Fred Bauder wrote:
From: Marc Riddell [mailto:michaeldavid86@comcast.net]
on 5/25/07 12:22 PM, George Herbert at george.herbert@gmail.com wrote:
Šif the only things which are verifyably known about someone are in the context of a notable event which included them, perhaps as a rule the person is not themselves notable, and should only be covered in the article about the event.
George,
I believe this is an excellent idea.
Marc Riddell
The exception would be someone like Monica Lewinsky who successfully parlays their 15 minutes of negative fame into a more well rounded notability.
It still all has to be based on a balance of probabilities. Lewinsky clearly tips the balance in favour of inclusion, but she would not be the only one. There is no shortage of unremittingly evil people who can fit those criteria. To be sure the state has often acted in a way that would render BLP moot, but some like Miguel Rivera (aka "Charlie Chopoff) are likely still alive. "The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers", (Diamond Books, 1992) includes a copious supply of eligible subjects; as a secondary source it fulfills our verification requirements.
That said, perhaps it would help to develop a list of criteria, any one of which would not be determinative alone, but which could be used in combination with other criteria to develop an argument for notability.
Ec