It’s about time I wrote another post, although I can’t say I have over much to write about. I did manage to make it through the week I was so anxious about, and Mae and I did manage, despite everything, to find time to spend together. It wasn’t enough, but it got us through the week. 
We SURVIVED!!!
I have been very ill, which has got me even more behind than usual at work. Da seems pretty lenient, all things considered, and knows that between being ill, Mae, my boys and the dogs and horses, I have my plate not just full, but overflowing, and just can’t take anymore. I wish I had superman qualities, but… I don’t.
My new bitch pup, Ivy, who was incidentally, named after Ivy Tamwood in The Hollows Series, is growing a bit. This pleases me. She has also not had as much activities or exercise as is ideal for her, and I’m afraid she is becoming a bit restless.
Not much else of note is going on. When I feel well enough, and not tired enough, I read/delete/forward/respond to a couple of emails depending on what should be done with them. These periods are not very often, I’m afraid, but at least Da is giving me some lattitude.
Speaking of Da, we came across a rather interesting problem and are in a muddle as to what to do about it.
A Bit of Background
Mae and I were talking one day and she told me that something on Wikipedia concerning Da had his name wrong. I glanced at it and sure enough, his name was written incorrectly. I did not have an account at the time, and did not want my IP address showing up to anyone who might fancy to look at the page’s edit history, so I asked a friend to change it for me. This friend did as I asked.
Not that much later, when I checked to see if the changes were done as my friend said, I saw that it had apparently not been changed. I looked at the edit history of the page and saw that yes, my friend apparently had changed it. Someone else had changed it back.
This person explained that a certain book states the *incorrect* name as my Da’s legal name. Well, I know that to be false, (the name, not the book), as I have my Da’s birth certificate. Da also had a copy of the book, and although he had discussed things for years in depth with the author, he had not read *the whole* manuscript. Da is *very* busy, and not a young man, and he hadn’t looked at the book for at least a year.
Assuming that this person was only acting upon what he had read, and not out of maliciousness, for I truly don’t feel that was his intent, we looked at the book in question. The book does indeed say what the person says it says. However, the book is *incorrect*. We have contacted the author who assured us that yes, he does indeed know Da’s name and that it has got to be an error that came about somewhere along the system. A few bad editor jokes later, and he promised to go about getting the situation rectified. Still, that leaves us in a bit of a muddle.
I feel that the situation should be put to rights. Da says he also feels the same way, but “really, what does it matter?”.
I know WP has strict guidelines regarding biographies of living persons. I also know that if I had been the one writing/editing the article, I would have believed that a verifiable, published book was a verified source and would feel no qualms about removing, what in my mind, would be an unverified source. I have Da’s birth cert, as I said. That same birth cert can be researched by anyone, for it is part of the public record. Should I leave the matter lie or bring it to the attention of the community? If I decide to bring it to the attention of the community, how should I go about doing so? I don’t want to upset anyone. I don’t want to hurt the editor’s feelings, for it is apparent that he/she does a top class job contributing! Although I am not new to writing for WP, I am new to holding an account, and therefore, will be considered new by most users. I certainly don’t want to cause a sensation, but a part of me, a large part of me, wants to see the matter put to rights. I have done nothing, and will do nothing, until my heart and my head are in agreement. That day may never come.
Speaking of Wikipedia. As I said, I have created an account, and am having great fun contributing. I can’t wait to learn and get more involved!
Tags: Biographies, editing, Wikipedia
