User talk:Redball2

Additions of http://.p092.ezboard.com/fredballspegexpressfrm2
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 exist to attract visitors to a web site or promote a product. See the external links guideline and spam policies for further explanations of links that are considered appropriate. If you feel the link should be added to the article, then please discuss it on the rather than re-adding it. See the welcome page to learn more about Wikipedia. Thank you.--Hu12 (talk) 07:38, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Hu12, You should address your statement to the person who added http://.panzercentral.com/. If you bothered to check the history you'd find that I didn't add that web site.

--Redball2 (talk) 12:41, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

If you have a close connection to some of the people, places or things you have written about, you may have a conflict of interest. In keeping with Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy, edits where there is a conflict of interest, or where such a conflict might reasonably be inferred from the tone of the edit and the proximity of the editor to the subject, are strongly discouraged. If you have a conflict of interest, you should avoid or exercise great caution when:
 * 1) editing articles related to you, your organization, or its competitors, as well as projects and products they are involved with;
 * 2) participating in deletion discussions about articles related to your organization or its competitors;
 * 3) linking to the Wikipedia article or website of your organization in other articles (see Spam);
 * and you must always:
 * 1) avoid breaching relevant policies and guidelines, especially neutral point of view, verifiability, and autobiography.

For information on how to contribute to Wikipedia when you have conflict of interest, please see Business' FAQ. For more details about what constitutes a conflict of interest, please see Conflict of Interest. --Hu12 (talk) 13:27, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Hu, I see that you've changed the topic of this TALK to refer to something I actually did -- nine months ago.

This item is already under discussion on BetaCommand's Talk page in reply to the changes recently made by BetaCommand. You have made several posts to me and I have responded thus your posts here have the appearance of browbeating me.

In July, 2007 I wrote a full article on People's General from the stub that existed. I wrote the article because I have both interest and expertise in the topic. Not unusuaully those are the same reasons that I run a forum on the topic: Redball's Express (RE):  http://p092.ezboard.com/fredballspegexpressfrm2.

I included a link to RE for the valid reason that any Wikipedia reader who wants to know more about People's General will find more carefully researched and documented information about it at RE than anywhere else.

I also included another forum link and several web site links following the layout I observed on the Panzer General II article.

Last, although external links are discouraged, this is not an absolute injunction. Wikipedia allows web sites on the People's General article, on the Panzer General II article and on numerous other pages. These sites are download sites simply offering software. By contrast, the forums linked on the PeG and PG2 pages are information sources.

This is illogical: The disallowed forums would appear to fit with Wikipedia's purposes while the allowed web sites do not.

No doubt as a new Wiki article writer I didn't follow some of Wikipedia's numerous rules. However, nothing in the body of the article I wrote breaches any norms of neutrality or fairness.

If you read and understand Wikipedia's rules on "conflict of interest" you will realize that it doesn't apply very well in this situation.

I do not have a "financial interest" in having links to my site from Wikipedia. As I've noted on BetaCommand's talk page, the more people who come to my forum the more money I will end up paying -- but I get no income from it. Wow! That's a lucrative arrangement!

I am not selling any products of any kind.

I am not party to any litigation regarding this topic.

I DO have particular expertise regarding People's General. Presumably that's the sort of expertise which Wikipedia attempts to tap by soliciting articles from the public rather than relying on paid professional editors and researchers.

Your harrangue of me over "neutrality" is thus irrelevant. It is the link that is at issue.

Recently BetaCommand deleted the link to RE but NOT another forum link in the same People's General article. BetaCommand, you and others have cited several rules on BetaCommand's talk page including: WP:EL, WP:RS, and WP:V.

The canard of my "conflict of interest" was ONLY raised after I identified myself as the operator of Redball's Express. Oddly, I have twice mentioned the inclusion of two sites which actually SELL and PROFIT from links on the Wikipedia PeG and PG2 pages...yet neither BetaCommand nor you have bothered to remove these.

In addition, the Panzer General II page -- a related Wikipedia page -- had recently been edited by BetaCommand. All the forum links there equally "violated" invocation of Wikipedia rules given by you and BetaCommand. But somehow he ignored those until I mentioned them.

Here's the bottom line Hu: I disagree with the "logic" which you and BetaCommand have used and I object to Redball's Express being initially singled out for deletion. But, I've let stand BetaCommand's edit removing the link -- and that was the case before you launched your repetitive lecture.

And now I'm done. --Redball2 (talk) 20:27, 1 April 2008 (UTC)