User talk:Housinglawyer
Using Wikipedia for self-promotion[edit]
Hello, I'm Ohnoitsjamie. I wanted to let you know that I undid one or more of your recent contributions because they appeared to be promotional. Advertising and using Wikipedia as a "soapbox" are against Wikipedia policy and not permitted. Take a look at the welcome page to learn more about Wikipedia. Thank you. OhNoitsJamie Talk 14:15, 8 April 2016 (UTC)
Final warning for self-promotion[edit]
You may be blocked from editing without further warning the next time you insert a spam link. Persistent spammers may have their websites blacklisted, preventing anyone from linking to them from all Wikimedia sites as well as potentially being penalized by search engines. OhNoitsJamie Talk 16:35, 14 April 2016 (UTC)
I don't know if this will get to you as I am new to Wiki. I am responding to the above. I am a well known attorney who is an expert in equity sharing (have written two books on the subject, been on Good Morning America and other television media, been interviewed by numerous leading newspapers, Wall Street Journal, NY Times, etc. and countless radio shows. I am also the leading expert on loan workouts. I recently spent an inordinate amount of time editing pages on these subjects (EQUITY SHARING, HAMP LOAN MODIFICATION, SHORT SALE) and due to the fact that I am the reference for much of the information on these subjects, included references to my website or my work. The alternative is to have no reference at all for necessary and up-to-date information. For example, please take a look at Equity Sharing. Before my extensive editing, it was outdated and unimpressive. The same with HAMP Loan Modification which was from about 7 years ago when the US real estate recession began. I am willing to pare references to me and my work to a minimum, but just removing it all is a disservice to Wikipedia users. There was only one notice to me about self-promotion, I then went in saw how everything had been removed, I attempted to bring my work back, then intended to re-edit it to remove any impression of self-promotion. I was then blocked from any future editing. Please work with me on this for the benefit of Wikipedia users. thank you. Marilyn Sullivan, http://MSullivan.com
- You have not been blocked yet; you were given a final warning. If you make additional self-promotional edits with links to your website, you will be blocked from editing. OhNoitsJamie Talk 17:06, 14 April 2016 (UTC)
Hello. I just saw your reply. Thank you. I am new to all this. 1. I think I am blocked because the EDIT tab is gone. All that is left is EDIT SOURCE which I am not well versed to do. 2. I spent hours and hours on these 3 pages I edited. I would like to read Wikipedia Rules about all this, including self promotion, etc., then bring the editing back and take out anything I feel is against the rules. But, I think that once I bring it back you are going to block me before I can do any revisions? How do we handle this?
Good day. I have studied Wikipedia Rules and now understand ORIGINAL RESEARCH, CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND SELF-PROMOTION. I am about to start editing the EQUITY SHARING page again. OSHWAH told me to contact her when I do, but she is not responding, so I am contacting you. My plan is to revert the editing that was blocked, then take out the material that violates the rules. I am the #1 expert in EQUITY SHARING, having written 2 books on the subject, traveled the country talking about it, interviewed by many newspapers including Wall Street Journal and NY Times, countless radio shows and book store signings, so there will necessarily be references to my work and my website which recites what is in my books. OK to go ahead with this? Marilyn
Hi, Housinglawyer. I'll be happy to check into (what most likely is) a block, but I want to point out something you said there (namely, "due to the fact that I am the reference for much of the information on these subjects, included references to my website or my work"). It appears that you edited articles citing your own work or references you've written outside Wikipedia. This is original research, which is not allowed on Wikipedia. If you continued to add original research despite being warned and asked not to, this may have been the likely reason for you being blocked. Were you editing under a different username when you were blocked? Or were you editing under an IP address anonymously? Please also know that creating another username for the purpose of evading a block is also not allowed, and will result in further blocks or sanctions. ~Oshwah~(talk) (contribs) 17:03, 14 April 2016 (UTC)
- I hope this is how to reply to you. I am new to all of this, so please give me a chance. My life as a lawyer has always been about bringing the information to the people so they can do it for themselves. So, Wiki is the perfect forum. When I edited these Wiki pages they ended up as Google #1 spots. In any event, the information I included is in books published by me and also appears on my website. I only have the one username and I only edited the 3 pages on the subjects I have expertise in. My first editing was Jan. 2016 and last was April 2016. What happened was I did not realize there was a messages section, today I went to check on one of the subjects I had written on and I was the first notice which was letting me know my editing had been removed due to possible self-promotion. It was just an informational notice. I then went to the pages I had edited and saw that everything I had done had been removed. I actually did not understand that the person who removed the info was a Wiki Administrator. I am a newbie to all of this. I then saw that I could reverse the edit, so I did, then I was going to pare down anything that looked like self-promotion. However, I was then blocked from editing. The only other notice I got was today which said that if I inserted more spam I would be blocked. Well, I was already blocked and this notice that I would be blocked came after I was blocked. Anyway, let us work together in the best interest of Wiki users. Can you take a look at what was done to all the work I did on the EQUITY SHARING page? It wasn't just references to me that were removed but all the work I did which took hours. Thank you for looking into this. Can you let me know you rec'd this as I am not sure this is how I am to reply.
- ME again. My reference above is to books published BY me. They were not published BY me. They were published by publishing houses. Sorry.
- I took a look at the Equity Sharing article and the changes you made to it. While it does appear that you put a significant amount of time into the article, you did add what appears to be self-promotional content and original research with this edit. A specific part of the content I can quote is, "Attorney and real estate broker [Marilyn Sullivan] formalized the transaction throughout the 1980s and popularized the concept in her books, 'The Complete Guide to Equity Sharing'" - this is definitely self-promotional, and is not allowed on Wikipedia. I agree with Ohnoitsjamie's reversion of the content you added for these reasons. The publisher of the sources is mostly irrelevant in this case; it's the primary or contributing author, creator, editor, or writer of such sources that is the matter of concern here. Again, it's okay to make mistakes; we encourage everyone to be bold here. However, we do expect that you understand and learn from these mistakes when other editors point relevant policy out to you. You may not have fully understood the undo button and what it can inadvertently cause to happen when you revert the article back. This is why the administrator, Ohnoitsjamie, did not block your account. She understood that you were new, and she assumed that you meant well and that you simply weren't aware of all of all of Wikipedia's policies and norms yet. Again, please review the guidelines and policies I've linked you in this response, as they will fully answer any questions or address any concerns. If you have questions, please let me know. Thank you :-) ~Oshwah~(talk) (contribs) 19:01, 14 April 2016 (UTC)
- Thank you.1. I am blocked from NORMAL EDITING; the only editing available to me since this happened is EDIT SOURCE. The EDIT tab is gone. I do not know html, so this basically prevents me from editing. 2. I spent hours and hours on these 3 pages I edited. I would like to read Wikipedia Rules about all this, including self promotion, etc., then bring the editing back and take out anything I feel is against the rules. But, I think that once I un-revert you are going to block me before I can do any revisions? How do we handle this?
- I'll repeat this again; you are not blocked. I'm not sure what problem you are experiencing, but it's not related to blocking. Nothing is stopping you from reading Wikipedia rules about advertising, original research, and conflict of interest. I've tried to make it clear that your edits so far are unacceptable for Wikipedia due to the conflict-of-interest promotional nature as well as the violation of original research. You are welcome to contribute content that is backed by reliable sources, so long as you do not use your own website or other websites that you are affiliated with. If you, after reading our policies, you can't understand why your contributions violate those policies, than Wikipedia editing is probably not for you. That's as clear as I can make it. OhNoitsJamie Talk 22:43, 14 April 2016 (UTC)
- I do get it and plan to abide by the rules. However, the tab EDIT is gone. The bar at the top now reads TALK/ [next is blank]/ READ/ EDIT SOURCE/ VIEW HISTORY. I therefore no longer have the ability to Edit unless it is done in EDIT SOURCE. Why impose this penalty on someone who is trying to contribute in good faith?
- Your account is not blocked. Which article are you unable to edit? It's most likely just protected. ~Oshwah~(talk) (contribs) 23:03, 14 April 2016 (UTC)
- In every page, including this one, the EDIT tab is missing. I am editing her in EDIT SOURCE mode. ALL pages in Wikipedia have the EDIT tab whited out.
- OHHH!!! Oh, oh, oh.... Okay! You're talking about the visual editor! If you go to your preferences page (under the "Editing" tab), is the "Temporarily disable the visual editor while it is in beta" box unchecked? If not, uncheck that box and click "Save". Are you using a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox to edit Wikipedia? Or are you using a mobile app or other application to edit? Can you copy and paste the exact URL of the page you're trying to edit so I can look at it? The "http://[THIS WHOLE THING]"? ~Oshwah~(talk) (contribs) 00:27, 15 April 2016 (UTC)
- No, "Temporarily disable ... " is NOT checked. Here's the link to this page https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Housinglawyer&action=edit§ion=3 Here's the link to a page I would like to edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equity_sharing I don't think these links will show you what we are talking about. I am using the same browser I used to edit these pages, the one I always use, Chrome.
- Okay, go to "Preferences" again, and go to the "Editing" tab. What is your "Editing mode" set to? If it's not set to "Show me both editor tabs", can you set that drop-down setting to that option, click "Save", and try again? You may also need to bypass your browser cache as well. Have you tried this? ~Oshwah~(talk) (contribs) 01:45, 15 April 2016 (UTC)
- I believe this is the solution. Thank you for hanging in there with me. Can you guide me with this? tomorrow I would like to go to the EQUITY SHARING page you reviewed and bring back the editing I did (which was removed) and change it so it conforms to Wiki rules. I am VERY concerned that when I bring it back, I will be blocked before I get a chance to make the editing conform. What is your suggestion about how this should be handled?
- You'll be fine. And no problem; just message me on my talk page when you're ready. Cheers! ~Oshwah~(talk) (contribs) 01:57, 15 April 2016 (UTC)
- I believe this is the solution. Thank you for hanging in there with me. Can you guide me with this? tomorrow I would like to go to the EQUITY SHARING page you reviewed and bring back the editing I did (which was removed) and change it so it conforms to Wiki rules. I am VERY concerned that when I bring it back, I will be blocked before I get a chance to make the editing conform. What is your suggestion about how this should be handled?
- Okay, go to "Preferences" again, and go to the "Editing" tab. What is your "Editing mode" set to? If it's not set to "Show me both editor tabs", can you set that drop-down setting to that option, click "Save", and try again? You may also need to bypass your browser cache as well. Have you tried this? ~Oshwah~(talk) (contribs) 01:45, 15 April 2016 (UTC)
- No, "Temporarily disable ... " is NOT checked. Here's the link to this page https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Housinglawyer&action=edit§ion=3 Here's the link to a page I would like to edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equity_sharing I don't think these links will show you what we are talking about. I am using the same browser I used to edit these pages, the one I always use, Chrome.
- OHHH!!! Oh, oh, oh.... Okay! You're talking about the visual editor! If you go to your preferences page (under the "Editing" tab), is the "Temporarily disable the visual editor while it is in beta" box unchecked? If not, uncheck that box and click "Save". Are you using a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox to edit Wikipedia? Or are you using a mobile app or other application to edit? Can you copy and paste the exact URL of the page you're trying to edit so I can look at it? The "http://[THIS WHOLE THING]"? ~Oshwah~(talk) (contribs) 00:27, 15 April 2016 (UTC)
- In every page, including this one, the EDIT tab is missing. I am editing her in EDIT SOURCE mode. ALL pages in Wikipedia have the EDIT tab whited out.
- I'll repeat this again; you are not blocked. I'm not sure what problem you are experiencing, but it's not related to blocking. Nothing is stopping you from reading Wikipedia rules about advertising, original research, and conflict of interest. I've tried to make it clear that your edits so far are unacceptable for Wikipedia due to the conflict-of-interest promotional nature as well as the violation of original research. You are welcome to contribute content that is backed by reliable sources, so long as you do not use your own website or other websites that you are affiliated with. If you, after reading our policies, you can't understand why your contributions violate those policies, than Wikipedia editing is probably not for you. That's as clear as I can make it. OhNoitsJamie Talk 22:43, 14 April 2016 (UTC)
- Thank you.1. I am blocked from NORMAL EDITING; the only editing available to me since this happened is EDIT SOURCE. The EDIT tab is gone. I do not know html, so this basically prevents me from editing. 2. I spent hours and hours on these 3 pages I edited. I would like to read Wikipedia Rules about all this, including self promotion, etc., then bring the editing back and take out anything I feel is against the rules. But, I think that once I un-revert you are going to block me before I can do any revisions? How do we handle this?
- I took a look at the Equity Sharing article and the changes you made to it. While it does appear that you put a significant amount of time into the article, you did add what appears to be self-promotional content and original research with this edit. A specific part of the content I can quote is, "Attorney and real estate broker [Marilyn Sullivan] formalized the transaction throughout the 1980s and popularized the concept in her books, 'The Complete Guide to Equity Sharing'" - this is definitely self-promotional, and is not allowed on Wikipedia. I agree with Ohnoitsjamie's reversion of the content you added for these reasons. The publisher of the sources is mostly irrelevant in this case; it's the primary or contributing author, creator, editor, or writer of such sources that is the matter of concern here. Again, it's okay to make mistakes; we encourage everyone to be bold here. However, we do expect that you understand and learn from these mistakes when other editors point relevant policy out to you. You may not have fully understood the undo button and what it can inadvertently cause to happen when you revert the article back. This is why the administrator, Ohnoitsjamie, did not block your account. She understood that you were new, and she assumed that you meant well and that you simply weren't aware of all of all of Wikipedia's policies and norms yet. Again, please review the guidelines and policies I've linked you in this response, as they will fully answer any questions or address any concerns. If you have questions, please let me know. Thank you :-) ~Oshwah~(talk) (contribs) 19:01, 14 April 2016 (UTC)
OK. Thank you again.
Good day. I have studied Wikipedia Rules and now understand ORIGINAL RESEARCH, CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND SELF-PROMOTION. I am about to start editing the EQUITY SHARING page again. You told me to contact you when I do. My plan is to revert the editing that was blocked, then take out the material that violates the rules. I am the #1 expert in EQUITY SHARING, having written 2 books on the subject, traveled the country talking about it, interviewed by many newspapers including Wall Street Journal and NY Times, countless radio shows and book store signings, so there will necessarily be references to my work and my website which recites what is in my books. OK to go ahead with this?
- That's great. However, as I said before, if you add a link to your own website again, I will block you indefinitely without further discussion. OhNoitsJamie Talk 14:12, 20 April 2016 (UTC)
Blocked[edit]
It's now clear that you are only here to promote yourself.
You have been blocked from editing Wikipedia for continuing to add spam links. If you wish to make useful contributions, you may place {{unblock}} on your user talk page to have the block reviewed. Persistent spammers will have their websites blacklisted from Wikipedia.
OhNoitsJamie Talk 17:36, 6 July 2016 (UTC)
Housinglawyer (block log • active blocks • global blocks • contribs • deleted contribs • filter log • creation log • change block settings • unblock • checkuser (log))
Request reason:
original unblock reason
Decline reason:
Although you claim below that you have not linked to your website, Ohnoitsjamie provides a diff showing that you did indeed do so after prior specific warnings about this. I'm not categorically saying you can never be unblocked, only that your unblock request is not valid because it is not accurate. Yamla (talk) 18:36, 6 July 2016 (UTC)
If you want to make any further unblock requests, please read the guide to appealing blocks first, then use the {{unblock}} template again. If you make too many unconvincing or disruptive unblock requests, you may be prevented from editing this page until your block has expired. Do not remove this unblock review while you are blocked.
I have updated very dated and incorrect material on Wikipedia with current rich information. I have spent many hours doing so. But, you remove this information. When you previously issued a warning it was because I linked to my website. You advised me that if I ever "link to my website again I will be automatically blocked. I have not linked to my website since then, but you have blocked me. I guess you have done this because of my contribution to the Real Estate Short Sale page stating that the best way to find a short sale specialist is to search the internet for "short sale specialist". Yes, I am one of many short sale specialists. You gave me ONE warning and ONE complete, indefinite BLOCK ... and the automatic block was not even for the conduct you said would result in a block. I believe your block this time should instead have been a warning. I ask you to please reconsider the block. I believe I have many useful contributions to make to Wikipedia and would appreciate the opportunity to do so. This is a learning experience for all of us.
- You did indeed link to your website. You were given a clear and explicit warning (see above), and were told the same thing by multiple editors. If I see a link to your website added to Wikipedia again (i.e., if you create another account and try to sneak it back in), I will immediately add it to our spam blacklist. OhNoitsJamie Talk 18:29, 6 July 2016 (UTC)
I was working so quickly the day that happened that I lost track. I thought I inserted this, then quickly took it out. I guess I did not save the change. I certainly never would have stated that I did not link to my website if I though the link was still there. Anyway, I take this as a lesson to be learned on my part. Thank you for bringing me this lesson. Take care. You are doing a great job.