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    Assistance for new editors unable to post here

    The help desk is currently semi-protected, meaning the help desk pages cannot be edited by unregistered users (IP addresses), as well as accounts that are not confirmed or autoconfirmed (accounts that are at least 4 days old with at least 10 edits on English Wikipedia).

    However, you can still get direct assistance on your talk page. Just use this link to ask for help; a volunteer will visit you there shortly!

    There is currently 0 user(s) transcluding the {{Help me}} template looking for assistance from volunteers.

    Random error message

    For the past 12 hours or so I've been getting the error message "Fatal exception of type "Wikimedia\Rdbms\DBUnexpectedError"", on about half the Wikipedia pages I try to open. Reloading does not fix it but if I close the tab and attempt to access the same page again it works. Does anyone know what's causing this? Electricmemory (talk) 04:03, 24 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    @Electricmemory, there is ongoing discussion about it at Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical)#Error_message and phab:T389734. May be related to history and contribs pages. Commander Keane (talk) 10:33, 24 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    While the Administrators are the people with the bigger mops, I think of those who watch WP:VPT as the ones with the screwdrivers and toolbelts.(and yes, I'm sure there is overlap. :) )Naraht (talk) 13:04, 24 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Love the analogy! DMacks (talk) 13:10, 24 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks. Electricmemory (talk) 23:13, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Political campaign poster

    2025 presidential election poster

    Would it be appropriate to place an electoral poster of a candidate in the ongoing presidential election in his article page as an ilustration? (The poster was released under CC0 1.0 Universal free license.) Antoni12345 (talk) 21:42, 25 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Electoral posters are not neutral by nature, please use normal picture of the candidate instead. Tutwakhamoe (talk) 22:10, 25 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    I think it can fit the Electoral history section. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 22:26, 25 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Not yet. It may be of historical interest in the future, but to keep Wikipedia neutral it is not currently appropriate. I imagine voters may read the article and influencing elections doesn't sound good. By all means make a note on the talk page about the poster's existence and it can be revisited after the election. Commander Keane (talk) 14:43, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Fair enough. Not completely unheard of, though:[1] Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 17:10, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Well OK. What about the campaign logos in the 2025 Polish presidential election article then, as they are alo campaign material used to advertise for candidates? Antoni12345 (talk) 17:42, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Antoni12345: you can discuss it on the election article's talk page. To me it is less of a problem because all candidate's logos can be displayed. Although some aren't. Is that because their supporters don't edit English Wikipedia, they weren't smart enough to create a free-licence logo or they can't afford to make a logo? I don't think being poor makes you a bad president. This is bias and it should be avoided. Similarly it might be fine to add the poster to Zandberg's article if you find every other candidate's poster and add it to their respective articles. The candidate in Gråbergs Gråa Sång's example won that election ;-). All of this should apply to text also, but a picture is worth a thousand words. Commander Keane (talk) 12:21, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Well, non of these logos are actually free licensed to be precise and each one is an extracted and adapted image from the campaign materials or other visuals used by the candidate, which is another problem as they could not in 100% correspond to the actual visuals used by the candidates (the only candidate which actually acknowledges using a campaign logo is Trzaskowski, making it a separate file for downloading). Non of the candidates also (except for Zandberg) release their campaign materials under a free license nor specify copyrights regarding their downloading as many of them actually have campaign posters avalible at their respective campaign websites.
    And to be clear I do understand the ambiguity of NPOV regarding the inclusion of this poster as an ilustration, that's why I've decided to share my doubts, possibly to anticipate another editor wanting to include it.
    Thanks for all of the remarks, I will discuss it with others at the relevant article discussions. Antoni12345 (talk) 14:40, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Articles tagged as having non-free content

    Some articles are tagged as having non-free content with no indication given of what content is being challenged or where it originates. We're supposed to assume good intent, but who would toss up such a claim without offering proof? Unverified claims could just be an attempt to get a page deleted. What are we supposed to do with these? Oona Wikiwalker (talk) 02:24, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    @Oona Wikiwalker: ask the editors who added the tags. According to {{Non-free}}, the specific criteria of concern have to be stated in the edit summary when using the template, so
    TSventon (talk) 03:04, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    They applied the tag five years ago. What if they don't respond? Oona Wikiwalker (talk) 03:33, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Correction: four and a half years ago. Oona Wikiwalker (talk) 03:35, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    They have both edited this week, so hopefully they will respond.
    I notice that all the edits used Wikipedia:Twinkle so twinkle probably does not prompt editors to add any further details when tagging for non-free content. The template doesn't have a talk page, so it might be worth raising the problem at Wikipedia talk:Non-free content. TSventon (talk) 03:43, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    This seems to be one one those templates where the |reason= param doesn't work/show even if you're willing to use it. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 05:38, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Gråbergs Gråa Sång: the template {{Non-free}} refers to a set of criteria that apply to media not text, but it was edited in 2019 to mention content, not media. Perhaps it should be reworded again for use with non-free media rather than text. TSventon (talk) 12:06, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    From the template code, it looks as though all it does is fill in some fixed parameter values in {{Ambox}}, meaning the reason parameter just sits around unused. I see it's not a protected template though, so someone familiar with {{ambox}} should be able to amend it
    Edit: not quite right—it accepts four parameters (passed to Ambox as |small, |sect, |talk and |date) but doesn't mention any of them in the documentation. Musiconeologist (talk) 18:15, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    I don't use Twinkle at all, but I noticed that other editors who applied the non-free tag included their source in their edit summary or on the article's talk page. Maybe suggestions to do that should be placed somewhere where even the clumsiest of us trips over them. Oona Wikiwalker (talk) 23:39, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    The revision of the article that I added the template to is here, and the copyvio report for that revision can be viewed here. Cordless Larry (talk) 06:37, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Cordless Larry: thank you for answering. Presumably the template could be removed now as the copied content has been reworded. Do you agree that the template is confusing? TSventon (talk) 11:50, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Yes, although it likely also requires revision deletion. I think when using this template nowadays, I try to indicate the copied-from URL in the reason field, although I see that Gråbergs Gråa Sång suggests that's not working. Cordless Larry (talk) 17:45, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Cordless Larry afaict, you can put text in it, but it won't show in the article like at Gata (food). It becomes more like an invisible note. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 17:50, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Cordless Larry "Non-free" seems to be designed for non-free media, while {{Copypaste}} seems to be designed for copied text and has a url parameter. Is "Copypaste" is available through twinkle? TSventon (talk) 18:01, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Ah yes, now that you mention it, I think that's the template I now use in these situations. There's a "Source URL" field in Twinkle when that template is selected. Cordless Larry (talk) 08:06, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Harriet Martineau

    Oversight- in the "Help Box" on this page please place in the "relations" section Harriet's brother James Martineau. I cannot do this. Thanks 49.185.202.240 (talk) 06:49, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Click here. You'll see "Relatives", which now includes one close relative, one in-law, and one risibly distant descendant. I suggest replacing the third with her brother. Or simply add him, if you insist that a great great (etc) relative is significant. If there's a difficulty, please describe the difficulty. -- Hoary (talk) 08:13, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    I've added her brother. (I didn't delete the current Princess of Wales, as doing so could require a talk-page discussion.) Deor (talk) 15:40, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    THE KINGS BODYGUARD OF THE YEOMAN OF THE GUARD

    The hat worn by the Bodyguard has three ribbons, RED, WHITE & BLUE, what do the colours mean or represent Upton PC (talk) 12:20, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    This page is for editors to request help editing Wikipedia articles and pages. You may want to ask this question at the reference desk, where volunteers can help you find information in Wikipedia. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 12:24, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Upton PC You might find some clues at Union Jack and Yeomen Warders]. Mike Turnbull (talk) 12:17, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Request for Template Removal – Wikipedia Page of Erickavu N. Sunil

     Courtesy link: Erickavu N. Sunil

    Dear Wikipedia Admins,

    I hope you are doing well.

    I had created the Wikipedia page for my teacher long ago, ensuring that multiple credible references were cited. However, upon reviewing the page recently, I noticed the following template added at the top:

    "A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Please discuss further on the talk page. (November 2022)"

    I would like to clarify that Erickavu N. Sunil is a highly respected and accomplished Mridangam artist, author, and educator of international repute. There are numerous verifiable references available online that substantiate his contributions and credentials.

    I kindly request you to review the page and verify the citations. If the content aligns with Wikipedia's neutrality and verifiability guidelines, I would appreciate the removal of the above template. Please let me know if any specific improvements are required to ensure compliance.

    Thank you for your time and consideration.

    Best regards,

    S. B. Nair Sbnair2003 (talk) 12:38, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Just noting that any editor may help with this, not just admins. Please don't use an AI to write(100% certain according to zeroGPT). 331dot (talk) 12:45, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Please disclose your COI on your user page, I've provided you with instructions on your user talk page. 331dot (talk) 12:47, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    331dot - I got your point.
    Request you to validate the below links and take a decision of your own on the said template needs to be removed or not.
    https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2022/Apr/26/kerala-authors-efforts-to-popularisemridangam-among-global-audience-2446423.html
    https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/a-new-book-on-the-anatomy-of-a-drum/article34659455.ece
    https://gcwtvm.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/REPORT-NATIONAL-SEMINAR-2023-2024.pdf
    https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/indeevaram-is-a-performance-space-for-artistes/article28173140.ece
    https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/musicians-and-dancers-in-technopark-who-turn-teachers/article29584271.ece
    https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/kerala-based-techsariga-club-lets-you-watch-the-music-clubs-concerts-through-its-web-app/article30575830.ece
    Thank you. Sbnair2003 (talk) 12:55, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    I'm not sure what this has to do with conflict of interest. It's not the notability that's being questioned. 331dot (talk) 13:00, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Sbnair2003 Conflict of interest isn't about who he is or why he's notable—it's a situation where the contributor has some connection with the person written about. I had created the Wikipedia page for my teacher suggests Erickavu N. Sunil was your teacher, and my experience of music tells me that instrumental teaching needs a lot of one-to-one interaction between the teacher and pupil. The teacher has to give the pupil feedback about what they're doing, and demonstrate things to them. So at first sight, that is a close enough connection to affect how easy it is to write impartially about the teacher.
    Please do read the information that @331dot linked to on your talk page. Musiconeologist (talk) 16:21, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    I have removed the {{CoI}} template, because there is nothing on the article's talk page about what in the article is supposed to be non-neutral. Note though that anyone may reinstate the template if they create such a discussion (with the emphasis being on the alleged non-neutrality, not there mere suggestion of a CoI). Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 13:12, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Advice For A Novice Editor

    What might be a good place for someone to begin with edits if they are a fairly slow learner and also limited to a mobile device? Thanks. 2020View (talk) 14:15, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    @2020View You can try WP:TASK. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 17:05, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @2020View: I was going to suggest you fix the typo for math based games. However ,due to poor comma typo on Graphing calculator in the Games and utilities section but I see that you have mastered typo correction. You can do almost everything on a phone, I do. You may have to click the "Desktop" button on the bottom of a page to get a different view of it. Like on the WP:TASK that will give you are a better overview and different interface. The typo still needs to be fixed by the way ;-). Commander Keane (talk) 00:25, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    New editor-help making a first page

    I'd like to try to make a draft of a page for a relatively low-stakes thing just to get some practice in. It's the steamer the Northern Wave from the 1800's. I'm unsure on the notability but honestly I'd rather treat it as practice and be pleasantly surprised if it is notable so that it's less stressful. Is there a guide or something about writing a page from scratch? Sock-the-guy (talk) 17:41, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Help:Your first article is a good place to start. I like your view on this, create the page in Draft and with the pleasant surprise if it is notable. My other suggestion is if there is a page for a similar steamer, feel free to copy into your draft and change. Using other wikipedia articles as a place to start can take care of many issues.Naraht (talk) 18:08, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks! Sock-the-guy (talk) 18:44, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Use X english applies to which name for template?

    I noticed on Melsonby Hoard that it has a Use British English template, which makes sense. I also noticed that it used template:Infobox Artefact which is redirect to template:Infobox Artifact. Given that Artefact is the British spelling, would it be required to use that spelling for the Infobox based on the Use British English for the article? Naraht (talk) 17:54, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    It probably doesn't matter much as the name of the template isn't visible. Hinton St Mary Mosaic has " "infobox artifact". TSventon (talk) 18:16, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Archive on Talk:March 2025 Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip

    I would like to know if I did this correctly. I've heard of WP:CUTPASTE moves. The reason I moved some things back over to Talk:March 2025 Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip from Talk:March 2025 Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip/Archive 1 is because these edit requests have not been answered. In the page history, when users attempted to answer these edit requests, @Ivebeenhacked reverted these kinds of edits.

    Diffs:

    Justjourney (talk) 18:36, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    I found this guideline: Wikipedia:Edit_requests#Archived_edit_requests. Still want a response here though. Justjourney (talk) 19:53, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    In this case I would suggest leaving archives alone, except for marking any open edit requests as answered.
    This is a contentious editing area. The guideline you pointed to does mention consensus and on a high traffic talk page consensus not to do something can be indicated by no response.
    If anyone feels passionately about an archived edit request, they can reformulate it as an improved version in their own words and post a new edit request linking to the archive. That's my view, anyway. Commander Keane (talk) 00:02, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    I forgot to ping @Justjourney and add that a recent RfC agrees that substantial changes (eg answering edit requests) to archives should be reverted. Commander Keane (talk) 00:12, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Commander Keane So is what I was doing wrong, and should I stop doing it? Justjourney (talk) 01:17, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Justjourney: Yes you can stop. I wouldn't say "wrong" generally, it was well intentioned in a tricky talk page situation. You can see the listing at Category:Wikipedia extended-confirmed-protected edit requests which I presume is well patrolled so these edit requests are probably not forgotten or lost. Oh, and for your info WP:CUTPASTE is about making sure all the editors of a page get credit for their work in the history section, so it didn't apply in this case. Commander Keane (talk) 10:00, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    I agree with your specific guidance on leaving WP:PIA related archives alone, however I don't read the RFC as saying that discussion topics should not be moved out of archive for further discussion, what do you think about that? TSventon (talk) 17:29, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Hi, I have an issue with an interlanguage link. I originally made it because the subject didn't have an article in English, and now there is an article with that name for a different person. How do I separate them again? What alternatives are there?

    Billy Joyce Spagooder (talk) 19:33, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Spagooder, I checked {{interlanguage link}} and you could replace {{Interlanguage link|Billy Joyce|ja|ビリー・ジョイス}} with {{Interlanguage link|Billy Joyce (wrestler)|lt=Billy Joyce|ja|ビリー・ジョイス}}. TSventon (talk) 19:45, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    That makes sense, thanks. Spagooder (talk) 20:03, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Date template

    Hi, On another wiki I need to build a template that returns the current date in DMY format. I looked at the templates here and they are quite complicated, and just copypasting them into the other wiki does not work - I think I would need to probably create some other templates as well that carry out the various functions involved. Would anyone be willing to help explain to me what the easiest way to build such a template from scratch would be? ·maunus · snunɐɯ· 22:39, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    If all that you need is the current date in DMY format, perhaps all you need is the #time parser function:
    {{#time:j F Y}} → 30 March 2025
    —Trappist the monk (talk) 23:33, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Ok, 'I put that into the template [[Template:Current date]], but when I call that template in another page it just produces {{#time:j F Y}}. I am doing something wrong clearly. ·maunus · snunɐɯ· 23:58, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Ah, your link led me to the magic words, and that fixed it. Thanks!·maunus · snunɐɯ· 00:09, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Maunus: If code doesn't work then always link it when you ask for help so we can see what is wrong. I didn't find attempted code in your recent edits anywhere. Is it not a Wikimedia wiki? We need to know that. It may run another MediaWiki version and have other extensions and configuration settings and so on. In particular, it may not have installed mw:Extension:ParserFunctions which adds #time. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:24, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    No, it is not a wikimedia wiki, and I figured it might be something about the different versions or extensions not matching, but I found the magic words {{CURRENTDAY}}, {{CURRENTMONTH}}, {{CURRENTYEAR}}, which worked like a charm.·maunus · snunɐɯ· 02:05, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Page

    How do you create a page for an author, who was also a successful racecar driver? VanNewman (talk) 03:26, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Hi, VanNewman, the page Help:Your first article tells you everything you need to know. But as this was your very first edit you are not eligible to create the article directly. If you tell me the name of the person, I will create an empty Draft for you, and then you can work on it there. Mathglot (talk) 03:33, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks! :) Country100% (talk) 09:23, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Helloo, @VanNewman. 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) 14:25, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    How can I make a Wikipedia page?

    How can I make a Wikipedia page on Wikipedia Country100% (talk) 09:22, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Please see Help:Your first article. Shantavira|feed me 09:29, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Country100% hello! Making an acceptable WP-article without knowing how to edit WP is hard. A common advice is to "just" edit for a while first, to try to get a hang of this place.
    That said, your first hurdle is "Can a WP-article about your chosen subject be written at all?" Start with reading WP:BACKWARD. If you conclude "Yeah, I have those sources, no problem!", move on to WP:YFA. If your choice of topic fails WP:N, the article will not be accepted. If you decide to go ahead, you need to learn how to add references correctly, WP:TUTORIAL can help with that. This is crucial, and I can't stress that enough. Really. If you intend to write about a living person, read WP:BLP. If you intend to write about yourself (WP:COI), the short advice is "don't."
    Hope this helps some. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 11:19, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    User:Country100%25, a comment prompted by your creations User:Country100%/sandbox and User:Owen.Wall600/sandbox: Wikipedia is not interested in its editors' fantasies. -- Hoary (talk) 11:48, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Infobox clan on the Clan Logan page

    Hello, The pictures on this page Clan Logan - Wikipedia are out of date. I see that they are in the Infobox and I would like to change both of them. However, I have been struggling with the instructions on how to do so. Thanks! Sean Logan Logan9839 (talk) 18:24, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Which part(s) of which instruction(s) seem(s) to induce a struggle, Logan9839? -- Hoary (talk) 22:08, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Hi, thanks, specifically how do I add a new picture to it. I am guessing I need to get it into the database and then reference that, but I can't figure out how to add the new picture. Logan9839 (talk) 22:26, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    If the new picture is unrestricted by copyright, you should start by uploading it to Wikimedia Commons, which has an Upload Wizard.   Maproom (talk) 08:32, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Thank you, that worked! Logan9839 (talk) 17:04, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    How long should a discussion sit on a requested page move?

    There has been a tag for a requested move page that has been open for one month. The article received some good feedback. The original requestor backed down and blanked their talk page on the matter about it after making some personal unsubstantiated attacks. Nothing has happened with the discussion lately. How long is long enough for the discussion to be closed? many thanksNayyn (talk) 23:17, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    @Nayyn: which article? Wikipedia:Requested moves might have some ideas on timing, but generally consensus just needs to be established for closure. Maybe it has been forgotten? Commander Keane (talk) 12:28, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Commander Keane I assume it's Nia (charity), which came up at the Help Desk recently. (I don't think I should comment on closure, since I contributed to the discussion as a result of seeing the Help Desk thread.) The last activity there was nine days ago, I think. Musiconeologist (talk) 15:40, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Help

    References are not being shown inside the infobox of 2024 Bangladesh anti-Hindu violence. https://w.wiki/DbsK Can anyone help me?

    00:07, 28 March 2025 (UTC)

    @Somajyoti: If casulties2 is set then several more specific parameters are ignored. You can move the references to casualties2 or not set it. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:26, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Church of Our Lady of Lourdes Klang

    Please add the word convent in the category section of the bottom of this page. Thanks Srbernadette (talk) 03:45, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    As a reader, it's unclear to me what "SK Convent 1/2 Klang and SMK Convent Klang" is supposed to mean. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 06:11, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Probably SMK stands for: sekolah menengah kebangsaan, national secondary school. Lectonar (talk) 12:51, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Does questioning a user's knowledge based on their contributions, constitute personal attack?

    Hello everyone, I think WP:NOPA has a lot of ambiguities. It's quite clear, when it comes to religion, ethnicity etc. but not on other issues such as an editor's knowledge.

    This issue usually happens when discussing the notability of a subject.

    There are cases where a user which obviously hasn't done enough research on the subject, disregards nuanced or obvious facts, provides no reason for their opinion, comes and disputes notability.

    Therefore I think telling them that they clearly lack familiarity with the subject, is an accurate description of a situation, and not a personal attack, for the following reasons:

    1. It refers to knowledge about a specific subject not a person's entire body of knowledge
    2. It is based on evidence that the user either lacks familiarity with the sources, or the subject.
    3. It's a description of a situation, the person can gain or lose knowledge at anytime, one's knowledge is not definitive of one's personality.

    So I'm not sure even if it is a clear case of personal attack, but even if it is, is it that severe of an attack? Let's say you say 2+2=6, and provide no reasons, am I not allowed to tell you that you don't know arithmetic? Xpander (talk) 07:15, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Also see WP:CIR, which plays into that field, at least partly. Lectonar (talk) 11:46, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    In priniple, it's irrelevant whether the editor is familar with the subject. What matters is whether they can provide adequate sources for their claim. Maproom (talk) 08:38, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Maproom Thanks for your response. That's fair enough. Hope I'm not digressing. But how can you provide "adequate sources" for disqualifying notability claims? You can keep wasting wiki's time just by deleting articles, and provide no reasons, just to annoy people. I don't think there are any safeguards or even repercussions against wrong deletions and undeletion is time-consuming. Xpander (talk) 09:53, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    As only administrators can delete articles, and they will only do so in accord with policy, what you are alleging is a misuse of admin privileges. Or are you conflating "nominating for deletion" with "deleting"? Cabayi (talk) 11:39, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Cabayi I thought patrols can perform speedy deletions as well, but in that case yes. Also inadequate nominations could be as time-consuming, but I haven't read anything about this counting as a misuse of admin privileges. Xpander (talk) 18:23, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Well, it doesn't have to be done in an attacking or even confrontational way. Eg "I think you might not know some information that's universally accepted in this field but not necessarily familiar to those outside", for example. That focuses on the situation but doesn't accuse anyone of anything. It doesn't say they should have known it, or that they're stupid or lazy for not knowing it, or make any assumptions about why they don't know it.
    I think it's a very similar situation to looking for neutral language in an article—"You clearly haven't . . . " makes a judgement about the person, or will be perceived that way, when the issue is the factual matter of the gap between what they know and what they need to know.
    Edit: For the avoidance of doubt, I'm not accusing you of implying those things, either! I'm trying to comment on the search for neutral language, but not necessarily achieving it myself. Musiconeologist (talk) 15:02, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Church of Our Lady of Lourdes Klang 2

    Please add the word convent in the category strip at the bottom of the page. Thanks Srbernadette (talk) 08:01, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    You have already been told not to create multiple threads asking the exact same question at the Wikipedia Help Desk. [2] Please stop. AndyTheGrump (talk) 08:11, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Added Category:Convents of the Catholic Church in Asia, "best" I could find. Here's how:[3] Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 08:17, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    How you found the category in the first place might be useful information too, I think. Especially if it was something simple like typing [[Category:convents in and looking at the popup list or putting category:convents into the search box. Musiconeologist (talk) 16:04, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    I started at Category:Convents and "dug" from there. I was aiming for "Convents in Malaysia" but it doesn't exist. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 14:26, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    I tried via a search for "category:convents in", didn't get quite as far as you before realising I was in danger of staying online instead of sleeping, then noticed that you'd already added the category. :-) Musiconeologist • talk • contribs 17:30, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Srbernadette Are you familiar with the Preview button? I think previewing your edits before you click Publish would help you immensely. 331dot (talk) 09:03, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Srbernadette: Kindly acquaint yourself with how to add categories. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 11:37, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    How do I address vandalism by users that blank their own talk pages?

    I have a fairly complicated question that I could use help working through.

    I patrol recent changes fairly actively, particularly monitoring for vandalism, but also keeping an eye out for promising new users to welcome.

    I've realized that I don't know how to proceed when a user (or IP user) blanks their own talk page, removing the multi-level warnings that have been given to them. In general, the convenient thing about these multi-level warnings is that it allows other patrols to monitor what "level" a potentially problematic user has reached. But when that user blanks their talk page, that visibility disappears.

    It is possible, in these cases, for me to just make a mental note of that user and remember to check their talk page history to see what level they have reached, but at that point, it becomes much harder to decentralize the effort. It's harder for me to step away from my "shift" without worrying that other patrols will be "duped" by that user.

    Does anyone have any tips on how to handle these situations? I can explain more if needed.

    BTW, while I am currently dealing with a situation similar to this, I don't mean to imply that the user I'm currently dealing with is actually doing anything that wrong. This just made me realize that I don't know how to handle a "worst case scenario" version of the situation I'm in. — Gmarmstrong (talk) 22:12, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    If someone removes a warning, it doesn't make that warning not be in place. I might need to double check, but I think Twinkle is smart enough to know when previous warnings have happened.
    I think most problematic users expose themselves, and removing the templates is an act of acknowledgement of it's existance. Lee Vilenski (talk • contribs) 22:17, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Lee's advice is correct. The details are given at WP:BLANKING, which says that there are some items that should not be removed but that doesn't include the standard warning templates. Mike Turnbull (talk) 22:20, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Speaking from an admin point of view, I think there's two relevant factors that admins usually check, and recent changes patrollers should learn to check. The first is that this removal will almost always be obvious in the user's contributions. In fact any response on their own talk page is going to be interesting. The second is to check the timing of warnings using the talk page's history (you'd be surprised how many people combine a string of warnings and AIV reports long after any editing). After time one learns that histories and contributions are more important than things visible on a page. 'Levels' are not really important here. I would just say, although BLANKING is there as a policy/guideline, a quick cheeky revert to restore the warnings (maybe just once) doesn't hurt. -- zzuuzz (talk) 22:29, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Most admins will take the removal of a warning from an editor's talk page to mean that the editor has read and understood the warning. Further violations will be dealt with on that basis. Mjroots (talk) 13:32, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    African American or African-American?

    While the article is African American, there are a number of articles like List of African-American fraternities and sororities that use the hyphen and even the African American article has a considerable number of usages of African-American, though fewer than African American. I can't find any guidance, suggestions? Naraht (talk) 23:17, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Naraht I believe that Wikipedia hyphenates African-American as an adjective, but not African American as a noun, see multiple requested moves at Talk:African-American culture. I notice that is not consistently applied in African Americans. TSventon (talk) 23:54, 28 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Ah. In African-American Fraternity, "African-American" is single Adjective, and thus hyphenated, but in the phrase African American, it serves as a noun (with African perhaps viewed as an adjective to it. And I see *lots* of attempts to standardize to a broad no-hyphen standard. I think I'll go with that, even though it can lead to some oddities, when talking about the emphasis for a college social fraternity, [[List of African-American fraternities and sororities|African American]] would be the way to go. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Naraht (talk • contribs) 00:08, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    File:Liverpool FC.svg

    Hi ,why this user publicated this logo (File:Liverpool FC.svg) for 2 articles, regarding the Wikipedia:Non-free content ,for logos used for 1 article but why the user publicated this logo for 2 articles?? (Google translator) AbchyZa22 (talk) 08:11, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    @AbchyZa22 Because that logo is the logo for both teams, and whoever uploaded it did the whole process both times Ultraodan (talk) 08:41, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Citation inside or outside closing round bracket?

    Should it be (statement to be verified)[1] or (statement to be verified[1]) ? Thanks. Masato.harada (talk) 13:45, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    outside. – robertsky (talk) 13:54, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @Masato.harada: Guidance is provided at WP:REFPUNCT: If the reference is specifically for content enclosed in parentheses, it should also stay within them. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 14:31, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    La República (Costa Rica)

    I just had to create a redirect from La Republica (Costa Rica), which surprised me. I thought our search function captured things like that? Valereee (talk) 15:41, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Just had to do it again, creating a redirect from Magon Prize to Magón Prize. Valereee (talk) 16:41, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Valereee, my hunch is that this is probably due to diacritics. The geniuses who hang out at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical) can probably give you a more definitive answer. Cullen328 (talk) 19:24, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks, Cullen, I'll go there! Valereee (talk) 19:39, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Can anyone revert content?

    I thought only registered users could revert content.

    What is the purpose of registration, if unregistered users can revert long-time users on a whim?

    Why is registration so strongly encouraged, if it ultimately makes no difference?

    Honest questions. Thank you. PB57 (talk) 23:04, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Hello @PumpkinButter. You should read WP:ACCOUNT. IP users can't edit most protected pages and have a much harder time being recognized by other editors, since the IP is just a jumble of letters and numbers. Plus, your IP address is now completely public to everyone everywhere. It can be pretty uncomfortable. Tarlby (t) (c) 00:04, 30 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Lee Grant PB57 (talk) 23:04, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    @PumpkinButter: Everybody can revert unless the page is protected and they cannot edit at all. See Wikipedia:Why create an account? PrimeHunter (talk) 00:03, 30 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Additions not included for 2025 Myanmar earthquake

    My additions to the page "2025 Myanmar earthquake" was not included. I cannot see it. Why is this? I have not edited wikipedia for some time, so please help me to get back into editing and explain to me why my text was not included. Thank you Prof. Dr. Emeritus Max Wyss Where will I see your answer? On my page "talk" there is nothing new. My email would be max@maxwyss.ch MaxWyss (talk) 12:43, 30 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    The edit being referred to is this revision at 17:02, 29 March 2025, which was reverted with the edit summary "Please fix the errors + add citations". @MaxWyss I think the edit summary is pretty self-explanatory (and welcome back to Wikipedia!). Jolly1253 (talk) 13:36, 30 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
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