Wikipedia:New contributors' help page

What would you like to do?

Ask a question	Do something
Ask a knowledge question that you cannot find the answer to in the encyclopedia. (e.g. Did Leonardo da Vinci build a working flying machine?)	Learn about how and where you can help Wikipedia (information and resources on the basics needed to comprehend, comment on, and contribute to Wikipedia)
Ask a question at the Teahouse about using or editing Wikipedia that you cannot find the answer to in the Frequently Asked Questions. (e.g. How can I fix this problem with this article?)	Create an article now (see Your first article before you start)
Ask a question about a practical problem you have that is not related to using or editing Wikipedia. (e.g. I was cheated by a builder. Please Help.)	Request that other editors review your new article

Ways to get help

If you place {{helpme}} on your talk page, a helper will visit you there as soon as possible!
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The template below outlines Wikipedia's help pages and can be viewed at the bottom of most related pages.

(Click "show" on the right to expand the template)

lexisnexis

How do I cite an aricle I got from lexisnexis? Plantnal 07:09, 23 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! You can use"

<ref name="">{{cite web | url= | title= | author= | date= | publisher= [[LexisNexis]]| accessdate=2007-10-23 }}</ref>

More instructions at WP:CITE. :) Happy editing! PeaceNT 10:18, 23 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'm confused. Why can't I use cite news? that looks like the right cite becuase it's a news article. Plantnal 15:42, 23 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Use {{cite web}} for all pages accessible on the web. Use {{cite news}} for news articles in print. When a news article fits both, either one is fine. Just don't forget to fill out the url parameter for cite news, as this allows people without newspaper to read it immediately by clicking the link. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 22:12, 23 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

so I should give a link to the lexisnexis url for the page? Plantnal 22:03, 29 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Editing an existing entry. First major edit.

I want to edit an entry already in Wikipedia because the current information is wrong, it's conjecture and not fact, and should be fixed based on factual research which I've already done. My edits would consist of deletion of incorrect text, addition of factual sentences and extending current phrases. I'm pretty sure this falls under a major edit. Can i do this? Do I need permission first? All my changes are supported directly by the book in question, I can give page number if necessary, but don't exactly know how to reference page numbers. Do I need to notify someone that I am doing a major edit? Nachtmuzic 16:14, 26 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

please include response on my talk page. i'm new. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nachtmuzic (talk • contribs) 16:16, 26 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

One more thing...the article is The Warriors book by Sol Yuick.Nachtmuzic 16:18, 26 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No, it wouldn't be nessessary to notify people of a major edit. However you should consider trying to achive a consensus on the talk/disscussion page of the article first to see if everyone would approve of it.--Sunny910910 ^{(talk|Contributions)} 02:13, 29 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Peter Cook

I have moved this question into a section of its own Г^edʃtǁcɭ 15:53, 27 October 2007 (UTC) [reply]

<Hi! I have created the page about Peter Cook, the author of two business books. I got this page as user:Magda-r but I would like to add it to wikipedia files so when somone will be searching info about Peter Cook can find this article. How can I submit this article on Wikipedia?? Regards, Magdalena (86.140.97.231 12:45, 27 October 2007 (UTC))!!> 86.140.97.231 12:45, 27 October 2007 (UTC)Magda-r[reply]

You will need to first register an account, which has many benefits, including the ability to create articles. Once you have registered, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. --ais523 13:23, 29 October 2007 (U T C)

Categorizing Articles Slipped My Mind

How do you categorize? I've forgotten. Girl With An Attitude 09:11, 29 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See generally, Wikipedia:Categorization, m:Help:Category and Wikipedia:Categorization FAQ. But basically, you add to the bottom of an article a link to an appropriate category by surrounding it with two brackets. For example [[Category:Composers]]. If the article is about a person, and you want to make the category catalogue using the last name, you would type [[Category:Composers|Doe, John]]. And if you have multiple categories, Instead of typing out "Doe, John" for each one, you can simply type {{DEFAULTSORT:Doe, John}} above the list of categories and then there is no need to type the name after any of them. I find that the best way to categorize articles is to go to an established article on a similar topic and look at it in edit mode, and study what categories are there. But if you want to explore categories to find a proper one, you can do so using Wikipedia:Categorical index.--Fuhghettaboutit 12:04, 29 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Submitted Article getting Lost?

I submitted an article for creation over two weeks ago, and it hasn't yet been reviewed. I am afraid it is just going to get lost in the shuffle; can I bump it up somehow?

Thanks! Afreccero 19:56, 29 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Afreccero. The article was reviewed and its creation was declined. See: Wikipedia:Articles for creation/2007-10-10#Organic, Inc.--Fuhghettaboutit 22:27, 29 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Fuhghettaboutit. We revised it per the suggestions and resubmitted on 16 Oct: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_creation/2007-10-16#Organic.2C_Inc. Any idea what to do there? Thanks! Afreccero 23:00, 29 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Online dating/ romance scams

I am currently involved with at least a dozen "women" claiming to be U.S. residents living in Nigeria and Ghana. All these "women" fit the profile stated in an aricle forwarded to me via email. I have been led to believe love was in the works, when they all suddenly need money for something or another. I have also been approached via IM an Yahoo Messenger by someone claimimg to be with the EFCC (Electronic Fraud Crimes Commission). I was fascinated by the article and would be honored to share whatever information I have concerning this matter. Floorguy47 22:03, 29 October 2007 (UTC))[reply]

Hi Floorguy47. It's great that you want to add to articles here. There are many ways to contribute. We have an article on Advance fee fraud and other topics which you might want to look at. However, note that you should not add your personal experience to any articles. Material on Wikipedia must be added with citation to independent published reliable sources since it is an encyclopedia. Such personal experiences are considered here original research. Best of luck.--Fuhghettaboutit 22:43, 29 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How do you...

How do you create a page straight off? KirstyBarber 22:07, 29 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See Help:Starting a new page. Garion96 (talk) 22:28, 29 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Where is the link to add a new page?

Have not been able to find the link to add a new page -- not edit a page but create a new topic Questmagazine 14:08, 30 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

To create a new page, type the name of the page in the search box or click a red link to the page. Then, you should be able to edit the page and create it. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 15:51, 30 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Forgotten pass word

I would like to edit several entries but I have forgotten my password and cannot sign it. What is the procedure for regaining access? I have not found a prompt for people who have forgotten their password.129.170.90.159 14:28, 30 October 2007 (UTC)Ronald Edsforth[reply]

Go to Special:Userlogin, enter your username, and click 'e-mail new password'; a temporary password will be sent to the email address you originally gave when creating your account, and you can log in with that password to reach the password-change screen and give a new (permanent) password. If you didn't give an email address, there's no way to retrieve your password, as there's no way to prove that you're the real owner of the account; in this situation, you can simply just create a new account. Hope that helps! --ais523 16:00, 30 October 2007 (U T C)

New Section

I found a mistake on a page in which the wrong meanings were given for the etymology of the bacterial species, Pseudomonas ruginosa. After signing up to properly log any editing changes, and receiving the confirmation from wikipedia (username = fossildoc), I made the appropriate changes and submitted the edit to wikipedia. However, the changes I made are only referred to an IP address which is revolving, and not to my account. I cannont seem to make wikipedia remember that I logged in, regardless of how many times it says so. Everytime I open a new page in wikipedia after logging in (includes returning to the edit page, etc., wikipedia does not acknowledge the login, which is acknowledged only on the log-in page!

Could this have something to do with my rotating IP address, which is via sattelite (i.e. HughesNet)? I am a professor at a California State University campus, and often do much of my work at home. Can someone please clarify how to resolve this login issue?

FYI the changes made to the webpage are cited as being made by the IP address: 67.142.130.43 I would like to clean up the edit and make sure that it is properly documented.

I would like to be notified on my talk page (again username = fossildoc). 72.171.0.146 17:32, 30 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Please see this page. --əˈnon gahy ♫Look What I've Done!♫ 17:35, 30 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Dates of the Great Depression of 1929

<replace this text with your question, and don't forget to sign with four tildes (24.215.116.236 19:30, 30 October 2007 (UTC))!!>[reply]

The great depression of '29. Two opinions, only one correct. One, Black Thursday, October 27, 1929. Wikipedia, Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929.

Irving S. Crouse, icrousens@eastlink.ca

The Black Thursday was the previous week (the 24th, not the 27th); this is explained at Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929. Pete St.John 22:46, 30 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

i edited out a commercial site promoting hotel accommodation and replaced with one just providing independent info

<hi, i just replaced a commercial link that was selling hotel accommodation, with one that doesn't sell hotel information and offers excellent independent information on where to stay in Cebu. i note that the link was removed. i'm confused. i would have thought that a non-commercial site that gives independent reviews on hotels and provides an excellent resource to help people make informed decisions on where to stay would be very wiki indeed. pls help to answer why cebuaccommodation.com was removed?(Pete75 05:37, 31 October 2007 (UTC))!!>[reply]

It appears the links were commercial, and didn't really fit under the external links guidelines. Looks like there were some others in Cebu that were removed as well. Generally, commercial links - even if they're a central site that simply gathers links to commercial sites - are considered a problem. Take a look through the external links guidelines for more info. Tony Fox (arf!) 05:49, 31 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

External links

I added an external links to the article on "Knight's tour" Later I found the link was delted. Can I know why was it deleted by whom ?Vpdesai 08:40, 31 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If the editor wrote something in the edit summary, you can see that in the article history. However, in this case, there was no reason provided. Maybe that editor thought there were too many external links in that section? As this policy says, you can take it to the article talk page (you can also notify the editor that reverted your change on his or her talk page). If there's no response in, say, a week, I think you can go ahead and put back your change. — Ksero 09:59, 31 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Is my contribution OK?

Can we contribute a page for the fantasy football league called the Mos Eisley Football League? Right now people in 5 states all across the U.S. and some out in London, England follow this fantasy league via the website www.mefl.us. The site was made by a group that love Star Wars and the NFL and have done everything humanly possible to make it 'real'. Team logos, apparrel, video news casts, polls, media clippings, etc.

The league is not just for those who play in it. Spectators all over the globe actually check in once a week or so to see what's new with the MEFL. What we've basically done is created a spectator sport out of a fantasy sport... something I think is rather unique.

Anyhow, with the 'ambassadors' of the league walking around in MEFL t-shirts or drinking coffee out of their MEFL mugs, more and more people are interested to find out 'what is the Mos Eisley Football League?"

Now, I know they can go to www.mefl.us to find out, but we all know that if anyone asks "what is..." the answer MUST be found on Wikipedia!

Therefore, is there a way we can contribute a submission to Wikipedia for The Mos Eisley Football League?

thanks,

MEFLcommish MEFLcommish 13:56, 31 October 2007 (UTC) 136.1.1.101 17:44, 31 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry, but it doesn't appear that the league meets our notability requirements for articles. If you have a number of reliable sources that might express that notability - coverage in newspapers and magazines, for example - that would be what we'd need for an article about the league to be kept. Generally, though, fantasy leagues don't meet guidelines. Tony Fox (arf!) 18:02, 31 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

i want to contribute some articles

i was part of the team that made the Socio-Economic Profile of Lupi, Camarines Sur (Philippines)in the 80's. It's in book form of a hundred or so pages, mimeographed (!) the old way. i want to send (scanned/pdf) the portion about how the town was founded - from the early Spanish era. The main reference was taken from archives in a university library, others were handed down through tradition. The pdf can take several pages. I can't give the exact number because i still have to search our cellar for the Profile. pls advise. thank you. Mlstrella 17:26, 31 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Reasking re: Lost Submission

Hi there. I asked this earlier and then clarified, but wanted to ask again.

I resubmitted a revised article (which had previously been rejected) on 10/16. I haven't heard anything back on it. Is there any way I can bump it up or resubmit again?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_creation/2007-10-16#Organic.2C_Inc.

Thank you! Afreccero 17:58, 31 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

FWIW, while the article smacks of self-promotion, it cites references and gives a quite plausible case for notability. I wouldn't reject it myself, but OTOH, I wouldn't put myself out to further the advertising of a professional advertising agency; they don't need my help :-) Pete St.John 18:21, 31 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Criticism Sections of Articles

<Why is there criticisms included in the bodies of some articles, while others have criticisms (of the article's subject) in the bottom of the page? This seems to indicate bias, as this discrepancy is especially prevalent in certain political articles, and the only reason (which I could envision) to include criticisms in the main body of an article would be to lend them more weight. (142.58.176.123 19:42, 31 October 2007 (UTC))!!>[reply]

Generally speaking, criticisms of the subject of the article are part of the article, and criticisms of the article itself are in the Talk page. But when a criticism may be subjective it may move to the talk page anyway, where the editorial standards are more liberal. So for example, "Hillary Clinton opposes Barak Obama in the upcoming election" would be news, "I oppose Obama" would be criticism of the subject (Obama), and "I oppose editors expressing personal opinions" would be a criticism of the article, not of the subject of the article. Pete St.John 20:25, 31 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

An article on Shopit.com?

<Hello, I just created a post with some information about an upcoming internet company called Shopit. I wanted to give more information on this company; as to how they were started, what they do, their location, number of employees, etc. Especially because their own website doesn't not provide any of this information. I see similar companies have the same information listed on your site, and so is there a different way to go about giving this information about this company on Wikipedia? Please let me know if i have taken the wrong avenue to do so. The company is called Shopit.com. They are a social e-commerce website, located in Los Angeles, CA. Any feedback would be very helpful! If there is any more information you need from me, please let me know. Thank you for your time, Stephanie stef2922 at yahoo dot com> Stef2922 00:09, 1 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What Wikipedia should and shouldn't cover is constantly debated among editors

. There are a few pages that provide a rough guide to the current consensus, see WP:Notability and WP:WEB. Basically, what they boil down to is that if someone wrote about it in the paper, you can write it on Wikipedia. Also, since a newspaper (or another reliable source) wrote about it, it's verifiable, another important "pillar" of Wikipedia.

Also, note that Wikipedia is not for advertising. Hope this helps!

— Ksero 00:31, 1 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Citation guidelines for interview excerpts

Are there guidelines for citing unpublished excerpts from an interview published in a periodical?Joisymnv 04:28, 1 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Providing that you have reliable sources for those materials, you can cite them normally according to instructions at Wikipedia:Footnotes. Best, PeaceNT 05:34, 2 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Omphaloskeptic question

How does one figure out how many edits one has contributed? "My contributions" does not seem to be numbered.

Thanks, Decafdyke 03:31, 2 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Click on "my preferences" on the top right of any Wikipedia page. There you should see "Number of edits:" in the "User profile". --Silver Edge 03:38, 2 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I counted for you. You have 313:

Edit count for User:Decafdyke
Counted at 09:39, Monday 5 November 2007 (UTC)
(main)         287
Talk           20
User           1
User talk      1
Wikipedia      4

Total          313

by contribution count, and 313 by server count. (It's quite unusual for these counts to come out the same, but your 2 page moves exactly cancel out your 4 deleted edits. See Wikipedia:Edit count for more information on the different types of count.) --ais523 09:42, 5 November 2007 (U T C)

How do you edit change info that dosen't show up in the article?

I googled P.S. and part of the listing description was some foul language that isn't appropriate to the listing. When I display the page I don't see the foul language so I cant edit it. Could you please check it out? RV24.108.76.58 04:59, 2 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It appears that the last time Google crawled that particular article, it contained some vandalism that was removed - in this case, a couple of days ago. This happens occasionally - the Googlebots pick up a bit of vandalism and it takes a few days before they scan the article again. Tony Fox (arf!) 05:04, 2 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How Do I Subscribe?

How do I subscribe to the Wikipedia Signpost? (Truth is, I'm interested in the comics.) Pokemon Buffy Titan 03:33, 3 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You can drop by this page, which will give you a variety of options for subscriptions. Cheers! Tony Fox (arf!) 03:38, 3 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Signature Help

I am trying to find out how to find & have a variety of signatures. I have no idea where to go to find the "codes" for these things, nor do I know if anyone has "codes" for signatures, like mabye they just took some signature and "spiced it up". If there is any way possible for anyone to type the hard-to-read computer "codes" here then that would be just dandy! Or, you could just redirect me to someplace on wikipedia that is of help. Thank you! Zane Wolf 04:11, 3 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I have no experience in making fancy signatures, so someone might give you a better more detailed answers. :) Anyway, I think you might find some useful instructions on formatting texts, changing fonts, etc here, and colors codes can be found at Web colours. There's also a shop for signature requests, the author of which I'm sure would be willing to assist you with this stuff. All the best, PeaceNT 16:01, 3 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the info :) Zane Wolf 18:37, 3 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Regarding the style of articles on current events

What's the best style for an article about current events: newspaper-style (latest news first, followed by background), history-style (chronological order), or a mix (latest news first followed by other events in chronological order)? Mathemos 16:45, 3 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Without knowing more details, I'd say that a history-style seems most appropriate, with a short summary as lead section. Though you shouldn't slavishly follow chronological order if it makes it harder to comprehend the text. — Ksero^{t c} 20:32, 3 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Keeping the same account in different language versions of Wikipedia

I have created an account in the English version of Wikipedia, but would also like to contribute articles and editing to the German and German dialect versions of Wikipedia. When I click onto the German Wikipedia, however, I cannot use the original account I have created on the English website. Is there a way to link or carry my account into the different language versions? Hattak 19:42, 3 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

They've been working on unified user accounts, but it hasn't been deployed yet. I'm not sure what's holding it up. For now, you'll have to make a new, separate account for every wikimedia project. — Ksero^{t c} 20:24, 3 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How do I get rid of the donation banner at the top of the page? I have no interest in contributing money to this project. 71.240.169.235 22:51, 4 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Does clicking the "Hide this message" button not work? GlassCobra 23:01, 4 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

By the way, you will need to log in first to see that link. Tra (Talk) 23:17, 4 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you are logged in, Using Firefox and Adblock Plus click on the little red "ABP" icon in the taskbar, then add filter. Copy the following into your new filter:

http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:NoticeLoader&action=raw

This will block the entire banner Г^edʃtǁcɭ 08:48, 5 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Creating a New Page from Redirection

<Hey. I wanted to make a new page for a band. To be specific, i want to make a page for a band named "pinkly smooth". But it's set to redirect to the "avenged sevenfold" page. I know these two bands are related, since one of them is a side project. But is there a way that i can start a page for Pinkly smooth? Thanks in advance (Avenger)!!> — Preceding unsigned comment added by XAvengerX28 (talk • contribs)

Before creating an article, please review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people and bands and musicians, and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, click this link that will avoid redirecting you to the Avenged Sevenfold article. You might also look at Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. Silver Edge 05:36, 5 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Article on Charles Lindbergh

The text on Lindberegh's Medal of Horon refers to "nonstop sex'. Someone has a sick mind.142.162.83.202 12:41, 5 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I have corrected the vandalism - someone had changed nonstop flight to non stop sex. Thanks for pointing out the vandalism, If you see any more feel free to remove it. Thanks - Г^edʃtǁcɭ 14:30, 5 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Wikaprojects

Am I allowed to join a Wikiproject for free? I am a bit scared to make major edits by myself. -- Whiteandnerdy111 21:17, 5 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I am not exactly sure what you mean by "for free"; I' don't think payment is what you meant but, just in case, note that we are all unpaid volunteers. All wikiprojects I am aware of (a list is here) are freely joinable (is that what you meant?), usually by the simple expedient of listing yourself as a member on the project page. As for major edits, don't be scared; we encourage you to be bold in editing. Part of the magic of the wiki format is that it's well nigh impossible for you to do any permanent damage with good faith edits. Anything you do can be reversed in moments. Just keep a few ground rules in mind: any facts added to articles should cite to to reliable sources which verify those facts added; try to write from a neutral point of view; don't copy text from other sources and so on. Don't worry too much. Go ahead and edit.--Fuhghettaboutit 21:47, 5 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hlp plz ppl kthnx

I want to know how to make what I think is called a "navigation toolbar". Others users I've tried to ~~steal~~ learn from are coded as templates, such as {{User:roaryroar/roar}'}. What I am requesting is a piece similar to the following:

			[[image:\|30]]
User	Talk	Contribs	Images	Sandbox	Email

Navigation


User	Talk	E-mail	Contribs	Sandbox	Guestbook

Welcome to my user page. If you want to leave me a message click here!

I'd be grateful if anyone can help. Dlae^{You're quite the talker aren't you?} 22:42, 5 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hello. You can just create a template in your own page, for example User:Dlae/Bar and copy/learn from the code from one of the users above: User:Kukini/Bar or User:jackrm/PolarNavigation and then include it on your own page with {{User:Dlae/Bar}}. Cheers! henrik•talk 23:00, 5 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Creating a new article

Please can someone help me with writing a NEW article for reference in Wikipedia. There is nothing in Wikipedia on my subject. Ozteddybear 00:45, 6 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation.--Fuhghettaboutit 02:02, 6 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Relation between wikipedia and wikimedia commons

Hello, I would like to know whether one can merge the lists of contributions to wikipedia and wikimedia commons to a single list. Similarly, I would like to know whether my wikipedia and wikimedia commons accounts can be united. Thanks 207.237.245.85 07:11, 6 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Not at the moment; the two are currently separate in software. There are plans to make uniting accounts, at least, possible at some time in the future, however. --ais523 09:03, 6 November 2007 (U T C)

Will it be legitimate to request wikipedia adminship based on my wikimedia commons contributions? Thanks. 207.237.245.85 16:19, 6 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You can certainly prove the accounts are the same (by making an edit with both accounts that says so), and ask people to take it into consideration at RfA. It's likely that a user who edited mostly Commons and without many edits on Wikipedia would be opposed by several users on the basis of inexperience with Wikipedia itself in such a situation, though. --ais523 16:22, 6 November 2007 (U T C)

Thanks. This seems reasonable. I have contributed quite a lot to Wikipedia (not using my account at the moment simply because I am away from my personal computer), but thought contributions to Commons might be helpful in my application. 207.237.245.85 16:32, 6 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How long does new artcile usually take?

I searched through the FAQ and have been unable to find an answer to this question. I submitted a new article a couple of days ago and it has not yet been reviewed while all the other articles in the preceding days seem to have already been reviewed. Wikipedia:Articles_for_creation/2007-11-04#Count_of_Pa.C3.A7o_de_Arcos

Should I read anything into that? Does it mean it was forgotten? Can I bump it up somehow? Or does it just mean there are too many articles to be reviewed and mine was skipped for some reason? Appreciate your help. Henripa 12:31, 6 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately, Articles for creation has a giant backlog - a byproduct of the fact that not many users visit the page and work on requests. You could wait, or you can bump up the thread. But I'm not familiar with that page. x42bn6 Talk Mess 13:05, 6 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Wow, nice work! However, all registered editors are allowed to create articles at any time. See Help:Starting a new page. The Articles for creation page is meant for unregistered users, who cannot start new articles. So just head over to Conde de Paço de Arcos (if you look at the List of Countships in Portugal, it seems like the Portuguese titles are consistently used) and paste in your article!

— Ksero^{t c} 13:16, 6 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, so that's what I was doing wrong! Thank you for your help and kind comments. I'm going to do as you say and paste in the right place. Thanks again. Henripa 13:57, 6 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Log in issues

I have moved this question into a section of its own Г^edʃtǁcɭ 12:54, 6 November 2007 (UTC) [reply]

请问:为何可以在WIKI英文站顺利登陆,而在中文站不能登陆?提示用户名和密码不正确，用户名和密码不是通用的么?我如果想在中文站也登陆需要做些什么?谢谢!

Why I can login in WIKI english page,but can not login in WIKI Chinese page?clew me user name and password is not right.user name and password is not currency in two page? if I want to succes login in WIKI Chinese site, what's I need to do? Thanks!!--Newyouth 12:43, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

Hi Newyouth. Accounts on one Wikipedia are separate from another. You must create a different account with its own password on every different Wikiepedia. The same is true of having accounts at other wikimedia projects. Note that a unified login is being worked on.--Fuhghettaboutit 12:58, 6 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Question on Articles about Companies

I understand one of the first rules for wikipedia are authors should not be promoting themselves, a friend or the company they work for. My question is for companies like Google, IBM or McDonalds, how did they get their articles up on wikipedia? A lot of those pages have information about the company itself so what they are doing is promoting for the particular company, no? I would greatly appreciate it if someone can clear this up for me.

Thanks!

Fiona323 20:10, 6 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think you're referring to the conflict of interest guideline, correct? Basically, it exists to prevent articles biased in favor of the subject. So as long as those articles are compliant with the neutral point of view policy, there's no problem. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 20:47, 6 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Computers

Not all personal computers are PC discuss (85.159.201.52 00:54, 7 November 2007 (UTC))!!>[reply]

This looks to me like a homework question. If I am wrong about this I apologize. In any event, your question is not fleshed out enough so that we can know exactly what it is you are seeking. If I am not wrong, please do your own homework.--Fuhghettaboutit 03:17, 7 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

myspace music page

<replace this text with your question, and don't forget to sign with four tildes (71.189.127.63 05:30, 7 November 2007 (UTC))!!>[reply]

Elaborate... Г^edʃtǁcɭ 13:08, 7 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Getting help for specific jobs in an article

When making a good article, there's a lot to be done. For example, correct links; add links; categorize; correction of style; format cites and footnotes; locate uncited claims; check spelling... and a large etcetera. How can I tag an article for these tasks? I mean, I made an article, and I want someone to do the task X. Adding a note to the talk page might be useful, but it's not enough to cue Wikipedians who like to do the task X to my article. How can I effectively invoke users who like to do X to consider my article? Thanks in advance, and greetings Alfredo. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.220.222.140 (talk) 04:15, 8 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Place a 'cleanup tag' on the article to say what needs to be done. For instance, if the article doesn't have links to other articles, you can add {{wikify}}; if you think it contains style errors or typos, you can add {{copyedit}}. See WP:TC (Wikipedia:Template messages/Cleanup) for a full list of cleanup tags that can be added to articles. (It's a pretty long list and you're unlikely to use more than a few of the tags there ever.) --ais523 09:44, 8 November 2007 (U T C)

That's exactly what I needed; thanks a lot! Alfredo. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.220.222.140 (talk) 02:18, 9 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Getting help for some jobs in an article

Hi, I have the following question: When making a good article, there's a lot to be done. For example, correct links; add links; categorize; correction of style; format cites and footnotes; locate uncited claims; check spelling... and a large etcetera. How can I tag an article for these tasks? I mean, I made an article, and I want someone to do the task X. Adding a note to the talk page might be useful, but it's not enough to cue Wikipedians who like to do the task X to my article. How can I effectively invoke users who like to do X to consider my article?

Thanks in advance, and greetings

Alfredo. —Preceding comment was added at 05:28, 8 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hey there! It sounds like you're looking for some of our cleanup tags: you can find a big list of them right here. There's all sorts of other templates to be used - if you sort through, you'll find the right ones to work with. Most of these tags will put the page into a category - the cleanup tags, for example, will be in a category for editors who want to do general cleanup, and all the others use similar links. If you have any more questions, feel free to let me know. Tony Fox (arf!) 06:10, 8 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That's exactly what I needed. Thanks a lot! Alfredo. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.220.222.140 (talk) 04:30, 9 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The Article about the Citizens Electoral Council of Australia

Hello there, I have not joined the Wiki yet but I wish to register a protest against the publisher of the above page as a member of the above group I feel that I have some knowledge of our purpose, and am qualified to protest The Status Quo is scared to death of our little organisation and will not venture near to us for fear of contamination with the truth. Never the less it pretends to have the qualifications to write about us in the Wiki and ratifies this very poor knowledge by stating three authorities who support this writing about us. So this what amounts to guesswork and heresay now becomes an official document on the history and outlook of our group - how does Wiki allow this ? and how much can I sue you for - for promoting this false information as an authoritive document ?

I will continue this protest until this page is removed, or it has cost you that much in litigation that you concede

Hal Johnson Political Candidate for the CEC —Preceding unsigned comment added by 211.31.13.31 (talk) 12:31, 8 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Do not make legal threats on Wikipedia. You should always first attempt to resolve disputes using Wikipedia's dispute resolution procedures.

If you must take legal action, we cannot prevent you from doing so. However, we require that you do not edit Wikipedia until the legal matter has been resolved to ensure that all legal processes happen via proper legal channels. You should instead contact the person or people involved directly. If your issue involves Wikipedia itself, you should contact Wikipedia's parent organisation, the Wikimedia Foundation.

If you make legal threats, you may be blocked from editing so that the matter is not exacerbated through other than legal channels. Users who make legal threats will typically be blocked from editing indefinitely, while legal threats are outstanding. — Ksero (leave me a message, things I've done) 12:53, 8 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How do I create a page for a translated article?

I would like to translate articles but at the moment I am just editing translated articles as I don't know how to start a new page correctly. Should it be linked to the original article? If so, how do I do this? Billy1968 00:50, 9 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Translation. --Silver Edge 03:29, 9 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How to change a redirection

I have added a new page entitled "The Ultimate RISC (URISC)" to Wikipedia. The current "URISC" page redirects to "One instruction set computer" and has no editing button that would allow me to change the redirection to the new page. The new page is a more appropriate place as target of redirection, because it discusses URISC explicitly, rather than as a peripheral concept, and also links to the "One instruction set computer" (OISC) page. How can I make this change? Bparhami 18:07, 9 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

When you go to a page via a redirect, you'll see a 'Redirected from' notice near the top of the page. Clicking on the link in that notice takes you to the redirect itself, allowing you to edit the redirect (even to edit it into a non-redirect page if you want). --ais523 18:11, 9 November 2007 (U T C)

You may want to turn it into a disambiguation page so that it doesn't favor one possible meaning over another. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 16:40, 11 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

User Page

What is a User Page. I have seen some designs i really like, and want to use. Am I allowed to use these, and if not, why? Please reply to my Talk Page (is that that page that comes up if you click on "new messages" on the orange bar reading "You have new messages"?) -- Whiteandnerdy111 00:40, 10 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:User page and Wikipedia:Talk page. Every user account has a user page and a talk page. Once you created an account your userpage would be at the name you chose, appended by "user:", and a talk page appended by "user talk:". Note that almost every page on Wikipedia has an associated talk page, accessible by clicking the "discussion" tab when you are on a page. Article talk pages are for discussing changes/improvements etc. to the article.

You can use your user page as you see fit, within limits; it is for anything that is compatible with the Wikipedia project. However, it is a mistake to think of it as a homepage as Wikipedia is not a blog, webspace provider, or social networking site. User talk pages are for messages between users, and yes, you get the orange bar when any modifiction is made to your user talk page. Thus when you leave a message for another user on theirs, they and only they get an orange bar as a result of your message.

As for designs, yes you can use others' designs. All users by default license their contributions for reuse by editing here. As for design ideas and help, please see User:The Transhumanist/User page design Wikipedia:WikiProject User Page Help and User:Danieltiger45/Userpage design. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit 12:52, 10 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There is actually a task force dedicated to beautifying others' userpage: Trading Spaces. They have some users that know a lot about syntax and will design one especially for you- My userpage is based on one of their designs, and I'm quite pleased. Good luck! L'Aquatique ^talk^to^me 03:14, 13 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Deaths in 2007

November 11 Philip Wayne Steele 73, Northwest Arkansas Historian, writer of old west, the James Gang and related subjects Retmilposmn 01:29, 11 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure what your question is. Could you please clarify? Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 03:49, 11 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I want to create a page but I need to ensure that it does not become deleted how can I do this. I have followed the instructions but past events have resulted int the page being deleted due to "spam" or "blatant advertisement" when the page accomplished the same things according to other company pages. Can anyone help me? Mandywal 14:36, 13 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

ray charles aka charles raymond offenberg

I created a biography of Ray Charles the choral director and leader of the Ray Charles Singers. His birth name was Charles Raymond Offenberg which was legally changed in 1944. So professionally for the past 63 years has been Ray Charles. Some helpful editor decided this was confusing with the other Ray Charles the blues singer (whose birth name incidentally was Ray Robinson and took the stage name of Ray Charles in 1951). I want to change Charles Raymond Offenberg back to Ray Charles (of the Ray Charels Singers) but as it is the title of the article I can't figure out how to do it. Help please.Captmike 15:58, 13 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]