User talk:Museum of Atikokan

September 2023
Hello, and welcome to contributing to Wikipedia. I hope you will have a successful time here. However, there are a few things you need to know before doing any more editing.
 * I have moved the page User:Museum of Atikokan to Draft:Graham Harris (poet), because that is the right kind of title for a draft article, whereas a user page is intended for an editor to provide a little information about themselves in connection with their work for Wikipedia.
 * Wikipedia policy requires a user account to be for one person, acting in an individual capacity, and does not allow accounts to represent organisations. Therefore you should not continue to edit under your present username. However, a username such as "Joe at Museum of Atikokan" would be fine, and would have the advantage of indicating that the account is an individual one while also providing transparency about your connection to the museum. You can create a new account, or, if you would prefer to keep your existing edit attached to your account, you can suggest a new username, and if it's acceptable I can rename this account.
 * If your editing is likely to have any close connection to the museum then you should look at the guideline on conflict of interest, and make sure you comply with it. (I don't see any problem with your editing, but it's as well to be warned, so that you can avoid possible future problems.) JBW (talk) 17:12, 7 September 2023 (UTC)


 * Hi and thank you for your advice. I wasn't sure what to name my user account and now I'm not sure if I should add this information sure to possible conflict. The information was provided by a genealogy researcher who has since lost her vision and can no longer assist. I am a volunteer, working from home to help the museum publish the author Graham G. Harris's work, which is in public domain in Canada. Should I have you help me change my username and proceed, or is this a conflict that would disqualify me from contributing? 2605:59C8:170F:2900:DD8C:5568:9F4C:4D0B (talk) 18:24, 7 September 2023 (UTC)
 * @Museum of Atikokan You can use WP:CHU to rename your account. 🔥 Yes I'mOnFire 🔥( ContainThis Ember? ) 01:23, 8 September 2023 (UTC)


 * Yes, you can use WP:CHU to ask for your account to be renamed if you like, as has said, but it may be simpler and quicker to ask me to do it, which is why I made the offer. Do whichever you like.
 * If you have read guideline on conflict of interest, and are willing to endeavour to follow its requirements then I don't see any reason why any possible conflict of interest should cause problems.
 * However, perhaps I should warn you that writing a new article is probably the most difficult task for a new editor to undertake, because there are so many ways in which it is possible to fail to satisfy Wikipedia's standards, and it takes experience to be able to avoid them. The draft you created looks to me like a well-written text, highly appropriate for many purposes, but needing considerable work to make it suitable for Wikipedia. The very first words, "Graham Harris was a quiet and unassuming man", are not suitable, because a Wikipedia article about a person should start by saying what the person is known for, such as "Joe Smith was a poet and athlete", and also because "quiet and unassuming" is a judgement or opinion, which a Wikipedia article should not express; it might, however, be suitable to have something like "R. D. Blenkinsop in her biography of Harris described him as 'a quiet and unassuming man'." Those are of course trivial details, which can easily be put right, but I give them just as examples of how, even in minor details, there are pitfalls which are not obvious to a new editor. A much bigger issue is the matter of giving citations for the content of the draft, which are absolutely essential if it is to be accepted as an article. My advice to new editors is that it is best to start by making small improvements to existing articles, rather than creating new articles. That way any mistakes you make will be small ones, and you won't have the discouraging experience of repeatedly seeing hours of work deleted. Gradually, you will get to learn how Wikipedia works, and after a while you will know enough about what is acceptable to be able to write whole new articles without fear that they will be deleted. Over the years I have found that editors who start by making small changes to existing articles and work up from there have a far better chance of having a successful time here than those who jump right into creating new articles from the start. However, if, having read that, you are willing to press ahead, then you are perfectly welcome to do so.
 * Although Wikipedia does not require editors to have user accounts, if you have one then it is best to always use it, rather than posting comments without logging in, as you have done above. There are several reasons for that, but the simplest is to avoid the risk of other editors not being sure it really is you. (Unfortunately we do get vandals and trolls who pretend to be other editors.) JBW (talk) 21:21, 8 September 2023 (UTC)
 * JBW: Thank you for your advice and guidance. I am an unpaid volunteer for the museum, and I think not personally influenced by COI, however was using an article written by the genealogist. I now realize it needs to be edited with a more critical eye to make it suitable for Wikipedia, but won't have time to address this before the draft expires. It would be best to delete it or allow it to be expunged and start fresh by creating a new account at that time. Should I actively do this or just let it expire? Museum of Atikokan (talk) 15:59, 12 September 2023 (UTC)

Concern regarding Draft:Graham Harris (poet)
Hello, Museum of Atikokan. This is a bot-delivered message letting you know that Draft:Graham Harris (poet), a page you created, has not been edited in at least 5 months. Drafts that have not been edited for six months may be deleted, so if you wish to retain the page, please edit it again&#32;or request that it be moved to your userspace.

If the page has already been deleted, you can request it be undeleted so you can continue working on it.

Thank you for your submission to Wikipedia. FireflyBot (talk) 17:06, 7 February 2024 (UTC)

Your draft article, Draft:Graham Harris (poet)


Hello, Museum of Atikokan. It has been over six months since you last edited the Articles for Creation submission or Draft page you started, "Graham Harris".

In accordance with our policy that Wikipedia is not for the indefinite hosting of material, the draft has been deleted. When you plan on working on it further and you wish to retrieve it, you can request its undeletion. An administrator will, in most cases, restore the submission so you can continue to work on it.

Thanks for your submission to Wikipedia, and happy editing. Liz Read! Talk! 16:49, 7 March 2024 (UTC)