User talk:RichardCarrier

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Hi Richard, and welcome to Wikipedia! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. That was a really nice first article you wrote. I went in and made a few changes, small things. Headings only have the first letter capitalised, see the manual of style. Also it might be as well if I made you aware of this guideline, though I don't feel you've transgressed in any way so far, indeed we warmly welcome your expertise. I enjoyed your interview on The God Who Wasn't There. Please take care.—Laurence Boyce 16:46, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

Richard Carrier
Hi - if it really is you as you claim then I'm afraid you can't edit your own article as per WP:AUTO. I started the article on you after watching The God Who Wasn't There as I was aware of your work and was surprised it didn't exist already. If you point me in the right direction to sources I can reference then I can add more content. I have an e-mail registered if you'd rather do it that way but the sources I use must be verifiable. If you need any other help don't hesitate to ask. Sophia 18:13, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Credentials and Titles?
Sophia, thank you. I appreciate it. I see now that the hounds have removed the title "philosopher" as well as "historian." Please see Talk:Richard Carrier for my credentials on either and discussion. If there are other credentials or anything I need to provide that "verifies" or is "verifiable," let me know. I can be emailed at rcarrier@infidels.org.

RichardCarrier 19:44, 23 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Real life is intruding at the moment but I will deal with the article as soon as I get a chance later tonight. It's probably best if you don't even post on the talk page of your article as someone may claim it's a vanity article and post it for deletion! You get used to all this stuff here but there are quite a few freethinkers and a lot of the Christian editors are very reasonable to work with so keep adding to the articles as it's great to have an expert on board. I have a degree in astrophysics so am a definite lay person in these areas. Sophia  20:54, 23 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Hi Richard. Im familiar with your work, and I have added titles back to the article as I think they are valid. I don't think the Vanity guidline that Sophia mentions really applies here as that is more for non-notable articles that should not exist in the first place. But the fact that someone else created this article, and not yourself, makes it unlikely that someone would raise that objection. The more pertinant guildine (not actual policy) is Autobiography. I personaly don't agree with the policy guideline but for political reasons Sophia is correct given the current wiki-culture on the question. The reasoning is that if one is too close the the subject this gets in the way of quality standards such as nuetrality. Well, this is certainly true for various editors who are very close to any number of subject matters, and who do let this get in the way of their notions of neutrality, for examples some Christiand in articles on Christianity. We all have bias, but that is not a reason to discourage someoen from editing.
 * In anycase, if you review the actual guildine it does say it's prefectly fine to contribute in the article's talk page: "It is difficult to write neutrally about oneself. Therefore, it is considered proper on Wikipedia to let others do the writing. Instead, contribute material or make suggestions on the article's talk page and let independent editors write it into the article itself." You are also welcome to contact me with any suggestions, by email, or on my talk page, and I'll be happy to help to improve the article about you.Giovanni33 04:28, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Richard, User:Andrew_c claims that you are not a historian nor known as a historian, on the basis that you have no professional qualifications as a historian. Since there is apparently no evidence to the contrary (a quote from the LA Times referring to you as a 'historian' doesn't count), I have removed a reference to you as a 'historian' in the article on the census of Quirinius. I originally included that reference, on the basis of my personal understanding that you are a historian, but I have been told I am wrong. I realise that you claim to be 'an historian with a good knowledge of Greek', but apparently there is no independent evidence for this. If you can provide such evidence I will be more than willing to contest the removal of the reference. --Taiwan boi (talk) 03:46, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Recent comment
Hi, Richard. I wanted to reach out to you about your comments at Talk:Richard Carrier. The blog post that concerns you would probably not be considered an appropriate source for negative information about a living person, so I don't think your removing it was a problem. That said, with regard to your talk page comments, you may want to review the policy information at No legal threats. This is a sensitive area for some people, and there have been unfortunate situations where similar comments have led to editors being blocked from editing. My personal suggestion would be for you to edit your comment to remove the specific clause, "and ultimately to legal action if required" (which is always an option even if you don't mention it). That would reduce the chances of someone making an issue of it. And if anyone sees fit to restore a reference to that particular blog post, I recommend taking the matter immediately to email (contact info-en-q@wikimedia.org for assistance) rather than engaging in further article edits or talk page commentary. --RL0919 (talk) 22:26, 1 July 2013 (UTC)


 * I will do that. Thank you. RichardCarrier (talk) 23:03, 1 July 2013 (UTC)

COI Notice
Hello, RichardCarrier. We welcome your contributions to Wikipedia, but 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 ensuring their edits are verified by 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:


 * 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.
 * 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.
 * Avoid linking to the Wikipedia article or website of your organization in other articles (see Spam).
 * 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. --Harizotoh9 (talk) 17:39, 12 March 2014 (UTC)


 * I have been aware of all this for years. Why is this an issue now? RichardCarrier (talk) 15:18, 18 March 2014 (PCT)