NghtLght4

June 2011

Welcome to Wikipedia. Although everyone is welcome to contribute to the encyclopedia, one or more of the external links you added to the page List of marketing research firms do not comply with our guidelines for external links and have been removed. Wikipedia is not a collection of links; nor should it be used as a platform for advertising or promotion, and doing so is contrary to the goals of this project. Because Wikipedia uses nofollow tags, external links do not alter search engine rankings. If you feel the link should be added to the article, please discuss it on the article's talk page before reinserting it. Please take a look at the welcome page to learn more about contributing constructively to this encyclopedia. Thank you. bonadea contributions talk 20:51, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

Your account has been blocked indefinitely from editing Wikipedia because it appears to be mainly intended or used for publicity and/or promotional purposes. Please read the following carefully.

Why can't I edit Wikipedia?

Your account's edits and/or username indicate that it is being used on behalf of a company, group, celebrity or other well-known individual, or organization for purposes of promotion and/or publicity. The edits may have violated one or more of our rules on spamming, which include: adding inappropriate external links, posting advertisements, and using Wikipedia for promotion. Wikipedia has many articles on companies, groups, and organizations, but such groups are generally discouraged from using Wikipedia to write about themselves. In addition, usernames like yours are disallowed under our username policy.

Am I allowed to make these edits if I change my username?

Probably not. See WP:FAQ/Organizations for a helpful list of frequently asked questions by people in your position. Also, review the conflict of interest guidance to see the kinds of limitations you would have to obey if you did want to continue editing about your company, group, or organization. If this does not fit in with your goals, then you will not be allowed to edit again. Consider using one of the many websites that allow this instead.

What can I do now?

You are still welcome to write about something other than your company or organization. If you do intend to make useful contributions on some other topic, you must convince a Wikipedia administrator that you mean it. To that end, please do the following:

• Add the text {{unblock-spamun|Your proposed new username|Your reason here}} on your user talk page.
• Replace the text "Your proposed new username" with a new username you are willing to use. See Special:Listusers to search for available usernames. Your new username will need to meet our username policy.
• Replace the text "Your reason here" with your reason to be unblocked. In this reason, you must:

• Convince us that you understand the reason for your block and that you will not repeat the edits for which you were blocked.
• Describe in general terms the contributions that you intend to make if you are unblocked.

If you believe this block was made in error, please see how to appeal a block. JohnCD (talk) 20:52, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

This user's request to be unblocked to request a change in username has been reviewed by an administrator, who accepted the request.

NghtLght4 (block log • active blocks • global blocks • autoblocks • contribs • deleted contribs • filter log • creation log • change block settings • unblock • checkuser (log))

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Requested username:

KatSA (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

Request reason:

I stupidly jumped into creating an account and making two minor edits without reading the user instructions, thus rightly resulting in my account being blocked. My previous user name was the company name just because I saw that the company I work for wasn't on a list of marketing research firms. I didn't even think twice about the user name since that is what I have used for other logins (e.g., reading AdAge articles). I wasn't trying to promote my company per se, just make the list more comprehensive. I actually added two companies: the company I work for and another company I know, which I actually added first. There were just so many that are missing from the list. I can name at least 10 off the top of my head. I promise to read the user guidelines more carefully to make sure that I abide by the rules and regulations set in place to maintain a reliable Wiki community. I further request that my user name is changed to something much more personal so as to show that I am not trying to promote the company I happen to work for. I appreciate your patience and understanding and hope that these issues can be resolved so that I may positively contribute to the Wikipedia community.

Accept reason:

Allowing username change to requested username. Please put this request in at Wikipedia:Changing username as soon as possible to avoid re-blocking. Kuru (talk) 15:55, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

(Non-admin note) Assuming you are unblocked by changing your name. I believe you should contact an administrator with your proposed additions with reasonings (if you still plan to propose them). That way you will either a) have the backing of an administrator (if they are not spam) or b) have a detailed explanation of why you cannot add them to the article. Ryan Vesey (talk) 21:36, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

Si. I would be delighted to unblock you if you can commit to avoiding the topic of your company for a few months. It's usually best to wait a bit before tackling a subject you have a conflict of interest in. I know that list looks incomplete; there are probable a hundred marketing firms I could add off the top of my head, but we're trying to keep it to notable firms to avoid simply creating a directory of external links. If you can agree to this, I'll unblock so you can change your user name. Kuru (talk) 01:19, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

I certainly would be agreeable to those terms (i.e., avoiding the topic of my company for a few months). I also agree that a laundry list of marketing research firms is in no one's best interest, although I contend that, in some respects, that has already happened as there are small firms listed while at least four of the 10 largest marketing research firms in the United States (reference: the Honomichl Top 50 Report of U.S. Marketing Research Firms) are not on this list. Internationally speaking, there are at least 40 countries that have notable, internationally recognized marketing research firms that are not listed (reference: WIN/GIA). Again, I am more than willing to not list the company that I work for or speak about it anywhere, but I hope to bring my knowledge to the table. That knowledge, in part, happens to be marketing research and marketing research firms in the United States and around the globe. I would love to have the opportunity to expand the quality content of Wikipedia for the greater good. BlackstoneGroup 02:28, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

Concur - there are a tremendous number of notable firms that could meet our notability guidelines but have not yet had an article created. What usually happens is that someone at the firm notices this absence first and walks down the same path you did. Please note that writing about your competitors can be fraught with peril as well; please make sure you use only reliable third-party sourcing. Before adding anything to that list, make sure the article is created first and that it meets the WP:CORP guidelines. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask on my talkpage and I'll respond asap. Kuru (talk) 16:00, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

Thank you for approving my request to be unblocked. I attempted to change my username, but the Web page still says that I cannot make changes because I am blocked even though my log indicates that the unblock has been approved. Do you have suggestions for a workaround so that I can change my username? As an aside, it appears that KatSA is taken so I will be changing it to NghtLght4. BlackstoneGroup 04:27, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

There was an "autoblock" on your IP (a mechanism to prevent a blocked user just creating another account and carrying on). I have cleared it, and you should be OK now. JohnCD (talk) 17:47, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

I always forget the autoblock.  :) Thanks, John. Kuru (talk) 18:52, 21 June 2011 (UTC)