User talk:Kjclark

September 2012
Please do not add inappropriate external links to Wikipedia, as you did to Air Car (hovercraft). Wikipedia is not a collection of links, nor should it be used for advertising or promotion. Inappropriate links include (but are not limited to) links to personal web sites, links to web sites with which you are affiliated, and links that attract visitors to a web site or promote a product. See the external links guideline and spam guideline for further explanations. Because Wikipedia uses the nofollow attribute value, its external links are disregarded by most search engines. If you feel the link should be added to the article, please discuss it on the article's talk page rather than re-adding it. Thank you. Andy Dingley (talk) 15:46, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

I'm sorry, am I allowed to add a page specific to this hovercraft model?


 * WP:NOTABILITY is the key issue here. Mostly for independent articles, but also for content within articles. It's very hard to show the significance of anything added as merely an external link: see WP:EL. If you can actually write some content about hovercraft, and why this company is distinct from other hovercraft, then adding this same URL as a reference is far more likely to be an acceptable use.
 * I'd advise against any new WP editor trying to start a new article from scratch. Just too many pitfalls. It's much better to do some editing: even just basic stuff, until you get the hang of the wiki tech and also the culture locally - which I'd have to admit is generally quite antisocial. My apologies for the WP:BITEy message above. I remove a lot of outright spam, so I get a bit twitchy. Spammers though don't respond afterwards and ask how to proceed better, so thanks for that. Andy Dingley (talk) 19:52, 18 September 2012 (UTC)


 * I would agree with Andy about our project's difficulties for new editors but there is a way you can start an article without a lot of second-guessing and hassle. Wikipedia editors now have their own "sandboxes" they can use to build articles in. While they're in these sandboxes, they're not part of the main encyclopaedia and not subject to all the rules and scrutiny (as long as it's clear you're working on an eventual article and not just some personal blog or hosting project).


 * We've always had that capability but it was obscure to most people. Now you have a tab at the top of the page labelled "my sandbox". If you click it, it takes you to User:Kjclark/sandbox and you can beaver away to your heart's content.


 * As you do this, you can use the links in the welcome message below as a good intro. Also, we have a ton of rules, but 80% of what you need to know in the first year is covered on this one page: Simplified ruleset. In your case, there are a couple of other rules to be aware:
 * Conflicts of Interest -- if this is your product, you have a conflict of interest and should not edit an actual article. An article in your sandbox is OK, though, and you can get a neutral editor to launch it for you when your ready.
 * Notability -- this is often the biggest single hurdle for article survival. If you don't have good solid, independent coverage (typically in the press) of your hovercraft (or whatever it is), your article won't survive.
 * Then there's the remaining 10% of the rules you're supposed to know. We have so many ancillary rules and policies that nobody knows them all. I'm an administrator with 7 years editing experience and I sure don't. Just stick to the stuff I referred you to, be nice to people and give it your best shot and let that other 10% take care of itself.


 * Also, even if your own hovercraft isn't notable yet, or if it is and you're too busy to fool with working on an article for it, I'm sure your knowledge could really help our related articles -- feel encouraged to dive in and help with them as a way of getting some practice.


 * Thanks for helping us here! -- A. B. (talk • contribs) 00:46, 19 September 2012 (UTC)


 * PS A question -- will your hover craft have eels?

Welcome!
Hello, Kjclark, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Unfortunately, one or more of the pages you created may not conform to some of Wikipedia's guidelines, and may not be retained.

There's a page about creating articles you may want to read called Your first article. If you are stuck, and looking for help, please come to the New contributors' help page, where experienced Wikipedians can answer any queries you have! Or, you can just type helpme on this page, followed by your question, and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Here are a few other good links for newcomers: I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes ( ~ ); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you have any questions, check out Questions or ask me on my talk page. Again, welcome! Andy Dingley (talk) 19:42, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
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