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WikiProject Yorkshire Newsletter - September 2010

Delivered September 2010 by ENewsBot. If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, please add an * before your username on the Project Mainpage.

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→ Newsletter delivered by ENewsBot (info) · 06:48, 3 September 2010 (UTC)

Milburn, Cumbria

Hi there. I’m new to editing in Wikipedia, so am treading gently - I don’t want to trample on anybody’s toes. I signed up because I use Wikipedia a lot and thought that it would be good to contribute too. I actually live in Milburn so the entry on Milburn, Cumbria seemed a good place to start.

My problem here is that I think the page needs a complete re-write. Numerous errors of fact need to be corrected and a lot more needs to be said. Milburn is a very interesting place indeed.

If I understand the history of the page correctly, you didn’t write the original page yourself. But I’m writing to you as you see to have taken an active fatherly interest in keeping it on the straight and narrow. Could you advise me on protocol please here? I don’t want to post what would amount to a complete whitewash of the original if it’s going to cause a major upset. On the other hand I don’t want to leave the current entry uncorrected. Best wishes Crossview (talk) 10:34, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

Hello, Crossview - good to hear from you. I know what you mean about treading gently - I can remember being a new user myself. I'm happy to help.

The Milburn, Cumbria article could actually do with some work done on it, so it's a good place for you to start, especially with your local knowledge. Apart from any factual errors, it also has no structure (headings, etc), no map (see, for example, Brough, Cumbria to see how wikipedia maps can be included in an infobox), and no references.

Here's a suggestion: I've made a copy of the article into a personal "sandbox" at User:Euchiasmus/Sandbox1 - maybe you'd like to dive in and edit that copy - do what you like to it - completely "whitewash" it if you like - and I'll give you some feedback. When we're happy with it, we can simply copy and paste it into the real page...

Alternatively, there's no harm done if you want to start editing the live page - other editors can always revert what you do if they don't like it. When editors are making possibly controversial changes to a page, they sometimes add a note to the article's "talk page" (click the discussion tab at the top) to explain what they've done and why - so you could put a sentence or two on the talk page just to show that you are amending and not vandalising!

I'll have a look at what you do, and am happy to give you feedback. Hope you'll enjoy editing wikipedia as much as the rest of us (beware - it can become quite addictive!) Best regards, Euchiasmus (talk) 08:45, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your prompt and helpful response. I'll follow your suggestion and build my page in the sandbox you provided. I'll be back in touch in a week or so. In the meantime I've found something called the Wikiproject for UK Geography and will use that to guide the structure of the replacement page - unless you advise against. Best wishes Crossview (talk) 14:17, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

I haven't been involved with the WPUKGEO but I've just been reading the guidance on Wikipedia:WikiProject_UK_geography/How_to_write_about_settlements which seems very detailed but gives a good indication of the kind of information that can be useful to include, and how to structure it. -- Euchiasmus (talk) 20:31, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

So much for "a week or two". Other priorities intervened, as always. I've now got the basis for a new article though and have put it into the Sandbox as suggested. I wouldn't bother looking at it just yet as I've a lot of work to do on the references but eventually of course I'll be very grateful for your comments. I'll be back in touch when I think I'm ready. Best wishes Crossview (talk) 16:40, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Your work in the sandbox is very impressive and comprehensive. I actually did some small changes to it before reading your note above where you wrote "I wouldn't bother looking at it just yet..." - sorry for tampering with it! I found what I thought were a few minor typos, added a couple of wikilinks, and tried changing to the cite book and cite journal templates for the first few references - I've only got partway through, so that's why some are done and others not. Please take a look at what I've changed and amend any errors, and accept my apologies if I made any. (You can click the History tab at the top, and then click the (prev) link on the left of any edit to find out what changes have been made). Best wishes - Euchiasmus (talk) 22:03, 24 March 2009 (UTC)

No problems. I was wondering what had happened to you in fact, so am v pleased we're back in contact. As you can see I've got a lot of changes still to make and will be chipping away at it for a few weeks yet I expect. I'm still strugglling with the logic of what I want to say in some areas. I'd already twigged that I was doing refs to other Wikipedia articles in the wrong way. But the "cite" templates were a surprise. Are these there just to ensure uniformity? I'm wondering now what other templates I should be using. Oh, one last thing. I was delighted to find the reference to the Herald's review of David Butterworth's book. He was a good friend and a great loss to us all when he died suddenly a few years ago. I haven't yet quite worked out where this reference has come from. Is it a piece of Wikipedia magic? Best wishes Crossview (talk) 09:27, 25 March 2009 (UTC)

I use the "cite" templates because they give standardised formatting and I basically find them easy to use. Have a look here for some details - that page links to further information.

As for the reference, there's no magic involved! I stumbled across that webpage when trying to fill in the year and publisher of the book, and thought it was worth inserting. Not sure if you're familiar with the other sites I came across, or if they might be of interest to you: CWAAS catalogue, PastScape and Discover Cumbria, which has very detailed OS Maps. -- Euchiasmus (talk) 20:19, 25 March 2009 (UTC)

Hello again Euchiasmus. I think we can agree that I'm not cut out to be a social historian - at least not if any urgency is required! But at least I'm persistent and I'm pleased to say that I think that my Milburn page is now finally complete. I've just got to sharpen up the statistics in my introduction, then I'm done. I wonder if you could cast an editorial eye over it and tell me where I still need to bring things up to scratch? The thing that concerns me most is that the style in some areas is too conversational. This tends to happen where I'm dealing with speculative subjects. I know that an encylopeadia is meant to deal with facts, but then facts aren't always available in a subject like this and the grey areas tend to be those of greatest interest. So speculation seems inevitable unless you want a very dry account indeed. Anyway, I'll look forward to reading your comments Crossview (talk) 12:53, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

I suddenly realised what I needed to do. I think it reads better now. Crossview (talk) 10:03, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

Hello again Euchiasmus. Looks like you're away for a while so I've concluded I'd better press on. I've taken note of your earlier advice, replaced the original Milburn stub with my revision and posted an explanation on the Talk page. It's all /very/ exciting. Hope you're back soon. Crossview (talk) 09:21, 23 September 2010 (UTC)

WikiProject Yorkshire Newsletter - October 2010

Delivered October 2010 by ENewsBot. If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, please add an * before your username on the Project Mainpage.

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→ Newsletter delivered by ENewsBot (info) · 00:18, 4 October 2010 (UTC)

WikiProject Yorkshire Newsletter - November 2010

Delivered November 2010 by ENewsBot. If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, please add an * before your username on the Project Mainpage.

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→ Newsletter delivered by ENewsBot (info) · 12:44, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

WikiProject Yorkshire Newsletter - December 2010

Delivered December 2010 by ENewsBot. If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, please add an * before your username on the Project Mainpage.

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→ Newsletter delivered by ENewsBot (info) · 00:22, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

WikiProject Yorkshire Newsletter - January 2011

Delivered January 2011 by ENewsBot. If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, please add an * before your username on the Project Mainpage.

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→ Newsletter delivered by ENewsBot (info) · 08:13, 6 January 2011 (UTC)

WikiProject Yorkshire Newsletter - February 2011

Delivered February 2011 by ENewsBot. If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, please add an * before your username on the Project Mainpage.

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→ Newsletter delivered by ENewsBot (info) · 11:28, 7 February 2011 (UTC)