User talk:Maryg1947

Jack London
You are correct that I am not very familiar with Wikipedia's rules. I was browsing for London biography sites to use in a class and noticed a glaring error (London's father deserted him when he was 10??)in the background section. I decided I couldn't just leave it there even though I didn't have time to do a thorough job of revision. I hoped that by drawing attention to this section, others would go back and do a more careful job on it.

As to the paragraph I deleted, I did this not because I disagreed with the paragraph but because it presented an uncontroversial assertion as if it is hotly contested. What London biographers DON'T say this? It seemed unnecessary. In addition, it circled back to an earlier topic in a choppy way.

I agree with you that others' words should not be lightly deleted, and perhaps you find my reasons for taking this out insufficient. Thanks for your feedback. Maryg1947 (talk) 20:55, 30 August 2008 (UTC)

Jack London
Thanks for your work on the Jack London article.

I'm not sure how familiar you are with Wikipedia's policies on verifiability, neutrality, source citations, and reliable sources, but if you aren't familiar with them you should glance over them. I don't think you should have removed the paragraph beginning "Biographer Clarice Stasz and others believe..." as it is well sourced, i.e. some respected London biographers actually do say this. If other sources say something different, they should be included as well, with the conflict being pointed out.

Best regards, Dpbsmith (talk) 23:58, 29 August 2008 (UTC)