Richard Harland

Managing a conflict of interest

Hello, Richard Harland. We welcome your contributions, but if you have an external relationship with the people, places or things you have written about on the page Richard Harland, you may have a conflict of interest (COI). Editors with a conflict of interest may be unduly influenced by their connection to the topic. See the conflict of interest guideline and FAQ for organizations for more information. We ask that you:

• avoid editing or creating articles about yourself, your family, friends, colleagues, company, organization, clients, or competitors;
• propose changes on the talk pages of affected articles (you can use the {{request edit}} template);
• disclose your conflict of interest when discussing affected articles (see Wikipedia:Conflict of interest#How to disclose a COI);
• avoid linking to your organization's website in other articles (see Wikipedia:Spam#External link spamming);
• do your best to comply with Wikipedia's content policies.

In addition, you are required by the Wikimedia Foundation's terms of use to disclose your employer, client, and affiliation with respect to any contribution which forms all or part of work for which you receive, or expect to receive, compensation. See Wikipedia:Paid-contribution disclosure.

Also, editing for the purpose of advertising, publicising, or promoting anyone or anything is not permitted. Thank you. Grachester (talk) 05:27, 4 June 2023 (UTC)

Help me

Basically, I've been stupid, and I'm now floundering completely out of my depth (including how to make contact and beg for help).. I was horrified when I recently discovered that the wiki page on me (Richard Harland) contained some bits of outright misinformation (since reproduced elsewhere, as I now realise, falsely relying on the wiki page) and was also a dozen years out of date. Not having any contact with the person who put it up, I was delighted to discover I could edit it myself and no doubt edited too much. (I didn't alter opinions with which I disagree, but added in quite a bit of new material.) Now I find that my page has a message saying the subject of the bio has improperly contributed himself. Grachester (I think) has made some corrections according to evidence I cited, but the message remains, and I'm wondering what I have to do to get rid of it. Please help - false information on me can be very damaging; at the same time, I now realise why you can't allow people to edit pages on themselves. (Please note: I live in Australia, so it may take time before I can read a reply, and before you read my response.) Richard Harland (talk) 09:12, 15 June 2023 (UTC)

Last time I was told I hadn't asked my question, and the conversation was ended. I don't know where 'below' means when you require me to ask my question 'below'. Does the material above go through as my question? If not, where do I ask? Richard Harland (talk) 09:19, 15 June 2023 (UTC)

OK. So this means that you have a conflict of interest (COI). For information on the rules about COIs and on how to deal with a COI see: WP:COI and WP:Plain and simple conflict of interest guide.

One of the most important things to do is declare this COI. On how to do that see: WP:Conflict_of_interest#howtodisclose.

The next thing to know is that you should (almost) never make edits to an article about yourself. Instead you should post an edit request on the talk page of the article. You should specify what changes you request and provide reliable sources supporting them. Other editors will take a look at your request and if they consider it constructive perform the edit (this can take some time depending on the number of outstanding requests and the complexity of your request). You can manually make a request using the Request edit template, or use the Edit Request Wizard. See WP:Edit Request Wizard, Template:Request edit, and WP:Reliable sources.

For urgent issues like defamation or any kind of content that violates Wikipedia policies you can additionally post at the noticeboard for biographies of living people: WP:BLPN.

If you need further help, you can always post questions at the WP:Teahouse or the WP:Help Desk. I hope this helps. -- Random person no 362478479 (talk) 17:14, 15 June 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for your reply. The trouble is that the revised, updated version of the article is basically the one now up there. Grachester - I think - corrected my (Richard Harland's) nationality in line with evidence/citations I provided, and also removed a paragraph on forthcoming books (I could provide citations for the Amazon pre-order and GoodReads listings, but I agree, it could be viewed as a form of advertising). I'm not sure whether the '15 books' in the article's opening paragraph was reverted (it should be 17) - if so, it's the only thing that was. My questions: when I disclose COI on my talk page and user page (hoping I can follow the instructions - I'm at a Visual Editor level, computer language is baffling to me!), am I then entitled to remove the template message on the page about 'one major contributor appears to have a conflict of interest'? Or can I spell out somewhere that the contribution took the form of updating - though admittedly there was a lot of it? If I edit by adding citations for info already there, will that bring another COI message to the page, or is the addition of citations permissible? Sorry I have to keep asking for guidance - I feel like a toddler who's walked into a minefield! Richard Harland (talk) 00:44, 16 June 2023 (UTC)

You shoud disclose on your user page and talk page on your article, use {{request edit}} for now on, and not be the one to remove the COI template on the article. I dream of horses ^{(Contribs) (Talk)} 00:19, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

I agree with I dream of horses that you should not remove the COI template yourself. On the question of adding citations to existing content it probably depends on the persons seeing your edit. I recommend erring on the side of caution and using edit requests instead. I'll try to take a closer look at the article in the coming week to see what (if any) changes are necessary to remove the COI message. In the meantime here are step-by-step instructions for declaring the COI using point-and-click:

Declaring your conflict of interest on your user page

Edit your user page.

At the top of the editor you should see a toolbar that starts with B, I, a link icon, a picture icon, a book icon, and then a puzzle piece icon. Click on the puzzle piece icon to open a window with the title "Insert a template".

In the search field enter "UserboxCOI" to get to the form for declaring a COI. If you enter it exactly like that you can just press enter, otherwise you have to select it from the list.

Under "REQUIRED PARAMETERS" enter the name of the article for which you have a COI, i.e. "Richard Harland" (despite the title there is only one required parameter, called "1").

You can add further parameters under "OPTIONAL PARAMETERS". The numbered parameters are for other articles where you have a COI. With the "float" parameter you can set where the box appears on your page (e.g. left, right). With the "text" parameter you can add further information if you want.

When you have filled out the form click on "Insert" in the top right corner.

Now a box should appear on your page.

Declaring your conflict of interest on the article's talk page

Edit the article's talk page.

Click on the puzzle piece icon.

In the search field enter "Connected contributor".

Under "REQUIRED PARAMETERS" enter your user name (despite the title there is only one required parameter, called "1st user").

Under "SUGGESTED PARAMETERS" click on the plus sign in front of "U1-declared" and enter "yes" to let other users know that you have declared your COI on your user page.

Click on "Insert" in the top right corner.

Now a new box with a beige(ish) background should appear on the talk page.

-- Random person no 362478479 (talk) 19:41, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

Thanks, Random Person no 362478479, and thanks, I dream of horses. I didn't understand a couple of v short messages I received yesterday, but I understand now, and I'll act on the step-by-step instructions at once. Richard Harland (talk) 23:12, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

(Later on June 18th) The instructions for the User page didn't work out as planned (toolbar didn't match, no puzzle piece), but I eventually managed to declare the COI on both pages. I've proposed footnotes and citations on my Talk page for later updated sections of the article, so at least they won't be without evidence. I didn't Request Edit, because it seems I have to put the proposals up first (?) 58.110.68.181 (talk) 12:17, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

Now I discover I posted the proposed citations on the Talk:Richard Harland page, not the User Talk:Richard Harland page. I don't know which is correct, but I'll post them here too - and I will add a Request Edit template, since I'm not proposing them as changes I can make myself.

PROPOSED FOOTNOTES AND CITATIONS FOR RICHARD HARLAND ARTICLE

> in Section Other children’s fiction

>> sub-section Sassycat: the Night of the Dead (2005)

AT END OF SUB-Section … invading their territory from a nearby cemetery. INSERT 2 footnotes and 2 citations (a)http://www.scool.scholastic.com.au/schoolzone/toolkit/assets/pdfs/Sassy_Cat.pdf (b) https://www.booktopia.com.au/sassycat-richard-harland/book/9781862916708.html

> in Section Worldshaker, Liberator and Song of the Slums

>> AT END OF FIRST PARAGRAPH … for a substantial advance.

INSERT footnote and citation https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Worldshaker/Richard-Harland/9781416995531

>> AT END OF THIRD PARAGRAPH … published globally by the same publishers as Liberator.

INSERT footnote and citation https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Liberator/Richard-Harland/9781442423343

>> AT END OF FINAL PARAGRAPH … Astor’s relationship with the enigmatic Errol.

INSERT footnote and citation https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Richard-Harland-Song-of-the-Slums-9781743310052/

> in Section: Shorter works of fiction AFTER … magazines and anthologies in the US, Australia, Canada and France. INSERT 2 footnotes and citations (a) The Internet Speculative Fiction Database: https://isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?5718 (b) AustLit Database, https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/search2/page?query=Richard+Harland&token=ywqyncy&facetSampleSize=0&facetValuesSize=0&blendMax=y&count=50&sortBy=date

> in Section Awards AFTER Richard Harland has won the following awards: INSERT 4 footnotes and citations: (a) AustLit database: https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A21008?mainTabTemplate=agentAwards (b) The Internet Speculative Fiction Database: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/eaw.cgi?5718 (c) Aurealis Awards archive: https://aurealisawards.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/aurealis-1995-2017-compiled-lists.pdf (d) <to cover variation in title of Prix Tam Tam Je Bouquine/Prix Tam-tam du Livre Jeunesse>  https://www.librarything.com/bookaward/Prix+Tam-tam+du+Livre+de+Jeunesse

58.110.68.181 (talk) 00:13, 21 June 2023 (UTC)

Please place edit requests on the talk page of the article you wish to edit. Thanks, Z1720 (talk) 16:35, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

Thanks! I already put the content there (Talk:Richard Harland), but now I've added the request edit template. I don't know whether I should remove the 'Proposed Changes' content from this page ... Richard Harland (talk) 23:09, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

I went through your edits of the article and in my opinion they are unproblematic. Therefore I have removed the COI template. I see you got the COI declarations on your user page and the article page up, so that's fine, too. I'll see if the citations you provided fulfill Wikipedia's criteria for reliable sources and add them if they do. Whether you delete them from this page or keep them is entirely up to you. -- Random person no 362478479 (talk) 13:58, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

Thank you. I think I've learned my lesson! In future, if there's a simple small update needed, I'll always Request Edit with evidence. Richard Harland (talk) 23:05, 24 June 2023 (UTC)

--Richard Harland (talk) 23:33, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

1-JUL-2023

Hello and welcome to Wikipedia. When you add content to talk pages and Wikipedia pages that have open discussion, such as at Richard Harland, (but never when editing articles), please be sure to sign your posts. There are two ways to do this. Either:

1. Add four tildes ( ~~~~ ) at the end of your comment, or
2. With the cursor positioned at the end of your comment, click on the signature button located above the edit window.

This will automatically insert a signature with your username or IP address and the time you posted the comment. This information is necessary to allow other editors to easily see who wrote what and when.

Thank you.  Spintendo  23:07, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

Thanks, Spintendo! I've added signatures to my last comments on Talk:Richard Harland and also User Talk: Richard Harland. So many tricks to learn for the uninititiated! Richard Harland (talk) 23:36, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

Request edit

The Wiki page on Richard Harland is now out of date, since the publication of my latest novel two and a half months ago. I've learned the hard way not to edit in material myself! The following is the material I'd like to add or see added.

Ferren and the Angel

Harland’s latest novel is a YA fantasy that also includes elements of SF, horror, steampunk and surrealism. It’s not a religious book, but draws for background on the vast lore of angelology in the Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions.

The world is a dystopian future a thousand years from now, after human scientists discovered the reality of life after death and fell into an endless war against the angels. The Earth is now a ruined wasteland, where descendants of the scientists continue to fight using armies of artificially created ‘Humen’.

The two foreground characters are the young tribesman Ferren and Miriael, a warrior angel who is shot down and crashes to the Earth at the start of the novel. Damaged and helpless, Miriael prays for extinction; instead, Ferren finds her lying in the grass and tries to help by feeding her terrestrial food.

So begins a unique relationship that will end up changing the course of history. For tribespeople like Ferren, the 'Humen' are supposed to be their allies and the ‘Celestials’ their enemies. He’s about to learn many shocking truths about the world he’s grown up in.

Ferren and the Angel was published globally by IFWG Publishing in Novermber, 2023.

________________

There are no unique citations for similar info on my other novels - but evidence for the above material can be checked at -

National Library of Australia   https://bookshop.nla.gov.au/book/ferren-and-the-angel.do

https://www.amazon.com.au/Ferren-Angel-Trilogy-Richard-Harland-ebook/dp/B0BZB4QVHL

https://www.ipgbook.com/ferren-and-the-angel-products-9781922856319.php

For some of the world background, I've also borrowed from the Amazon summary on the second (forthcoming) book in the trilogy at -

https://www.amazon.com/Ferren-Doomsday-Mission-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B0CP8NVG3K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=29HOF05CHK0VJ&keywords=ferren+and+the+doomsday+mission&qid=1707546781&sprefix=ferren+and+the+doomsday+mission%2Caps%2C444&sr=8-1

I'm looking for approval and whatever help and guidance I might need. I have to do this myself because I can't trace the person who originally set up the entry on Richard Harland. Many thanks!~~~~ Richard Harland (talk) 07:03, 10 February 2024 (UTC)

For fastest response, please repost this at Talk:Richard Harland, and please add the template {{Edit COI}} to the top of your copy paste, but after the ==Heading==. Hope this helps. –Novem Linguae (talk) 06:30, 23 February 2024 (UTC)

help me-helped

The Wiki page on Richard Harland is now out of date, since the publication of my latest novel two and a half months ago. I've learned the hard way not to edit in material myself! I tried putting in a 'request edit' for this, but a message told me the request had been 'deprecated' - so I'm trying {{help me}}

The following is the material I'd like to add or see added.

Ferren and the Angel

Harland’s latest novel is a YA fantasy that also includes elements of SF, horror, steampunk and surrealism. It’s not a religious book, but draws for background on the vast lore of angelology in the Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions.

The world is a dystopian future a thousand years from now, after human scientists discovered the reality of life after death and fell into an endless war against the angels. The Earth is now a ruined wasteland, where descendants of the scientists continue to fight using armies of artificially created ‘Humen’.

The two foreground characters are the young tribesman Ferren and Miriael, a warrior angel who is shot down and crashes to the Earth at the start of the novel. Damaged and helpless, Miriael prays for extinction; instead, Ferren finds her lying in the grass and tries to help by feeding her terrestrial food.

So begins a unique relationship that will end up changing the course of history. For tribespeople like Ferren, the 'Humen' are supposed to be their allies and the ‘Celestials’ their enemies. He’s about to learn many shocking truths about the world he’s grown up in.

Ferren and the Angel was published globally by IFWG Publishing in Novermber, 2023.

________________

There are no unique citations for similar info on my other novels - but evidence for the above material can be checked at -

National Library of Australia   https://bookshop.nla.gov.au/book/ferren-and-the-angel.do

https://www.amazon.com.au/Ferren-Angel-Trilogy-Richard-Harland-ebook/dp/B0BZB4QVHL

https://www.ipgbook.com/ferren-and-the-angel-products-9781922856319.php

For some of the world background, I've also borrowed from the Amazon summary on the second (forthcoming) book in the trilogy at -

https://www.amazon.com/Ferren-Doomsday-Mission-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B0CP8NVG3K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=29HOF05CHK0VJ&keywords=ferren+and+the+doomsday+mission&qid=1707546781&sprefix=ferren+and+the+doomsday+mission%2Caps%2C444&sr=8-1

I'm looking for approval and whatever help and guidance I might need. I have to do this myself because I can't trace the person who originally set up the entry on Richard Harland. Many thanks!~~~~ Richard Harland (talk) 07:11, 10 February 2024 (UTC)

For starters, thanks for not editing with a conflict of interest. I'm afraid the proposed text looks more like a book review than encyclopedic content (and it is way too much, given it's only a bibliography on the author's page). I considered adding something like this, Harland's first book in a new trilogy of called Ferren and the Angel was published in November 2023., but I cannot find a reliable source that I am satisfied with at this stage, and bookshop links look spammy. Local Variable (talk) 11:32, 10 February 2024 (UTC)

Hi Local Variable!

Maybe I included too much material, although the content summaries for other books on the Richard Harland page aren't much shorter. It's not simply a bibliographical item (there's no complete bibliography for all of my academic, literary and fictional publications on the page, and it would be a tediously long entry if there were). When someone set up the entry many years ago, it included summaries of book content, and I continued with summaries when,discovering how out of date the entry was, I foolishly updated it myself, then had to go through many requests for help before Wikipedia editors put it through properly. The content summaries you see on most of my later books were accepted, sometimes with modification, by 'Random person no 362478479' and others.

Would it be acceptable if I cut the quantity of material back to the size of, e.g., the Worldshaker summary? The summary probably does sound a bit too excited and enthusiastic - I admit, I took the easy route of drawing on summaries publicly available on Amazon, GoodReads etc. I'm not trying to promote or advertise - elsewhere, yes, I have to do that, but not on Wikipedia! I can rewrite to produce a more encyclopaedic presentation.

I wasn't sure what you meant by a reliable source or 'the bookshop links look spammy'. The evidence for the book's existence is verifiable at ISBNdb - https://isbndb.com/book/9781922856296 - but I don't suppose you meant that. Amazon and such aren't reliable as guides to quality, but I'd have thought the basic content is visible through the excitement and enthusiasm. A publisher like IFWG and a distributor like IPG wouldn't last long if they pushed misleading information!

I could cite content information from reviews, e.g. Kirkus (still the bible of book reviewing!)

Review Issue Date: September 15, 2023; Online Publish Date: August 26, 2023

"Fifteen-year-old Ferren has only known life as one of the People, a “primitive” population on a post-apocalyptic Earth, continually threatened by the war waged by the armies of Heaven. As part of their alliance with the militaristic Humens that Ferren’s community in Australia lives in fear of, they are expected to surrender a member each year. First Ferren’s parents were taken by the Humens, and then his older sister was selected, leaving him with a lonely existence. Ferren isn’t close with any of the People; most think he is odd. After a particularly brutal fight between the Humens and angels, the People’s sworn enemies, Ferren stumbles upon Miriael, a wounded angel “in the feminine mode” whom he is fascinated by and restores to health. From Miriael, Ferren comes to a new and shocking understanding of the truth."

There are also other reviews with content descriptions that include some background information on the world.

Richard~~~~ Richard Harland (talk) 03:39, 11 February 2024 (UTC)

For fastest response, please repost this at Talk:Richard Harland, and please add the template {{Edit COI}} to the top of your copy paste, but after the ==Heading==. Hope this helps. –Novem Linguae (talk) 06:30, 23 February 2024 (UTC)

Thanks, Novem Linguae! I've been feeling flattened by the response to my last edit request - I'd have thought anyone consulting Wiki about a respected author and his books would have wanted the latest info included, which would have included a content summary, just as I'd expect for the latest film of a movie director. And the obvious sources are GoodReads, Amazon and respectable reviews - not in themselves encyclopaedic, but the description of content is surely reliable enough if consistent across all sources. The alternative would be to wait for some other encyclopaedic source to go first. Admittedly, I didn't filter out all the implied evaluation in my first attempt. Encouraged by your response - by the fact that someone did respond - I'm now trying again, drawing on very little but the evaluation-free description from the Kirkus Review (which is about as reputable a source as can be). Thanks for listening! 58.110.64.159 (talk) 10:18, 23 February 2024 (UTC)