User talk:Barek

Barek is tired of wikidrama, and has chosen to spend more time in the real world; but may still wander back online occasionally. During this time, replies to queries may be greatly delayed.

Please click here to start a new message at the bottom of this page.
	If you post a message to me here, I will usually reply here - if you want a {{talkback}} notice, please request it. If I left a message for you on your talk page, I have it on my watchlist and will see replies made on your talk page. Please sign and date your posts using four tildes (~~~~). I reserve the right at my discretion to remove uncivil comments from this page, as well as threads which are perceived by me to be disruptive. My alternate talkpage can be used to contact me if Wikipedia indicates that this page is protected due to vandalism.	Please note: This talk page is known to be monitored by talk page watchers. This means that someone other than me might reply to your query. Their input is welcome and their help with messages that I cannot respond to quickly is appreciated. Server time (): December 5, 2024 02:46 (UTC)

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Smiles!

DocDeel516 ^discuss has smiled at you! Smiles promote WikiLove and hopefully this one has made your day better. Spread the WikiLove by smiling at someone else, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or a good friend, Go on smile! Cheers, and Happy editing!=)
Smile at others by adding {{subst:Smile}} to their talk page with a friendly message.

Thank you for helping me with that icon link on the Help Desk, and a merry Christmas to you!--DocDeel516 ^discuss 20:02, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

No problem, thanks for letting me know it worked out for you. Have a merry Christmas! --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 20:27, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

Spam, Spam, Spam

Barek, As the Monty Python song went (see, Spam (Monty Python), this stuff looks like canned ham bits to me. What do you think? Petoskey, Michigan‎ 18:50 . . (+583) . . Zhatch (Talk | contribs) (→Media) Traverse City, Michigan‎;18:49 . . (+584) . . Zhatch Merry Merry Christmas (disambiguation) and Happy New Year to you. 7&6=thirteen (talk) 18:56, 29 December 2008 (UTC) Stan

I think I've cleaned up the worst of the spam, and reworded several entries to a more neutral point of view - although Traverse (magazine) and Northern Home & Cottage still may need rewording to imrove their neutral tone as well (they read like advertisements for the magazines at present - one needs third party coverage to establish notability, and the other could use improved references). --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 19:45, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

I noted this. As to protecting Wikipedia from Spam, once you are turned on you do not have an off switch. You are a virtual Spamdexing practitioner. In sum, you are a shepherd, a tireless guardian of your flock. Therefore, I award you the following:

Guardian of the Wiki from Linkspam/the Clay Prague golem

See, golem and Judah Loew ben Bezalel (which I mean in a complimentary way). Thank you. 7&6=thirteen (talk) 19:50, 29 December 2008 (UTC)Stan

Thanks! --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 16:51, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

Hi

And "happy new year". Rather inactive for now but Guy might appreciate a hand with this (assuming I'm correct!). Regards --Herby ^{talk thyme} 14:20, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

Wow. I mean ... wow. I see it's also been reported to WP:SBL#farecompare.com. I took care of about a dozen or so, but I need to go deal with some things off-line now. I'll be back later to review some more of the links. --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 16:46, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

Yeah - sorry about that :) - honest! I'll do some when I get a chance, thanks --Herby ^{talk thyme} 17:09, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

re. Pedigree dog article

Hi - thanks for the note. I have repeatedly tried to discuss changes with editor Dodo bird without success. I have stopped reverting the articles and have filed an edit war complaint against this editor. See: [1] Bob98133 (talk) 16:54, 3 January 2009 (UTC)

RE: John Nance threat to sue

Thank you for reposting that to the ANI issues page. While I do think Nance is trying his best to use that page for his own spamming purposes, I have to agree that the threat to sue, if he cannot suppress any comments he does not like, is a more important issue all on its own. Thus, it makes sense for you to move it over to ANI.

Thanks again for your very prompt response and help. EditorASC (talk) 01:31, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Once the legal concerns are resolved, you may want to post your remaining concerns about the article at either WP:Biographies of living persons/Noticeboard or WP:Requests for comment/Biographies. While spamming can be an issue, I think that WP:BLP would usually be viewed as more specific to the subject in this case than WP:WPSPAM. --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 01:43, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

"Spam"

Hi Barek

I am the co-owner of www.soundproofmagazine.com. We have writers around the world covering music on our website. Up until now, we have added links to artist Wiki pages that correspond with interviews, reviews etc we have written about them, which seems right on topic to me. At the end of 2008, we did a "best of 2008" feature which listed top albums, songs etc. We got a message from you stating that we were spamming and posting unrelated links. We do not wish to cause any harm to anyone or misuse Wiki, but an artist's work appearing in a "best of the year" list with a blurb about it seems relevant to that artists wiki page in our view - can you please let us know what we have done wrong? We have always been respectful of Wiki policies in the past and are not intentionally spamming, we just think our writing about an artist is just as valid as any other music media source, all of whom also frequently link to external links. If you could kindly reply to (personal info redacted by Barek), that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Chris —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.226.164.68 (talk) 19:42, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

The links caught my attention because of reports by others, and upon looking closer I was able to specifically identify two IPs which appear to be single-purpose accounts that existed solely for the purpose of adding the link to multiple articles.

There are a few issues. First, you have a clear conflict of interest, as the links are also self-promotional for you. You should look closely at Wikipedia's guidelines on external link spamming. Repeated attempts to spam links to a particular site has been known to result in blacklisting of the site, which makes it harder for uninvolved editors to later add links to the site where appropriate. The better route would have been to suggest the links on the article talk pages and to allow non-involved contributors who do not have a conflict of interest to evaluate the links on their own.

Also, keep in mind that Wikipedia is not a repository of external links, no policy guarantees that any Wikipedia article should have external links. The external links guideline states that Wikipedia's purpose is not to include a comprehensive list of external links related to each topic.

One way to ensure that an external link will be viewed favorably by other editors is to ensure the link has more than just trivial mention of the subject, and that the linked information could not be added to the article for reasons such as copyright or amount of detail; or other meaningful, relevant content that is not suitable for inclusion in an article for reasons unrelated to its accuracy. --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 20:07, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

Hi Barek

If you could please respond to me at the email I provided as requested, rather than here, that would be appreciated. I would like to converse further, but there is no need to have this conversation in a public forum.

Thanks,

Chris

Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.226.164.68 (talk) 19:56, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

I'm sorry, but I rarely take any discussion outside of the Wikipedia talk pages. Wikipedia is a collaborative project, so I prefer to keep communications about it on Wikipedia so that any comments can be openly reviewed by others within the project. Besides, all I could really do via email in this case is re-provide what I've already linked to in my initial reply.

If you have a strong preference for discussion via email, then you should discuss the issue with other editors or admins on Wikipedia who may be more open to off-Wiki communications. To locate someone, I recommend requesting that someone at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Spam contact you. If no one there replies, you can also try requesting it at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard. --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 20:25, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Rachael Ray

Yo! Check out my reference dingbat! It's credible! —Preceding unsigned comment added by BagelsbytheDozen (talk • contribs) 02:17, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

I did. The source is a blog, which is not a reliable source. On top of which, the blog posting makes no mention of the issues which it is claimed to support in the addition to the article.

Also, please review Wikipedia's policies regarding personal attacks and harassment. --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 02:29, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

OOOoooooh Barek! You are SO scary with your little threats! Does it make you feel like a big boy nerd to say things like that? Ooohhhh!!