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August 12
editSpike in readership
editHop water had a notable spike on 5 August. I started the article, so I'm curious if someone can tell me where it came from. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 14:30, 12 August 2025 (UTC)
- Hi Gråbergs Gråa Sång, looks like it was an answer to the New York Times' The Mini crossword puzzle on August 5.
- I checked Google trends to see if it was general internet interest rather than just on Wikipedia's Main page or a random robot issue. I saw "Monterey Bay" as an associated trending search term there and when I googled hop water monterey bay this Forbes blog-style article on crossword hints for the NYT Mini popped up mentioning hop water.
- I think culturally these crosswords are popular in the US (we probably have an article about that!) so generate a lot of interest, and Wikipedia visits it seems. I am sure many frustrated crossword players are grateful for you starting the article :-). Commander Keane (talk) 23:54, 12 August 2025 (UTC)
- Thank you very much! Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 05:35, 13 August 2025 (UTC)
- I think the NYT mini crossword has a big readership outside the US, thanks to the popularity of Wordle (both Wordle and the Mini are part of the NYT Games app). Obviously, the crossword is aimed at a US readership, so some of the terms used are unfamiliar to international readers. Hence spikes in Google/Wikipedia activity. That's certainly the case for me personally. Chuntuk (talk) 14:20, 14 August 2025 (UTC)
August 15
editWhere can I report a problem with Microsoft?
editI tried to ask a question on https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/ask/
Which used to be https://answers.microsoft.com/
This was the result
Please fix the following issues to continue: We encountered an unexpected error. Please try again later. If this issue continues, please open a ticket at https://sitehelp.microsoft.com.
There are specific error details but I'm kind of reluctant to post them here.
So I get this:
Selected user account does not exist in tenant 'Microsoft' and cannot access the application 'eea5f4ef-dd4d-4755-aa86-3e0283223b97' in that tenant. The account needs to be added as an external user in the tenant first. Please use a different account.
I try another way in and get
Sorry, but we’re having trouble signing you in.
AADSTS50020: User account '[my real name]@hotmail.com' from identity provider 'live.com' does not exist in tenant 'Microsoft' and cannot access the application 'eea5f4ef-dd4d-4755-aa86-3e0283223b97'(DevRelMC) in that tenant. The account needs to be added as an external user in the tenant first. Sign out and sign in again with a different Azure Active Directory user account.
I tried going to Azure and they'll let me sign up for a free account but I gave up when they asked for my credit card number. That plus the fact that the site seems to answer only highly technical questions and if they get something irrelevant they just won't bother.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 23:40, 15 August 2025 (UTC)
- Try non-community support instead and ask your original question: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/contactus Should be live chat. Aaron Liu (talk) 03:26, 16 August 2025 (UTC)
- I thought I had tried that and ended up going in circles but this time it worked. I'll know in a minute if that helped.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 17:37, 17 August 2025 (UTC)
- Didn't get what I wanted, but the problem is solved that I needed to ask about, and I was able to ask a question on the site.
- I thought I had tried that and ended up going in circles but this time it worked. I'll know in a minute if that helped.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 17:37, 17 August 2025 (UTC)
- "I must say, working with you was a nice experience. Thank you for all your patience."— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 18:44, 17 August 2025 (UTC)
- I'm back with being told to do things I already tried to do that didn't work. Someone needs to solve this problem.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 17:50, 18 August 2025 (UTC)
- "I must say, working with you was a nice experience. Thank you for all your patience."— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 18:44, 17 August 2025 (UTC)
August 19
editShortest video game
editA Short Hike (as the name suggests) can be beaten within a few hours. What other games are like that? JuniperChill (talk) 19:18, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
- "50 Games Like" aims to be a weighted-category based games recomendation engine. Just based on A Short Hike, it lists these games. But that's based on all the categories A Short Hike is in ("cute", "adventure", "exploration", etc.). If you just want "short" games, you click on just the category button and it gives you short games in all genres (which aren't like A Short Hike, except in shortness). Subjectively, it looks more useful than Steam's recommendation engine, which gives me some fairly bonkers suggestions ("you liked FTL, so you might like Doom Eternal"). -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 19:40, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
- Finlay's answer is excellent, but I can't help mention that the original Portal game is both famously short and considered one of the best games of all time. If shortness is the prime criteria, you could do worse. But apart from the duration, it's nothing like A Short Hike. Matt Deres (talk) 12:40, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
- Guess that means that A Short Hike is unique in its shortness, cosiness, and adventure. Lil Gator Game is quite close in terms of layout and that the player can climb but idk about its length since I haven't played the latter, but have played the former. I was mostly focusing on shortness, hence the title of the discussion. JuniperChill (talk) 19:37, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
- Check out https://howlongtobeat.com/user/a19xys/lists/25829/%5B-Short-%26-Good-(-5h)-%5D, perhaps. Aaron Liu (talk) 23:37, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
- @JuniperChill In Far Cry 4, if you just sit at the table and wait for Pagan Min to return, it is a very short video game. Less than 15 minutes. Polygnotus (talk) 00:56, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
- Well, consuming the crab rangoon can't be so bad it's considered an "adventure", can it? Aaron Liu (talk) 01:04, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
- @Aaron Liu Traveling to a country far away, ending up in a firefight in which some people get killed, seeing a murder close-up (over a simple miscommunication), getting invited to the palace of the dictator of said country as a VIP guest, bringing moms ashes to their final resting place and learning about your tragic family history is quite an adventure (although some would just call that Tuesday). Polygnotus (talk) 13:40, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
- Well, consuming the crab rangoon can't be so bad it's considered an "adventure", can it? Aaron Liu (talk) 01:04, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
August 20
editWhich year American staté the bill on count
editWe need to know that year 41.114.142.143 (talk) 05:21, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
- I can't understand the question. ―Panamitsu (talk) 06:41, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
- Are you sure this question is about computing, which includes information technology, electronics, software and hardware? Otherwise, please post it at a more fitting section of the reference desk. If the question is about history, politics or economics, the appropriate section is Reference desk/Humanities. Also, do not repost your question as it is now. Please rephrase it, so that we have a chance to understand the question. ‑‑Lambiam 13:21, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
- Google AI says: The United States passed the Coinage Act of 1792, which established the U.S. dollar as the unit of currency and mandated that public accounts and court proceedings use this standard, making it the first "bill on count" in the sense of the financial unit. Shantavira|feed me 17:45, 23 August 2025 (UTC)
- I am unaware of count having a sense "dollar" (or any financial unit). ‑‑Lambiam 13:09, 24 August 2025 (UTC)
- AI is aware of all sorts of imaginary stuff. Shantavira|feed me 07:54, 25 August 2025 (UTC)
- I am unaware of count having a sense "dollar" (or any financial unit). ‑‑Lambiam 13:09, 24 August 2025 (UTC)