User talk:VinceLeibowitz

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Reference errors on 21 October
Hello, I'm ReferenceBot. I have automatically detected that an edit performed by you may have introduced errors in referencing. as follows: Please check this page and fix the errors highlighted. If you think this is a false positive, you can [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?action=edit&preload=User:A930913/RBpreload&editintro=User:A930913/RBeditintro&minor=&title=User_talk:A930913&preloadtitle=ReferenceBot%20–%20&section=new report it to my operator]. Thanks, ReferenceBot (talk) 00:15, 22 October 2016 (UTC)
 * On the Swiss Avenue, Dallas page, [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?diff=745559527 your edit] caused a URL error (help) . ([ Fix] | [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Help_desk&action=edit&section=new&preload=User:ReferenceBot/helpform&preloadtitle=Referencing%20errors%20on%20%5B%5BSpecial%3ADiff%2F745559527%7CSwiss Avenue, Dallas%5D%5D Ask for help])

Copy and pasting
We run "copy and paste" detection software on new edits. One of your edits appear to be infringing on someone else's copyright. See also Copy-paste. We at Wikipedia usually require paraphrasing. If you own the copyright to this material please follow the directions at Donating copyrighted materials to grant license. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 05:53, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

http://www.beckleyclub.com/bce-hist-beg.html


 * You added
 * "A second ad appeared on May 17 and spoke of “innovation”, inviting the readers to wait before purchasing real estate. In the third ad, published on May 24, Temple announced he was going to “let the cat out of the bag” with a preliminary announcement to follow in the next Sunday edition of the paper. With each advertisement placed by S.A. Temple, the interest rose to the point that the developer was forced to unveil his real estate plan much sooner than he had anticipated. On May 31, 1925, a full-page advertisement in the Dallas Morning News finally revealed what all those ads were about: Beckley Club, the Beautiful["


 * Ref says
 * "the second ad appeared on May 17 and gave another piece of the puzzle, speaking of “innovation”, inviting the readers to wait before purchasing real estate. The third ad, published on May 24, the developer announced he was going to “let the cat out of the bag” with a preliminary announcement to follow in the next Sunday edition of the paper. With each advertisement placed by S.A. Temple, the interest rose to the point that the developer was forced to unveil his real estate plan much sooner than he had anticipated. On May 31, 1925, a full-page advertisement in the Dallas Morning News finally revealed what all those ads were about: Beckley Club, the Beautiful."


 * At the bottom of this page it says "Copyright 2004-2014 Berckley Club.com All Rights Reserved" There was no quotes around this text.
 * This is incredible close paraphrasing. Doc James  (talk · contribs · email) 16:58, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

October 2016
You have been blocked indefinitely from editing for abuse of editing privileges. If you think there are good reasons why you should be unblocked, you may request an unblock by first reading the guide to appealing blocks, then adding the following text to the bottom of your talk page:. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 05:57, 25 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Looking at this text "Completed in 1926, the Stubbs House may have been the work of Dallas architect Otto H. Lang. The design drew upon features of England's Tudor manor houses, a style popular in American residential architecture between World Wars I and II. Hallmark features of the style, including the steeply pitched roof, half-timbered gables, distinctive chimneys and low pointed-arch entry, are present in the house, which was home to Robert and Marie Stubbs and their two children. A separate two-story garage and staff quarters also reflects Tudor characteristics. Following R. C. Stubbs' death just one year after the house was completed, Marie continued to live and entertain here until 1940. The house subsequently was converted into apartments, but was returned to single-family use in the 1970s. Prominently sited at the head of Swiss Avenue, the Stubbs House is a significant part of Dallas' architectural history" All copied from Putting quotes around a large block of text does not make it free text. If I was to put quotes around a Disney movie this would not make it okay to than distribute it around the web without Disney's permission.  Doc James  (talk · contribs · email) 16:51, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

We have discussed these issues in depth via email, and per that email I have agreed not to write abt myself, and make the necessary modifications to bring these articles in comoliance. VinceLeibowitz (talk) 20:00, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

After having discussed this extensively with Doc James, I understand what I need to do moving forward, and the changes that need to be made. We've communicated about this extensively. With that said, I am requesting an admin to please review this block. It is on hold while we wait on some other administrator with greater copyright expertise, but that deals with only one issue of many. I would like to fix the other articles in question while we wait however long it will take for someone to give an answer on the RTHL issue. VinceLeibowitz (talk) 21:44, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

Fair use
Best Doc James  (talk · contribs · email) 17:09, 25 October 2016 (UTC)
 * You have claimed fair use of some of the text in your edits. Yes parts of it might be fair use but we at Wikipedia do not generally allow fair use text per Non-free content
 * You have stated by email that I have accused you of "plagiarism". I have stated their was copyright concerns but I do not see where I stated their was issues of "plagiarism". Can you please link to my statement of that?

My Replies

 * You accused me of "plagiarism," by claiming I have wholesale lifted the text of the Recorded Texas Historic Landmark marker for a home on LaVista Drive. Regardless of whether or not Wikipedia "do not generally allow fair use," the fact of the matter is that these markers are not just fair use, they are in the public domain. In addition to being able to walk up to one on the street or to the front facade of a home bearing one, the entire marker texts are routinely reproduced in guidebooks. Further, reproducing of the marker text itself with no alterations shows, in fact, the marker text approved by the Texas Historical Commission for that home, and it is the most accurate way of noting an RTHL.

It is unnecessary for you to use the word "plagiarism," to accuse someone of the act. You have done so and I demand an apology.

I let you know that the issue with the Beckley Club article was a piece I left in while editing, and was intending to rephrase or remove that, and simply failed to before finishing.

I'd like to correct both. I also noted that the recent sale of 5614 Swiss, regardless of who sold it, is the most recent sale for the neighborhood. I also own the copyright to the photograph for 5614 Swiss Avenue. It is the only photo I can find for which I can control copyright to show a representative current home on Swiss. I'm glad to remove my name as the listing agent, but the facts on the home and what it was listed for are important to the article, as in the 1970s, the neighborhood had essentially become "flop house" status, and prices have increased over time, and this is fully illustrated in the article, and is placed well in context. VinceLeibowitz (talk) 17:36, 25 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Can you provide a source that says the marker text is in the public domain? This reference says stuff produced by the THC is under a "non commercial license". It does not say it is public domain.
 * The issue with the picture is WP:OTRS is missing. As it has been previously published before being uploaded to Wikipedia we need you to email OTRS saying you own the copyright and agree to release it under CC BY SA 4.0 license.
 * As I have stated I have requested another opinion for you. These are copyright issue with respect to Wikipedia's rules around copyright. What you have done may be perfectly fine for other locations on the internet but we at Wikipedia have higher standards around "open content" than most.
 * That you appear to be talking about yourself within article space within the image caption in question is not allowed on Wikipedia per WP:COI.
 * Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 18:02, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

Doc James, is there an update on whether or not you have been able to have another admin look at the copyright issues? I am not sure, given that I've pledged to make the corrections and changes, why we cannot get the block resolved while the issue of the RTHL text use is pending? VinceLeibowitz (talk) 20:02, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

Speedy deletion nomination of Category:Wikipedians interested in Wood County Texas


A tag has been placed on Category:Wikipedians interested in Wood County Texas requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section C1 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because the category has been empty for seven days or more and it is not presently under discussion at Categories for discussion, or at disambiguation categories.

If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason, you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and clicking the button labelled "Contest this speedy deletion". This will give you the opportunity to explain why you believe the page should not be deleted. However, be aware that once a page is tagged for speedy deletion, it may be removed without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag from the page yourself, but do not hesitate to add information in line with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. — swpb T 15:01, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

Copyright law in the United States
Under the terms of the Berne Convention, literary works (including prose displayed in a public place on markers or plaques such as those on display at historic buildings) are subject to copyright whether they are tagged as such or not. No registration is required, and no copyright notice is required. Exceptions include works of the United States government and of the states of Florida and California. The Beckley Club website is marked ©2004-2014 Beckley Club.com. All Rights Reserved. The web pages of the Texas Historical Commission are released for non-commercial use only, which is not a liberal enough license for you to copy the material here and is not equivalent to the material being released into the public domain. The fact that you've seen the prose reproduced in guide books does not prove it has been released into the public domain. Regarding fair use: Wikipedia is stricter than most other websites in permitting prose for fair use. Our non-free content policy only permits non-free content when there's no free alternative. In the case of prose, there's a freely licensed alternative: prose that we write ourselves. All material you add to this wiki needs to be written in your own words. Regarding your request for unblock, I am declining your unblock request for now, because it is not at present clear that you understand copyright law and how it applies to Wikipedia editing. Please read the material at the policy page Copyrights and the guideline Plagiarism before posting another unblock request. — Diannaa 🍁 (talk) 13:18, 27 October 2016 (UTC)

Continued copyvios
So the long Swiss Avenue, Dallas article is back. At a glance, I can see that the content pointing to Ref 14 is lifted straight from the spreadsheet; the Frank Lloyd Wright paragraph is lifted direct from waymarking.com. I have reasonable suspicion that had I access to refs 4, 9 and 17 I would find substantial plagiarism. I don't think it's good enough yet. Vince - your comments please; and ping &  for their thoughts. --Tagishsimon (talk) 02:08, 2 November 2016 (UTC)


 * I am taking a look now and will correct anything that is as such. VinceLeibowitz (talk) 02:11, 2 November 2016 (UTC)


 * Thanks. Do you have electronic copies of 4, 9 & 17? If so, will you share them with me by email? --Tagishsimon (talk) 02:13, 2 November 2016 (UTC)


 * The issue with the paragraphs you cited is that those were the remaining text of RTHL (Recorded Texas Historic Landmark) markers, which User: Doc James and I have had extensive discussion about. That is repaired.

I find your statements about the sources at 4, 9, & 17 highly offensive. If you had read the full thread, I believe you'd have realized that the text you were calling out was RTHL text given the source. I didn't realize I hadn't removed those in previous edits.

As for your request, electronic copies of this media do not exist. If, however, you'd like to pick one cite from each book, I'm glad to visit the main branch of the Dallas Public Library and make copies of the pages in each thesis for you to view--mainly because I find your comment so highly offensive. So, please pick, essentially, a house from each one of the three thesis and I'll send you the pages on those for your review.

Further, if you will look at my contribs page and check the History section of the Wood County, Texas article, you can view an online journal article via JSTOR and compare that text with my edits (related to the archeo discoveries. My intent in editing isn't to violate copyright, even though this article has taken some time to clear up. It was also my first significant submission here.

Also, the Dallas Public Library has duplicate copies of these thesis, so you can ask your library to send them to yours via interlibrary loan if you like. You can also order copies of the thesis from UMI microforms. VinceLeibowitz (talk) 02:26, 2 November 2016 (UTC) VinceLeibowitz (talk) 02:26, 2 November 2016 (UTC)


 * Meh. I'm not much moved by your taking offence at my suspicion w.r.t. 4, 9 & 17, given the situation with 14 & FLW. As copyvios were introduced from sources I can see, there is no good reason to suppose that they have not been introduced from sources I cannot see. You have put yourself in a situation in which it is reasonable to challenge your work, and so I think you do protest too much. It's probably worth your having a look at Earwig's Copyvio Detector (give the link a minute or two to resolve) which still finds one or two remnants of cut & paste (scroll down once it has done its thing).


 * Equally I do not wish to put you to great trouble; early copyvios and advertising aside, I think you're doing good work, for which I thank you, and I am happy to assume your good faith. If you are certain that there are no further copyvios, then we're good.


 * I trust you'll not be further offended if I voice my suspicion that AnnieTX was you ... you both start your edit summaries with verbs, and those sorts of patterns get noticed. It's not a matter of any importance, for me, going forwards. The very best outcome, and the one I hope we've arrived at, is that you become a first-class contributor of interesting articles. --Tagishsimon (talk) 02:59, 2 November 2016 (UTC)

Speedy deletion nomination of Towns in Wood County Texas


A tag has been placed on Towns in Wood County Texas requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done for the following reason:

Inappropriate list. Subject of list way too narrow to be either notable or useful. Wouldn't even make a good navbox template

Under the criteria for speedy deletion, pages that meet certain criteria may be deleted at any time.

If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason, you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and clicking the button labelled "Contest this speedy deletion". This will give you the opportunity to explain why you believe the page should not be deleted. However, be aware that once a page is tagged for speedy deletion, it may be removed without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag from the page yourself, but do not hesitate to add information in line with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. If the page is deleted, and you wish to retrieve the deleted material for future reference or improvement, then please contact the deleting administrator, or if you have already done so, you can place a request here. John from Idegon (talk) 03:19, 2 November 2016 (UTC)


 * This deletion has been contested. This is part of a portal project for Wood County, Texas, and the article will be filled out more as the portal develops but its main purpose is easy navigation to the articles on the towns. VinceLeibowitz (talk) 03:23, 2 November 2016 (UTC)

Speedy deletion nomination of Portal:Wood County Texas


A tag has been placed on Portal:Wood County Texas requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section P2 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because it is a portal based on a topic for which there is no non-stub header article, and there are not at least three non-stub articles detailing subject matter that would be appropriate to discuss under the title of that portal.

If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason, you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and clicking the button labelled "Contest this speedy deletion". This will give you the opportunity to explain why you believe the page should not be deleted. However, be aware that once a page is tagged for speedy deletion, it may be removed without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag from the page yourself, but do not hesitate to add information in line with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. John from Idegon (talk) 04:02, 2 November 2016 (UTC)

Nomination of Colleges & Universities In Wood County Texas for deletion
A discussion is taking place as to whether the article Colleges & Universities In Wood County Texas is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.

The article will be discussed at Articles for deletion/Colleges & Universities In Wood County Texas until a consensus is reached, and anyone is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on high-quality evidence and our policies and guidelines.

Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion notice from the top of the article. CapitalSasha ~ talk 04:06, 2 November 2016 (UTC)

Proposed deletion of Ghost Towns & Former Settlements In Wood County Texas


The article Ghost Towns & Former Settlements In Wood County Texas has been proposed for deletion&#32;because of the following concern:
 * No point having a list until you have valid articles to populate it

While all constructive contributions to Wikipedia are appreciated, content or articles may be deleted for any of several reasons.

You may prevent the proposed deletion by removing the notice, but please explain why in your edit summary or on the article's talk page.

Please consider improving the article to address the issues raised. Removing will stop the proposed deletion process, but other deletion processes exist. In particular, the speedy deletion process can result in deletion without discussion, and articles for deletion allows discussion to reach consensus for deletion. MatthewVanitas (talk) 05:33, 2 November 2016 (UTC)

Speedy deletion nomination of Ghost Towns & Former Settlements In Wood County Texas
Hello VinceLeibowitz,

I wanted to let you know that I just tagged Ghost Towns & Former Settlements In Wood County Texas for deletion, because the article doesn't clearly say why the subject is important enough to be included in an encyclopedia.

If you feel that the article shouldn't be deleted and want more time to work on it, you can contest this deletion, but please don't remove the speedy deletion tag from the top.

You can leave a note on my talk page if you have questions. MatthewVanitas (talk) 05:41, 2 November 2016 (UTC)

Wikipedia:WikiProject United States/The 50,000 Challenge
--MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:40, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Van Zandt County, Texas
I noticed you added a banner with this edit stating that the article was "improved during WikiProject United States' "50,000 Challenge". There were three very minor edits in November?  Thank you.  Magnolia677 (talk) 15:40, 26 November 2016 (UTC)

Magnolia677 Good morning. Yes, those were minor edits but if you look at the nature of the edits, they improved the article significantly because it was very disjointed with sub-heads for transportation seemingly dropped in, so I moved that section and organized it and added the airports. While I'm planning to make a few more edits to the article, if these existing edits aren't in compliance with the rules of the challenge, I am glad to remove the banner. If I am missing the specifics on how large an edit needs to be, please let me know. Most of my edits are fairly substantial, but when I run across an article that has minor problems, I typically fix those if I am able to. VinceLeibowitz (talk) 17:54, 26 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Actually, your restructuring was minor and didn't follow the structure outlined at WikiProject U.S. counties. I'm going to revert your edit.  If you disagree, please discuss on the talk page at Wikipedia talk:The 50,000 Challenge.  Regards.  Magnolia677 (talk) 18:31, 26 November 2016 (UTC)

Women in Red World Contest
Hi. We're into the last five days of the Women in Red World Contest. There's a new bonus prize of $200 worth of books of your choice to win for creating the most new women biographies between 0:00 on the 26th and 23:59 on 30th November. If you've been contributing to the contest, thank you for your support, we've produced over 2000 articles. If you haven't contributed yet, we would appreciate you taking the time to add entries to our articles achievements list by the end of the month. Thank you, and if participating, good luck with the finale!

Re: Thank you
It will indeed be interesting to see how the July list differs. I've been functioning solely on the online list, and it does have differences from the list you initially published.

The THC list and how they maintain it can be weird sometimes. Some properties as described are now on empty lots. Others are for buildings burned or demolished but whose markers are preserved in some museum across town from the actual property. A few sites have been relocated to locations completely outside of the counties where they are listed as being. The THC relies on addresses and coordinates as reported by local historical societies. Often, these county societies are composed of blue-haired old ladies who can't differentiate the Arctic from the Antarctic any more easily than they can their left butt cheek from their right. Worse, the THC relies on UTM coordinates rather than latitude and longitude causing these positions to shift over time as new UTM data points are redefined.

There are some sites that the THC provides little more than a name with nothing else to signify the location or historical significance of the property. A few I've been able to verify either through online historic site lists by local historical boards in larger counties or through their nomination forms from the 91 of the 254 counties that have provided such forms to the Portal to Texas History website of the University of North Texas Libraries.

In the process of updating the list, I've been doing an audit of each county in the state from west to east including both RTHLs and NRHPs as well as trying to provide some sense and order to their corresponding Commons categories, which are always a mess, and looking into individual Wikipedia articles where they exist to fix infobox problems and employ a consistent standard across them all. I've completed over 85% of the states counties, but not listings as I've put off a handful of the state's largest counties with the most historic sites for later. I'm currently working on Tarrant, a county I originally sidestepped months ago, and it is naturally proving to be exceedingly time-consuming. I look forward to finishing it and breezing through some much smaller and easier counties once I finish with it.

This has already taken me several months, and will require a few more. Nevertheless, at least I feel I'm beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel without it being an oncoming train. Fortguy (talk) 04:04, 10 June 2018 (UTC)

2019 US Banknote Contest
Sent by ZLEA at 23:30, 19 October 2019 (UTC) via MediaWiki message delivery (talk)

Resources for finding county-level statistics

 * Census QuickFacts
 * Social Capital Variables Spreadsheet for 2014, PennState College of Agricultural Sciences, Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development
 * Social Capital Project: Social Capital Index Data spreadsheet accompanying the U.S. Congress, Joint Economic Committee, Social Capital Project. “The Geography of Social Capital in America.” Report prepared by the Vice Chairman’s staff, 115th Cong., 2nd Sess. (April 2018)
 * Religious statistics by county
 * PeakVisor, search for "X County" to find high points in a county
 * ebird, gives bird species lists for each county
 * Midwest Herbaria, search to generate plant species lists for each county
 * Mycoportal, search to generate fungus and bryophyte species lists
 * NASS QuickStats database, gives agricultural figures by county for many data points
 * bestplaces.net--Epiphyllumlover (talk) 21:30, 31 December 2019 (UTC)