Wikibooks:Reading room/Archives/2014/April

Wikitext
Hi, I'm new to wikibooks and was wondering if there is something anyone would be able to link me to that would give me an overall summary of how 'wikitext' works. I'm catching on to little bits, such as how to make a sub-heading and how to sign my username but just need a little bit of help with how the rest of it works! Thank you. Kristddd (discuss • contribs) 23:11, 10 April 2014 (UTC)
 * I replied also on your talk page but I'll add it here too for others to see...
 * Regarding your post on Reading room/Technical Assistance, I'd recommend reading Using Wikibooks/Wiki-Markup. In addition selecting Browse or Random book on the menu on the left of the screen and just investigating other books will help.--ЗAНИA [[Image:Flag_of_Estonia.svg|15px]]talk 00:06, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

Hi, Refer to Editing Wikitext for the basics of markup.Armchair (discuss • contribs) 14:20, 13 April 2014 (UTC)

Multimedia
Hello fellow Wikipedians! I was wondering if any of you would be able to help me figure out a way to include multimedia (i.e photos/diagrams) in my Wikibook? I've tried uploading files that i have saved to my computer but with no luck. I would also like to use images from Wiki Commons but have been experiencing the same problem. Any help would be massively appreciated! Thanks everyone! AlexandraChanner (discuss • contribs) 14:52, 4 April 2014 (UTC)

Blue text
Hi, I am a new user and am working as part of a group of six people looking at the "Always On" aspect of the Digital Media and Culture Yearbook project at the University of Stirling.

My query is how do I get certain words that are already in Wikipedia, such as 'bandwidth' to appear in blue (so that they link to Wikipedia) when I use these words in my own contribution? Sorry if this is a really silly question. Hope you can help. Thanks.George Berrie (discuss • contribs) 21:59, 31 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Hi George Berrie.
 * Because this is Wikibooks, if you write an ordinary wikilink, it only links to a page with that name on Wikibooks. If you write markup , you get a redlink, Reykjavík, because there isn't a book called that.
 * Books are relatively self-contained; that's part of what makes them books. So we don't link all that often to other wikimedia projects, such as Wikipedia.  There's a prefix for each of the sister projects, that can be used to create links to them; but sister links within a book are relatively few, and are typically set aside from the text, such as in a box on the right or in a list at the bottom of a page.  Here's a link to a Wikipedia page:  Reykjavík.  --Pi zero (discuss • contribs) 01:45, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for insight re usual practice for Wikibooks - really appreciated. If I were to make a link - such as the one you made for Reykjavik - how would I do this? I thought perhaps highlighting the word, then right-clicking to save the short-cut would work - but it doesn't. I suspect I have to use some markup codes - is that correct? Thanks again.George Berrie (discuss • contribs) 17:27, 1 April 2014 (UTC)


 * If you edit the markup code of this thread, you'll find that the markup code I wrote to produce that wikilink to Wikipedia was Reykjavík . The "w:" tels it to link to Wikipedia, and the part after the pipe (the "|") is how the link appears on the page.


 * (This touches on a sore spot of mine, in Wikimedia Foundation politics. I think it's a mistake for the foundation to be pouring resources into building tools to isolate users from the wiki markup.  When working directly with wiki markup, you can learn by seeing what others have written, and slowly learn the few simple techniques that make up nearly all of wiki markup writing, as you need them, each step building on the previous ones you've learned.  And tack on advanced techniques when you really need them, as small add-ons to what you already knew.  But when working with all those tools, you often don't get to learn by seeing others' work, and the things you learn don't get you any closer to the really advanced things.)
 * --Pi zero (discuss • contribs) 18:51, 1 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Seconded. Frankly, I’m advocating in favor of using “user-visible” markup pretty much everywhere for I guess over a decade now, and the somewhat recent addition of that certain feature to MediaWikis hosted by the foundation made me feel like there’s an ongoing conspiracy to undermine my work.  — Ivan Shmakov (d ▞ c) 19:37, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Thanks very much once again - I've cracked it now. I do agree with the sentiments from both of you - it seems as if a lot of energy (at least in the initial stages of learning) can go into learning/navigating the markup code rather than learning/advancing a topic per se.George Berrie (discuss • contribs) 16:33, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Glossary Help
Hi all, I'm new to Wikibooks and I am engaging in a collective project looking at Online Identity. Our project is going well, however I have noticed that our glossary is lacking and we are perhaps slightly unsure of how to use it. I was wondering what sort of words we should be considering adding? Is it in general that we should be adding words which are the main focus of our project, or should we be considering any words in our project that have the potential to be contentious? Many thanks, RedGebsKasia (discuss • contribs) 14:55, 1 April 2014 (UTC)


 * As a book creator I rarely see a need for a glossary in today's connected world, unless the terms are very obscure and would consider only doing it at a lower priority for a book that would be intended for print. As a reader (and in normal editorial practice) I prefer linking the terms to Wikibooks, Wikipedia or Wikitionary (in that order) or even cross linking to the section of the book that provides the information.
 * Keeping a glossary complete and accurate is a work into itself, if we considered how wikibooks are edited it would require extreme dedication as not to be a futile effort. --Panic (discuss • contribs) 20:05, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

This was very helpful, thank you for your response! RedGebsKasia (discuss • contribs) 13:39, 4 April 2014 (UTC)

Adding images
Hi there, I'm fairly new to Wikibooks and was wondering whether anyone could help me regarding adding images to pages. Can someone please explain to me how to do this easily and within Wiki copyright laws? Thank you! GemmaMiller (discuss • contribs) 16:26, 1 April 2014 (UTC)


 * The most easy way to upload images to be used anywhere in the WikiMediaSphere (including Wikibooks) is, I believe, to do so via WikiMedia Commons.


 * The rules are pretty simple, – you can upload an image if either:
 * you’ve made it all by yourself – it may be a drawing, a photography of nature, etc. – and agree to release it under the terms of one of the free licenses;
 * you’ve got it off the Web, and its respective copyright holder (which may be its author, publisher, or some other party) have allowed its unlimited redistribution and use under (again!) a free license;
 * the copyright on the work has expired and it entered the public domain.


 * Be sure to check the Commons’ Upload Wizard – it’s supposed to guide you through some of the intricacies of the rules.


 * — Ivan Shmakov (d ▞ c) 17:19, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Thank you very much for getting back to me so quickly. I'll be sure to have a go at that. GemmaMiller (discuss • contribs) 17:49, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Referencing
Hi, I am new to Wikibooks and currently working on a group assignment looking at "Always on" Culture. I am currently referencing and I am uncertain what the protocol is for referencing a direct quote. I am just not sure how to do it using the ref tags. Sorry for asking a silly question, I am just slightly confused. If anyone could help then that would be great. Many thanks. Amandajayner (discuss • contribs) 10:48, 2 April 2014 (UTC)


 * The section above has an example of using both the   pseudo-HTML element and the “Cite” templates.  Could you please provide an example of what exactly you’re trying to do, so that I can suggest a specific markup for that?


 * Anyway, if you’re trying to add a quote to the text itself, you may consider using the Quote template.


 * — Ivan Shmakov (d ▞ c) 11:10, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Hi, thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I think I understand it now, the quote template really helped. Thanks again! Amandajayner (discuss • contribs) 20:21, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Hi there, another maybe silly question, looking to put in a footnote but can't seem to find an option for that on my text box when writing? I am sure it's a simple answer but just to save time I thought I would ask. Thanks for your time. JustHollie (discuss • contribs) 17:18, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Hi, I have just started using Wikibooks and am a little confused on when to reference. The majority of the ideas I am referring to are from the same author, so do I only reference him once, or do I reference each idea with the correlating page number to his book? Probably a really obvious answer, just not too sure how to go about it! Thank you. Kristddd (discuss • contribs) 21:09, 9 April 2014 (UTC)

Contacting Wikibooks participants

 * Moved from Wikibooks talk:Reading room.

Hi, I just wanted to know why some user names on WikiBook come up as red and say that the user does not exists and others are in blue? What does this mean?

Also I wanted to know how I get in contact with a person if I have their wiki name, how would I go about finding their personal wiki page? SmithBiancaAnn (discuss • contribs) 13:21, 2 April 2014 (UTC)


 * A red link in user’s signature may mean that the user in question has not created a personal page at this project. In this case, the wiki will tell that it’s the user page that does not exists, not the user, however.


 * Alternatively, may mean that the user has configured his or her signature to use red color for the link.


 * The simplest way to contact the user is probably to write a message on his or her own talk page, such as User talk:Ivan Shmakov or User talk:SmithBiancaAnn. Typically, a link to that page will be included in the user’s signature.


 * — Ivan Shmakov (d ▞ c) 13:46, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Ah, ok thank you very much SmithBiancaAnn (discuss • contribs) 18:29, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Content Publication
Hey guys, I'm also working with an educational group on the Technological Determinism page - I am wondering about the etiquette of publishing information to the page before it is entirely complete. Of course, we are looking to get as much accurate and complete information as possible, but at what stage would it be advisable to publish to the public page so that we have something presentable, although inevitably imperfect? e.g. in terms of referencing complete, etc. AlexaSoccer (discuss • contribs) 18:30, 2 April 2014 (UTC)


 * There is no requirement of completeness before contributing content to workbooks, it just needs to be ineligible and in the scope of the work it is added into and conform with the general rules of the project. --Panic (discuss • contribs) 19:48, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Block text?
Hi guys - one more quick question, how would I do block text when using a longer quote? I understand the indent, but not sure how to make it even on either side. Thanks!

AlexaSoccer (discuss • contribs) 18:54, 2 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Perhaps you could use the Quote template? — Ivan Shmakov (d ▞ c) 19:10, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Hello there people, I'm new to the Wiki community and I'm having a little difficulty with my user page. It keeps stating that my username doesn't exist and I've been told that I might need my page to be verified. Could I possibly get some help and advice about what I need to do as I'm a bit stuck... Thanks it would be much appreciated! LittleBlondeLottie (discuss • contribs)

Hey User:LittleBlondeLottie, check out your page now! I think I made your user page live! If not, let me know if I can do anything else! RedheadRachel (discuss • contribs) 23:12, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

I also had problems with setting off a quote and found this page helpful! RedheadRachel (discuss • contribs) 00:16, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Using a single reference for an entire sub-section?
Hi there, I'm a new user and I'm slightly confused as to what the rules are for using a single in-text citation for an entire sub-section. Within the sub-section I have written I have split the text up into three separate paragraphs, all of which use the same in-text citation. Should I just put one in-text citation at the end of the sub-section or should I have the same citation at the end of each paragraph within the sub-section? Any help would be much appreciated! SilentJamie (discuss • contribs) 09:40, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Generally speaking you would repeat the citation. This is for both the purposes of clarity and to ensure the citation remains linked to the text in the event someone later restructures the book. QuiteUnusual (discuss • contribs) 12:03, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Thank you very much for your help! I'll be sure to follow your advice. SilentJamie (discuss • contribs) 12:11, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Links to glossary?
I was wondering if there was a way to link users from a term you used to the definition in your glossary, much like the references system works? If not, what is the standard protocol for telling readers that a term is defined in the glossary? Many thanks! --IsmayH (discuss • contribs) 11:28, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
 * It's unusual to see it done. I have used this model in my book. You'll see an example in this chapter. Go to the Mining section and click on the last word in the section (countermine) and it will link you to the definition in the Glossary. The way this is implemented is to label each word in the Glossary. To continue with Countermine, the code looks like this in the Glossary: " ;Counter mine (or countermine) : . Then within the Mining section the code is the same as that used to go to any section on a page:  counter mine . If you use section headers in the Glossary (e.g., put each definition under its own head of the format  =====Glossary Word=====  then you can link to it in the same way. I just used the "div" method because it made the Glossary look prettier.QuiteUnusual (discuss • contribs) 11:48, 3 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Somehow, I think this should’ve been, instead of  .  Or perhaps (largerly equivalent) .  — Ivan Shmakov (d ▞ c) 11:54, 3 April 2014 (UTC)


 * No it isn't. There are other ways you can do it, but the example I've given above is specifically how it is done in that book. QuiteUnusual (discuss • contribs) 12:10, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Linking to other pages
Hi there, I'm part of a University group working on a chapter called 'Technological Determinism' and was wondering how we would go about linking to other chapters within our digital media and culture yearbook? Sophie Michele Addison (discuss • contribs) 11:59, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
 * You need to read Using Wikibooks really. But, as an overview the structure of all books here is:
 * Main Page
 * Main Page/Chapter 1
 * Main Page/Chapter 2
 * Main Page/Chapter 2/Section A
 * You will note the use of "/" to create levels in the book. To link from the Main Page to a Chapter you enter /Chapter 2/, to link from one chapter to another you enter ../Chapter 2/. There are various other ways of linking up and down the chapters, but these are the basics. QuiteUnusual (discuss • contribs) 12:18, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for your help and fast reply. Will try your suggested format for linking from one chapter to another and read the using wikibooks page. Sophie Michele Addison (discuss • contribs) 13:58, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Ok so I've used your suggested format for linking to other chapters of the main book but it isn't taking me to their pages. Anything you could suggest? Sophie Michele Addison (discuss • contribs) 14:59, 3 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Your version had an extra  between the   parent page reference and the subpage name ( .)  I think I’ve [ just fixed] that.  — Ivan Shmakov (d ▞ c) 16:10, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Ah okay, I see now. Thanks very much for your help. Sophie Michele Addison (discuss • contribs) 18:17, 3 April 2014 (UTC)


 * QuiteUnusual's advice is very wise. I'd also suggest checking out other books on Wikibooks then clicking Edit to get an idea about how they are created and formatted.  Can be very useful for learning shortcuts, etc.--ЗAНИA [[Image:Flag_of_Estonia.svg|15px]]talk 18:55, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

For this, I was then wondering how you can link one section to another within a book/page, if this at all possible. ButtonsElizabeth (discuss • contribs) 20:34, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
 * If I understand correctly - I'm not that technical - you want to add a link to somewhere else on the same page? This page (Reading room/Assistance) has such a link.  You can link to headings / sections of a page like this whatever title you want which would appear on the page as whatever title you want.  This link, if placed anywhere on Wikibooks, would link automatically to this section of the Reading room/Assistance page.  Hope that makes some sense.--ЗAНИA [[Image:Flag_of_Estonia.svg|15px]]talk 20:54, 3 April 2014 (UTC)


 * … Except that one does not have to use underscores in such links.  (And, arguably, should just use spaces instead.)  — Ivan Shmakov (d ▞ c) 20:59, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Good point. I just copy and pasted from the TOC at the top of the page.--ЗAНИA [[Image:Flag_of_Estonia.svg|15px]]talk 00:21, 4 April 2014 (UTC)

Copyright problem
To me, it seems that the text on this website this website is provided for public use. Can I copy something from it to here? Please guide me.--Doostdar (discuss • contribs) 19:07, 21 April 2014 (UTC)


 * The short answer is: yes, you can copy it, provided that you follow certain conditions.


 * Specifically, the textual contents of Wikibooks is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license. You can refer to its [//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ license deed] page (available in several languages), or read [//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode the license text] itself.  The images here are also expected to be available under this or similar licenses, but in general, these should be examined individually.


 * See also the “Creative Commons license” and “Wikibooks” articles on Wikipedia.


 * — Ivan Shmakov (d ▞ c) 19:21, 21 April 2014 (UTC)
 * sorry I corrected website's name and thanks for your quick answers. I didn't expect that--Doostdar (discuss • contribs) 19:37, 21 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Their ToU mentions postings, which makes the resource seem like some kind of a Web forum to me. The usual practice for Web fora is, AIUI, for the copyright to remain with the respective authors, with the forum service itself getting only some narrow “unlimited royalty-free verbatim redistribution” right, which is more restrictive than CC BY-SA employed at Wikibooks.  Moreover, while the author grants (even if implicitly) the Web forum and its affiliates the right to redistribute the work, he or she does not necessarily allow that for any other party (such as the readers of the forum, or Wikibooks.)  — Ivan Shmakov (d ▞ c) 19:47, 21 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Got it. Thanks. --Doostdar (discuss • contribs) 20:09, 21 April 2014 (UTC)

Tagging Other Pages
Sorry I'm quite new to Wikibooks and I apologise if this is a stupid question.

Basically we are doing a page for Technological Determinism. We are the only group doing this and thus we have been asked to engage with other groups.

I was wondering if there was a way in which we can hyperlink our page from pages that can be attributed to Technological Determinism.

Does anyone know if this can be done?

I'd be grateful of any help.

(TallNorthernIrishEthan (discuss • contribs) 14:51, 3 April 2014 (UTC))
 * Er. Wikibooks is for books, rather than individual pages on a given topic.  --Pi zero (discuss • contribs) 15:28, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

History
I am writing a book on North Carolina and I want some suggestions on how I could separate the parts of the history section. StudiesWorld (discuss • contribs) 21:47, 8 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Looking at what you've just written on North Carolina/History seems like the way to go. One extra thing might be to put the years in brackets, e.g. Civil War (1860-1865).  I know nothing about American history, not even sure if my date guess was close.  Hopefully other editors may share their views here soon.--ЗAНИA [[Image:Flag_of_Estonia.svg|15px]]talk 22:54, 8 April 2014 (UTC)
 * I don't know the dates exactly but I agree with that. I will work on getting those dates. StudiesWorld (discuss • contribs) 23:30, 8 April 2014 (UTC)

Check User self-nomination
Over at Requests for permissions I've nominated myself for Check User. Share your views or ask questions as you see fit.--ЗAНИA talk 17:10, 13 April 2014 (UTC)

Introduction for GQ Freeman
I am a semi-retired engineer. I recently gave up the idea of becoming a high school science teacher in favor of trying to start a tiny, indie 3D graphics studio with a new friend. I'm endeavoring to add corrections/clarifications to "Blender 3D: Noob to Pro" as I slog my way through it.
 * Thank you for introducing yourself here. Good luck with the corrections and clarifications.  If you have any questions feel free to post a message in here and someone, hopefully, will reply.--ЗAНИA [[Image:Flag_of_Estonia.svg|15px]]talk 01:20, 16 April 2014 (UTC)

Introduction
I come from the English Wikipedia, though I am also active on Commons. I've been adding a few things to the Bartending guide. I probably won't be around too much, but I'm definitely going to be keeping Wikibook in mind for future projects. There is a lot of cool stuff on here. Zellfaze (discuss • contribs) 18:58, 16 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Welcome! It is always nice to see a new face. Thenub314 (talk) 19:56, 17 April 2014 (UTC)

Rrion
The their route was disconnected near Rion. The range of the Reps is limited, over 50. They might cooperate, but only if we provide the support for them, this is not possible at this level, but if we rebuild NEW Atlantis (beta), it's a different story, otherwise they will probably retaliate to cover their own ass. I believe they have done this 5 times. Also the reps are based at spio, they can not leave the base, but they have access to the tech, it is their source code.

Help with a university project (focus on youtube)
Hi, im working on a class wiki book chapter titled online identity, and for my section i was wanting to look at YouTube as a form of social media and Online Identity. However, for our assignment we need to make reference to academic works that discuss our topics, and im having a bit of trouble finding much. If any of you could point me in the right direction that'd be a big help. EuanWhitelaw (discuss • contribs) 15:31, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

I'm unsure if this is the right place to introduce myself, or even if I'm doing it right
Hello! I am very unexperienced with wikipedia and I have little to no knowledge on how to do things here. I'm mainly interested in science, mathematics, and philosphy, and I contribute to wikipedia in my free time. I'm here mainly because I like contributing and learning. So if I'm doing something wrong, please let me know. MisterRogors (discuss)


 * Hi, MisterRogors.
 * A tip that may help you make sense out of things. The word you actually want there is wikimedia rather than wikipedia.  That's because wikipedia is just one of several sister projects in the wikimedia family.  This sister here, where we are now, is Wikibooks; we write textbooks here.  Wikipedia, over there, writes encyclopedia articles.  And there are other sisters too, of course:  Wiktionary is a dictionary (not just of English words &mdash; it gives definitions of words in all the world's languages.  Wikinews writes news articles (with its own unique challenges and rewards).  And so on.
 * Knowing that will probably help you make more sense out of the welcome messages of the different sisters: each sister has a different welcome message, that tells you stuff about that sister, but may be a little different, or sometimes a lot different, from how things work on the other sisters.  (I see you've already gotten a welcome on your user talk page here at Wikibooks.  Welcome!).
 * (A trick to keep in mind, btw: if you sign your message with three tildes  it'll sign just your name, like your sig above; four tildes will produce your name and the time and date when you signed.)  --Pi zero (discuss • contribs) 10:53, 5 April 2014 (UTC)

North Carolina
I currently need a lot of help at the North Carolina Wikibook as I can't do it alone. StudiesWorld (discuss • contribs) 22:27, 11 April 2014 (UTC)
 * I'd love to help but my knowledge of this area is very weak although I could just about point to it on a map. It's a bit quiet here at present but let's hope somebody will help in the future.--ЗAНИA [[Image:Flag_of_Estonia.svg|15px]]talk 01:22, 16 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Unfortunately the majority of people at Wikibooks find themselves working alone. You will get help in terms of copy-editing, etc., but in terms of new content creation you are unlikely to find someone to help out with substantial contributions. Typically they want to work on their own book. One option to get you started is to identify articles on Wikipedia that can be incorporated with some revision into your book. These can then be imported (via a request at WB:RFI, do not just copy / paste the material). The best example of a book started like this recently is Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant: The WikiBook where we imported about 50 articles to create the base material. QuiteUnusual (discuss • contribs) 07:50, 16 April 2014 (UTC)
 * OK! StudiesWorld (discuss • contribs) 11:17, 16 April 2014 (UTC)

Interests for GQ Freeman
I am interested in 3D graphics and indie game design. Within wikibooks, "Blender 3D: Noob to Pro" is my sole focus at present. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gqfreeman (discuss • contribs) 00:30, 16 April 2014 (UTC)