Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/John W. Flores

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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. - Mailer Diablo 00:34, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] John W. Flores

John W. Flores (edit|talk|history|links|watch|logs) – (View log)

An unencyclopedic article, entirely lacking in references, built upon a journalist's authorship of a book published through a vanity press. While I note the recognition bestowed upon the subject by the Texas senate, I'm not convinced that the subject meets WP:BIO. The book in question garners a total of six unique ghits comprised exclusively of Wikipedia, bookstore sites, blogs and the vanity press in question. Flores is described as having won awards, but none are mentioned. The article is the creation of four single purpose accounts. I recommend his work on behalf of the family of Sgt. Gonzalez be discussed within the Alfredo Cantu Gonzalez article. Victoriagirl 23:53, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

  • Delete - no reliable sources, and notability is questionable. Author published through a print-on-demand publisher. -- Whpq 20:58, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete - after having read the page, there's little to suggest he really would pass WP:BIO. Likely conflict of interest and major POV problems that exist here are not in themselves reasons to delete.-h i s s p a c e r e s e a r c h 09:28, 24 June 2007 (UTC)
Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so that consensus may be reached.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Seraphimblade Talk to me 06:27, 24 June 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete per all above... I just don't see that there is anything worth salvaging here (or any way to do so). /Blaxthos 11:41, 24 June 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete After running through google I discovered the subject had in fact published this book, but failed to find any critical reviews, press releases or anything else of note. I did, however come across one external link, which may be worth giving a gander before this AfD closes. [1] Ozgod 14:11, 24 June 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep Though the author is arguably non-notable, his work is laudable for its thorough analysis of military related stories and, if the biography is true, has an impressive personal history, relegating him above laymen, worthy of some attention. The article can be easily wikified and grammar fixed, but the real debate is whether anyone should even care for this guy. In my opinion, yes; and arguments that his book is second-rate by second-rate publishers is rather frivolous. Maybe his book couldn’t find any better publishers because of American political bias that doesn’t care to hear anymore about Vietnam or anything else unpopular in societal consciousness – it just probably couldn’t sell. I might just buy this book to see how well he writes, but my hunch right now is that he is more notable then the arguments above give him. --David Andreas 18:45, 24 June 2007 (UTC)
Comment I'm in agreement that the author is arguably non-notable, hence the AfD. I'm also in agreement that "if the biography is true" he has an impressive personal history - though this in itself is not relevant to meeting WP:BIO. That said, you do raise an important point. While I personally believe that the subject's biography is likely fairly accurate, I note that this rather long biography fails to include a single verifiable source.
The fact that Flores' book is self-published is in no way a determining factor, but it is relevant to the discussion as the article is built on this authorship. Eight months after publication, the only ghits the book garners consist of Wikipedia, bookstore sites, blogs and the vanity press through which it was published.
I won't join the speculation as to why the book was self-published, but will point out that an Amazon.com search for books on the Vietnam War published in 2006 gives a return of 266 titles. Victoriagirl 19:30, 24 June 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete No reasonable claim to notability. (not to mention an outrageously self-indulgent article) But I think it's reasonable for people in this generation to write a great many books about Vietnam, before Iraq overtakes it altogether as a subject for memoirs, and some of them might be notable. DGG 01:28, 25 June 2007 (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.