{{User WPScotland}}

Wikimnemonics edit

I have suggested that we need a Wikimnemonics - for people who like to remember things as well as to consult Wikipedia.

So far it has fallen on deaf ears and if you try to suggest a mnemonic in a Wikipedia article it will be removed as 'junk' or at best POV 'point of view'.

I am a great supporter of Wikipedia from the moment it was first publicised, having dreamed of such a concept for several decades because of the limitations of memory, and one would think that good mnenomics are an adjunct to Wikipedia and they can certainly not compete with it.

New articles edit

11 Oct 2017: A word of warning and advice to would-be newbies creating new articles. Don’t work too hard on it before publishing it, as some administrators will take their copyright delete programmes and remove whole paragraphs and sections if it violates copyright. You will not be able to recover it by reverting. If you try to be comprehensive before publishing, many hours of work can be lost. Don't think it can be retrieved from your Sandbox, for it will be permanently deleted from there also. So begin small and let the article build naturally with the help of other Wikipedia editors. Keep your own copy of the basic text and references elsewhere for adding to the article as and when it has passed the censors with their blue pen. 14 Apr 2021: internet users are now very familiar with "the heavy editorial hand" on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms as a result of 'cancel culture'. Until I have more evidence that Wikipedia is not imbibing this culture, I have paused my donations to the Wikipedia project. My understanding of Wikipedia is that it should be global, but cancel culture may simply promote national and even different philosophical Wikipedias. I have already seen evidence of this, which is a pity.

Copyright advice and discussion

Why was the page I created deleted? This page says: "Do not despair: none of the information on a "deleted" page has actually been lost." This is disingenuous. The person who deleted my work would not allow me to recover the work I did, so what use is this sentence and its implied reassurance?

Take care to distinguish the Show preview button from the Save changes button. The latter is highlighted blue and sometimes you will be beguiled into pressing it before you are ready. It would be good to have the option to change this highlight to one's personal preference.

29 Sep 2018: it appears that creating a new article is not the collaborative activity that Wikipedia is supposed to be. You need to learn a whole set of Wikipedia rules just to highlight that there needs to be an article on a subject. If you try it yourself, with the hope that others will add to it and improve it, it will just be rejected by administrators. Things seem to have changed since I began a few articles in the past. I don't know what is the difference. So I will begin a list of new articles that Wikipedia needs and leave it to someone else with the time and energy to work their way through the Wikipedia system:

28 Sep 2018: Footwork (football). There is evidently a need for such a page. I began one and it was 'declined' instead of being improved by those who have the know-how. So much for collaboration.