User talk:Renamed user 213yfgtz5r49a5f1a1f

Hello Renamed user 213yfgtz5r49a5f1a1f & Wilkommen! Welkom! Bienvenue! Benvenuti! ようこそ! Välkommen! Witamy! Bem-vindo(a)! ¡Bienvenido! Добро пожаловать! 欢迎! Basically, welcome to Wikipedia!

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Lansing, Michigan[edit]

Hey there. I noticed you've been trying to add information to the Lansing, Michigan article and have run into some difficulties. Wikipedia can be a strange place at first and there's some basic rules that you should learn before starting out. One of the core policies is called verifiability - it basically states that in order to add information to an article, you need to provide a reference (a reliable third-party source like a newspaper or magazine article) that backs up what you're adding. Another important policy is called neutral point of view (NPOV for short) - it says that articles need to be written in a dry, encyclopedic manner that covers all points of view fairly, but without language that would look like it was our own opinions. If you'd like to talk about how to add information about the parade to the Lansing Michigan article, I'd be happy to help. But please, don't keep fighting over putting the information in the article - if you continue, that may lead to you being blocked from editing (see WP:3RR for details). You're welcome to leave a message here (I'll keep an eye on your talk page) or you can contact me on my talk page too. Shell ^babelfish 03:16, 3 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Me again[edit]

Hello again. I'd be happy to help you out. Looks like you could use some help with the basics of Wikipedia too. User talk pages, like the one you left a message on for me, are how you talk to other editors at Wikipedia. When you go to someone's talk page, you can click the plus button (+) at the top of the page to add a new section to the page. This lets you set up a title and then your message. The when you come back, if you want to leave a message in the same section, you can click the edit button next to the section title and just edit that area. These same ideas work for articles talk pages, which is where you discuss article content with other editors.

Another good hint is to put ~~~~ after your message. This automatically signs your username and the date so people know who left the message for them. You can use this anywhere but in articles; articles never get signed.

If you haven't seen it yet, Wikipedia:Tutorial covers a lot about how to edit. There's also a big list of frequently asked questions that may help explain some things.

Now, specifically about the information you're trying to add, the problem is the way you're writing it and the fact that you haven't provided a reference for it. Let me give you an example. You wrote:

Perhaps one of the biggest (however not the biggest) parades is the summer gay/pride parade and festival. It is a good time for gay families to get together, as well as a great place to find new friends! it is home to great food, and great music! it is a family oriented event that usually takes place in mid June and the parade ends on the capitol lawn. It is a great place to be so please, just come and enjoy yourself! And to whoever is deleting this, please stop, it is not advocating anything, it is merely an informational section.

This has a lot of opinion in it like "it is home to great food, and great music!". This would be great for a flyer or a website about the parade, but it doesn't work so well in an encyclopedia. Think boring, dry and factual, so more like:

Each June, Lansing hosts the Gay Pride Rally and Festival. Attractions include vendor booths, food stations, an open air bar and musical acts.[1] The afternoon March ends in a Rally that is the largest annual event held on Michigan's Capital steps.[2][3]

Now that's just a quick glance; I'm sure there are better sources like newspaper articles that could be used as references. I found that one from the Boston Globe, but I think I also saw something from the New York Times. Anyways, that's how you would need to write something (boring and factual) to have it stay on Wikipedia.

I hope that helps with a few things. Since Wikipedia is kind of new to you, if you'd like to communicate a different way that you're more used to, you can look at my page User:Shell Kinney/Contact which has my email, instant messengers and other ways I can be contacted. Thanks for taking the time to try to figure things out! Shell ^babelfish 20:36, 3 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I was writing this at the same time Shelly Kinney posted her note above but am adding it here anyway even though it overlaps with the previous comment. I'd like to echo what she just said and offer my help as well. I don't doubt that the gay pride parade is worthy of mention in the section on parades in our article, but your wording is simply not neutral, and also lacks reliable sources, as Shell Kinney noted above. What we would want there would be a much more straightforward couple of sentences explaining when and where the parade generally happens, how many people are involved, what kind of things happen there, etc. We cannot say things like "It is a good time for gay families to get together, as well as a great place to find new friends! it is home to great food, and great music!" because, even while I don't doubt that that is true, it's a very POV way to describe the parade when we must work for neutrality. What I would recommend you do is find a couple of local newspaper articles that discuss the parade and give general background information, and then use those to help you write an unbiased description of the parade (in your own words obviously). If you have a photo of the parade you would be willing to release, you could consider uploading that and it could probably be added to the article to illustrate the event. If you need help with formatting references or uploading a photo let me know, but as Shell said don't keep readding the material as it will be removed by other editors. It should be easy, however, to come up with something that works for the article. --Bigtimepeace | talk | contribs 20:45, 3 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]