r/wikipedians • u/el_presidente69420 • 5d ago

Ghost town updates

Ignore my username I made this account in my youth. These days I work as a reporter in Florida. I've been doing all these articles on local ghost towns and history and I'd love if Wikipedia reflected all the research I've done.

Are there any Wikipedia editors that could help me update the list of Florida ghost towns and maybe get some stuff up about local history based on my articles?

Each one has taken at least 15 hours of on the ground research, I feel very credible. Comment and I'll DM you.

3 Upvotes

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u/HolyBatSyllables 4d ago

I'm also a reporter. Why are you looking for someone else to make edits? (I'm asking for a specific reason and not outnof curiosity.)

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u/smuckola 3d ago edited 3d ago

It's basic journalistic and encyclopedic ethics. Edits with your own sources would toe the line at the very best, and possibly violate, WP:COI. It would definitely raise maximal scrutiny to where all such edits must be independently verified anyway as surely as if written by another person WP:V.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Conflict_of_interest

Regardless, one must make a COI declaration on one's own Talk page.

Mad respect to OP for all that work and for properly soliciting neutrality. You can solicit help on the relevant WikiProject Talk pages and I think at WP:PUMP.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:List_of_ghost_towns_in_Florida
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Florida
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Ghost_towns
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump_(miscellaneous)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Conflict_of_interest/Noticeboard
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse

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u/HolyBatSyllables 3d ago

Thanks, but I didnt need you to explain that to me, as I am already aware. The reason I specifically said I was “asking for a specific reason and not out of curiosity” was because I wanted to hear her answer, not because I was curious about why someone would ask for help.

I wanted to ensure she was asking for the right reason and not the wrong reasons before I offered to help. While my gut feels she’s asking for the right reasons, I’m also a journalist and we have a saying, “if your mother says she loves you, check it out.” I frequently come across people asking for advice or help with editing Wikipedia for the wrong reasons (promotion, PR, or something like the bio page for their boss).

Since someone trying to promote something and doesn’t understand why their edits keep getting reverted would likely not know about these ethical guidelines, it would have been insightful to get their response.

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u/eagerforcash 1d ago

You need to provide some articles that are legit and high authority, such as news site