Talk:Mackinac Island

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Porter Hanks

Lists of notable residents are, by consensus, typically limited to people with existing articles. Otherwise, an article listing people from New York City would include my aunt who, I assure you, is not notable (sorry!) along with several million other people. When editors add red linked names to these lists, the WP:CONSENSUS notice reads, "Your recent edit to (article name) appears to have added the name of a non-notable entity to a list that normally includes only notable entries. In general, a person or organization added to a list should have a pre-existing article before being added to most lists. If you wish to create such an article, please first confirm that the subject qualifies for a separate, stand-alone article according to Wikipedia's notability guideline. Thank you." In other words, if you know of a notable person who you feel should be on the list, write the article first, then add them to the list. Constructive discussion before I remove this guy again? - SummerPhD (talk) 13:11, 14 November 2014 (UTC)

Unless the article has a notice restricting itself the notable people section to persons only with articles, notable people without an article can be listed if they have references that meet WP:RS to back up their notability. The comparison of Porter Hanks to your Aunt in New York is silly in the extreme. Hanks has had poetry[1] written about him over 100 years after his death....William 14:34, 14 November 2014 (UTC)

List of people from New York City along with hundreds of other such lists are typically limited to entries with pre-existing articles. I am unsure why you feel this article is somehow different. - SummerPhD (talk) 14:59, 14 November 2014 (UTC)

Actually, I placed Porter Hanks on the list because he is more notable than the majority of people already on the list. Virtually every history textbook on the War of 1812 mentions him and the key role he played while on the island. I added his name because its omission was glaringly obvious to me. Having the criteria be whether or not there is a Wikipedia page on him seems a poor one to me. Plenty of notable historical figures have no Wikipedia page. However, it's no skin off my nose to impoverish the list by removing him.DanQuigley 20:03, 14 November 2014 (UTC)

I've added a redirect; Porter Hanks - > Siege of Fort Mackinac. If anyone cares to create the article, have at it. Otherwise, I'll get to a stub at some point. As this article is one of only two that link to Porter Hanks, I won't be working on that very soon. (The other, obviously, is Siege of Fort Mackinac.) - SummerPhD (talk) 21:27, 14 November 2014 (UTC)