User talk:Norbert2000

Welcome!

Hello, Norbert2000, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Again, welcome! Robdurbar 22:31, 20 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Please do not add commercial links (or links to your own private websites) to Wikipedia. Wikipedia is not a vehicle for advertising or a mere collection of external links. You are, however, encouraged to add content instead of links to the encyclopedia. See the welcome page to learn more. Thanks. -- GraemeL ^(talk) 21:52, 23 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Please stop. If you continue to use Wikipedia for advertising, you will be blocked from editing. -- GraemeL ^(talk) 21:55, 23 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This is your last warning. The next time you insert a spam link, you will be blocked from editing Wikipedia. -- GraemeL ^(talk) 21:57, 23 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You have been temporarily blocked from editing Wikipedia for continuing to add spam links. If you wish to make useful contributions, you are welcome to come back after the block expires.

-- GraemeL ^(talk) 22:00, 23 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Graham I've only just noticed you've blocked me. I didn't realise I was doing anything wrong. I've put a few links in before, and this never occurred. I was putting in links that are relevant to the pages I was looking at. I realise that adding several links at the same time may appear suspicious to you, but I'm only linking to good content.

What do I do about being unblocked. Thanks Chris.

Step 1: check your block log. My contributions, and the 'block log' link.

Step 2: check the global block log. Special:Ipblocklist

Step 3: wait for the request to unblock to work (usuallt about 30-40 minutes)

-- ∞Wirelain 22:59, 23 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I also spoose you could request an {{unblock}} but you'd have to state your case well. -- ∞Wirelain 23:18, 23 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Since you did not see the warnings, I have unblocked you. However, all of your edits have been adding external links to a single site. This is considered spamming, so please do not add any more external links, or I will have to block you again. --GraemeL ^(talk) 23:42, 23 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Graeme,

Can you just clear something up. I agree that adding a bunch of links at once appears like spam. But am I not allowed to link out to relevant sources? The pages I linked to are all content rich and well researched. Surely a page like this has value to a reader? http://www.football-england.com/john_barnes.html

Does this mean I can't place any links in future? There are some subjects I wish to write upon which have no coverage by Wikipedia - If I write a new article, can I place a link to a relevant source?

Also, Some of the pages I placed links on already had links out to other similar sites, yet they have not been removed.

Quote: Wikipedia is not a web directory; no page should consist solely of a collection of external links. Wikipedia always prefers internal links over external links. However, adding a certain number of relevant external links is of valuable service to our readers.

Regards, Chris.

I do appreciate that it was not your intention to spam, but all of your edits were adding links to a single site, and that is perceived as spamming.

No, you are not prohibited from adding external links in the future, but please balance them with useful contributions and don't make all of the links you add point to a single site. Adding external references to any articles that you may write to ensure that information is verifiable is encouraged. However, the site you were linking to may not be considered a reliable source.

We have around 1 million articles and stopping new spam is a big enough job already without attempting to go through every article and clean out links that were spammed. I do sometimes visit random articles and clean up the links.

Yes, external links are allowed, but that needs to be balanced against the guidelines at WP:SPAM and WP:EL.

I do hope that you continue to contribute. Don't hesitate to contact me on my talk page if you have any more questions. --GraemeL ^(talk) 10:49, 24 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]