I was doing some research for Games of our Lives at Wikipedia, and I took a look at my entry
while I was there. I’m glad that the days of idiot vandalism are over,
but I also see that the information there is incredibly incomplete, and
there’s a completely incorrect assertion about my relationship with PokerStars
(I don’t provide "advertising services" for them, I’m on Team PokerStars. Big difference.) I would be happy to write up a more complete
biography, including some as-yet-unpublished information about growing
up, my early years as an actor, and some of the things I’ve done in the
last five or six years that aren’t there.
I’m not interested in "spinning" anything, just filling in more
information to make it a more useful and complete entry. I know that
editing one’s own Wikipedia page is frowned upon, but if it’s just
filling in facts, that’s okay, right? Anyone have any thoughts or
comments?
In a related story, someone finally fixed my entry at the imdb. Thank you, unknown editor!
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Write the bio. Send it to some of the Wiki folks, or post it to the discussion page about your entry or something. Not a huge deal. Or hell, edit your entry. “Frowned upon” doesn’t mean “forbidden.”
Yet.
I don’t think.
On the other hand, please don’t take this the wrong way, but when you write about yourself, I don’t think you can help but spin it a bit. Mostly, you won’t even realize you’re doing it.
And by “you” I mean, of course, “most people,” and not “you” personally, although “you” personally being part of “most people,” in a certain sense, I would therefore somewhat expect this to apply to “you” as in “you.”
Or … something.
Oh never mind.
MV
Speaking as a Wikipedia administrator…
In general, people who add to their Wikipedia entries are not going to get into particular trouble. People who remove things from their Wikipedia entries get dicier, unless the material is obviously libelous or inaccurate. But ultimately, editing your own Wikipedia entry is frowned upon because it so often ends badly. If you do it sensibly, however, and don’t get yourself wrapped up in edit wars, you should be fine.
I’d be sure to post a note on the talk page after you do it explaining what you did, and to, in general, if you want something in the article removed, to post a polite request to the talk page asking someone to do it instead of doing that yourself.
Well, just ask someone to make the changes you want. That avoids the tricky situation. Hell, send it to me and I’ll do it for you.
However, as a previous poster said, correcting your own entry to remove clearly erroneous data is definitely okay. The problem becomes when people remove something truthful just because they don’t like it.
And sadly, wiki-spam still exists. That’s why you want someone reputable to make your changes.
People get (in my mind, unnecessarily) worked up about people editing their own entries on Wikipedia. Of course, Wikipedia entries should be written and edited by experts on that topic, and I would assume that the most expert of experts on the topic of a human being would be that person. So it’s pretty counteractive to have a viewpoint like that, but I’m sure there’s enough of us who do Wikipedia edits here that the entry can be fixed up pretty quickly. Hell, it might be cleaned up already.
Excellent choice of lyrics for the title of this post, by the way 🙂
If you write it, amend it to the existing entry and clearly label it as being from you. Or, so others can’t edit the information on your “behalf”, put it on a page on your site and point to it. Either way, I’d suggest labeling it as something you added and leaving the rest of the entry alone.
Go for it Wil. If you tell lies or omit anything The Smoking Gun will find out anyway. Hey, if a worldwide encyclopedia has your life wrong, it’s only fair to correct the mistakes.
Hey Wil,
To be honest I wouldn’t get too worried about it as most people dont take biographies of TV/Film personalities as the full truth anyway (they are mostly only what is in the public domain and rarely give a complete picture of a person). Having said all that it would probably bug me to have something inaccurate said about me so if you feel that you’ve been strongly misrepresentated, then I’d go and ask for it to be changed, otherwise I would let sleeping dogs lie.
Just my two cents.
Laterz,
Noel
After about 30 more posts you’ll have the entire lyrics to REM’s “Fall On Me” in here.
Wil, were you in Pleasentville or were my drunken eyes seeing what they wanted to see? I could IMDB this…sorry to bug ya!
Mr. Wheaton, I’d be happy to edit your Wiki page if nobody else does.
Mr. Wheaton,
I believe that every person should be free to say things in their own words. To detract from this form of self expression is not conducive to good business. People WANT to hear it from your perspective because heck we do not know what kind of garbage the media, rumour mills, and the production companies, are feeding us. I say write it and we will read and be happy you did!!
Speaking of IMDB… I’d like to think I keep up with your blog fairly well, and it seems to me you’ve neglected to mention being in a movie called “Americanizing Shelly” – is that a misprint, or did I miss something here?
Finally! First time in MONTHS that I have been able to post a comment! I was having SUCH a problem!!!
Wil:
Write it up the way it should be and then send it to them. I bet they post as written.
Scott T
A clarification and reply to some of the points raised here.
Please do not “send it to us” in any way – almost all of the administrators are busy, and there is no centralized administrative body that would look at it and approve it. Just post it.
And please do not have somebody edit the page for you. That is no different from doing it yourself, and really, is worse. We’d much rather you post it yourself so that you can be accountable for content you wrote and wanted added.
Again, just add it. If you’re sane and sensible about it, nothing bad will happen.
To be honest I did not know that you were in the following:
The Day Lincoln Was Shot (1998) (TV) …. Robert Todd Lincoln
I am going to have to watch my copy tonight….yes I have a copy being a CW geek that I am.
Bill Woodhams
billyhome.ath.cx
And by the time I read the entry, it was already fixed.
Dontcha just love living in the future?
~j
Write it up, email it to me, I’ll post it. And by “me”, I mean “someone who is willing to post it for you”. And I’m willing, but so are half a hundred other folks, I’m sure.
–Ian
Finally! First time in MONTHS that I have been able to post a comment! I was having SUCH a problem!!!
Wil:
Write it up the way it should be and then send it to them. I bet they post as written.
Scott T
Finally! First time in MONTHS that I have been able to post a comment! I was having SUCH a problem!!!
Wil:
Write it up the way it should be and then send it to them. I bet they post as written.
Scott T
Finally! First time in MONTHS that I have been able to post a comment! I was having SUCH a problem!!!
Wil:
Write it up the way it should be and then send it to them. I bet they post as written.
Scott T
I don’t have an entry on Wikipedia myself (and that’s probably a good thing), but I did write the entry for Electric Minds, which I’m heavily involved with. Originally, I didn’t use my own name in the entry text, but one of EMinds’ users edited the entry and wrote me in, thinking I should have given myself credit. Though I wouldn’t have claimed it for myself in the first place, I let the edit stand.
I guess, for me, there’s no big deal involved either way, though I was trying extra hard to keep from stepping on the sensibilities of more experienced Wikipedians. And, if you needed me to edit anything in your entry for you, I’d do it and put my name to the edit…but it sounds like you’ve got no shortage of volunteers anyhow.
Love the REM – ’tis my favorite song of theirs. That, or Perfect Circle.
Looking at imdb, I have to say about the new film you’re working on – just how cool is it that you’re working on an Alan Smithee Production???
It’s cool.