Talk:Timothy Ely

I am friends with Tim Ely but do not receive any financial benefit from helping this page improve. Have been attempting to improve it for almost a decade now but reverted all changes and posted them here — because that's what we're supposed to do. EXCEPT — nothing has happened since 2019 — there isn't enough activity for anyone to make changes.

I have added a significant number of references to Tim Ely's self-published blog which gives biographical background. Hoping this begins to alleviate the problems with the page. Dsgarnett (talk) 18:17, 29 April 2019 (UTC) dsgarnett

I have been in discussions with MrOllie about this page and his concerns about my involvement. My work is on behalf of the Timothy Ely — the subject of this BLP. My goal is simply to get accurate depth onto the page — including if anyone would like to add additional opinions about Mr. Ely's work.

For clarity, I help him with his Blog as well — but this is not "for fee" work. We are old friends and I bring help to him in this kind of work. That said, I am not being paid either directly or indirectly for assisting him with his Wikipedia page. (My income sources are elsewhere.)

Please let me know if you have concerns.

Dsgarnett (talk) 00:12, 21 February 2020 (UTC)dsgarnett

@Dsgarnett: talk page comments like this, on a low-traffic talk page, can go unseen for a very long time, as I think you're finding out. You should instead be making edit requests (click on that link to find out more), which go into a live queue and are likely to get a much faster response. There is also a wizard at WP:ERW which helps you post a request.

I'm taking down the admin help request flag, as this matter requires no administrative action.

Best, -- DoubleGrazing (talk) 08:16, 6 June 2026 (UTC)

I recommend adding the following as it uses independent sources which discuss Mr. Ely's work to help the Wikipedia reader understand his unique imagery:

The Books

Ely took to book binding "because he wanted an efficient means of presenting his drawings, regarding the book as a 'looking-at' machine." His first experience making a book was at age 12 in 1961.

Yale art historian Johanna Drucker discusses Ely's work in her chapter titled "The Book as a Rare and/or Auratic Object" where she observes Ely's works “suggest a world in which the book is an artifact of wisdom,… secret and precious, available to the initiate rather than the casual or widespread reader” Much of Ely’s work is annotated with his own glyphs he calls “cribriform.” This has been described as a form of mystical text "a hybrid of scripts by ancient scribes, engravers and calligraphers, Chinese characters, ciphers, Egyptian heiroglyphics, cryptographs, codes and various secret writings."

Johanna Drucker suggests the impact from these works “comes in part from the sense that one is holding an original manuscript in ones hands.”

References

Study and Training

Dsgarnett (talk) 01:47, 21 February 2020 (UTC)

COI and edit warring

I've taken a look at this and as far as I can see we have an editor who has properly declared a COI and two editors who have reverted any changes. The proper process here is for the editor to request those edits on the talk page - as far as I can see the one requested is properly referenced and adds value to the article so unless there are issues with the material I propose to add it in. I'll also place a note on the editor's talk page to advise on the process if someone else hasn't already done so -----Snowded ^TALK 08:16, 23 February 2020 (UTC)

Waiting for Action on Recommended Changes

I continue to await action on my recommended changes above and on which Dave Snowden has commented. As I do not know what to expect on talk pages, would appreciate hearing from anyone who can suggest how long these talk page discussions should take. Dsgarnett (talk) 00:12, 11 May 2020 (UTC)dsgarnett

I have converted your request to a standard COI edit request; any editor may help with this, not just administrators. Administrators have no more authority than any other editor, just extra tools that would be irresponsible for the entire community to possess. As for a time frame, we can't really give one, you can only be patient. 331dot (talk) 08:14, 6 June 2026 (UTC)

Thank you. It's been years — so we know this isn't the most active page. Just hoping to get some action on it. Dsgarnett (talk) 22:24, 6 July 2026 (UTC)

Hi! I am taking a look at this now. Thank you so much for providing sources. It will take me a bit of time to look some of these books up (there is a university library near me that I think will have them or know where I can get them).

I know you've waited a long time so I apologize for making you wait a little longer, but I am looking into it! Packrat3860 (talk) 21:45, 25 August 2026 (UTC)

Gonna check in as I'm going cause it might take a while to find each of the books. I have added and cited the Drucker book. Packrat3860 (talk) 22:21, 13 September 2026 (UTC)