Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2021 December 1

Hello,
I have a tradition that I make at least one Wikipedia edit every month, yet issues with that have come to a head due to time zones, in particular in April and November of this year, the former when I had accidentally forgotten that Wikipedia uses UTC for its main timekeeping and made an edit well after 7:59 Eastern Time for that month, and the latter when even though it was submitted at 6:59 Eastern Time, Wikipedia apparently disagreed and shifted it over a minute. The latter in particular honestly devastates me, as for me the impact of an error is not in its seriousness, but in its permanence—what chance do I have trying to convince a massive organization with tons of critical code to admit that I had not failed, that "yes, we incorrectly logged the time of submission for this edit" and change it accordingly? So, I have 2 questions, of wildly different difficulty:

1. How would I change how edit times are displayed on my end, for the Watchlist, Contributions, Page Histories, and [https://xtools.wmflabs.org/ec/en.wikipedia.org/Grant_Exploit Edit Count]?
2. Hypothetically, what would I have to do in order to actually change the logged date and time for an edit? What rank and/or position would I have to get into?

Thanks. Grant Exploit (talk) 01:00, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

:{{ping|Grant Exploit}} You can set the time zone at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-rendering. This affects the displayed time here at https://en.wikipedia.org but not in signatures and other times saved in wikitext. https://xtools.wmflabs.org/ec is an external tool. I don't think it has any time zone settings. There may be some Wikimedia developers with direct database access who could theoretically change Wikipedia time stamps but I have never heard of doing it and cannot imagine circumstances where it would be approved. There is no user group for editors which enables anything like that. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:22, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

I have always contributed to Wikipedia. But I have seen such a leftest slant and incorrect information contrary to the conservative perspective. Wikipedia has become another Yahoo or Face Book. Be neutral and I would be glad to contribute. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2603:8001:BC41:7C00:6D52:7958:546D:36F8 (talk) 01:38, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

:It is difficult to respond to a general statement. If you have specific suggestions for possible changes to articles, please offer them. Wikipedia summarizes what independent reliable sources state, but does not provide equal time to all points of view. Wikipedia attempts to cover points of view in proportion to how sources cover them. If you only want to read about conservative points of view, this isn't the place for you. 331dot (talk) 01:54, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

::Thank you for your contributions, which are much appreciated. Please be aware that all contributions go to the Wikimedia Foundation, which among other things provides the server hardware and network facilities on which all Wikipedia language projects run. All Wikipedia projects are staffed and edited by volunteers who don't get paid at all. One of the main principles of Wikipedia is that all articles should maintain a balanced Neutral Point of View, not leaning to any particular place on the political spectrum. As 331dot says above, it depends on a variety of reliable sources which report events. Wikipedia is not the place for one-sided political debate. MinorProphet (talk) 07:02, 3 December 2021 (UTC)

Copied and pasted what was advertised as the appropriate syntax from Help:Pictures#Links; replaced file name and external link with correct parameters for the image I want, by carefully copying and pasting from the external site; hit "Preview"; and got a maddening little line of red text, as you can see. No pic.

File:appomattox.gif]

(At least it did enclose the red text in a neat little box and place it on the lefthand side of the screen as I requested.) I tried various syntax combos copied and appropriately modified from other articles; similar results. I tested the original sample text and it worked like a charm. What's up? Incompatible file type? Some quirk of the site that I'm trying to get it to retrieve the image from? Wikipedia code doesn't like me?

(National Weather Service content is in the public domain, BTW.) -- 2603:6081:8004:DD5:6451:2AC4:EB73:1BE (talk) 03:18, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

:You cannot cause Wikipedia to display an image by linking to an external site. Instead, you must upload the image as a file to Wikimedia Commons (strongly preferred if the copyright license is compatible like this one) or into English Wikipedia file repository if it is to be used under the "fair use" doctrine. You start the upload process by running the upload wizard by clicking on "Upload file" in the left-hand column or by clicking this link: Wikipedia:File Upload Wizard. -Arch dude (talk) 03:59, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

:It's worth noting that you need an account to upload images, you can't do it as an IP editor. 192.76.8.80 (talk) 09:08, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

Right, I did notice that I need an account to upload images. So that would be option (C), Wikipedia doesn't like me. OK, feeble attempt at humor aside...this still doesn't add up. What is the mechanism by which the sample code provided on the Help page does happen to show the requested picture? File:Flag of Belgium.svg The code would seem to be pulling the file from an external source; if not, then what is the point of the "link=" field? .................wait, never mind. Just realized that the flag image file shown here is not actually stored externally, but clicking on it takes the user to an external link, the one imbedded in the code. That is, "link=" creates a hyperlink under a picture; it's not, as I had erroneously assumed, a command to go fetch data.

But if that's the case, then the way the syntax works and doesn't work is not at all clear from any of the Help pages I looked at. Now that I've been enlightened, I see that technically the info is there and I can recognize it: "You may be looking for inline linking to external images. This is not allowed..." I noticed that disclaimer before, but somehow naively thought that "inline linking" didn't refer to what I was trying to do. Yes, a Wikilink is provided there for a Help page on that subject -- but that would have meant more reams of material for me to wade through trying to get a simple answer to a reasonably simple question.

Seems obvious now that I think about it. But I suggest, as humbly as I can, that something like the following needs to be repeatedly spelled out, in all the relevant Help sections:

"The link= field can be used to specify an external site to which the user will be taken upon clicking on the image...Note that link= is not used and cannot be used to 'fetch' an image stored on an external website...Wikipedia provides no way ever to 'pull in' an image from an external site, whether from within the text of an article or by using image-display syntax...Images must always be uploaded before they can be displayed, just as text must always be typed in before it can be displayed."

-- 2603:6081:8004:DD5:6451:2AC4:EB73:1BE (talk) 11:44, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

:Hello, IP user. As you say, that message is there at the top of the section. But if you think more explanation would be helpful, you can edit Help:Pictures to add some! Alternatively, if you don't feel confident in doing that, you can make the suggestion on Help Talk:Pictures , or at the talk page of the Wikipedia:Help Project. --ColinFine (talk) 13:19, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

Hi I'm wondering if anyone on your team has thought about selling some Wikipedia stuff instead of prompting people to donate? I think you could get £10 out of me for a mug but I wouldn't press the button to donate £2!

Kind of bizarre but just a thought.

Regards

Occasional User — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A01:4C8:485:EFF1:296E:1C64:9ED9:3132 (talk) 03:52, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

:You could check out the [https://store.wikimedia.org Wikipedia Store]. Proceeds from sales there go to the Wikimedia Foundation like donations do. I don't see any mugs for sale, unfortunately. clpo13_(talk) 04:15, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

:: [https://store.wikimedia.org/products/wikipedia-tumbler $18 for a "tumbler"]. It will keep your coffee warm for you. :) -- Bob drobbs (talk) 04:18, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

::::[https://store.wikimedia.org/products/dinosaur-wikipedia-mug Mug]. Deor (talk) 19:05, 2 December 2021 (UTC)

:::And, just to be clear since nobody else has mentioned it, both the asks for donations and the store are run by the Wikimedia Foundation, while the actual day-to-day of the encyclopedia is run by us lowly volunteers. We have no influence over these things. Beeblebrox (talk) 06:02, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

Is the request for contributions genuine? I donated £5 earlier this year and yet I am led to believe that I last donated in 2016,one time I am told I will not be asked again then there is another request, what is going on? Is this a scam or a genuine request? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7E:1205:ED00:C55A:1D53:BD0E:F1A8 (talk) 08:45, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

As you have not created an account, the request for donations will be shown again, since Wikipedia has no way of knowing that you have already donated in the past. It is a genuine request for donations.

Have a great day,Splatana (talk) 09:45, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

Please also read Wikimedia_Foundation#Finances.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 10:01, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

Hi and Merry Early Christmas 🎄,

How do i make an article? (This is not the same question from lastime)

Lil Moon Teddy--Lil Moon Teddy (talk) 10:38, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

:{{u|Lil Moon Teddy}} Creating a new article is challenging, and it's a good idea to both use the new user tutorial and to spend some time editing existing articles in areas that interest you, to get a feel for how Wikipedia operates and what is expected of article content.

:If you still wish to create an article now, you should first make sure that the topic you want to write about meets the special Wikipedia definition of notability, either that broad one or one of the more specific topic based ones, such as notable musicians. Then gather at least three independent reliable sources with significant coverage of the topic to summarize, where the sources have decided on their own to cover the topic and not done so based on prompting by the topic or any materials put out by the topic(like a press release or basic announcement). You may then visit Articles for Creation to create a draft in which you summarize those sources and then submit it for review. This sounds very easy, but it is not. 331dot (talk) 10:59, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

Recently, similar documents in Nintendo 64, Korean Wikipedia, and English Wikipedia have damaged documents a lot, and there are many edits that delete the entire document.

Editing is similar to Korean Wikipedia, so we ask for indefinite blocking. Takuyakoz (talk) 10:55, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

:{{u|Takuyakoz}} Please tell about users who should be blocked at WP:AIV. 331dot (talk) 11:00, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

• The first IP has been blocked by {{noping|Materialscientist}} for a month (we do not indef-block IPs). The second IP shows two contributions, [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sekigahara,_Gifu&diff=prev&oldid=1057980348&diffmode=source one constructive image change] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Smuckola&diff=prev&oldid=1057983115&diffmode=source#Objection_against_turning_it_back. one comment that I do not understand] (there is probably some context) but that is certainly not block-worthy on its own. Tigraan^{Click here for my talk page ("private" contact)} 11:15, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

I already make monthly payments to Wikipedia, so when you make a request, please add an 'already giving' tab — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.16.185.98 (talk) 15:13, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

:To quote @Splatana, "the request for donations will be shown again, since Wikipedia has no way of knowing that you have already donated in the past." You could create an account, because it has preferences to disable the fundraising banners. Explodicator7331 (talk) 15:47, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

Draft:Stillwater, Ossining

I get the error message "Cite error: There are tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=Note}} template (see the help page)." But the note and the refereences do seem to show ok, in spite of the error message. Part of my problem is that I am using visual editing, but the help information uses source editing notation, which I don't really understand.Androidpar (talk) 16:08, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

:References are automatically listed at the end if there is no reflist template and the only ones that won't show are the ones that have a group parameter (which in your case was a single incomplete reference). I think you probably accidentally inserted this so have removed it - the error has now been removed from the page. QuiteUnusual (talk) 16:14, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

Hello,

My name is Jed Kaplan, a Sports Investor and Wall Street Executive.

How can I set up a Wikipedia Page for myself.

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:581:4503:7310:ED4F:733:EEB9:143A (talk) 16:11, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

:Hello, Jed. The simple answer is that you don't. If you meet Wikipedia's criteria for notability, then there could be an article (not just a "page") about you. The article will not belong to you, will not be for your benefit, will not be controlled by you, should not be written by you (see WP:autobiography), will not necessarily say what you want it to say, and should be based almost entirely on what people wholly unconnected with you have chosen to publish about you, not on what you or your associates say or want to say. --ColinFine (talk) 16:22, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

Why do I keep getting interpreted while scrolling thru Wikipedia asking for funds when I donated $20 last year??? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:387:C:5610:0:0:0:6 (talk) 16:55, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

:Wikipedia has no way to know that the person sitting at your computer/holding the device at any given moment has seen a donation message or actually donated. If you want to avoid getting donation requests, you may create an account and suppress the donation requests in the account preferences. 331dot (talk) 16:59, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

:If you want to stop seeing fundraising banners, you can go to [https://thankyou.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thank_You/en this page] on each of your devices to suppress the banners. Or, you can create an account, navigate to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-centralnotice-banners this page] and untick the “Fundraising” check box. GMX🎄^{— Preceding unsigned comment added by SherifMeleka (talk • contribs) 19:52, 1 December 2021 (UTC)}

I tried editing a actress. I can’t remember her name but she acted in an episode of Electric Dreams an Amazon Prime original. I typed in her name, the episode she starred in and the year. After I tried submitting Wikipedia said I was blocked with no explanation. I may be more inclined to donate if Wikipedia was more user friendly in that way. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2603:8080:B603:C29E:9512:BAA0:57B1:A2A4 (talk) 22:58, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

National Register of Historic Places listings in Douglas County, Colorado