User talk:SwindonLocal

Welcome!

Hello, SwindonLocal, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Unfortunately, one or more of the pages you created, such as User:SwindonLocal, may not conform to some of Wikipedia's guidelines, and may soon be deleted.

There's a page about creating articles you may want to read called Your first article. If you are stuck, and looking for help, please come to the New contributors' help page, where experienced Wikipedians can answer any queries you have! Or, you can just type {{helpme}} on this page, and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Here are a few other good links for newcomers:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you have any questions, check out Wikipedia:Questions or ask me on my talk page. Again, welcome! The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 13:34, 4 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Speedy deletion nomination of User:SwindonLocal[edit]

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A tag has been placed on User:SwindonLocal, requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section G11 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because the page seems to be unambiguous advertising which only promotes a company, product, group, service or person and would need to be fundamentally rewritten in order to become an encyclopedia article. Please read the guidelines on spam and Wikipedia:FAQ/Business for more information.

If you think that this notice was placed here in error, contest the deletion by clicking on the button labelled "Click here to contest this speedy deletion," which appears inside of the speedy deletion ({{db-...}}) tag (if no such tag exists, the page is no longer a speedy delete candidate). Doing so will take you to the talk page where you will find a pre-formatted place for you to explain why you believe the page should not be deleted. You can also visit the the page's talk page directly to give your reasons, but be aware that once tagged for speedy deletion, if the page meets the criterion, it may be deleted without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but don't hesitate to add information to the page that would render it more in conformance with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. If the page is deleted, you can contact one of these administrators to request that the administrator userfy the page or email a copy to you. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 13:34, 4 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Contested deletion[edit]

This page should not be speedy deleted because we are interested in adding to wikipedia entries where we have some expertise or useful resources (local history etc). It seems like this would be a good contribution and having a user account makes this easier for us to use wiki. Wonder if the speedy deletion tag was applied after we added our contacts on our user page? Seemed like the first thing to add but can/will remove if needed. We will check back and see if a reply is given. Our ip is a shared one and this may have triggered something too. --SwindonLocal (talk) 13:41, 4 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The outcome of a discussion is that, now you have established an honourable track record, I think it will be ok to add a link to your employer's website to your user page. Your employer's aims seem (to me) to be closely aligned with those of the encyclopedia. --Hroðulf (or Hrothulf) (Talk) 17:20, 12 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

May 2011[edit]

This account has been blocked indefinitely from editing Wikipedia because your username, SwindonLocal, does not meet our username policy.

Your username is the only reason for this block. You are welcome to choose a new username (see below).

A username should not be promotional, related to a "real-world" group or organization, misleading, offensive, or disruptive. Also, usernames may not end in the word "bot" unless the account is an approved bot account.

You are encouraged to choose a new account name that meets our policy guidelines. Alternatively, if you have already made edits and you wish to keep your existing contributions under a new name, then you may request a change in username by:

Adding {{unblock-un|your new username here}} on your user talk page. You should be able to do this even though you are blocked, as you can usually still edit your own talk page. If not, you may wish to contact the blocking administrator by clicking on "E-mail this user" on their talk page.
At an administrator's discretion, you may be unblocked for 24 hours to file a request.
Please note that you may only request a name that is not already in use, so please check here for a listing of already taken names. The account is created upon acceptance, thus do not try to create the new account before making the request for a name change. For more information, please see Wikipedia:Changing username.

If you feel that you were blocked in error, you may appeal this block by adding below this notice the text {{unblock|Your reason here}}, but you should read our guide to appealing blocks first. Salvio ^{Let's talk about it!} 15:48, 4 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This user's unblock request has been reviewed by an administrator, who accepted the request.

SwindonLocal (block log • active blocks • global blocks • contribs • deleted contribs • filter log • creation log • change block settings • unblock • checkuser (log))

Request reason:

Now totally baffled lol. What is wrong with the username "swindonlocal"? It is not clear from any of the above. It is not the name of any business, organisation or institution. It is not promoting anything - just if anything, descriptive of the geographical area of interest. Seems in line with many existing usernames.

Any edits made with this account, as with the many previous edits made over the last 4/5 years - will be 100% accurate, well carried out and hopefully useful to wiki users. No vandalism or other such activity. And willing to learn to edit at highest standard. I know edits can be made without a user account but felt that it would be appropiate to sign up as editor. So many hurdles - what next? :D

Accept reason:

Per conclusion of discussion below. — Daniel Case (talk) 17:26, 6 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Turn it around, look at it from our side. We have a user with the name "Swindon Local" whose only edits have been on the topic of something local to Swindon. The appearance is that your account exists only to promote the subject. Typically, an account's user page is intended to identify the user, either by who they are or what they work on here - so when you posted information about the library, the appearance is that you're editing on behalf of the library, which isn't permitted as such. Add to that your use of "we", above on this page - this implies that your account is a role account shared by several individuals, which is also a problem. UltraExactZZ ^Said~ Did 12:25, 6 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the reply. There are many entries -many just stubs- that fall within the geographical/topical area which my work covers and are of a poor standard, filled with common inaccuracies (but some very good articles too).

Not looking to create new articles. Surprised how hostile/suspicious the reaction has been.

Not sure what is meant by "promoting" in this context. No such ambition or function at this end!

It is a shame there is no way to see full list of edits made over the years.

"We" is force of pronoun habit when online in work-related area. The chosen username is used on all my Web2.0 stuff where possible. Is it forbidden for, say, an art historian to edit as "ArtHistorian" or "PicassoDude99" if related to their chosen field (assuming edits are correct/in line with WP policies)? Would that be considered promotion? Surely many editors have a focus/area of interest?

But overall, to be clear - staff at local studies libraries and archives are NOT able to get involved in Wikipedia in this way? It seems a shame to lock out this possible sector of cooperation and contribution. Tactical withdrawal?!.........

SwindonLocal (talk) 13:20, 6 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I am sorry you feel you have been met with suspicion. Wikipedia has to spend a great deal of time an energy fighting off advertisers and self-promoters, and one of our principles is that accounts must be for individuals only, who are personally responsible for them. This is partly for legal reasons to do with the license terms, partly because organizations are usually interested only in promoting themselves, and partly to avoid "That vandal edit was somebody else" excuses. When your user page gave the name of an organization and you used "we" and "us" in your replies, that made it seem that the account was for a department of Swindon Library. Staff at local studies libraries and archives are extremely welcome to contribute, but as individuals: each must set up their own account.

If you are particularly attached to this username, and state clearly that the account will only be used by one individual, it could be unblocked. To avoid problems in future, it would be useful to put on your user page something on the lines of "I work in XX department of Swindon Library and my particular interests are YY and ZZ... " There is no reason why you should not create new articles. Any colleagues who wish to contribute will also be very welcome, but should set up their own accounts. Regards, JohnCD (talk) 15:37, 6 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Many thanks for reply. To confirm: (1) This will be an account used by 1 individual...me. (2) If/when unblocked I will add suggested statement to user page. (3) I can either start from scratch with new id or be unblocked - or renamed if clearer (e.g. - "SwiLoc1"). SwindonLocal (talk) 17:02, 6 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Daniel Case has unblocked you. Welcome, again, to Wikipedia! JohnCD (talk) 17:47, 6 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

And I'd like to offer my apology for blocking you. I'm sorry if you feel you have been met with suspicion. Happy editing! Salvio ^{Let's talk about it!} 22:21, 6 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Crikey - no need to apologise - although a new editor I have been a keen user and supporter of wp for many years. I have some idea of the multiple pressures WP faces. SwindonLocal (talk) 08:15, 7 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

WP:WILTS[edit]

I saw your edit to W.D. & H.O. Wills & wondered if you had come across WikiProject Wiltshire which includes Swindon & has various lists of articles which need work and local editors to collaborate with?— Rod ^talk 15:43, 7 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, this is an invitation to join WikiProject Wiltshire.

Thank you for your edits to the article W.D. & H.O. Wills.

You may be interested in joining WikiProject Wiltshire. WikiProject Wiltshire aims to improve the standard of all articles relating to the county of Wiltshire, which includes every subdivision around the county including major landmarks, roads, SSSIs, settlements, history and other related articles.

You can help by:

Creating new articles.
Expanding and cleaning up articles.
Referencing articles and lists.
Adding photographs.
And anything else!

For more information, please see the project page. If you have any questions you can leave them at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Wiltshire.

Welcome to Wikipedia from User:Storye book[edit]

I know you already as a highly efficient archivist and a tireless and expert assistant to researchers of Swindon local history. I am so glad that you have begun to help us here. I had no idea that you had an account here, so I'm quite shocked to see that you've suffered so much hassle so far. If I had known about this earlier, I could have given you support, or put you in touch with helpful administrators. I'm so glad that some Wikipedians (above) have come in to support and assist. So while I'm here, please allow me to give you some pointers to get you safely started.

1. Creating articles: The safest way to do this is to develop and test your article in advance of publication in mainspace. You can do this by creating subpages to your userpage like this: /Sandbox 1, /Sandbox 2. Just click on them and start editing. Because these are subpages of your own userpage, they will not be interfered with or deleted. If you add article categories, though, that may attract automatic bot editing, so either unlink them or disable them by prefixing them with a colon. If you want help with your article, or when you think it's ready for publication and you'd like reassurance that it's not at risk of deletion, let me know and I'll look it over for you - or if you prefer, ask an administrator to take a look.

2. Avoiding risk of deletion: There is no complete answer here, but I can give one or two pointers. Your article should start something like, "Blah-name is a blah, notable for blah", because article subjects must have notability. Statements should be backed up by citations (online or printed publications), with a minimum of one citation per paragraph. Go into "my preferences" (link at top right of browser window) and tick the citation gadget. That will add a cite link to the top of your edit box (gives you a form to fill in to create the house-style citation).

3. If you'd like to start a practice article on e.g. the Swindon photographer Hooper, I could help you Wikify it such that it could be considered for the "Did You Know" section on the Main Page, and you'd learn by doing. Obviously this is not about how to create an academic article - you know far more than I about that - it's about fitting in with Wiki's house style.

My above comments are only a couple of pointers within a big subject, and represent my opinion only, of course. Let me know if there's anything else I can do. --Storye book (talk) 23:38, 9 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. No hassle - I know what is being guarded againat. A William Hooper article is now my first project on here. I will be back soon to get started and using your info is an excellent way to begin!SwindonLocal (talk) 00:47, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You're welcome. --Storye book (talk) 07:34, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Update: I've just been told that new users now have the cite gadget automatically. Go into edit mode on any Wiki page, and look at the toolbar above your edit box. At the LH end you'll see the cite link. Click on it and you'll get the forms for web, news, journal or whatever. To use it: first click on the place in your edit box where you want the citation to be. WP house-style says it has to be after the punctuation, and with no space between punct and cite. After clicking on the position in text for the citation, then click on the cite link or form button and fill it in. Don't forget to fill in the ref name box (invent any name) - that will allow you to use the same ref in different places in the text.--Storye book (talk) 19:52, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Notability[edit]

Yes, sorry, it's me again. I hope you don't mind - I'll put Wiki mentoring stuff here, so as to give others a chance to add to it or correct my statements, to give you a balanced picture. NB You are under no pressure to follow any of my suggestions - and they are all suggestions.

I noticed you'd started an article in the sandbox and deleted it; please note these are your userpages and you can leave an article in your sandbox for months if necessary, while working it up.

Re notability: just saying X is notable isn't enough, as I'm sure you'll agree. There are all sorts of definitions, and the WP notability definition for professional people is a start, but really it helps to look around at other WP biographies and see what has been written in the header paragraph or intro. My own technique is to write as much of the article as possible first, then the header can be a summary of what makes X suitably significant for an encyclopaedia.--Storye book (talk) 20:45, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Fast article work-up[edit]

What some editors do in the sandbox is to set up the "External links" and "Bibliography" subheadings before anything else, and fill in a good list of sources before starting. Then you can work up a quick article from those, using the sources as citations and dividing the article under new subheadings as it grows. As the sources become citations, you can delete them from the list, and that gives you a sense of progress. WP is really a first stopping point and pointer to third party sources, and not a primary source in itself. It's the other way round to some academic theses and journal articles: on WP it's easiest to start with the source, extract pertinent stuff from it and organise it so the international public can understand it - as opposed to starting with the thesis then seeing whether you can find sources to test or prove the thesis. Obviously you will use your own knowledge to inform the organisation of the material in the article, but it's the sources which give statements staying-power on Wiki.--Storye book (talk) 20:45, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Infoboxes[edit]

If you add an infobox such as this one, it gets the article off to a good start. See how I used it in Lydia Cecilia Hill. --Storye book (talk) 20:45, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]