User talk:Fox1890

Welcome![edit]

Hello, Whitworth-webteam, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions.

I noticed that one of the first articles you edited was Whitworth University, which appears to be dealing with a topic with which you may have a conflict of interest. In other words, you may find it difficult to write about that topic in a neutral and objective way, because you are, work for, or represent, the subject of that article. Your recent contributions may have already been undone for this very reason.

To reduce the chances of your contributions being undone, you might like to draft your revised article before submission, and then ask me or another editor to proofread it. See our help page on userspace drafts for more details. If the page you created has already been deleted from Wikipedia, but you want to save the content from it to use for that draft, don't hesitate to ask anyone from this list and they will copy it to your user page.

One rule we do have in connection with conflicts of interest is that accounts used by more than one person will unfortunately be blocked from editing. Wikipedia generally does not allow editors to have usernames which imply that the account belongs to a company or corporation. If you have a username like this, you should request a change of username or create a new account. (A name that identifies the user as an individual within a given organization may be OK.)

In addition, if you receive, or expect to receive, compensation for any contribution you make, you must disclose your employer, client, and affiliation to comply with our terms of use and our policy on paid editing.

Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

Best practices for editors with close associations
The five pillars of Wikipedia
Contributing to Wikipedia
Tutorial
How to edit a page and How to develop articles
How to create your first article (using the Article Wizard if you wish)
Simplified Manual of Style

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your messages on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically insert your username and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or ask your question on this page and then place {{Help me}} before the question. Again, welcome! Kleuske (talk) 17:52, 9 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

November 2023[edit]

Hello Whitworth-webteam. The nature of your edits, such as the one you made to Whitworth University, gives the impression you have an undisclosed financial stake in promoting a topic, but you have not complied with Wikipedia's mandatory paid editing disclosure requirements. Paid advocacy is a category of conflict of interest (COI) editing that involves being compensated by a person, group, company or organization to use Wikipedia to promote their interests. Undisclosed paid advocacy is prohibited by our policies on neutral point of view and what Wikipedia is not, and is an especially serious type of COI; the Wikimedia Foundation regards it as a "black hat" practice akin to black-hat search-engine optimization.

Paid advocates are strongly discouraged from direct article editing, and should instead propose changes on the talk page of the article in question if an article exists. If the article does not exist, paid advocates are strongly discouraged from attempting to write an article at all. At best, any proposed article creation should be submitted through the articles for creation process, rather than directly.

Regardless, if you are receiving or expect to receive compensation for your edits, broadly construed, you are required by the Wikimedia Terms of Use to disclose your employer, client and affiliation. You can post such a mandatory disclosure to your user page at User:Whitworth-webteam. The template {{Paid}} can be used for this purpose – e.g. in the form: {{paid|user=Whitworth-webteam|employer=InsertName|client=InsertName}}. If I am mistaken – you are not being directly or indirectly compensated for your edits – please state that in response to this message. Otherwise, please provide the required disclosure. In either case, do not edit further until you answer this message. Kleuske (talk) 17:52, 9 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, Kleuske, for you notification and valuable information. I am a paid staff member of Whitworth University, and I do have several updates for this page. I apologize for accidentally misusing my authority as a paid employee of Whitworth University. Am I to understand that the editorial method I should instead employ is to suggest updates through our page's "talk" page? Whitworth-webteam (talk) 18:02, 9 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

If you are WP:PAID, the very least I expect is that you familiarize yourself with the Terms of Use and adhere to it, as an outward sign of professionalism. You can suggest changes on the appropriate talk-page. To boot, your chosen username is a blatant violation of our username policy, since it suggests shared use.

Also, you have no authority, here. Kleuske (talk) 19:00, 9 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I did immediately request a new username when I got your initial message. I am awaiting a response to that. Whitworth-webteam (talk) 19:08, 9 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

As a minimum you need to change your username. Secretlondon (talk) 19:06, 9 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Your account has been indefinitely blocked from editing because your account has been used for advertising or promotion, which is contrary to the purpose of Wikipedia. Also, your username gives the impression that the account represents a business, organisation, group, or web site, which is against the username policy.

If you intend to make useful contributions instead of promoting your business or organization, you may request unblock and a username change. In your reasons, you must:

Disclose any compensation you may receive for your contributions in accordance with the paid-contribution disclosure requirement; and
Convince us that you understand the reason for your block and that you will not repeat the kind of edits for which you were blocked; and
Describe in general terms the contributions that you intend to make if you are unblocked; and
Provide a new username.

To do this, post the text {{unblock-spamun|Your proposed new username|Your reason here}} at the bottom of your talk page. Replace the text "Your proposed new username" with your new username and replace the text "Your reason here" with your reasons to be unblocked.

Please note that the new username you choose cannot already be taken and in use by another account. You can go here to search and see if the username you'd like to choose is available. If the search returns that no global account with that username exists, that means it is available to be taken.

Appeals: If, after reviewing the guide to appealing blocks, you believe this block was made in error, you may appeal it by adding the text {{unblock|reason=Your reason here ~~~~}} at the bottom of your talk page. Replace the text "Your reason here" with the reasons you believe the block was an error, and publish the page. Secretlondon (talk) 19:06, 9 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for providing the opportunity to resolve this issue. I have posted the requested information as an edit at the end of this talk page, including the four reasons (bulleted list above) that I believe this account should be unblocked. Again, those reasons are:

-I am a FTE employee of Whitworth University (disclosure of compensation)

-I understand the reasons for the block is that my edit appeared promotional in nature (although I only updated the annual report link from the 2021 annual report to the 2022 annual report, published in 2023), and the account username was in violation of the username policy, which was not referenced on the Wikipedia "create account" form. I have requested a new username.

-If this account is unblocked, I will only use it to suggest factual and verifiable page updates. I will not use it for any promotional purposes. Neither have I ever used any Wikipedia (or affiliates) account for any promotional purposes whatsoever.

The new username I have requested is mind-and-heart

~~~~ Whitworth-webteam (talk) 22:34, 9 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

{{unblock|reason=not a promotional edit; updating annual report link ~~~~}}

This user's request to be unblocked to request a change in username has been reviewed by an administrator, who declined the request. Other administrators may also review this block, but should not override the decision without a good reason (see the blocking policy). Do not remove this unblock review while you are blocked.

Fox1890 (block log • active blocks • global blocks • autoblocks • contribs • deleted contribs • filter log • creation log • change block settings • unblock • checkuser (log))

Requested username:

mind-and-heart (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

Request reason:

not promotional

Decline reason:

This would be okay as a new username, but you still need to read WP:COI and WP:PAID and tell us what will be different about your editing going forward(hint) as well as any other topics you might edit about as a general contributor. 331dot (talk) 09:02, 10 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I am unable to edit the source code of my main user page due to the block so I do not know where to post the required disclosure:

{{paid|employer=whitworthuniversity|client=whitworthuniversity}}

Also, my answers to what will be different about my editing going forward are listed above. And again here:

-I understand the reasons for the block is that my edit appeared promotional in nature and the account username was in violation of the username policy

-If this account is unblocked, I will only use the account to suggest factual and verifiable page updates. I will not use it for any promotional purposes. Neither have I ever used any Wikipedia (or affiliates) account for any promotional purposes whatsoever.

~~~~ Whitworth-webteam (talk) 18:01, 10 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The topics I intend to suggest edits for are limited to publicly-accessible annual report statistics; national university rankings with citations from external sources; any notable athletics trophies and awards won if appropriate, policy-compliant external sources are available; and the number of students currently in attendance (down from prior years). My aim is to uphold the total transparency Whitworth has become known for.

~~~~ Whitworth-webteam (talk) 19:24, 10 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hello again. I've done all that was requested of me, but the block on my account remains. As a reminder, I've requested a new username and I've read all expectations and responded accordingly. My only desire hereafter is to suggest edits for this page to the Wikipedia editors. I kindly request your attention to this matter. ~~~~ Whitworth-webteam (talk) 16:10, 9 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hi @331dot and @Secretlondon, I'd like to request that you read through my responses to the block placed on this account last November. I have provided all the information requested and would like to be permitted to attain the new username "mind-and-heart" and to suggest changes to this page, please. Some of the facts on the page are outdated and misleading and need to be corrected. My suggested changes are not promotional in nature; they are verifiable and fact-based, and I will not be making any edits myself; rather, I'll be suggested edits to your editors. Thank you.

~~~~ Whitworth-webteam (talk) 19:25, 8 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

This user, in accordance with the Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of Use, discloses that they have been paid by Whitworth University for their contributions to Wikipedia.

So you still want to write about your employer? Secretlondon (talk) 19:28, 10 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I'd rather just suggest changes to one of your editors.

~~~~ Whitworth-webteam (talk) 19:40, 10 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I usually like to see a desire to contribute to Wikipedia more broadly, but if you are prepared to use the edit request process and accept its result when you do(favorable or unfavorable) I would not object to an unblock(along with your username change). That's only my opinion, I don't speak for others. 331dot (talk) 20:17, 8 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

That would be fine by me. Secretlondon (talk) 20:27, 8 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. I agree to follow all requirements and expectations of the edit request process and to accept the results, whatever they may be. I really appreciate this opportunity and look forward to contributing. ~~~~ Whitworth-webteam (talk) 20:45, 8 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

As Secretlondon does not object, I will remove the block. I attempted to change your username, but "Mindandheart" is already taken which prevents your choice from being carried out. If you give another choice, I can rename you. 331dot (talk) 20:49, 8 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, 331dot. Is "mind-and-heart" an option (with hyphens)? If not, my second choice would be "fox1890". ~~~~ Whitworth-webteam (talk) 20:58, 8 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I tried your first choice, the system would not permit it as it is too similar to "Mindandheart"(and leaving aside the system it could be confusing and seem like impersonation). Your new choice seems okay, I'll try it. 331dot (talk) 21:28, 8 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

That worked. :) 331dot (talk) 21:29, 8 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Terrific! I will now reacquaint myself with the entirety of the edit request process and follow the steps to suggest a couple edits. Thank you again! ~~~~ Fox1890 (talk) 22:12, 8 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]