User talk:Ostritt

July 2011
Welcome to Wikipedia. Everyone is welcome to contribute constructively to the encyclopedia. However, please do not add promotional material to articles or other Wikipedia pages, as you did to Visionary art‎‎. Advertising and using Wikipedia as a "soapbox" are against Wikipedia policy and not permitted. Take a look at the welcome page to learn more about Wikipedia. Thank you. CliffC (talk) 14:33, 10 July 2011 (UTC)

Hi Cliff, thanks for getting in touch. I would be grateful for your help in adding my definition of Visionary Art to Visionary art‎‎ - as I have publicly interviewed more visionary artists than any other critic and am an active member of the visionary art community, I feel that my definition should be included on the page in order for it to constitute an accurate snapshot of the genre. As the genre itself is relatively new (or at least the appellation) there are few commentators and critics discussing it. The definition provided by the American Visionary Art museum is, in my opinion, specious. I am happy to discuss why I feel this aesthetically, but would prefer to add a definition to the page so that readers can have an alternative definition. The reason I added so many references is because another user had originally taken it down as there was insufficient evidence that I was a reliable source. It is my hope that the references demonstrate that my knowledge and experience in the field is adequate to be included on the page - naturally this is difficult when the bulk of my experience is in not in a peer reviewed journal or similar source but a podcast. However, I have no doubt gone about the referencing in the wrong way and would appreciate any advice you may have regarding how to clean it up. Thanks! Ostritt (talk) 20:18, 10 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Hi Ostritt, Wikipedia requires material to be based on reliable, published sources. Your sources do not seem to meet this requirement – the first is a blog; the second is a Guardian profile stating that you've written the novel Beyond the Basin; the third links to a website selling the book.  This last is what we call citation spamming and material sourced this way is removed on sight.


 * However, if your book has been reviewed by mainstream media you may be able to use it as a source, but keep in mind that you have a conflict of interest. That's not a bad thing, it's just a reality to consider.  The COI guidelines say that you should suggest any article changes on the article's talk page to gain consensus from uninvolved editors. I've added 'Conflict of Interest' and 'Welcome' templates below to give you more information on getting started contributing; one good way is to use your knowledge to find sources other than your own to improve Visionary art and other articles.  Cheers, CliffC (talk) 02:22, 11 July 2011 (UTC)

Hello Ostritt. If you are affiliated with some of the people, places or things you have written about on Wikipedia, you may have a conflict of interest, or close connection to the subject.

All editors are required to comply with Wikipedia's neutral point of view content policy. People who are very close to a subject often have a distorted view of it, which may cause them to inadvertently edit in ways that make the article either too flattering or too disparaging. People with a close connection to a subject are not absolutely prohibited from editing about that subject, but they need to be especially careful about following the reliable sources and writing with as little bias as possible.

If you are very close to a subject, here are some ways you can reduce the risk of problems:


 * 1) Avoid or exercise great caution when editing or creating articles related to you, your organization, or its competitors, as well as projects and products they are involved with.
 * 2) Be cautious about deletion discussions. Everyone is welcome to provide information about independent sources in deletion discussions, but avoid advocating for deletion of articles about your competitors.
 * 3) Avoid linking to the Wikipedia article or website of your organization in other articles (see Spam).
 * 4) Exercise great caution so that you do not accidentally breach Wikipedia's content policies.

Please familiarize yourself with relevant content policies and guidelines, especially those pertaining to neutral point of view, verifiability of information, and autobiographies.

For information on how to contribute to Wikipedia when you have a conflict of interest, please see our frequently asked questions for organizations. Thank you. --CliffC (talk) 02:22, 11 July 2011 (UTC)

Welcome!

 * }