Philip Sandifer wrote:
Which doesn't prove anything, I'll be the first to admit. But I think this is an important thing we haven't been asking - what do readers think.
It's an interesting point-counterpoint issue, because although Wikipedia is about providing what the readers want, many readers aren't at all concerned with the overall health of the project-- they are only concerned with whether it helps with their homework, or Livejournal debate or whatever.
I think most deletionists who are upset about people writing articles about themselves get upset because after putting in all this work to improve the project, someone coming in and writing an article about his band is seen as an appropriation of the work of others. Wikipedia is popular because of the work people put in to improve it, and that means that anyone using it to do self-promotion is to be (rightfully) shunned. Yes, the information about your garage band might be true, but that doesn't mean it's okay for you to use Wikipedia as your own personal vehicle to superstardom. We only want contributions from people who want to improve the encyclopedia; not people who want to use it to advance their own interests.
Now, the average reader doesn't care about this problem because they are only interested in th quality of the articles they are actually searching for. Does that mean notability has nothing to do with quality? No, I don't think so. But it doesn't mean it does, either.
- Ryan