User talk:Mimsy.Brillig

Welcome!
Hello,, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions so far. I hope you like it here! Here are a few important links for newcomers:

Reliable sources, WP:V and WP:NPOV How to edit a page; How to develop articles; Editing tutorial Manual of Style; Writing better articles The five pillars of Wikipedia Editing by consensus – working well with other Wikipedians

If you'd like some help with editing or otherwise, you can sign up at the new users log, post a question at the Help Desk, or ask me on my talk page.

Please sign your name on Talk pages using four tildes ( ~ ); this will automatically insert your username and the date. It is a good idea to read the most recent entries at the bottom of the Talk page of an existing article before making major changes to it, to see if your proposed change has been discussed before. Before I make a major change to an article, I often make a proposal on the Talk page to see if anyone minds.

Again, welcome! -- Ssilvers (talk) 06:54, 3 January 2017 (UTC)

Rupert Holmes
I have removed your additions to the Rupert Holmes article, for now, because you did not cite any of your sources. It is essential that, whenever you add information to this encyclopedia, you cite a reliable, published source where everyone can verify *each* fact that you assert. That way the quality of the article steadily improves, instead of accumulating more unverified information. Please see WP:V and WP:OR for more information about this. It is one of the most important policies of this encyclopedia. Please return to the article and feel free to restore any of the information you added if you can cite your published source for each fact added. Let me know if you need assistance; I'd be very happy to help you. All the best! -- Ssilvers (talk) 06:54, 3 January 2017 (UTC)


 * Hi. When you cite a source, you must include the author's name, the title of the publication, the name of the publisher (or name of the publication, such as The New York Times) and the date of publication, like so:  Also, it is customary to say that an author publishes his or her books. "Mark Twain published more than 30 books throughout his career." -- Ssilvers (talk) 00:16, 4 January 2017 (UTC)


 * Yes, I got your reply, and you even signed it correctly, so you're making rapid progress on learning your way around Wikipedia! I look forward to seeing your sources for these changes. By the way, feel free to communicate with me here on your own Talk page.  I will see it.  Happy editing!  -- Ssilvers (talk) 02:08, 4 January 2017 (UTC)

SSilvers, thank you for the kind encouragement. One last question, and please only answer at your total convenience: can one cite a source that does not have an author's name attached to it, meaning, for example, information gleaned from relatively authoratative sources, such as Billboard charts, The World Almanac or IMDB.com listings, where no article author is credited? Thank you in advance for your assistance. Mimsy.Brillig (talk) 01:30, 9 January 2017 (UTC)


 * An excellent question! Billboard charts and The World Almanac, YES.  However, IMDB, NO!  The IMDB is a contributor community, like Wikipedia.  It does not have professional editors who control its quality.  We cannot cite any source that is not edited by reputable, identifiable editors. However, IBDB (the internet Broadway database) is a good source, because it has a professional editorial board that checks all of its information against reputable sources.  See WP:RS for more information about what sources we consider to be "reliable sources".  Also check out our manual of style, WP:MOS. -- Ssilvers (talk) 01:44, 9 January 2017 (UTC)

Your username
You didn't happen to go to or work for UMD? Toddst1 (talk) 02:02, 4 January 2017 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure if I'm replying to this correctly Toddst1, so if you can verify that you received my reply, I'd be most appreciative. I assume UMD is a school (i.e. University of Maryland). I did not attend any schools with any acronym UMD. Sorry if my name set off a false alarm. Mimsy.Brillig (talk) 00:57, 9 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the reply. Yes University of Maryland.   Back in the arpanet days, they hosted mimsy which was a major UUCP hub and also had a powerful machine named brillig.   It's all jabberwocki.   Cheers.   Toddst1 (talk) 02:40, 9 January 2017 (UTC)