Wikipedia:Teahouse

Welcome to the Teahouse!
Your go-to place for friendly help with using and editing Wikipedia.

Question forumMeet your hostsArticles to improveBecome a host

Can't edit this page? Just use this link to ask for help on your talk page; a volunteer will visit you there shortly!

New to Wikipedia? See our tutorial for new editors or introduction to contributing page.
Note: Newer questions appear at the bottom of the Teahouse. Completed questions are archived within 2–3 days.

To read the newest questions, skip to bottom
About the Teahouse

Most recent archives
1237, 1238, 1239, 1240, 1241, 1242, 1243, 1244, 1245, 1246, 1247, 1248, 1249, 1250, 1251, 1252, 1253, 1254, 1255, 1256

Assistance for new editors unable to post here

This section is pinned and will not be automatically archived.

The Teahouse is frequently semi-protected, meaning the Teahouse pages cannot be edited by unregistered users (users with 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. Use this link to ask for help; a volunteer will reply to you there shortly. Alternatively, you can contact an experienced editor by visiting your homepage and clicking "Ask your mentor a question about editing".

There are currently 1 user(s) asking for help via the {{Help me}} template:


User talk:2A02:6680:110D:9664:A972:6003:D314:1056

Article talk page archiving

Hiya, do we have any policies/guidelines for archiving article talk pages? Or can I just cut-and-paste stuff when it gets too long? Thanks, GoldRomean (talk) 00:13, 4 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@GoldRomean, I don't think there are any specific guidelines on when to archive, it is just needed on long talk pages. WP:ARCHIVE has all the technical information on archiving, I would suggest setting up one of the archive bots as it will do it without human intervention. If you need more help feel free to ask or take a look at how other article talk pages are archived. Best, CF-501 Falcon (talk · contribs) 00:48, 4 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Gotcha, thanks! GoldRomean (talk) 01:11, 4 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@GoldRomean, just to add to that, since most talk pages aren't archived, because they don't get enough action, people are very likely to assume that there is no archive if you let an archive bot run at the default settings. I'd suggest raising both the minimum number of allowed threads and the maximum thread age, so that more conversations stay on the talk page. It's very annoying for the same conversation to come up again and again every year or couple of months. -- asilvering (talk) 17:40, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Further to this, keeping a minimum of four threads (|minthreadsleft=4) ensures that a table of contents is shown. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 17:52, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Rejected article about a living person

Courtesy link: Draft:Peter J. Howard

Hi! I am struggling to get my first article published successfully. Comments rejecting the article so far note its lack of 'reliable sources' that can be 'verified'. My subject, Professor Peter J. Howard, is a living person, an accomplished academic, well published and well known in his field of landscape studies. His books and journal articles are used by university, graduate and post-grad students throughout the English-speaking world. What he does not have, however, are articles written about him, though many books and journal articles cite his work. Mainstream media do not cover him, however, so there are no newspaper articles to cite. If 'notability' is therefore an issue, is there anything else I should be considering, apart from abandoning the article? Thank you for any thoughts on this! Lonepine0204 (talk) 17:32, 4 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Lonepine0204: Hi, welcome to the Teahouse! Unfortunately, notability is a requirement for someone to have an article on Wikipedia. The reason for this lies in Wikipedia's core pillar of verifiability, which is to say that any information in a Wikipedia article must be able to be supported with a citation to a reliable source. Notability is our standard to make sure that we're only hosting articles on subjects that we can actually write verifiably about--if there are no reliable sources, we can't write *anything* verifiably, and that means we can't have an article at all, regardless of how famous/deserving/etc. a subject might otherwise be.

It really is unfortunate, and it certainly imposes restraints on our coverage that can be unfair, since we necessarily have to follow what reliable sources choose to cover, and that choice is never without bias. But verifiability is our only way to have any confidence in the accuracy of the content we provide, so it is necessary, even with all its faults. Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 17:40, 4 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi! Thank you very much for your reply re. 'notability'. I've just been looking at 'notability criteria for academics' and it appears that my subject does in fact qualify (Criterion #8) as the founding editor of International Journal of Heritage Studies. He is listed as such in every issue, but how do I cite that? (No author, it's on the masthead in each issue.) Can you advise me on whom to appeal to on a decision regarding notability? Thanks again. Lonepine0204 (talk) 18:13, 4 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, @Lonepine0204. If his work gets cited, you may find that the he will meet the alternative formulation of notability for academics. ColinFine (talk) 18:12, 4 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you ColinFine. Yes, indeed. I've just been reading about that and I believe this will be a qualifying criterion for my subject (as well as Criterion #8: being founding editor of the International Journal of Heritage Studies, IJHS, published through Taylor and Francis). Lonepine0204 (talk) 18:17, 4 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You need to cite more independent sources. for example, "Howard s a Visiting Professor at Bournemouth University." is cited to Howard's Researchgate profile; you should be able to cite a Bournemouth University page (other than his own). Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 11:53, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for this pro tip! I have made your suggested adjustment to the article. Lonepine0204 (talk) 12:52, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

No you haven't. Perhaps your edit failed to save? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:49, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Uh, right! :) Should be published now. "Draft: Peter J. Howard" is the title. Lonepine0204 (talk) 17:04, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I can see your edit. The article looks much better now, but the "Academic Career" section has only two citations, and the latter two-thirds of it have none. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 12:19, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you Andy. I will keep working on this. I am under the impression, though, that the alternative formulation for "notability" and "verification," designed to accommodate articles about accomplished academics, required fewer of the kinds of citations that tend to elude professors who keep their heads down and stay out of the press. Can you say what would be an adequate number of citations in this Academic Career section? Or perhaps I should just curtail the facts, as I understand them to be, in that section? In any event, thank you again for your review. It's much appreciated (by this digital dinosaur). Lonepine0204 (talk) 13:04, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It's not a question of quantity; statements about living people must (with a few exceptions, not relevant here) be sourced, see WP:BLPRS. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 13:11, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

help desk and a tea house....

What is the difference between a help desk and a tea house? Whatback11 (talk) 16:11, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Functionally, not a lot.

Practically, the Teahouse is watched by people who are specifically committed to providing a welcoming experience to new users, even if they're asking very basic or commonly repeated questions, and to help them learn to edit productively.

The Help Desk is meant for users at all levels of Wikipedia experience to ask questions about editing -- after all, Wikipedia is a very large and complex project, with massive amounts of rules and guidelines, and no one person knows all of it.

Pretty much any question that can be asked at the Help Desk can also be asked at the Teahouse. Responses at the Tea House may be different in tone, and assume less prior knowledge of Wikipedia. Questions about how to get started; basic editing procedures; and how to learn Wikipedia's rules and culture are more suited to the Teahouse than the Help Desk. Avocado (talk) 16:32, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

So WP:TH is a place to ask basic questions? Whatback11 (talk) 16:43, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Pretty much. Avocado (talk) 16:48, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You can ask any sort of question at the Help Desk, but here you are more likely to get answers from people who understand that the questions may come from inexperienced or new users. 331dot (talk) 18:55, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

As others have said, you can ask a question either at the Teahouse or the Help Desk (please don't ask in both), but regulars at the Help Desk may use acronyms or refer to processes that a Wikipedia regular should be aware of; we try not to do that here if possible. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 20:13, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You also asked this at Wikipedia:Help desk#help desk and a tea house..... Please don't start duplicate discussions. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 12:12, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Biography Lead Query

In the first line of the lead, should the subject’s name be preceded by their military rank? See John Hartwell Cocke. Hoppyh (talk) 21:04, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yes @Hoppyh! It’s quite common among articles of military figures to have the rank and then the name. PhoenixCaelestis (Talk · Contributions) 21:41, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

help

hello, i wanted to post my profile on wikipedia, about me, and unfortunately it didnt work, can you please show me the perfect way or format to make a good wikipedia profile about me, thanks! Mbatayneh (talk) 21:44, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, @Mbatayneh, and welcome to the Teahouse.

I'm afraid that, like many people, you have a misunderstanding of what Wikipedia is.

Wikipedia does not host profiles - not one.

If you meet Wikipedia's criteria for notability - which means, roughly, that several people wholly unconnected with you have published material about you - then Wikipedia coud have an article about you, based on those independent sources. It would not be "your profile", as it would not belong to you, would not be controlled by you, and would not necessarily say what you wanted it to say.

If such sources exist, then there could be an article - but you are strongly discouraged from trying to write it yourself. If the sources do not exist, then there cannot be an article about you. Sorry. ColinFine (talk) 21:51, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

As I've mentioned before, in common usage, "profile" is just another word for "article". We have a profile of Tim Berners-Lee, and rightly so, and many more besides.

In the Wikipedia context, "profile" may refer to a user page [see User profile]; and we have a great many of those; including yours.

Please deal with the substantive issue; especially as this is The Teahouse, whose users are to be greated especially gently. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 11:37, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Discord group for Wikipedia

I have an account on Discord and a link from Wikipedia that is supposed to bring me into the Discord group but it doesn't work. Jstashpdx (talk) 23:13, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Jstashpdx what happens when you click the "join group" button on WP:DISCORD? '''[[User:CanonNi]]''' (talk • contribs) 00:41, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Jayanthi Kumaresh

Hello,

I am trying to understand what about the content on this page (Jayanthi Kumaresh) appears promotional. It earlier was indeed so (unintentionally) and has hence been edited to present a more neurtral tone and amply supported by citations. The tagger has indicated that there is still lots of puffery. Will anyone kindly help me review and edit the article to adhere to the wiki standards. Thank you.

Shyamala. Shyamalswiki (talk) 03:51, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Phrases such as represent India’s Musical Heritage and promote Indian classical music; rigorous Veena training; renowned violinist; excelled in sparkling glee; gave a sold-out concert at Sydney Opera House all come across as promotional. Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:59, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

“excelled in sparkling glee" is a quote from a review. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 11:31, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, but a cherry-picked quote. Shantavira|^{feed me} 14:44, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There are about 150 or so links where I do a google search and I am trying to figure out how to make an article about the subject using content from those sources. So, should I just be quoting lines from each of the articles - I thought, we could make factual statements and then give citations supporting it. Can you kindly pick one line out of the article and show me a rewritten version as a sample so I can understand what is wrong ? Shyamalswiki (talk) 16:17, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Submitting incomplete drafts?

Hi! I have a draft article that is maybe 80% complete. I am still working on collecting some references. Is it possible to submit for review, to check is there are any major issues I have missed, or is the common practice not to submit until the article is ready to publish? Thanks! LeeSawyer (talk) 05:51, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, LeeSawyer. You should only submit a draft for review at Articles for Creation when you truly believe that it is ready for the encyclopedia. Submitting a draft that you know will be declined just creates unnecessary extra work for reviewers who are already overworked. Cullen328 (talk) 07:47, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

A draft need not be 100% complete before submitting it, few actual articles are 100% complete. The basic rule of thumb that many reviewers use is, would a draft survive an Articles for Deletion discussion? If you think your draft would survive a hypothetical deletion discussion, and is properly sourced, you may submit it whenever you feel it is ready. But don't submit one just to get feedback, knowing that it won't be accepted. 331dot (talk) 08:14, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@LeeSawyer One suggestion would be to post a link to your draft at a Project Talk page that it fits. Then those editors who are most interested in its topic might like to comment or suggest additional material. Mike Turnbull (talk) 17:31, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Closing a merge proposal

Hello! I proposed that Politics of the Arizona Borderlands be merged into Arizona. I've closed the merge proposal after no consensus emerged in a week, but would somebody be able to look over the closure to make sure I didn't miss anything? Thank you! Horse.staple (talk) 06:33, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I want to create JCCA Page and have some Notable news references

I want to create JCCA Page and have some Notable news reffrances. i want to know this url is helpful to create a page or not, please find the below news url link -

-- Reena.rex (talk) 11:33, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I have applied list markup, for readability. Presumably, you mean "Jaipur Centre of Culture and Arts"? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 12:04, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Reena.rex, you're asking about the "Jaipur Centre of Culture and Arts". Among your links, I clicked on just one: "artist Himmat Shah's paintings, sculptures to be exhibited at Jaipur cultural centre". This says about JCCA:

"The Jaipur Centre of Culture and Arts is set to open on July 2 with an inaugural exhibition featuring the works of internationally renowned artist Himmat Shah."

"The JCCA director said the centre will provide a platform to the country's artists and art enthusiasts by enabling them to promote and showcase various forms of art and culture."

And that's all it says. This doesn't indicate notability. -- Hoary (talk) 12:08, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Question about Did You Know discussion

Hi!

I was wondering if someone could help me out...

I just nominated a new article I wrote for Did You Know, and everything is fine, except for the hook which needs additional references. Nominating the article was easy enough as there were designated spaces for the article title, the hook and the references, but now there's only the discussion page for Did You Know, I can't reply to the comments or edit the page on visual editor, and I don't know how to use the editing format it does allow and I'm kind of stumped. If anyone here could guide me through this, it would make this newbie very happy.

One of the comments also said that it would be failed if I didn't apply the corrections within a week, and I was also wondering if there is a way to ask for extentions.

Thanks! Moonshane1933 (talk) 12:51, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

For such a specialised part of Wikipedia, you would do better to ask at Wikipedia talk:Did you know. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:08, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Ok! Thanks! Moonshane1933 (talk) 21:24, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Notability: Criterion or Consensus

Upon assessing page notability it has come up a lot where people dispute whether or not a certain notability criterion applies, therefore it remains unclear, is it up to us or policies to determine notability? In other words which comes first criterion or consensus?

If policy comes first, then is consensus on notability about whether such-and-such criterion applies on a given subject?

If consensus comes first, then we can dispute til Sunday, everything from the reliability of reliable sources, to the credibility of notability guidelines. Xpander (talk) 13:03, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Policy should be put before a guideline, so consensus is most important. PhoenixCaelestis (Talk · Contributions) 14:07, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Xpander1, if policies and guidelines were always crystal clear and indisputable, then we could simply have bots or "Artificial Intelligence" make the decisions for us. But they aren't that cut and dried. There are always edge cases requiring nuanced decisions. So that is why Wikipedia is a consensus based project. Keep in mind that policies and formal guidelines are the product of community wide consensus. Local consensus in a debate about a specific topic can make specific decisions about that topic but can never override established policies. Guidelines usually contain language such as Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Cullen328 (talk) 16:55, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

So we can easily reach biased consensus if the participants share a similar point-of-view. What makes it possible to avoid that?

Unless we are presupposing that the community is diverse enough, participating in every decision-making process, we can't guarantee consensus is not biased or arbitrary. Therefore aren't we betting too much on consensus? Xpander (talk) 08:33, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Nothing in the World is perfect. Here we do the best we can, and we have over 20 years' of continually refined communal experience doing it. If you have concrete suggestions for how to do it better, with no counterbalancing drawbacks (such as making a process too unwieldy), suggest them, preferably at the WP:Village pump. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.6.81.243 (talk) 11:08, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

My first page creation - Victor Hazan

Hi all! I just created my first page about the Italian food public figure Victor Hazan I tried to follow all of the rules and guidelines. Does anyone have any advice or feedback before I submit the draft for review? CiaoAlfonsina! (talk) 13:53, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The purpose of submitting for review is to get such advice (or have the article published). Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:06, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! How long should I leave it in review before submitting? CiaoAlfonsina! (talk) 15:08, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Submit it as soon as you think it is ready. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:11, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@CiaoAlfonsina! I think that your draft will be acceptable but, if the reviewer suggests it needs more in-depth sources showing his notability, let me know as I have found many mentions of Hazan in newspapers available from newspapers.com, which I have access to. Mike Turnbull (talk) 17:25, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Amazing, thank you. CiaoAlfonsina! (talk) 17:37, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Article hijack = vandalism?

Is article hijacking, which is replacing an article's content with content about a completely different topic, considered a form of vandalism? 1isall (talk/contribs) 14:19, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, it is considered a form of vandalism. PhoenixCaelestis (Talk · Contributions) 14:36, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Once? Not necessarily. A new user might not understand disambiguation. They might believe that 'their' topic is more noteworthy. Persistent attempts at hijacking would be. --Onorem (talk) 15:03, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Please see WP:NOTVANDAL for more on this. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:05, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

1isall, when it comes to vandalism, intent is all important. Deliberately damaging the encyclopedia is vandalism. Accidentally damaging the encyclopedia due to inexperience or lack of skills is not vandalism. Cullen328 (talk) 16:59, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That is true. Any good faith attempt to improve the encyclopedia that doesn't end well is definitely not vandalism. 1isall (talk/contribs) 17:20, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

New band

Hi there, I found this new band called Chord Chaos and I found they didn't have a Wikipedia page. I decided I wanted to try and find it. The only info I can find on them is through Spotify, YouTube and their Instagram account. My draft page for the band has been declined for not having published, reliable, secondary sources that are independent of the subject. Can anyone give me a hand as to how I could get my page approved by adding more sources.

Would it help if I included references to more than just Spotify and YouTube?

Any help would be appreciated thank you BobElliott (talk) 14:56, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia requires significant coverage in multiple, independent, reliable sources.

See WP:LIBRARY for places where you can find, or get help finding, such sources. You may also get help at your local public library (or your school or college library, if you are a student). Remember that paper sources, as well as those found online, can be used.

But if you cannot find such sources, then it may be too soon for an article in this case. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:04, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

BobElliott "New" anything is usually not suitable for Wikipedia, because there are few independent sources with significant coverage of anything new. Wikipedia does not lead the coverage, it follows it. Wikipedia is the last place to write about something, not the first. 331dot (talk) 16:38, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@331dot@Pigsonthewing Thank you for your help :) BobElliott (talk) 22:15, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

How to import a template from a wiki to here

How to import a template from a wiki to here, specifically the Template:Main Page/Sisterprojects from Meta-Wiki??? (Alt: or someone could help me to import the template for me)

Thanks. DinhHuy2010 (talk · contribs · logs · rights · email · sandbox · links to user page · global contribs) 15:02, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You will need someone with admin rights to do that; ask at WP:AN. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:10, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

someone with admin rights to do that

What can a admin do here??? DinhHuy2010 (talk · contribs · logs · rights · email · sandbox · links to user page · global contribs) 15:13, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

An admin can import the template, as you requested. You cannot. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:27, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Also "import" mean convert the template code from that wiki to here with completely converted code suitable to this wiki.

(and also in additional to that, import revisions just require the "import" right, no need to be a admin)

Thanks.

(pinging @Pigsonthewing just in case) DinhHuy2010 (talk · contribs · logs · rights · email · sandbox · links to user page · global contribs) 15:16, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

No, "import " means "import". If you meant "rewrite the code", you should have said so. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:30, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Pigsonthewing Some advices for rewrite the code? (also this template I told is also have TemplateStyles) DinhHuy2010 (talk · contribs · logs · rights · email · sandbox · links to user page · global contribs) 15:37, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The right venue to request for importing revisions is Wikipedia:Requests for page importation. And import rights are generally held by admins (and one special case) on enwiki here. For converting it to be suitable on enwiki, make the request here Wikipedia:Requested templates. – robertsky (talk) 15:22, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Finish a wiki page

Hello are there people here who can help edit and finish a wiki page that has already been started? 73.60.75.31 (talk) 15:10, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Generally, no.

But you can ask on a relevant WikiProject and you might get lucky. If you tell us which article you have in mind, we can advise more specifically. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:33, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia articles aren't generally ever considered finished. New information may always come to light on any given topic, and there's always scope for improvement. -- D'n'B-📞 -- 20:13, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

How can I create better articles?

Hello, I was wondering how I can create better articles and improve on the current draft that I submitted? NathanielTheGreatEditor (talk) 19:51, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Welcome to the Teahouse, NathanielTheGreatEditor Looking at the current state of Draft:Fatality (gamer), my suggestions to you would be to familiarise yourself with how to use inline citations, to read Wikipedia:Reliable sources and to gain an understanding of Wikipedia:Notability, as summarised usefully at WP:GOLDENRULE (this latter point may or may not not help you with improve that draft, but it will help when it comes to selecting topics to write about in future). Cordless Larry (talk) 20:14, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

NathanielTheGreatEditor, I second what Cordless Larry says above. You've been editing for just three or four days. With so little experience, attempting to create a draft that will be accepted as an article is going to be very tough. You should first get more experience of improving existing, defective articles. One that you've already (and beneficially) tinkered with is SuperX (Operating System). Here's a sample of the article in its current state: The operating system embraces beginners, casual users and makes them feel at home. Simplicity doesn't mean feature-less. SuperX is as powerful and very handy for professionals and experts alike. The GNU utilities plus the software packages available are enough to be used for any task. SuperX is perfectly capable of being a desktop publishing setup, multimedia hub or even server. An exercise for you on your path towards GreatEditorNess: (i) Does this look OK? (ii) If it doesn't look OK, how might it be improved? Improve it. (iii) Also, if it doesn't look OK, what else in the article shares one or more of its problems? Fix it. (iv) But if the sample above does look OK, then take a break from editing Wikipedia for one or two days, and then reread and rethink. -- Hoary (talk) 22:49, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Not properly deflated message

I am writing an article on Carl Marsh, the composer, arranger and conductor. Sometimes when I go to publish/save my work I get the error message "Content is not properly deflated" with no explanation and I can't find this matter explained anywhere. I am sourcing all of my claims. What does this error message mean? How can I fix the error?

Confused, Chris King Chriskingstl (talk) 20:45, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Chriskingstl, welcome to the Teahouse. I guess the message is MediaWiki:Deflate-invaliddeflate: "Content provided is not properly deflated". It's not your fault. The documentation says "Error message if the content passed to Deflate was not deflated (compressed) properly". It indicates a problem in your browser, our software, or the communication between them. What is your browser? Does it happen every time for the same edit? Can you try the same edit in another browser? It appears to mostly or only happen in VisualEditor and not the source editor. There is a little discussion but no fix at phab:T381673. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:14, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Draft declined – looking for guidance on reliable sources

Hi! My article submission was declined on 6 June 2025 for not having adequate reliable sources. I want to improve it but I’m not sure which sources are considered reliable or how to fix the referencing. Could someone please review my draft and guide me? Here is the draft link: Draft:Ajami Records. Samikanawati (talk) 22:50, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Samikanawati, it looks like the reviewers are telling you that you need more reliable and independent source material to demonstrate that the subject is notable (and some special guidelines apply regarding the notability of organizations and companies). You can see how sources are evaluated for reliability here, and for independence here. Seraphimblade ^{Talk to me} 02:07, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, @Samikanawati, and welcome to the Teahouse.

A Wikipedia article should be a neutral summary of whatseveral people who have no connection whatever with the subject have chosen to publish about the subject in reliable publications, and very little else. See WP:Golden rule for the criteria that your sources must meet. Neither of your sources comes anywhere near this: WP:DISCOGS is not regarded as a reliable source because it is user-generated, and Elaph (as far as I can tell from Google Translate) has only a passing mentin of Ajami Records.

You need to begin by finding several sources which meet all the criteria in WP:Golden Rule - if you cannot, then you will know that the label does not currently meet Wikipedia's criteria for notability and there is no point in spending more time on this. (Sources do not have to be in English, but they must meet those criteria).

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) 11:01, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

When should you add page numbers/quotes to citations?

Hey everyone,

When I was in in the process of writing my first article (entrelacement), I wasn't sure if I should have added page numbers to the books I cited. Initially I had them, but that caused a bunch of citations that were the same with only the page number differing, so I got rid of them in the final draft. I also have a similar question about including quotes from books/articles in the citation. The article was created with citation [3] initially being two different citations, with one having a quote in the citation and one not. An editor from WP:DYK got rid of the quote and merged the two citations into one at my request.

Generally speaking, in the future, should I eliminate quotes/page numbers in order to keep the references section smaller/looking better, or does it not matter and it's fine to have many near-duplicates?

Thanks in advance! InfernoHues (talk) 23:02, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@InfernoHues, references really should be as precise as possible, so if you have page numbers from books, definitely include them. Guidelines and instructions can be found at Wikipedia:Citing sources § Citing multiple pages of the same source and Help:References and page numbers. The {{sfn}} (shortened footnote) template makes this relatively simple. ClaudineChionh (she/her · talk · email · global) 03:55, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Saconne-Joly Part II

Hi! I recently asked about thisn topic but more focused on , making an article for Edie Saccone Joly, the 11-year old trans daughter member of the Saccone-Joly family. Everyone agreed that there is only one article on a reliable source and that its an interview so not really reliable.This would be a case of WP:Too soon. However, thinking about an article on the whole family, I found that there are four or five articles on reliable sources that cover the family in deep. And this is not even counting the articles on non reliable sources. Anyways I have been thinking about making an article, a stub perhaps, covering the entire family with some basic information. What do you guys think? Also, no Im not related to them. But Im running out of nicknames so im using their last names as my nickname on this comment!Jeanette Saconne-Joly Martin (dynamite me!) 03:46, 7 June, 2025 (UTC)

JeanetteMartin, if you have found four or five articles in reliable sources that cover a subject in depth, and if these sources are independent of the subject, then it sounds as if the subject is eligible for an article. (There are exceptions, but I shan't go into these.) But I have to say that I'm wary of articles on families: these tend to be concoctions of snippets about minor matters (or mere trivia) related to individual members of the family, few (if any) of whom are actually notable. I've never heard of the family or of Edie Saccone Joly: when I ask Google for material about ESJ, it serves me a pile of sources that would be utterly unsatisfactory for a Wikipedia article. ¶ Your name here is JeanetteMartin: adding a nickname to it doesn't help communication with other editors, using as a nickname the surname of a family you hope to write about strikes me as a poor idea. -- Hoary (talk) 08:11, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

JeanetteMartin Please deal with the issue of your signature, as advised on your talk page. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 10:52, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Dead links

What is a dead link? Nerdy Cat714 (talk) 06:11, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Usually a dead link is when the link's page cannot be found (see Error 404). Migfab008 (talk) 06:35, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

See Link rot and WP:LINKROT. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 10:49, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! Nerdy Cat714 (talk) 12:47, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

My whole area has been ip blocked since 2020

Because my whole location has been ip blocked since 2020 by user ST47(I moved to this location in 2022), I cannot even reset my password. Now I have forgotten my password. Please help. I will be locked out if I change this one device from which I am typing now. I tried using VPN, but that also does not work. Nathularog (talk) 07:38, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

~~Since you are currently logged in you should be able to just go to Special:Preferences and reset your password.~~ My mistake, you need to have your password to reset it this way.

Register an email contact for your account, if you have not already done so. See WP:ENABLEEMAIL. Then you will be able to use Special:PasswordReset to obtain a temporary password via email. Log in with the temporary password, go to Special:Preferences, and use the temporary password to reset your password. Meters (talk) 08:00, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

My email is registered. I can see messages from Wikipedia on my email. Also its written in the Preference section that "Account recovery is enabled." But no option comes for temporary password if I go to login page. There shows no "forgot password" option. The option to "obtain a temporary password via email" can only be done if my whole region is not IP blocked Nathularog (talk) 08:06, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Did you go to Special:PasswordReset? You called it a "login page" but it is not the normal login page. Meters (talk) 08:31, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, I've just made a draft article and don't know where to find it?

I've made a draft article in my sandbox but don't know where to find it. I also labelled it an abbreviation instead of its full name because I thought it would just be for me

Thank you for your time ForFawkesSake (talk) 09:37, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Your edit history shows this Draft:RSU 13 ME. Theroadislong (talk) 09:55, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The abbreviated name is not a problem, because when you eventually, via Wikipedia:Articles for creation, submit the Draft for review, the reviewer will (probably even if they Decline it for further improvement, and certainly if they Accept it) amend (by moving) the title to what they think most appropriate.

However, at the moment, if submitted the Draft will certainly be Declined, for the reason that the previous commenter has placed at the top.

To qualify for an article, a subject has to be WP:Notable, as demonstrated by citing most of its contents to published Reliable sources completely independent of the subject; only minor uncontroversial facts can be corroborated by sources connected to the subject (such as its own website) and these do not count towards notability.

So far your draft cites no sources at all, and appears to be based entirely on the subject's website. Most of what you have included should have inline citations to its sources (presumably the website) but the Educational Initiatives section should be removed (Wikipedia is not interested in subjects' own 'mission statements' and the like).

You need to find several sources completely independent of the subject (which excludes material based on its press releases, or on interviews with its staff) and build the article with summaries of those. To use a culinary analogy, the material you have so far is mostly allowable garnishing, but none of it is the main ingredients. And of course if you cannot identify and use these ingredients, Wikipedia will not accept the recipe. Hope this helps. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.6.81.243 (talk) 10:54, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Use of definite article

I made a help desk request on 6 June for the following:

Can someone please point me at the MOS recommendation that we should use (for example) "singer-songwriter Bob Dylan" without a definite article, rather than "the singer-songwriter Bob Dylan"? I'm sure I've seen it somewhere. Thanks.

User:jmcgnh replied:

This issue seems to be one where it should be up to individual editors to decide which way to do it and it should never be something that a different editor, just as a matter of their preferred style, should change.

Can I ask for a second opinion? I am sure that in the past I have read in MOS that we should avoid referring to an individual by describing them as "the (noteworthy role)", as in my Bob Dylan example. I seem to remember the reason was something to do with maintaining NPOV and so not distinguishing them with the definite article, which implies they are exceptional. Have I imagined all this? Masato.harada (talk) 10:52, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Welcome to the Teahouse, Masato.harada. I see you are looking for additional answers.

(A {{help}} request is not the same as the help desk.)

You already engaged with another editor over the essay WP:FALSETITLE - not an MOS directive - which cites the style guide of another publication which is not binding on Wikipedia. But if you read the last sentence of the essay it says essentially the same thing as my intended-to-be-helpful reply. — jmcgnh^{(talk) (contribs)} 11:30, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Aha! Thank you, this essay is was what I was remembering. Thanks again. Masato.harada (talk) 15:16, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Publishing of Article

Hi, I have created an article @ User:Born A Geek/Scanty, but the article is not available publicly, is there something I didn’t do or any suggestion on how to make it public Born A Geek (talk) 12:00, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, you created your article in the wp:userspace, where it is not visible to the public. The userspace is a place for you to quietly develop your draft or introduce yourself as an editor. To make the article available to public, it has to be in the mainspace, where all articles reside. Technically, you can move your article to mainspace by yourself, but I don't think it is ready to be moved yet. Per Wikipedia's inclusion criteria, Articles generally require significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the topic (see WP:42). The currently cited sources are lackluster. Two of them even has the exact same text. Ca ^{talk to me!} 12:46, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

When you have done as User:Ca suggests, please submit the article for review, via the process described at WP:AFC. If the reviewer deems it ready, they will publish it to "mainspace". If not thy will give you further advice. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 13:58, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Re-using sources

How can one reuse sources so that you don't have to type out the ref tag every time? (The abcdefg ref tag thing) Thanks! Hi I'm Sailing427, but you can call me Sailing. Look at my profile. (talk) 13:21, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Sailing427alt Welcome to the Teahouse. We do this re-use via something called named references. See that link for details. The practicalities are a little different depending on whether you edit via the Visual or Source editor. There is a subsection at Help:Introduction covering referencing with the alternative editors. Mike Turnbull (talk) 13:38, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

how do i make my own article

i wanna make my own artice but i do not know how to Liamlolzz (talk) 17:22, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Liamlolzz See Help:Your first article. I strongly suggest you work to improve existing articles first, since there is a lot to learn. Mike Turnbull (talk) 17:26, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Chat GPT

Courtesy link: Draft:Alaya The Goddess Mc

Hi I received help generating an article about the artist from chat got how can I receive assistance with editing in order to edit my draft and have it published Anuhiphopnation (talk) 18:46, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You have already asked this at Wikipedia:WikiProject Articles for creation/Help desk#18:37, 7 June 2025 review of submission by Anuhiphopnation and received replies there. We advise against starting duplicate discussions. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 19:38, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I'm advanced.

Can advanced editors go to the Teahouse for editing? Why do advanced users use the Help Desk, while the new editors use here, (referring to the Teahouse)?I want to use the Teahouse. TweetyBirdIsCoolBoi (talk) 19:50, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Anyone can use either; The Teahouse is focussed on newbies and thus more tolerant of newbie errors. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 21:06, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Copyright status confirmation

Hello. I wasn't sure of the best place to ask this, so I thought I would ask here to be safe! I've uploaded an image to Wikipedia for a draft I am currently working on File:La Roncière translation.png, it is a screenshot of a page of a book written by Charles de La Roncière called 'Le Flibustier Mystérieux: Histoire d’un trésor caché'. La Roncière himself died in 1941. The book is written in French and was published in France in 1934. The screenshot I took is of a digital copy of the book hosted on Flipbuilder [[1]]. I assume that as 70 years have passed since the author's death in 1941, the book would be in the public domain, at least in France. I am unsure about the USA or if it would be acceptable on Wikipedia currently. Basically I am just double checking this can be used on Wikipedia without violating copyright! Thanks! (Also would greatly appreciate being directed to a more appropriate place to ask these types of questions in future as I am still pretty new to Wikipedia!) 11WB (talk) 20:19, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You'd do better to ask at c:Commons:Village pump/Copyright.

Artist Article edits

Hello! I am writing a page on the artist Natalie White. It has been declined and I've made edits/added sources in line with feedback. Here is the draft. Any suggestions to get it approved would be amazing. Draft:Natalie White Atelier2002 (talk) 22:37, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Editing an image caption

Hi. I want to edit the caption to an image, but the main edit page for the article doesn't include images or any sort of placeholder for them, nor any caption text or way to edit it.

How do I find the place to make such edits?

The article in question is Vercingetorix. The image is one of plaque in a museum in Rome which contains erroneous information that is about 2/3 of the way down on the right.

Thanks! Chris Lowe (talk) 23:38, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]