Jump to content

Wikipedia talk:Run-of-the-mill

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Anþony (talk | contribs) at 11:17, 1 June 2011 (→Wikipedia is in danger of becoming "clogged"?: new section). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Run-of-the-mill:" essay or policy?

Someone on the discussion page for another proposal recently suggested that this essay become a policy or guideline. It has actually been cited a lot in AFDs. What do others think?

I would not support this as a policy or a guideline. Some people (like me) are not a fan of this essay or similar ones, such as WP:NLI or Wikipedia:Notability (buildings, structures, and landmarks) (which definitively failed to gain a consensus). Cazort (talk) 14:38, 20 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Delete

I see this essay as:

  • Not necessary - truly insignificant articles are usually deleted by overwhelming consensus anyway, without any need for a guideline like this. Example: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Homewood Avenue.
  • Increasing subjectivity in notability discussions - WP:N is very clear that notability is not about importance, and it does not mention anything about uniqueness. The general theme/spirit of this essay seems to be based on the idea of importance and uniqueness. While WP:N is hardly objective, the notion of "significant coverage in reliable sources" leaves less room for subjectivity than the idea of whether or not something is unique or run-of-the-mill. More subjectivity --> longer and less productive arguments.
  • Potentially being used to override WP:N I think the best guidelines and policies clarify, rather than making exceptions. This essay seems to be oriented towards arguing things are not notable even though they seem to meet WP:N. I am concerned about deleting local interests...things like municipal parks (like Williamson Creek Greenbelt). Also, anything that could be interpreted as conflicting with WP:N is going to lead to more arguments in AfD's.
  • WP:CREEP.

So these are my concerns. I can't really support making this a guideline; all of the above concerns are major and together they really kill it for me. The biggest one is that I just don't see the need for this guideline. Cazort (talk) 14:55, 20 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Strong support

I love this proposal. Local newspapers cover local high school sports, for example. That's their job. They report local events. That is what they have to do to make people buy their paper instead of USA Today. That doesn't make the local QB notable beyond a 50 mile radius. Same with local TV anchors/weathermen/sports reporters. They speak at the Rotary Club luncheons, ride on a parade float and give talks at local elementary schools. That's simply their job. And the local paper covers it. I used an example in an AfD that bears repeating. A community near me has 1,500 residents and a part time mayor. The community is covered by 3 newspapers (1 published daily, one published 3-4 times a week and one published weekly). The part time mayor of the small town is mentioned at least once a week in each paper, often more. Should we consider him notable since "multiple, independent reliable sources" mention him? Of course not! But strictly speaking, he meets the criteria. This is a terrific proposal. Niteshift36 (talk) 06:21, 4 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Oppose

  • This essay is mistaken in two ways. Firstly, the judgement of what is special is essentially subjective. On the one hand, every fingerprint and snowflake is unique and so there is infinite variety which makes all topics different. On the other hand, many topics have something in common and so might argue that we should only report the special ones. For example, we might say that that we should only have articles about important US Presidents like Abraham Lincoln but not lesser ones like John Tyler. Saying that professional sportsmen are special while schools are not is a matter of taste or a value judgement. Many editors might say that schools are distinctive and important while footballers are run-of-the-mill and insignificant. The distinction is subjective.
  • Secondly, Wikipedia is not paper and so the practical constraints upon the inclusion of topics is boundless. Google and other services show us that it possible to have coverage of every street, every book, every web page, etc. As we have no deadline, there is no reason to restrict ourselves in our coverage. If editors wish to cover boring topics (and it seems that they do) then this is harmless activity. Whether these topics are plants, asteroids, places or whatever, the same core principles of WP:NOR, WP:V and WP:NPOV may be applied to cover the topics in an educational and comprehensive way and this is the essential nature of an encyclopedia.

Colonel Warden (talk) 11:20, 4 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This is an encyclopedia, not the Guinness Book of Records or the National Enquirer

Those publications only write about the exceptional and the sensational. Encyclopedias, by definition, do cover the run-of-the-mill. Phil Bridger (talk) 23:11, 25 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia is in danger of becoming "clogged"?

The essay needs to explain how Wikipedia is going to become "clogged". Are we running out of space? Or are you just talking about some aesthetic desire to make Wikipedia neat and tidy?

Notability is about ensuring that we have enough verifiable information from reliable sources to write a complete article. If we have that, who are we to say that the subject is not worthy of inclusion of Wikipedia? – Þ  11:17, 1 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_talk:Run-of-the-mill&oldid=431982276"