- Wikipedia:Bad Jokes and Other Deleted Nonsense (edit|talk|history|links|watch|logs) (restore|cache|MfD)
This is not to rehash the arguments over whether BJAODN should exist or not, but a very specific question about whether the MfD closure was proper and in accordance with consensus. I believe it was not - firstly, it is very clear on reading that there was no consensus of any kind, even those that agreed on one position or another weren't agreeing with each other. Furthermore, the unilateral decision to move the main page to "Silly Things" by the closing admin not only did not have any consensus, but wasn't discussed or even raised, and smells somewhat of ruling from above. I would not have acted had this not become the basis of a potential move war, using the MfD closure as a basis to proceed in a direction which the community would not have even anticipated. I think everyone said what they had to about BJAODN in the original MfD, so there is no need for this to become yet another debate about it, and once debate is concluded here, that matter can hopefully be put to rest. Orderinchaos 15:53, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- It should surprise nobody that this was one of the hardest closes I've ever done as an administrator. And, as Orderinchaos points out, there were elements of the close that did not come up in the MfD - the list of pages spared was entirely my own, and the moving of the page in order to forcibly deprecate and make the point that BJAODN as we know it ought not return was not proposed by anyone. However, as I said in the close, there was no possibility of a close that would satisfy everybody, or even necessarily satisfy most people. I do believe that I closed the MfD in a way that gave proper respect to all factions of the community on this issue. In a case as vexed as this, that is as close to consensus as can be hoped for. Phil Sandifer 16:17, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- For the record, while I voted keep, I can see that the most ideal close involves losing most of the pages, and the option to salvage the "special" ones was a good call. Orderinchaos 16:49, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse close. Seeing as that seems the easy way out of more drama. Moreschi Talk 15:59, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- BJAODN this deletion review — oh, wait ... Cyde Weys 16:05, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Dis-Endorse Close - Overturn and Relist Twenty Years 16:12, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Do you have any reasons for wanting this? --Cyde Weys 16:17, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Apart from the fact that i think without it, wikipedia is losing all sense of charm, no, not a single reason. Twenty Years 16:20, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Wikipedia is an encyclopedia though, not a charmpedia. I don't see what a sense of charm has to do with it. It was established during the MFD that the existence of BJAODN was having negative repercussions on vandalism. Anyway, the "best of" subpages are still around, and those are much higher quality than the original spread out subpages anyway. --Cyde Weys 17:53, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- "Encyclopedia" is a one-word descriptor. Let's not give too much weight to a single word, which cannot possibly facilitate the retention of 2 million very different articles. BJAODL was the only page of its kind, and policies, mission statements, etc. generally are not modified to account for single pages; making the occasional exception makes much more sense. The page was also located in Wikipedia-space, and you will find close to zero articles in Wikipedia-space which would be found in an encyclopedia. — xDanielx T/C 18:49, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Something being the only page of its kind and being in project space does not make it immune to deletion just because. --Coredesat 19:59, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- I didn't say that it did. — xDanielx T/C 20:46, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse close, close this Ah, the inevitable has come but there is no way this will turn into anything other than a nasty, ugly mess of no consensus. GDonato (talk) 16:24, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Why should we endore a close that violated policy, this "silly things" wasnt even mentioned in the MfD, yet content from BJAODN was moved from there to "silly things"? Twenty Years 16:27, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Because we're the cabal - oops, sorry. More seriously, perhaps because the close violated no policy? Moreschi Talk 16:29, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- So where in the MfD was "Silly things" mentioned?Twenty Years 16:30, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- If that's the only thing that concerns you then perhaps WP:RFD is more suitable. Do you disagree with the colsure of the MfD as "basically delete"? GDonato (talk) 16:33, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- I disagree with many things, but this is low on my priority list, i just liked the page. Twenty Years 16:39, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse. For the record, Sandifer scooped me on closing that MfD by just a few minutes. My close would have been similar: I would have acknowledged that the community expressed very significant concern over the copyright issue (which Sandifer dismissed) but otherwise, action-wise, I agree with Sandifer on all the important points... and we have to realize that, as he said, no close was going to satisfy everyone. Mangojuicetalk 16:44, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse Closure GFDL violations and a shrine to vandals -- this kind of stuff is more important than "we need moar humor". Also, while I disagree with the renaming to Silly Things, I think that was done independently of any MFD. MessedRocker (talk) 16:46, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse BJAODN is an oasis for GFDL vios, and seems to be something of an apex for vandals if they are included. It needs to go. –Animum 16:52, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse Closure Whoever closed it knew full well that whoever closed the MFD would be immediately reviewed here on DRV. Phil's closure while not 100% what I wanted, does do the job. ALKIVAR™ ☢ 17:25, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Why are we doing this again?? --ST47Talk·Desk 17:29, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse close - I presented my reasons for believing that whilst GFDL was not a concern, BJAODN was sadly, best let go of. I felt that User:Phil Sandifer's closing statement was a good reflection of the matter, and acknowledge many liked those pages, and community fun is a Good Thing. This review is not about BJAODN but about the process though. There are only two issues here at DRV that I'm aware of:
-
- First DRV concern: The purpose of process is to ensure matters have a good hearing, and that the community has at least spoken enough to have some representative sense of the views. With some 8 or 10 discussions, and much activity over the last 2 weeks, there can be little doubt that the majority of those who track BJAODN or are interested in expressing an opinion have had good chances to do so, and those who wished to have spoken. If not all, then surely enough to be taken as reasonably representative of the community in their views. This was after all the 2nd listing in that short time after the mass deletion and 1st DRV of 14th August. So the first thought is, the community (or a large part of those who wish to) has stated its views and had fair chance to do so. The raw views posted at MFD are probably fairly comprehensive and representative, and the views listed there probably do represent the range and the balance of views in the community. So my first thought is, I don't think another xFD is needed to obtain more or different views. I think it's likely we have successfully obtained wide and representative consultation.
- Second DRV concern: is the close a fair one that is based upon and takes into account the full range of MFD comments left by these editors? And here I think it is. The close is a good one; the issues in discussion do come down to personal like on one side, and consistency with Wikipedia is an encyclopedia on the other. It's a tough call but concerns over possible negative impacts of BJAODN on the project (glorification of vandalism etc) sadly probably do override the keep views of the humor pages, as the closer says. If there was a strong majority of keep/like at MFD, then I would say there was a doubt - but in fact upon checking I find there isn't. For whatever reason the (slightly stronger? much stronger? stronger either way) view on the MFD seems to also be leaning towards deletion, and these often cite and reflect editors' concerns of genuine issues - GFDL, promotion of vandalism, etc, as well as a fair number of IDONTLIKEIT. Clearly a number see them as non funny and a problem/embarrassment/policy issue for the wiki.
- Conclusion: the MFD has surely been seen by enough of the community for the views stated to represent communal views. Those views lead to the closer's accurate comment: ILIKEIT vs. concerns over impact on the the project (whether vandalism incitement, policy/gfdl issues, or poor/embarrassing reflection on the site). The closer has (probably wisely) set aside GFDL !delete concerns as being outside the community's expertize, and instead balances concerns over possible negative impact on the encyclopedia against humor value... and there is no strong majority of KEEPers to set against this, as might be relevant to (what is at the end of the day) basically a set of community humor pages. In fact there seems to be a majority for deletion. Probably poorly worded here, but that's the view I obtain of this close. BJAODN has borderlined it a few times; the consensus seems to be based of good quality wide consultation, and a conclusion that in the eyes of the community the concerns are real, significant, and enduring. To close on a basis that "it's good humor" doesn't outweigh that, seems a reasonable view. So for me, I endorse. FT2 (Talk | email) 17:33, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Oh please, make it stop!! - I mean Endorse closure. While I'm not sure about the move to Silly Things, I could care less about that. The closure though was quite good. It took into concern the thoughts of the deleton advocates and kept some parts intact to appease the keep-ers. End this now (not immediately, but with this DRV), so we can finally move on. Mr.Z-mantalk¢ 17:42, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse closure, particularly the move to Wikipedia:Silly things (who capitalized the T?). Time to set things aside and move on. --Dhartung | Talk 17:45, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- I suspect the T is capitalized because, in contrast with how we normally name pages, capitalizing it is a Silly Thing. --Cyde Weys 17:53, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse much of the close, but undelete the Wikipe-tan Temple page, the Poop Egg page, and other special pages that are better off in categories other than BJAODN. Wikipe-tan Temple and the other special pages are examples of Wikipedia humor and belongs in a Wikipedia humor section, not the trash bin. Also, include a link to bjaodn.nicholaswwilson.com on the historical BJAODN page. — Rickyrab | Talk 18:18, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Overturn the closer failed to take into account that there were no valid arguments for deletion except for WP:IDONTLIKEIT. Grue 18:20, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- "It encourages vandalism" is not "I don't like it." Phil Sandifer 18:24, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- WP:ILIKEIT isn't a good reason to undelete though. --Cyde Weys 18:54, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse. Please tell me we are not doing this again. Valid close, good reading of the debate. It "encourages vandalism" trumps "I like it". I also think there are GFDL reasons that should be taken into account and think the closer was wrong in not factoring those in, but as those also point towards deletion that only further vindicates the outcome in my opinion. WjBscribe 18:52, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Main page encourages vandalism. Let's delete it too. This is a very weak argument, and shouldn't be used to delete popular metapages. Grue 19:20, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Reluctantly endorse deletion. Grue's argument is a very good one, though. Whether I like it or not is not important here: process was valid and followed properly. --SunStar Net talk 19:24, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- overturn if there is one thing clear at MfD, it's that there is no consensus at WP about these articles. We await a genius who can figure out how to solve it this one.DGG (talk) 19:29, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse deletion. I knew this was coming. The close was very well-reasoned and I see nothing wrong with it. The vast majority of "overturns" are WP:ILIKEIT, and the fact that BJAODN encourages vandalism does not equate to WP:IDONTLIKEIT. Let the thing stay dead; after all, I thought we were here to create an encyclopedia? --Coredesat 19:57, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse deletion While true copyright problems clearly trump any numbers, Phil is right that MfD is a lousy place to evaluate them. On the other hand, I fully agree that WP:DENY trumps WP:ILIKEIT even in project space. I don't think that a general DRV is the best place for dealing with exceptions or minor issues such as renaming. It is better to hash those out at individual talk pages. Eluchil404 20:30, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse per above... Majorly (talk) 20:43, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Partial Overturn. Leave the deleted content deleted, but remove the prejudice against restarting BJAODN with proper attribution. The GFDL concern was the primary non-essay (WP:ILIKEIT and WP:DENY) objection to BJAODN, and there was no consensus against restarting BJAODN if this concern were addressed. Evouga 20:58, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse deletion. Saying that moving the page to "Silly things" was required by the MfD is stupid, but resolving the name issue doesn't require DRV. -Amarkov moo! 21:57, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- Endorse overall; reserve the right to DRV individual subpages later. I think the closing admin did deviate from typical process somewhat, but that is perfectly fine, and in this case, I think it was for the better. I think he did very well to cut through the GFDL/copyright debate (which was very confused), and correctly identified the real problem: BJAODN had become a "monument to vandalism", and that was Not Good for Wikipedia. I think his overall decision (delete most of it; rename to highlight) was the best overall decision for Wikipedia as a whole. A good compromise leaves everyone equally unhappy; this is it. • I put in the "reserve the right to DRV individual subpages" bit because I think there may be some stuff worth salvaging, but this is not the time or the place for that discussion. —DragonHawk (talk|hist) 01:26, 27 August 2007 (UTC)
|