Wikipedia:Help desk#Frequent Logouts

Starting from around July-September 2025, a nationwide merge and changing of hierarchy of literally every single administrative division would be underway in Vietnam; such as shrinking the province count from 54 to 34, etc.

Has enwiki reached a consensus regarding what it should do about the articles about administrative divisions here? There's an ongoing discussion over at vi.wiki here, you guys can read them for reference tynjee 18:46, 2 May 2025 (UTC)

:This has been briefly discussed at WikiProject Vietnam here. Pickersgill-Cunliffe (talk) 18:48, 2 May 2025 (UTC)

Hi all

Some images taken in France are being discussed for deletion here because there is no freedom of panorama in France. I understand from this template that these images would be allowed on Wikipedia. Please could someone tell me if there's a tool or process to copy them across?

Thanks

John Cummings (talk) 09:13, 3 May 2025 (UTC)

:I asked the same thing on WP:VPT recently and was directed to https://wikifile-transfer.toolforge.org/ - however, every time I try using it, including just now, I get an "error 500" (which I have reported on its GitHub page, with no response as yet). Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 12:39, 3 May 2025 (UTC)

What should I do if I see a problematic user ({{np2|Ultra 348}}) who has repeated final warnings on their talk page and has been brought to ANI before (though the thread became stale) continue to not use edit summaries and other problematic behavior for which they have already been warned multiple times? Since I have never been directly involved with the user, I don't think that bringing up another ANI discussion would be appropriate, especially as I have never been there before. I'm also not sure I want to put in the effort to find all the diffs for their problematic behavior, which stretches back to 2023. If there is a better venue to bring this up, please point me in the right direction. Thanks, it's lio! | talk | work 11:00, 3 May 2025 (UTC)

:You could notify User:Magnolia677 (as I do, here), who issued the last warning on the user's talk page. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 12:35, 3 May 2025 (UTC)

{{courtesy link|Wikipedia:Gender}}

Hi. I made a new shortcut for the wikiproject gender studies. Could it please be reviewed? DarknessGoth777 (talk) 07:11, 5 May 2025 (UTC)

:Shortcuts are usually reviewed relatively quickly, also there is a WP:NPP backlog drive this month. In case a reviewer sees this, I have added a link.

:I am not sure this redirect is a good idea as it seems ambiguous and the project is marked as inactive. TSventon (talk) 07:29, 5 May 2025 (UTC)

:You repurposed an existing redirect. While that may be good thing, please update the existing uses of it, which were clearly meant to point to the old target. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 11:18, 5 May 2025 (UTC)

Hello all,

I created the article Godwin Ubaka Okeke and It was recently marked for speedy deletion. My question here is... can I rewrite the article or will that cause my harm. Akwugo (talk) 11:54, 5 May 2025 (UTC)

:@Akwugo According to the discussion on your talk page, the issue is the copyright of the text you copied into your draft. I suggest you continue to discuss the issue on your talk page unless more general questions arise. Mike Turnbull (talk) 12:22, 5 May 2025 (UTC)

Might be an obvious answer, but is there any sort of category for works about Asian Australians? Sarsenet•he/they•(talk) 05:49, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

:Not according to :Category:Works by nationality, but I'm also not readily seeing that any of the categories listed there combine multiple nationalities, which doesn't even account for the fact that "Asian" isn't a nationality. I think I'd have to advise against creating such a category, though you might ask at WT:CAT. DonIago (talk) 06:29, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

:For naturalised or other migrants, see categories like :Category:Chinese emigrants to Australia; for anyone else, categories like :Category:Australian people of Chinese descent. Note also :Category:Australian people of Asian descent and its regional subcategories, if the country of origin is not known precisely. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 10:51, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

::To clarify, I'm looking for a category for media works (books, films, etc) about Australian people of Asian descent. I'll probably ask at WT:CAT then. Sarsenet•he/they•(talk) 04:49, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

:::Sarsenet, :Category:Works about Asian-Americans exists as a subcategory of :Category:Asian-American culture. :Category:Asian-Australian culture exists. You could create :Category:Works about Asian-Australians, but asking at WT:CAT would make sense. What would you put in the category? TSventon (talk) 08:59, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

:::I also found :Category:Indian-Australian films, :Category:Pakistani Australian films and [https://www.huffpost.com/archive/au/entry/films-starring-asian-australians_au_603da414c5b6d7794ae17507 a Huffpost list] of films starring Asian Australians. TSventon (talk) 10:51, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

How can i make new portal? Whatback11 (talk) 09:13, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

:Which new portal do you want to create? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 10:44, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

::I want to make Draft:Portal:Politics of South Korea. Whatback11 (talk) 11:08, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

Could someone tell me what the arrow symbol below at the right means when Wikipedia places it at the beginning of a line in an article we're editing? I've seen it several times off and on now, and although I seem to be able to delete it I'd like to know why it comes.

File:Downward-leftward arrow symbol.png

Augnablik (talk) 10:22, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

:Hi Augnablik - I've never seen it in one of our articles, are you using the mobile or desktop version? - I assume it is a carriage return (enter) symbol, that has been copy-pasted in from another application. We used to get lots of obj in a dotted rectangles, from a similar problem. - Arjayay (talk) 10:46, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

::As far as I recall, @Arjayay, it’s come just on my computer. Can’t swear to that, though.

::I too thought of a carriage return — even though laptops no longer have carriages! — but considering each case, I couldn’t imagine why the symbol would be placed there.

::If you’ve never seen the symbol, then it would seem it came because of my computer, or even my browser. Augnablik (talk) 11:20, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

:::Hi Augnablik, if you go back in one of the affected pages' history, and re-open the version you saw it on, is it still there? If so, you could try opening it on another device, which would determine if it is your computer/browser. If it is "reproducible" then you could ask at WP:VPT, where the "techs" hang out. - Best wishes - Arjayay (talk) 12:06, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

::::Arjayay, I went back as you suggested and checked a lot of earlier versions of the article in which I think I saw one of those symbols most recently — but no luck. I remember that I often deleted the symbol when I'd see it, though.

::::I’ll keep a lookout to see if it will pop up again soon so I can bring it for your inspection. Augnablik (talk) 13:35, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

:::::In one of my sandboxes today, that mysterious arrow I mentioned that sometimes appears to the left of a sentence beginning a new paragraph popped up several times on my work. Whenever I saw one, I copied it along with a line of text to show you here ... but then when I tried to paste it, the arrow disappeared.

:::::I might mention that the arrow often disappears on its own from the original on my computer even without me deleting it.

:::::Maybe the issue really does have something to do with my computer, as I haven't seen the arrow in text on on my phone. On the other hand, I hardly ever use my phone for Wiki editing. Augnablik (talk) 11:14, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

{{outdent|::::::}}{{Ping|Augnablik}} I might know what you are encountering. Are you using the visual editor? If so, these arrows (carriage returns) indicate single line breaks. Double line breaks create a new paragraph, but single line breaks may be used variously to break up the appearance of the text in the source/code editor and are common after the end of inline references/footnotes. Since you can't see them otherwise in the visual editor, they appear as this arrow. The following text would produce one of these arrows after the : Some people format their references with a lot of line breaks to make them easier to parse.{{Cite book

|first=John

|last=Doe

|date=2024

|title=Elements of Style

}}

The next sentence will appear to follow the one before the footnote to a reader, even though there are line breaks in the code. -- Reconrabbit 14:30, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

:Yes, @Reconrabbit, I use the VE. Now you’ve confirmed what @Arjayay also thought the arrow meant. I do wonder why it happens sometimes but not others, though, because I always press Return (Enter) once to start a new paragraph.

:I thought my question might end up unsolved like another one I’ve had a long time, more frustrating because it involves a cursor jumping up to the line above and to the left on my computer when I’m trying to type a capital letter or certain kinds of punctuation … only when I’m in Wikipedia and while I’m typing messages. No one at the Village Pump seems to know what that’s all about! Augnablik (talk) 15:53, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

::I can only guess as to the source of your second problem. Maybe when you press the shift key, something interprets this as pressing the arrow keys or the "Home"/"Page Up" keys. -- Reconrabbit 16:26, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

:::But, then, why only when I’m in Wikipedia … and writing messages … Augnablik (talk) 03:08, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

The bot is dumping everything into archive 1, which is fairly massive by now. Anyone up to fixing this, and perhaps "spread it out" properly? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 06:14, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

:The archiving instructions were accidentally reset in 2017. I'll move the 2016-2017 material from archive 1 into a new archive 13 and tell the bot to start archive 14. Archive 13 will be about 200K, which I don't think is too large for an archive page. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:04, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

::Thank you! Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 07:17, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

Dear Wikipedia Help Desk,

I am submitting this message as the founder of the *Vishwa Shanti Janata Party (VSJP)*, which is the **world’s first fully digital political party**, founded on April 2, 2025. We are officially active across global digital platforms including YouTube, Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, and Google Sites.

Our political activities are carried out entirely through the internet, making us a precedent in digital democracy. As such, our existence represents a shift in political structure aligned with modern technology and accessibility.

However, due to Wikipedia’s current guidelines, we find difficulty in meeting notability criteria through traditional media references. We respectfully request that Wikipedia acknowledges this **global digital transformation** and consider updating editorial inclusion for new-age political movements like VSJP.

All documents are publicly available and have been submitted to:

• UNESCO
• WIPO
• UN OHCHR
• Election Commission of India

We kindly ask for editorial review support or alternative recognition guidance.

Thank you for your time and understanding.

-- Aaryan Narasimhan Radhakrishnan Founder & International Leader – Vishwa Shanti Janata Party

Chief Ambassador of World Peace | Digital Father of the World Website: https://www.vsjp.org Aaryan Narasimhan R (talk) 08:16, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

:Hello, {{u|Aaryan Narasimhan R}}. From the point of view of Wikipedia, we do not care what you and your political party says about itself. We care only about what reliable published sources entirely independent of your political party say about it. There are no special carve-outs for organizations that operate only digitally. Your party must meet Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies) to be eligible for a Wikipedia article. Cullen328 (talk) 08:51, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

I WP:COPYWITHINed and spiced things up a bit to create a Classic rail in China article. May someone please help me expand it? Thanks! Félix An (talk) 08:35, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

:This is a place to get help with technical and practical matters around editing. For subject-related assistance, try the relevant Wikiproject, in this case at WT:WikiProject Trains and/or WT:WikiProject China. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 18:18, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

A new editor has made a couple of attempts to lodge a semi-protected edit request (most recently [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Robert_Burns&diff=prev&oldid=1289122408 here]) but it corrupts the display of the talk page in question, blanking a large section and failing to display their own post. I suspect it is connected with their inclusion of refs in the request and it won't corrupt and will display if these are removed. Is there a way for them to make the request with refs included or should they simply be omitted? Mutt Lunker (talk) 11:37, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

:@Mutt Lunker Posts on talk pages can certainly include references. If done with tags, then the addition of a {{T|talkref}} template (not indented) at the foot of the section will format things correctly. It would help the other editor if you could restore their edit with that template included. Mike Turnbull (talk) 12:55, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

::There was a non-balanced tag in a section from over 5 years ago. I fixed it.[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Robert_Burns&diff=prev&oldid=1289256327] DMacks (talk) 13:04, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

:::Thanks all. Mutt Lunker (talk) 13:36, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

{{courtesy link|Prior's Field School}}

Please fix up ref number 2 - it is not quite right. thank you Srbernadette (talk) 23:23, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

:{{u|Srbernadette}} You had the year of the access date as "20333". You've made this sort of simple error before and ask us to fix it. I'm wondering, do you use the preview button? 331dot (talk) 23:51, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

{{courtesy link|Christopher Bullock (civil servant)}}

Ref number 44 and 45 were obtained from JOURNALS and I think I got it all wrong. They are not a "simple errors". Please leave in quotes in both. I will endeavour to use the preview button. Please fix and thank you. Srbernadette (talk) 00:13, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

:They are both ridiculously simple errors. You used {{tl|cite journal}} but did not include a {{para|journal}} field. DMacks (talk) 03:08, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

For refs number 44 and 45 - I have TRIED to put in "=journal" as suggested, but no good. Please fix up . So sorry. Srbernadette (talk) 04:39, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

:You changed {{cite journal |title= Foo to {{|journal=|title=

:What you need is {{cite journal |journal=Bar |title=Foo , where "Bar" is the name of the journal. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 11:27, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

Hi there! What is it that I'm doing wrong here to not have Round 6? Thanks in advance, Alavense (talk) 15:27, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

:I'm afraid you may have to provide a bit more context to your question. GMG^talk 15:28, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

::Hi, GreenMeansGo. I've added information for six rounds, but the template only shows five, so I guess there's something I must have done wrong. I just can't find it. Maybe someone can help me with that. Thanks. Alavense (talk) 15:30, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

:::Checking the code, {{tl|2NTeam-NTeamBracket}} does not appear to have implemented a round 6. The code ends at {{code|{{!}} RD5 {{=}} Fifth round}}. LightNightLights (talk • contribs) 16:20, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

::::Oh, that's true... Thank you very much for noticing, LightNightLights. Kind regards, Alavense (talk) 16:24, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

{{courtesy link|User:DrOrinScrivello/National Geographic Society Headquarters}}

I'm working on the above draft about a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The NRHP nomination form, which is a crucial source for the site's architecture, is found at [https://historicsites.dcpreservation.org/items/show/1148 this website] (very bottom of the article under "Related Sources"), but unfortunately it's hosted on Dropbox. Is there a preferred remedy for this that makes it so someone clicking the source link in our article isn't greeted with an immediate download of the file? Barring any better options, is linking to the Dropbox file an acceptable last resort, or should I just treat it like an offline source and not link? I appreciate any guidance. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 15:28, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

:Hello, @DrOrinScrivello. I'm afraid I don't see how a filled-in application form on an unidentified dropbox account can possibly be a reliably published source. Who is the publisher? (You write "National Park Service" as though they are the publisher, but in what sense have they published it?)

:If you can cite this, what is to stop me filling in an application form, not submitting it but putting it on my Google Drive or Dropbox, and citing it?

:Furthermore, even if you can justify that as a reliable source, it is clearly not an independent one, and so should be cited only in the limited ways that a primary source can be used.

:A Wikipedia article should be a neutral summary of what independent reliable sources say about a subject, and very little else. ColinFine (talk) 19:07, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

::Thanks for the response, @ColinFine. These are valid questions. I've only been editing in this topic area for a couple of years, but my NRHP editing has been based on the guidance at WP:NRHP where these forms have been used as sources for many years.

::The forms are researched and written by architectural historians and other subject matter experts, and are (what I assume is considered) published by the National Park Service ([https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/database-research.htm on their website here]) when new listings on the Register are announced. Unfortunately these days they frequently don't digitize and post the forms themselves, which leaves it up to state government agencies to request them and do so themselves (Virginia posts theirs [https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/ here]). Washington DC has not posted their forms for a few years now, so the DC Preservation League that I linked in my first comment has requested and uploaded them. Unfortunately this particular one is linked to a Dropbox account, which I understand is unreliable, but the form itself is a reliable source. The independence can be debated (and I'm sure has been in the past), but from what I've seen they have long been used as a source for architectural details and historical information. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 20:14, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

:::Hi, @DrOrinScrivello. I was not aware of WP:NRHP, and I haven't delved into what it says.

:::But it seems to me that there is a world of difference between an application form which has been published by the NPS, and one which has not.

:::Dropbox is not the issue: that's simply the medium by which the link has been made available. For most sources, a link is not an essential part of the citation, but simply a convenience for the reader.

:::You say that the form iself is a reliable source: I say that unless it has been published by a publisher with a reputation for editorial control and fact checking, then it is not a reliable source.

:::Consider a reader who wants to verify material from the WP article. They see a citation with authors, date, and publisher. They pick the link, and get to something which looks very much like a filled-in form, rather than a published document, hosted on some random DropBox site. What reason do they have for believing that this is the genuine application, and that all the information in it is accurate? Who put it there, and are they reliable?

:::Generally, a reader has the option of ignoring the URL (if one is provided) and obtaining the object in another way - such as ordering a copy from a major library. Is that possible here? ColinFine (talk) 21:05, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

Dear Sirs,

I added several external links and references to this international artists but the items were removed by someone by the name of Tracy. All the information included additional citations for verification, reviews, interviews and links to Opera companies and concerts halls as sources for Gaston Rivero backing up his Wikipedia page. CraigAmstrong (talk) 16:42, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

:@CraigAmstrong You have made a similar point at WP:Teahouse#Gaston Rivero, Tenor. Please only use that venue since duplication only wastes people's time. Mike Turnbull (talk) 17:11, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

I was away from Wikipedia for a good while (over a year, I think), during which time the "Global contributions" link was added to the toolbox when viewing a userpage. I have no use for this link, and I'm constantly clicking it when I intend to click the adjacent "User contributions" link. Is there any way to hide it? I already checked the list of available gadgets, but nothing refers to global contributions. Nyttend (talk) 20:07, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

:Just add:

::{{code|lang=css|

1. t-global-contributions {

display:none

}

}}

:to your common.css page. Ruslik_Zero 20:20, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

::Thanks! Can you remind me how to do this? I'm unclear if I paste it at the top of User:Nyttend/common.css, at the bottom, or even at a different page since I already have one. Nyttend (talk) 21:25, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

:::Anywhere in that page without interfering with the existing code. Top and bottom both work. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:52, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

I'm sos sorry, but I cannot fix up references. 44 and 45. please fix up. It is too hard for me to redo them as journals. Please help. thank you. Srbernadette (talk) 22:34, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

Hello! I noticed a floating "[ Reply ]" button on the Wikipedia:Update page, centred on the Viewport roughly half way down on the left side, which seems to be a matter of "position: fixed;" rather than "position: relative;" in the CSS. It does not reply to anything, it links to Wikipedia:Update, which is the same page the button is on! I wonder whether this button has actually ever served any purpose. It seems to have been added (not floating) in this version: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Update&oldid=1112554098, amidst a lot of other testing. Should this button be removed?

Thanks! ProfessorPuffin (talk) 02:33, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

I have found that the page previews for Frederick Douglass have been vandalized (a slur between the words "abolitionist" and "orator"), but I don't know how to fix this since it is not actually on the page itself, only in the preview. JayTeeEll (talk) 05:08, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

:{{Ping|JayTeeEll}} Oh, that's unfortunate... The page previews should be updated by a cache purge of the page, which I have just done, but it hasn't updated yet... I'll try to figure this out some more. Trim02 (talk) 05:59, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

::Thank you for looking into this! I'd be interested if you find out more. JayTeeEll (talk) 06:14, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

:::This may be related to WP:AN#URGENT: Racial slurs appearing when one hovers over Africa. —Jéské Couriano v^_^v ^{threads critiques} 06:33, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

::::I did a test and a normal purge did seem to update the page preview, but it might just been a coincidence ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Trim02 (talk) 06:37, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

:::::Alright I think a normal purge DOES update the page preview, but you'll have to remember to purge your own browser cache as well (easy thing to forget) Trim02 (talk) 06:59, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

::ok, so I don't know if it was just a coincidence, but after reading your link I tried the Help:Purge#forcerecursivelinkupdate option, and now the page previews don't show the vandalism anymore. So thanks for your help! JayTeeEll (talk) 06:33, 9 May 2025 (UTC)