[Wikipedia-l] Deletions, speedy deletions... and retributions...

[Frederick Noronha]

Hi all: Please don't discuss me or the page referring to me on
Wikipedia. I have no delusions of grandeur, didn't initiate the page
myself (just felt the need to correct the info which was incorrect on
it, after waiting awhile and seeing nothing change!), and don't claim
to be of any level of notability.

Instead, may I request that the page be deleted, so that this
discussion takes on less of a personal I'm-protectiing-my-interest
kind of tone.

On 26/04/07, Ronald Chmara <ron at opus1.com> wrote:
> On Apr 25, 2007, at 2:56 PM, Till Westermayer wrote:
>
> > Hi,
> > I have removed the proposed-for-deletion tag -- I guess it is a
> > borderline case
>
> Borderline? Hm... It's WP:COI, the only published "sources" are not
> only self generated (WP:SPS), they're also blogs loaded with viagra
> SPAM and forum sites... this is the very reason *why* we have so many
> guidelines on en, lest folks think that they can just throw up some
> content and therefore  deserve their own wikipedia entry. AfD'ing
> this and any siblings.

What I am really concerned about is the manner in which entries --
which really deserve to be included on the Wikipedia (even if needing
a rewrite and better sourcing) -- get tagged for speedy deletion. And
I'm concerned about the decisions being taken obviously by people who
(sorry to be blunt) lack familiarity of the field and probably see it
as Latin and Greek, if not Sanskrit and Khmer! My interests lie in the
field of ICT-for-D (information and communication technology for
development) and the alternative media:

In particular, I refer to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OURMedia/NUESTROSMedios
[Even links to it deleted. Reasons given: only 200+ members; not
adequately sourced; non notability; etc, etc]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishab_A._Ghosh
He's one of the most prominent persons in the ICT-for-D debate of
Indian origin (and also known for his contribution at studying
European issues). He was the guy who is credited with having first
used the term FLOSS (Free/Libre and Open Source Software), and has
undertaken prominent studies at the European level. Recently, he also
edited a book 'Code: Collaborative Ownership and the Digital Commons'
Rishab Aiyer Ghosh-ed MIT-published (ISBN 0-262-07260-2). So is he
non-notable for Wikipedia?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Vikalp
Vikalp, a serious movement against film-censorship in India, linking a
few hundred film-makers, almost gets deleted. Again: "non-notability"!

Didn't have the time or energy to save another deserving case!
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Natural_History_of_South_Asia_mailing_list&action=edit

The founder of the most influential cyber not-for-profit operation
from Goa, a former Portuguese colony on the west coast of India, is a
similar victim. Non-notability! And he started what grew into Goa's
most influential mailing-list (current readership 8-10,000+ daily)
when he was a 17-year-old!
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Herman_Carneiro&action=edit

Groups in Latin America doing interesting work in the field of ICT4D
get questioned:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITeM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESLARED
Fortunately, just salvaged on time after similar protests! But I can't
spend my life just in verbal skirmishes with certainly don't win
friends (and sometimes, don't even influence people!)

A friend of mine, who's active in global campaigns on ICT4D, couldn't
believe that Ungana Afrika could be threatened by a 'non-notability'
tag. But when will our Western friends recognise that the work one
does isn't always reflected in cyberspace... in large parts of the
globe, there's a total disjunct between the two. And that's what
shorthand like the 'digital divide' is all about in the first place!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ungana-Afrika

Another page deleted. Who cares about Free Software and Open Source in
the world's most populous planet (even if we have a network of 130+
groups in India alone)?
LUGs, FSUGs, GLUGs in India and Asia
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=LUGs%2C_FSUGs%2C_GLUGs_in_India_and_Asia&action=edit

And another one bites the dust:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gobala_Krishnan&action=edit

And finally, what triggered it all off:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OURMedia/NUESTROSMedios

Okay guys, I rest my case. --FN

> If it's widely noticed, it will be documented, and thus pass WP:V

PS: Are you so sure? Most of the cultures of this planet are still not
even documented, let alone digitised. And, in a Western-defined world,
what you're saying is if you aren't digitised, you don't exist!
Well... some fundamental differences in perception here.
-- 
FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490 (after 1300IST please)
http://fn.goa-india.org  http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com
Konkani Wikipedia (under incubation) needs your help!
http://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wp/kok