User talk:Reflux
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[edit] Private messages
Hello - thanks for the message, and welcome to Wikipedia!
Unfortunately, the only way to send a truly private message to another Wikipedian is to do it by email, and that can't even be done unless that editor has verified his/her email address. I'm pretty sure the 'E-mail this user' link (over on the left side of the window) is present whether the user has enabled email or not and you'll only find out by trying. I know that a key criteria for administrators is email use, so if you're trying to reach an admin it's very likely their email is verified.
Go to the user page of the editor in question, click the 'E-mail this user' link over on the bottom left, and see what happens. Good luck - and again, welcome! Baseball,Baby! balls•strikes 00:13, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Douglas Harrison
Thanks again for the message. If you feel Harrison is notable enough, go ahead and write the article. That's one of the benefits of registration - you get to do the articles yourself. I thought pretty hard about the Harrison submission and looked at all the sources listed, then ultimately decided against writing it - but I have been known to be wrong on occasion. Rare occasions. ;-) I may be biased because I work at a petrochemical R&D facility and know a couple dozen engineers and chemists with more than 75 patents each, so my standards are probably too high.
So, go ahead and write it, and I'll share a bit of advice learned on RC patrol.
- Be sure that you list all your sources and references, because deletionists patrol the new pages thoroughly and pounce on unsourced pages like they're cat toys.
- Be absolutely certain you don't violate any copyright. You'd be surprised how many people just cut and paste an article from a website in to an AfC or a new entry, and it's easy to spot if you know what to look for. I thought your AfC submission was good, and I checked it for copyvio problems without finding any, but double check if you're in doubt.
- Be sure you use edit summaries, because new page patrollers who see an entry with an edit summary like "create stub" or "starting article, more to come" will give you the chance to flesh out the content. If you just start it with a couple of sentences without an informative edit summary, they'll tag it for speedy deletion within seconds - literally, within seconds. Edit summaries are your friend, and informative edit summaries are a strong ally.
- Don't be offended if it does get listed at CSD or PROD or AfD. It's not personal, but some editors take it personally. Don't.
Let me know if you need help with the construction. The editing tutorial is good and will give you the basics, and I think the best way is to do the tutorial and then jump in. If you need help, I'll be here tonight, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then I'm leaving on vacation and will be back around August 6 or 7. Happy editing - Baseball,Baby! balls•strikes 03:31, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] OffTopic
Hey, no problem, we all get our start one way or the other. (For what it's worth, I think the last change you made to that article was a good compromise.) Anyway, if you like what you see on a user's userpage, do what I did--check out the code they use, then copy it and manipulate it to fit your style! Looks like you've already got the hang of userboxes, so that's a good start. I'm not exactly an advanced user here, but let me know if I can help you with anything else. Welcome to Wikipedia! -- H·G (words/works) 04:02, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
