Pensapedia talk:How to start a new article

I find it amusing that the guidelines of this resource begins with "Don't write about yourself" when in fact, the best, most accurate and most up to date information would come from those themselves. Although self serving (isn't that what the web is for?) secondhand information is usually highly inaccurate. Even public records are manipulated these days. How can anyone give an accurate portrayal of anyone else is beyond me due to the pure subjectivity of it all. I do realise that the self serving nature of an autobiography will usually leave out the 'not so bright' details about a person but we are losing dozens of very important people each year who can give the most accurate account of their lives.

I find it very strange that in these days that "negative impact seems to be taken as honest" when in fact the opposite is usually true, serving under hidden agendas. I find that when I see negativity written about a product or service, I am best served by that product or service due to the negativism being usually penned by those who are jealous, in competition with or using the power of the pen to divert positive attention away the good deeds of the subject.

Can we write with honesty about ourselves? YES! Many of us can and will do it. Many of us will do it with humble attitude as well. (Just the facts, come to mind) To paint with such a wide brush due to a very few who abuse this human quality called "to use dishonesty to discredit" places this site in the same light as those who would provide inaccurate accounts. Slap the hands before they can speak.

Some comment (without attitude please) would be welcomed.

I find this to be a valuable source but sorely lacking when it comes to those who did not take the oppurtunity to write and are now deceased and cannot correct disinformation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.183.34.193 (talk • contribs) 11:40, 13 April 2010

Thank you for your comments. We have instituted a "no autobiographical articles" policy at Pensapedia for several reasons. The main one (and the reason that it's listed first in "How to start a new article") is that we've had a good number of people who stumble onto the site and immediately create an article for themselves, regardless of notability guidelines, and fill it with all sorts of self-promotional or irrelevant information. These are what we refer to as "vanity pages," and their authors seem to have no interest in contributing to articles that don't have their own name in the title.

Obviously, there are many people in the community who are objectively notable and warrant having thorough articles written about them. If an article already exists but has insufficient or inaccurate information, anyone (including the subject) may correct it without running afoul of our policy. If an article does not yet exist, and the subject feels they meet notability requirements to start one, the best thing to do is to post information or a draft of the article at the respective discussion page (e.g. Talk:John Doe), and one of the editors will review it and post to the main article page.

The thing is, if a biographical article has been well written, objectively with non-biased information, there's really no way for me to know if it's autobiographical or not. It's only when someone posts something blatantly narcissistic that it will get deleted. I would suggest creating a username and becoming an active editor on a variety of topics. Then, if you happen to write about yourself, it will just be one of many contributions and not the only thing you're interested in contributing. Thanks for taking the time to voice your concerns, and I hope you will become a frequent contributor. — admin • talk  10:08, 14 April 2010 (CDT)