Searches of ANI
Question moved to Wikipedia:Help desk#Searches of ANI. --Lambiam 08:36, 6 November 2007 (UTC)
Dweller's 11th weekly award.
Sorry it's so late. (Computing Desk:Classic code & magic constants - 1-4 Nov 07) - n = (n & 0x0f0f0f0f) + ((n & 0xf0f0f0f0) >> 4);. Yes, that's what I thought. Then the Comp desk proved geeks can be funny. --Dweller 14:28, 6 November 2007 (UTC)
Removal
I removed this question per WP:SPAM because its the third of this type that I have noticed over the last few weeks. I'm not quite sure of the purpose of these types of questions, but it appears very likely to be a form of advertising (perhaps they consider Ref Desk geeks their target demographic, who knows?) Even if it isn't intentional spam, it serves no other purpose than to promote a TV show, and hence is not appropriate for the desks. Rockpock e t 03:46, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
So how good are we?
In response to a question a few weeks ago, I decided to analyse the number of questions asked and answered on the Ref Desk. I chose 4 consecutive weeks to sample - from 1 - 28 October 2007 - and did the final count once all the questions were archived. The complete analysis is at User:Rockpocket/Ref desk stats, but the short version is that 1860 questions were asked, 75 of these questions remained unanswered (4%), providing a response rate of 96%. Thats 66.4 questions asked per day of which 2.7 go unanswered. There is some variation in answer rate between the different subjects, but among questions that, for whatever reason, can be reasonably expected to be answered, there isn't much difference.
Also, while we are on the subject, 68 articles have now been "created or significantly enhanced" as a direct result of the efforts here in the 10 months since I have been keeping records (6 were added during the sample I analysed). On the first anniversary of WP:RDAC, I'll do a full analysis of that too.
So, all in all, despite the bickering over medical questions and deletionism, I think this shows, collectively, that you are doing a fine job, providing a robust service and directly enhancing the encyclopaedia in a small but significant way. Well done! Rockpock e t 09:57, 11 November 2007 (UTC)
I'm reminded of a story I heard about someone on vacation who wanted to mail a letter to his friend. Unfortunately, he didn't have his friend's address, so he just wrote "John Jinkleheimer, Atlanta, GA" on the envelope, and sent it off. When John received the letter, someone from the Post Office had written on it, " No street address. No ZIP code. Are we good, or what?" —Steve Summit (talk) 17:25, 11 November 2007 (UTC)
It's a shame we don't have data on how satisfied our users were with our answers. I suppose someone with time on their hands could send talk page messages to all of the OP's asking for a "points out of ten" assessment of the answers they got. At the very least, this could be done for questioners with accounts here. SteveBaker 17:33, 11 November 2007 (UTC)
User:Nricardo
What action is taken in the event that a user helps 'restore' rd-deleted questions here, and is quite rude here here. I tried to ask nicely on his talk not to take part in this sort of activity or encourage ignoring the rules. Lanfear's Bane | t 21:36, 13 November 2007 (UTC)
Protocol?
There is no consensus when it is justified to remove a question, and there probably will never be one. But can we at least agree to some protocol? As a first try, I suggest this:
- Next to questions for medical advice we only remove questions (including postings that are not really questions) if they are obvious vandalism, in some way harmful (offensive, trolling, meant to inflame), or egregious soapboxing.
- An editor who removes a question, removes the whole thread, but leaves the header intact, and adds a text like: "Question removed. See ]."
- On the talk page, they copy the removed thread and give their rationale for the removal.
- Discussion on whether the removal was appropriate takes place there, with the usual respect, friendliness, and assumption of good faith, that is the hallmark of discussions on this page.
- Everyone refrains from restoring the question unless the removal was clearly unreasonable, or it becomes clear that there is consensus that the question should not have been removed.
The "slow process" that did not work left the question on the RD page. Here, the assumption is that it has been removed already by some editor. For clarity, where I write "we only remove questions if" I do not mean "we always remove questions if" or "we must remove questions if". --Lambiam 08:49, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
Antisemitism
People be warned. The Antisemitism question which has just appeared on the Humanites Desk gives all the apperance of being posted by a troll who formerly went by the name of Barringa etc. etc., long since banned. Clio the Muse 00:59, 14 November 2007 (UTC)
Fact vs. Opinion Template
Recently, I've answered a lot of questions with an explanation that the Reference Desk is for factual questions, not opinion questions. Is there a template that I can use instead? -- k a i n a w ™ 17:48, 14 November 2007 (UTC)
Why do people on here have this obsession with templates for warning notices... honestly, just type out what you want to say! You don't get stuck with a cookie cutter message that may or may not fit exactly with the type of question, and does it really take that long to type out "The ref desk is not for opinions" rather than {{refdesknoopinions}} or something? 68.231.151.161 03:00, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
Odd language at Archives
On Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives:
--zenohockey 03:17, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
Emergen-C etc
So I know you guys aren't supposed to give medical advice, and I assure you I won't act on what you say, but I'm curious about vitamin consumption in general and products such as Emergen-C in particular. I take a multivitamin tablet every day, and I also generally eat a very balanced meal that surely contains many additional vitamins. Am I overloading? If I were to feel a cold coming on and took a packet of Emergen-C, in addition to my multivitamin, would I be having too much vitamin C? If not, then why doesn't the everyday vitamin pill contain more C to boost your immune system, or if it's OK (or in fact benefitial) to have an 'overdose' of vitamins, why don't I take two multivitamins every day? Or three? Or a multivitamin and then a pill of C, and B12, and all that ad infinitum? What's the deal with all this vitamining? What's the right way to go about it? Thanks, 140.247.40.119 08:24, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
Every health food store clerk feels free to answer such a question. None have been convicted of practicing medicine without a license. It's absurd to suggest that such an answer constitutes "medical advice". - Nunh-huh 14:38, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
- I view the removal of this reference desk tread as disruptive and not justified by the rules concerning medical advice. I view this as a violation of the Wikipedia principles of "assume good faith" and "do not bite". --JWSchmidt 16:27, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
OK. So I, original poster, having read all your arguments on the subject, understand (sort of) why the post was removed, but still want an answer to my question. I'm perfectly willing to recede to the hypothetical. Is there such a thing as an overdose of Vitamin C, within, say the limits of a vitamin pill and a pack of Emergen-C? As in, will there be any side effects? I appreciate the theoretical argument you guys are having about wikipedia's health policy and all that, but I think it's a bit ridiculous to suggest that if somebody were to suggest that I down three Emergen-C's a day, or take a couple multivitamins every night, I'd unquestionably take them up on their advice. I'm not stupid. I don't plan on heavily "ODing" on any regular basis, not to mention once. But there is a product, that is offered with essentially no published health warnings, which offers a boost of vitamin C to help your immune system, and since I've got a cold coming on, I was interested in knowing whether it in fact is effective and whether the philosophy behind such a product (the more vitamins the merrier) makes any sense. We are not dealing with addictive or remotely dangerous substances here. Nobody is giving me dangerous a
Buy Discount Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements Online - Shop Vitamin ...
Compare vitamins, minerals and supplements online and shop for discounts at vitamin stores. Save with discount online coupons for Vitamin Shoppe, Puritans Pride, GNC, eVitamins ...
Discount Vitamins & Supplements Store :: A1 Discount Vitamins
Category: Discount Multi Vitamins. This amazing multi vitamin blend offers a high potency spectrum of all essential vitamins and minerals along with an abundance of other important ...
Multi-Nutrient Formulas - Online Vitamins and Supplements | Vitamin ...
YOUR DISCOUNT PRICE: All-Inclusive Super Multi-Vitamins, Chelated Minerals, Phyto-Nutrients,
Multi Vitamins - Sports Nutrition Supplements | The Supplement Store
Mulit Vitamins - Discount sports nutrition supplements. Buy discounted mulit vitamin sports supplements online today with fast UK and international delivery.
Discount Childrens Multi Vitamin Mineral
Mix It Up! MultiSaurus Vitamins Minerals specially formulated for children of all ages with 22 Vitamins Minerals - Discount Price
Discount Vitamins, Minerals and Health Products!
Taking a complete multi-vitamin/mineral every day assures you that you are ... Most items are in stock and all at discount! Discount Vitamins - Nutritional Supplements ...
Multi-Vitamin+Packs
Multi-Vitamin+Packs. Sublingual B12 Discount Vitamins and more. Friday, November 20, 2009 - .
Multi-Vitamins
Multi-Vitamins. Sublingual B12 Discount Vitamins and more. Tuesday, November 17, 2009 - . ... Multi-Vitamins 30 Results Listing 1 - 10 of 30 Next 10->Hi-Potency, Multi ...
Discount vitamins & vitamin supplements from NaturesNutrition.com
Shop online for discount brand name vitamins and multi-vitamins at NaturesNutrition.com (Canada). Secure ordering. Newsletter.
Discount Multi Vitamins for Women
Every Woman II from New Chapter Organics delivers the essential vitamins and minerals that a woman needs over 40 years old - Discount Price