Beth 84

Hello, Beth 84! Welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions to this free encyclopedia. If you decide that you need help, check out Getting Help below, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and ask your question there. Please remember to sign your name on talk pages by clicking or using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your username and the date. Finally, please do your best to always fill in the edit summary field. Below are some useful links to facilitate your involvement. Happy editing! FlowerpotmaN·(t) 18:24, 31 October 2009 (UTC) Getting started A tutorial • Our five pillars • Getting mentored How to: edit a page • upload and use images • create your first article Intuitive guide to Wikipedia • Article Creation Wizard Getting help Frequently asked questions • Tips Where to ask questions or make comments Request administrator attention Policies and guidelines Neutral point of view • No original research Verifiability • Reliable sources • Citing sources What Wikipedia is not • Biographies of living persons List of policies • Three-revert rule • Sock puppetry Copyrights • Policy for non-free content • Image use policy External links • Spam • Vandalism • List of guidelines Deletion policy • Conflict of interest • Notability The community Build consensus • Resolve disputes Assume good faith • Civility • Etiquette No personal attacks • No legal threats Community portal • Village pump Signpost • IRC channels • Mailing lists Writing articles Be bold in editing • Develop an article The perfect article • Manual of style Stubs • Categories • Disambiguation Pages needing attention • Peer review Miscellaneous User name • User pages • Talk pages Clean up: General • Spam • Vandalism Join a WikiProject • Translation Useful templates • Tools • User scripts

Help please!

{{helpme}}

I want to write an article about Dany Cotton. She's important because she was the first woman to win the Queen's Fire Service Medal and because she's the highest ranking female firefighter in the UK. I've found some web pages that prove it, here they are:

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate-uk/tag/dany-cotton/ http://www.numberten.co.uk/features/?story=yes&id=64 http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/NewsReleases2008_30Oct08.asp http://domain2348706.sites.fasthosts.com/content/standard.asp?heading_id=15 http://www.firesciencecolleges.com/blog/2010/10-amazing-female-firefighters/ http://www.internationalwomensday.com/article.asp?m=6&e=93

But I want some advice before I start because this will be the first article I've ever written, and there seems to be an awful lot that I need to know, and I think there are special rules when it's an article about a living person, aren't there? So I wanted to ask some questions.

1. Is it okay for me to write this article? I'm not Dany and I don't know her, but she's in the same job as me and she comes from the same country. 2. If it's okay for me to write it, do I call the article Dany Cotton or Danielle Cotton? Her real name's Danielle but everybody calls her Dany. 3. How do I make the references show up at the bottom? I know how to make it make a little number by writing < ref > without the spacebars, but if I try it in a new page, it doesn't seem to work?

Thank you, whoever answers this!Beth 84 (talk) 00:59, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

Oh. I'm going away now so if someone answers I'll talk to them when I come back, sorry.Beth 84 (talk) 01:09, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for asking these well thought out questions here, which should make it easier than cleaning up the article later.

To answer your questions in order:

1. Yes, it should be okay to write the article as simply having a similar job doesn't indicate a conflit of interest (but you should read this link to be sure).
2. Per WP:COMMONNAME you can name the article Dany Cotton but it would make sense to also have redirect from Danielle.
3. Adding references can be a bit difficult. Follow the directions in WP:CITE and as long as there is a references section at the bottom the references will autmoatically show there. (I'll create an example in your sandbox) - You should also be familiar with which sources are reliable because some of the links I can find on Dany appear to be articles she has written herself which would not necessarily qualify.

I have created a sandbox article with references section included here: User:Beth 84/Dany Cotton

In addition to these Q&A - you may want to review WP:FIRSTARTICLE and WP:BLP - two very relevant policies.

After you add some content you can ask for more help here if you have questions, and when you are satisfied with your starting point you can more the article out of your sandbox, and into the main article space. Regards,  7  01:35, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

On additional comment, per this page it appears someone name Sion Griffith was also one of the first to win the medal. If you have an RS which clarifies who has won, and when, that would help.  7  01:39, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

• Okay, thank you! I wrote an article where you said. I'm afraid it's a bit short but it's difficult when you can only write what websites say. I don't understand what you meant about "main article space", sorry! About Sian Griffiths, well, she was one of the first but Dany Cotton was the real first. If you read the web pages that are linked from Wikipedia you can see it. The Sian Griffiths link says she was one of the first women firefighters and she won the Queens Fire Service Medal. The Dany Cotton links all say she was the first woman to win the Queens Fire Service Medal. Can you see the difference? I don't know if you will see this message here so I'm going to put a message on your talk page too. Thank you for all your help!Beth 84 (talk) 17:35, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

Hi, "main article space" means.... well, you see how this page starts with "User talk"? So it's part of the "User talk" space. Other pages start with "User" or "Wikipedia" or "Template", and those are all their own spaces. Now if you look at any real article, they don't start with anything (Queen's Fire Service Medal as opposed to Wikipedia:Queen's Fire Service Medal). This is called the "main namespace" or "mainspace" since we can't very well call it the "blank space". See more at Wikipedia:Main namespace, which is part of the Wikipedia mainspace. Good luck, and try getting your article to the front page as a did you know? article when you're ready! –Schmloof (talk · contribs) 17:56, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

Per WP:RS you can use any reliable source, not just a website. It can be a book, a newspaper, professional journal, etc... I understand the difference between "one of the first" and "the first", but the links that I read did not indicate dates when either happened so the chronology is hard to establish.  7  23:23, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

• Okay, I think I've done it right so I've moved my article into the main space. I hope someone finds it helpful! Thank you to everyone that helped me.Beth 84 (talk) 00:43, 12 November 2010 (UTC)

Talkback

Hello, I replied to your request for feedback. I hope my comments/suggestions are useful, but if you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Thanks! Chevymontecarlo 19:47, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

• Thank you for reading my article!Beth 84 (talk) 01:17, 16 November 2010 (UTC)

Survey

Hi Beth!

I have put together a survey for female editors of Wikipedia (and related projects) in order to explore, in greater detail, women's experiences and roles within the Wikimedia movement. It'd be wonderful if you could participate!

It's an independent survey, done by me, as a fellow volunteer Wikimedian. It is not being done on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation. I hope you'll participate!

Just click this link to participate in this survey, via Google!

Any questions or concerns, feel free to email me or stop by my user talk page. Also, feel free to share this any other female Wikimedians you may know. It is in English, but any language Wikimedia participants are encouraged to participate. I appreciate your contributions - to the survey and to Wikipedia! Thank you! SarahStierch (talk) 03:26, 1 October 2011 (UTC)

• I'm sorry that I didn't see this until now, and it's too late.—Beth 84 (talk) 22:15, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

WikiWomen's Collaborative

WikiWomen Unite!

Hi Beth 84! Women around the world who edit and contribute to Wikipedia are coming together to celebrate each other's work, support one another, and engage new women to also join in on the empowering experience of shaping the sum of all the world's knowledge - through the WikiWomen's Collaborative. As a WikiWoman, we'd love to have you involved! You can do this by: Liking the WikiWomen's Collaborative on Facebook and share your tips, projects, and connect with other WikiWomen Join the conversation on our Twitter feed Reading and writing for our blog channel We can't wait to have you involved, and feel free to drop by our meta page (under construction) to see how else you can get involved! Can't wait to have you involved! SarahStierch (talk) 00:59, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

WikiWomen's Collaborative: Come join us (and check out our new website)!

WikiWomen - We need you!

Hi Beth 84! The WikiWomen's Collaborative is a group of women from around the world who edit Wikipedia, contribute to its sister projects, and support the mission of free knowledge. We recently updated our website, created new volunteer positions, and more! Get involved by: Visiting our website for resources, events, and more Meet other women and share your story in our profile space Participate at and "like" our Facebook group Join the conversation on our Twitter feed Reading and writing for our blog channel Volunteer to write for our blog, recruit blog writers, translate content, and co-run our Facebook and receive perks for volunteering Already participating? Take our survey and share your experience! Thanks for editing Wikipedia, and we look forward to you being a part of the Collaborative! -- EdwardsBot (talk) 01:00, 10 January 2013 (UTC)

Wikipedia:WikiProject Fire Service

Hello and good afternoon (at least it is afternoon where I am). I was looking at the Wikipedian firefighters category and noticed that you are one of the members of the Wikipedia community that lists yourself as being a firefighter. First and foremost let me say thank you for your service. While I myself am not a firefighter, I do work as a photographer with multiple local fire departments. I am honored to have firefighters as some of my closest friends.

I have been taking an active role in the Fire Service WikiProject and am trying to recruit more members to this cause. If this is something you have any interest in, please let me know? You can leave me a message on my talk page. Obviously there is zero obligation. An interest can be anything from helping out with a couple of pages in your local area to helping to overhaul major templates, and anything in between.

Once again, thank you for your service. Hope to hear from you soon. Stay safe! --Zackmann08 (talk) 17:50, 10 April 2015 (UTC)