Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Narn Bat Squad

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 of the debate was no consensus. Kirill Lokshin 05:42, 5 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Narn Bat Squad

nn internet meme with a whopping 155 unique Google hits. User:Zoe|^(talk) 03:02, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

• 155? Try 753 online and more than 3500 on USENET. The actual number is considerably higher due to non-archived message systems such as GEnie and CompuServe where usage was heavy. Additionally, nowadays "NBS" is used as frequently as the full name, however google doesn't assist much because of the rather common nature of the initials. Finally, most references to the NBS in fandom don't explicitly say "NBS" or "Narn Bat Squad" - but contain the elements of the NBS, namely a virtual beating, looking over the shoulder, etc., written after a bad joke. It is a significant element of Babylon 5 fandom, and has made in-roads to all aspects of sci-fi fandom over the last 11 years. Strong Keep --Jeffrey O. Gustafson - Shazaam! - <*> 03:30, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
  • Like I said, 155 unique hits. Go to the last page of your search and you'll see that now it's down to 154. The count you give is for multiple occurrences on the same site. User:Zoe|^(talk) 02:13, 30 October 2005 (UTC)
• Delete I almost never use the dreaded term "fancruft" but I certainly think it applies here. Def of a joke term made up by online fans of a sci-fi show. Apparently never even used on the show itself. This is sub-sub-sub-trivial. Andrew Lenahan - Starblind 03:56, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

More accurately created by the creator of the show. --Jeffrey O. Gustafson - Shazaam! - <*> 04:00, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

That isn't what the article seems to say. Direct quote: "Fans immediately latched on to the concept, and combining it with past posts by Straczynski, dubbed group of Narns the Narn Bat Squad, or NBS." Andrew Lenahan - Starblind 12:37, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

Yes, but the way the NBS operates, as a form of punishment for bad jokes, is a result of Straczynski's post. The NBS name was something assigned by the fans (and immediately wholehearedly accepted and used online by Straczynski); the NBS itself is Straczynski's. --Jeffrey O. Gustafson - Shazaam! - <*> 13:03, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

• Keep It's fancruft, but it's the notable kind because it was coined by the show's creator, and because it's seeped out of the fanbase into unrelated communities online, and that makes it the sort of thing that someone might look up the origins of. — mendel ☎ 04:54, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
• Keep as per mendel. If someone who knows where this crops up, in any major way outside the B5 fan community, and adds a paragraph or section on it, it would probably help the article's chances. Saberwyn 05:42, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

• If you follow the google groups link above you see an immediate diversity of groups and languages where the reference is currently used (which, once again, does not include the wide use of the NBS acronym [or many, many instances where the NBS is referenced in practice but not in name]). --Jeffrey O. Gustafson - Shazaam! - <*> 05:48, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

• Keep per Jeffrey O. Gustafson's comments.Indium 09:44, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
• Strong Delete. Internet memes are inherently non-notable, and forum/message board/Usenet memes infinitely more so. flowersofnight 20:15, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
• Delete. 3500 Usenet hits only marginally more notable than 3500 hits from the same online message board's website. If we had an article on Babylon 5 fandom, this could redirect there, but we don't. -Sean Curtin 04:25, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

• Once again, that is just what says "Narn Bat Squad" - more say NBS, and most (nowadays) reference it without explicitly saying the name. --Jeffrey O. Gustafson - Shazaam! - <*> 04:39, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

• Keep but would prefer to see it in an article on Babylon 5 fandom. If it had to be a fork off that article, so be it. --maclean25 05:08, 30 October 2005 (UTC)
• Delete, makes no claim of existing much beyond one minor online forum. Andrew Levine 07:39, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

• This statement makes no sense. From the article: "Beginning on the Babylon 5 newsgroups and spreading to other science fiction newsgroups and internet forums..." And as clearly I pointed out above, just follow the google groups link to see the diversity of groups (and languages) that the NBS appear in, in name (with even more in practice). --Jeffrey O. Gustafson - Shazaam! - <*> 10:55, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

• Keep. Interesting. - EurekaLott 19:19, 30 October 2005 (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.