Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Jessamyn West

This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the articles below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record.
The result of the debate was keep both. Tony Sidaway|Talk 14:56, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Jessamyn Charity West and Jessamyn West

Vanity page. -- Dcfleck 02:59, 2005 Apr 3 (UTC)

• Delete said vanity page. Changing vote to reflect info from Dpbsmith below. Keep, expand, dab. Fire Star 03:06, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)
• Keep My preference is to turn into an article on the reasonably famous American author Jessamyn West, 1907–84, author of the 1945 novel The Friendly Persuasion. However, this librarian has a blog 'n' stuff and is famous enough that she outranks the, uh, real Jessamyn West in Google. So it could become a combined page or a dab for the two Jessamyn Wests. Dpbsmith (talk) 03:40, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC) See below for clarified vote
• Keep as dab page, if anyone is willing to rewrite the original article. Megan1967 06:08, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)
• Keep, good work; make this a disambiguation and split the two J.W.'s into their own article. -- Infrogmation 12:39, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)

This updates a previous comment.

I have split the article. Apparently the librarian-blogger's full name is Jessamyn Charity West and differs from the Quaker novelist's, so I'm decided to avoid the dab page and just have split out Jessamyn Charity West and cross-reference the articles to each other. This way, at least some users—the ones that want the novelist—will get what they want without having to follow a link.

The naming convention says "Use the most common name of a person or thing that does not conflict with the names of other people or things." Jessamyn Charity West is not the librarian-blogger's most common name, but her most common name does conflict with the author's name, and the author was there first.

I'm now inclined to think the librarian-blogger is notable enough for an article. (But working on a page will do that to you). Actually I just found out that she's one of three dozen bloggers who were issued press credentials for the 2004 DNC, which clinches it for me anyway.

Since the article nominated for VfD was about the blogger, I've put a duplicate VfD notice referring to this discussion on Jessamyn Charity West.

In continuing discussion please be sure to indicate a clear opinion on librarian/blogger/activist Jessamyn [Charity] West, 1968-, because the question is really about her. Dpbsmith (talk) 13:14, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)

• I'm quite impressed with User:Dpbsmith's work on this page. While there are still some things to do, as noted above, it is now definitely a Keeper. -- Dcfleck 14:05, 2005 Apr 3 (UTC)
• Keep (split into two articles under two names, as per Dpbsmith's suggestion). Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 16:28, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)
• Delete Jessamyn Charity West. Non-notable blogger. RickK 22:17, Apr 3, 2005 (UTC)
• Keep the author, Delete the blogger Andrew Lenahan - Starblind 03:31, Apr 4, 2005 (UTC)
• Keep both - David Gerard 09:45, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC)
• Keep the author, delete the blogger. Radiant_* 13:06, Apr 4, 2005 (UTC)
• Keep both. Blogger borderline, but her mention in the New York Times, in Library Journal as a "mover and shaker," the DNC's issuance of press credentials to her at the 2004 convention, her Google listing above the novelist (good example of Google systemic bias but still), and her status as an opponent of the USA Patriot Act (800 Google hits on "patriot act" "Jessamyn West") put her just on the "keep" side of the border, IMHO. Dpbsmith (talk) 13:25, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC)
  • Comment Though my vote is still to keep both, candor compels me to add a new data point. I called my local public library, and asked a librarian if she'd heard of "a librarian named Jessamyn West, not the author." She hadn't, and she referred me to the library director, who hadn't either. I explained that she was a librarian with a blog, and noted for opposing library-related provisions of the USA Patriot Act, and it still didn't ring any bells with her. Dpbsmith (talk) 20:01, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC)
• Keep both. Both are influential enough to warrant mention. As noted above Jessamyn Charity West is more than just a blogger—or just a librarian, for that matter. It is also inaccurate to refer to only one of these two people as an author as Jessamyn Charity West has also been published in print.
  • Comment Above unsigned vote is by User:RickScully. Don't quite know what to make of his edit history. This is his third series of edits; some from Nov 2004 in the Sandbox, one small edit in Dec 2004, and then the above comment. Dpbsmith (talk) 13:36, 6 Apr 2005 (UTC)
    • Comment Nothing to make of it. I apprear to have accidentally stumbled into something I shouldn't have, and if that is the case, please delete. My "history" is that I have only occasionally poked around here, and maybe should have played in the sandbox a little more (hence the multi-edits to this page) before commenting. But these recent comments seem to be more focused on me than the agenda item, so please forgive my intrusion. I came to this wikipedia page because I was looking for information on Jessamyn Charity West, and I was only somewhat familiar with Mary Jessamyn West (bad English major, I know), so I voted accordingingly (room for both, I still think). I am very familiar with the online presence of JC West and the work she does in online communities and with freedom of speech issues, and library work, etc. User:RickScully
      • No, no, no, it's fine... Thanks for your comment. I'm very sorry to have seemed unwelcoming. Everyone is welcome in VfD except "sockpuppets." Please see longer explanation on Rick Scully's Talk page. Dpbsmith (talk) 19:30, 6 Apr 2005 (UTC)
  • Ah. Thanks. IMHO "coeditor" isn't quite the same as "author," though, and I don't think "author" is currently her primary identification."Revolting Librarians Redux" has an Amazon sales rank of 392,835 which, by my personal criteria takes it out of the class of vanity press and obscure academic publications but doesn't make it notable in itself. She also edited a book called "Digital Versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask a Librarian Online and Offline." Added both to article. Dpbsmith (talk) 12:27, 5 Apr 2005 (UTC)
• Keep the Quaker novelist. The blogger, however, does not appear to meet the recommended criteria for inclusion of biographies and should, in my mind, be deleted. Rossami (talk) 03:56, 7 Apr 2005 (UTC)
• I believe I'm inclined to keep both articles. Joyous 02:30, Apr 18, 2005 (UTC)
• I too am inclined to keep both articles. 00:10, Apr 20, 2005 (UTC)
  • This unsigned vote is from anon 67.20.248.4. This IP address is the address which created the original article, a substub referring to the activist librarian. These two edits are the only two from 67.20.248.4. I interpret this as a vote from the original contributor, who has one edit prior to the VfD discussion. Dpbsmith (talk) 14:18, 21 Apr 2005 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.