User talk:Cookey Whitaker

November 2010[edit]

Your addition to Rodney Whitaker has been removed, as it appears to have added copyrighted material to Wikipedia without permission from the copyright holder. For legal reasons, we cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other websites or printed material; such additions will be deleted. You may use external websites or publications as a source of information, but not as a source of article content such as sentences or images. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously and persistent violators will be blocked from editing. This refers specifically to the text identical to http://gmea.org/Divisions/Band/All%20State%20Jazz/ASJclinician.htm. Please also note WP:COI. AllyD (talk) 18:01, 30 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The bio of Rodney Whitaker is being submitted from his computer, it's his bio. He sent the bio to GMEA for an upcoming event and they posted it on their website. They do not own his bio nor do they own the copyrights to it. Could someone help me out? I'm his wife attempting to update his bio.

Hello; for legal reason, and since Wikipedia cannot verify your claim, you will need to submit any copyrighted material through this procedure, which is NOT a guarantee it will be added to the article. Wikipedia strongly discourages autobiographies. If the subject is notable, then other editors will write about it, using third-party sources and references. You are welcome to look at entries about other notable persons to understand the difference between a promotional autobiography and an encyclopedic article. For your convenience, I added a welcome template below with a few useful links to learn more about Wikipedia. Cheers - «CharlieEchoTango» 20:07, 30 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Aside from the question of ownership / copyright release, a general problem with someone's biography from their own or a related website is that it tends to be written in terms different from those needed for the encyclopaedia. Terms like "enormous talent" are a particular problem and best avoided, letting the biographical facts speak for themselves. And overwriting of existing links to other articles is another problem when a new text is imported wholesale. The other matter is that Wikipedia's policy on biographies of living people now requires significant referencing of anything stated in the article. Just before I saw your response, I spent some time working on your husband's biography here: basically trying to build with the references that I can find. It would be good if you can have a look at that current version? Obviously there is likely to be further information that should be added, but that is best added with references and of course mindful of the conflict of interest policy. I hope that's helpful. Best wishes. AllyD (talk) 20:13, 30 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Welcome[edit]

Hello, Cookey Whitaker, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions.

I notice that one of the first articles you created appears to be an article about yourself. This is a common mistake made by new Wikipedians—as this is an encyclopedia, we wouldn't expect to have an article about every contributor. Your user page, however, is a great place to write about yourself, making sure to stay within user page guidelines. Just click your user name at the top of the screen when you are logged in, and edit it normally.

The page you created about yourself has been or will shortly be speedily deleted from Wikipedia, but if you want to use the content from it, don't hesitate to ask anyone from this list and they will copy it to your user page.

If you are stuck, and looking for help, please come to the New contributors' help page, where experienced Wikipedians can answer any queries you have! Or, you can just type {{helpme}} on your user page, and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Here are a few other good links for newcomers:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you have any questions, check out Wikipedia:Where to ask a question or ask me on my talk page. Again, welcome! «CharlieEchoTango» 20:08, 30 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]