Wikipedia:Help desk

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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. ; a volunteer will visit you there shortly!

There is currently 2 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)

@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)

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)

Love the analogy! DMacks (talk) 13:10, 24 March 2025 (UTC)

Thanks. Electricmemory (talk) 23:13, 27 March 2025 (UTC)

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)

Electoral posters are not neutral by nature, please use normal picture of the candidate instead. Tutwakhamoe (talk) 22:10, 25 March 2025 (UTC)

I think it can fit the Electoral history section. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 22:26, 25 March 2025 (UTC)

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)

Fair enough. Not completely unheard of, though:[1] Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 17:10, 26 March 2025 (UTC)

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)

@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)

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)

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:

• Special:Diff/1282486341 - me removing the messages (undoing bot edit)
• Special:Diff/1282486401 - me putting back the messsages (undoing bot edit)

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

I found this guideline: Wikipedia:Edit_requests#Archived_edit_requests. Still want a response here though. Justjourney (talk) 19:53, 26 March 2025 (UTC)

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)

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)

@Commander Keane So is what I was doing wrong, and should I stop doing it? Justjourney (talk) 01:17, 27 March 2025 (UTC)

@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)

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)

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)

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)

Thanks! :) Country100% (talk) 09:23, 27 March 2025 (UTC)

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)

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)

Which part(s) of which instruction(s) seem(s) to induce a struggle, Logan9839? -- Hoary (talk) 22:08, 27 March 2025 (UTC)

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)

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)

Thank you, that worked! Logan9839 (talk) 17:04, 28 March 2025 (UTC)

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)

@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)

@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)

Help

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

SMYTI (tk|CNTBTN)

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)

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)

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)

Probably SMK stands for: sekolah menengah kebangsaan, national secondary school. Lectonar (talk) 12:51, 28 March 2025 (UTC)

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)

Also see WP:CIR, which plays into that field, at least partly. Lectonar (talk) 11:46, 28 March 2025 (UTC)

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)

@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)

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)

@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)

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)

Xpander1, I would not consider it a PA, but why would you want to make such a comment? I don't see what benefit there is to it. Presumably you want them to learn about notability (or whatever the case may be) and no matter how ignorant they may be about their own state of ignorance regarding some guideline, telling them about it, even if it is the truth, is not likely to win them over to your point of view. It seems more likely it will make them dig in their heels and maybe drag you into the hole they are digging for themselves. Mathglot (talk) 06:43, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

@Srbernadette: Kindly acquaint yourself with how to add categories. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 11:37, 28 March 2025 (UTC)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

@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)

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)

outside. – robertsky (talk) 13:54, 29 March 2025 (UTC)

@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)

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)

Just had to do it again, creating a redirect from Magon Prize to Magón Prize. Valereee (talk) 16:41, 29 March 2025 (UTC)

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)

Thanks, Cullen, I'll go there! Valereee (talk) 19:39, 29 March 2025 (UTC)

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)

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)

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

@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)

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. MaxWyss (talk) 12:43, 30 March 2025 (UTC)

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)

@MaxWyss: It looks like you tried to add an image from your hard disk. You have to upload it before you can use it in Wikipedia. See Wikipedia:File upload wizard. And see Help:Referencing for beginners. Answers are usually given where the question was asked. Some answers will alert you but it varies. I alerted you by writing {{ping|MaxWyss}}. You can click "subscribe" at a section heading to get automatic notifications. At Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-echo you can choose whether to only get them when you are logged in or also get an email. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:19, 30 March 2025 (UTC)

Really complex merge situation

So, I have marked type 051B destroyer and Chinese destroyer Shenzhen for merging. Now, what make this complicated is that Chinese destroyer Shenzhen is to be merged into the type 051B article(because the type 051B is a one ship class), and then the type 051B article gets moved to Chinese Destroyer Shenzhen. this is because doing this would simply the wikidata link process and because the type 051B article has more info(even though the Chinese destroyer shenzhen article has better and more photos). How do I approach this merge, as it is the first time i need to merge an article, and may I ask if there are any tools for merging? Even better if someone could do the merge for me pls Thehistorianisaac (talk) 15:26, 30 March 2025 (UTC)

@Thehistorianisaac:, are you asking what a merged article about type 051B destroyer and Chinese destroyer Shenzhen should look like? If so, you could ask at WP:WPMH talk and/or look for articles on other one ship classes. You could use your sandbox if you want to experiment. The merged article does not have to be perfect as it can always be improved later. type 051B destroyer is older so it makes sense to merge the other article into it.

If you want to know what to do after updating, look at Wikipedia:Merging#How to merge. To move the "type 051B article" to "Chinese Destroyer Shenzhen" use Wikipedia:Requested moves/Technical requests as you need a Wikipedia:Round-robin move. TSventon (talk) 09:57, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

Oh ok thanks.

Also are there any tools to do a merge? Additionally how do I close the discussion and stuff? Thehistorianisaac (talk) 11:59, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Merging explains how to close the discussion (and stuff) and says that you can do it as an involved editor. It doesn't mention a tool, so I don't believe there is one. Which text, if any, to merge is an editorial decision, so I don't see how it could be automated. TSventon (talk) 12:37, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

Can't log-in via Foxfire, but can log-in via Safari

I've been on Wikipedia for over 20 years, and been posting & editing for over 15 years. I've had Foxfire as my default web browser for more than a decade I'm sure, so most of my entries on Wikipedia have been done while using Foxfire as my browser. About four days ago I found myself unable to log on, as my name & customary password weren't accepted in the log-in fields. Even after I'd cleared my cache & cookies.

I've had no idea why this happened.

Just yesterday using Safari I was able to use a "special procedure" to log-in, which accepted my name and my customary Wikipedia password. So I'm able to look at my Watchlist and my most recently developed articles, and I'm able to submit this request for help.

But what do I need to do to utilize Foxfire again as my browser of choice. Thanks.Joel Russ (talk) 21:16, 30 March 2025 (UTC)

Foxfire, or Firefox? Maproom (talk) 21:28, 30 March 2025 (UTC)

@Joel Russ: I am guessing it could be due to Wikimedia login changes from about 2 weeks ago. This comment says if "you use cookie / ad blockers, you might have to allowlist the domain auth.wikimedia.org now". Commander Keane (talk) 23:15, 30 March 2025 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply. (Sorry about misspelling Firefox.) But does this mean I must permanently disable my ad blocker and cookie limiter? If so, won't this allow all sorts of cookies and ads in the future?Joel Russ (talk) 23:54, 30 March 2025 (UTC)

no, your blocker should have a way to whitelist (allow) a certain URL mgjertson (talk) (contribs) 19:44, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

I suddenly got "There seems to be a problem with your login session; this action has been canceled as a precaution against session hijacking. Please resubmit the form. You may receive this message if you are blocking cookies." but I was able to log-in fine about 10 hours ago from the same PC and browser. I was locked out for about half an hour. Restarting the browser, and bypassing cookie/cache by using private mode didn't resolve it either, but half an hour later, I am back in like usual. Graywalls (talk) 03:42, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

@Graywalls: That was a Wikimedia-wide problem, it appears to be sorted now, see Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard#Various_ongoing_errors_with_my_account. DuncanHill (talk) 03:48, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

I just had that happen to me, Firefox as well. Found that I had to click the shield in the address bar, turn off "Enhanced Tracking Protection" (toggle switch), and then log in. It then gave a second, different, error message on the login page saying something like "your session has likely expired, please log in again", but then it had a different button "Log in via central". I clicked that and here I am. Not sure how long I was "signed out", but between finding the "You've been signed out due to an anomaly" message and logging back in, it was about 45 minutes. And so far, going and turning "Enhanced Tracking Protection" back on after sign-in has not caused any issues of being logged back out or anything. Zinnober9 (talk) 04:03, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

https://downdetector.com/status/wikipedia/ Looks like it flared up for a bit and came down. Graywalls (talk) 04:23, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

Is it possible to change Wikipedia Time to 12 hour clock and the date format to month day year?

Does anyone know if its possible to change the Wikipedia time to 12 hours clock and date format to month day year? Isla🏳️‍⚧ 10:45, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

@Isla You can manipulate how you personally see the times / dates in threads like this at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-rendering. Articles can have their default set as dmy or mdy by using the templates {{Use dmy dates}} or {{Use mdy dates}}, which is often done to correspond to the version of English being used (see WP:ENGVAR). Mike Turnbull (talk) 11:02, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

Issue with Creating a Stub for "Andrew Koenig (programmer)" on Persian Wikipedia

Hello,

I translated the introductory section of the English Wikipedia article "Andrew Koenig (programmer)" into Persian to create a stub article on Persian Wikipedia. My main motivation was that the Persian Wikipedia article "ضدالگو" (translated from the English Wikipedia article Anti-pattern) references Andrew Koenig, and I believe he is an important figure in this context.

However, when I attempted to publish the stub, an automatic filter on Persian Wikipedia blocked the submission, displaying the warning: "(Adding a link to a weblog or forum)". After asking for help on the Persian Wikipedia Help Desk, I was informed that this might be due to a URL containing "wordpress" in the references, specifically this source: 🔗 https://lbsitbytes2010.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/andrew-r-koenig/

Additionally, I was advised that this source might not be reliable and that I should consider requesting the deletion of the English article due to possible notability concerns. However, I find this suggestion questionable because:

The English article has been translated into five other languages.

Other Wikipedia articles link to it.

The notability of Andrew Koenig in the field of software development, particularly regarding C++ idioms and anti-patterns, seems well-established.

My primary goal is to publish a stub article on Persian Wikipedia, not to delete the English article. I suspect the automatic filter may have mistakenly blocked the article due to an overgeneralized rule.

Could you please advise on the best approach to address this issue? Is there a way to demonstrate the notability of the English article more effectively, or should I seek an exemption for the automatic filter in Persian Wikipedia?

Thank you for your help.

Best regards, Arbabi second (talk) 12:51, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

We cannot help you with issues on the Persian Wikipedia; each version of Wikipedia is a separate project, with their own editors and policies. They likely have a Help Desk of their own where you can ask this question. 331dot (talk) 12:55, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

@331dot

Thank you for your response. I understand that each Wikipedia operates independently, and I originally asked for help on Persian Wikipedia. However, the editors there specifically suggested that I bring this issue to English Wikipedia and even consider nominating "Andrew Koenig (programmer)" for deletion due to possible notability concerns.

I am simply following their recommendation and seeking clarification on whether the article meets English Wikipedia’s notability standards. If it does, I would like to reference it properly in Persian Wikipedia without issues.

I appreciate any guidance on how to proceed. Arbabi second (talk) 13:20, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

I can't tell you what you should do on the Persian Wikipedia, but it seems like he's notable as far as we are concerned(I glanced at the article, but didn't examine it in depth). It is entirely possible that he is notable here but not on the Persian Wikipedia, due to differences in notability guidelines. 331dot (talk) 13:27, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

@اربابی دوم: I'm not autoconfirmed at the Persian Wikipedia so I cannot see their filter logs but maybe you can see something at [4]. It's hard to help without knowing the language or seeing the log or filter. Maybe you just have to avoid wordpress.com. I could save the url in my Persian sandbox but the filter might be namespace-dependent and there may be no way to make an exemption without editing the filter code itself in a way you will probably not get approved. The spam blacklist has a page with exceptions but filters work differently. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:44, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

@اربابی دوم According to WP:RSPWORDPRESS, Wordpress should never be used to back up claims about living people on en:Wikipedia but we don't have a filter to actually prevent its use, as it is allowed in some circumstances (see link). I suggest you remove that citation in the Persian article and try to find a better source for the statement here on the English article. Mike Turnbull (talk) 14:03, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

@Michael D. Turnbull Thank you for your guidance, but the Persian version of the article is only a stub intended to introduce this person, who is mentioned in a relatively important article. In this regard, this source actually plays a central role, because other sources deal with details such as the names of books that have not been translated into Persian at all. Arbabi second (talk) 14:17, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

@PrimeHunter Thank you for your guidance. I also didn't have any problems on the Persian Wikipedia sandbox. I am currently thinking about this issue and welcome your guidance. Arbabi second (talk) 14:06, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

Hello, @اربابی دوم.

The article Andrew Koenig (programmer) appears to be woefully badly supported by citations. An obituary of his father which doesn't even mention him is a completely irrelevant waste of time. The Wordpress article is almost certainly not reliable. There is no value in copying that source (or most of the others) over to an article in a different language.

I'm not sure whether I have the time (or the interest) to clean up that article, but I will certainly tag it for its inadequate sourcing. ColinFine (talk) 14:51, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

False and misleading image in Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen

I've removed the image File:Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen Front Page.png from Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen (thought to be the first magazine in history). The description and translation at Commons is just wrong, to the point where I wonder if it's just incompetence (at reading blackletter and German) or even deliberately deceptive: The image linked there isn't from the magazine, but from a collection of songs to be sung in church. I'm not sure how to go about correcting the page at Commons, though. --Florian Blaschke (talk) 18:26, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

The error could have been copied from https://alts.co/vintage-magazines/, without noticing that the text in the image contradicts the page title. It looks like a version of the title page (image 9) from Commons:File:Erbauliche Lieder-Sammlung zum Gottesdienstlichen Gebrauch in den Vereinigten Evangelisch-Lutherischen Gemeinen in Pennsylvanien und den benachbarten Staaten (IA erbaulichelieder00evang).pdf and could be renamed via Commons:Commons:File renaming. TSventon (talk) 18:57, 31 March 2025 (UTC)