Talk:E. Mark Gold

I don't remember how to use this so my apologies if I do it all wrong. This page is about my father who is very much alive and therefore you must respect his privacy and remove his birth date. Also, his birth name is Edward Myer Gold and his nom de plume is E (no period) Mark Gold (yes, he was that odd). But it was never Edward Mark Gold.Bubbecraft (talk) 06:52, 2 December 2019 (UTC)


 * It's perfectly ok. You can find more information at Biographies of living persons. I have to admit that I'm not familiar with all details of that policy; however, I understood that when in doubt, private information should not be included in articles. Therefore, I removed the birth day and the first name "Edward".
 * I'd like to include your information about the original birth name and nom de plume, but I'd need a reliable source for this (on Wikipedia, everyone could claim to be a son of E. Mark Gold). - Jochen Burghardt (talk) 13:33, 2 December 2019 (UTC)

How would you propose I prove who I am? Short of sending out my birth certificate (which I won't do), I can't think of any other document in my posession which proves he is my father. My step-mother has the same concern. How can she prove she's my father's wife in order to ensure the information is accurate and still respects his privacy -- thank you for the corrections. And I'm not even certain I want anything attributable to me personally. Besides, none of his publications are other than the name "E Mark Gold" so I'm not certain you do need to attribute this to anyone at all. Bubbecraft (talk) 20:28, 2 December 2019 (UTC)

I probably should point out he had no scientific career so there is nothing for that section of your article. There are things I know about him but would not be able to point you to any articles. For example, I recall he told me he designed the 3D chess board used in the original TV show, Star Trek. When he was working for ORI (summer 1970) he was helping them develop a database. I don't recall exactly what it was called but it had to do with modeling and estimating/forecasting life expectancy.Bubbecraft (talk) 20:35, 2 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia guidelines WP:DOB suggest that, if there is any concern about privacy, the birthdate should be removed and replaced with simply year. I see this has already been done, so no problem remains.
 * As for his birth name, if he publicly/exclusively went by "E. Mark Gold" (or possibly E Mark Gold) that's the name we should be using. Even if you sent in a birth certificate, it would still be considered WP:Original Research which wikipedia cannot include. If there are no published sources using the name Edward Myer Gold, it shouldn't be included. In fact, including it would go against your wishes of privacy, since a google search for "Edward Myer Gold" reveals his birthdate and his mother's maiden name.
 * If there is other innaccurate information about his life included in the article, please bring it up here and it can be discussed. - Themightyquill (talk) 09:03, 4 December 2019 (UTC)


 * Many thanks for the information, although it is mainly bad news. At least it should be possible to upload some photographs to commons for use here, and to release rights via E-Mail confirmation? I guess, the page commons:COM:OTRS could be used for that? - Jochen Burghardt (talk) 09:39, 4 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Exactly. OTRS can be used to securely validate the identity of the uploader, if would like to upload images. - Themightyquill (talk) 10:06, 4 December 2019 (UTC)

I think I'm following and it all sounds good. Thank you. What kind of pictures would you want? And did you want him connected to other family members on Wikipedia? Joe Gold, of Gold's gym, is his father's brother, my great grand uncle.Bubbecraft (talk) 19:05, 4 December 2019 (UTC)

I don't know if this helps with the picture, but I already released one picture to Findagrave. The bottom one has a picture of my father and his parents when he was about 5-7 years old. That page also links my father to Uncle Joe.Bubbecraft (talk) 19:14, 4 December 2019 (UTC)


 * A portrait would be nice; it could be used in an infobox like e.g. at John Alan Robinson. More pictures would be welcome; they could be collected in an own Commons category below commons:Category:Computer scientists from the United States, and include also scans of documents (e.g. about the 3D chess). All involved people, in particular your father, should release rights via OTRS. Since there are articles Gold's Gym and Joe Gold, a picture relating your father to them would be valuable. I guess we can't use Findagrave pictures directly, since that site doesn't provide them under a copyright license appropriate for Wikipedia. - Jochen Burghardt (talk) 12:22, 5 December 2019 (UTC)


 * I have a scan of a picture from his time in Montreal. He was rather proud of the picture and given it was widely distributed, I don't think there's a problem sharing it. However, my father has Alzheimer's and his wife, has requested in the past pictures not be shared, which limits me considerably. Also, the one picture I have of Uncle Joe and my father, Uncle Joe told me at the time not to share it (assuming I can even find it). I think  Uncle Joe didn't like pictures when he was in his wheel chair. Besides, his partner might also object so I don't want to take any chances there either. As for the 3D chess, I'm not aware of any articles, only that he confirmed it after my mother told us kids about it. As for the findagrave pic, it's mine and I can share that one. I have the original and I got it from my father's mother's sister after she passed away. So, if those 2 pics are ok, can you walk me through what I need to do?Bubbecraft (talk) 00:59, 6 December 2019 (UTC)


 * I never made experiences with OTRS myself, so I'm a poor guide. I suggest to go to commons:COM:OTRS, click on "Use the Interactive Release Generator!", and follow the instructions. - Jochen Burghardt (talk) 11:33, 6 December 2019 (UTC)


 * I noticed his birth month/day have been reintroduced. Please remove as my father is still very much alive. Thank you. WP:DOB Bubbecraft (talk) 21:36, 12 May 2023 (UTC)