09, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

It would help to know which article you are referencing. 331dot (talk) 14:18, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

The article is New Malden. BuzzWeiser196 (talk) 20:06, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

The sources are the tabloids The Sun and The Daily Mail in the article New Malden. Mike Turnbull (talk) 14:20, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

@BuzzWeiser196 I recommend installing the gadget at WP:UPSD, which instantly shows in colour various levels of unreliable sources, including deprecated ones. There is a list at WP:RSPS but that's not as comprehensive, although it has both WP:THESUN and WP:DAILYMAIL. Mike Turnbull (talk) 14:22, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Thanks, Mike. BuzzWeiser196 (talk) 20:08, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Can someone upload onto Wikipedia for me

Good evening, I've recently published a new scientific paper titled : "A large pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic (lower Bajocian) of Rutland, United Kingdom"

The paper is open sourced at the link below.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016787824000555

Could someone kindly enter this onto Wikipedia please. As I'd very much appreciate that indeed. Outfossiling (talk) 16:18, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Upload for what purpose? Wikipedia isn't a repository for academic papers, so it's unclear what do you plan to do with it. 10mmsocket (talk) 16:23, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

@Outfossiling You may wish to contribute to articles here such as Pterodactyloidea, but please first read WP:EXPERT and WP:SELFCITE. Images from your article may be uploaded at our sister Project Wikimedia Commons. There is a wizard for doing this at commons:Special:UploadWizard Mike Turnbull (talk) 16:40, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Thank you Mike, I will definitely now be looking into this. Outfossiling (talk) 16:53, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply. Outfossiling (talk) 16:52, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Dixon’s Blazes redirect error message

Hi Folks!! I'm getting an error message when I try and create this redirect at Dixon’s Blazes to Govan Iron Works. It is reporting "Warning: This page can only be created and/or edited by administrators, template editors, and page movers because it matches an entry on the local or global title blacklist: .*’.* <errmsg=titleblacklist-custom-curly-quote> # right single quotation mark with custom error message". I guess its been used for something dodgy in the past. scope_creep^Talk 16:51, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

@Scope creep: It's because of the curly apostrophe in "Dixon’s". I was able to crate a redirect from Dixon's Blazes without issue. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 17:46, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

@Pigsonthewing: That is all it was. Its curious really. Thanks. scope_creep^Talk 17:54, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Download function

Why does this error ({"name":"HTTPError","message":"500","status":500,"detail":"Internal Server Error"}) keep showing and will not let me download information. Montez2023 (talk) 17:52, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

It's a known bug from the weekly software update; see phab:T376438. Folly Mox (talk) 20:42, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Recovering account

I have lost my access to my account (Cavebear42). I am _super_ bummed about it. Having created it over 20 years ago, I am very attached. I have tried every email address I can think of but, back then, emails weren't required so it may not be linked to one. Is there any way I can recover this? I have uploaded pictures of myself from that account (and prove it is me with ID). I own cavebear42.com and can show that I am the true "cavebear42". I am hoping there is something that someone can do. 24.17.70.172 (talk) 20:19, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Hello. When I go to User:Cavebear42, it does not offer me "email this user" in the "Tools" list. This means, I believe, that that account does not have an email attached. Unfortunately, if you have lost the password, then there is no way to recover the account.

All you can do is to create a new account - you can edit both user pages to explain the one is the successor of the other. ColinFine (talk) 21:25, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply. I have to think that there is some process to recover. Not just "this account is lost forever". Is there some sort of IT that I can get support from? Someone must have this power. 24.17.70.172 (talk) 02:39, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

No, I'm afraid that there is no process to recover a lost account with no usable email attached. See Help:Logging in#What if I forget my password? ColinFine (talk) 10:53, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Trust and Safety presumably can do it but I'm not sure they'd be willing to do it without a {{committed identity}}. Alpha3031 (t • c) 14:06, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Thanks! I will reach out and see what they say. 24.17.70.172 (talk) 15:05, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Intermittent reference balloon pop-up while reading articles.

When you hover over the reference, which is shown as [1] here, it should normally produce a pop-up balloon as well as highlight it in the list of reference references at the bottom of the article. Is this something on my end or is anyone else experiencing this on Windows in Chrome? Lorem Ipsum

References

Graywalls (talk) 22:04, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

@Graywalls I see the reference on hover-over but have to click on the reference number to get the citation to highlight within the references. This is normal behaviour for my Windows/Edge browser. I use navigation popups, which may affect the result. Mike Turnbull (talk) 11:23, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

October 14

Wikipedia article won't show on google search for months

What can be done about inability to access an article on google when searching the name Jalal Khan Orakzai? RevolutionaryPatriot (talk) 01:37, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Hello, RevolutionaryPatriot. A new article is not indexed by search engines until it has been reviewed by the Wikipedia: New pages patrol or 90 days has passed. Please read Wikipedia:Controlling search engine indexing for more information. Cullen328 (talk) 01:46, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Okay Thank you. I was confused as I recall the article Abdul Aziz Khan Kaka popped up properly by itself after a month. RevolutionaryPatriot (talk) 01:55, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

RevolutionaryPatriot, that implies that a New Pages Patroller reviewed that article. Cullen328 (talk) 02:04, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

@RevolutionaryPatriot You can easily check the status of an article by going to its "View history" tab and clicking on the "View logs for this page" link top left. One was reviewed on 20 January but the other has not yet been. Mike Turnbull (talk) 11:17, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

RevolutionaryPatriot Do you have a particular need for it to appear in search results quickly? 331dot (talk) 15:13, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Nope. RevolutionaryPatriot (talk) 13:00, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for that info -- didn't know that even after years of working here. --User:Ceyockey (talk to me) 01:24, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

How to create a list of subpages belonging to a category's articles' talk pages

I've been trying to get WP:PetScan to create a list of subpages belonging to a group of talk pages, but it hasn't been very easy for some reason. Say you have Category:American football linebackers; I want PetScan to generate a list of talk page subpages belonging to the articles in the category (e.g., archive subpages). Is this even doable? Thanks in advance. Nythar (💬-🍀) 02:57, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

I'm looking into this problem and I think the crux is that the intersection needs to be on categories that are on the Talk pages. There is not a way I can see to retrieve a page set and bootstrap to the page talk pages. At least using this tool. --User:Ceyockey (talk to me) 01:18, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

I'll state an obvious secondary approach and that is to pull the full page list then process it to create new Talk-page wikilinks. This could be done using a spreadsheet program or any number of scripting languages (e.g. Perl, which I'm partial to). --User:Ceyockey (talk to me) 01:22, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Broken user page

Hello. For some reason, my user page is combining a heading with my Babel. Could someone check out my user page and tell me what the problem is? MacaroniPizzaHotDog (talk) 03:10, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

@MacaroniPizzaHotDog: Hi MacaroniPizzaHotDog! It was because the {{Userboxbottom}} template wasn't on its own line. I fixed it for you here. cyberdog958^Talk 05:15, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Possible vandal

Hi, There is this account @DrunkenJoe possibly an alternative account that keeps editing Al-Arqam related articles (Al-Arqam & Global Ikhwan child abuse scandal.) Well the problem here is that the account keeps rewriting the articles and in the process deletes almost all of the critical information, for example Al-Arqam which was rated C class is now half of the original length. He also keeps trying to reword Global Ikhwan child abuse scandal which I don't mind if its helping but the account reworded it literally like a news portal and deleted critical information. Can this possibly be considered vandalism? N niyaz (talk) 08:43, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

That doesn't sound like vandalism (which is editing intended to damage Wikipedia), but somebody with a strong opinion which disagrees with yours (I know nothing about the subject, so I have no opinion on who is right or wrong).

There has not so far been any discussion on Talk: Global Ikhwan child abuse scandal, which is where discussion should begin: see WP:BRD. If you cannot reach consensus, then WP:DR tells you the next steps.

In the history of the two articles I see a lot of edits by @DrunkenJoe, and a smaller number by you. I do not see any edit warring, which often happens where there is strong disagreement. Please make sure that it stays that way. ColinFine (talk) 11:01, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

@ColinFine Sure, maybe @DrunkenJoe did a 'lot' of edits but he never added any information to the pages, instead he just removes all the good information and rewords the articles. Removing information contributed by other people can be some sort of vandalism right? I was the sole contributor of Global Ikhwan child abuse scandal before this, and now he's trying to revamp the page cluelessly and breaking all the formats. N niyaz (talk) 11:27, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

@N niyaz One reason the Al-Arqam article has shrunk is that the child abuse part has been spun out and a {{Main}} template added to one section. As Colin said, the way forward is to engage on the Talk page of one or both of these articles. Mike Turnbull (talk) 11:10, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

@Michael D. Turnbull What was removed in Al-Arqam wasn't even related to the child abuse scandal, it was talking about how the cult operated and those sorts of things. N niyaz (talk) 11:22, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Again, @N niyaz, don't tell us here, start a calm reasoned discussion on one of those talk pages, and try to reach consensus. Even if you think the other editor is completely wrong, assume good faith is a core policy of Wikipedia. ColinFine (talk) 11:38, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

I tried to tell him at his talk page but he's unresponsive. N niyaz (talk) 12:18, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Hello, @N niyaz. Reaching consensus usually doesn't start by "telling" but by listening. If you start from "I am right and you are wrong", then you are not collaborating, you are trying to control. That's not how Wikipedia works. ColinFine (talk) 16:17, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Edits for a page.

Hey I have joined a organization and the asked me to miantain their wikipedia page, I have created the content with adhering to wikipedia policies, but the reference and citation I used was from the company own website, some blogs on some sites are the enough or whould I add some different references and citations?, I also want to add some Images, but what images should I use? Ateeb Ali Syed (talk) 14:41, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Ateeb Ali Syed First, you must make a conflict of interest disclosure. If you are employed by the organization or they compensate you in any manner(it doesn't have to be money) the Terms of use require a paid editing disclosure from you.

Instead of thinking about it as "their Wikipedia page", think of it as a Wikipedia article about them. This may adjust your mindset a bit. Your organization has no special rights to the article about it, though its input is welcome. If the article already exists, you should make an edit request on the article talk page(there is an edit request wizard to facilitate that, if needed) detailing changes you feel are needed. If you want to write a new article, you should use the Article Wizard. 331dot (talk) 14:50, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

You can in some circumstances cite the organisation's website or blog, but only for certain things (a new CEO, a change of address; but note extraordinary claims like sales figures or awards). For images, WP:IfSMC covers the main points, albeit it has a social media focus. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:40, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Movies crew credits

I am currently editing and improving articles about old Iranian movies on Persian Wikipedia. One of the sections I’ve added is the production crew, including assistants, stage designers, makeup artists, and other technical staff. Is it against Wikipedia’s policies to include less prominent crew members in these pages? I’ve noticed that many articles don’t include this section, but I believe a short production crew list could be useful, especially for shorter articles that may not have much content. usually the main reference in these article are opening and closing credits and amybe some of those people are not wellknown. Thanks Mohsen Bagheri (talk) 22:10, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

The English Language Wikipedia and the Persian Wikipedia are two separate projects: neither has any jurisdiction over the other, and each has its own consensus-generated rules and procedures, which are bound to differ in many details, so generally no-one here can give such advice relevant to the Persian Wikipedia.

It's possible that someone reading this query will be bilingual in English and Farsi, conversant with that Wikipedia's rules, and will respond here, but it's far from certain. (Check back here in a day or three, just in case.) You might do better asking on the Persian Wikipedia itself, at its own equivalent to this Helpdesk (if any). Sorry not to be of more help. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.6.86.81 (talk) 06:00, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Try asking at fa:ویکی‌پدیا:درخواست راهنمایی ColinFine (talk) 09:17, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

English Grammar

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

---

Using a plural pronoun to refer to a singular person, is this to be politically correct or to anger people who use English as it is meant to be written? KevBuju (talk) 22:22, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

There's not a man I meet but doth salute me

As if I were their well-acquainted friend

William Shakespeare: A Comedy of Errors

I would have everybody marry if they could do it properly.

Jane Austin: Mansfield Park

So likewise shall my heauenly Father doe also vnto you, if yee from your hearts forgiue not euery one his brother their trespasses.'

Matt. 18:35, King James Bible, 1611.

AndyTheGrump (talk) 22:26, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

So if I refer to "your" question instead of "thy" question, it will make thee angry? I think thou needest move with the times. Maproom (talk) 22:45, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

...or at least, keep up with Geoffrey Chaucer: And whoso fyndeth hym out of swich blame, / They wol come up... The singular 'they' has been about for a very long time indeed. AndyTheGrump (talk) 22:58, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

KevBuju, I use my cafetière as Bodum meant it to be used, I wear my shoes as Adidas meant them to be worn. Who or what is the entity that meant English to be written in such-and-such a way? -- Hoary (talk) 04:46, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

This appears to be a rant about English, rather than a question about using Wikipedia.

In any case, this is discussed at length in our article singular they. ColinFine (talk) 09:19, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

October 15

Mina Kolb - Actress.

Looking for any information on actress, Mina Kolb. There is nothing on Wikipedia about her. Can someone who knows her or knows of her please add info. Is she still alive? If not, when did she pass? I find no information online anywhere about her passing? Oshinsd (talk) 00:00, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not obligated to have an article for every somewhat famous person. Even if there is a Wikipedia article about her, it can only get its information from reliable published sources rather than people who personally knows this person. You should direct your search efforts elsewhere. Tutwakhamoe (talk) 02:46, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

When archive.org recovers from vandalism, perhaps you, Oshinsd, will be able to find something about her in a book, magazine or something that's available there. -- Hoary (talk) 04:36, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

@Oshinsd: Try asking at WP:Reference_desk/Humanities (this page is for questions about editing or using Wikipedia). Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 13:45, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Where to report vandalism

Vandal user: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/192.92.207.50

Not sure where to report said user to prevent them from causing more damange Alexllte (talk) 04:37, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

WP:ANV. To request protection for a page see WP:RFPP. Alexeyevitch^(talk) 04:41, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

done on ANV and RFPP, thank you for these references Alexllte (talk) 05:21, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Alexllte, yes, WP:ANV is the right place. But thank you for bringing it up here, and don't bother doing so there, as I've already blocked the IP. -- Hoary (talk) 04:56, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Source mode

Hi! I recently attempted to create an article, but accidentally overwrote a disambiguation page, which was understandably and fairly removed. Now, as I try to contribute by creating the article in the correct space, I see that all my sources have disappeared with a message saying, "The reference is defined in a template or other generated block, and for now can only be previewed in source mode." Is there a way to "reactivate" all the sources, or will I have to manually reinsert them?

Thank you in advance. Sincerely Testernnmann (talk) 08:25, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Testernnmann, try switching from visual editing to wikitext editing (this is also sometimes called "source mode"). There is a toggle in the upper right of the editing interface.

Someone once asked me on a talkpage why I had removed several of their sources, when in fact I had just placed them into a {{multiref2}}. I guess this explains what they were talking about. Folly Mox (talk) 08:42, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Thank you for the quick response! Just to clarify, does this mean the references will become visible again once I publish the page, or do I need to take specific action in "source mode" to make them appear? Testernnmann (talk) 08:46, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Oh, I see, you're currently in the visual editor and haven't published the edits yet. I was looking through your contributions to see if I could tell what was going on.

I think your references should become visible when you publish your edits. Apologies for my doubts below about the sourcing. Folly Mox (talk) 08:53, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

I gotta say though, if the sources here are the same ones you're planning to use, your time might be better spent finding new ones. A lot of these are not independent of the subject, press releases, something titled "Find a broker"? Folly Mox (talk) 08:46, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Recovering a (potentially) deleted page

I'm doing a research project on the Oxford University Poetry Society and have heard from previous members that there once existed a Wikipedia page for the society -- could I please receive help checking whether it ever existed? If so, how could I go about getting it restored or at least reading its contents? 192.76.8.83 (talk) 10:29, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

It was deleted via Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Oxford University Poetry Society. 331dot (talk) 10:32, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

331dot has pointed you to the Deletion discussion. It is possible to ask for a deleted article to be restored for you to work on (see WP:REFUND) but unless you can address the issues mentioned, this would be a waste of everybody's time.

In order for there to be an article, you would need to find at least three sources that meet all three of the criteria in golden rule: reliably published, wholly independent of the society, and containing significant coverage of the society. This would be unusual for a university society. ColinFine (talk) 13:28, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Refunding a specific deletion

Please see User talk:Maile66#Batman and Robin (disambiguation). Not sure how to "refund" a deleted page directly to a user page. Please advise. — Maile (talk) 12:23, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

See WP:REFUND. ColinFine (talk) 13:29, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

I don't think that answers Maile's question. I also don't know if there's a way to refund directly, but I went ahead and did it by refunding in place and then moving. Incidentally, I'm not sure that the dab page should have been deleted, and I've commented at the userspace draft's talk page. Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 13:37, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Wiki bots

If i need the user:DatBot on the si:wikipediia.org, how to get that? no idea about wikipedia bots but need a bot to get backlogs on the sinhala wekipedia project. any experts who can help? VihirLak007 (talk) 12:39, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

I have no idea about the portability of bots to another Wikipedia. I suggest asking first at User talk:DatBot, or perhaps at WP:VPT. ColinFine (talk) 13:30, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Thanks ill check VihirLak007 (talk) 13:47, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

@VihirLak007: At the top of the page you linked to is a notice saying "This user account is a bot operated by DatGuy (talk). " click on thE "talk" link and leave a messqge there. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 13:38, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Tysm ill check VihirLak007 (talk) 13:48, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Category:Articles on pre-1900 earthquakes

Why doesn't Category:Articles on pre-1900 earthquakes include all such articles? Batrachoseps (talk) 14:23, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Please see the notice at the top of the category, which says

"This is a tracking category.

It is used to build and maintain a list or lists of pages—primarily for the sake of the lists themselves and their use in article and category maintenance. It is not part of the encyclopedia's categorization scheme.

.

I don't fully understand its purpose, but it's clear that it is not necessarily supposed to contain all articles that meet the description. ColinFine (talk) 14:38, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

It needs to explain its purpose. For example, does the category mean that something in the article needs to be fixed? Batrachoseps (talk) 14:39, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

@Batrachoseps My interpretation is that Wikidata characterises AD 17 Lydia earthquake as an earthquake but the article doesn't (yet) have the template {{Infobox earthquake}}. So in that sense, if you were to "fix" the article by adding that template the article link would disappear from the category. Mike Turnbull (talk) 15:06, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

What to do when discovering a paid editor

Hi - I was doing some recent changes anti-vandal stuff the other day, and found Commend International (which looked like this when I first found it), and it was pretty clearly intended to be a promotional article, and it had only been moved into mainspace earlier that day (10th Oct). I cleaned up the article a bit, and gave the main contributor a COI notice on their user page, and they've just got back to me today saying that they worked for the company and received a fee to create the article. They were slow to reply, but have been upfront about it and seem to want to do the right thing. I'm not sure what the correct thing to do is here - I don't know enough about deletion/COI/paid editing to know if this warrants going to WP:AFD, or if is something to go to WP:AN about, or anything like that. Any advice (or action) from someone knowledgeable in this area would be appreciated. BugGhost🦗👻 15:18, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

If you think it is at all possible to salvage an acceptable article, you could just return it to draft space and ask the user to use the draft submission process, and not create it themselves. 331dot (talk) 15:24, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for the advice - I don't think the article is awful, and it is somewhat sourced, so I'll draftify and talk to the editor like you suggest. Thanks BugGhost🦗👻 15:45, 15 October 2024 (UTC)