User talk:Heyhowdy
Hi there.
The article currently has nothing that shows why the subject - Collings Guitars - is "notable".
For inclusion, a subject needs "significant coverage in independent reliable sources" - that means, we need to see newspaper articles about it, or information in books. See WP:VRS.
All the information needs references - it has to be verifiable.
That means, the reader should be able to check the facts.
None of the 'History' has references. It says, Bill Collings dropped out of medical school and moved from Ohio to Texas in the mid 1970’s - how can we check that? Has this fact appeared in a newspaper? What happens if another person edits it, and changes the information - how can we tell which is correct?
Any information that cannot be referenced should be removed.
The information about the '290' model says it is named after a highway, and has a reference to a magazine; however, as far as I can see, the magazine does not contain that fact. We cannot publish original research.
The info on "Notable Users" uses a blog as a reference, and that is not a reliable source.
In addition, if you are involved with the company, then you have a conflict of interest - please see the business FAQ. Chzz ► 21:48, 27 January 2011 (UTC)
Thanks Chzz for the input - I'm still feeling my way along. I've added a few more refs, but yes, most of this is from their website. I need to get in there with a sand-blaster.
I think the best argument for notability is the fact that Collings Guitars and Bill Collings are both referenced repeatedly in wikipedia. See Steel-string_acoustic_guitar, Set-in_neck, Lyle_Lovett, List_of_guitar-related_topics, List_of_ukulele_manufacturers. In addition, Collings guitars is a major guitar manufacturer (http://www.acousticguitars.us/), and their guitars are featured regularly in Vintage Guitar, Premier Guitar, Guitarist Magazine, Guitar Buyer Magazine, and acoustic guitar magazine.
I assume this isn't the place the argue notability - where should I be doing that?
And, I DO have a conflict of interest - some of my friends work there. I'd hate for the fact that I jumped the gun on this to prevent an article on Collings - having information about them on wikipedia is a reasonable expectation, I'm certainly not the first to try to look them up.
You've already taken the time to respond to the article, which I appreciate - where should I go from here?