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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ben Eisenkop (2nd nomination)

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The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was no consensus. There is plainly no consensus on whether Eisenkop meets the GNG based on what is in the article. Unfortunately a great many of these comments are of the "just notable/just not notable" variety, and with the discussion plainly swamped by so many persons unfamiliar with our policies it's hard to tell if there is a consensus. No prejudice to another discussion in a few weeks, once the situation on Reddit has cooled a bit, to see if agreement can be reached one way or the other. Lankiveil (speak to me) 01:43, 9 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Ben Eisenkop (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log · Stats)
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WP:NTEMP states: "...that person otherwise remains, or is likely to remain, a low-profile individual, we should generally avoid having a biographical article on that individual." I believe that in light of recent events, following his shadowban from Reddit, that "Unidan's" notability will proceed no further from it's already questionable state. Joobah (talk) 02:46, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Well, if there are sources about those two, then they can have an article. Taylor Trescott - my talk + my edits 18:03, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
They've never done anything notable, and neither has Unidan. That's my point. Swamp85 (talk) 18:14, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Is his TEDx talk, the book he's working on, and the fact that he writes for "Mental Floss" not "anything notable"? --Sauronjim (talk) 19:01, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Yes. The fact someone has written a book or made a video does not warrant an article. If we used these standards, anyone who'd ever written for any college newspaper would have one and our servers would crash. Perfect Orange Sphere (talk) 10:57, 4 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
What does warrant a standalone article is significant coverage from numerous reliable, independent sources, and Unidan meets this criteria. Breadblade (talk) 11:55, 4 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This debate has been included in the list of United States of America-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 20:14, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This debate has been included in the list of Environment-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 20:14, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This debate has been included in the list of Science-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 20:14, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This debate has been included in the list of Internet-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 20:14, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This debate has been included in the list of Academics and educators-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 20:15, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This debate has been included in the list of People-related deletion discussions. Tutelary (talk) 00:59, 5 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Exactly. We had this discussion 6 months ago - it's inappropriate to revisit it the week Eisenkop did something unpopular. Personally, I'm happy to review this article sometime next year, but not as part of an ongoing witch-hunt by the users of a large social media site. Stroller (talk) 00:06, 2 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • And just to clarify, the article definitely meets WP:GNG and WP:BASIC; it is the subject of multiple reliable third-party sources and the new accounts being created and infrequent editors coming back just to comment on this AfD are not taking that into account, that sources dictate notability, not subjective opinions on the content of the work. - Aoidh (talk) 00:18, 3 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep I see significant coverage in reliable sources for at least two events. Meets WP:GNG. Antrocent (♫♬) 21:26, 1 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete for reasons stated in 1st AfD. Once again, many of the "keeps" are simply assertion. The extremely weak sources resulted in no consensus last time and it's no surprise at all that the article is back again. Agricola44 (talk) 21:32, 1 August 2014 (UTC).[reply]
  • Weak Delete - This is yet another case of reddit trying to act like things they find important are notable from an encyclopaedic perspective. Aoidh's argument that "there was no concern about this individual's notability before a few days ago" is, in my view, a non-sequitur. People will notice mistakes at different points in time. Saying "this mistake hasn't been noticed before" is pointless. It's been noticed now, and it's being discussed now. Besides, there clearly has been concern before, and a consensus was never reached. Long story short, this boils down to whether or not Eisenkop meets WP:GNG. Is there significant coverage? No. There is coverage, but it's a "slow news day" kind of thing. Are there reliable secondary sources? Sure, a handful. So, if you squint your eyes really hard, you might claim that there might be a case for a possible assumption (not guarantee) of notability, maybe. That's where WP:INDISCRIMINATE and WP:NOTNEWS come into play. Apples grow on pines (talk) 02:43, 2 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • I think you're misunderstanding what I'm saying. It's not "this mistake hasn't been noticed before", because there was a previous AfD. Your argument is based on the assumption that this non-notable article just wasn't noticed before, when that is demonstratably not the case. It's "being noticed now" under the assumption that no more notability will be given for the subject, and that this somehow renders the previous notability moot; it does not. That is the point I was making. In addition, there are many more sources now than there was at the previous AfD when there was a "no consensus" bordering on keep, an AfD that just happened in April. WP:INDISCRIMINATE and WP:NOTNEWS don't "come into play" as they aren't even relevant here. - Aoidh (talk) 06:33, 2 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Wait. I think it would be most prudent to give this a week or two to settle down, then proceed with the AfD process. There's no reason we have to decide forever right this minute whether or not the article can stay. It's not as if the article is permanently sullying Wikipedia or anything by sitting there for a little bit, right? --Roman à clef (talk) 10:26, 2 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete checking the article I see barely anything that comes anywhere near establishing notability. None of the keeps have been very persuading. This is not a debate as to weather or not a reddit celeb can be notable, it's about this one person and this one person falls short of the GNG in my eyes. Ridernyc (talk) 23:08, 2 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • The article's subject has been the subject of multiple reliable third-party sources. That is the criteria of WP:GNG, and your rationale fails to explain how that doesn't meet WP:GNG; what is it you think "establishing notability" means? The sources establish notability, not an opinion on whether he "looks" notable "in your eyes". - Aoidh (talk) 00:15, 3 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Notability is based on reliable sources, of which this subject has sufficient coverage in. Vague relation to the number of likes on Facebook is irrelevant to notability, and WP:PROF is not the only criteria for notability; the subject meets WP:GNG and WP:BASIC and then some. There's also very little in the previous AfD that isn't from established, frequent editors, but that's ultimately irrelevant as there are even more sources now than there were at the previous AfD, which was only a few months ago. Citing WP:CRUFT falls apart when you look at the sources; Wikipedia editors aren't the ones writing Fox News and Vice articles about the individual. - Aoidh (talk) 20:56, 3 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
The person does not need to have made any contributions. As long as they meet the requirements for the general notability guideline, the person is notable. We have multiple reliable sources dictating this, including Vice, Fox News, Mashable, Daily Dot, and other high quality sources. Tutelary (talk) 11:09, 4 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I don't see how he meets any of those. Significant coverage is the main issue, and he has none. Beyond one or two brief mentions of the fact he was a popular Reddit user, there's nothing. This can be found for all sorts of internet celebrities. For example, Frank Neal Garrett is mentioned relatively often for being a prank call victim. But he has no page because that alone doesn't make him notable, despite the popularity of the calls and his voice on YouTube. Perfect Orange Sphere (talk) 11:17, 4 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
An impressive looking list until you see that these sources include things like personal student blogs. Many of them are also from his university, so they fail to be independent of the subject. Most of them are also just about his ban, a one-off event that, if anything, reduces his notability as he is now less likely to ever be notable.
So of these, arguably only the Fox News one is a significant, independent source that goes any way towards establishing notability. Perfect Orange Sphere (talk) 12:46, 4 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Most of them are also just about his ban, which is perfectly adequate, because it gives us even more reliable sources about the individual, cementing the notion that this person is notable. if anything, reduces his notability as he is now less likely to ever be notable. Nope, notability is not temporary. If he meets the general notability guideline, he is notable. Also, saying that 'Fox News' is the only source which is reliable that demonstrates notability is misleading, there are many, many that do so. Just look at Breadblade's reply. He is notable. Tutelary (talk) 14:21, 4 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
About the pages about the ban, are we going to make a page for everyone who gets articles written for them because they get caught doing something shocking? By that logic every upstanding citizen who went streaking or every normal-seeming sex offender would have their own article. As it stands Eisenkop was not notable before and the ban only makes it less likely that he will achieve notability. And I was specifically replying to his reply - note that it included personal blogs and sources that were not independent of the subject. Beyond that Fox was the only source not discussing his ban. I'm sorry but getting banned from a website does not make someone notable. Perfect Orange Sphere (talk) 15:00, 4 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
The Daily Dot is a very small, obscure source who's purpose is to report on internet events. The ban is only notable to a small subculture - its like a local paper reporting that a man was caught streaking. We're not going to make a page for someone because of that. Otherwise Wikipedia would be filled with "X was a popular user on Y who was banned", or "X was an upstanding citizen who ran around naked after a bender". Heck most of the people on the Florida Man Twitter would get a page, since they did something outrageous that was reported by a wide variety of news outlets. Do you think the man who robbed a house and left his cell phone, then later called to ask for it back warrants a page? Perfect Orange Sphere (talk) 23:40, 4 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • I can sense a lot of goalpost-moving happening here. Wikipedia sources don't have to be New York Times articles for purposes of notability. I don't think the Florida Man analogy makes any sense so I'm not going to comment on it. Breadblade (talk) 23:53, 4 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
The goalposts aren't being moved - sources like personal student blogs and sources that are not independent of the subject matter have never been counted. Also, to be honest, I think there might be a conflict of interest here. You talk on your userpage about being listed on DailyDot as the 7th most influential user of the site Reddit. You stand to benefit a lot from the result of this decision, as the argument you're using is essentially that if sources like DailyDot speak about a Reddit user, they should have a page. Perfect Orange Sphere (talk) 00:35, 5 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
If there had been nothing but "personal student blogs" that would be a valid point, but unless Vice and Fox News are "personal student blogs", that's completely irrelevant. WP:GNG has been mopre than met for this article, "personal student blogs" have nothing to do with that. - Aoidh (talk) 00:45, 5 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
We have no way of seeing a person's motivations so we can't use their word about them to evaluate these things. Like WP:COI says, "A judge's primary role as an impartial adjudicator would be undermined by her secondary role as the defendant's wife". Its a matter of relation to the subject matter that causes the conflict of interest. Even if the judge intended to be as impartial as possible, their relation to the matter at hand creates the COI. Perfect Orange Sphere (talk) 23:56, 5 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
These are ridiculous insinuations about Breadblade's motivations, and constitute speculation at best. Do you really think they want a Wikipedia article declaring them the moderator of /r/circlejerk? And even if they did, that they have decided that getting Unidan into Wikipedia is the way to get there? AlmostGrad (talk) 06:08, 6 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
The source list reported above by Breadblade is representative of the WP:INDISCRIMINATE "keep" position: it consists mostly of student newspaper/university PR and social media and blogs. I thought perhaps the Cornell Sun article (#3 in that last) might count, but that has only trivial mention. Agricola44 (talk) 16:06, 4 August 2014 (UTC).[reply]
  • He's been covered by the Daily Dot, Mashable, Vice, Fox News and Time Warner Cable News in addition to the student publications. Eisenkop was brought up three separate times in the Cornell Sun article, as he was a guest speaker at that event. That is more than trivial coverage. Breadblade (talk) 18:48, 4 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • The Fox piece is probably OK, but the others (university pubs, social news, etc) aren't. The Cornell article, "Cornellians Gather to Watch and Discuss Cosmos", was not about Eisenkop. It only mentioned him incidentally. That is indeed what is meant by "trivial mention". Agricola44 (talk) 19:53, 4 August 2014 (UTC).[reply]
  • A subject need not be the main topic of the source material for a mention to be non-trivial. I also don't think that you've made a case as to why the Daily Dot, Vice Motherboard, Time Warner Cable News and other sources I've mentioned should be considered unreliable sources. Breadblade (talk) 21:59, 4 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
This person does not need to meet WP:PROF requirements, only the general notability guideline, which they easy meet. Tutelary (talk) 11:09, 4 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep - literally dozens of news articles over the span of several years, combined with being the most well-known user of one of the largest websites in the world, as well as notable coverage of his offline work and research meets GNG easily. The previous AfD was answered with a keep and he has unarguably only become more notable as a result of the banning. It seems that a lot of people seem to have a conception of social media as being "non-notable" or "unimportant" - even when subjects meet the same guidelines that everything else are held to. Remember that the internet is still part of real life and isn't somehow inherently less valuable. SellymeTalk 18:12, 4 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete - No different from any other grad student with a blog. Not that there's anything bad about such people or they can't advance anything, but that alone doesn't make for article material. 24.252.141.175 (talk) 00:01, 5 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep - Like it or not, he is a well known biologist. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 107.211.12.111 (talk) 01:11, 6 August 2014 (UTC) 107.211.12.111 (talkcontribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic. [reply]
Not outside of the site Reddit. We cannot have a page for him based off of direct biological work since there really isn't any, and he fails WP:PROF. Perfect Orange Sphere (talk) 13:22, 6 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
...Which has already been stated that he is not required to meet WP:PROF standards. Tutelary (talk) 15:11, 6 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
This is another argument on the basis of WP:FAME alone. Agricola44 (talk) 15:06, 6 August 2014 (UTC).[reply]
  • Delete. Eisenkop has gained minor popularity-status on Reddit, and nowhere else. He has become recently popular outside of the particular niche, solely because of the drama generated from his ban from the site. He fails WP:BIO, and is questionable on WP:Notability. To keep his page on Wikipedia would mean to add all other Reddit users of similar small-spanned popularity, such as karmanaut, Stickleyman, Apostolate, and _vargas_. Following his ban from Reddit, Eisenkop a.k.a. Unidan is unlikely to have any already-questionable significance and notability since. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.57.82.116 (talk) 02:14, 6 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep: His notability was already established. The article survived a previous AfD. I'm pretty sure the primary reason for this second AfD is because he was shadowbanned from the site (for vote-cheating, and he did deserve it) and now people feel angry and are lashing out at him. However, deleting an article about a notable figure does not really have anything to do with how people feel about the person himself. (And no, his shadowbanning – which may or may not affect his future notability, so "he might not be notable in the future" is not a compelling reason to delete an article – does not change his previously established notability.) --V2Blast (talk) 22:28, 8 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.