Know4Free

December 2018

Hello, I'm Kirbanzo. I noticed that you added or changed content in an article, Shimer College, but you didn't provide a reliable source. It's been removed and archived in the page history for now, but if you'd like to include a citation and re-add it, please do so. If you need guidance on referencing, please see the referencing for beginners tutorial, or if you think I made a mistake, you can leave me a message on my talk page. Thank you. Kirbanzo (talk) 20:48, 18 December 2018 (UTC)

Welcome!

Hello, Know4Free, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions.

I noticed that one of the first articles you edited was Shimer College, which appears to be dealing with a topic with which you may have a conflict of interest. In other words, you may find it difficult to write about that topic in a neutral and objective way, because you are, work for, or represent, the subject of that article. Your recent contributions may have already been undone for this very reason.

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I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your messages on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically insert your username and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or ask your question on this page and then place {{Help me}} before the question. Again, welcome! -- Marchjuly (talk) 00:47, 19 December 2018 (UTC)

Shimer College

I replied to your message in the Teahouse but I think I forgot to put a talkback ping so perhaps you haven't seen it (I used to help people in the Teahouse a lot but it's been a while). I found some articles that document that Shimer College "lives on" at North Central college, especially a Reader article (I put the link to that article in my reply to your Teahouse question). I even made some changes to the tense of the Shimer article and added the Reader article as a reference but then it was reverted by another editor named Kirbano. I agree with you but it looks like I have two editors disagreeing with me and I'm not sure why to be honest. I think what it comes down to is does Shimer still have a distinct identity or is it now just a department at North Central? My impression is it still has a distinct identity (from the Reader article). I used the analogy of the Haas School of Business at my alma matter Berkeley. The Haas School of Business is really just the business department at Berkeley but it has it's own identity for historical reasons and hence rates its own Wikipedia page. I don't typically edit articles on schools though, I edit articles on topics such as computer science, logic, and philosophy so since there seem to be two editors disagreeing with me I'm not sure what to do. If you have enough Wikipedia skill, I think what needs to be done is to rewrite the article to make it clear from the very start that it's now part of North Central but it is still called Shimer (assuming that is the case). The more evidence you have that that is the case the better. Keep in mind that unfortunately your personal knowledge doesn't count. I know that's frustrating. But I think the Reader article gives that impression. Also, if there is a current web site for Shimer college describing how its still open and now a part of North Central that would count. Since you seem to be an editor I think it might be better for you to make the changes and let me support you, to be honest this isn't something I intended putting a lot of work into, I thought when I found that Reader article that was that but at the same time I honestly feel that writing the article as if the school is still open is the correct thing to do. Let me know what you think, you can reply here and I'll see it or you can reply on my talk page or on the talk page of the article, there is a section at the very end of the article talk page where I posted my position and another editor has replied with a contrary position. --MadScientistX11 (talk) 15:43, 19 December 2018 (UTC)

I did some more looking and found a press release from North Central college saying that it had acquired Shimmer College: https://www.shimer.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/North_Central_College_successfully_acquires_Shimer_College.pdf I found a place on the North Central web site called the Shimer Great Books program: https://www.northcentralcollege.edu/majors#&tids%5B%5D=749 I think the proper thing to do is to rework the article so it is now titled "Shimer Great Books Program" or whatever the proper name within North Central college is. This can be done and redirects can be set up so that Shimmer college still points to that article. I think it's a fairly small amount of work but a little more than just changing the tense in the article. If you feel comfortable doing this I could help you and support you, that would be my preference. --MadScientistX11 (talk) 18:46, 19 December 2018 (UTC)

One last point: I see your concern because when I do a Google search for Shirmer the first thing that comes up is the Wikipedia page that says it's closed. But as I've thought about it I also see the point of the other editors that simply saying Shrimer college still exists isn't accurate. When I go to shirmer.edu I just get a page that points to the press release and info about how to get transcripts, etc. So I think the correct thing to do is what I described above, rename the existing article and keep a redirect. That way people will still get directed toward that article but it can give them the full information that the college still exists as a program at North Central. --MadScientistX11 (talk) 18:53, 19 December 2018 (UTC)