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.
Keep Members of state and provincial legislatures can be presumed to be notable as they receive coverage in reliable sources during their service , and with sufficient research in local libraries, an informative article can pretty much always be written.
Cullen328Let's discuss it07:05, 25 April 2015 (UTC)reply
WP:POLITICIAN is a guideline, not a policy. I think that is a very important distinction.
I am not doubting that this person existed (but so did 100 billion others
[1]), but I am wondering if there is enough (ref'd) information to actually maintain an article about them.
What can we say about the person, beyond that they existed? There is - as far as I can ascertain - no reliable sources out there to provide anything beyond that.
"Ezra A. Bowen was a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Senate from 1854 to 1855.[1][2] He was a native of Mayville, Wisconsin"
We could write the same 'details' about anyone who was ever born, from telephone directories. But
WP:NDIR, right?
Thus, I refer back to the core principles of
WP:N.
Way back in 2006, the (co)founder of Wikpedia wrote, "Zero information is preferred to misleading or false information"
[2]
For this reason - and based on policy rather than guidelines - I do not think that, at this time, there is enough information in reliable sources to support an article about this individual.
IFF Wikipedia could have an article about every person on this planet, that'd be great. But only if we can provide an appropriate enclcopaedic article about that person - using appropriate referenced details.
Reply There is no "misleading or false" information about this person in the article. It Is, according to the sources, an accurate if brief stub article. There is nothing wrong with stub articles. He differs from billions of others because he was elected to a state legislature, which is of interest to an encyclopedia, and sets him off from all those others. Spend a few hours in the right Madison, Wisconsin libraries, expand the article, and we will then know much more about him.
Cullen328Let's discuss it07:21, 25 April 2015 (UTC)reply
Keep Obviously notable per
WP:NPOL. Obviously a real individual/politician based on the Wisconsin State Legislature's own records. That the article is (very) thin is not an issue.
Rwessel (
talk)
07:18, 25 April 2015 (UTC)reply
We have special notability guidelines which are just as valid as the general notability guideline. As for the VRS thing, it is an essay, and a useful one, but it does not apply in all situations. Including this one. Read the handwriting on the wall.
Cullen328Let's discuss it07:27, 25 April 2015 (UTC)reply
The specific policy
WP:NPOL establishes notability (summary: all state and higher politicians are notable), and the Wisconsin State Legislature, while not a reliable source in all things, would certainly be considered so as to its membership.
Rwessel (
talk)
07:44, 25 April 2015 (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.