User talk:Strangerbird

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I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your messages on discussion pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically insert your username and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or ask your question on this page and then place {{helpme}} before the question. Again, welcome! Mjroots (talk) 16:12, 5 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Norwich

Hi

I notice you have added a lot of material to the Norwich article

Can I ask you what your level of experience is here on Wiki ? I realise tha the account only has a few edits but you may have been editing for a long time on an IP address.

The reason is that I would like to propose some changes but need to know your level of expertise before continuing the discussion

thanks Chaosdruid (talk) 20:14, 5 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Chaosdruid

I noticed that the history section on Norwich was very poorly contributed, so I added some material on seventeenth and eighteenth-century Norwich, taken from my MA History dissertation. I was awarded a distinction by the University of Reading in 2008.

Strangerbird.

Hi I thought that might be the case :¬)

Just to let you know that there may be an issue with that as it is your own thesis but I will get on to that later.

First let me say well done, lots of good info and it really helps with the history section !

The rules on page size are a little vague but, as a general rule, when a section gets too big it is best to split it off into a new page leaving a summary behind. I was going to ask if you intended to be part of Wikipedia as a regular thing and if you have any interest in helping with the general history of Norfolk and East Anglia ?

If the answer is yes then I would advise catching up on policy and guidelines (not too mnay to start with) as well as looking at categories and the links to other articles.

I am more than willing to assist in the learning curve and can point you to some others who are also involved

If you are interested let me know and we can take it from there :¬)

As for using your own thesis - It may be a problem if the thesis was not published as using it as a source would be a no-no really. The policy on references Wikipedia:Identifying_reliable_sourcesis a bit complicated when it comes to using a thesis but if the text can be sourced to other references that would make it ok.

Chaosdruid (talk) 14:43, 6 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Chaosdruid.

First, so far as use of my thesis goes: I would not normally have given this out so readily, but as Norwich is a place dear to my heart, I was sad to discover that the history section was so limited, and was glad to beef it up a bit. I have left extensive source references, the same ones I used in the thesis, which satisfied the examiners. Would it present a problem if I decided to publish any bits of my thesis in the future? The title of the thesis, incidentally, is 'Norwich Gentlemen and the French Revolution: The Cabinet and the Enfield Circle 1794-5'. What I have given Wiki so far is just part of one chapter.

I will look at the page size, and would suggest that the present section which runs from the Civil Wars to the Victorian period is now far too long. I think that my own content can go in two sections, the first being the Civil Wars to the French Revolution of 1789 (that is the date on which historians generally agree that 'modern' history begins). Then a long nineteenth century from 1789 to, let's say, 1914).I can split my present contribution roughly into two equal parts on that basis.

As for my readiness to help with Norfolk history in general, I would be prepared as time permits to do that. I have also made significant postings to the page on 'Norfolk Dialect'. However, although I am retired I do have many other intellectual interests. I would be glad to discuss 'catching up on policy etc'.

Strangerbird (talk) 11:17, 22 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Hi - I have been away for a while due to work and then a broken computer and am now catching up on things.

I noticed you added a large amount of material to the Norwich page - [1].

Can you reassure me that these were not copied out of the sources - obviously plagarism and copyright violations are a major concern on Wiki.

Hope all is well with you Chaosdruid (talk) 07:38, 26 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The material all came from my MA dissertation. Where it quotes other authors (as itdoes frequently), those sources have been acknowledged and footnoted.Strangerbird (talk) 10:01, 12 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]