Anthony DiPierro wrote:
On 5/4/06, Pete Bartlett <pcb21(a)yahoo.com>
wrote:
----- Original Message ----
From: Anthony DiPierro <wikilegal(a)inbox.org>
How does an article go about asserting the
notability of its subject?
What would be an example of an article which asserts notability but
doesn't establish it?
Those poor fellows who make music in garages in suburban towns in
the American Midwest seem to be a particular favourite target, so let's
give an example involving them:
"
'''Hormonal Screamings'' is a rock band hailing from Houghton,
Michigan.
Next year they are going to take over the world.
"
So that's an example of an article which you feel *doesn't* assert
notability. It still doesn't answer the question of what it means to
assert notability, and it isn't an example of an article which asserts
notability but doesn't establish it.
No, it does assert notability -- it's just that the assertion is pretty
weak. Per [[WP:VAIN]], patently absurd assertions (such as "Joe Smith
is the King of the United States") do not need to be considered. The
assertion given above, being an unsubstantiated claim about the future,
might perhaps be considered such. That said, I'd personally do at least
a background check to see if there's more to the claim than that; if the
claim was made by a reliable and/or influential external source, that in
itself would establish some degree of notability.
Basically, this comes down to a form of assuming good faith: while it is
true that articles without an assertion of notability may be deleted
without further ado, it is prudent for the admin (and/or the nominator)
to perform at least a cursory check to see if a plausible claim to
notability can be found off-wiki, and, if so, to add it to the article.
For example, an article that only said "John Doe is a chemist" would
technically be speediable. However, if a Google search turned up the
fact that he's also a Nobel prize winner, a reasonable response would be
to amend the article to say so rather than deleting it.
I still have no idea what it means to "assert
notability" or what "an
article with no claim to notability" is.
A typical article with no claim to notability might be something like:
"Joe Smith (b. 1989) is a student at the Whateverville high school. He
plays football and listens to Red Hot Chili Peppers. He's a really
great guy."
--
Ilmari Karonen