The Pitfalls of writing an Encyclopedia Article if you are an Ignorant Malicious Intellectual Gnome

Somebody calling themselves Steve Welton has written a wikipedia article about "Paul M. Barford". A sample:

Paul M Barford is a British born former archaeologist (*Polish- Archaeolog) who in 1986 moved to Poland and is currently living in central Warsaw. Formerly an assistant lecturer at the Institute of Archaeology, *University of Warsaw (*Polish - Uniwersytet Warszawski) and an Inspector of Ancient Monuments in the *Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland (*Polish- Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego). During his time as inspector Barford, it is believed that Paul Barford personaly inspected many of Polands Ancient Monuments.Paul Barford also wrote articles on conservation during his time inspecting *[1] Paul Barford is the author of various books, articles, Blogs,Internet forum threads and several reports on excavations in England and Poland. Paul Barford now works as a translator. Paul M Barford is interested in *Slavic Peoples ,in particular *Early Slavs and the development of Slavic tribes as they spread across central Europe and has since written a book on the subject. Education & Qualifications Currently unknown.

Good grief. As many as eight factual mistakes and three spelling mistakes in one paragraph. What kind of an "encyclopedia" is that? So if the author actually currently does not know anything about the subject's educational background, why did he put pen to paper before finishing his research? What "qualifications" does the author of the article have for writing on this subject, it is not his knowledge of Polish or what the subject has done for a start. In fact where are the date of birth and death of the subject? What was the subject doing between 1974 and 1986? Was the subject always engaged in research into the early Slavs since 1986, or was there some other field of research involved? Where's the sex scandal?

It is clear from the topics which the writer "selects" for discussion, that he is a "metal detectorist".

This in Wikipedia terminology is an "attack page" and for this reason, I doubt it will be up for long. The author seems not to take into account that not everybody reading an encyclopedia thinks that metal detecting is acceptable. His writing lacks focus.
Besides which he is deliberately and slyly misleading.

"Current interests/ Since the early 1990s Paul M Barfords main interests have been searching eBay and also artefact hunting and collecting and the market in portable antiquities and coins. Paul Barford is also an avid blogger and internet forum user."

and

Coin Collecting/ Paul Barford has a particular interest in coin collecting & *Numismatics and is a regular contributor to internet discussions regarding coins and coin collecting, especially coins offered for sale, where his insight and knowledge has proved invaluable in proving the sometimes disputed *provenance of rare coins.

This no doubt is slanderous in the circumstances, besides which the author displays ignorance, there was no eBay in "the early 1990s".

Interestingly, I found an eBay seller called "Swelton" - and there is no trace of a metal detectorist Steve Welton on the PAS database. I doubt it is his real name. Like the sly individuals who wrote to the Times falsely using my name...

It is obvious that metal detectorists are worried about some of the arguments that are being raised against the glib justifications that are offered in favour of the hobby of the expoloitation of archaeological sites merely as a source of collectables. Instead however of addressing these arguments, a whole bunch of them is merly engaged in diversive tactics of deception like this "black propaganda".

More sniping and ducking

Buffy the “middle class” blogging pie-scoffer claims

“I have been getting many messages of support but the one below was very well received by myself.. I have omitted the posters details as it is someone from outside the metal detecting community and well respected in their professional field so probably best we just see the comment. "Thank you....!, this has been well needed.......... pulling the cheesy mat from under the clay footed one.....keep it up" You know who you are- many thanks and keep checking the Blog (and emailing the Blog link within your professional community and posting on forums)

Best indeed. We would not want you revealing the name of the persistent purveyor of all those dots marking an inability to formulate complete sentences. After all hiding behind false names and sniping from behind the anonymity of the Internet is what it’s all about isn’t it? Do I respect a “professional” who cannot actually address their “professional” arguments to my face and leaves it up to “metal detecting” bloggers to do the dirty work? I'll give you three guesses “metal detectorists”.

As for posting links to Buffy's blog to their professional forums, let him by all means. Let the professionals see who Kate Clerk's review of the Portable Antiquities Scheme makes their PARTNERS.

If any professionals (including Pantomime Archaeologists) have anything to say - negative as wwell as positive - about the archaeological issues I raise about artefact hunting and personal collection, then I invite them to my other blog Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues. It's just a mouse click away from Buffy's rodential buffoonery.

Hot links and metal detected finds in museums

Steve Taylor replies to my previous post asking him to explain what he and his lawyer mean by the use of the term "copyright":

Hello Mr. Barford

You obviously are a very
knowledgeable person and seem to know everything there is to know about nothing.
Here is some information for you to digest about hot linking
and the theft of other peoples videos for your own blog.

You seem to be a collision course for self destruction
on your private war against UK detectorists.I have now instructed the various Museums I have loaned items too over a number of years, to return them, because
of your personal attracts on the hobby.Many of these museums did not have the funding to purchase these items and were loaned by myself for the public to
view.I have told them why I am now asking for the items to be returned, and I now hope to turn the archaeological community against yourself.

Regard Steve Taylor

Hotlinking, aka inline linking, is the practice of displaying a file such as an
image or flash object on a page that is stored on another site. While it has legitimate uses; often people will hotlink images without the permission of the owner of the site being referenced. Because the object is being called from the server of origin, that account is the one that wears the bandwidth expense for delivering the image for display. In the cases of unauthorized hotlinking, it's not only a copyright issue, but
bandwidth theft. It become a particularly nasty problem for sites with many photographs and original images.

Mr Taylor seems to be unaware what the term "hot linking" actually means. In my Portable Antiquities and heritage Issues blog, within a text discussing a video on Google Videos, I provided a hyperlink to the Google Video site which opened a video on that site. this is NOT "hot linking" by any stretch of the imagination. The term seems reasonably clearly explained in the text Mr Taylor cut-and-pasted to me (I am sure he sought the page owner's permission first given the general 'touchiness' of this milieu about such things). So I am puzzled why he does not understand it.

This is simply the normal time-wasting tactics employed by the detecting milieu when they have nothing substantiative to say.

As for taking "his" objects from public display as a reaction to me discussing a video he made of a detecting holiday in Suffolk on a blog, then really that simply demonstrates the depth of the public responsibility detectorists like Mr Taylor display. What were his motives in loaning them to museums in the first place - to offset criticism by archaeologists, or to make a contribution to public knowledge? I wonder if he will be contacting the landowners on whose land these things were found to explain the reasons why he is now not sharing them with the public? We still have no news whether the finds from Suffolk we saw in the video reached the PAS or local museum.

What is "copyright" in the eyes of a metal detectorist's lawyer?

On Sun, Oct 19, 2008 at 6:07 AM, Paul Barford wrote:
Your sad erotic fantasies about Mrs Barford's lingerie are neither here nor there. Despite my asking, you have not enlarged on the theme of what you think "copyright" is, thus you are unable to specify with reference to its proper definition how I allegedly "infringed copyright". Could you also enlarge please on what your copyright lawyer says about the term "host" with reference to the Internet? Thanks.

Paul Barford

Steve Taylor versus Google video

In reply to British metal detectorist Steve Taylor.

With reference to your letter "Copyright" of 11th October rec'd 20:13.

Mr Taylor, there is nothing "illegal" in me posting a link on my blog to a video which is hosted on "Googlevideo". Neither in the circumstances in which I posted that link is it a breach of "copyright". This was 'fair use' (please look it up) and under no circumstances can it be possibly conceived as any form of "theft". I did not identify it as my own work and gave the name of the author as it was cited on the Google Video webpage where I found it (where I had been pointed by a fellow "metal detectorist"). I hardly think my sending viewers to the Google Video site via a link on my blog entitles you to any form of financial "compensation". Though please do seek that legal advice on the matter. Any eventual legal decision in that regard will be of great importance to the future of the Internet, both the "Inter" part as well as the "Net" part. If you dislike the possibility that Google Video allows other people to create links to your work, then please take it up with them, not me.

Personally I think this is simply a malicious attempt to waste other people's time, but perhaps your legal advisor will benefit financially from it.

Best of luck to you. I presume you will keep us all informed of the progress of your deliberations.

In any case, the video seems to have gone.