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General notes:
'''Early Life and career'''
put ==Early life and career ==
Simon Dolan is a predominant
British
citation needed
businessmanand serial
entrepreneur
neutrality is
disputed with
business interests primarily
weasel words in the
finance industry, most notably
weasel words SJD accountancy
[1],
citation needed Easy Accountancy
[2]
citation needed and Contractor Umbrella
[3].
citation needed As of 2009, his companies are worth an estimated £50 million.
citation neededNote, links to the corp websites do not verify that he worked there
Early Life and career
Simon Dolan grew up on an estate in
Chelmsford and attended
KEGS Grammar School
[4]. His inquisitive nature led to him being asked to leave the
school at
16.(remove that, it's not encyclopaedic, not neutral, and not sourced)
Dolan’s
entrepreneurial
career kicked off colloquial, not an encylopaedic term; change to e.g. "began"
aged
13,there is no point linking to the article on '13', it does not help with understanding this article
selling free scratch cards to
children at his
Grammar school.
citation needed(I doubt that this will be sourcable?
His formative years were spent working on the
local
cheese and
egg those three links are also pointless
stall which he says, “Gave him a great
work ethic”
[5]. After trying his
luck not encyclopaedic language
as a
rock star and a quick stint selling
timeshares and
photocopiers post-
school, he finally landed himself not encyclopaedic language
an
accountancy
job. Deciding to go it alone to make a bit more
cash not encyclopaedic language
, he placed an
ad in the local paper for
£10 offering accountancy services for a
fixed fee
[6].
Dolan’s first client gave him the money he needed to place another ad in the paper, from which he gained his second client. From this initial work he built up a small practice offering accountancy services to, “ Subbies, chippies and brickies” [7].
After moving
South from
Manchester to
Hertfordshire, Dolan tried to re-create his
success in the
South. His breakthrough came when he realised that there was a real need for
specialist
accountants focusing on
contractors and
freelancers. lHe built up his
company by emphasising good old
customer service values This is not neutral; if it is to go in the article, it would have to be a direct quotation
and was the first
accountant to introduce a
money backed service guarantee[6]. In 2009,
SJD Accountancy ran a £10
million
turnover with over 10000
clients
online.the preceeding facts would need a better source, not just the word of Dolan in an interview
Dolan has consequently set up firms including Easy Accountancy
[8], Contractor Umbrella
[9] and race team Jota Sport
[10].
Business Philisophy
When it comes to
business, Dolan focuses on keeping his
staff happy and making
money(deleted; not neutral)
. He claims that you don’t need to have
fashionable
management
techniques and instead focuses on employing people with a, “Special spark”
[11].
SJD Accountancy is now 26th in the
Sunday Times Best Small Companies ratings, cited for its, “Low
stress
environment”
[12].
Other Businesses
Dolan takes a keen interest in racecar driving and consequently formed the company Jota Sport – a division of the sportscar racing outfit, Team Jota. He also takes part in the racing side of the business, driving for the team at all major events.
Through the
social networking site,
Twitter, Dolan is now looking for
investment opportunities. He’s offering
entrepreneurs and
small businesses the chance to
pitch him their idea in a
Twitter message of 140 characters
[13].struck out, because these 'facts' are not
verifiable
Chzz (
talk) 13:30, 27 August 2009 (UTC)
The above issues appear to have been addressed, I have removed the tags from this page. Bossbuild ( talk) 06:08, 4 August 2011 (UTC)
Bossbuild ( talk) 11:14, 4 August 2011 (UTC)
Apologies for the delay, I have only just got around to looking at this page again. I've researched Mr Dolan a little and found some good references. I've removed all the dead links from the page and rephrased some of the content to improve it's natural flow. I've also taken out all the content that seemed to be written from a biased point of view, there was a lot of poorly sourced information that someone neutral to Mr Dolan would not have access to. In my opinion I would say that this page now meets Wiki quality standards and I see no reason for the page to be marked for amendments. If you disagree, please do tell me where you think I have gone wrong with this edit as it took quite a long time! all the best Bossbuild ( talk) 22:59, 25 August 2011 (UTC)
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Large sections, and some high contentious ones, have been added by User:Ziggyblackstar who, in over 3 years, has only contributed to this article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.173.70.168 ( talk) 18:48, 27 October 2020 (UTC)
This is written by the subjects PR team. It should either be hugely improved or deleted. Wiki is being used for advertising. Rustygecko ( talk) 19:04, 30 October 2020 (UTC)
I meant NOT worthy of wiki Rustygecko ( talk) 19:05, 30 October 2020 (UTC)
I agree and have deleted 2 sections already: "Mandalay Estate, Mustique" section because it was written from 1st party and 2nd party sources and contained irrrelevent information and promotional material. It also had no evidence for its notability and the "keep britain free" section because it had no citations and had content already explored in the covid 19 section. Gd123lbp ( talk) 03:01, 31 October 2020 (UTC)
Dolan's PR team keep adding bad content to this article Rustygecko ( talk) what do we do? There are a few returning users that keep on doing this, can we get some administrator help? Gd123lbp ( talk) 13:01, 20 December 2020 (UTC)
This article is a joke. It's simply PR. Frankly it should be deleted rather than let it abuse wiki as is. I think somebody higher should get involved. I don't know how to do that though. Rustygecko ( talk) 20:32, 31 December 2020 (UTC)
The Companies House citations should be removed as per WP:BLPPRIMARY. No Swan So Fine ( talk) 10:34, 23 March 2021 (UTC)
This
edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request. |
This needs to go back to the revised version prior to the reinstated version which houses vandalism, misinformation, opinion and dodgy sources. The last edited version which removes these ambiguous links, personal attacks and vandalism needs to be restored in the interest of neutrality.
Having lines like 'Dolan claims' and 'Dolan believes', stating Twitter as a source of information and 'conspiracy theories' really is not a neutral biography but someone's view of this man. It should not be allowed, this is why I restored the previous version of the page.
This version also leaves out REAL information about Dolan's actual biographical note, such as his films and motorsport career which the revision I conducted does.
This page has been vandalised and houses points of view that are not impartial. 2A00:23C7:EB8A:F501:2875:7DF9:46BB:4C36 ( talk) 10:38, 23 March 2021 (UTC)
The quote you refer to No Swan So Fine is Dolan stating 'it is 'overblown' that does not make him a 'far right activist' as per the wikidata vandalism, or a 'conspiracy theorist' as per the page. A claim like that is opinion and as far as I knew Wiki wasn't a place for opinion? Twitter should never be used. Other sources such as Companies House are tenuous and much irrelevant to a biographical page such as this. Equally there are references with no cited source such as Dolan's 'drink driving charge', the next quoted source shows no such reference to this at all. The points of view on this page are not impartial. it was cleaned to an impartial state and it seems No Swan So Fine has some sort of beef with this man and therefore is continuously reinstating its vandalised state. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C7:EB8A:F501:34C4:89F5:B27A:DEE3 ( talk) 07:52, 26 March 2021 (UTC)
The assertion that Twitter should never be used is contrary to Wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-published_and_questionable_sources_as_sources_on_themselves which states "Self-published and questionable sources may be used as sources of information about themselves, usually in articles about themselves or their activities, without the self-published source requirement that they be published experts in the field..." Itcontractor ( talk) 11:46, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
It does not matter whether the claim is that he is 5'-3" or 5'-4" or 5'-7" or whatever other heights I may have missed. If it does not have a reliable source it is not going in the article. Meters ( talk) 20:37, 28 April 2021 (UTC)
Various users keep removing this section, often claiming libel, but without substantiating that claim. It may be inconvenient for Dolan and his promoters to include this section, which references Dolan's involvement pre-Covid with a leading conspiracy theorist, but everything in it is true and substantiated. The detail that Icke is both antisemtic and a conspiracy theorist is relevant to the standard reader who may have no expertise in this area. Can I ask that we discuss here please, rather than deleting the sub-section? User:itcontractor — Preceding undated comment added 07:57, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
Icke is solely labeled antisemitic by his critics, and said label has been disputed. He himself has denied it. Icke's own Wikipedia page makes this clear. -- 87.254.253.239 ( talk) 11:24, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
Fair point. I will restore the section but remove 'antisemitic' from the section title. User:itcontractor
Thanks for adding 'Icke has strongly denied and denounced claims that he is antisemitic.' That provides good balance to the section. I'll just round it off with a countering view from the ADL. User:itcontractor
In terms of the Lancashire Post article referenced by User 87.254.253.239, nowhere in that article does Icke deny or denounce (strongly or otherwise) that he is antisemitic. He does deny that he is a Holocaust denier. Perhaps User 87.254.253.239 could find a reference that substantiates the text. User:itcontractor
I believe it would be better to link directly to David Icke's Wikipedia page for more information about him as an individual. His association with Icke should be based around the documentary. 87.254.253.239 ( talk) 14:35, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
While removing information about Icke as an individual, User 87.254.253.239 has (perhaps unwittingly) removed the Jewish News Times of Israel quote about this documentary and its context. So I am restoring this, assuming it was a 'good faith' error by the other poster. User:itcontractor — Preceding undated comment added 14:52, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
User 87.254.253.239 has added the text '...featuring Croatian Politician Ivan Pernar, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist and political activist Alice Walker, among others...' This isn't referenced by the IMDB link or elsewhere. Could the text be either referenced or removed? User:itcontractor
It is directly referenced by the IMDB link. See "cast". Regarding the documentary, I'm concerned surrounding the source itcontractor has provided. Icke's documentary does not reference any antisemitic conspiracies, rather, it focuses on Icke's personal life story. I await it contractor's rebuttal prior to making any adjustments. 87.254.253.239 ( talk) 15:06, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
It is indeed correct that IMDB currently shows these individuals as in the Cast. It also shows Terry Wogan who died in 2016, 3 years before the film was made. AS per Wiki guidance on IMDB /info/en/?search=Wikipedia:Citing_IMDb 'Citing the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) on Wikipedia raises questions if such references follow the important points given in the reliable sources guideline. This is because much of the database content in IMDb is contributed by users, not by experts. Plus, the editorial oversight by IMDb staff is minimal and not stated on the site, so you don't know what was edited and what was not.' So to rephrase my previous question: User 87.254.253.239 has added the text '...featuring Croatian Politician Ivan Pernar, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist and political activist Alice Walker, among others...' Could the text be either referenced with a reliable source or removed? Thank you. Itcontractor ( talk) 15:16, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
With regard to the statement 'Icke's documentary does not reference any antisemitic conspiracies, rather, it focuses on Icke's personal life story.' Can User 87.254.253.239 substantiate this with a reputable source? I have included a quotation from a reputable source responding to this film for which Simon Dolan was the Executive Producer, and it's hard to counter this with what is User 87.254.253.239's currently unsubstantiated claim about the content of this film. However, a reputable source giving a different perspective from the current quotation sounds like a good idea to balance the section, if it can be found. Itcontractor ( talk) 15:24, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
This source references that the documentary is solely about Icke's life story. I have added the direct Amazon link, which includes Pernar and Walker as being on the cast. 87.254.253.239 ( talk) 15:32, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
The source provided (LEP) absolutely does not say that the documentary is solely about Icke's life story. On the contrary it states, '“It [Renegade] kind of follows the story of my life, but from a perspective of the information I've been putting out for 30 years. And that's really why I wanted to do it. It's because it has the potential to alert a lot of new people to the fact that the world's not like they thought it was.' Itcontractor ( talk) 15:53, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
The Amazon Prime reference is an advertisement which claims that David Icke '...has been proved right again and again'. An advertisement is not a reliable sourced for wiki. Itcontractor ( talk) 16:02, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
Rather than simply adding a reputable source to balance the article as stated in the update comment, User 87.254.253.239 has also removed the existing reputable source, perhaps by mistake. To achieve the aim of balance, I am retaining the newly added quotation and restoring the removed quotation. Itcontractor ( talk) 16:33, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
Thank you Itcontractor for correcting my error. That being said, am conflicted as to whether the information surrounding Icke's life is relevant at all. Readers should refer back to Icke's linked Wikipedia page. Does Icke's wikipedia page include a section detailing his association with Dolan? I don't see why such is relevant on either. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.254.253.239 ( talk • contribs) 16:47, May 10, 2021 (UTC)
I think the section is OK as it is. I don't see information about Icke's life. Two reputable sources responding to the film Renegade looks good, and there is some balance between them. I think the section could be improved by: firstly either referencing properly or removing the cast members (IMDB and Amazon Prime are not reputable sources); either finding a reference which actually references Icke denying that he is antisemitic (the current LEP reference Icke denies he is a Holocaust denier), or removing the sentence. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Itcontractor ( talk • contribs) 07:55, 11 May 2021 (UTC)
I am reverting the deletion of this section. Social media presence is relevant and notable. And Dolan's move from Twitter to Gab is notable enough that it is referenced in the reputable source provided. Itcontractor ( talk) 08:57, 12 May 2021 (UTC)
Thank you for discussing. Do you think it would be helpful to contextualise Gab for the non-expert reader with a brief summary of the opening para of the wiki article (below)? This would in my opinion make it clear that it is relevant to a section partly about Dolan and Conspiracy Theories:
'Gab is an American alt-tech social networking service known for its far-right userbase.[8] Widely described as a haven for extremists including neo-Nazis, white supremacists, white nationalists, the alt-right, and QAnon conspiracy theorists,[12] it has attracted users and groups who have been banned from other social media and users seeking alternatives to mainstream social media platforms.[22] Gab says it promotes free speech, individual liberty, and "the free flow of information online", though these statements have been criticized as being a shield for its alt-right and extremist ecosystem.[25] Antisemitism is prominent in the site's content, and the company itself has engaged in antisemitic commentary on Twitter.[27][32] Researchers note that Gab has been "repeatedly linked to radicalization leading to real-world violent events".[33]'
Or perhaps to provide a referenced sentence from that wiki page such as:
'In early 2018, a cross-university group released a research study on posts made to the site. According to that study, the site hosted a high volume of racism and hate speech,[156] and primarily "attracts alt-right users, conspiracy theorists, and other trolls.'
Do you think that would be an improvement? Itcontractor ( talk) 09:24, 12 May 2021 (UTC)
I'm interested why you think that Dolan's adoption of Gab (given the nature of Gab as a platform that attracts conspiracy theorists) is not relevant to a section about Dolan's involvement about conspiracy theories. Would you mind expanding please? Thank you. Itcontractor ( talk) 09:46, 12 May 2021 (UTC)
I don't want to shoehorn in a lengthy description of Gab and I'm unsure why you think I am. In the spirit of discussion, to see if we could reach consensus on how to improve the section, I asked if you thought it would be an improvement to add a brief summary of Gab. On the basis that this misunderstanding is hopefully cleared up ,and I apologise if I was responsible for this misunderstanding, would you be able to give your view please as to why you think this section should not be included. From my point of view, it is verifiable and relevant enough that Dolan is mentioned in a major newspaper's article on Gab. The user base of Gab also, in my opinion, makes it relevant to the overarching section which is in part about Dolan and conspiracy theories. You asked why I though this was important. Perhaps you might say why you think it isn't important. Thank you in advance. Itcontractor ( talk) 10:28, 12 May 2021 (UTC)
No point to mention Dolan's presence on GAB, seeing as he hasn't been active on there is several weeks. It's also highly inappropriate to include so much about David Icke on Simon Dolan's Twitter page. 87.254.253.239 ( talk) 08:08, 13 May 2021 (UTC)
Thanks for responding. I'm not trying to do research here on how active Dolan is on Gab, but to add a small section based on a reputable source that states that Dolan moved from Twitter to Gab, which due to the nature of Gab appears relevant to me for a section on Dolan and Conspiracy Theories - Gab attracts conspiracy theorists. I'm afraid I don't understand the reference to Dolan's Twitter page when it comes to David Icke. Itcontractor ( talk) 09:44, 13 May 2021 (UTC)
I also don't understand why Dolan's change of social media platform is notable enough to appear in this article. If he was coerced into leaving Twitter or gave a newsworthy reason to change platform it might be more understandable. Currently it looks to the untrained eye more like guilt by association - Gab is used by conspiracy theorists, Dolan uses Gab, therefore Dolan sympathises with conspiracy theorists. I'm not for a minute suggesting bad faith on the part of an editor of this article, just reflecting on how the content might appear to readers. Regards Guffydrawers ( talk) 11:53, 11 August 2021 (UTC)
Dolan's change of social media platform is notable enough to appear in a Scotsman article about Gab, so that, in my view, makes it notable enough to appear in a wiki article about Dolan. Gab may be used by conspiracy theorists, but it is also used by a range of conservatives. Itcontractor ( talk) 15:23, 11 August 2021 (UTC)
I've added some further refernced information to this section about Dolan's relationship with Twitter. Again, notable. Itcontractor ( talk) 15:53, 11 August 2021 (UTC)
Maybe Meters could say why they think it is not notable. I think that it is notable because a respectable national newspaper sees it as notable enough to include Dolan in an article about prominent people moving from Twitter to Gab. I would find it helpful if people could say why they think that does not make it notable. Itcontractor ( talk) 15:53, 26 August 2021 (UTC)