Help desk
< February 9	<< Jan \| February \| Mar >>	February 11 >

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

February 10[edit]

Congressmen by seniority[edit]

Hey everybody. Have a shortage of editing skills - need help on List of current members of the United States House of Representatives by seniority. The issue is this - Chris Lee, #319 on this list, has just resigned. Is there any way to structure that table so that the numbers update themselves automatically inside the table (I know you can do it with # outside a table)? If not, any time one of them resigns or dies, a major renumbering effort is required. Very annoying, and I bet there's an easy fix. Thanks for your help. -- Y not? 00:05, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Removing him from the list would automatically renumber everyone below him. CTJF83 00:08, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Errr, guess not, they should all have # instead of actual numbers, that would fix that. CTJF83 00:08, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Negative. Just tried it, doesn't work. Maybe a bot can handle? -- Y not? 00:17, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Well that's stupid, guess I don't know what I'm talking about. Try Wikipedia:AutoWikiBrowser/Tasks to see if a bot can do it. CTJF83 00:20, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This seems to have been resolved, as the list has been re-numbered. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 08:46, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Well yes, the numbers have been manually updated, but there has to be some table code or a template that could be used to autonumber such lists. – ukexpat (talk) 14:32, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Contributing to a kid/WikipediA[edit]

Extended content

Why is it illegal to contribute to a kid, if it is not illegal to contribute to WikipediA?

Moseyman (talk) 03:09, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

What are you talking about? --Orange Mike | Talk 03:13, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm talking about: Contribute to Wikipedia; adding to.

                  Contribute to kid; I don't know what this means.

So, what does it mean to contribute to a kid?

I'm only 16 years old. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Moseyman (talk • contribs) 03:20, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm unclear on this as well. I could walk up to any kid that I want and give him a $20. What gives you the idea that this would be illegal? Dismas|^(talk) 03:57, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I've collapsed this section as it was blanked by the user who initiated it ([1]), so I see no point in continuing it. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 04:08, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Ah. Sorry, I saw that someone was blanking stuff from the ref desks. I didn't realize it was the OP. Mea culpa. --Jayron32 04:13, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Not to worry, easily done. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 08:46, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Claiming sole ownership of a page[edit]

Dear wikipedia I would like to take ownership of salmaan taseers wikipedia page to ensure his memory is respected and no malicious information is put out there. How can i do this? I am his daughter. Warm regards, Shehrbano taseer Shehrbanot (talk) 05:32, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, and welcome. The nature of wikipedia is that everyone is allowed to edit, so wikipedia cannot grant you ownership. However, if there is any violation of wikipedia's policies on that page, please let us know and it will be dealt with.--Wehwalt (talk) 05:36, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Welcome. You can also add your father's article (Wikipedia page) to your watchlist. See: Help:Watching pages. Eagle4000 (talk) 06:15, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Please note that you are not allowed to removed referenced material from the page, nor to add unsourced material, and you are certainly not allowed to vandalise other pages as you did at Aatish Taseer. Please read WP:COI; you may be advised to stay away from pages on subjects with which you are closely involved. - David Biddulph (talk) 06:49, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

As you do have a conflict of interest with the Salmaan Taseer article, the correct way to address any issues is to raise thme at Talk:Salmaan Taseer. Provide evidence of any inaccuracies with links to reliable sources that verify what you claim is correct. Other editors can then review what is claimed and what the source says, and make amendments to the article if they consider you have a valid point, or otherwise comment on your claims. Mjroots (talk) 08:19, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

COI aside and for other readers concerned over ownership issues on pages, its fine to place this template on a page talk page {{maintained|[[User:ENTER USERNAME HERE]]}}. This can tell other readers that you are actively maintaining the page and not owning the page. But as always watch out on the coi, Ottawa4ever (talk) 19:29, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Highly offensive to homosexuality[edit]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.42.91.34 (talk) 08:46, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry, but you did not state any concerns in your post. Maybe you could explain your concerns on the article talk page? [CharlieEchoTango] 08:51, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I imagine the IP is referring to the article when it was in this state, prior to being reverted shortly after by William Avery. It should be ok now. - Bilby (talk) 08:54, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Right, I should've checked the history of the article before responding. Thanks, Bilby!

To the person that asked (IP), the page you saw had been vandalized, unfortunately, this happens every day to a lot of articles, but it is quickly reverted! Thanks for notifying, though. The next time you see something like that, do not hesitate to remove it by clicking the 'edit' button on top of the page! [CharlieEchoTango] 09:00, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Removal of "additional citations needed" banner[edit]

Resolved

– – ukexpat (talk) 21:16, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

May anyone remove the BLP sources banner once sufficient citations have been added to an article, or does it need to be reviewed by someone? Lizzie Nonesuch (talk) 15:35, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Anyone can, but please explain why you have removed it, either in the edit summary, or, preferably, on the article's talk page. – ukexpat (talk) 15:46, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

(e/c) Anyone can do it. However, if this is about Alun Armstrong (actor) (which you've done an excellent job in expanding and sourcing) I would note that there are still four or five entirely unsourced paragraphs.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 15:49, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. That is the article, but the unsourced paragraphs are mainly lists of his roles. Do I need to provide a source for each of his roles if it's just a name and brief description? Lizzie Nonesuch (talk) 16:31, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It would probably be a good idea to have independent verification of his roles. For film and TV shows, if he's listed in the credits it may not be a big deal, since the show itself can serve as a reference, but for stage productions it is harder to verify that he actually appeared in the show on the dates listed without some independent verification. Otherwise, I must commend you on doing a good job on fixing up the article. It is looking good! --Jayron32 19:47, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! I have cited the theatre work, but I'll see what else I can find on his other roles. Thanks for all the help. Lizzie Nonesuch (talk) 21:10, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Shoot![edit]

I accidentally gave out my password on IRC because I typed an extra space before /msg. Someone hacked into my account and changed my sig to an expletive. I change my password just now. Now what? I wish I had a commited identity. Kayau Voting IS evil 15:54, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I guess you could give the admins a quick heads up for info at WP:AN, but apart from that not much else that I can think of. – ukexpat (talk) 16:05, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You gave your wiki-account password, or your IRC user account's one? Diego Grez (talk) 21:34, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Most users have only one password or one for the similar needs... mabdul 09:56, 11 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

SupressRedirect userright?[edit]

Resolved

– by Diego Grez (talk) 21:01, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

According to Special:ListGroupRights, the SupressRedirect userright is restricted to admins and bots (of which I am neither.) However, it seems I can move a page and suppress the redirect. What's up with this? Is Special:ListGroupRights wrong/out-dated, or am I secretly a bot or something? :) ^Avic _ennasis @ 20:45, 6 Adar I 5771 / 10 February 2011 (UTC)

I'm guessing, but perhaps the rules are different for moves between namespaces. Cross-namespace redirects are specially mentioned at WP:RFD#DELETE, so perhaps the software knows not to create them. -- John of Reading (talk) 20:56, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You are a global rollbacker. Global rollbackers have the ability to supress redirects when moving pages. Diego Grez (talk) 21:01, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Ah. That would explain it. Thanks! ^Avic _ennasis @ 21:04, 6 Adar I 5771 / 10 February 2011 (UTC)

How does one apply for global rollbacker rights? I am a local rollbacker. Thanks. – ukexpat (talk) 21:09, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

See the page Diego linked. In general, it's given to trusted users who are active in reverting vandalism in many different Wikimedia projects. ^Avic _ennasis @ 21:21, 6 Adar I 5771 / 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Swimfan (2002 film)[edit]

1. In the movie, Ben talks to Madison. Ben says, “My lover’s Amy.” Madison says, “I’m ok with it.”

2. In the pool, why did Madison seduce Ben into sex? Is it because Madison loves Ben or is it because Madison messed around?

4. Why did Ben kiss Madison too?

5. Madison tells Ben to say, “I love you Madison.”

6. Why did Ben say, “I love you Madison.” Is it because Ben messed around or is it because Ben loves Madison too? If Ben loves Madison, then does Ben also love Amy?

7. After Madison got arrested, why did Ben tell Amy that Ben’s dad cheated on Ben’s mom? How was that going to make Amy forgive Ben?

8. When Ben opened Madison's locker at beginning of movie, is that when Madison fell in love with Ben? (JohnnyCage5000 (talk) 23:06, 10 February 2011 (UTC)).[reply]

I'm not sure any of these questions are unambigiously answerable. Characters in works of fiction are unavailible to answer questions about their motivations and emotions, so you're going to have to watch the film and provide your own explanations. Differing interpretations about these questions will occur when different people watch the film for themselves, and none of them are necessarily "right" or "wrong". --Jayron32 23:19, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) At any rate,

You might find what you are looking for in the article Swimfan. If you cannot find the answer there, you can try asking your question at the Entertainment section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except about how to use Wikipedia, which is what this help desk is for).For your convenience, you may click here to post your question. I hope this helps. Intelligentsium 23:23, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]