User talk:Sabres7414

Siena College

First, two quibbles: I didn't delete the article; and new posts go to the bottom, not the top, of a talk page.

More substantively: as I said, I merely reversed the anonymous additions (most of which were verbatim from Siena's own website); the subject's own website is notoriously not a reliable source of unbiased information. If you wish to make substantive changes like this, they need to be sourced to impartial third-party sources. Take a look at the language which was inserted: it belongs in a college catalog, not an encyclopedic entry. Look at the Siena articles in places like Britannica; look at Wikipedia articles about rival and peer schools (but in this case, remember that "other articles have fluff in them" is no excuse for creating fluff). I'll be glad to help you re-do the job, more carefully and with greater adherence to our neutral point of view standard in particular. --Orange Mike | Talk 21:35, 16 February 2009 (UTC)

"Conveniently close to Interstate XX" is marketing info, not encyclopedic content. Nobody cares but the college recruiters; we are not "Your Best 100 Colleges Close to Mommy." How many Nobel Prize winners have taught at Siena? What statesmen, leaders of science and industry, and famous entertainers are graduates? What research institutions on campus have attracted attention across the globe? (Hey, no need to pretend it's Harvard; look at Coe College or Freed-Hardeman University or Mississippi University for Women to see what others have done.) --Orange Mike | Talk 00:50, 17 February 2009 (UTC)

Mike asked me to add some comments: I think I need to clarify some things:

1. The web site is a good source for some things, such as factual uncontroversial information about statistics and the history of the campus. It is not by itself a site for things such as the merits of the college.
2. But though it's the source for information, you have to rewrite everything completely,and present it in a descriptive way appropriate for someone who has heard about the college and wants some information on it, but is NOT a prospective student, or someone already enrolled. Such people would go directly to the website, which is designed for that purpose.
3. Peterson's is considered a reasonably reliable source, but its material is based on information the college sends it.
4. appropriate content includes a list of "Siena College people" -- alumni and faculty who already have Wikipedia articles.
5. A good way to find out what has been published about the college is to ask for help from a librarian there. They all know bout Wikipedia , so you can tell them why you are asking.

You will notice I have a somewhat different take on it than Mike, which is why he asked me to comment. I as well as he will keep track of the article. DGG (talk) 01:51, 17 February 2009 (UTC)