[WikiEN-l] "Suicide methods" article

[Gwern Branwen]

"Newyorkbrad (Wikipedia)" <newyorkbrad at gmail.com> writes:

> During discussion of the deletion review for [[Darvon cocktail]] 
today on
> WT:DRV, it was mentioned that En-WP has an article called 
  [[Suicide
> methods]].  After reading this article in detail, I have spent 
the morning
> contemplating whether I consider it acceptable that Wikipedia is
> disseminating this article on the Internet.  I have concluded 
that I do
> not.  In many respects, this article could be used as a how-to 
guide by
> someone contemplating suicide and/or could lead such a person to 
infer that
> suicide is a reasonable response to whatever may be bothering 
him or her.
> While some other portions of the article may be relatively 
common knowledge
> or background information, I do not see how the article could be 
maintained
> in an acceptable state without permanently protecting it.
>
> I was astonished to read that this article has been put up for 
AfD three
> times and has been closed as keep, once speedily, on each 
  occasion,
> sometimes with indignation at the prospect of its deletion.  I 
do, however,
> believe that our sensitivity to our obligations as one of the 
ten leading
> websites in the world has increased in recent months.
>
> I consider myself a rather conventional and non-rouge type of 
editor and
> administrator but it is requiring a supreme effort of willpower 
  not to
> perform an immediate IAR speedy deletion of this article on the 
ground that
> it represents an imminent threat to human life and safety whose
> existence tends to place the project in disrepute.  I have no 
desire to
> create drama, but I am gravely troubled and would welcome 
comments from
> other Wikipedians.
>
> Newyorkbrad

I do not see how that article is any more dangerous than something 
like [[thermite]] or any of our better and more detailed articles 
on fun things like various hazards to life and limb. We have 
bigger fish to fry (and things like [[TOTSE]] will still be high 
up in Google hits for these things anyway).

-- 
Gwern
Inquiring minds want to know.