User talk:Ml2323

Welcome!

Hello, Ml2323, 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:Ml2323, 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! Dэя-Бøяg 15:06, 3 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Speedy deletion nomination of User:Ml2323

A tag has been placed on User:Ml2323, requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done for the following reason:

Promotional usage of userspace

Under the criteria for speedy deletion, articles that do not meet basic Wikipedia criteria may be deleted at any time.

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. Dэя-Бøяg 15:06, 3 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia is not for advertising or promotion of any kind. JohnCD (talk) 19:04, 3 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, Ml2323. You have new messages at JohnCD's talk page.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

Explanation and advice

We perhaps do not make clear enough that Wikipedia is not a site like Myspace for people to come along and write about themselves, their companies, their bands etc. It is a collaborative project to build an encyclopedia. Some important differences are:

Wikipedia is selective about article subjects. It is not a listing directory, and it does not expect to have an article about every business (though Wikicompany does).. The criterion for inclusion is called notability, and is not a matter of opinion but has to be demonstrated by showing "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject." Significant means more than just listing-type mentions; reliable excludes Myspace, Facebook, blogs, places where anyone can post anything; independent excludes the subject's own website, affiliated ones and anything based on press releases. The test is, have other people, independent of the subject, thought it important enough to write substantial comment about? Before you start an article, think hard about whether your subject can meet this test.

If you are connected with the company you have, from our point of view, a WP:Conflict of interest. That is not a bar to contributing, but you should observe the principles of WP:Best practices for editors with conflicts of interest: in summary, don't make changes or post articles directly on subjects where you have a COI: propose them, declaring your interest, and let uninvolved users decide.

Wikipedia has to spend a lot of time and effort fighting off advertisers and self-promoters and is extremely resistant to any suggestion of being used for promotion. An encyclopedia article is quite a different thing from a Myspace or LinkedIn entry or a company website. Read WP:PEACOCK on the sort of language to avoid. One of Wikipedia's fundamental policies is WP:Neutral point of view; another is WP:Verifiability, which requires that "any material challenged or likely to be challenged must be attributed to a reliable, published source." When you write any glowing adjective, or indeed any claim, imagine a hostile critic looking over your shoulder saying "Who says so? Can you prove it?" Put out of your mind any idea of trying to sell or promote your subject, or that you are writing for it or on its behalf: you are writing from outside an impartial description, with neutral facts referenced to reliable sources.

A Wikipedia article is not owned by anyone, not its first author, certainly not its subject. Other users can and will edit it, you will not be able to maintain your preferred version, and you may encounter Wikiedia's Law of Unintended Consequences.

If you want to go ahead, read:

and then make a draft article in your user space - see Help:Userspace draft for how to do that. Then, if you like, ask for comments at WP:Requests for feedback and when it is ready propose it at WP:Articles for creation, where either it will be accepted or you will be told why not.

Regards, JohnCD (talk) 12:10, 5 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]