User talk:Esowteric/Archives/2012/September

idries shah page
can you take a look at the section on Gardner in Idries Shah's page? there's a problem i can't fix. Thanks. --Jlburton (talk) 20:14, 2 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Done. I removed a leading space at the start of the paragraph. Easy when you know how. :) Regards,  Esowteric + Talk  20:28, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

Link Spam (NBN)
Hi Eric, As you've seen, I responded to 76.102.49.177, both on Kristin's page and on this talk page. He's not written back. I don't want to step on any toes, but I wonder what you'd advise me to do about adding links to author pages for interviews on the NBN. I don't want to revert before 76.102.49.177 responds or until it gets kicked up to an admin. What do you think? MarshallPoe (talk) 18:36, 9 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Hi Marshall, thanks for getting in touch. I'm sorry, I know little about such policing myself: I concentrate mostly on editing. I do, however, know an experienced editor Jayen466 and I'll see if he can have a look at the talk page and history and offer a few words of advice. He's a busy guy, so there may be a delay. Regards,  Esowteric + Talk  18:44, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

Thanks so much! MarshallPoe (talk) 20:17, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

Facebook
Eric, do you have any info on how official that official Facebook page is? The About section of the page doesn't tell us very much, and it links to Wikipedia.  J N  466  11:21, 2 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Hi Jayen, as far as I am aware, the Facebook page is legitimate and official. There's an Idries Shah Foundation web site in the pipeline and a link to that will no doubt replace the link to Wikipedia. imo, the source is more reliable about this minor fact than other RS. But feel free to revert. Regards,  Esowteric + Talk  11:26, 2 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Have any of his children, or anyone else involved in the administration of his estate, ever acknowledged the Facebook page? If not, could you drop Tahir a line (if you're still in touch with him) so he could confirm? I am only asking because sometimes, these Facebook pages spring up by themselves and the info on them often is not reliable, or taken from Wikipedia (which makes for citogenesis and circular sourcing). Cheers,  J N  466  13:57, 2 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Hi Jayen, if you check out Tahir Shah's Facebook author page and his personal profile, you'll find personal invites to the new "official Idries Shah page". At the top of the page, you'll also see a row of Idries Shah's original manuscripts which are in the possession of the Estate. One thing Tahir Shah might do is click one of the options to publicly acknowledge ownership of the page? Regards,  Esowteric + Talk  14:39, 2 September 2012 (UTC)
 * I'll see if he'll own the page. Sheesh! If I can figure out where you do this, myself :)  Esowteric + Talk  14:40, 2 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks, Eric. Tahir's advertising the page on his Facebook page should be enough to establish its authenticity if anyone were to question it.  J N  466  02:36, 3 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Hi Eric, let me know if you need me to get any official proof from Tahir regarding the Facebook page. I could speak more in a private message, but for now let's just say that you're on the right track. :) --Hewagpc (talk) 15:45, 11 September 2012 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

 * Thank you. Much appreciated.  Esowteric + Talk  23:58, 11 September 2012 (UTC)
 * I was about to go "no, thank you!" but I noticed you'd already used the italics. I don't want to send us down an endless trail of increasingly exhuberant thanks, so I'll just say how happy it makes me to see people who reach out to new editors and help them do better. Ironholds (talk) 00:06, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Thank you
Thank you for notifying Shrikanthv (talk) 13:53, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for September 15
Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Wikipedia appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited Rachana Shah, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page Patrick Walker (check to confirm | fix with Dab solver). Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ* Join us at the DPL WikiProject.

It's OK to remove this message. Also, to stop receiving these messages, follow these opt-out instructions. Thanks, DPL bot (talk) 11:05, 15 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Done. It was Sir Patrick Walker (MI5 officer). "On leaving the Colonial Service he joined MI5 where he was Director-General from 1988 to 1992." Author of Towards Independence in Africa.  Esowteric + Talk  11:14, 15 September 2012 (UTC)

R. J. Ellory
I do not understand what is happening here. Potentially libellous statements regarding myself and my work are being left on my wikipedia page, and I cannot remove them. This is grossly unfair, unjust and biased. Simply because an article appears in a newspaper does not make it true. Please could you assist me in resolving this issue. Many thank. R J Ellory. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.11.171.216 (talk) 20:58, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

I do not understand what is happening here. Potentially libellous statements regarding myself and my work are being left on my wikipedia page, and I cannot remove them. This is grossly unfair, unjust and biased. Simply because an article appears in a newspaper does not make it true. Please could you assist me in resolving this issue. Many thank. R J Ellory. -- Preceding unsigned comment added by at 20:59, 17 September 2012‎ (See page history).


 * Hi, yes I can see that there's a dispute, and that's one of the reasons that I put the banner/template across the top of the page. If you have grievances, you can fill in the edit description; discuss the issues on the talk page and also (I would suggest), take them to Biographies of living persons/Noticeboard. Regards,  Esowteric + Talk  21:03, 17 September 2012 (UTC)


 * The problem is that the material in "Personal life" which is being blanked is reliably sourced.  Esowteric + Talk  21:05, 17 September 2012 (UTC)


 * I have raised the matter at Biographies of living persons/Noticeboard. Please add your input to that discussion.  Esowteric + Talk  08:35, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

I am very unfamiliar with how this works, certainly as far as sending messages is concerned. I do not even know who I am talking to! I noticed this morning that two pararaphs of my 'Perosnal Life' section had been removed. Who removes these things, and why? As far as this dispute is concerned, there is a significant matter of misrepresentation in the press regarding the extent to which I had manufactured 'reviews' on amazon. Simply put, this entire issue was blown out of all proportion, and I have been treated most unjustly. However, I appreciate that you have noted that there is a dispute on this issue. My concern, as is also happening with reviews left on amazon itself, is that those reading my wikipedia page and recent amazon reviews are being given one side of the story, much of it false, and there is nothing I can do to address this matter. Were the truth ever to come out regarding this issue, I guarantee that it would receive no press coverage at all. People assume that what they read in the newspapers and on the internet is true, whereas it is often biased, invested with ulterior motive, and semi-factual. I would please ask you to leave the paragraphs in as they are on my 'Personal Life' section, unless there is some issue with this. And please could you tell me who you are, and why you are in control of what does and does not go on my wikipedia page? Also, who posted that photograph of me, and how do I get rid of it or change it? Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Roger Ellory (talk • contribs) 10:04, 19 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Hi Roger, you're talking to Eric. I'm not an admin here; just another hack/editor. I am definitely not in control of this! As you have genuine grievances, I created a discussion thread at Biographies of living persons/Noticeboard on your behalf, so that you can air your views and set the recored straight. Click the link and scroll to the section beginning with the title "R. J. Ellory"; and read what has been said. By the section title is a link to edit the section. Here you can provide your input, just as you do when editing the section of an article. I'll add your response above to that thread. Regards,  Esowteric + Talk  10:10, 19 September 2012 (UTC)


 * If you go to the article R. J. Ellory and click on the "view history" link at the top of the page here, you can see who made what changes, why and when. Recent changes were made not by me but by . Hope that helps. Regards, Eric:  Esowteric + Talk  10:20, 19 September 2012 (UTC)


 * The photo was added by .  Esowteric + Talk  10:48, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

The facts are very simple, and - as you say - I have publicly apologised for this. Over a span of ten years, ten reviews were left on amazon, either self-penned or penned by a family member, one for each book I have published to date. Two negative reviews were left by me, and only two. The newspaper reports have created the apparency that I had used multiple false names and accounts to post 'dozens, if not hundreds' of reviews. This is entirely false, and can be validated by amazon. As of the beginning of September 2012, there were no self-penned or family-written reviews of my own works on amazon, nor are the two negative reviews I left still present. These were all removed by me, or removed by amazon at my request. Every review of my books on amazon has been written by someone other than me or a family member. The messages left on amazon that 'every review of my books is false', or 'there are hundreds of fake reviews on amazon' is blatanly untrue and libellous, and I feel that the wording of the 'Controversy' paragraph and the attachment of newspaper links give completely the wrong bias on this issue. I am sorry to inconvenience you with this, but this is an important issue, and I feel that I am being misprepresented, not by what is being said on wikipedia, but by what is not being said. The simple fact that such a practice is pandemic across amazon and many, many other websites where reviews can be posted is beside the point. I was accused of this, admitted to it, apologised for it, and yet was subjected to a relentless character assassination in the world's press, and as far as I am concerned, the reaction was disproportionate to the crime. I am not trying to make excuses or justify this, but it had been an enormously difficult thing to deal with, and I am doing all I can to rescue my career and dignity out of this fiasco. Thank you for your time, nevertheless, and I hope we can work this out. R J Ellory. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Roger Ellory (talk • contribs) 11:26, 19 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Thanks a lot, Roger. The place to state this is at Biographies of living persons/Noticeboard, not on my personal talk page, but thanks anyway and thanks again, Roger. I'll copy the above message to the discussion threda. It is in your best interests to explain yourself and respond there. Regards,  Esowteric + Talk  11:29, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

NBN Links/Jayen466
Hi E, I'm still waiting for a response from Jayen466 re adding links to interviews from the NBN to author pages. Could you pink him again (or is that advisable). I've not heard from the fellow who initially cut the links either, even though I left a message two weeks ago on his talk page. MarshallPoe (talk) 13:38, 19 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Hi Marshall, yes I'll do that. He's at . Very sorry for this delay. Must be frustrating. See recent addition to User talk:Kristine-daggett. Regards, Eric:  Esowteric + Talk  13:41, 19 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Another option: If you place  on your talk page,with a description of the issue, an editor will visit you there.  Esowteric + Talk  14:06, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

Rachana Shah continued
Seriously do you think the following as a wiki material

"Shah moved with her husband Tahir Shah to their new home called Dar Khalifa in Casablanca, Morocco and subsequently became a main character in her husband's two books that chronicled their adventures in Morocco: The Caliph's House and In Arabian Nights. Her endurance of the year-long ordeal of remodeling their previously abandoned house in Casablanca caused one blogger to marvel at her patience: ".."

just give me a reason how this is not a wiki NPOV, i have not edited or deleted the stuff again, it seems you have developed personnel attachments to the subject matter. I will let go this edits but please think over, what above stuff is really contributing ??? and if your conscience say its fine, We keep this way Shrikanthv (talk) 15:36, 20 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Thanks a lot, I'll have a look at that now that the dust has settled.  Esowteric + Talk  15:40, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, you're quite right. I have removed "Her endurance of the year-long ordeal ... ...": (1) It's unreliably sourced and (2) It's non-essential.  Esowteric + Talk  15:47, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Please remember to assume good faith.  Esowteric + Talk  16:36, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
 * See: Articles for deletion/Rachana Shah (2nd nomination). Regards,  Esowteric + Talk  16:54, 20 September 2012 (UTC)

Rachana Shah
Hi Eric, thanks for your help on everything. For someone who claims to be semi-retired, you are pretty active! I have a quick question...I just created the page for Rachana Shah, and it's been marked for speedy deletion. Do you have any suggestions on what details I should add to keep it up there? Thanks so much!! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hewagpc (talk • contribs) 15:37, 11 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Sorry, have been out of radio contact today, visiting my daughter Tamzin. Will have a look and at least copy the content to look at while it's still there. Regards,  Esowteric + Talk  16:07, 11 September 2012 (UTC)


 * First of all -- the easy part -- begin the lead with [bold] Rachana Shah [/bold] is a ... whatever to clarify what the article is about and suggest notability. Then -- the harder part -- you need to find reliable sources to establish her notability. With that in place, the speedy deletion can be contested. Good luck!  Esowteric + Talk  16:15, 11 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Yes, it's all about these criteria for speedy deletion.  Esowteric + Talk  16:30, 11 September 2012 (UTC)


 * See Wikipedia notability (people): Creative professionals,  Esowteric + Talk  16:39, 11 September 2012 (UTC)


 * I'm sorry, so far I've drawn a blank. The only way forward I can think of is if we can cite notable works that Rachana has illustrated, or awards: unfortunately, the cover or book designer seems to be a largely unsung hero whilst the author gets the accolades (which seems like a bias against a class of graphic designers)? In the case of Saira Shah's bio, you can build up notability with a few big hits, whilst her sister Safia's bio was built from a whole constellation of minor impacts. Alas, here I'm stuck. I don't know about you, but I don't like to let these things beat me.  Esowteric + Talk  17:09, 11 September 2012 (UTC)


 * NB, just visited Rachana Shah's site and will try a list of notable works.  Esowteric + Talk  17:26, 11 September 2012 (UTC)

Thanks Eric! I just came back after a little break as I was feeling frustrated with this whole thing! Will take a look at it now and do some research to see what I can do. Thanks so much for your wonderful help!! Hewagpc (talk) 17:32, 11 September 2012 (UTC)

Eric...have you seen that the Rachana Shah page is being considered for deletion once AGAIN?? Just wanted to let you know because I checked out the page and was shocked...not because I expect help again. You've done so much already! (BTW, I changed my username from Hewagpc because it was a terrible username.)  BlueLupine  14:01, 21 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Yes, I've seen it, BlueLupine. I'm sorry but I think that the article is going to go for lack of notability, damn it. Copy and paste the content and the phonnix will no doubt rise from the ashes once she gets more coverage via Timbuctoo. Regards, Eric:  Esowteric + Talk  14:11, 21 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks again, Eric!! :)  Blue Lupine  14:14, 21 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Added a note to the AfD discussion earlier to say that the article creator had not as yet commented.  Esowteric + Talk  14:15, 21 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks Eric, I just saw that. Unfortunately, I can't think of anything else to be done. I did comment, though, to clarify that I am not RS or TS, though of course that doesn't make much of a difference. Blue Lupine  14:28, 21 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Sorry again, BlueLupine. Jan-Fishan Khan rose again, so can Rachana Shah. I was civil, but to be honest, I was screaming inside and it took me a while to clear it from my system. :)  Esowteric + Talk  14:32, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

 * Many thanks for this. And thanks for your help, too! Regards,  Esowteric + Talk  09:17, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

Page Curation newsletter
Hey. I'm dropping you a note because you used to (or still do!) patrol new pages. This is just to let you know that we've deployed and developed Page Curation, which augments and supersedes Special:NewPages - there are a lot of interesting new features :). There's some help documentation here if you want to familiarise yourself with the system and start using it. If you find any bugs or have requests for new features, let us know here. Thanks! Okeyes (WMF) (talk) 12:33, 24 September 2012 (UTC)