User talk:Ruthc83
Welcome!
Hello, Ruthc83, 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 and How to develop articles
- How to create your first article (using the Article Wizard if you wish)
- 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! JohnCD (talk) 16:33, 12 November 2010 (UTC)
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.
Individual account
[edit]For legal reasons to do with licensing and copyright, every Wikipedia account must represent a single individual, who is personally responsible for it. Under our username policy, usernames which represent, or appear to represent, companies or groups are not allowed. For that reason I blocked your account at Elseviercorprelations (talk · contribs); as explained on the block notice, you could still have edited the talk page of that account to request an unblock in order to change user name, but as the account had made only one edit it would be simpler simply to abandon it and use this one.
Conflict of Interest policies
[edit]Because anyone can edit Wikipedia, it is vulnerable to being used by people with something to sell or an axe to grind; it is extremely sensitive to that danger and has strong policies to try to avoid it. If companies' PR departments are viewed with suspicion, it is because too often we find that they are concerned to add flattering or positively promotional material, and to minimise or remove anything negative. Wikipedia is not to be used for advertising or promotion of any kind. One of our fundamental policies is WP:Neutral point of view, so that anyone whose interests in editing differ from those of the encyclopedia is considered to have a conflict of interest.
Please read:
- Wikipedia:FAQ/Business
- Wikipedia:Conflict of interest
- Wikipedia:Best practices for editors with conflicts of interest
Basically, for all but the most uncontentious edits, rather than make them yourself you should suggest them on the article talk page, declaring your interest, and see whether uninvolved users agree that they are appropriate. It is important for you to understand that nobody, least of all its subject, owns a Wikipedia article or can dictate what it should contain; if there is disagreement, discussion should take place on article talk pages to attempt to reach WP:Consensus, and if that fails there are WP:Dispute resolution procedures.
Provided you operate in accordance with those guidelines, you are welcome, and you should find other users helpful and co-operative. I suggest that to avoid misunderstanding you post on your user page a statement along the lines of "I am a member of the Corporate Relations department of Elsevier. I understand the policies on conflict of interest and will edit in accordance with them."
Regards, JohnCD (talk) 18:58, 12 November 2010 (UTC)