Welcome to my Talk Page. Please use the box above, or manually enter new messages at the end of my page. Normally, I try to check for messages frequently.
New talk page, older messages archived
Once again, older messages from my talk page have been moved to an archive. *Messages prior to 4/2/2005 are located at User talk:Vaoverland/archive2. *Messages 4/2/2005 to prior to 8/1/2005 are located at User talk:Vaoverland/archive3.
August 2005
UPDATE: After a 6 week absence, I have finished moving (sorta) and now have an Internet connection again. My new home is near Williamsburg, VA, where I will continue to help care for my Mom (87) and another disabled family member. Our new home is wheelchair accessible and much newer smaller and more manageable than our old one. Thanks to all who helped with my various projects while I was off line. Its a lonely feeling, folks, and certainly shows how much WP and the Internet have become an important part of my life. Mark in Virginia Vaoverland 05:34, August 2, 2005 (UTC)
Times-Dispatch article
Mark,
My name is Jeff Kelley and I'm a reporter at the TD working on a story about Wikipedia. I've been doing my best to track down someone in Richmond thats into Wikipedia for the story.
I've found a few all over the state, but still need someone here in town. I'd really (really, really, really) like to interview you and possibly get a picture as well.
Please give me a call when you get this. You can reach me at jkelley@timesdispatch.com or 804-649-6348.
If you need any sort of validity you can check out the TD site on Wikipedia for my name or read today's story in the business section about Cavalier.
Best
Jeff Kelley
Times-Dispatch
649-6348
Times-Dispatch article
Mark,
My name is Jeff Kelley and I'm a reporter at the TD working on a story about Wikipedia. I've been doing my best to track down someone in Richmond thats into Wikipedia for the story.
I've found a few all over the state, but still need someone here in town. I'd really (really, really, really) like to interview you and possibly get a picture as well.
Please give me a call when you get this. You can reach me at jkelley@timesdispatch.com or 804-649-6348.
If you need any sort of validity you can check out the TD site on Wikipedia for my name or read today's story in the business section about Cavalier.
I’m an historian working at the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University (http://chnm.gmu.edu/). We are researching peer-produced, digital works of history, such as articles in Wikipedia, as part of a larger project on the history of the free and open source software movement. We’d like to talk to people about their experiences working on Wikipedia, and another Wikipedian suggested that I contact you. Would you be willing to talk with us about your involvement with articles on the Civil War, either by phone, a/v chat, IM, or email? This could be as lengthy or brief a conversation as you wish.
Thanks for your consideration.
Olivia
oryan at gmu dot edu
William Thomas Mahone
You may want to contact the person who compiled that list to ask what was the source of his information on this middle name. According to that page, his email address is lestory at comcast dot net. — BRIAN0918 • 2005-08-27 22:54
Yesterday I received my invitation to the Po'pay statue dedication in Washington DC, on September 22. I am now trying to figure out how to do the trip, and perhaps visit Richmond in the process. I am also trying to decide whether to spring for a book, "Richmond's Monument Avenue" (ISBN:0807826073) by Driggs, Sarah Shields; Wilson, Richard Guy; Winthrop, Robert and decided that you might have good insights into all these areas. Oh yes, as far as renaming Monument Avenue, "Traveller Avenue" I think that I learned that the Frenchman who did the Lee statue in Richmond refused to use Traveller as a model for the horse, thinking him to be not noble enough, or something, and opted for some Arabian instead. Which in this day and age appears a lot LESS patriotic. Life is supposed to be fun. Carptrash18:39, 7 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Well I can see that riding a rhinosaurus into battle could gain one all sorts of psychological advantages. Still . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............. ? Carptrash20:19, 7 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Did you know? has been updated. A fact from the article change of venue, which you recently created, has been featured in that section on the Main Page. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.
Did you know? has been updated. A fact from the article Fort Story, which you recently created, has been featured in that section on the Main Page. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.
Barnstar
Please accept this Barnstar of Diligence for tireless work on Wikipedia.
Good to see you again! I took a quick breeze though the article, adding the templates and fixing up some grammar and links. I found the logo and added that too. Looks good so far, and getting an edit conflict earlier today shows me it's still getting some work. B-) slambo18:23, 18 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Did you know? has been updated. A fact from the article Emancipation Oak, which you recently created, has been featured in that section on the Main Page. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.
10 Great Trees
Hi there! I enjoyed reading your article on the Emancipation Oak. I was curious about the 10 Greatest Trees that you referenced. Perhaps this should be its own article? Where did you find this information and what are the other trees? Thanks!
Did you know? has been updated. A fact from the article Howard Association, which you recently created, has been featured in that section on the Main Page. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.
New Article Help?
Hi, I'm User:Ascan, and I grew up in SE Virginia (mostly VB). I was a Navy brat and I'm currently active duty, and I was wondering if you could help me start an article on the "Spokane Trophy"[2], as I am a very new Wikipedian. I have attempted to contact the Navy League of Spokane to request permission to use their photos and information, however my e-mail to the webmaster was returned stating "no such user". Would you be willing to help me start the article or at least guide me to someone who you think would be more interested? I am appreciate any help you could give me.
Dear User: Ascan: First, I suggest that it would be good to go to your user page, and tell evryone a little bit about yourself, as you did above. This will help other users in identifying with you and encourage them to help you also. Tip: enter four tilde signs, (to the left of the 1 on my keyboard in the Caps positon, and your messages will automatically be signed and dated.) I am now typing four tildes (no spaces) and this is what it will sign: Vaoverland10:03, 21 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]
OK, Let's give writing a new article on Spokane Trophy a try. The advice which follows is MY way of researching to come up with content, which may or may not be as much in compliance with Wikipedia Style guidelines as you will choose to be (no one is perfect, but we strive to comply).
1. Look at the article I collaborated with User:Slambo on called Autorack. Then look at the same article, which was specially marked up with tons of writing tips by User:Niteowlneils. The Annotated Article for Autorack can be found at Wikipedia:Annotated article. This is a very valuable way to see how to write an article in an attractive style and keep track of the information, etc.
2. I suggest you join Wikipedia:WikiProject Ships. On Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Ships, you should let them know that you are writing your first article on Spokane Trophy. The members will be knowledgeable about similar topics and will probably be glad to help you with good ship-related article.
OK, on to your new Spokane Trophy article.
3. First, you asked how I do it, I like to work on content (ie text first), and then seek images after story is more or less in first draft form.
Rather than ask for permission to copy stuff from a single source, we want to use multiple sources for Wikipedia articles, and then compile the factual information into an original article. A single source would probably require the kind of permission you requested (and didn't get). Therefore, in addition to learning what I can from the link you provided, the next thing I would do is determine some more information about the subject. To do that, I will do a Google search, a Yahoo search, and sometimes more searches (ie MSN, Altavista, Ask Jeeves, Lycos, etc.) depending upon the amount of hits and quality of web sites I can find. NOTE: I have now checked as described and there are multiple sites with the lost of text information you can use to create your content. ::NOTE: I found good data on Google and Yahoo searches on the words: Spokane Trophy! Follow up on multiple hits,a nd consider what seem to be the more credible sources.
4. By using multiple sources, you do not need their permission to obtain facts which you will use, so long as you are not copying en masse and verbatim (exactly worded) their text. You should keep track of where the items of specific information comes from, so you can cite your sources. However, unless you are using a single source to bets make a point, I find listing the sources at end of article is usually sufficient. If quoting an entire sentence or two, or if you feel that the source is particularly important, then a footnote for the source right after the information is presented can be done by putting the URL in single brackets.
For instance (I am making this up), since the following is obviously an opinion for which we would want to know the source. If the content in your article made the statement which follows: TEXT: According to the local residents, the Spokane Trophy is more greatly valued by people from the south side of Spokane than anywhere else. END TEXT, Then I would immediately attribute that statement (again a fictitious source) by pasting the URL of the source in single brackets, which would end up like this: [3]
5. Remember that your personal opinion is not a source, although you may find sources with which you agree,a nd you can certainly present the independently sources information you agree with.
6. Only after doing the text content, would I consider images. That gets trickier, and you will also need to follow WP guidelines there, or let other users help spice up your story with images, if that is not your strong point. In this instance, US Navy images are generally public domain for WP purposes, and that may be a good source for you, so your task may be a bit easier on this article than some for other subjects. Personally, I have found it too hard to get permission for images not already in public domain or otherwise OK for use in WP without specifically getting permission, so if I can't find something it is OK to use without asking, I'd let someone else worry about images. If you write your initial article well with enough interesting content, other contributors will read it,a nd begin enhancing it with content and often pictures.
7. I use ieSpell (a free program) to help avoid putting content out with bad spelling, although others will surely come behind you and take a whack at poor grammar, spelling, etc., assuming your article is of interest. I've found that almost anything I write an article on for WP has someone else interested in it. That's part of the fun, because then i learn even more as I watch changes.
8. Add internal links for words in your content which have Wikipedia articles. This will help other writers find your article as well and add to the collaborative effort to refine your article.
9. As you probably know, click on the red link Spokane Trophy and begin the article, saving it with the edit summary "New Article" in the box at the bottom. Your first effort may not be outstanding, but others will help, and you'll get better as you go.
I now have some info on your subject, so one you start the article, I will try be among those to help spruce it up. If you get your feelings hurt easily, WP may not be for you, as others will surely edit your work and may chose to say somethings differently. However, I have found that most changes to articles I begin have been improvements, and what is best for the quality of Wikipedia is more important than my ego or personal preferences. Occasionally, I need to remind myself of that, and maybe you will too.
You have some images in the category Category:Images with unknown source. Images in this category can and are being deleted as we speak. You should provide sources for your images in there, if you still want Wikipedia to be able to use them. You can see the list of images you've uploaded here. JesseW, the juggling janitor 09:33, 21 September 2005 (UTC)
After second thought, I am generally in agreement with the multiple arcticles (I even entered a stub for First Landing State Park) -- except for Cape Henry Memorial which I think would be better to merge with and redirect to Colonial National Historical Park -- but I am not going to lose any sleep over it. By the way, while looking up info on the memorial, the NPS Website states that the lighthouse is NOT part of the Memorial nor Colonial NHP, although APVA administers the National Park "Passport" stamp for the memorial. I am going to make appropriate changes to the texts of those sites (including removing the lighthouse image from the memorial), but after today, I will probably move onto other interests. Cheers! — Eoghanachttalk13:11, 28 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Back from DC & VA
Hi Mark: Well I just got home from a quite long roadtrip that included a visit to Richmond and Monument Avenue. I need to get all my pictures developed and sorted out, which might take some time, but I hope to be posting so Lees and Jacksons and Davises in the near future. life is good, Carptrash17:41, 27 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]
PS -the Historic Triangle article desperately needs [opinion] a map.
20:21, 16 September 2005 (UTC)
