Talk:Zetor

This article was nominated for deletion on June 1, 2005, and the consensus was to keep. For discussion, see Votes for deletion/Zetor. sjorford &rarr;&bull;&larr; 12:16, 15 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Ownership trivia removed from article
I removed the following, which was added by an anonymous user: "The first of the Zetor 105-40 series was sold in Co. Cavan in the Rep. of Ireland which was purchased by Luke Reilly in 1998. A hell of a tractor!!!" I have no idea whether it's true or not. Un focused  16:41, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

On improving the article
Greetings. I have encountered a couple of Zetor tractors, and had a brief discussion with someone who has had some experience using them. The tractors I encountered are about 40 years old, and I understand there's a few of that vintage still around and still going strong. The Zetor that I paid a bit of attention to had clearly done some work over the years, but it looks and sounds like it has a bit more life in it.

Zetor tractors do indeed appear to be a bit legendary amongst those who have used them. I didn't recognise the name, and the little manual I perused didn't seem to mention country of origin. But it all made sense when one chap I spoke with told me they are or were Czechoslovak made. I once had the privilege of using a Tos horizontal boring machine, which was also Czech made. It was my favourite machine tool. So some good stuff appears to have been engineered in that country, and I was not surprised to learn of the Zetor's origins.

Methinks I should learn something of these machines, and a good way to do that is to see if I can help improve the article. I have yet to read the article through, but I daresay the content is accurate enough, and I have no intention or desire to make wholesale changes. My first editing task will be to attempt to find references that can help get the article to a point where removal of the advertisement box is justified. I do have an good track record at finding reliable information, so that should help. How much effort this will take and how successful I'll be is completely unknown to me, but one has to start somewhere. Wotnow (talk) 18:59, 23 June 2011 (UTC)

Please be patient and don't panic
After creating this section, I will add an infobox atop the article, with a link to this section in the edit summary field. The reason for adding the infobox is that the first one indicates the primary problem, while the one I've added is the nearest thing I could find to indicate that work is about to be undertaken and to encourage patience.

To editors, I ask for patience. I have been away from Wikipedia for a bit, while making very large changes to my life and lifestyle. This is ongoing, so how much time I get to spend on Wikipedia is anyone's guess. I can guarantee persistence. I just can't guarantee time-frames.

To fans, and/or marketers of this product, don't panic, and please don't go into edit-warring mode (also other editors please). This is a good product, which is a key reason I'm interested in it, along with the fact that I realise I'm about to learn some interesting history. However, the article cannot of course be an advertisement, or read like one, and that's where I hope to contribute. While I don't have a massive number of edits to my name, my track record is on the whole good. I seek to contribute; imperfect as I am I try not to be a troublemaker; I seek verifiable, reliable and independent sources, and I'm reasonably good at referencing in a variety of styles (long before I encountered Wikipedia too) with the primary goal of the original source being locatable from the reference alone.

So let's plug away and see how we go. Wotnow (talk) 19:40, 23 June 2011 (UTC)

Comments on sources
Brief update. As evidenced from edits to date, my primary focus is on adding resources to work from. I have also started reviewing earlier edits. Sometimes earlier edits of articles contain useful sources which have become lost, and/or useful information and/or wording. I am re-adding a link to Zetorworld.com, which looks like it will be useful for referencing. While my preference is for books and journal articles etc, some useful-looking resources are not freely available on the internet, and I am unlikely to locate copies in the short term. Websites can of course provide good referencing material, if they contain stable information that is clearly traceable to establishable facts.

Regarding actual re-writing, my preferred method is to try to leave existing text intact, and (a) add references at appropriate places, and (b) simply reword sentences and phrases to read neutrally, while leaving the efforts of previous editors intact. Wotnow (talk) 21:06, 28 June 2011 (UTC)


 * The main problem I have at the moment with the Zetorworld link is how to get a link to the sub-sections of the history link (I'm sure there's a way but I know not how). This is because when using for referencing, the goal is that the reader is taken straight to the relevant sub-section, and not a main page from which he or she has to navigate. If someone can help here, I'd be grateful. You could either place any such links directly into the links section or here, and I'll format and place them into the links section. There they would sit until utilised in referencing, or if not utilised, would remain as further reading links. Wotnow (talk) 21:16, 28 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Adding notes section. Some information which appears accurate but for which I can't find references will be relocated to here. This keeps the information visible while allowing for someone, be it me or someone else, to find or provide a verifiable reference. Wotnow (talk) 08:09, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

Expanding lead section
I have located a book on tractors which I spotted during my online resource searches but for which there was no preview. I will use this to expand the lead section. There will of course be some overlap of information in the lead section with information in the main article. That is to be expected for a few reasons.

Firstly, the lead or introductory section of any written work typically summarises or synopses the main work. That is, it gives an overview. Secondly, in this current exercise, I need to find a way to rework material while doing justice to the efforts of previous editors. Ultimately this will mean the article reads differently, but will contain substantively the factual information content provided by other editors. It will just not read like promotional article or like material from an annual report - mind you such an annual report would be a useful resource, providing verifiable referencing material. Expansion of the lead section will enable me to do this, utilising in the first instance material from the book.

The book itself is on tractors in general, meaning that the Zetor article is a brief overview of Zetor tractors up to roughly the period when the book was published (obviously there's a lag between preparing a book and the publishing date). So it serves my current purposes well. Having added material from the book, I will of course then see if I can find online references for the same material, although the book will remain a valid reference. Wotnow (talk) 19:05, 8 July 2011 (UTC)

Copyright Violation
I've removed 90% of this article as it was copy and pasted from http://www.zetor.co.uk/the-zetor-history. For information on why this is not acceptable, please see the policy page on Copyright Violations. Thanks Spigot  Map  01:03, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Zetor did not have one of the first hydraulic systems
I removed the sentence "It produced one of the first hydraulic systems, known as the Zetormatic.", as it was Harry Ferguson that invented three-point hitch and depth control. Zetor copied it when Ferguson's patents expired, as did virtually all other manufacturers. Zetor called their vesion "Zetormatic", Bolinder-Munktell called their version "Terra Trol", etc., but they where all basically copies of the Ferguson system. --Sigmundg (talk) 21:47, 2 August 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 1 one external link on Zetor. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20140202123055/http://www.zetor.com/file/78994/Annual-report-of-ZETOR-TRACTORS-a-s_2012.pdf to http://www.zetor.com/file/78994/Annual-report-of-ZETOR-TRACTORS-a-s_2012.pdf

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