User talk:Gpowersjr

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Welcome!

Hello, Gpowersjr, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

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 and then place {{helpme}} before the question on your talk page. Again, welcome! FiggyBee (talk) 04:16, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Francis Gary Powers Jr.

Hello. Can you confirm that you are Francis Gary Powers Jr.? I have added a template to the article's talk page to that effect, but I'd like to make sure. FiggyBee (talk) 04:16, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Hello, I am not sure if this is where I am supposed to answer. Send me an email to gpowersjr@coldwar.org and or call me at the museum 703-273-2381 and I will reply. You can verify that I am the founder of The Cold War Musuem and that should do it. I would be glad to send you a copy of my resume or photo once I have heard from you by email.

Please advise. Thanks, Gary

Hi Gary, thanks for that. I wasn't doubting your identity, just checking that you actually were who your user name suggested, if you see what I mean. FiggyBee (talk) 04:52, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
FiggyBee, Thanks for the clarification. If you ever have any questions about Cold War content, please let me know. A few questions plese...

1-I have noticed that some of my edits to U-2 Incident and the FGP page were removed after a day or two. What do I have to do in order to insure that my edits remain posted (ie. I have tried to change the reference to the s-75 to its more common name of SA-2, whihc is the termed used in 99% of all other reference sources, with a subreference then to s-75. However, do I site nonpublished info that i alone am privy to such as dad's book notes and oral history tapes?

2- When will the page on me FGPjr be ranked higher than a stub. If I am writing the materil on this page what type of verification do I need to site if it is coming from the source?

Thanks for your help and guidance. I am looking for to help expand the knowledge base.

Gary

Okay, 1, You can't ensure that your version stays; that's not the way Wikipedia works. No-one "owns" an article and; as the note at the bottom of the edit page says, "If you don't want your writing to be edited mercilessly, do not submit it". On the specific point of the S-75, I changed that back because that's where our article is, at the Russian designation. Makes sense to call it by it's real name, right?
2, the article Francis Gary Powers Jr.... hmm. I'm not sure all the information you've added belongs in the article (although it would be suitable for your user page - I will move it there), it reads a bit more like a resume than an encyclopedia article at the moment. I shouldn't worry too much about the status of the article. A photo could help if you'd be willing to provide one?
I should probably point out that the Wikipedia:Autobiography guideline discourages people from editing articles about themselves, because it often creates problems with neutrality, verifiability, or original research. The best thing you can do to improve the FGPjr is to guide other editors to where information has already been published (either on the web or in print), to answer questions on the talk page, etc. Much as you have been doing with the article on your father. FiggyBee (talk) 21:07, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Re U-2 Crisis entry

Hi Gary,

To go back and look at previous versions of a page, click the "history" tab at the top of the article, and then click on the dates to see how the article looked at that time. If you want to restore one of those older versions (called a "revert" or rv), open the version you want to save, click "edit this page" at the top, then click save without making any changes.

As for it going "back and forth like leap frog?", that's called an Edit War. When that happens, you should go to the talk page and explain your edits there, so other editors can see where you're going and hopefully some consensus can be reached (basically, your "draft for review" idea). This must seem like a lot of hoops to jump through just to get accuracy in the article, but I'm sure you can see why it's necessary to avoid articles ending up a complete mess, especially with subjects where opinions can get heated. FiggyBee (talk) 03:25, 23 February 2008 (UTC)