Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic

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 on a Votes for Undeletion nomination). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was KEEP. Linuxbeak | Talk 23:21, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic

Reasons I feel this is very probably a hoax:

• Fairly ludicrous event
• Links at the bottom fail to verify the validity of the article
• The article is written in an overly-dramatic manner
• Can't find compelling evidence elsewhere that this event has actually occurred

--Verbalcontract 19:34, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

• But the article says at the beginning that you should take the story with a grain of salt. Perhaps this is a legend in Tanganyika that people tell in which case it is still a valid piece of information. It's information about a legend. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 152.23.105.7 (talk • contribs) 05:11, 12 September 2005 (UTC)
• I would keep this page. The incident has been documented in other notable sources, and mentioned briefly in an article in American Scientist. [1] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.149.140.99 (talk • contribs) 02:23, 27 September 2005 (UTC)
• Don't delete this article. Aspects of it are most probably exaggerated to some degree, but it is more a reference to a famous myth surrounding an actual event, so it should be kept in for that reason. I think the article makes it clear that there's no rock solid evidence, but it is an interesting study case for psychiatrists and undoubtedly something did happen out there in 1962.

  I believe legends like this have a place on Wikipedia so long as the author makes it clear that the evidence is shakey. --86.137.13.28 08:26, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

• I won't vote, but as the author of this page I thought I may as well comment. Thanks for the criticism, and I can only agree with some of the opinions mentioned above. I found the topic to be interesting (though I can't remember where I heard of it first, much like some of the voters below) and sought out a Wikipedia article with further information; I found none, so I made one to the best of my ability. I'll keep the criticism of my writing style in mind if I make future contributions. I'd appreciate it if critics could scale down those sections of the article they find overblown. Oystertoadfish 04:19, 13 October 2005 (UTC)
• This afd nomination was orphaned. Listing now. No opinion. —Cryptic (talk) 08:52, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
• Keep, strange though it sounds. Verifiable.American Scientist reference online The Land 09:50, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
• Keep. I've actually heard of this before (I know, I know, it's what the sock puppets always say), so it's at least notable as a legend. That American Scientist article is proof of that, though the author there provides no documentation for the incident either, so perhaps he's merely repeating an urban legend as well. --Dvyost 13:25, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
• Keep documented sufficiently. Xoloz 15:12, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
  • If it makes you feel any better Carnildo, I'll that I'd also kinda heard of this before, in that urban legend sort of way. I don't know what is true about it, but I am sure there is something of a story here. Xoloz 17:21, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
• Delete unless verified. None of the references looks adequate to me: two of the external links are dead, the third doesn't say anything about the event, just about MPI in general, and the "American Scientist" reference mentions that "it happened", but gives no links to primary sources. --Carnildo

• Keep. Looks factual to me. Trollderella 00:36, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

• I would maybe make it clear that this is an Urban Myth; because the article lacks evidence and is a little muddled. It seems a pretty ludicrous story to me, to be true.

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 an undeletion request). No further edits should be made to this page.