User talk:Shafiur2020

May 2025

Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia. We appreciate your contributions; however, it appears you may have written a Wikipedia article, or a draft for a Wikipedia article, about yourself. Creating an autobiography is strongly discouraged – please see our guideline on writing autobiographies. If you create such an article, it may be deleted. If what you have done in life is genuinely notable and can be verified according to our policy for articles about living people, someone else will probably create an article about you sooner or later (see Notable people who have edited Wikipedia). If you wish to add to or change an existing article about yourself, you are welcome to propose the changes by visiting the article's talk page. Please understand that this is an encyclopedia and not a personal web space or social networking site. If your article has already been deleted, please see: Why was the page I created deleted?, and if you feel the deletion was an error, please discuss this with the deleting administrator. Thank you. 331dot (talk) 14:01, 22 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for the message. I understand Wikipedia's strong discouragement of autobiographies and have no intention of publishing an article about myself directly.

I'm currently drafting a potential article **in my sandbox only**, and have clearly disclosed my COI on the draft's Talk page. My intention is to absolutely follow process — either via Articles for Creation (AfC) or through review by uninvolved editors.

The draft includes independent, in-depth coverage in reliable sources (The Guardian, BBC, CNN, CPJ, The Diplomat, Amnesty UK, Danwatch, etc.), and I’m happy to let others determine if it meets WP:GNG or WP:CREATIVE.

If you have any specific suggestions on improving the draft or sourcing, I’d welcome your advice. Thanks. Shafiur2020 (talk) 14:19, 22 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The gist of the above message is that it is unwise for you to attempt to do this at all, even if you do so in the proper manner(which AfC would be). The fundamental issue with autobiographies is that they usually consist of what the person wants us to know about themselves, when instead Wikipedia is for summarizing what independent reliable sources say about people that meet our criteria. It is usually very, very difficult for people to set aside what they know about themselves and only write based on what others say about them. I have never personally seen someone succeed in writing an autobiography in my many years here, though it probably has; the point is that it is very rare. Are you the rare person who can do it? Maybe, but the odds are against it. I guess the main point here is- if you want to proceed anyway, be prepared for failure.

Also know that there are very good reasons to not want an article about yourself here. Any information about you, good or bad, can be in an article about you as long as it appears in an independent source and is not defamatory. An article about you can be vandalized with false information that, even if removed, will possibly be seen by others.

Regarding the draft itself, you don't need to say what information isn't published about you- so the Early life section can just be removed. In general, the draft just documents your work and doesn't say what is important about you/your work. CNN may have used your work, but unless they published why they decided to use your work and how it influenced their reporting, that doesn't contribute to notability. 331dot (talk) 15:04, 22 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks again for engaging with this. I appreciate your long experience and the general concerns about autobiographies — I share many of them, which is why I've disclosed my COI openly and am asking for independent review before any draft goes anywhere near mainspace.

On the question of the CNN article: it highlights how my footage and interviews with survivors helped reconstruct what CNN calls “one of the worst atrocities of the ethnic cleansing campaign.” This was not incidental or decorative use. CNN integrated my investigative work in substance: it describes how I collected testimonies from 30 survivors over two months and presents those findings alongside Amnesty International’s conclusions, challenging Myanmar’s official narrative. That level of integration represents significant reliance on my field reporting. CNN’s decision to centre survivors I interviewed, and to use my documentation as the narrative backbone, shaped global understanding of the Tula Toli massacre. This goes well beyond inclusion — it’s a case of independent, international validation of my work as a documentary journalist. The footage was also part of a BBC World Service Newshour broadcast in which I presented evidence suggesting the killings were pre-planned. This is more than passing mention — it's primary integration of my work into significant international reporting.

That said, I take your point about the prose needing to do more than just list accomplishments. I’ll work on revising the text to better explain *why* these sources engaged with my work — not just *that* they did.

And yes — I understand the risks of having an article. I’m proceeding cautiously, not to self-promote, but to ensure accuracy, transparency, and policy alignment should a page eventually be created.

Thanks again for your time and guidance. Cheers

~~~~ Shafiur2020 (talk) 16:44, 22 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

To clarify, I'm not saying you/your work aren't important, only that you need sources that say why it's important. 331dot (talk) 18:36, 22 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the clarification — and I completely understand the distinction you're making. I'm now working on restructuring the draft to highlight not just coverage of my work, but how that coverage (e.g. CNN, BBC World Service, CPJ, PEN) explains its significance or impact. I really appreciate your time and guidance. Shafiur2020 (talk) 20:27, 22 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

AfC notification: User:Shafiur2020/sandbox has a new comment

I've left a comment on your Articles for Creation submission, which can be viewed at User:Shafiur2020/sandbox. Thanks! Theroadislong (talk) 20:28, 22 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]