Talk:Ragged Mountain (Connecticut)/Archive 1

There has been some concern about using my personal website, Connecticut Explorer’s Guide, as a reference source for the geographic related articles I have been writing about here in Wikipedia. Issue 1. No Original Research Policy I believe that I am in the clear as far as the No Original Research Policy goes. Even though I had mapped these routes out myself and took the measurements with a GPS (which would constitute Original Research), because I had published the results the matter should fall into Citing Self. "If an editor has published the results of their research in a reliable publication, they may cite that source while writing in the third person and complying with our NPOV policy." I would argue that Connecticut Explorer's Guide (www.ctxguide.com) is a reliable publication with accurate recreational maps. It operates with an extended user’s agreement from the National Geographic Society. The UCONN magic library has indexed Connecticut Explorer's Guide under Digital Geodata at http://arcserver.lib.uconn.edu/reference/weblinks.html further endorsing it’s accuarte maps. CTXGuide is also indexed with Mapathon, Slackpacker, and PeaktoPeak.

Issue 2. Self-Published Sources This issue has also been covered. The official policy is stated below. “Self-published and questionable sources in articles about themselves Material from self-published and questionable sources may be used as sources in articles about themselves, so long as: ·	it is relevant to their notability; ·	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 as to who wrote it. “

The articles written here in Wikipedia are relevant, non-contentious, not self-serving, not critical of third parties, and originally written by me. This would clear these wiki-articles of the Self-Published rule. Furthermore, the links to Connecticut Explorer’s Guide under References is for further research or to check accuracy and not a mandate to click the link.

Issue 3. Citing Source It has been suggested the content of the maps in Connecticut Explorer’s Guide had been derived from an originating source. Even though research had been done utilizing text sources (books) in order to find these locations, there are no forms of like media (maps) used as original sources. These maps are original sources created by GPS and exploring these areas in person and are within the bounds of copyright laws.


 * You have misunderstood the policies you quote above. Elipongo is giving you good advice: take it to heart.--SarekOfVulcan 17:02, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

I am writing to appeal the accusations of breaking the Self-Published Sources policy, specifically the middle paragraph in bold, regarding the articles with Connecticut Explorer’s Guide listed as a reference. Even though Connecticut Explorer’s Guide is a commercial website, it is free and a comprehensive outdoor recreation resource. About half of it’s content are links to difficult-to-find recreation maps. The other half of the content are original map data created using GPS and interfaced with National Geographic TOPO! map software (an extended user’s agreement with the National Geographic Society). These TOPO! maps were scanned versions of the USGS topographic maps and should be considered valid as a cited source. Even though the overlayed map data created using a GPS is a Self-Published Source, the remainder of the maps are unarguabley accurate. Even though the GPS data may have small errors resulting from technical limitations, the data should be considered as reliable and as accurate as reasonabley possible. These map pages have been linked from Wikipedia content as references by the author of both Connecticut Explorer’s Guide and the Wikipedia content. The geographic descriptions of the subject area is mostly derived from the USGS-sourced TOPO! maps used on the pages of Connecticut Explorer’s Guide. The Wikipedia content descriptions of the overlayed map data are mere mentions of existing recreational opportunities of that geographic area and not reliant on a 100% accurate map. Connecticut Explorer’s Guide has been used as a reference in good faith in order to increase Wikipedia’s content about these Connecticut locations. Additionally, Connecticut Explorer’s Guide has been indexed as a Digital Geodata resource on UCONN’s Magic Library website. This should help to validate Connecticut Explorer’s Guide as a valid resource.

Self-published sources (online and paper) Policy shortcut:WP:V#SELFWP:SPS Anyone can create a website or pay to have a book published, then claim to be an expert in a certain field. For that reason, self-published books, personal websites, and blogs are largely not acceptable as sources.[4] Self-published material may, in some circumstances, be acceptable when produced by an established expert on the topic of the article whose work in the relevant field has previously been published by reliable third-party publications. However, caution should be exercised when using such sources: if the information in question is really worth reporting, someone else is likely to have done so. Self-published sources should never be used as third-party sources about living persons, even if the author is a well-known professional researcher or writer; see WP:BLP.