User talk:Findingdreams

Hello From Finding Dreams, Please Read First

When I first came here to Wikipedia, I made the common mistakes most people make. This issue has been addressed, and I plan on sticking to small editing jobs. As I learn the ropes, I may get more brave. Please, if you see a new article by me. Know that I did my best to follow the rules, and do the research. Thanks, More Below. finding dreams 22:35, 11 January 2011 (UTC)

Also, I am very aware of the copyright issues brought up by the master admins here. I would rather leave info blank, than risk copyright violation. Thanks again all. finding dreams 23:38, 11 January 2011 (UTC)

Welcome!

Hello, Findingdreams, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. There's a page about creating articles you may want to read called Your first article. If you are stuck, and looking for help, please come to the New contributors' help page, where experienced Wikipedians can answer any queries you have! Or, you can just type {{helpme}} on this page, and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Here are a few other good links for newcomers:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you have any questions, check out Wikipedia:Questions or ask me on my talk page. Again, welcome! WuhWuzDat 07:10, 11 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you very much, Wuhwuzdat. I look forward to offering my services and editing here. finding dreams 07:50, 11 January 2011 (UTC)

I'm reading http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Your_first_article. I plan on doing my best to make sure I produce only the desired media for Wikipedia. finding dreams 07:52, 11 January 2011 (UTC)

Findingdreams, I'm sorry you found this experience frustrating. I know it can be bewildering when things happen so quickly, so I just wanted to restate what the original problem was, and give you advice on how to avoid the deletion of your articles in future.

The issue here was that the material in the article appeared to have been taken directly from a copyright source. Wikipedia cannot reproduce copyright content - it's against the law - so articles that consist of such material have to be deleted - very quickly, if possible, which is what happened here. To write an article with a better chance of staying, of course you can refer to copyright sources - in fact it's a very good idea to do so - but you can't use them as a source of entire sentences.

If you're interested in contributing further material, I'd suggest you start at our guide to writing your first article, which runs through how to avoid this issue and others common in new material. Or if you have any questions you should feel free to contact me on my talk page. Gonzonoir (talk) 12:19, 11 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you so much, Gonzonoir. Yes, I was very overwelmed. I felt I was being edited faster than I can think. It feels though you are being attacked. I'm so happy you could see that. I'm working hard to make sure I do what is right by Wikipedia, and I'm not above following the rules. Thanks again. finding dreams 14:38, 11 January 2011 (UTC)

Your recent edits

Hello. In case you didn't know, when you add content to talk pages and Wikipedia pages that have open discussion, you must sign your posts by typing four tildes ( ~~~~ ) at the end of your comment. You may also click on the signature button located above the edit window. This will automatically insert a signature with your username or IP address and the time you posted the comment. This information is useful because other editors will be able to tell who said what, and when. Thank you. --SineBot (talk) 13:41, 11 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Advice on editing

Hello, and welcome. I see that you have, unfortunately, come into conflict with other editor's, and, from your comments, you are evidently suffering some frustration. Here are a few words of advice. I hope you find at least some of them helpful.

It is probably better to start by making small edits to articles, and not do anything major until you have ha time to learn how things work. New editors who come here and start making major changes, or writing new articles, very often find their work is rapidly undone because, although it was done in good faith, it does not conform to Wikipedia's standards. This leads to frustration. Editors who start by feeling their way gently at first are much more likely to end up with a good experience, and in the long run are much more likely to make substantial contributions.
Whatever you think of what other editors do, be civil. Seeming to be unfriendly or rude antagonises other editors and brings more conflict on yourself, quite possibly eventually leading to your being blocked from editing. Even if you don't think another editor deserves civility it works better for your own interests to give it.
There are many different people working on Wikipedia, with many different views and opinions. Even if someone does something that you think is wrong, it is very likely that they sincerely believe it is constructive. If you assume good faith, and politely explain why you disagree, there is a better chance of progress than if you accuse them of bad faith.
Wikipedia gets an enormous amount of use. This is not only because there is a lot of stuff here, but also because on the whole most of it is of a fairly good quality. Wikipedia would not have the amount of success it has unless most of its material was of a reasonably high quality. Unfortunately, in an encyclopaedia which anyone can edit, a lot of the editing is not of a good quality. Wikipedia's success therefore depends to a great extent on a large number of volunteers who give up a large amount of their own time to clean things up, improve the quality of what is there, and remove what is not so good. Some Wikipedians choose not to spend time on that, but to concentrate only on writing new content. That is absolutely fine, but sometimes those who make that choice disparage and vilify the work of others who make a different choice, and that is not absolutely fine. Writing content and cleaning up what is there are both essential and constructive parts of building the encyclopaedia. Some people make balanced contributions to both areas, others choose to concentrate on one area or the other. Whichever choice we make we can all respect others who contribute in different ways.

As I have already said, I hope at least some of those comments have been helpful. I am sorry that your early experience in editing Wikipedia has not been encouraging, but if you work step by step, ask for help when you need it, and cooperate with other editors you should find things go better. Let me know on my talk page if you have anything I can help you with. JamesBWatson (talk) 15:04, 11 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, simple editing no doubt. Thank you so much for taking the time to help me. finding dreams 15:09, 11 January 2011 (UTC)