User talk:Skillsontario

Welcome to Wikipedia. Because we have a policy against usernames that give the impression that the account represents a group, organization or website, I have blocked this account; please take a moment to create a new account with a username that represents only you.

Additionally, it appears your account is intended to be used for the purpose of telling the world about an organization or cause that you consider worthwhile. Unfortunately, many good causes are not sufficiently notable for their own Wikipedia article, and all users are discouraged from editing in any area where they have an inherent conflict of interest, see also the WP:FAQ/Organizations. You may wish to consider one of these alternative outlets. If your username doesn't represent a group, organization or website, you may appeal this username block by adding the text below this notice. Thank you. JohnCD (talk) 14:08, 29 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the notice. I'm obviously a newbie, which isn't a great excuse, but I'll work on it! I can change my username, no problem, but I'm confused about the existence of the page itself. The organization/cause that the page is about is in the same vein as these two pages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WorldSkills and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skills_Canada, so I kind of assumed I was in the clear. I'm not sure what the difference is between these pages and mine. If I rebuild the page after establishing my username as an individual, with more external links, is that sufficient to keep my page posted?

Thanks again! Skillsontario (talk) 21:52, 3 October 2011 (UTC).


 * First, profuse apologies for unpardonable delay in replying. You somehow slipped off my all-too-long to-do list and I have only just found you again while preparing to go away for two weeks. If you ned a response before about 21 Oct, put  at the bottom of this page with your question and someone will respond.


 * Wikipedia is very vulnerable to organizations and people who think it is a sort of Myspace for them to write about themselves, and has to spend a great deal of time and energy fending them off in order to remain a useful encyclopedia and not just a super-Myspace. You may find User:JohnCD/Not a noticeboard useful background.


 * The admission criterion is called notability and is not a matter of opinion but has to be demonstrated by showing "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject." Significant means more than just listing-type mentions; reliable excludes Myspace, Facebook, blogs, places where anyone can post anything; independent excludes the subject's own website, affiliated ones and anything based on press releases. The test is, have people unconnected with the subject thought it important enough to write substantial comment on? Being a worthy cause does not give exemption from this requirement - see Wikipedia is not here to tell the world about your noble cause.


 * Because we know that many of our 3,500,000 articles are below standard, What about that other article? is not a generally accepted argument. Looking at the two you mention, they do not seem to me to show notability - I see one of them was challenged and allowed to stay on the grounds that independent references could be found, but nobody seems to have found them. That was over three years ago, and standards have probably risen since then.


 * So the first thing you need to do is consider whether you can meet the notability requirement. If so, read the guide to WP:Best practices for editors with conflicts of interest. Then, either request an unblock by putting  at the bottom of this page, or simply start a new, individual account. For clear disclosure, it would be well to add on the userpage of your new account that you are editing on behalf of SkillsOntario.


 * Make a draft article in your own user space - see Help:Userspace draft for how to do that. Read WP:Your first article. Take extreme care not to be promotional in any way - one of the reasons editing with a COI is discouraged is that such editors seem to find it very hard to write in a neutral way. Avoid "peacock terms"; think of yourself not as inside the organization but as writing about it from outside. Do not copy from its website unless a formal copyright release has been made - websites are usually too promotional anyway.


 * You can ask for comment on it, if you like, by posting at WP:Requests for feedback. When it is ready, submit it to WP:Articles for creation by putting at the top of it . Either it will be accepted, or you will be givenn reasons why not.


 * Apologies, again for delay in responding. JohnCD (talk) 11:17, 8 October 2011 (UTC)