[WikiEN-l] Fwd: Opt Out for Not So Notable Biographies

[Fred Bauder]

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Erik Moeller [mailto:erik at wikimedia.org]
>Sent: Sunday, April 8, 2007 01:33 PM
>To: fredbaud at waterwiki.info, 'English Wikipedia'
>Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] Fwd: Opt Out for Not So Notable Biographies
>
>On 4/8/07, Fred Bauder <fredbaud at waterwiki.info> wrote:
>> Not so notable is the rough dividing line between public figures and those who
>> are not. George W. Bush is a public figure as as most of those who regularly
>> appear in the media. Those whose doings are not ordinarily covered by the
>> media are not public figures, although something interesting may have
>> happened to them and there has been spot coverage.
>
>This is all very vague ("the media") and would IMHO lead to a loss of
>useful biographies of scientists, authors, inventors, and other
>individuals who are not celebrities, but whose work is continuous and
>relevant.
>
>I think if one wants to institute such a policy, a good test would be
>whether the person's notability is the result of a _continuing_ record
>of activities (which are verifiable), rather than a singular event.
>
>Incidentally, a person like Daniel Brandt (who has been covered
>throughout the years for his activism) meets that criterion, whereas
>someone like Brian Peppers (who is notable only because of an Internet
>phenomenon) does not.
>
>We do not lose much if we give up articles about the occasional media
>sensation and Internet meme. We do lose an awful lot if we allow
>everyone who is not a media figure to delete themselves.
>-- 
>Peace & Love,
>Erik

How many of the scientists, authors, inventors, and other individuals who are not celebrities, but whose work is continuous and relevant would opt out? I expect very few would. Those who would, would be those who notability is based on some kind of sensation, like [[John and Lorena Bobbit]], an excellent example of the pernicious effect of spot media coverage of non-notable figures.

Fred