Rinageorgia

Wikipedia and copyright

Hello Rinageorgia! Your additions to Betty Shamieh have been removed in whole or in part, as they appear to have added copyrighted content without evidence that the source material is in the public domain or has been released by its owner or legal agent under a suitably free and compatible copyright license. (To request such a release, see Wikipedia:Requesting copyright permission.) While we appreciate your contributions to Wikipedia, it's important to understand and adhere to guidelines about using information from sources to prevent copyright and plagiarism issues. Here are the key points:

• Limited quotation: You may only copy or translate a small portion of a source. Any direct quotations must be enclosed in double quotation marks (") and properly cited using an inline citation. More information is available on the non-free content page. To learn how to cite a source, see Help:Referencing for beginners.
• Paraphrasing: Beyond limited quotations, you are required to put all information in your own words. Following the source's wording too closely can lead to copyright issues and is not permitted; see Wikipedia:Close paraphrasing. Even when paraphrasing, you must still cite your sources as appropriate.
• Image use guidelines: In most scenarios, only freely licensed or public domain images may be used and these should be uploaded to our sister project, Wikimedia Commons. In some scenarios, non-freely copyrighted content can be used if they meet all ten of our non-free content criteria; Wikipedia:Plain and simple non-free content guide may help with determining a file's eligibility.
• Copyrighted material donation: If you hold the copyright to the content you want to copy, or are a legally designated agent, you may be able to license the text for publication here. Please see Wikipedia:Donating copyrighted materials.
• Copying and translation within Wikipedia: Wikipedia articles can be copied or translated, however they must have proper attribution in accordance with Wikipedia:Copying within Wikipedia. For translation, see Help:Translation § License requirements.

It's very important that contributors understand and follow these practices. Persistent failure to comply may result in being blocked from editing. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please ask them here on this page, or leave a message on my talk page. Thank you. Tacyarg (talk) 12:10, 12 September 2024 (UTC)

Hi Tacyarg,

I got explicit permission from Betty Shamieh to use her descriptions of her plays and her new novel and only quoted play reviews that I could also cite as in line citations. The quotations were in quotation marks. I am confused as to why everything I did is gone, even with the "explanation" above.

Best,

Marina Rinageorgia (talk) 09:53, 14 September 2024 (UTC)

Hi, if you know, work for or represent Betty Shamieh, please don't edit the article about her. I will post the conflict of interest guidance below. Tacyarg (talk) 11:36, 14 September 2024 (UTC)

Hi, I do not, I just reached out to make sure that I was allowed to use the descriptions on her website. 188.161.231.209 (talk) 13:41, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

Managing a conflict of interest

Hello, Rinageorgia. We welcome your contributions, but if you have an external relationship with the people, places or things you have written about on the page Betty Shamieh, you may have a conflict of interest (COI). Editors with a conflict of interest may be unduly influenced by their connection to the topic. See the conflict of interest guideline and FAQ for article subjects for more information. We ask that you:

• avoid editing or creating articles about yourself, your family, friends, colleagues, company, organization, clients, or competitors;
• propose changes on the talk pages of affected articles (you can use the {{edit COI}} template)—don't forget to give details of reliable sources supporting your suggestions;
• disclose your conflict of interest when discussing affected articles (see Wikipedia:Conflict of interest § How to disclose a COI);
• avoid linking to your organization's website in other articles (see Wikipedia:Spam § External link spamming);
• do your best to comply with Wikipedia's content policies.

In addition, you are required by the Wikimedia Foundation's terms of use to disclose your employer, client, and affiliation with respect to any contribution which forms all or part of work for which you receive, or expect to receive, compensation. See Wikipedia:Paid-contribution disclosure.

Also, editing for the purpose of advertising, publicizing, or promoting anyone or anything is not permitted. Thank you. Tacyarg (talk) 11:36, 14 September 2024 (UTC)

Hi, I understand and do not have a conflict of interest. Thank you. Rinageorgia (talk) 14:59, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

Hi,

Following on from discussions above (and the current thread at WP:COIN, here [1]) I was wondering if you could clarify the nature of your relationship to Betty Shamieh.

The timing of your extensive promotional edits to the article, in the run up to the publication of the writer’s first novel, suggests that they relate to some form of public relations activity.

Also, the fact that much of the material was lifted directly from the subject’s own website (or closely paraphrased from the same source) suggests that you are writing about subject matter with which you are not familiar, which would seem to remove the possibility that you are simply a fan.

Full disclosure on the nature of the relationship here would thus be appreciated.

Kind regards, Axad12 (talk) 08:00, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

Hello. I am a scholar of Middle Eastern theatre, meaning I am familiar with the work of Betty Shamieh and almost all playwrights of Middle Eastern theatre in the United States as that is my job. I do not have a personal relationship with her. I reached out to ask if I could use quotes from her website on the Wikipedia before I realized this was not allowed. All she said was "Yes, that's fine with me." I paraphrased the information because it is true information but also a time saving methodology. I can edit it and write from scratch if that is desired. I am a fan and I know her work well, so I can certainly write about it at length. However, there is SO much missing from her Wikipedia and last time, everything I did was deleted, so I have been worried about spending more time on the site only to have all of my hard work erased soon after.

I have the goal of making the Wikipedia pages of Middle Eastern American women writers better. There are so many pages that have very little information on them, when the writers are doing important work. Their white counterparts in American theatre have immaculate Wikipedia entries that are long and detailed. Betty's is out of date and doesn't include her most exciting work that is published. Yes, she has a book coming out soon, so that's why I started with her page, but that doesn't make the information less true. I am not trying to promote her work at all, for financial reasons for she or I (authors make very little money from books anyway and I am not affiliated with her), but rather, my research puts me in the position of knowing which Middle Eastern American authors need better Wikipedias available online. I strongly believe in the power of Wikipedia and donate money monthly to the cause. After Betty Shamieh, I plan to make Wikipedia pages for Lameece Issaq, Leila Buck, Iman Aoun, and other women writers.

I am happy to make whatever edits you suggest. I merely want the women of color writers on Wikipedia to be better represented. Clearly I am still learning how the system works, but I will learn how to do it more accurately and in a way that suits Wikipedia's desires. Rinageorgia (talk) 08:22, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

Thank you for your detailed response above.

Your goal here re: Middle Eastern American women writers is a very laudable one and I wish you well with the work.

In the short term I would advise you to acquaint yourself with the articles for other playwrights and authors to get a gist for how these articles are usually constructed. Details of their plays/works are usually fairly brief and do not generally include positive press reviews. The articles are generally about the life of the subject, rather than consisting primarily of detailed descriptions of their plays and press coverage.

In many ways, as I'm sure you'll agree, properly biographical material is actually more interesting and encyclopaedic - and providing information on the person behind the work is critical for a fuller understanding of the work itself. In that regard, expanding the coverage of these writers on Wikipedia can serve an exceptionally useful purpose - but I would urge you to consider the project through that lens rather than as a process of cataloguing a writer's works.

When embarking on a project of this nature it is always important to work out where the line is between, on the one hand, raising awareness of something, and on the other hand, telling the world how good it is. Based on feedback received thus far you'll be aware that you were a way over that line in your early edits - but that is all just part of a learning process.

Some policies which may be of assistance to you (in relation to all of the above) are as follows: WP:V, WP:RS, WP:DUE, WP:NPOV, WP:COPYVIO, WP:OR. There is also a useful essay here [2] about the inclusion of awards and accolades in articles. Here is a good essay about writing articles [3].

Kind regards and the very best of luck to you in your future endeavours. Axad12 (talk) 08:59, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

Thank you so much. I will familiarize myself with other pages and make slight edits that are encyclopedic and cited. I really appreciate your help. Rinageorgia (talk) 09:02, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

Hi, thank you for clarifying that you do not have a CoI, and for making constructive changes to the article. I have put back the template requesting revision deletion that Axad12 added - please don't remove this, it will be removed by an administrator once they have hidden the previous versions.

You're welcome to get in touch on my Talk page if you want any help or advice with creating the other pages you mention. I expect you already know about Women in Red, but if not, that is also a good resource. Thanks. Tacyarg (talk) 11:59, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

Notice of Conflict of interest noticeboard discussion

There is currently a discussion at Wikipedia:Conflict of interest/Noticeboard regarding a possible conflict of interest incident with which you may be involved. Thank you. Tacyarg (talk) 20:11, 6 November 2024 (UTC)