Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Monster Mob

Monster Mob

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Essay, something made up one night, see WP:NOT (prod removed) WuhWuzDat 19:17, 3 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Delete, author admits in deprod edit summary that this is a neologism; only source is a joke article in The Onion. NawlinWiki (talk) 19:27, 3 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Keep. Author admits that term itself is a neologism, but cites well-documented evidence (in seven instances) in entry that the phenomenon/plot device the neologism describes does, in fact, exist.

Also, author refutes assertion that article cited in The Onion can be regarded only as a joke, and thus not as a source. This article is piece of satire based on the aforementioned well-documented examples of this phenomenon/plot device. To assert that this article is a joke is to suggest not only that the staff at The Onion are not serious, credible, and legitimate writers, but that satire itself is not a credible part of literature, when satire, as a genre, has earned great credibility by enhancing it.

Also, the phrase "Monster Mob", although used in a different context for a different meaning, is not technically a "neologism", as it is the name of an established company, MonsterMob Group Plc, http://www.monstermobgroup.plc.uk

I have created this page because, both popular lexicon , a phrase or word has not been coined to sufficiently describe a plot device (and phenomenon) that has been part of the narratives of multiple cultures for hundreds of years. While this is often referred to as by the terms similar in effect to "A group of torch-wielding villagers", this is not necessarily accurate, as not all mobs that pursue monsters are equipped with torches.

Likewise, a sufficient wikipiedia entry does not exist to describe this phenomenon/plot device. The phrase angry mob redirects to Ochlocracy, which implies that such a mob is a defacto form of government. However, these types of mobs are seldom driven by desire for governance, but rather for a desire for vigilantism.

I agree that a commonly-accepted name for this plot device/phenomenon does not exist. Its name, arguably, was "made up one night".

However, this concept has been well-documented in various forms of media, in various cultures, for hundreds of years, especially in supernatural folklore. Thus, to suggest that this is "made up one night" is factually untrue. Do delete this article is, in effect, that deny that this well-documented phenomenon and plot device exists.

Language itself is ever-evolving, especially when it needs to describe something that has not yet been given an adequate description. Part of an encyclopedia's purpose is to convey ideas to those who wish to learn more about them. If you delete a wikipedia page that fulfills this purpose by ascribing the same merit to you would to a dictionary, then you inhibit the growth of knowledge.

Semantics is no reason to expunge reason.--MonkeyPundit (talk) 20:04, 3 December 2010 (UTC) [reply]

Uses of the term "Monster Mob" found in seach:

"NEGROES BURNED BY MONSTER MOB AT LINCOLNTON", Atlanta Constitution - ProQuest Archiver - Oct 7, 1919 http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/ajc_historic/access/523125752.html?dids=523125752:523125752&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&date=Oct+07%2C+1919&author=&pub=The+Atlanta+Constitution&desc=NEGROES+BURNED+BY+MONSTER+MOB+AT+LINCOLNTON&pqatl=google