User talk:John W Tuohy

Roger Touhy edits
I think it's great that an expert on Roger Touhy (you!) is willing to edit that article! I wanted to bring out a couple points about why those edits aren't currently in the article, though:
 * Wikipedia requires verifiable sources for any claim likely to be challenged. (This also helps avoid conflict of interest issues, which someone could claim is involved here -- since you wrote the book on Touhy, and book sales always help.) You make a lot of challengeable (e.g., factual) claims which don't meet that Wikipedia guideline.  Added citations is super-easy (I learned how to do it in an hour), and Wikipedia has a great page on how to do it.
 * Your edits also contradict the claims made by other editors in the article. Editors should not, except in glaringly obvious cases (for example: a book by a professor makes claim X and a book intended for children makes claim Y; clearly, claim X should be included and not claim Y), make judgment calls about which source is accurate. Rather, in such cases both claims should be included in the text and cites to both claims provided. The reader is thus invited to judge which claim to believe.
 * I also want to mention that Wikipedia's content should be encylopedic in tone. Your edits didn't really meet that standard. The article shouldn't argue with itself, nor should disagreements among editors be made in the article. If the above guideline on conflicting claims is followed, this guideline will be close to being met.

I strongly encourage you to contribute to this article, and to Wikipedia! You clearly have access to published materials which others do not, and can make a terrific contribution to this article and the encyclopedia. - Tim1965 (talk) 14:47, 9 July 2010 (UTC)