User talk:PrescientCompany

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Hello,, and welcome to Wikipedia! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful: I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your messages on discussion pages using four tildes ( ~ ); this will automatically insert your username and the date. If you need help, check out Questions, ask me on, or ask your question on this page and then place  before the question. Again, welcome! Fences &amp;  Windows  22:07, 23 September 2009 (UTC)
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Helen Goddard
Hi, I flagged the talk page for deletion but I neglected to explain why, sorry about that. We don't create talk pages for non-existent articles. Helen Goddard has indeed been in the news, but not all news stories go into Wikipedia, see WP:NOT. In particular, people who are only known for one event, in this case being jailed for having an affair with an underage pupil, are usually judged not to be suitable for having an article about them. See WP:BLP1E. Is a teacher sleeping with a pupil really worth writing an encyclopedia article about? I doubt it. You might also want to read Notability (criminal acts). You can get other opinions at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Crime and Criminal Biography. If you think others might disagree with me and you're not sure about how to write the article, list it at Articles for creation. If you think this case has sufficient notability, then you could write it yourself, taking note of the instructions above. Fences &amp;  Windows  22:20, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

I read the note you left at Talk:Helen Goddard and thought I would offer to help you further if I could. I believe you are inquiring about creating an article about someone named Helen Goddard, and wondering if that would be possible. You don't really need anyone's permission to create an article, but you will need the agreement of the Wikipedia community to have it remain -- the important question is, "Does the article meet Wikipedia's standards?" You can find some background information about what I mean by that by reading this article, which outlines the three basic requirements for Wikipedia articles -- reliable sources, notability and verifiability. It also occurred to me that you were wanting to create an article about the Helen Goddard about whom information can be found in the article about City of London School for Girls. I am not the ultimate authority on such things, but if that is the Helen Goddard you have in mind, I would suspect that an article about that person would not be allowed to remain. Basically, we have a principle at Wikipedia that people who are famous for one event -- known as the one event rule -- are not usually sufficiently notable to be the subject of Wikipedia articles unless there is an enormous interest in that one event. I believe that the page containing your note at Talk:Helen Goddard will be deleted soon -- the reason why I read it is because I went there to do that -- and so I thought I would offer you some help if you felt you needed it. You can leave me a note with questions or comments by clicking on the word "talk" after my signature and I will do my best to be of assistance. Accounting4Taste: talk 22:23, 23 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Good spot, Accounting4Taste. What is at City of London School for Girls is adequate, I think. I wasn't aware that the school had been named in the press, but the Telegraph does name it. I've added two good sources. Fences  &amp;  Windows  22:40, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for your post, and I appreciate the information however this project doesn't really seem to be quite what I thought it might be. I understand the evaluation of a Goddard article, but have found precious little on this site truly exploring the principles on which the decisions to exclude information from the 'sum of human knowledge' are taken.
 * Remember that our decision isn't final. You can start an article, and see what the community makes of it. One of the tenets of Wikipedia is "be bold"! The principles of Wikipedia are the Five pillars, and there are a range of policies and guidelines, though see WP:Ignore all rules. Your characterization of Wikipedia as the "sum of all human knowledge" comes from a quote of Jimmy Wales. Although he is the co-founder of the site, he doesn't have any more say on how the encyclopedia is run that the rest of us and that quote was unfortunate hyperbole. Fences  &amp;  Windows  01:00, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for your post, I don't really understand the framework of decision making at Wikipedia, to be honest - it seems arbitrary. Thank you too for your candour, the 'you have a message' signal is oddly engaging.
 * An article has been started, and I have nominated it for deletion. The discussion can be found here: Articles for deletion/Helen Goddard. Fences  &amp;  Windows  23:19, 27 September 2009 (UTC)