Wikipedia:Help desk

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February 7

Is it possible to report disruptive user?

One user keeps making disrupt with me, I think he / she keeps stalking my contribution list and doing roll back or like that. So I wonder if I can report him / her, but he / she didn't do vandalism thing, so I want to know whether this person can be reported. Camilasdandelions (𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓴) 17:58, 7 February 2025 (UTC)

@Camilasdandelions, have you tried discussing with that editor what their objections to your edits were? Schazjmd (talk) 18:07, 7 February 2025 (UTC)

I didn't yet. But this user keeps tracking me and tries to report me, or revert edit etc. But it's kinda vague if he is targetting on me and keeps making disrupts, so to be honest, I don't know what to directly say to him. Camilasdandelions (𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓴) 18:15, 7 February 2025 (UTC)

I suggest a post on that editor's talk page asking them to explain the problem with your edits. If this is about the multiple editors reverting your attempts to turn a redirect into an article, the problem is that you added unsourced claims for a song that lacked sufficient sources to satisfy notability requirements for a single song. Schazjmd (talk) 18:25, 7 February 2025 (UTC)

Even though they can, but I mean it's strange that one person keeps deleting my edits like this way. Is there any policy talking about "stalkings" or something? Camilasdandelions (𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓴) 18:34, 7 February 2025 (UTC)

@Camilasdandelions, I went through a bunch of your reverted edits, and I see a lot of different editors making those reverts. There is no indication of "stalking" by a single editor. It would be more productive to try to learn from those reverts so that you can improve your editing. Schazjmd (talk) 18:40, 7 February 2025 (UTC)

Reflections of a biography subject on past events

Hi, I wonder if it is encyclopedic to include a reflection (not really critical one) of a politician on past actions, like here? — Antoni12345 (talk) 19:04, 7 February 2025 (UTC)

Self reflection should be avoided as much as possible for being WP:PRIMARY. In my opinion, the reasons for her joining PZPR and the labor union can be kept, while others are not suitable for inclusion. Tutwakhamoe (talk) 00:21, 8 February 2025 (UTC)

February 8

My information is wrong

Hi, there is a Dutch page of me, because I’m an actress in the Netherlands, but the information on it is wrong. It has the wrong birthdate and place where I was born. I am born on September 23rd 1972 in Huntinton, NY, USA. Can this be corrected please? Thanks, best Nina Deuss Ninadeuss1 (talk) 13:43, 8 February 2025 (UTC)

Ninadeuss1, this is the helpdesk for English Wikipedia, the helpdesk for Dutch Wikipedia is nl:Help:Helpdesk. I have removed the date of birth from nl:Nina Deuss because the article did not give a source for it. TSventon (talk) 14:39, 8 February 2025 (UTC)

@Ninadeuss1: Please use "articles" when your talking about articles, not pages. Pages are social media name that no meaning on here. Only use articles when your talking about article. Thanks. scope_creep^Talk 20:07, 8 February 2025 (UTC)

scope_creep, every Wikipedia article is a web page. And many Wikipedia pages (such as this one, "Help desk") do not purport to be articles and are not articles. Ninadeuss1, NB Huntington, New York (nl:Huntington (New York)) has a ⟨g⟩ in its name: Huntington. -- Hoary (talk) 22:44, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

To add to @User:Hoary's comment: if a speaker of another language comes to a help desk seeking help in removing a piece of misinformation, I don't think scolding them for their choice of vocabulary is, well, helpful. Musiconeologist (talk) 00:54, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Warmly seconded, Musiconeologist. (By contrast, feel free to scold me, scope_creep. If an indignant condemnation is sufficiently amusing, I repost it on my user page.) -- Hoary (talk) 01:56, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

I'm not scolding anyone I can assure you and i'm sorry if it is sounds like that. I worry that underlying nomenclature of Wikipedia is slow changing in a way that is perhaps to our long term detriment. In saying its a web page is true, everything is a web page on the web, but it is like saying a car is an engine with an axle and wheels. Its not the same and its not the same. Language and way folk speak, changes, which is a natural thing, but we have a particular set of procedures, policies, essays and so that makes up Wikipedia, which defines what is what, what is an article, the nomenclature. When we change that it is difficult for newbs to adapt and slowly moves us from what is considered natural for us. The underlying reality slowly changes. Article term is always never mentioned now in talk conversations, because social media is now set on page. It is not a page, it is an article. Please use it when refering to it as such. scope_creep^Talk 07:09, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Article and acronym identification

Evening folks!! Does anybody know what this is "W. M. of the Royal Society of Natural Scientists in Moscow". Is there any article on Wikipedia on this and what does the W.M. mean. Its concerns the Dionýz Štúr article. Also what would the "Natural Sciences Association for Styria in Graz" be, if there is an article on here. scope_creep^Talk 18:25, 8 February 2025 (UTC)

I have responded at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Humanities#Article and acronym identification. TSventon (talk) 23:14, 8 February 2025 (UTC)

Answered at Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Humanities#Article and acronym identification. scope_creep^Talk 14:45, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

2017 wikitext editor is broken

Hi all, is it just me? The 2017 wikitext editor that I'm used to using just recently seems to have disabled the ability to edit references (this page would not let me upload a screenshot, but the contents of a citation between <ref> and </ref> tags shows up in green and can't be clicked on or edited).

I'm at a loss for why this is occurring, could someone enlighten me or is something wrong with my setup? Thanks! Caleb Stanford (talk) 18:29, 8 February 2025 (UTC)

This was part of a WP:THURSDAY update. The ref tags are highlighted in green now presumably so it's easier to spot them, but I personally haven't had any issues clicking on and changing them. You might be able to get more answers from the people who hang out at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical). Thebiguglyalien (talk) 20:18, 8 February 2025 (UTC)

Thanks, I'll try there. It looks like it does let me edit but the cursor is not visible - I'm on Firefox, but I see a similar visual bug in Safari. Caleb Stanford (talk) 22:28, 8 February 2025 (UTC)

February 9

update confirmed-protected edit request ?

I have a pending c-p edit request on the Alison Weir (activist) page which consists of a request to move a large segment of text from one section to another. As my edit request has languished there so long, the text in question has gone through some editing including some deletions. Am I permitted to edit the request to update it to the current version? Kenfree (talk) 03:17, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

@Kenfree: I would think you should probably strike or withdraw your initial edit request as no longer relevant and create a new edit request. A more experienced editor in edit requests may correct me, though. Skarmory (talk • contribs) 05:53, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

@Skarmory, thank you for your reply. I would happily follow your suggestion if it were the case that the new edit would receive prompt action, but you see, if that were the case then this problem would never have arisen in the first place. In point of fact the edit request was submitted a month ago, and has happily worked its way up to sixth place in the backlog. I really don't want to add another month+ to the waiting time to get this edit acted on, so unless you have another idea, I guess I'll just have to leave things as they are, and let whichever editor acts on it when it finally reaches the front of the backlog queue sort it out... Kenfree (talk) 07:04, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

@Kenfree: your 11 January 2025 request has been discussed at length since 14 January and two other editors disagreed with it. It could probably be closed as not done. You could also add a reply withdrawing the request and continue the discussion about individual claims in later sections. TSventon (talk) 15:50, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

They may have disagreed with it, but neither formally acted on their disagreement, and one of them demurred in deference to other editors who might have a deeper understanding of the issues involved. I still feel that these contentious allegations about Weir properly belong in the "Controversy" section, so why would I withdraw the request? At some point it will reach the front of the backlog queue and hopefully a fresh observer will take some action on it... Kenfree (talk) 04:00, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Is it possible to transclude an article lead but not the hatnote at the top?

The lead for the article Torino scale starts with a hatnote: This article is about Torino scale concept. For current ratings, see List of objects with non-zero Torino ratings When the lead is transcluded in to List of objects with non-zero Torino ratings the hat note is bogus. Can it be excluded? Johnjbarton (talk) 16:38, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

I've not really played around with this, so my apologies if I'm just showing my ignorance, but would putting <noinclude></noinclude> round the hatnote do the job? It's going to be unwanted wherever it's transcluded, I'd have thought. (There's information at wp:PARTTRANS.) Musiconeologist (talk) 21:25, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

Thanks! As it turns out another editor removed the source hatnote, so I don't have the problem now. Johnjbarton (talk) 02:29, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Links to websites without content

Is there a template for indentification of links that go to websites without any content? (e.g. this link and its mirror on the Wayback Machine, which are used as references for the article on The Coffin of Andy and Leyley) Yyannako (talk) 17:17, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

That link does load for me, after a very long wait, and eventually produces a page with the right title. So it's not a {{dead link}}, which is what I'd use if it really did go to an empty page. But there might be a better template that I'm unaware of. (There's a list of related ones in the See also section of the {{dead link}} page.) Musiconeologist (talk) 17:32, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

It doesn't go to an empty page per se, but the content is "Error Reference: Store_9511701_undefined

Loading chunk 4268 failed.

(missing: https://store.fastly.steamstatic.com/public/javascript/applications/store/events.js?contenthash=6ee5147628ca625579b3)" which isn’t exceedingly useful as a citation. Yyannako (talk) 21:08, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

Ah. I got a cookie popup which I rejected, then actual content about the subject, but after a very long wait. It appeared just as I was about to leave the page. There was a heading The Coffin of Andy and Leyley, and some text about it that I didn't read in detail, all on top of a large background image. It was a very graphics-heavy page. Anyway I think it's an unreliable link more than a dead one. Musiconeologist (talk) 21:34, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

February 10

Parsing down overly detailed article

I'm looking at the article on Nolan Higdon and it seems overly detailed relative to the notability of the subject. The article subject is a scholar and author and the article lists every news outlet he's been on, discusses three of his books, and covers his various views with citations to various op-eds he has written or articles he has been interviewed for. Roughly one third of the references are to things he's written. This seems egregious to me, and may be indicative of COI editing.

How do I determine how much of this article is worth keeping? Truthnope (talk) 00:24, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

He's an academic. Academics teach and write. Foremost (often but not always) among what they write are their books. It seems entirely right to me that an article about an academic should briefly describe his or her books and summarize the reception they've received (always citing reviews and the like, not mere blurbs). The list of his other publications doesn't seem too long to me, but I find it unlikely that no DOI or other link can be found for any of these. (If inclusion of a piece by him in a list isn't worth the effort of searching for a link and providing it, then the piece itself isn't worth listing.) I noticed the "references" to things written or cowritten by him. A number of these -- perhaps most of them, but I haven't bothered to look -- really aren't references and shouldn't be presented as such; they should instead be notes (easily created with Template:Efn). -- Hoary (talk) 02:13, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Help needed

Hi all, Is there anyone available to help me with my article? I need help with citations, and getting them is a little complicated, but I will appreciate anyone with experience at creating wiki pages. Botband78 (talk) 02:52, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

I can help! running over to the article now! Thebest8382 (talk) 03:46, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Courtesy link Draft:Paul Rantao. --Orange Mike | Talk 03:47, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Hi Orange Mike,

Thanks for your quick response! Can I reach out to you tomorrow? It is currently 01:05 am my time. I'm looking forward to speaking with you. Thank you, again! Botband78 (talk) 06:06, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

@Botband78, OrangeMike only provided a courtesy link to the draft. It was @Thebest8382 that offered to help. ColinFine (talk) 11:43, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Why do wikipedia lists need references?

Hi, I'm was working on adding references, but one thing has me befuzzled, and I can't find info about it online. Why do wikipedian articles about lists, need lists?

For example, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regional_airlines

This article clearly is just categorizing airlines by region, and each link is hyperlinked to its main article, yet it requires references according to the template?

Unless the template is wrong or something, how could I find references? Thebest8382 (talk) 03:44, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

It needs references so that it can be verified as true. Nedia Wanna talk? Stalk my edits 03:45, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

RfCs

Is there a time limit on RfCs or are they only overcome by other RfCs. Jack Upland (talk) 04:59, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

I suppose you are talking about a closed RfC? It all depends on WP:CONSENSUS; and consensus can change, especially if there's new arguments, or there's new information coming up. As it is, I wouldn't restart an RfC only some weeks after the last one was held. To be more precise, we would need more information about which page you're talking. Lectonar (talk) 07:45, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Need help importing Lua modules to my wiki

I've imported LUA modules to my wiki, but I still receive "not found" errors when I import templates. Here's an example:

https://bgr.sgk.temporary.site/index.php/Module:Yesno

I'm receiving an error saying that the Module:Yesno is not found, despite having imported it. If anyone can tell me what I need to do to resolve these errors, I would appreciate it. Humanipedia (talk) 09:20, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

I think this is a question about the mediawiki software, not about the English language Wikipedia. see [1]. -Arch dude (talk) 09:28, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Marlborough College

Please, could the 1891 black and white photo be placed up earlier (up higher) in this article to reflect its historical nature, with the contemporary photos underneath it. I cannot seem to be able to rearrange the order. Thank you in advance. Srbernadette (talk) 11:02, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Long waiting time for wiki page approval

Hello,

My page was declined and I've updated it since but no one has checked it yet. How long should this take as it's been over a month? Draft:Jakob Hallgren: Revision history - Wikipedia Thank you. Roxanabovia (talk) 08:36, 7 February 2025 (UTC)Reply

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Roxanabovia (talk • contribs) 11:07, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

You need to resubmit {{subst:submit}} Jimfbleak - talk to me? 11:24, 10 February 2025 (UTC)