User talk:Proxybox

July 2007
Welcome to Wikipedia. We invite everyone to contribute constructively to the encyclopedia. However, the external links you added to the page UFOC do not comply with our guidelines for external links. Wikipedia is not a mere directory of links; nor should it be used for advertising or promotion. Since Wikipedia uses nofollow tags, external links do not alter search engine rankings. If you feel the link should be added to the article, then please discuss it on the article's talk page before reinserting it. Please take a look at the welcome page to learn more about contributing to this encyclopedia. Thank you. clpo13 20:17, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Please do not add inappropriate external links to Wikipedia. Wikipedia is not a mere directory of links, nor should it be used for advertising or promotion. Inappropriate links include (but are not limited to) links to personal web sites, links to web sites with which you are affiliated, and links that attract visitors to a web site or promote a product. See the external links guideline and spam policy for further explanations. Since Wikipedia uses nofollow tags, external links do not alter search engine rankings. If you feel the link should be added to the article, then please discuss it on the article's talk page rather than re-adding it. -FisherQueen (Talk) 20:52, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Please stop adding inappropriate external links to Wikipedia. It is considered spamming and Wikipedia is not a vehicle for advertising or promotion. Since Wikipedia uses nofollow tags, additions of links to Wikipedia will not alter search engine rankings. If you continue spamming, you will be blocked from editing Wikipedia. -FisherQueen (Talk) 20:53, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

This is your last warning. The next time you insert a spam link, you will be blocked from editing Wikipedia. Persistent spammers may have their websites blacklisted as well, preventing anyone from linking to them from any site that uses the MediaWiki spam blacklist, which includes all of Wikimedia and Wikipedia. -FisherQueen (Talk) 20:53, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

You have been from editing in accordance with Wikipedia's blocking policy for continuing to add spam links. Persistent spammers will have their websites blacklisted from Wikipedia. If you believe this block is unjustified, you may contest the block by adding the text below. -FisherQueen (Talk) 20:58, 6 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Is there some reason you ignored a full series of increasingly urgent messages? Or can you explain why you're linking solely to this particular website, over more than a dozen articles, in the space of a few minutes? – Luna Santin  (talk) 23:52, 6 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I have reviewed the links and they are spam in my opinion. I'd ask that the user read WP:EL, and consider ways to contribute to wikipedia that doesn't involve linking to a single website (better yet, figure out ways to contribute that doesn't involve linking outside content at all... wikipedia is primarily an encyclopedia, not a repository of external links). The links in question were all from a single webpage "FreeFranchiseDocs.com". It also appears to be self-published, unverifiable, unreferenced; Alexa rank is 7,889,492. The act of linking so much to a single website, possibly a COI (I susspect Proxybox has something to do with the website in question), is enough to justify the "Spam" label. Further investigation shows the links inappropriate for wikipedia for other reasons, yet the user still believes the links are appropriate for wikipedia in the unblock request. All this said, I'll ask the user, please review WP:EL, WP:Spam, and any other interesting links you come upon in your research. After reviewing these guidelines, do you still believe your links are appropriate for wikipedia? When you are unblocked, would you continue to add links? And, to answer Luna's question, why did you ignore a long series of warning messages on your talk page, and continue with the controversial editing which caused the warnings and subsequent block?-Andrew c [talk] 01:37, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

I goofed! :(
Hello everyone. I am new to posting to wikipedia so I apologize for not knowing all the rules/protocol. In terms of noticing the escalating warnings: I did not notice the warning messages because I got focused on posting the specific links (to the respective company) for each page. Although the text portion read freefranchisedocs.com, the actual link pointed to a index page for the respective company. It wasn't until I was blocked that I noticed the warnings.

Yes the site is new and I was trying to see if I could add value. My site features the specific franchise agreement and UFOC (uniform franchise offering circular) for each company on which I posted. Also, I have not added ads or any other monetization models to the site. It is purely informational. I only had the best intentions in mind

I did not want to 'spam'. I learned my lesson and will not post such links.

I appreciate the help and advice.

j.

May I be listed to the franchising & List of franchise pages?
Hi, I wanted to see if I could be listed on the franchising and list of franchise pages. I believe the information I provide is specific to those pages. I appreciate the consideration.

thanks, j.


 * Thanks for your comments here. First things first, when using talk pages on wikipedia we all type four tildes at the end of our posts. This is called signing, and the four tildes generates code for a timestamp and name to appear once you hit save. This way everyone can keep track of who is saying what, and when they say it. Next, since your links have been proven controversial by a number of editors, the best practice would be to go to the talk page of the articles in question (Talk:Franchising and Talk:List of franchises, and post your links, explain why you think they would be encyclopedic and beneficial, and ask the editors there to consider them for inclusion. Since it appears that this is your own site, asking other editors to consider them for inclusion would remove the direct conflict of interest of promoting your own site (because it does seem like, while totally with good intentions, you are here to promote your own webpage). I'd ask you to consider how you as an individual could contribute actual content to wikipedia. If you are interested in franchising, you could work on the franchising article. Generally, links promoting your own website, even if well intended, do not help improve the actual encyclopedic content of wikipedia. So in summary, I understand that you believe that your webpage would be a great service to those researching franchises. However, you should let other editors decide if that is actually the case by asking editors to consider linking to your site on the specific article talk pages. And more importantly, actual encyclopedic content is preferred over offsite linking. Hope this helps.-Andrew c [talk] 03:20, 7 July 2007 (UTC)