Talk:Kira Salak

Biased
This article reads like an autobiography. I suggest that someone eliminate the "unnecessary fluff", such as her first solo trip, etc. I also advise the pictures to be smaller in size, because they are taking up most of the page.  miranda   20:09, 1 November 2008 (UTC)

Advertisment Insert
Wikipedia rules state that advertising is the following: "Articles about companies and products are written in an objective and unbiased style. Article topics must be third-party verifiable, so articles about very small "garage" or local companies are typically unacceptable. External links to commercial organizations are acceptable if they identify major organizations associated with a topic (see finishing school for an example). Wikipedia neither endorses organizations nor runs affiliate programs. See also Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies) for guidelines on corporate notability. Those promoting causes or events, or issuing public service announcements, even if noncommercial, should use a forum other than Wikipedia to do so." This article is about a living person, not a product or company, the advertising tag is inappropriate for an article on a living human being. Please stop inserting it. JakeSturm (talk) 16:53, 8 November 2008 (UTC)
 * This is correct, remove the tage, this srticle is nothing like an advertisement. --neon white talk 18:46, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

Autobiography tag
The Wikipedia rules state the following about biographies of living authors:

''Self-published material may be used in biographies of living persons only if written by the subject himself. Subjects may provide material about themselves through press releases, personal websites, or blogs. Material that has been self-published by the subject may be added to the article only if:''

it is not contentious;  it is not unduly self-serving;  it does not involve claims about third parties;  it does not involve claims about events not directly related to the subject;  there is no reasonable doubt that the subject actually authored it;  ''the article is not based primarily on such sources.  These provisions do not apply to subjects' autobiographies that have been published by reliable third-party publishing houses; these are treated as reliable sources, because they are not self-published.''

The information in this article referenced in the writings of Kira salak, and the source of these references are included for every entry in the article. Thus, the statements meet the above criteria for inclusion in a Wikipedia reference.

An autobiography is written by the author, this entry was written by someone other then the author. This tag is inccorect.

JakeSturm (talk) 16:53, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

Edit Tag
This page meets the highest critera for readability according to the Wikipedia tool for checking readability, this tag is not appropriate.

As the user Miranda and I cannot agree on these tags, I am requesting the page be protected so a discussion of the tags can be made on this page.

Thank you.

JakeSturm (talk) 16:54, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

Writing influences
I'm deleting this section as unverifiable. Comments welcome.--Regents Park (bail out your boat) 01:06, 11 November 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree. Since this is a BLP, we must use reliable sources as much as possible. That's why I had some concerns over the tags in this article, because Jake has an obvious COI. We can't put that she was raped without a source, due to libel.  miranda   03:43, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Comment on Writing influences and on incorrect statement that Salak was Raped
Again, I must put a correction in here so there is a not incorrect information being put out about Salak in the discussion page. If you had read any of Salak's works you would no that it is Salak who discusses nearly being raped in Mozambique on the Boneyard Stretch during the war there in several of her works. Salak described this in great detail in her book "Four Corners" (which I am fairly certain was the reference for the "nearly raped" comment), and, as it was written by her, anything included in that non-fiction book is acceptable to be included in her biography per Wiki rules. I just want to make it clear that Miranda's statement that she was raped is a mistake, it was never stated in the Wiki article or anywhere else. As I said in my comment below, people who have not read her works should not be editing her biography. In reference to where I got her writing influences, it was in one of her interviews, I do not remember which one at this time, but again, as it was in her own words, it was acceptable.

In reference to her nearly being raped, you can also see this in the segment done by CBS Evening news on Salak where Salak discusses this: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/16/eveningnews/main4355662.shtml

I will not put it back in though it is referenced, because I no longer want any involvement in this site.

JakeSturm (talk) 13:10, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Ayahuasca
Removing this section too. Unless she makes Ayahuasca famous or it impacts her writing in an important way (and this is documented by an independent WP:RS), I don't think it should be included.

Response to comments on Ayahuasca
Though I do not want to get involved in discussions anymore, I have to correct this statement. Salak did make Ayahuasca famous, writing on it in the New York Times magazine and later in National Geographic Adventure. She brought national attention to the fact that Ayahuasca could be an alternate cure for depression and has led thousands to seek treatment in Peru for depression through Ayahuasca (I have spoken to the Shamans she refers to in the article and they have told me this, so it is not opinion).

I personally think people who have read Salak's works and know of her career should be editing her biography, not people who have no idea as to what her contributions and accomplishments are or what she written. I appreciate your attempts to make things better, but your statement shows that you are unaware of Salak's major contributions.

I will not put it back in, as I am not getting involved in this site anymore, but I do want to set the record straight at the very least. Perhaps someone else will put it back in.

JakeSturm (talk) 13:31, 13 November 2008 (UTC)


 * JakeSturm, you are welcome to edit her biography as long as you do it in a way that is consistent with wikipedia's policies and article styles. Feel free to put the Ayahuasca stuff back in with references to the New York Times and with some independent reference (i.e., not an article by Ms. Salak) that associates her with Ayahuasca. If she brought national attention to Ayahuasca, then surely there must be some reliable independent source that says that she bought national attention to Ayahuasca and you should not hesitate to put that into the article. --Regents Park (bail out your boat) 15:01, 13 November 2008 (UTC)
 * JakeSturm, you are welcome to edit her biography as long as you do it in a way that is consistent with wikipedia's policies and article styles.
 * I'd read that as "in a way within WP:COI guidelines". Gordonofcartoon (talk) 15:17, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Explorer?
Not totally sure why she's been placed in the "Explorer" category. I don't honestly know much about her, but after reading this article, it appears much of her travels are retracing the steps of previous explorers; something I don't think really qualifies her to be categorized as one. I think the label of "adventurer" in the first sentence is fine, but maybe not an "explorer" per se. She's been honored along with other explorers (see LoC's Women Who Dare) which may mean a little (but, I think, not terribly much towards that end), but NG did honor her as an "Emerging Explorer". Not saying she may not be an "explorer", but this wiki article didn't really convince me.

If nothing else, she should probably be moved from the root "Explorers" category into the subcategory "Female explorers", since the root seems to be an unorganized dumping ground.

Thoughts from anyone else? Syncopate (talk) 22:28, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

Spiritualism and Possession
In her travels to Libya and Peru, Salak wrote about her experiences with ghosts and demons:

http://www.kirasalak.com/Libya.html http://www.kirasalak.com/Peru.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.110.241.71 (talk) 18:23, 23 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Unfortunately, we can't use kirasalak.com as a source. You need to find independent reliable sources.--regentspark (comment) 23:29, 23 September 2019 (UTC)