Zhao Mu-Yun

Welcome!

Hello, Zhao Mu-Yun, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few links to pages you might find helpful:

• Introduction to Wikipedia
• The five pillars of Wikipedia
• How to edit a page and How to develop articles
• How to create your first article
• Simplified Manual of Style

Please remember to sign your messages on talk pages by typing 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! JohnCD (talk) 10:36, 28 September 2013 (UTC)

Leonid Afremov

I will reply to your message later today. JohnCD (talk) 10:36, 28 September 2013 (UTC)

If you wish to make an article about Afremov you are welcome. Some advice:

The first thing to make clear, which in my opinion Wikipedia does not do enough to make clear to new users, is that this is not a "notice-board" site like Myspace or Facebook for people (or organizations) to "tell the world" about themselves. It is a project to build an encyclopedia, which is something quite different. "Anyone can edit" means anyone who wants to help with the encyclopedia; it does not mean that anyone can put in whatever they like. The rules and standards for content are quite strict, and if Wikipedia is a more valuable resource than (say) Myspace, it is only because it has standards and rules on notability, verifiability and conflict of interest.

Since that is not explained to new users, all too many of them think this is an opportunity for free self-promotion, and a great deal of effort has to be expended in keeping that out. If you are employed by Afremov, or connected with him or with galleries selling his work, or are editing at his request, please read the Wikipedia:Plain and simple conflict of interest guide. Even if you are not, it is worth reading.

As you are a new editor it would in any case be best to make a draft article in your "user space". To do that, go to Help:Userspace draft and fill in the title. That will make a draft page for you where you can develop the article, with a link to useful advice and a "Submit" button to send it, when it is ready, to WP:Articles for creation, where an experienced user will look at it and either accept it or give you feedback.

Before you start, read WP:Your first article and WP:Writing better articles.

Wikipedia's inclusion criterion is called Wikipedia:Notability and is not a matter of opinion but has to be demonstrated by showing "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject." Significant means more than just listing-type mentions; reliable excludes Myspace, Facebook, blogs, places where anyone can post anything; independent excludes the subject's own website, affiliated ones like galleries selling his work, and anything based on press releases. The test is, have people not connected with the subject thought him significant enough to write substantial comment about? For more detail see WP:Notability (summary) and WP:ARTIST.

You should also be aware of the Wikipedia:Verifiability policy, summarised as "any material challenged or likely to be challenged must be attributed to a reliable, published source." Remember that when making any claims.

Do not copy material from Afremov's website, or indeed from anywhere: first, it will be deleted for copyright reasons (read Wikipedia:Copy-paste); and second, even if a formal copyright release were made, material written for other purposes almost always has a promotional tone unsuitable for an encyclopedia. Write in your own words.

When you write, be extremely careful to maintain a WP:Neutral point of view. You are not writing for Afremov, you are writing for Wikipedia about him. If your article seems to be trying to "sell" him or his work, or to persuade the reader how good he is, it will not be accepted. Avoid glowing adjectives. For instance, you wrote that "These lights and colors in his paintings are totally magical", but your article should not say that, because it is your opinion, and you are not a "reliable published source". An encyclopedia article should have no opinions, only plain facts, neutrally expressed and cited to reliable sources. The reader should have no idea what the author's personal opinion is.

By now you are thinking "This is much harder than I thought!" I have gone into all this at length not because I wish to discourage you, but to help you understand what is involved, and to avoid the common situation where a new contributor expends a lot of time and energy on articles which get deleted. If you decide to go ahead, you will find many people willing to advise and assist you. There is a WP:Tutorial and a WP:New contributors' help page, and you can also ask for help by putting {{helpme}} (two curly brackets each side) at the bottom of your talk page with your question below it.

Regards, JohnCD (talk) 17:41, 28 September 2013 (UTC)