Talk:Obituary
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"In many cases, an obituary is one of the few times a person's name appears in a newspaper."
I cut this from the intro because IMO an obituary (as opposed to a mere death notice) is usually a biography written by the newpaper itself rather than an small ad placed by the family (i.e. a mere death notice), and so only appears for relatively well-known people who would have had their name in newspapers on at least a number of occasions. Ben Finn 12:55, 20 May 2005 (UTC)
Q. Should Wikipedia have a policy about obituaries? Very famous people may have obituaries published by a large number of newspapers. It then becomes an arbitrary choice which one to link to in any Wikipedia article's external links section. DFH 20:43:13, 2005-08-24 (UTC)
- I think it has to be on a case-by-case basis. Some online obituaries are only available for seven days; in that case, perhaps referring to a print obituary (remembering that hard copy sources are just as acceptable as online ones) would be a better choice. I also think it would be better to refer to a longer obituary than a shorter one, and (in the case of American obituaries) a signed obituary as opposed to one from a press service such as the AP, if possible. I don't say this out of any animus towards the AP, but out of concern that the AP often picks up local obituaries, abridges and condenses them, and prints them - but that abridgment and condensation can introduce error. We had one today on AfD - Johnny Mann, a player of bit parts whose original obituary from a local paper did not imply notability per Wikipedia, but whose condensed, secondary obituary from the AP did. Sometimes you have to go to the source to ensure the obituary is accurate and to ensure the person really is notable.
- I say "in the case of American obituaries" because British obituaries and, to an extent, those from other countries (including even Canada) may not be signed. --Charlene 14:47, 3 March 2007 (UTC)
Contents |
[edit] Separate site for obituaries?
A should a separate site for obituaries of scientists be started? Arranged under subject: Obituary:
[edit] Botany
Macpherson, P. and Rutherford, A. 2005. Obituary Allan McGregor Stirling - 1924 - 2004. Glasgow Naturalist 24: 65 - 66.
[edit] Zoology
[edit] Geology
Thinking, what do you say?81.144.158.195 10:06, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
- I'm thinking that there are *so many* online obituary sites that already compile obituaries (alt.obituaries, the Life in Legacy Site, Rusty's EI Entertainment obituaries, etc., etc.) that Wikipedia would be doubling their efforts. Generally if the AP, UPI, Reuters, or AFP run an obituary on someone, there's a good chance that person is notable enough to already have a Wikipedia entry. If not, reviewing the obituary to see whether the person meets WP:N and then adding an article on the person with the obituary as one of the references is probably a better idea. --Charlene 14:27, 3 March 2007 (UTC)
