User talk:Herp Center

What is self promotion - what isn't?

Hello,

As I scoured through this site, I encountered several locations where an external link to some quality information would be beneficial.

I deal in the spreading of information pertaining to the husbandry of captive reptiles. In this hobby, the abundance of inaccurate information on the internet is superior to accurate information. In order for new enthusiasts to get quality information, it needs to be linked from other quality sites. Until the ratio of quality sites outnumbers that of sites with inaccurate information, the spread of poor info will spread.

The problem I encountered with this site is that I am not allowed to enter certain links because "I" own the sites and it is considered "self promotion".

There seems to be some controversy with this issue in my eyes. I can understand the self promotion bit when the information being linked requires a user to register to use the information, etc. The issue I am having is that the info I am linking to is free to the public, just like wikipedia. They can read and use the material without ever registering on my site.

The information I linked to is quality information. In fact, several of the articles have been published in a known and growing Reptile magazine based in the UK. (One of the magazines editors/writers is a staff member on my site.)

When the intention is not to self promote but to actually spread quality information, where is the determination set to distinguish the 2?

Do I need to go in and edit every article I would like to help spread quality info on? If I edit them and add a paragraph or 2 is it then safe to link to a more extensive piece of information on the article? Where does self promotion stop and simple linking to quality information begin?

I know for certain that one of the articles on this site was written by a site owner I know and they used the article to self promote THEIR site in 2 different locations in the one article. Since they wrote the original article, is this acceptable?

I am interested on the thoughts of others on this subject.

Response from Martyman on link spamming

Your actions could not be interpreted as anything but intentional link spamming. Adding external links to your site to multiple articles without any other history of edits on wikipedia can only beinterpreted as self promotion. Wikipedia is not a collection of external links. Please read the what not to link to section at Wikipedia:External links. That bneign said I am going to ask a more experienced editor to lend their opinion. Thank you for being open to discussing this, rather than reverting your additions etc. --Martyman-(talk) 23:10, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Response

Hello,

I wouldn't be interested in removing the edits that I have made. I decided to add to the wikipedia, not take away from it. lol

Over the next few weeks I will be editing the articles in which I was linking off of. I also have a few entries of my own to make.

Something I am curious about is my user page. Do I explain why I chose the screenname I chose or is it more along the lines of a profile? I didn't dare to write anything there without knowing what would fly and what would die.

Well, you know what I meant (un-revert). There are very few rules about what you can include on your own user page. There is some guidence at Wikipedia:User page. In fact we have gotten off on the wrong foot, I will include my usual welcome to new editors below which has many useful links for new editors (an established ones too). --Martyman-(talk) 00:44, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

Welcome!

Hello Herp Center, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:

The five pillars of Wikipedia	How to edit a page
Help pages	Tutorial
How to write a great article	Manual of Style
Copyright Information	User Page Info

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:Where to ask a question or ask me on my talk page. --Martyman-(talk) 00:44, 4 February 2006 (UTC)