User talk:Libarbarian

Edits to Indira Samarasekera

Hi Libarbarian, please explain any content removal on this page. Your edits were in large part why the page was protected in the first place, which means they were perceived as vandalism. I would be happy to discuss any changes you would like to make, but I will continue to undo your edits until then. You can reply to my message on this page. I'll see it. --Rawlangs (talk) 14:57, 17 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

My edits are an attempt to balance the entry for Samarasekera. The "Controversy" section dominates the article, with it longer than any section including "Education and Career". The emphasis is entirely skewed, then, towards some incidents that should be no more than a footnote in a life full of accomplishment and achievement. My edits left the incidents intact but cut them down to a less fulsome description. It is puzzling to me that Wikipedia allows folks to add things but takes a hard stance and editing things. Libarbarian (talk) 17:21, 17 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Balance is an important part of Wikipedia, but so is incremental improvement. WP:BALASPS states:

"An article should not give undue weight to any aspects of the subject but should strive to treat each aspect with a weight appropriate to its significance to the subject. For example, discussion of isolated events, criticisms, or news reports about a subject may be verifiable and impartial, but still disproportionate to their overall significance to the article topic. This is a concern especially in relation to recent events that may be in the news. Note that undue weight can be given in several ways, including, but not limited to, depth of detail, quantity of text, prominence of placement, and juxtaposition of statements."

I concede that the controversy section is large compared to the rest of the article, but it is not large compared to what you've suggested the article could be. The article is currently "Start Class" according to every project that has rated it. This generally means that it is lacking in detail and reliable sources, and should be treated like a work in progress requiring improvement. Balance in this case does not mean reducing a complete, cited, and reliable section (like the Controversy section) to the level of a bunch of incomplete sections (like the biography section). Removing cited content from a start class article does nothing to improve its quality or coverage, unless the content removed violated WP:BLP.

An alternate (and much better) way to balance the article as it stands would be to flesh out the "life full of accomplishment and achievement" you referred to. I would applaud your efforts to improve coverage of her life and her accomplishments. This would serve to improve the article's coverage and decrease the prominence of the controversy section.

As for your assertion that wikipedians "take a hard stance [against] editing things", this is far from true. You are free to remove any uncited information under WP:BLP, and you are encouraged to improve the tone of articles under WP:NPOV. For example, not all of your early edits were reverted, meaning the editors working on the page saw value in what you were doing. Your improvements to the tone were especially welcome, and have been protected from vandalism.

I hope I was able to lend some insight, and would be happy to keep discussing this with you. --Rawlangs (talk) 19:26, 17 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

February 2014

Hello, I'm Hwy43. I noticed that you made a change to an article, St. Albert, Alberta, but you didn't provide a reliable source. It's been removed for now, but if you'd like to include a citation and re-add it, please do so! If you need guidance on referencing, please see the referencing for beginners tutorial, or if you think I made a mistake, you can leave me a message on my talk page. Thank you. Hwy43 (talk) 07:43, 6 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

February 2018

Hello, I'm HickoryOughtShirt?4. I wanted to let you know that one or more of your recent contributions to Edmonton Oilers have been undone because they did not appear constructive. If you would like to experiment, please use the sandbox. If you have any questions, you can ask for assistance at the Help Desk. Thanks. HickoryOughtShirt?4 (talk) 06:57, 13 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]