On 9/28/06, David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
My phone number and email are publicly available
for media contact
purposes. This means, of course, I get emails and calls about
*everything*.
A common call is "How do I get an article about me/my book/my
achievement?"
Now. What's a helpful answer to this? Better than "You don't, someone
else has to write one," because you *know* they'll just write a
really
bad one themselves and it'll all end in a tearful AFD entry and
someone hating or fearing Wikipedia henceforth.
Assume that referring them to a web page or policy page is less good
than being able to answer on the phone right there.
Ideas please?
- d.
Fist off all, this should really be in our FAQ (I've just skimmed over
it, man it's big, and I couldn't find it). Someone should put that in.
To answer your question, if I were to get those calls I would calmly
explain that we have fairly high standards on what people can be
subjects of articles. Tell them that if they deserve to have an
article in wikipedia, they will. Just not written on request or by
themselves. Point out that if they do write an article on themselves,
it is very likely it will be deleted and it is not always a nice
discussion to read. You might also want to point out that you yourself
doesn't have an article, I can imagine that would convince some people
;)
I would suggest that they start contributing to Wikipedia.
After a period, their name will be recognised by other
passing editors who will be surprised that they don't have
an article yet, and they will write one.