Bob Boiko

Hello, Bob Boiko and Welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions to this free encyclopedia. If you decide that you need help, check out Getting Help below, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and ask your question there. Please remember to sign your name on talk pages by using four tildes (~~~~) or by clicking if shown; this will automatically produce your username and the date. Also, please do your best to always fill in the edit summary field with your edits. Below are some useful links to facilitate your involvement. Happy editing! MER-C 11:51, 8 November 2011 (UTC) Getting started A tutorial • Our five pillars • Getting mentored How to: Edit a page • Upload and use images • Create your first article Intuitive guide to Wikipedia • Article Creation Wizard Getting help Frequently asked questions • Tips Where to ask questions or make comments Request administrator attention Help desk: A Wiki Styled page to ask questions on Help directory: A comprehensive list-style help contents page Policies and guidelines Neutral point of view • No original research Verifiability • Reliable sources • Citing sources What Wikipedia is not • Biographies of living persons List of policies • Three-revert rule • Sock puppetry Copyrights • Policy for non-free content • Image use policy External links • Spam • Vandalism • List of guidelines Deletion policy • Conflict of interest • Notability The community Build consensus • Resolve disputes Assume good faith • Civility • Etiquette No personal attacks • No legal threats Community portal • Village pump Signpost • IRC channels • Mailing lists Writing articles Be bold in editing • Develop an article The perfect article • Simplified manual of style Stubs • Categories • Disambiguation Peer review • Featured content Miscellaneous User pages • Talk pages Awards a registered contributor can achieve and award Clean up: General • Spam • Vandalism Join a WikiProject • Translation Useful templates • Tools • User scripts

Info 101: Social networking technologies

I have several concerns with this project, the most obvious being Wikipedia is not a social networking site. This is non-negotiable policy. Content like User:Jonas nocom/My sandbox (which I believe was created by one of your students) is not permitted anywhere on Wikipedia and is liable to be nominated for deletion. I'll hold off for now, but other editors may not be as forgiving. Consequently, I have brought up my concerns at the Administrators' noticeboard (section Two university projects).

I suggest you read Wikipedia:School and university projects, if you have not already, as it contains useful advice for coordinators and prior examples of successful university projects. There's a whole bunch of useful resources at Wikipedia:Ambassadors/Resources. MER-C 11:51, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Bob, let me offer a reply to this --

1. "...not a social networking site" - obviously. No confusion about this. Nevertheless, this IS a site wherein knowledge is socially uncovered, expressed, argued about, and even created. I say that as a formally trained and experienced social scientist with considerable interest in the social construction of knowledge. In THAT special and important sense Wikipedia most definitely is a social networking site, and I am quite sure that was the sense in which it has been included in Prof. Boiko's class at the U. of Washington, Seattle.
2. "Content like User:Jonas nocom/My sandbox (which I believe was created by one of your students) is not permitted anywhere on Wikipedia..." Poppycock! It's a sandbox, for Pete's sake. Do I need to remind you what that's for? This the first attempt of these students to edit anything at Wikipedia, and they're working on it as a group, and merely practicing. If ANYONE gets so highhanded as to delete this, I'll definitely show up to protest. We want to welcome these new editors, not chase them off. That, too, is non-negotiable policy. Again, the key concept here is "sandbox", and "new student editor". Please be welcoming and helpful! Tom Cloyd (talk)