User talk:Abhimars
Welcome!
Hello, Abhimars, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:
- The five pillars of Wikipedia
- Tutorial
- How to edit a page
- How to write a great article
- Manual of Style
I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your messages on discussion 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 {{helpme}} before the question. Again, welcome! Mathsci (talk) 12:18, 28 July 2008 (UTC)
Biographies of Living Persons[edit]
Hi Abhimars, I see that you want to add some controversial material to articles about Michael Atiyah. Forgive me if I am wrong but it looks like you are relatively new to Wikipedia. I have been around a long time and would like to give you some constructive advice.
When it comes to articles about living people, we hold ourselves to a standard far, far stricter than other articles. This is out of both an ethical obligation not to let our encyclopedia become a vehicle for attacking living people, and also a legal obligation not to risk coming close to violating any laws concerning libel. We are not a newspaper, reporting on current events (although we will have articles on current events that are sufficiently notable and uncontrovesial), we are an encyclopedia dedicated to spreading established knowledge. Yes, knowledge itself can sometimes be very controversial, and we have policies I know you are familiar with that enable us to write about controveries in responsible ways. But when the controversy has to do with a living person, the stakes - that we might (even if it is just a slight possibility) unfairly defame someone, or that we might (again, even if the risk seems pretty small) make ourselves vulnerable to a lawsuit or accusations of libel - we just avoid the topic. It is the job of newspapers and other news media to cover such controversies in full, not that of an encyclopedia. So we bend over backwards to be cautious, even if it seems overcautious!
In part, our WP:BLP policy reads:
- Biographies of living persons (BLPs) must be written conservatively, with regard for the subject's privacy. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a tabloid; it is not our job to be sensationalist, or to be the primary vehicle for the spread of titillating claims about people's lives. An important rule of thumb when writing biographical material about living persons is "do no harm".
- This policy applies equally to biographies of living persons and to biographical material about living persons on other pages. The burden of evidence for any edit on Wikipedia, but especially for edits about living persons, rests firmly on the shoulders of the person who adds or restores the material.
This is why many editors resist some of the material you want to add. It doesn't matter what you think are the merits of your position. When it comes to living persons, we simply do not take risks. Please don't take it personally, this is an established and important policy at Wikipedia that all experienced editors support.
I am sure that there are many other things you know about and am sure there are other articles you can help improve; we sure would welcome that! Good luck, Slrubenstein | Talk 12:46, 28 July 2008 (UTC)
Michael Atiyah[edit]
Nobody is interested in continuing the discussion as it violates WP's policy for what can be included in mainspace articles on BLPs. Please stop disrupting the functioning of thie encyclopedia by reversing archiving, or you are likely to be blocked. Thank you. Mathsci (talk) 16:05, 30 July 2008 (UTC)
Meat puppetry[edit]
Per the results of Wikipedia:Requests for checkuser/Case/Perusnarpk, there is a strong appearance of meat puppetry between yourself and Perusnarpk (talk · contribs). For the purposes of enforcing Wikipedia policies and determining consensus, both accounts will be treated as if they are one. Jehochman Talk 16:47, 31 July 2008 (UTC)