Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Eric D. Snider

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 DELETE. If I have counted correctly, discounting assumed puppets and single-purpose accounts, the raw totals are 6-2 Delete. That does not include the nominator, who changed his position to Keep. So on to the arguments. While I might not count the "votes" of single-purpose editors, I will give account to their arguments, if cogent. In favor of deletion, the point is made that , basically, he fails WP:BIO. In reply these points are made: (1) He was, at least for a while, a regular columnist for the daily newspaper in a small-to-medium-sized American city. (2) He has a website, which apparently attracts enough attention to get him interviewed on NPR. (3) He's had a book published by Brigham Young University, which has to be considered a publisher of some note. (4) He's got some comedy records, which while apparently self-published have gotten airplay on Doctor Demento which is a nationally syndicated show. (5) His site was noted in PC Magazine as one of the best 99 undiscovered websited6

Taken together, those are reasonably strong arguments. It's true that the only one of these that might meet WP:BIO is "well known and independent award" -- one could make that case that getting on PC Magazine's "best 99 undiscovered websites" is an independent award of a sort by a notable magazine. On the hand, there were 98 other "winners", so that's questionable. Basically, I can't see that he meets WP:BIO. But WP:BIO "is not intended to be an exclusionary list".

Back to the commentors, we see a couple of editors basing their comments on verification. The article may have been partly rewritten when they made their votes, but anyway the NPR interview and the PC magazine bit seem to verify much of his story. His book is on Amazon (albeit out of print). So the no-verification arguments may be discounted, somewhat.

Still, in spite of the fact that the Keep position does make a good argument, I don't see it as enough stronger for me to discount that after all, of eight real commentors, six think the article should be deleted. Herostratus 19:19, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Eric D. Snider

ATTENTION! If you came here because somebody asked you to, or you read a message on a forum, please note that this is not a ballot, but rather a discussion to establish a consensus amongst Wikipedia editors on whether a page is suitable for this encyclopedia. We have policies and guidelines to help us decide this, and deletion decisions are made on the merits of the arguments, not by counting heads. You can participate and give your opinion. Please sign your posts on this page by adding ~~~~ at the end. Happy editing! Note: Comments made by suspected single purpose accounts can be tagged using {{subst:spa|username|UTC timestamp [optional]}}

Who is this guy? reading the article, I can't find anything making him worth of an article.. unless you want an article for every person that has ever insulted anyone on the radio... --Lacrymology 19:06, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

• Who is this guy? Perhaps a perusal of his brief but thoroughly enlightening official biography, posted on his website in handy color-coded timeline form will answer your question. (bio) As you can see, he's done a lot more than insult somebody on the radio. That's not even what he does. His founding of Brigham Young University's first comedy troupe, the now-defunct Garrens (1993-2001) and his weekly humor column, "Snide Remarks," (still published weekly on his website, and read by hundreds, if not thousands, of subscribers) easily made him the most well-known--and controversial--figure on that campus in the late 1990s. He is still very well-known in certain circles. If his brother hadn't created his Wikipedia entry, I was thinking about doing it--maybe eventually, if I ever got around to it.

  Vote to Keep. Ryan Reeder 04:34, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

• Perhaps not everyone needs a Wikipedia article, but someone who's a published author, performer, movie critic (with over 1700 reviews online) and singer probably deserves one.

  Vote to keep. --Jeff Bowers 05:20, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

  — Jeff Bowers (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.

• Keep - Eric may not be the most celebrated celebrity on the big screen but he sure does know how to make fun of them. I feel that someone who has published as much as him and in as many mediums as him deserves an entry. His writings have appeared in publications throughout the state of Utah, California, and (I think) Oregon. His movie reviews have been published on credible websites and he has been featured fairly regularly on the radio. His columns are fantastic, his movie reviews are entertaining and informative and his music is hilarious.

  Vote to Keep. --Jason Wright 05:23, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

  — Jasonlesliewright (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.

• This AfD nomination was incomplete. It is listed now. DumbBOT 11:01, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

• Delete unsourced, unverifiable, unencyclopeadic, un cetera ... WilyD 13:32, 15 September 2006 (UTC)
• Comment. The subject's name sounds somewhat familiar, but this article does not emphasize strongly enough the activities which would have placed Snider before a national audience. I recommend that the supporters of the article rewrite it to discuss Snider's most prominent activities only and not minor details of his biography. --Metropolitan90 14:17, 15 September 2006 (UTC)
• Mr. Snider is an established performer and writer with a recognizable influence. As an up-and-coming artist with an ever-growing following, the matter of his being a public figure is unquestionable. The biographic details of the article are relevant to illustrate the genesis of the artist's perspective. I find the article unbiased and encyclopedic in nature and in no violation of Wikipedia policy. Recommend to keep. A. Amini 14:48, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

  — Aminiamy (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.

• Delete Oh, for Chrissakes. Look, I'm sure he's a cool guy, but would he show up in Encarta? Encyclopedia Britannica? Heck, would he even show up in Who's Who in America? Where are the news articles talking about him? Where are the books in which his "recognizable influence" is discussed? Where, oh where, could the reliable sources be? I strongly recommend that the closing admin ignore the Single-Purpose Accounts and rid the encyclopedia of this... er... well, I guess you could call it an article, but "hagiography" would also work. Captainktainer * Talk 17:03, 15 September 2006 (UTC)
• Comment If Encyclopedia Britannica and Who's Who are your standards, you've got a lot more deleting to do. I agree the article could be better written and should link to the original sources rather than Eric's blog.--Jeff Bowers 18:21, 15 September 2006 (UTC)
• Comment I'll second this - "If Encyclopedia Britannica and Who's Who are your standards, you've got a lot more deleting to do." What makes Wikipedia great is its inclusion of various miscellany including TV shows, bands and much more obscure stuff than Eric Snider. He is a prolific writer, film reviewer, parodist and humorist. Absolutely no reason he shouldn't have a page here, as long as the information provided is accurate. Wiki Nazis, F Off! dennycrane1414 18:34, 15 September 2006 (UTC)— Possible single purpose account: dennycrane1414 (talk • contribs) has made few or no other contributions outside this topic.

• Note to closing admin: The SPA (and probable sockpuppet 71.115.224.209 edited the above comment to remove the phrase "Wiki Nazis, F Off!". I did an rv to retain the comment as originally posted. --Aaron 01:41, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

• Delete per nom and Captainktainer. --Aaron 19:30, 15 September 2006 (UTC)
• Delete, ignoring the WP:SPAs' comments which hardly seem to cite inclusion policy; fails WP:BIO, no WP:RS indicating notability. --Kinu ^t/_c 19:32, 15 September 2006 (UTC)
• Delete, "he continues to work as a freelance writer and part-time Film Studies student." = non-notable. And yes, we do have a lot more deleting to do. Recury 19:50, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

• Comment From WP:BIO: "Persons achieving renown or notoriety for their involvement in newsworthy events" is one factor that allows for an entry. Eric's recent article I Was a Junket Whore resulted in national attention, e.g. an NPR interview. Vote to keep.--Lady Celtic-- — Possible single purpose account: Lady Celtic (talk • contribs) has made few or no other contributions outside this topic.
• Keep - Many have read his work without knowing it was his. -PelaoFeliz —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 158.91.214.25 (talk • contribs) 23:00, September 15, 2006. — Possible single purpose account: 158.91.214.25 (talk • contribs) has made few or no other contributions outside this topic.
• Comment - I don't see how people can say that he isn't a notable person yet the publications that he writes for are He currently writes movie reviews for HollywoodBitchslap.com as well as RottenTomatoes.com. Both sites are credible sources for movie reviews, both sites have entries here on the Wikipedia and Hollywood Bitchslap's entry even lists him on their page as one of their author's. He may not have attained the fame of hollywood movie stars but he does have a fairly large fan following. The great thing about the Wikipedia as was mentioned before is that you can learn about anything. I understand removing entries for people that haven't accomplished much and create their own entry but removing an entry for a writer who has accomplished so much. He has recorded CD's and yes people bought them. He has published his humor columns in books as well ane believe it or not, they sold too. Eric is a notable writer, possibly the only one that I read on a regular basis.--Jasonlesliewright 05:22, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
  • Striking vote; user has already voted above. --Aaron 01:20, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
    • Un-striking vote; while noting that user previously submitted his recommendation, he has the right to offer additional comments. However, the closing admin should make sure not to count him twice. --Metropolitan90 04:56, 23 September 2006 (UTC)
      • Comment: Better fix: I've relabeled it a comment. But please note the entire point of striking is to allow the commentary to be read without the vote being accidentally counted twice. --Aaron 05:33, 23 September 2006 (UTC)
• Reconsider - For those who marked this as delete, I have updated the page with more information than just a boring old biography. I hope that other's will continue to contribute and make this page show Eric's full list of accomplishments. Please reconsider deleting this entry.--Jasonlesliewright 18:59, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
• Keep - I haven't contributed a lot to Wikipedia, but I wanted to weigh in here anyway. For what it's worth, he's had several appearances on Dr. Demento, was interviewed on "On the Media" on NPR and his Web site was recommended in PC Magazine as one of the Top 98 undiscovered. If that doesn't qualify him for inclusion, so be it. Nonetheless, I vote for the site to remain. Yorenny 22:47, 16 September 2006 (UTC) — Possible single purpose account: Yorenny (talk • contribs) has made few or no other contributions outside this topic.
• Keep - Subject is a published author and musician, has received national attention from three different media outlets (USA Today, NPR, and PC Magazine), has a following that extends beyond friends and family, and caused enough of a stir with the "Junket Whore" article to be banned from all future press screenings by Paramount Studios. From WP:NOT, "one measure of publicity is whether someone has been featured in several external sources (on or off-line)." I think Snider passes the notability test, although as little as six months ago the case would have been harder to make. However, the article does need to be improved so the more notable aspects of Snider's career are given more prominence, and it especially needs more links to external sources other than Snider's websites. Disclaimer: I am an occasional contributor to the message board at Snider's site, but my edit history will show that this is not a SPA (although I have been on wikibreak for the past few months). Alanyst 23:45, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

• Note - User's first edit in six months. --Aaron 01:20, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

• Keep - The article won't be featured anytime soon, but it's sufficiently well organized and formatted. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by YechielMan (talk • contribs) 19:18, September 20, 2006.
• Delete as WP:VSCA to sell his records. --72.75.117.73 18:37, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

• Note - No where in the entry is there a link to where the records can be purchased. Every artist listed on wikipedia lists their albums and track listings and this is no different. --Jasonlesliewright 20:52, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

• Keep but rewrite I presented this for deletion. I see that he's bigger than the article makes him look... make it show. I expect wikipedia to be better than Encyclopaedia Britannica, and think he should be kept.. but really, the article doesn't (or didn't) show anything that makes him worthy. The new article is better, but has too many pictures, but that is another subject. And not having written for 6 months doesn't mean he doesn't have the right to give his opinion. --Lacrymology 19:39, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

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.