TwoRaindrops
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Happy editing! Cheers, 𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 08:05, 3 March 2023 (UTC)
MKFM
editSadly, local news reporting is no longer what it used to be, given the changes in world economics that have destroyed its economic basis. So many outlets, like MKFM and some Citizen stories, are just outlets for press releases. Generally a good clue is whether the story has a reporter's byline: if it is unattributed or says something like "Newsdesk", then it is most likely a press release. The Citizen seems to have only three journalists now, so even that may need to be checked a bit carefully. Usually the giveaway is the self-promotion. Since Wikipedia requires all statements to be supported by a wikipedia:reliable source, this makes our lives a bit difficult. The same is true all over the world. We have the added problem that some outlets just make stuff up for clickbait, so we have to have a blocklist of dubious sources, for example see WP:Daily Mail.
We can still cite MKFM but we use a different citation format, {{cite press release}}. So we might write it as something like:
- cite press release |title=We are world class |publisher=Simply the best, plc |via=MKFM |date=1 March 2023 |url=https://www.mkfm.com/business/We_are_world_class
which (after wrapping in curly brackets will produce
- "We are world class" (Press release). Simply the best, plc. 1 March 2023 – via MKFM.
Although it is a bit of a minefield at times, please don't let it trouble you too much as these things are easy to fix. Nobody is going to question you for making an honest mistake, otherwise I'd have been banned years ago 
. By the way, my compliments for your properly formatted citation, very few new editors manage that on their first attempt.
Welcome again to Wikipedia. 𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 10:34, 3 March 2023 (UTC)
- JMF - first off, please let me say: thank you for being so kind.
- Honestly, I was... unsure whether it was still within that boundary of an "acceptable" source. Instinctively, my head said "ehh... MKFM? You sure about this?" But I decided on balance to just try it and see, and hope that other editors wouldn't be too harsh on me if they disagreed. (And clearly I got lucky.)
- I totally agree with your points! And I really do appreciate you introducing me to the press release citation, I was in truth unaware of it, but it makes a lot of sense. Something like the Daily Mail - totally, I wouldn't even have considered using that! Local news has always confused me a little bit more, particularly the Citizen which seems to bee
- In the past, I've often noticed things on Wikipedia and wanted to correct them, but I've just been so very overwhelmed by the process and decided to leave it well alone. It does matter to me that if I make a change, it does actually add value and furthermore, that it is done in the right way. I spent a ridiculous amount of time with edit mode in one tab, several pages of guidelines in other tabs, other articles on MK trying to get a feel for what was acceptable... but in the end, decided to bite the bullet and submit.
- I want to thank you for your kind welcome, for taking the time to explain this so clearly, and for your kind comments. It truly was an honest mistake, and I am more than happy to learn from it. Milton Keynes is my hometown and, sad as it might sound, there's a strange sense of pride perhaps in being able to contribute to these pages.
- Wishing you a happy start to another week! TwoRaindrops (talk) 00:23, 6 March 2023 (UTC)
- Almost all of us started by seeing just one thing that was too silly and just not being able to let it go. It all goes downhill from here
. Please don't worry about making mistakes, no-one will complain about honest errors or misunderstandings. As you saw, they are easy to rectify. Very few people indeed have learnt the Wikipedia:Manual of Style off by heart but if in doubt about how something should be expressed, it is a good place to start. Or just cut the corner and ask at the WP:Teahouse. - Another MK editor is definitely welcome. Once you get settled, would you add some of the articles in category:Milton Keynes to your wp:watchlist, please, so that we can pick up and revert vandalism asap. Fortunately we don't get a lot nowadays.
- Finally, because I welcomed you, your talk page goes on my watchlist automatically for a month. After that, I won't see anything here unless you explicitly ask. If you want to ask me about anything (feel free!) then you will need to leave a message for me at user talk:John Maynard Friedman. --𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 11:24, 6 March 2023 (UTC)
- Almost all of us started by seeing just one thing that was too silly and just not being able to let it go. It all goes downhill from here
