GarethWynThomas

Autobiography

Please do not write or add to an article about yourself, as you apparently did at Wyndham Thomas CBE. Creating an autobiography is strongly discouraged – see our guideline on writing autobiographies. If you create such an article, it may be deleted. If what you have done in life is genuinely notable and can be verified according to our policy for articles about living people, someone else will probably create an article about you sooner or later (see Wikipedians with articles). If you wish to add to an existing article about yourself, please propose the changes on its talk page. Please understand that this is an encyclopedia and not a personal web space or social networking site. If your article has already been deleted, please see: Why was my page deleted?, and if you feel the deletion was an error, please discuss it with the deleting administrator. Thank you. Kolbasz (talk) 16:55, 12 March 2014 (UTC)

Hi Kolbasz,

I am a journalist and I would have thought at Wikipedia they would employ the same kind of attention to detail and focus on accuracy as journalists do every day of the week.

I'm not sure how you manage to conflate Gareth Wyn Thomas (me) with Wyndham Thomas (my father).

Yours,

Gareth

Sorry about the above message, but I'm a bit frustrated as I was trying to get the page up in time for my father's 90th birthday. What do I need to do now?

Reply

Hi, thanks for message. You can sign your comments automatically using four tildes ~~~~. Although Kolbasz tagged it as an autobiography, I realised that it was not and deleted it as an advertisement. I deleted your article because

• it did not provide adequate independent verifiable sources to enable us to verify the facts and show that it meets the notability guidelines. Although you gave a list of references, they were bare urls at the bottom of the page. You need to put references in-line so we can see what fact each is supporting. Use the format <ref>[url description]</ref> and then create a references section at the bottom with {{reflist}} , which will automatically generate the list.
• it was written in a promotional tone. Articles must be neutral and encyclopaedic. Examples of unsourced claims presented as fact include: the youngest ever mayor in Britain at the time... always a persuasive advocate... Hailing from a strong socialist South Wales background... Thomas was a leading advocate... Thomas was also an excellent ruby [sic] player... had many articles on town planning and housing issues published — Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia, not a birthday card
• The article was created in a single edit without wikilinks or references, and looks as if was copied from an unknown and possibly copyrighted source. Copyrighted text is not allowed in Wikipedia, as outlined in this policy. That applies even to pages created by you or your organisation, unless they state clearly and explicitly that the text is public domain. There are ways to donate copyrighted text to Wikipedia, as described here; please note that simply asserting on the talk page that you are the owner of the copyright, or you have permission to use the text, isn't sufficient.
• You have an obvious conflict of interest when it comes to editing articles about this subject. Thank you for declaring your interest. If, after reading the information about notability linked above, you still believe that your father is notable enough for a Wikipedia article (and that there is significant coverage in reliable, independent secondary sources), you could, if you wish, post a request at Wikipedia:Requested articles for the article to be created. See also Wikipedia:Best practices for editors with conflicts of interest.

I've seen worse that this, so I'll post the text here shortly for you to improve. Let me know when you are ready, and I'll move the text to Wyndham Thomas (town planner). Don't copy and paste it yourself. Note that the original title breached our policies. There should be no titles or honours, so it's Barack Obama, Albert Einstein, Elizabeth II. I hope this helps Jimfbleak - talk to me? 06:56, 13 March 2014 (UTC)

here are your ref urls http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk

http://www.peterborough.gov.uk/pdf/LeisureAndCulture-Museums-FortyYearsOnBooklet.pdf http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/features/news-features/the-history-of-peterborough-s-development-1-99636 http://www.newlistener.co.uk/home/peterborough-creator-predicts-standstill-developmen/ Video of interview with Ivan Cutting – http://vimeo.com/30898523 http://www.idoxplc.com/idox/athens/ntr/ntr/cd1/html/txt/u2170101.htm

Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:06, 13 March 2014 (UTC)

Dear Jimfbleak.

Thank you for re-instating the copy, which was, despite suggestions to the contrary, in no way a promotional article. I'm sorry, but I take umbrage at your remarks about my posting. I simply wrote it because I think it should be on Wikipedia – surely there is far more of an argument to include my father, who was awarded an honour by the Queen for his services to the country, than the cricketer Wyndham Thomas who played only one match for Somerset! I am a news journalist so I am more aware than anyone regarding objectivity and bias. For you to say this is a birthday card is very disrespectful and hurtful. It is nothing of the sort, it is a Wikipedia entry. When I said that my father was the youngest mayor in the UK at the time it's because it is true. Similarly, how can you possibly source a statement such as "haling from a strong socialist South Wales background"...Everyone knows that South Wales has always had a strong socialist heritage and has always been a Labour Party heartland. (Or maybe not in America?). If this needs to be sourced then you might as well source the description of Barack Obama as a 'politician'. He did have "many articles on town planning and housing published". I have referenced some of those articles in the list at the bottom. At the same time I accept and can easily remove the adjective 'excellent' with regards to his rubgy-playing...By the way, I tagged the entry 'Wyndham Thomas CBE' to differentiate it from that cricketer. I thought the idea was that the entry could be added to in time, so I wanted to get it online and then, in time, add to it. Is that not the case? You suggest this is from "an unknown and possibly copyrighted source". It isn't. I wrote every single word myself. However, I have noted your other comments regarding adequate referencing and I will work on that. I have a pile of press cuttings relating to my father here to work through. But, if not with me, please in the future, be more circumspect and respectful towards people posting entries. We are not all either stupid or self-aggrandising. Some of us are intelligent and reasonable and simply want to afford someone deserving a place in the archive of human knowledge. Yours, Gareth — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.40.74.192 (talk) 17:00, 13 March 2014 (UTC)