User talk:Society of Princes Obolensky

November 2014
Please do not remove content or templates from pages on Wikipedia, as you did to The Russian Ball of Washington, DC, without giving a valid reason for the removal in the edit summary. Your content removal does not appear constructive and has been reverted. Please make use of the sandbox if you'd like to experiment with test edits. Thank you. - McMatter (talk)/(contrib) 16:37, 2 November 2014 (UTC)

The information is incorrect. The Russian New Years Ball was run by my parents for more than 40 years and held at the Mayflower. My father died in 2006 and my mother in 2014. The last official ball was held in 2012. It was a charitable ball for various charities but principally the Saltykov Obolensky Foundation which was dissolved in 2012. My father does not have any grand nephews and the Nicholas Obolensky is not a close relation at all but pretending he is. This ball is not a continuation of my parents ball which was entirely philanthropic. The chairman of this ball has already been advised the he can not use the name The Russian New Years Ball or any of its artwork. I would very much like to remove these links to my parents as it is entirely misleadig. Thank you. [Obolensky, S LONDON]

This article refers specifically to the "Russian Ball of Washington, DC," which is both the article's actual title and the official name of this event as recognized by multiple independent media sources repeatedly verified by Wikipedia and cited in the article's reference section. It does not claim to be a "Russian New Years Ball" or "continuation" of another event by that name. It also appears to be held in a different venue. The article does not include artwork of any kind. Christopher Johnson

The references cited also independently establish that members of the Obolensky family hold or have held leadership roles in the "Russian Ball of Washington, DC." Perhaps this is the source of the confusion? I have edited the article to address in a neutral way the concern [Obolensky, S LONDON] raises about Prince Nicholas Obolensky's identity and to make clearer that this is a different event from the other event which [Obolensky S LONDON]'s parents operated. However, one previous edit by Society of Princes Obolensky rewrites the article to suggest that the "Russian Ball of Washington, DC" no longer takes place. If it does still take place, under Wikipedia guidelines this could be considered a libelous or harassing action analogous to claiming that a living person is dead or that a functioning business has closed, and could thus be reported as vandalism. Another edit appears to attempt to delete the article's References template, suggesting that the user may have tried to support his/her edits by deliberately removing previously verified independent sources that would disprove the revised information. This would also constitute vandalism. If reported, both cases could cause the user to be banned from future Wikipedia editing. Christopher Johnson

Thank you Mr Johnson The point really is that the Russian Ball of DC is a new ball, this is it's second or third year; it's chairman and co chairman were not involved in the previous ball in any way and therefor, there isn't really any point of the inclusion of the previous. The previous ball was charitable, established for charitable aims and this one is not. Furthermore, all the links prior to 2013 relate to the previous ball and once again do not relate to this new ball and as such are misleading. I would still ask that those be removed. I would also mention that the long list of names at the end were forner committee members of the previous ball and have nothing to do with this one. Like my parents, most of them are now dead. The dead can not defend themselves.

Wikipedia guidelines for these types of disputes suggest that the best first step in such a contentious case would be to contact the other party to express your concerns. Have you done so? The new chairman's personal Wikipedia page indicates that he is affiliated with the American University of Beirut. If you have not done so, perhaps you could find his contact information there. The cited independent material does directly link the previous event to the current one in a number of ways. Some of it also establishes that the new event benefits "Russian American Community Services," which is, I imagine, a charity and therefore philanthropic. Several people with the names listed appear in the new event's photographs, so it may not be correct to assume that they are uninvolved or dead. Again, rather than make edits that Wikipedia editorial policy will automatically reverse, you may wish to contact the new chairman personally. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.105.81.5 (talk) 13:26, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Thank you from your reply. I see that you will continue to allow this person to publicise his ball in a misleading way via Wikipedia. Your assertions regarding the links providing some body of proof are entirely subjective; relying on one's imagination is a poor standard for measuring information. But as that is the standard, then so be it. Good day to you.

Please note that Wikipedia is not a venue for publicity and that articles created solely for publicity are routinely rejected. Wikipedia is a collaborative on-line encyclopedia monitored by editors who accept or deny contributions and edits based on unbiased confirmation of notoriety and factual data as confirmed by independent sources. Such sources include major newspapers and other publications that are demonstrably not connected to the subject of the article. This article is supported by several such citations which were reviewed and approved by multiple editors. If you can present independently verifiable documentation to support your edits and justify your text removals, please do so. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.105.81.5 (talk) 17:49, 3 November 2014 (UTC)