User talk:Erwfaethlon

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Image copyright problem with Image:Lieutenant General Harry Hammon Lyster VC, CB in about 1900.jpg
Thanks for uploading Image:Lieutenant General Harry Hammon Lyster VC, CB in about 1900.jpg. The image has been identified as not specifying the copyright status of the image, which is required by Wikipedia's policy on images. If you don't indicate the copyright status of the image on the image's description page, using an appropriate copyright tag, it may be deleted some time in the next seven days. If you have uploaded other images, please verify that you have provided copyright information for them as well.

For more information on using images, see the following pages:
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 * Image copyright tags

This is an automated notice by STBotI. For assistance on the image use policy, see Media copyright questions. NOTE: once you correct this, please remove the tag from the image's page. STBotI (talk) 14:40, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

James Burke (science historian)
Hi. The problem at James Burke (science historian), is that the link you've added leads to White, which is about the colour white, not about the ethnicity. If you had linked to white people, that would make more sense. Always remember to check your work ;)

However, the "ethnicity" field in the infobox seems quite bizarre to me. As you said about "caucasian", it's an "outdated racial categorisation", and I havne't seen it used before in other articles. I'm going to remove it entirely from that article, until I get some feedback from the folks who know about these things at Template_talk:Infobox_Person.

Hope that helps. Thanks. -- Quiddity (talk) 17:47, 12 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure if this is how I reply??
 * Thanks for removing the 'ethnicity' line; I was irritated by the fact of the person being subjectively classified like that almost as much as by the obsolete term used. I can imagine biographies where it was significant to identify a person's race/ethnic group becasue of an importance to their personal history but it has no place for this individual. Idon't know how it works in the US but in Britain it is now usual (where ethnic origin is wanted in order to monitor equal opportunities) to ask people to assign themselves to an ethnic group from a standard list where 'white' is the term relevant here, or to fill in a box labelled 'other'. They normally have a n/a option if they don't wish to beassigned. It is not normal for anyone else to decide which group a person belongs to. It is clearly highly questionable whether classification into races has any actual validity at all given the continuous range of genetic variation which exists.Erwfaethlon (talk)


 * Yup, that's how to reply. Use : for extra levels of indent, on talkpages.
 * I'll add a "welcome template" below above, which has many other useful hints and links. -- Quiddity (talk) 01:44, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

Harry Hammon Lyster
Thank you for your help and welcome; I can see myself getting drawn in as time goes on. One question you may be able to help me with: I would like to contribute a short biographical article on a deceased relative (Harry Hammon Lyster) who was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1858. I have a good deal of information to start from which was collected about 100 years ago by another relative who privately published a family history. This quotes from letters the writer of the book received from HHL directly giving details of his life. My reading of Wikipaedia guidance though suggests that privately published material is not regarded as a verifiable source. How does this work in such a case where this is really the only extant source of biographical information on an interesting person? After all, the same book could have been published for sale and would not have been any more or less reliable for that. Presumably much authoratative biography is originally based on personal recollections, letters etc. which are all ultimately fallable. Erwfaethlon (talk) 12:22, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

I should have said 'contribute material to an existing page'; the article would not be entirely new. Erwfaethlon (talk) 12:25, 14 July 2009 (UTC)


 * The best place to ask about sources would be Reliable sources/Noticeboard where editors experienced with such questions will be able to give you advice.
 * That's a great photograph of Harry Hammon Lyster! You should ask at Media copyright questions about how to tag it properly (regarding the "Image copyright problem" notice at the top of your talkpage).
 * HTH (hope that helps). -- Quiddity (talk) 19:24, 14 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks, I'll try that. It is a great picture isn't it; he looks like a lovely old chap with a real twinkle in his eye. Erwfaethlon (talk) 21:39, 14 July 2009 (UTC)