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March 2017 edit

Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia. This is a message letting you know that one or more of your recent edits to Floyd McKissick Jr. has been undone by an automated computer program called ClueBot NG.

Thank you. ClueBot NG (talk) 19:33, 12 March 2017 (UTC)Reply

Information icon Hello, I'm Materialscientist. I noticed that you recently removed some content without adequately explaining why. In the future, it would be helpful to others if you described your changes to Wikipedia with an accurate edit summary. If this was a mistake, don't worry; the removed content has been restored. If you would like to experiment, please use the sandbox. If you think I made a mistake, or if you have any questions, you can leave me a message on my talk page. Thanks. Materialscientist (talk) 23:46, 12 March 2017 (UTC)Reply

Information icon Please do not add unreferenced or poorly referenced information, especially if controversial, to articles or any other page on Wikipedia about living (or recently deceased) persons. Thank you. Materialscientist (talk) 23:46, 12 March 2017 (UTC)Reply

Information icon Please refrain from making unconstructive edits to Wikipedia, as you did at Floyd McKissick Jr.. Your edits appear to constitute vandalism and have been reverted. If you would like to experiment, please use the sandbox. Repeated vandalism can result in the loss of editing privileges. CAPTAIN RAJU (✉) 00:03, 13 March 2017 (UTC)Reply

Floyd McKissick Jr. edit

Howdy.

I see you've been having some problems removing things from this article; I might be able to help.

First thing, please stay calm. There's no use accusing other editors of things, like "Are you paid by his opposition?" [1]. I can assure you, that user is a respected editor (and an administrator).

I have now removed the part about not paying laborers [2], and the thing about marijuana [3]. I explained why in my "edit summary", so that should be fine.

I have not removed the part about the state-bar disciplinary (yet), because it does seem to have a reference to a reliable source. Perhaps you could explain to me if there's a problem with that.

(If you reply here, I'll see it)

Best wishes, 86.20.193.222 (talk) 04:20, 13 March 2017 (UTC)Reply

I've now asked for more opinions, at Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons/Noticeboard#Floyd_McKissick_Jr. (permalink) 86.20.193.222 (talk) 20:32, 13 March 2017 (UTC)Reply

I'm moving your response that you posted on my talk page back here, just to keep the discussion in one place. Moved from [4] 86.20.193.222 (talk) 23:40, 13 March 2017 (UTC)Reply

Dear 86.20.193.222, Thank you for your constructive help. I got disappointed with Wikipedia in the past related to Historic events (History is normally my thing). I see too many inaccuracies in some articles. I never got involved until now. I am an animal rights activist/ foster/rescuer/transporter. Make part of several organizations that deal with animal rescue. Senator McKissick is probably the Senator in our state that has done more to help animals (and others). He also has a very interesting life story. I thought in giving back by adding all the good things he has done for our state and also getting the facts straight. There was a reason why I asked one of the users if he was paid by the opposition. Not that long-ago journalists caught several IP addresses and Wi-Fi users from inside the GA doing precisely that...adding stupid or inaccurate and always negative things to the others profiles. That sentence which you removed, not only I could not find anywhere else other than in Wikipedia, however, those 2 people added and one even reported vandalism....To me vandalism was that sentence being there. Anyway, the other part although it is true was written using wording to make it more damaging to him. I am thinking in writing to Wikipedia about the article that that portion is linked to since although that article claims to be about him being disciplined by the State Bar it brings up other charges which he was cleared off and had nothing to do with the State Bar situation. The wording I was going to introduce was: "In January 2003, McKissick was disciplined by the NC State Bar for professional misconduct involving a conflict of interest. The bar found that McKissick improperly represented both sides in a 2000 dispute involving the estate decisions of an elderly man, Thomas Griswell. The conflict between the man and his foster daughter, Lily Richardson, spawned a civil case, as well as criminal charges of elder abuse against the foster daughter which were later dismissed. In disciplining McKissick, the state bar cited evidence that McKissick violated his duty to Thomas Griswell by representing Lily Richardson in a dispute relating to a home conveyed to her by Thomas Griswell." This would be a more accurate description; however, I was immediately threatened by CAPTAIN RAJU of vandalism. WOW! How does somebody supposedly in a different country has such an interest in keeping negative undocumented sentences in a local politician profile? I would also like to add Awards received and bills which he sponsored that were signed into law. Two interesting aspects of this man's life is the fact that he was one of the first children to integrate Durham Public Schools and that he was a victim of violent crime. I would also like to know how to change the picture since the one currently used is an old one. I really appreciate your time, attention and knowledge. Have a great evening! Delphine63Delphine63 (talk) 22:50, 13 March 2017 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Delphine63 (talkcontribs)

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Wikipedia can be a confusing place, and although it can seem hostile, sometimes it's just misunderstandings. I will try to clarify things a little;

Wikipedia does take seriously any negative info on artices about living people. A lot of effort is put into trying to keep biographic articles in good shape. Unfortunately, the procedures do not always work out, and I think you've had a poor experience with it.

A little knowledge about how Wikipedia works will help avoid problems in the future.

  • "Vandalism" accusations: what happened...

With your first edit, you removed the entire page (whether by accident, whatever), so your edit was undone by a bot - an automated system designed to prevent vandalism.[5] I now know you were not "vandalising" the article, but, that's what it looked like. And unfortunately, that's what lead to the rest of your experience;

You made several other edits, some of which looked like vandalism. You removed a category, and you removed the referenced part about "The conflict between the man and his younger caretaker, Lily Richardson...". You'd also removed the unreferenced part about "local laborers", which was fair enough, but unfortunately another user "reverted" all of your edits, thinking it vandalism. I'm sure you can see why it looked like it wasn't constructive. It's a misunderstanding. Partly it's because, with the first edit tagged as "vandalism", further edits are considered within the same context.

I'm sorry you got accused of being a vandal. I hope you can understand why it happened, that others had the subject's best-interests at heart and were working to protect the article.

You should be able to avoid any such problems in the future;

  • If adding information, always give a reliable source.
  • Always explain what you are doing in the "edit summary"
  • If your edit might be "controversial", don't do it; instead, post your suggested edit on the "talk page" - in this case, Talk:Floyd McKissick Jr..

That said, please do not be put off editing. You're encouraged to make bold edits; it's absolutely fine to correct things without lots of hassle, so go ahead and edit - just, if someone challenges or disagrees with an edit, stop and talk about it, and/or get help. (WP:TEA and WP:HELPDESK a great for that, or for a bio, there's Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons/Noticeboard)

  • Re "malfeasance in his dealings with local laborers"

Everything on Wikipedia is recorded in the page history, so I was able to find who added that fact. I used this tool.

The phrase was added on 5 July 1998 by 69.134.246.98 (talk · contribs) with this edit. That IP address seems to be someone using Time Warner Cable Internet, called "Road Runner", in the area of Columbus, OH, Herndon, VA or Raleigh NC [6]. The IP hasn't done anything else, and isn't editing; so I'm just stating this as informational.

  • Re "disciplined by the NC State Bar"

I have not yet had time to consider your suggested replacement text, but I will do so soon. At a quick glance, I was tempted to just use what you'd written, but I want to read through the reference first and have a think about it, and see if there's a response from the BLPN thing.

  • "How does somebody supposedly in a different country has such an interest in keeping negative undocumented sentences in a local politician profile?"

I'm English, in England :-)

The person probably doesn't have a particular interest, but he probably saw the edits when "patrolling" recent changes, looking out for 'vandalism' etc. Edits are shown at Special:RecentChanges. People use tools to filter edits; a new user editing a biography of a living person is a bit of a 'red flag', and gets extra scrutiny.

A funny quirk of Wikipedia is that sometimes, editors who do not know much about the subject are better at editing it, because they have a more neutral point of view. For example, as a Brit looking at that court-case business, I have to go on info I can find in reliable sources. I know absolutely nothing of the background to it, I only know what I see in the news articles - that can actually be a good thing.

When people edit things they're close to, it often causes huge problems - conflict of interest, non-neutrality, undue weight, and so on.

  • Adding "Awards received and bills which he sponsored"

That sounds fine. As long as you've got a good reference (e.g. newspaper), go ahead and add them. The formatting is like this;

Mr. X won Y award. <ref> "Interview with Mr X", New York Times, 1 April 2017. </ref>

If it's a website, put the URL too. Just put all the reference info between <ref> and </ref>, directly after the fact, and the system will take care of the rest.

If you have any problems, just ask - but don't be afraid to try it. After all, 'undo' is easy if it goes horribly wrong.

  • change the picture

That's also easy, but the tricky part is the copyright. If you, personally, have a picture of him - that's quite easy - you can upload it to commons, giving permission.

However, Most pictures from elsewhere don't have the right licence. Because we want Wikipedia to be free to copy, images (almost always*) needs to have a licence saying anyone can copy it. You can ask the copyright holder to give permission. There's a basic guide at User:R. Baley/Acquire a free image, and much more detail in Wikipedia:Uploading images. If you get stuck, please ask again.

Phew, that was quite a long reply; I hope your eyes haven't glazed over! Best wishes, 86.20.193.222 (talk) 00:49, 14 March 2017 (UTC)Reply

Delphine63, you are invited to the Teahouse! edit

 

Hi Delphine63! Thanks for contributing to Wikipedia.
Be our guest at the Teahouse! The Teahouse is a friendly space where new editors can ask questions about contributing to Wikipedia and get help from experienced editors like AmaryllisGardener (talk).

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16:04, 13 March 2017 (UTC)

Professional misconduct charges edit

After consideration, I decided to just remove the section [7] and I've explained why on Talk:Floyd_McKissick_Jr.#Professional_misconduct_charges.

Others might disagree, of course; if so, we can discuss it there. 86.20.193.222 (talk) 01:12, 14 March 2017 (UTC)Reply

Floyd B. McKissick Jr edit

WOW! Thank you soooo much for the time you took to explain things in detail. It is much appreciated! I will absorb all this info and try to put it to work. I think after this project I can take others namely History inaccurate which I have noticed in some other subjects. I am extremely busy in my job right now due to tax time but I will get on it as soon as I can. You are English in England and I am Portuguese in NC working for an English company. :) You were absolutely awesome in taking so much time with a stranger. Have a wonderful day!

Great stuff, I'm glad it's helpful. Take your time, there is no deadline. Se cuida, 86.20.193.222 (talk) 17:24, 15 March 2017 (UTC)Reply

Hi I hope you are doing well. I finally had some time to dedicate towards improving this article. I do have a few questions if you don't mind. Please let me know when we can chat.