Wikipedia:Help desk: Difference between revisions

Page for questions relating to Wikipedia

Hi, I’ve been trying to get the monarch column on List of Landvogts of Liechtenstein to be spread relative to their reign to the term of office of the Landvogts. I tried separating the other rows, which seemed fine at first, but now it seems to have merged again. May someone please help me do this correctly? I would also ask the same of List of heads of government of Liechtenstein. TheBritinator (talk) 17:58, 6 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@TheBritinator: Have you already solved this?

If not, could it be an issue of different browsers not all treating it the same? The Landvogts list looks mostly right, to me. However, I’ve noticed in the past that on my browser there seems to be a final step in formatting these wiki tables, in which all the pictures are resized according to … whatever they get resized according to. Could the picture resizing be playing against your row heights? I don’t know. TooManyFingers (talk) 18:07, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

No, I haven’t fixed it. That’s an interesting theory that I haven’t thought of before. I am using Opera, if that means anything. TheBritinator (talk) 18:27, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

c:File:Sankhadhar statue.jpg is used at Sankhadhar Sakhwa and Nepal Sambat#Reinstated as national calendar. The image needs to be rotated 90°. I’m hoping someone can fix that. I see some stuff at {{rotate}} but I’m wondernig if the image at Commons should be fixed. Johnuniq (talk) 00:41, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I visited c:File:Sankhadhar statue.jpg, I clicked on the link to the 1,050×1,500 pixel version in order to download it, rotate it, and upload the result. But the 1,050×1,500 pixel version was the right way around. An edit clash, perhaps? I refreshed c:File:Sankhadhar statue.jpg. No: still the wrong way up. This puzzles me. — Hoary (talk) 03:08, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I just encountered the same thing. It also appears the right way up for me in the table under “File history”… Nil🥝 03:13, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The image has two orientation flags with conflicting values. fixing. —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 09:59, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Amazing, thanks. Johnuniq (talk) 00:33, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

But, some kind of caching problem means that viewing the local File:Sankhadhar statue.jpg still shows the sideways version, and that still appears in the two articles linked above. Is there a way of purging the thumbnail? Johnuniq (talk) 00:41, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

What Rcat would I use for a redirect from an ICD code? Shocksingularity (talk) 00:55, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Shocksingularity the template {{R from alternative name}} looks applicable. Have you found any existing examples for such redirects? Mike Turnbull (talk) 14:45, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

In the Zionism Wikipedia page, all sources are from very recent articals (from the 00’s and often even later). Why is that for every other ideology you take sources fromm the pioneers of that ideology (usually around the 1920’s, 1880’s if not even further back in time) which presents that same ideology as in a neutral light before exposing is for the bad things that it had done (and every ideology had done very bad things when you look at extremeists). Why not show sources from the origin of Zionism in the 1900’s and 1910’s (and even before) from people like Benyamin Zeev Herzel and show the origin of the ideology before going into the modern day and showing the bad side of Zionism just like how you represent Communism or Facism and even Liberalism.
I understand that most of the board is probably antizionist but please remember what you work for and what this website’s all about, and not show just a single agenda since if you read just the beginning of the article I was able to spot multiple claims that are straight up lies. I’m not asking to hide all the awful things some Zionists did but the action of extrimists does not represent an entire people. Nate9934 (talk) 16:26, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Nate9934 There is an article at History of Zionism that covers the topic in the way you mention, although its neutrality is disputed. Mike Turnbull (talk) 17:05, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I don’t know whether the two articles are separate just due to size or other considerations too, but regardless, “avoiding additional controversy” is now a good reason against merging them. TooManyFingers (talk) 17:34, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Why is that for every other ideology you take sources fromm the pioneers of that ideology – Liberalism, Communism and Fascism all cite many contemporary sources.

most of the board is probably antizionist – Wikipedia has no board. WP:Neutral point of view is a fundamental Wikipedia policy, but, of course, there are numerous articles that fall short of abiding to that policy. Janhrach (talk) 14:01, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I would like to publish my biography in Wikipedia. Please advise on the procedure. Thank you. MLSantaella (talk) 17:18, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The best advice in most cases is to not do it. Publishing your biography somewhere, such as on your personal website, is fine, but people writing their own biography usually find Wikipedia’s requirements extremely difficult to manage. One of the main problems is that all of the key points in a Wikipedia biography must be things that were already published about you by someone who had no business or social connections with you. For most people it is extremely frustrating that they are not permitted to tell the truth for themselves.

It’s also important to keep in mind that everything on Wikipedia, including biographies of living persons, is free to be edited by anyone. You would not be the owner of the biography, and would not have the right to protect it from other editors. TooManyFingers (talk) 17:52, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The only absolute requirement for an article to remain on Wikipedia is that the subject must be notable, by our definition: See WP:N. If you are not notable, then do not proceed or you will just be frustrated. There are more than 6 Billion living humans. Most of us are not notable. –Arch dude (talk) 18:10, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The procedure: You will need to create an article using the official Articles for Creation (AfC) process, which will require you to start the draft article in draftspace. You will also need to declare your conflict of interest per the guidelines. Read the WP:COI guidelines carefully. MmeMaigret (talk) 19:03, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I can’t upload or create the English version of my Hebrew Wikipedia page

Hi,
I have an existing Hebrew Wikipedia page (Dr. Yaniv Zaid aka he:יניב זייד) and have done some small edits on other pages. However, I don’t have access to upload or create the English version of my page — it says I don’t have permission. Could someone please help me understand why, and what I need to do to get editing or page creation rights?
Thank you, Carinaharon1 (talk) 09:56, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You should use the Article Wizard to create and submit a draft for review. Each Wikipedia is a separate project with their own policies- what is acceptable on the Hebrew Wikipedia is not necessarily acceptable here.

You say you’ve edited other pages, but that’s not indicated by your edit history(this is the only edit attached to your account); perhaps you did so while logged out. Your account needs to be four days old with 10 edits or more(on this Wikipedia) to be able to directly create articles- but its highly recommended that unless you have experience having articles accepted here, that you use the submission process even if you are technically able to create articles. 331dot (talk) 10:00, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, @Carinaharon1.

I will go further than 331dot. The Hebrew article is useless as a base for an English article, because it does not have a single source which English Wikipedia would find acceptable. (See WP:42).

Therefore this task would be writing an English article from scratch, which is extremely hard for new editors of English Wikipedia. My earnest advice to new editors is to not even think about trying to create an article until you have spent several weeks – at least – learning about how Wikipedia works by making improvements to existing articles. Once you have understood core policies such as verifiability, neutral point of view, reliable, independent sources, and notability, and experienced how we handle disagreements with other editors (the Bold, Revert, Discuss cycle), then you might be ready to read your first article carefully, and try creating a draft. If you don’t follow this advice but try to create an article without this preparation, you are likely to have a frustrating and disappointing experience with Wikipedia. ColinFine (talk) 15:21, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Carinaharon1 When you say you have an existing Hebrew Wikipedia page, do you mean you created it or it’s about you (WP:COI)? Nevertheless, I don’t know why you can’t create an English version. If you have permission to write on the Help Desk, I don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to. Others have told you how. But since you haven’t explained what you tried to do (and I wouldn’t understand anyway), we wouldn’t be able to tell you where you may have gone wrong. On English Wikipedia, if you want to create a page in another language, there’s an “Add languages” button in the top right corner (so maybe on the top left corner on Hebrew Wikipedia). I just discovered the other day that we have a Wikipedia Embassy, so my advice would be to seek the help of the Hebrew attaché. MmeMaigret (talk) 05:31, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I just received an alert asking for donations. In the past, I’d receive these perhaps 2/3 times per years and I’d donate $50. Several years ago, a request came through that had me donating $2.75 per month, which comes nowhere near what I was donating, even out of a small income, because I do appreciate Wikipedia and I use it quite often. However, since I accidentally ended up on this ongoing donation thing (until now) I’ve not received another request. Because of this most recent request, I’ve logged in and wandered through all the help pages and I’m hoping that you can help, by seeing to it that perhaps I might receive more messages asking for greater support that $2.75 pm, because if I can help at the time, I will.
Cheers guys and thank you for your service 👍🏻🇦🇺 ChocolateTeddyBears (talk) 10:41, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@ChocolateTeddyBears You can control whether to see donation banners when logged in via Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-centralnotice-banners. There is a “Donate” link as part of the Main Menu, where you can change your actual donations. I prefer to contribute by editing rather than donating and the WMF is not short of cash currently. Mike Turnbull (talk) 10:55, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Donation records are not attached to accounts and vice versa. Inquiries about donations(like accidentally doing an ongoing donation) should go to donate@wikimedia.org. 331dot (talk) 10:59, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I remember I have read somewhere that in mainspace, links to the Wikipedia: namespace should be treated as external links, but I couldn’t find any policy or guideline that actually says that. So, is this true, or just a false memory? Janhrach (talk) 13:47, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Janhrach: It’s false for hatnotes and disambiguation pages. Do you mean in article text and references?`PrimeHunter (talk) 13:52, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, for article text. Janhrach (talk) 13:55, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Janhrach: WP:WAWI says: “if you link from an article to a specific Wikipedia page, use external link style”. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:59, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. Unfortunately, it is still unclear to me if, under MOS, Special:Diff/1315737624 is OK. What do you think? Janhrach (talk) 14:08, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Someone added [full citation needed] and this was done. How do I get rid of the [full citation needed] note.

Also Lentz’s algorithm is not JUST the category of Special Hypergeometric Functions. That category restricts the new continued fraction method to a single application of Hypergeometric functions such as Bessel functions. AI says:
Continued fractions fall primarily under the branch of Number Theory, though they also have significant applications in areas like complex analysis, numerical analysis, and dynamical systems. While commonly encountered in number theory, the concept of continued fractions is a general mathematical tool used for representing numbers and functions, with applications ranging from providing the best rational approximations to solving complex problems in various mathematical fields. Wj lentz (talk) 20:46, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

In common with the vast majority of the population, Wj lentz, I do not understand the concepts discussed in Lentz’s algorithm. (This of course is a criticism of myself or my miseducation, not of the algorithm or the article.) However, I can say that provision of a sound citation permits removal of a “citation needed” flag. But as you are (I presume) the author of the algorithm and several cited works, it shouldn’t be you who does this. Instead, you should make suggestions and requests at Talk:Lentz’s algorithm. If there’s no response for a week or more, then post a message at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Mathematics inviting people to look at, and respond at, Talk:Lentz’s algorithm. As for categorization — sorry, I’m going to have to provide a non-mathematical example — if we have an article about somebody who is both Somali and (US) American, and both a painter and a ceramicist, then it’s entirely proper to categorize her as “American painter”. Doing so doesn’t imply either that she’s nothing aside from American or that she’s notable for nothing other than her paintings. She can additionally be categorized as a Somali painter, a Somali ceramicist, and an American ceramicist. — Hoary (talk) 22:26, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

i hav a old account and i know username but not password or email 203.116.182.182 (talk) 08:45, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately this means you will be unable to access your account, and you will need to create a new account. You may identify it as a successor to your old account(“I am User5678″, I was previously User1234 but lost access”). 331dot (talk) 08:53, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello community,

I’ve noticed that the English article Surfshark VPN is translated into several other languages, but some of the translations appear inaccurate, and a few facts do not match the English version.
I would like to ensure that translations in other languages remain consistent with the English article and reflect accurate factual information.
Since I am affiliated with the subject of the article, I cannot edit the articles myself due to conflict of interest. I would greatly appreciate advice on how to:
– Propose corrections or improvements in other languages.
– Ensure that volunteer editors can safely implement these updates.
– Keep everything fully compliant with Wikipedia’s COI and neutral point of view guidelines.

Any guidance or recommended process would be very helpful. TeaAndPages (talk) 08:59, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

TeaAndPages First, please formally disclose your COI on your userpage(click your username, currently in red, to access it). If your COI is that you are employed by the company, you are required by the Terms of Use to instead make the stricter paid editing disclosure.

Each language Wikipedia is a separate project, with their own editors, policies, and practices. You will need to go to each language version to ask what their specific policies are with regards to contributing about this topic. 331dot (talk) 09:04, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I stated COI on my page, but I wanted to clarify that this is not a company’s initiative but rather my personal initiative to ensure the facts are true. I am not seeking to pay for editing, but I want to ensure that any changes are made in accordance with Wikipedia’s rules. Just to make sure, will I need to visit each language talk page and request revisions there, or contact editors directly? TeaAndPages (talk) 09:22, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

TeaAndPages, 331dot was asking not whether you were suggesting that you would pay other editors to do the work, but whether you were being paid for your efforts to nudge Wikipedia. If “yes” to the latter, you must declare it. (But if the former — just don’t.) If for example you want changes to be made to lt:Surfshark, then you have to go to Lithuanian-language Wikipedia and find out how such requests are made (whether on lt:Aptarimas:Surfshark or elsewhere). Incidentally, there appear to be 11 articles on Surfshark, but you shouldn’t assume that any of them started off (let alone has continued to develop) as a translation of another. — Hoary (talk) 10:41, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I would like to ensure translations consistent with the original! Believe it or not: your language even isn’t the most spoken of this world!
<joking>Maybe there are more klingons than us at all together? If so: who wrote Macbeth — with what words?</joking> — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.166.39.233 (talk) 04:10, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

TeaAndPages, there is absolutely no requirement or even any expectation that translations of Wikipedia articles into other language versions of Wikipedia be consistent from version to version or with the original article. Each language version is an independent project with its own policies, guidelines and administrative processes, as 331dot has already pointed out. Editors at version A may decide that an abridged brief translation is best for their project and editors at version B may decide to include lots of added detail that the original version did not include. Editors at language version C may decide to include a wholly new article on the topic, with a different structure and a different set of references. All language versions should strive for factual accuracy but how that is achieved in other languages is not the business of English Wikipedia editors. Mandarin Chinese has more native speakers than English but that does not matter in this context. The English Wikipedia is not the “Boss Wikipedia” or the “Master Wikipedia”. It just happens to be the oldest and the largest (currently). So, an expectation of consistency is not realistic. Cullen328 (talk) 04:30, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Regarding adding images and avoiding copyright violations, if an image is from Google Maps, can I include it and credit Google Maps as the source? I tried doing something similar with Cookie Jar Entertainment, but they said it was a copyright violation. How can I use a Google Maps image without violating copyright, while still giving proper credit? WVWG9652 (talk) 13:46, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You cannot. See c:COM:THIRD and WP:NFCC for the limited conditions under which you can use third-party images on Wikimedia projects. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy’s edits 14:45, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@WVWG9652 You may find it helpful to read WP:MAPS, which describes the multiple ways we usually put maps in Wikipedia. Mike Turnbull (talk) 11:30, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I’m trying to install a rater using mw.loader.load( ‘/w/index.php?title=User:Evad37/rater.js&action=raw&ctype=text/javascript’ ); // Backlink: User:Evad37/rater.js onto my page with Twinkle (through the following code) mw.loader.load(‘//vi.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Plantaest/TwinkleMobile.js&action=raw&ctype=text/javascript’);. Do I need to create a new page just for this code and every other code I install? Cheers, CREditzWiki (Talk to me!!) 21:53, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@CREditzWiki, scripts like this go into your common.js – yours is at user:CREditzWiki/common.js and I see you already have Mobile Twinkle there. You just need to add this line below the line for Mobile Twinkle:mw.loader.load( '/w/index.php?title=User:Evad37/rater.js&action=raw&ctype=text/javascript' ); // [[Backlink: User:Evad37/rater]]Likewise, other scripts can be added to the same file, one on each line. The Backlink after the // is a comment and not essential, but helps script developers know how to many people are using the script. ClaudineChionh (she/her · talk · email · global) 03:28, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Is there a user talk page template for if the user adds a question intended for the subject of the article into the article itself? I suppose this would fall under disruptive editing or something but is there a more specific template? Thanks, Chorchapu (talk | edits) 22:15, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It would never occur to me, Chorchapu, that there might be such a template. (Even if there were, then looking for it, copying it, pasting it, and adding a short explanatory sentence would probably take me longer than writing a curt but polite message from scratch.) — Hoary (talk) 22:31, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Alright, thank you for your help. Chorchapu (talk | edits) 22:32, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

If that happens, especially repeatedly, it’s usually a good idea to also add {{Not a forum}} to the article’s talk page and/ or its edit notice. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy’s edits 12:24, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Chorchapu: I don’t understand – is the user you or someone else? ie is someone else doing this (which is why you’ve talked about disruptive editing) or is this something that you want to do. Is the question really for the subject of the article or just a clarification that’s needed that you think only the subject can answer? Is the subject also on wikipedia? MmeMaigret (talk) 05:44, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Another user edited an article asking a question to its subject. I can’t actually remember what article it was specifically but it was a question directed at the subject of the article. Chorchapu (talk | edits) 15:45, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The original language is Kannada , it is not correct Mahavatar Narsimha that you mentioned it’s Hindi 98.234.188.184 (talk) 02:46, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

If you wish to dispute the way in which the article Mahavatar Narsimha describes the relative uses of languages in the film Mahavatar Narsimha, then please start by reading the extensive discussions — from July to August — about this matter in Talk:Mahavatar Narsimha. — Hoary (talk) 04:41, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia volunteer page about:

[Moved to Draft:Chaz Smith ]

ConnorTuck (talk) 06:34, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

This isn’t the place to request new articles. It could be created as a draft article, but a person needs to meet the general notability guideline. Also, articles are written in a neutral tone and are not intended to read like CVs or social media profiles.–♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 07:01, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I have moved your text to Draft:Chaz Smith, where you can continue to work on it. When you are ready, submit it for review as described at WP:AFC.

You may find WP:Your first article helpful. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy’s edits 12:05, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@ConnorTuck Wikipedia policy on biographies of living people is essential reading relevant to this draft. Citations must include full details so that readers can verify all the information. Mike Turnbull (talk) 12:13, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi,

I would like to request assistance in moving my draft to the Draft namespace. The current title of the draft is `Draft:Confait`, and I would like to move it to `Draft:Confait (rapper)`.

I am unable to perform the move myself due to permission restrictions. Could you please help me with this?

Thank you for your assistance.

Best regards,
Everythingconfait Everythingconfait (talk) 09:51, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Done. And also commented on. (Please see Draft:Confait (rapper) and Draft talk:Confait (rapper).) When the draft is ready for resubmission, tap on “Resubmit”. — Hoary (talk) 10:59, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Iam concerned about potentially incorrect information. In particular the fact that a death has been added to an entry which has not yet been officially confirmed by the home office , they have only said A man was attacked and pronounced dead in jail but no name given (Ian Watkins, Lost Phophets) . He is not dead until they officially confirm identity. 82.8.31.109 (talk) 22:34, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There’s quite a few reliable sources confirming that Ian Watkins has died, for example this and this. I don’t think the UK Home Office necessarily confirms all deaths in prison or announces details? Either way, article content is usually based on reliable sourcing rather than just government ones. — Euryalus (talk) 22:43, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I would like to add {{disambiguation with potential}} to Broken Glass. Is this OK even if the eventual article page will be located at Broken glass (lowercase g)? Utfor (talk) 00:26, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

A similar case is Classmate and Classmates. The disambiguation page is located at Classmates, but an article page would be called Classmate. Utfor (talk) 00:30, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I would make Broken glass a redirect and put the template on that (below the redirect code). Same with you second example. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy’s edits 09:55, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

{{harv|Hilliard|Keith|1999|p=43}}

This is a template syntax. Since the template uses #invoke:, I couldn’t intuitively see what the output would look like, so I used subst:. However, instead of showing the rendered result, it only displayed the template syntax itself. Could you help me see the actual output? (My original goal is to implement the template as-is without using the #invoke: syntax.)

Whatback11 (talk) 12:36, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hilliard; Keith (1999). Spoof citation to avoid error messages.

{{harv|Hilliard|Keith|1999|p=43}} →

([[#CITEREFHilliardKeith1999|Hilliard & Keith 1999]], p. 43) →

(Hilliard & Keith 1999, p. 43)

—Trappist the monk (talk) 12:52, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

How did you get the output result? Whatback11 (talk) 16:04, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Umm, look at the source of this discussion?

—Trappist the monk (talk) 16:09, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That source is interesting! Whatback11 (talk) 05:04, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Sockpuppet_investigations/Ramkripalyadavgeo/Archive
Hello Sir, all the accounts are mine. Please unblock all my accounts. I promise I won’t interfere anymore. I sincerely apologize for this. I will be careful. Delete all history 🙏 Wighggg (talk) 15:05, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, @Wighggg. If you are blocked, then you may not post anything anywhere on Wikipedia, except as explained at Appealing a block. I strongly suggest that you read guide to appealing blocks very carefully first. You will need to persuade an admin that you understand exactly why you were blocked, and that you will not repeat the behaviour. ColinFine (talk) 15:22, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I have written my autobiography on my user page but when I go to Google to search for, it doesn’t generate my information as others I have read. Rocker J.(RJ) (talk) 16:11, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Rocker J.(RJ): Userspace is intentionally noindexed to prevent precisely what you are doing. —Jéské Couriano v^_^v ^{threads critiques} 16:13, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Page has been deleted as U5 “Misuse of Wikipedia as a web host”. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy’s edits 21:21, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

About a year ago this article was tagged as needing an updated infobox. Looking at it, Template:Infobox sports rivalry just doesn’t seem right because it’s about a recurring sports event and the subject of this article is wider than that. Which one would preserve the greatest amount of the information in the table at the top of that page? Oona Wikiwalker (talk) 01:58, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Having a quick look through Category:College sports rivalries in the United States, most articles use the Sports Rivalry Infobox. As a non-American, the most notably rivalry I personally know of would be the Oxford-Cambridge rivalry, but the article for that doesn’t use an infobox at all, so that’s not much help… Nil🥝 21:38, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Last night I found a mentor. Can’t find any help from his mentor name. Am trying to get help getting up and running posting a page and despite reading all kinds of help pages, I have no idea how to get to Sandbox or other places to start process. Any advice would be helpful, including where to find the advice. I’m 80 years old and need some handholding (despite being a retired copy editor who created his own website). I’m just lost in your maze of instru
ctions, including primer for newcomers. in short: HELP! Many thanks. Maloneyjohnp (talk) 05:42, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, Maloneyjohnp. You have written a draft article about John Patrick Maloney who died in 2001. Since your username is similar to that name but you are clearly not dead, you need to disclose your relationship with that person and whatever your conflict of interest is in this matter. You can do so by clicking the red link that is your current signature and disclosing your conflict of interest on your now blank user page. The best help pages for you at this time are Your first article and Referencing for beginners. References to reliable, independent sources that devote significant coverage to the topic (Maloney in this case) are literally the backbone of an acceptable Wikipedia article, not an afterthought casually tossed in at the end. The role of the Wikipedia editor when writing an article is to accurately and neutrally summarize what those referenced sources say, no more and no less. Content that is not properly referenced is not acceptable. For example, “L.A. Times obit, July 2001” is nowhere near acceptable. The publication is the Los Angeles Times. We need the precise title of the obituary and we need to determine if it was staff written, or family submitted (in which case it is not a reliable source). We need the precise date and page number and author (if stated). Ideally, we want a URL which should be available for 2001. “Conversations with John P. Maloney Conversation with (his brother) Cornelius Maloney” are not acceptable. Published sources with professional quality editorial control are required and No original research is a core content policy. Wikipedia editors do not write down what they think to be true based on their personal experiences and recollections. Instead, our core content policy of Verifiability limits us to summarizing cited published sources. Once you understand these fundamental principles, you will have an easier time of things. I may not be quite as old as you but I am 73 now, and once I understood Wikipedia’s core content policies which are mandatory, things became relatively easy for me. Cullen328 (talk) 07:59, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Maloneyjohnp You have already posted an unsourced autobiography in your sandbox and been given useful information about why this is unacceptable on your talk page. You should at the very least read those two pages of advice I have linked. Shantavira|^{feed me} 07:46, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Shantavira, how can it be an autobiography? The subject of the draft died 24 years ago. Cullen328 (talk) 08:02, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

or faked his death … —Tamfang (talk) 19:21, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, while doing NPP I noticed that Template:Succession box is garbled at the bottom of new article Šuppiluliuma (Kummuh). I don’t see a problem with that template at other articles, and I don’t see any recent changes to the template or to nested templates that Succession box uses. I tried removing individual lines from the template at the article, but nothing seems to work. Is the problem with something other than the template? Thanks for any help with this. Wikishovel (talk) 05:59, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The {{Succession box}} template needs to be wrapped in {{S-start}} and {{S-end}} templates, as described in the template documentation. I’ve done this, which has improved the output, but there is a lot of complexity in these templates and I may not have fixed the usage completely. On that page there is also an invocation of an apparently nonexistent template {{Persondata}}; I don’t know what the intention was there. CodeTalker (talk) 06:38, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Persondata says “Persondata was a special set of metadata that could be added to biographical articles only. It has now been removed. From now on, such data should be added, with a citation, to Wikidata instead.” Maproom (talk) 06:40, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the fix, and apologies for not RTFM carefully before asking. Šuppiluliuma (Kummuh) was a translation of de:Suppiluliuma (Kummuh), which contains that Persondata template (as de:Vorlage:Personendaten), deprecated at German WP. Wikishovel (talk) 07:33, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I don’t understand the guidelines yet about redirects, so can anyone knowledgeable tell me about the contributions here? User is redirecting non notable players to the badminton team articles which are unlikely to attain any notability in future. They are making redirects for all of them. There is a user named OCDD who does the same kind of edits. zoglophie^•talk• 06:43, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

the common practice is to wait until the player becomes notable per the guidelines WP:GNG, WP:SIGCOV and WP:NBAD to name a few. What kind of urgency is the user feeling that they have to create redirects like that? zoglophie^•talk• 06:51, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi,

I would like to know, why there is no company BISOL Group (solar company) on the list, since it is the largest PV module manufacturer in Europe. Who can edit this page?

Please check link: List of photovoltaics companies – Wikipedia

I would appreciate your feedback.

Kind regards. 193.77.12.142 (talk) 10:44, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

List articles like that only include members of the list with Wikipedia articles. 331dot (talk) 10:52, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

IP editor. A quick Google search shows no decent sources about BISOL Group in English, possibly because they are a Slovenian company. If you can put together an article based on reliable, secondary sources with significant coverage, in any language, that would be the first step. Mike Turnbull (talk) 10:58, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Technical query from an otherwise disinterested person: if the statement above (“largest PV module manufacturer in Europe”) could be reliably sourced, would it merit a redlinked entry on the list page, with that source cited, pending an actual article? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.193.153.108 (talk) 13:29, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Depends on who is making the claim(not the company itself). Ideally it would be better to have the article, as that’s the main purpose of List articles. I would also probably want to see someone actively working on creating an article in order to do what you’re asking about. 331dot (talk) 13:32, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I was editing on AutoWikiBrowser to remove the births and deaths from the pages, but it seems like I have messed up with the syntax. I really want to fix this using AWB, since I don’t want to do this manually. Any suggestions on what I should do? See User_talk:Interstellarity#Deletion_of_births_and_deaths and Wikipedia_talk:AutoWikiBrowser#Removing_and_replacing_the_births_and_deaths_section_of_some_years. Interstellarity (talk) 13:22, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I’m not sure about AWB as I don’t use it; I think the best fix would be to go to each page and revert it to the version before you started your edits. SomeoneDreaming (talk) 20:40, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I could not find any evidence that the Honda Sparta was an actual scooter produced. I could not find a single book online mentioning it, barring what appeared to be uses of the two words in other contexts. It should be noted that there is a moped company named Sparta B.V., which some of the results referred to. There wasn’t too much discussion about this, so I thought I would bring it up here. Does this mean the scooter was not real? (Sometimes articles that were thought to be fake turned out to just be very obscure) RanDom 404 (talk) 15:41, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, @RanDom 404. I’m not sure what you’re asking here. You took the article to AFD.

If your question is, did the scooter actually exist, this is not the right place to ask: try either one of the sections of the WP:Reference Desk, or perhaps at WP:WikiProject Motorcycles ColinFine (talk) 16:41, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

This is only a speculative suggestion, but there is or was a practice by individuals and dealerships of making hybrid motorcycles by transplanting one manufacturer’s (superior) engine into the (superior) frame of another’s, an example being the Triton motorcycle (other combinations are mentioned in that article). Could a ‘Honda Sparta’ have been a Sparta frame given a Honda engine? Note that in the 1990s (per the article) Sparta were using Yamaha-developed electrical systems. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.193.153.108 (talk) 07:47, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, I recently created a biography draft at User:Wadzani_Apagu about Dr. Mohammed Goje, Executive Secretary of Yobe State Emergency Management Agency.

I would like to request that it be moved to Draft:Mohammed Goje (Yobe SEMA) so that it can be reviewed under the Articles for Creation process.

Thank you! Wadzani Apagu (talk) 16:21, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Your username implies a WP:COI. If that’s the case you absolutely should not write an article I have misread your username as being the article you’re drafting. Carry on 🙂 mgjertson (talk) (contribs) 17:03, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Wadzani Apagu, you need to be aware that Wikipedia does not permit the use of user pages for self-promotion in the manner that the content at the top of your user page does. I suggest you remove it, and read WP:UPNOT before writing anything more about yourself. Failing that, it will be subject to deletion. AndyTheGrump (talk) 17:18, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

AndyTheGrump, you seem to have forgotten to ping @Wadzani Apagu:. —CiaPan (talk) 17:42, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Stefan Hofmann

Dear Wikipedia Support Team,
I was contacted by Morris Turner claiming to be a Wikipedia moderator. I made a mistake of sending him my CV. He has offered to “clean up” my Wikipedia page and has requested a payment of $1,200 USD for this service.
I am concerned about the legitimacy of this offer, as I understand Wikipedia does not charge for editing or moderation services.
Could you please verify whether Morris Turner is an official Wikipedia moderator or if this contact is legitimate? I want to ensure that I am not being scammed or involved in any fraudulent activity.
Thank you for your assistance.
Stefan Hofmann 2A02:908:1D4:F4C0:E480:FEA5:C486:6FC5 (talk) 18:07, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Stefan Hoffmann. I recommend extreme caution. First of all, “moderator” is not an official term used on the English Wikipedia, although some people may apply that term to administrators. There is no account called “Morris Turner”. Although paid editing is not forbidden, it is strictly regulated and such editors must comply formally with the Paid-contribution disclosure. So, ask this person what their Wikipedia user name is, and ask them for a link to their mandatory disclosure. In all honesty, a very large percentage of paid editing services are scams. Please read Wikipedia:The truth about paid Wikipedia editing for additional information. Cullen328 (talk) 18:35, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Stefan, please read Wikipedia:Scam warning and follow the instructions on that page to report “Morris Turner” to the Wikimedia Foundation. qcne (talk) 20:18, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You might also have a look at [1] (history of the article) to see whether anything was ever done that could plausibly be attributed to “Morris Turner”. —Tamfang (talk) 01:36, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki,

Under the ANTI-LITERACY LAWS page, on reference #15-it states that Arkansas, Kentucky & Tennessee didn’t oppose educating slaves.

I thought it was MARYLAND, KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE. IsabelMike (talk) 23:24, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Best would be to look up the matter in some authoritative source, and if the Wikipedia article has indeed got it wrong, then point out the mistake on the article’s “talk” page, specifying your source as helpfully as you can. 126.156.241.20 (talk) 01:54, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I have my old account A chris80. I have my email address, but I don’t remember the forgotten password. This is terrible. What shall I do to find out? 108.21.67.83 (talk) 23:48, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Try resetting your password. Victor Schmidt (talk) 06:03, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

How do I get my profile on Wikipedia? 104.184.108.89 (talk) 00:36, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You don’t, because we don’t do “profiles”. We are an encyclopaedia, and we deal in well-sourced articles. —Jéské Couriano v^_^v ^{threads critiques} 00:40, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

If you mean you want an account, see Wikipedia:Why create an account?. jolielover♥talk 04:38, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Chemetco

Reference help requested.
Request for assistance: broken named references after lead edit
While updating the lead section of the Chemetco article, I cut and re-inserted the paragraphs after editing them offline. That seems to have detached or deleted the definitions for a set of named references.
The article now shows multiple “Cite error: named reference was invoked but never defined” messages at the bottom. These point to reference names like EPAHistory, IllinoisEPA, Business1999, FEC1992, NYT1992, StLouis1992, EPAInspection, and DOJ1992.
The citations themselves still exist in the References section, but they were not stored as named references, so the <ref name="…"/> calls in the lead can’t find them.
I’d appreciate help from an experienced editor or admin in either:
rebuilding the missing named references from the existing citation list, or
checking if an earlier version of the page still holds the original reference definitions that can be restored.
Thanks — I want to make sure I don’t damage the reference structure further.
Thanks, Astral highway (talk) 08:13, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Are you sure they’re all in the references section? When searching for FEC1992, it doesn’t appear to be there, although it is invoked 3 times in the article body. jolielover♥talk 08:29, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I’m trying to look in the article history to figure this one out, but there are so many edits it’s quite hard. Although there isn’t a rule against it, I’d really recommend doing one edit rather than multiple. Anyway, to me it appears as though there aren’t defined references for all those with the error, e.g FEC1992. If they used to be defined, then you might have accidentally cut them out. Check the page history; this edit is the one before your page rehaul in September, where all references are defined. I don’t think there’s another way of going about this without finding them in the page history and adding them back manually. jolielover♥talk 08:36, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

As I replied on the articles talk page, none of these references appear to have ever been in the article before your edit. — LCU ActivelyDisinterested «@» °∆t° 12:13, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I discovered from the discussion at User talk:EricPerry that the new-ish Sabah Zita Benson article is about the same person as the much older Zita Okaikoi one. I tagged these as duplicates, but in hindsight that tag probably isn’t appropriate here (and in any case doesn’t solve the issue!). I suppose the articles should be merged somehow, but I don’t think I’ve ever come across a situation like this, so thought I’d ask for advice before putting my foot in it. For one thing, I’m not even sure which article title should be used going forward. Any thoughts on how to handle this? — DoubleGrazing (talk) 09:50, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There are merge to and merge from templates, but those aren’t really necessary in this clear-cut situation. A simple redirect from Zita Okaikoi to Sabah Zita Benson is all that’s required (plus merged-from and merged-to notices in their respective talk pages). There’s nothing in the former that isn’t already in the latter and in more detail. Not only that, but ghanahighcommissionuk.com refers to her as Benson, so that’s presumably the more WP:COMMONNAME. Also mentioning her ex-husband Andrew Okaikoi would explain why she is referred to by two names. Clarityfiend (talk) 11:33, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Is it obvious that her current name is the COMMONNAME one, and therefore where the article should be at? I’ve no idea when she changed her name, but from the age of the older article it’s clear that she has been a public figure under her earlier name for a significant length of time. I mean, Cat Stevens is known to most people by that name, not as Yusuf Islam, even if he prefers to use the latter these days. — DoubleGrazing (talk) 13:18, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I sent in a submission titled Gregg Balin – Victus Sports and nothing was rejected or accepted. It was never posed online. How do i proceed?

Gregg Balin Gregg7543 (talk) 11:37, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Your talk page shows that an article about Gregg Balin has been rejected several times. Please see Your first article, particularly where it talks about creating an article related to yourself. This is very unlikely to be accepted as it is a common mistake for new editors, particularly if it is written in a promotional and non-neutral tone.–♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 12:03, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello,

I am not extended-confirmed and cannot post on fully protected pages. I would like to request that the following **full post** be added to the WP:NPOVN discussion about Gaza genocide on my behalf:

—

I would like to raise a policy concern about the use of the term Gaza genocide on Wikipedia.

Consensus among editors, as cited in previous RfCs, has been used to justify treating this term as established fact. However, consensus cannot override Wikipedia’s core content policies:

• WP:NPOV – Articles must present all significant viewpoints fairly and proportionally.
• WP:RS – Claims must be based on reliable, independent sources. Allegations of genocide are heavily disputed, and no authoritative international body (ICJ, ICC, UN, or any government) has issued a ruling confirming genocide in Gaza.
• WP:UNDUE – Presenting contested claims as established fact gives disproportionate weight to one side of a debate.

Therefore, the current phrasing risks violating these core policies. Editorial consensus does not determine factual truth; it only resolves disputes among editors. Reliable sources should dictate how neutrality is applied.

I recommend that the discussion or any related articles reflect the contested nature of this term, for example by using phrasing such as allegations of genocide in Gaza or some sources describe the events in Gaza as genocide, while others dispute this characterization.

Thank you very much for your time and assistance. Omer7135 (talk) 11:46, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There’s a reason it’s a contentious topic. Also this is blatantly AI generated. Aydoh8^{[what have I done now?]} 11:48, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

For what it’s worth, the reliable sources do describe the conflict as a genocide, so your LLM has contradicted itself. Aydoh8^{[what have I done now?]} 11:51, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

there aren’t any reliable sources. genocide is not something that can be declared through words, only actions. there isn’t a single country on earth recognizing this as a genocide. there isn’t a single international organization recognizing this as a genocide. how can the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE WORLD contradict what all others say? Omer7135 (talk) 11:52, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There are currently no authoritative international bodies or governments that have recognized the events in Gaza as genocide. Genocide is a legal term that can only be established through specific criteria and formal determinations, not through statements or opinions. Presenting the term as an established fact gives undue weight to disputed claims and risks violating [[WP:NPOV]] and [[WP:UNDUE]]. Omer7135 (talk) 11:56, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Per WP:PIA, editors who are not extended confirmed are not permitted to edit about the Arab-Israeli conflict; this includes on the helpdesk. The only exception is to post edit requests on an articles talk page. Please stop. CoconutOctopus talk 11:59, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Jeff Brady (journalist) existed a few weeks ago. I know because I moved it from Jeff Brady (reporter). Now it doesn’t exist. How can I find out what happened to it? ―Mandruss ☎ IMO. 13:41, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It was deleted following this discussion. There wasn’t much participation so it was “soft” deleted and you may request to have it restored at Wikipedia:Requests for undeletion if you would like. —Rutebega (talk) 13:58, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Not critical. Just curious. Thanks. ―Mandruss ☎ IMO. 14:00, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Mandruss: if you click on the red links, there should be a record of when the page was deleted and why, including a link to the discussion, if any. TSventon (talk) 14:20, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Reference help requested.
Message:
Hi, I need some help with reference errors on the Chemetco article.
After editing the lead section offline and pasting it back in, a group of named references are now showing as missing. The bottom of the article lists errors like:
Cite error: The named reference EPAHistory was invoked but never defined
Cite error: The named reference IllinoisEPA was invoked but never defined
Cite error: The named reference Business1999 was invoked but never defined, etc.
Before this edit, all references were working perfectly. The citations still appear in the References list, but the ^[1] calls in the text can’t find them.
I tried again on my own initiative, but I simply don’t know enough about the back end of these pages to make sense of it. I do appreciate the help I had earlier today, but it didn’t resolve the issue, and it’s important that the references are fixed soon given the significance of the material.
I’d really appreciate help from someone experienced with citations to restore or relink the missing named references without losing the edits to the lead.
Thanks so much!
— Al
Thanks, Astral highway (talk) 13:51, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]