[WikiEN-l] BLP, and admin role in overriding community review

[Joe Szilagyi]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Deletion_review/Log/2007_May_23#Crystal_Gail_Mangum

The article was deleted, and at least one ex-admin is rather vociferously
stating that it was due to BLP concerns, such as, "Consensus does not govern
Biographies of living
persons<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons>."
However, doesn't the decision *if* something violates BLP subject to
consensus? Without getting into the specific merits of THIS article, as this
also relates to the current Badlydrawnjeff ArbCom about the QZ/Little Fatty
BLP issue:

Who gets to make 'final' decisions on whether an article violates BLP, to
merit deletion? Certainly, any admin can delete anything, but any and all
actions on-wiki are subject to community review and summary overturn if they
are found to be violating established and widely *accepted* community
standards. If some are trying to establish a new precedent here, that's
fine, but could they also please encode this new change in policy to see if
they do in fact have the wide support of their administrative and community
peers?

Deleting stuff for BLP (the idea, again, not inherently bad if it's a pure
hatchet job as *agreed to* by your peers upon widespread review), and then
fighting tooth and nail in a backwater virtual ghetto like Deletion Review
is not the right way to do things. Be bold and put it on WP:BLP that an
admin can delete an article failing given thresholds of the BLP policy.
Let's say what a wider group of admins and editors have to say!


Regards,
Joe
http://www.joeszilagyi.com