User talk:Ronanbrowne

Violation of guidelines against autobiography

Hi there,

This message is written under the assumption that you, user Ronanbrowne, are the subject of the article Ronan Browne. If you aren't, and are merely a fan using his name as your username, then please disregard it (although you should change your username to avoid giving the impression that you're him).

Assuming, then, that you are Ronan Browne, let me say before anything else that I am a big fan of your playing and have some of your CDs, which I listen to with great pleasure. However, speaking as a Wikipedia editor I have to advise you that it's bad form on Wikipedia to contribute to articles about yourself, even if you are a distinguished musician (which Ronan Browne undoubtedly is). It violates Wikipedia rules against self-promotion. If the article on Ronan Browne were properly sourced and referenced, I would have no problem with you editing it, but it isn't, so I do. Wikipedia is not a place for people to talk about how great they are, even if they really are great. It's a a place where existing knowledge is compiled.

The article itself is not badly written, and does not come across as inaccurate. It just lacks proper citations for the statements made in your (very significant) contribution to it. (I checked the edit history to ensure that you wrote the bulk of it.)

I would prefer not to have to drastically edit the article, but unless third-party citations can be got for statements like "To this day Ronan’s friendship and musical collaboration with Peter O’Loughlin is fêted as one of the most enduring partnerships in Irish music" then I will reluctantly have to cut them. I know it's true; you know it's true. But I need to see evidence that somebody else has said so in the public domain. Sorry to be a pain. Lexo (talk) 20:55, 29 May 2008 (UTC)