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Another adoption

Thanks for weighing in on notable karateka listings; I'm tying to de-orphan this article: Malcolm Phipps. Any other suggestions for links are welcome! Dreadstar 21:20, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

I have trained at the guy's dojo when Richard Amos was teaching there. I will see if I can find anywhere else to link to.-- Charles ( talk) 22:19, 7 April 2011 (UTC)
Perfect, thanks! Dreadstar 22:25, 7 April 2011 (UTC)


your suggestion of my entry being advertising== Information

Just to say that your suggestion that my entry about a tea house in Wareham being advertising/publicity (or something) is totally unfounded. I have nothing to do with the place.... I do not know the owners... i just went there and thought that it was of historical value to record that Lawrence of Arabia used regularly to go there. There's a plaque there to commemorate this. I am sure I have also read it in his biography ... but I certainly can't be bothered to find the reference knowing now that you will just delete it as "advertising". —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mafiga ( talkcontribs) 08:22, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Well it surely looked like advertising. If you can be bothered to find a third party source it may not get deleted, by me anyway. Can't speak for other editors.-- Charles ( talk) 08:39, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

EAR thread

Your are involved in a discussion at WP:EAR#A general problem with a particular user in several articles SpinningSpark 13:51, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Votestacking at AfD

Your canvassing of multiple editors regarding Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of bus routes in Colchester constitutes vote-stacking and was not appropriate. See Wikipedia:Canvassing. All of the editors whom you contacted, in quick succession, based on their past participation in similar AfDs, had !voted Delete at those other AfDs. You were contacting an entirely partisan audience for the purpose of securing your preferred outcome in the discussion. I realise that, like some of our younger editors, you have very strong feelings about buses and bus routes on Wikipedia, and that you feel your viewpoint on this reflects policy. However, you must not ignore Wikipedia policy in order to ensure your viewpoint prevails, and canvassing in this way can be considered disruptive. -- Demiurge1000 ( talk) 18:59, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

I was not aware that canvassing was against the rules and was trying to bring this issue to a wider audiance than just transport fanatics. If I was wrong I apologise. As for ignoring policy there has been a lot of that going on in the articles at issue but I agree that two wrongs do not make a right.-- Charles ( talk) 19:06, 23 April 2011 (UTC)
If you ask others to participate in a debate, the request needs to be worded meticulously neutral, ie don't ask them to do anything, just inform that the debate is taking place. Posting to public spaces like WikiProject talk pages is fine. Posting to individual editors is usually viewed with suspicion and should only be done with caution. For instance it might be ok to inform those who took part in an AfD that the same article has been nominated again, but only if you inform all participants; for, against and undecided with exactly the same neutral message. SpinningSpark 20:45, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Karl1587 ANI

Sick to death of this editor not acknowledging warnings and/or suggestions so I have taken him to ANI. Perhaps you want to contribute/comment? Thanks. Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/Incidents#Karl1587_refuses_to_acknowledge_or_act_on_suggestions_and_warnings -- Simple Bob a.k.a. The Spaminator ( Talk) 18:53, 1 May 2011 (UTC)

Adoption please?

Hi Charles,

I am new to this and found you on the adoption page. I am interested in creating articles relating to my local area (Wiltshire). I have had no previous experience so any help would be great !

I have created an article in my user pages but I can't work out how to get it from there to the mainsite ?

Many thanks,

Victoria Sheppers 0505 ( talk) 13:20, 2 May 2011 (UTC)

Welcome. Have replied at your talk page.-- Charles ( talk) 13:52, 2 May 2011 (UTC)

Hi,

Thanks very much for your message and help. I have now actually created the page (yay!). One more question, I have tried the help page but it wasn't very clear, how do I add a logo to the info box ?

-- Sheppers 0505 ( talk) 14:43, 2 May 2011 (UTC)

Might be a good idea to put in some references first for the history, before the new page patrol get upset. Logos are a complicated area and not one I know much about (lurkers, feel free to weigh in}. You will need permission to use the logo, which will probably mean asking the school to e-mail permission to Wikipedia. They will have to agree to its use not only on Wikipedia but also to its use for modification, redisribution and use for any purpose, including commercial use. They may not want this. Did you find this page? It includes a sample letter for asking permission.-- Charles ( talk) 17:07, 2 May 2011 (UTC)
The issue of permission is a complicated one - one is not just asking for "permission for Wikipedia to use", but release of the image under the specific terms of one of the fully free licenses. This goes a lot further, including giving permission to third parties (unknown to us or them) to use the work or derivatives of it, including for commercial purposes. So having a logo licensed in this way is the "best" solution for Wikipedia, but in practice, the school may not understand what they are being asked to do, or may be happy to help but not be sure if such a license is something they can really grant or wish to grant. However, using a logo under a non-free "fair use" rationale is covered by policy, and this does not require any permission, providing it is done correctly. See File:J-Sch-crest.svg for an example of how to do this. What's in the "Licensing" section is largely generated by choosing the appropriate non-free tag, and what's in the "Summary" section can mostly be copied from that example. But let us know which route you wish to go down (which largely depends on what sort of response, if any, you get from the school) and then we can give advice on the practical details of achieving it. -- Demiurge1000 ( talk) 17:34, 2 May 2011 (UTC)
"To seek permission is to invite denial", so don't bother asking the school. The best route for logos is to choose fair-use, which is a way that WIkimedia/Wikipedia justifies using something that is otherwise copyright protected. See the logos that I have uploaded - click on any of them and you will see a templated fair-use rational which is automatically added when you upload a file and choose "logo" as the file type. -- Simple Bob a.k.a. The Spaminator ( Talk) 18:40, 2 May 2011 (UTC)

Your edit of my edit on the Colchester page

Hi, I have no connections with the Kawasaki motorbike racing team and did not know they existed until I saw them on Eurosport the other weekend and as I live in the town I thought it would be good to mention them. If we can mention them without a link to their external page which incidentally is mostly about the 'sport' (no I do not really believe motorsport is sport) then I would be happy. So is it ok to re-establish the text without the link? Toh-maag ( talk) 14:48, 23 June 2011 (UTC)

Hi toh-maag. We put new sections on talk pages at the bottom. The embedded very spammy link was my main problem with the added text. No objection to mentioning the team but it would help if you can find an independent reference such as a newspaper or magazine article. Happy editing.-- Charles ( talk) 17:11, 23 June 2011 (UTC)

Sockpupetter

I don't think I ever actually said that but that misunderstanding was sorted out weeks ago. I can't be arsed going back through the diffs to look at it.-- Charles ( talk) 17:08, 9 May 2011 (UTC)
I am pleased to see that you are comprehending the guidelines and policies and moving on to new areas of work. Well done.-- Charles ( talk) 21:50, 10 May 2011 (UTC)
Thank you very very much. I will withdraw the my notes above.Thank you. Wilbysuffolk talk 06:02, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

Intelligent design

Hi! I've just left a note for you on the Intelligent design talk page. Yopienso ( talk) 17:29, 10 May 2011 (UTC)

Dave Souza seems to have debunked your addition now anyway.-- Charles ( talk) 21:46, 10 May 2011 (UTC)
Thanks for taking the trouble to respond. I didn't add, but reverted. Dave seems confused. Rjensen's format may need clean-up. Regards, Yopienso ( talk) 22:52, 10 May 2011 (UTC)

Safe Handling of Carcinogens

Hello Charles,

I put the section on safe handling of carcinogens at the end of the Carcinogen page because I was required to add content to this article for a university assignment.

It is my lecturer's belief that material on this subject is a useful addition to Wikipedia. As such, I would appreciate it if you could view it from the perspective of material in need of refinement rather than attributing it no worth at all. I'm required to contribute something on this topic, and would have appreciated more specific and less harsh guidance. Thank you.

Goldenjera ( talk) 22:56, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

Hello Goldenjera. Welcome to Wikipedia.
It seems that your lecturer has set you an impossible task. It reminds me of the time a professor asked his students to insert false info. into articles just to prove a point. They failed miserably and were soon blocked. Your professor needs to read WP:NOTGUIDE which makes it clear that Wikipedia is not an instruction manual or how-to guide. I will put a welcome message on your user talk page with lots of useful links. As for harsh guidance the first rule here is to expect your work to be mercilessly edited or removed if it is not up to standard. Please don't be put off editing. There are lots of useful things to be done and there is an adoption scheme for new users needing help.-- Charles ( talk) 08:39, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

Thank you for the closure. Sadly this does nothing to overcome the problem of a number of train/bus spotters who vote at AfDs to keep totally unencyclopedic and non-notable material just because they like it, resulting in its surviving by default when the result is no consensus. WP:NOTGUIDE, WP:NOTDIR and WP:NOTTRAVEL are basically being ignored, resulting in great frustration for some of us. Can you see any way forward with this?-- Charles ( talk) 21:52, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

Yes. The development of an essay/guideline on writing about transport issues. I think this - Medway Valley Line - is acceptable, but this - Halling railway station - is not. There are plenty of better examples, but that's one I can remember. SilkTork * Tea time 00:00, 24 May 2011 (UTC)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Another adoption

Thanks for weighing in on notable karateka listings; I'm tying to de-orphan this article: Malcolm Phipps. Any other suggestions for links are welcome! Dreadstar 21:20, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

I have trained at the guy's dojo when Richard Amos was teaching there. I will see if I can find anywhere else to link to.-- Charles ( talk) 22:19, 7 April 2011 (UTC)
Perfect, thanks! Dreadstar 22:25, 7 April 2011 (UTC)


your suggestion of my entry being advertising== Information

Just to say that your suggestion that my entry about a tea house in Wareham being advertising/publicity (or something) is totally unfounded. I have nothing to do with the place.... I do not know the owners... i just went there and thought that it was of historical value to record that Lawrence of Arabia used regularly to go there. There's a plaque there to commemorate this. I am sure I have also read it in his biography ... but I certainly can't be bothered to find the reference knowing now that you will just delete it as "advertising". —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mafiga ( talkcontribs) 08:22, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Well it surely looked like advertising. If you can be bothered to find a third party source it may not get deleted, by me anyway. Can't speak for other editors.-- Charles ( talk) 08:39, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

EAR thread

Your are involved in a discussion at WP:EAR#A general problem with a particular user in several articles SpinningSpark 13:51, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Votestacking at AfD

Your canvassing of multiple editors regarding Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of bus routes in Colchester constitutes vote-stacking and was not appropriate. See Wikipedia:Canvassing. All of the editors whom you contacted, in quick succession, based on their past participation in similar AfDs, had !voted Delete at those other AfDs. You were contacting an entirely partisan audience for the purpose of securing your preferred outcome in the discussion. I realise that, like some of our younger editors, you have very strong feelings about buses and bus routes on Wikipedia, and that you feel your viewpoint on this reflects policy. However, you must not ignore Wikipedia policy in order to ensure your viewpoint prevails, and canvassing in this way can be considered disruptive. -- Demiurge1000 ( talk) 18:59, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

I was not aware that canvassing was against the rules and was trying to bring this issue to a wider audiance than just transport fanatics. If I was wrong I apologise. As for ignoring policy there has been a lot of that going on in the articles at issue but I agree that two wrongs do not make a right.-- Charles ( talk) 19:06, 23 April 2011 (UTC)
If you ask others to participate in a debate, the request needs to be worded meticulously neutral, ie don't ask them to do anything, just inform that the debate is taking place. Posting to public spaces like WikiProject talk pages is fine. Posting to individual editors is usually viewed with suspicion and should only be done with caution. For instance it might be ok to inform those who took part in an AfD that the same article has been nominated again, but only if you inform all participants; for, against and undecided with exactly the same neutral message. SpinningSpark 20:45, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Karl1587 ANI

Sick to death of this editor not acknowledging warnings and/or suggestions so I have taken him to ANI. Perhaps you want to contribute/comment? Thanks. Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/Incidents#Karl1587_refuses_to_acknowledge_or_act_on_suggestions_and_warnings -- Simple Bob a.k.a. The Spaminator ( Talk) 18:53, 1 May 2011 (UTC)

Adoption please?

Hi Charles,

I am new to this and found you on the adoption page. I am interested in creating articles relating to my local area (Wiltshire). I have had no previous experience so any help would be great !

I have created an article in my user pages but I can't work out how to get it from there to the mainsite ?

Many thanks,

Victoria Sheppers 0505 ( talk) 13:20, 2 May 2011 (UTC)

Welcome. Have replied at your talk page.-- Charles ( talk) 13:52, 2 May 2011 (UTC)

Hi,

Thanks very much for your message and help. I have now actually created the page (yay!). One more question, I have tried the help page but it wasn't very clear, how do I add a logo to the info box ?

-- Sheppers 0505 ( talk) 14:43, 2 May 2011 (UTC)

Might be a good idea to put in some references first for the history, before the new page patrol get upset. Logos are a complicated area and not one I know much about (lurkers, feel free to weigh in}. You will need permission to use the logo, which will probably mean asking the school to e-mail permission to Wikipedia. They will have to agree to its use not only on Wikipedia but also to its use for modification, redisribution and use for any purpose, including commercial use. They may not want this. Did you find this page? It includes a sample letter for asking permission.-- Charles ( talk) 17:07, 2 May 2011 (UTC)
The issue of permission is a complicated one - one is not just asking for "permission for Wikipedia to use", but release of the image under the specific terms of one of the fully free licenses. This goes a lot further, including giving permission to third parties (unknown to us or them) to use the work or derivatives of it, including for commercial purposes. So having a logo licensed in this way is the "best" solution for Wikipedia, but in practice, the school may not understand what they are being asked to do, or may be happy to help but not be sure if such a license is something they can really grant or wish to grant. However, using a logo under a non-free "fair use" rationale is covered by policy, and this does not require any permission, providing it is done correctly. See File:J-Sch-crest.svg for an example of how to do this. What's in the "Licensing" section is largely generated by choosing the appropriate non-free tag, and what's in the "Summary" section can mostly be copied from that example. But let us know which route you wish to go down (which largely depends on what sort of response, if any, you get from the school) and then we can give advice on the practical details of achieving it. -- Demiurge1000 ( talk) 17:34, 2 May 2011 (UTC)
"To seek permission is to invite denial", so don't bother asking the school. The best route for logos is to choose fair-use, which is a way that WIkimedia/Wikipedia justifies using something that is otherwise copyright protected. See the logos that I have uploaded - click on any of them and you will see a templated fair-use rational which is automatically added when you upload a file and choose "logo" as the file type. -- Simple Bob a.k.a. The Spaminator ( Talk) 18:40, 2 May 2011 (UTC)

Your edit of my edit on the Colchester page

Hi, I have no connections with the Kawasaki motorbike racing team and did not know they existed until I saw them on Eurosport the other weekend and as I live in the town I thought it would be good to mention them. If we can mention them without a link to their external page which incidentally is mostly about the 'sport' (no I do not really believe motorsport is sport) then I would be happy. So is it ok to re-establish the text without the link? Toh-maag ( talk) 14:48, 23 June 2011 (UTC)

Hi toh-maag. We put new sections on talk pages at the bottom. The embedded very spammy link was my main problem with the added text. No objection to mentioning the team but it would help if you can find an independent reference such as a newspaper or magazine article. Happy editing.-- Charles ( talk) 17:11, 23 June 2011 (UTC)

Sockpupetter

I don't think I ever actually said that but that misunderstanding was sorted out weeks ago. I can't be arsed going back through the diffs to look at it.-- Charles ( talk) 17:08, 9 May 2011 (UTC)
I am pleased to see that you are comprehending the guidelines and policies and moving on to new areas of work. Well done.-- Charles ( talk) 21:50, 10 May 2011 (UTC)
Thank you very very much. I will withdraw the my notes above.Thank you. Wilbysuffolk talk 06:02, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

Intelligent design

Hi! I've just left a note for you on the Intelligent design talk page. Yopienso ( talk) 17:29, 10 May 2011 (UTC)

Dave Souza seems to have debunked your addition now anyway.-- Charles ( talk) 21:46, 10 May 2011 (UTC)
Thanks for taking the trouble to respond. I didn't add, but reverted. Dave seems confused. Rjensen's format may need clean-up. Regards, Yopienso ( talk) 22:52, 10 May 2011 (UTC)

Safe Handling of Carcinogens

Hello Charles,

I put the section on safe handling of carcinogens at the end of the Carcinogen page because I was required to add content to this article for a university assignment.

It is my lecturer's belief that material on this subject is a useful addition to Wikipedia. As such, I would appreciate it if you could view it from the perspective of material in need of refinement rather than attributing it no worth at all. I'm required to contribute something on this topic, and would have appreciated more specific and less harsh guidance. Thank you.

Goldenjera ( talk) 22:56, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

Hello Goldenjera. Welcome to Wikipedia.
It seems that your lecturer has set you an impossible task. It reminds me of the time a professor asked his students to insert false info. into articles just to prove a point. They failed miserably and were soon blocked. Your professor needs to read WP:NOTGUIDE which makes it clear that Wikipedia is not an instruction manual or how-to guide. I will put a welcome message on your user talk page with lots of useful links. As for harsh guidance the first rule here is to expect your work to be mercilessly edited or removed if it is not up to standard. Please don't be put off editing. There are lots of useful things to be done and there is an adoption scheme for new users needing help.-- Charles ( talk) 08:39, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

Thank you for the closure. Sadly this does nothing to overcome the problem of a number of train/bus spotters who vote at AfDs to keep totally unencyclopedic and non-notable material just because they like it, resulting in its surviving by default when the result is no consensus. WP:NOTGUIDE, WP:NOTDIR and WP:NOTTRAVEL are basically being ignored, resulting in great frustration for some of us. Can you see any way forward with this?-- Charles ( talk) 21:52, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

Yes. The development of an essay/guideline on writing about transport issues. I think this - Medway Valley Line - is acceptable, but this - Halling railway station - is not. There are plenty of better examples, but that's one I can remember. SilkTork * Tea time 00:00, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

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