Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2017 February 11#Dead Links

{{resolved|Lourdes}}

I have failed with ref number 16 on this page - Pippa Middleton Please help thank you101.182.96.231 (talk) 03:49, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

:{{done}} Please read referencing for beginners. The mistake was clearly mentioned in the error note - that you had given the same name "telegraph.co.uk" to two references. All I did was change the reference name. You can do that too the next time. Come back here if you get stuck up. Thanks. Lourdes 07:40, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

one more thing please. I cannot - on this iPad - correct ref. Number 64 on this page. The editors name is NOT Bainca - it is clearly meant to be BIANCA LONDON. please fix. Thanks 101.182.96.231 (talk) 09:25, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

:{{Done}} --Gronk Oz (talk) 10:10, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

Hi! I'm a new user. I'm creating a page for Elementary Season 1. Can anyone let me know how I'm doing? Maybe help me a out a little? Thanks!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Elementary:_Season_1 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Anderson678999 (talk • contribs) 10:35, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

:Anderson678999 First of all: WELCOME to WP! What an undertaking as a new user. I was impressed upon first glance at your page. However, my gut reaction was: why is this page necessary when practically all of the information is here: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Elementary_episodes List of Elementary Episodes] and here: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementary_(TV_series) Elementary (TV Series)] already. Normally when a TV series is covered on WP there is a Main Page i.e. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad Breaking Bad] and then individual pages covering the seasons [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad_(season_1) Breaking Bad (Season 1)] etc. With the "List of Elementary Episodes" and the "Elementary (TV Series) already created, aren't the individual series overkill? Just curious. Good job, though! Maineartists (talk) 15:59, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

Is there anyone here who can sort out my refs on this? One particular one is all- you'll know it when you see it. It seems to be caused by the cited page numbers being different each time; but, I don't really see why that is so odd! Many thanks in advancio :) O Fortuna!^{...Imperatrix mundi.} 16:47, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

:Hello, I'm pushed for time and only looked at the first 2 or 3 refs, but yes if you cite different pages from the same book it will produce the ref error if you use the same ref name. Eagleash (talk) 17:01, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

::Thanks {{u|Eagleash}}, I had a feeling that was it... like I said, it struck me as odd, having to change the name of a ref everytime you turn a page! Thanks though. Incidentally; the requet still stands, to those that aren't against the clock :) O Fortuna!^{...Imperatrix mundi.} 17:10, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

:::Alas, the problem that others will have when they attempt to fix these mistakes is that they may not be able to determine which {{tag|ref|params=name="Harris1986"|s}} tag belongs to which definition. If you are the editor who placed these references in the article, you are the best editor to get them right.

:::—Trappist the monk (talk) 17:27, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

::::As someone who regularly attempts to fix ref errors, trying to second-guess the original editor is indeed a source of frustration! Eagleash (talk) 17:38, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

:::::OK, no worries, I'll do it. Thanks {{reply|Trappist the monk|Eagleash}} for your help. The google ref generator makes the ref- and then reFill mucks it up! I think i'll stick to my dead-tree copies in future ;) Happy Saturday, Help Desk Helperteers! O Fortuna!^{...Imperatrix mundi.} 17:45, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

::::::Just picking up on something above, (in case it's not already realised) you don't need a ref name for every ref., just the ones you wish to use more than once. So {{cite book|ref content}} if only used once. Eagleash (talk) 17:52, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

:::::::{{reply|Eagleash}} Realised it was not. Thanks for that- I'll give it a whirl. O Fortuna!^{...Imperatrix mundi.} 18:05, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

::::::::{{reply|Eagleash}}- sorry for repeated pings- but I think that cracked it; don't know if it was cheating, but I did wot you pointed out & just went and took out the ref names- looks OK now! Thanks a lot! O Fortuna!^{...Imperatrix mundi.} 18:19, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

: {{reply|Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi}} A couple of templates you may find handy are {{tlx|Rp}} and {{tlx|R}}. The former lets you append a page number to an in-line citation (like this^[1]{{Rp|13}}) so you can use one common footnote for everything, rather then typing the name a book fifty times. The latter is just a convenient way of abbreviating {{Rp|42}}. 71.41.210.146 (talk) 21:00, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

: {{ping|User:Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi}} You're welcome, no problem. In addition to the suggestion immediately above there are a couple of other methods shown at :WP:REFB#Alternative systems though I'm not a great fan of them myself! Eagleash (talk) 21:55, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

I'm concerned Wikipedia may be lacking in areas that don't lend themselves well to acedemic study.

Is there an essay expressing this?

Benjamin (talk) 21:45, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

:Yes, {{u|Benjaminikuta}}, this is called systemic bias and it means that because Wikipedia reflects what's written in reliable sources, the omissions in reliable sources are replicated in the contents of Wikipedia. – Finnusertop (talk ⋅ contribs) 22:03, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

Can You Fix a couple of dead links they to be fixed right now. 2600:8803:7A00:19:14A2:7224:84EA:118B (talk) 23:42, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

:Can you give us a little more information. Preferably a link or links to the page(s) you have concerns about. Eagleash (talk) 23:47, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

OK The AAC football season and Conference USA articles have dead links can you fix them now. 2600:8803:7A00:19:14A2:7224:84EA:118B (talk) 02:48, 12 February 2017 (UTC)