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Latest comment: 6 years ago4 comments2 people in discussion
The entry for my father, Bernard Gersten has -- legitimately -- been flagged for a Close Connection.
While it's true that I posted the article, I did not edit it. It was written and researched by Eric Bogosian, a third party writer. Is there anything I can do to help provide proof of this, or is there a way to seek out others to help contribute to editing the article to boost its status? Thank you for advising, I'm new to Wikipedia, obviously JCGersten (talk) 03:41, 20 June 2018 (UTC)Reply
@JCGersten: To be honest, I don't find the article that bad. Sure, it's overwhelmingly positive but I have no reason to think that there's really another side to that story. Still, the tone could use some work. For instance, "one of the primary movers and shakers" feels hyperbolic. And do we really care that he was voted best actor in his high school class? Little adjustments like that would be welcome. Another big problem (probably the biggest actually) is that the most used reference is an unpublished autobiography. That's a double whammy! In general, autobiographies should be used sparingly since their objectivity can be questioned and content from unpublished or otherwise inaccessible books is just unverifiable. I'm willing to assist if you want to work on the article. Pichpich (talk) 22:23, 24 June 2018 (UTC)Reply
@Pichpich: Thank you so much for your response. It's very helpful, and I'd like to ask for your assistance. I agree with you that the autobiography is (naturally) the biggest flag. It was the easiest thing for me to give Eric Bogosian, but I didn't think about the Wikipedia standards when I did that. There is an aural biography that was published by a foundation and is in the stacks at the NY Public Library. I'm sure I could use that in citations instead if that was more appropriate. Anyway, is there a way to contact you to seek your assistance? Thank you again.JCGersten (talk) 01:41, 25 June 2018 (UTC)Reply
@JCGersten: I've made a pass through the article making small improvements here and there. I think the tone is acceptable now and I don't see any major POV problems. I've added a couple of {{cn}} tags and a {{clarify}} tag (what's a PSM?). The fundamental problem of the unpublished biography remains though and I can't really help you with that. Another improvement I suggest is to clarify Gersten's role in the fifteen or so productions listed at the end as Tony Award winners. Pichpich (talk) 19:46, 25 June 2018 (UTC)Reply
