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Revision as of 14:05, 2 August 2008

Biography Unassessed

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Tone tag

At first I thought that this entire article might be a copyvio, but some random searches of the text do not seem to indicate that. Closer inspection reveals that this article may have been written by the subject's daughter, User:Branwynne, who also uploaded the image that was used by at least one other news source with no easily identifiable evidence that it was indeed created by the user. Whatever the case, the article certainly reads as if it were written by someone with a conflict of interest. Much of the language is unencyclopedic in nature and some of it is very subjective ("Kennedy was a master of the grotesque who set outsized, dreadfully funny characters against each other in bar rooms, board rooms and, of course, bedrooms." or "This book was probably Kennedy’s least comic work and after its publication, he began writing what was to be his most outrageously funny book, Ride a Cockhorse (1991, Houghton Mifflin).") If it was written by a family member, then it is original research as I don't see a single citation for any of the material that would actually require citations, including direct quotes. While this might make for a good biography of the subject, it's does not meet the standards required of Misplaced Pages articles. I would be pleased to help any editor, including User:Branwynne even if she is the subject's daughter, turn this into a proper article but, in its current state, it is unacceptable. If these concerns are not addressed within a week, I will go through the text and removing anything not covered by the obituaries provided. Cheers, CP 01:31, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Editing of this Page

Sure, we can remove the parts that Misplaced Pages deems subjective, and therefore, inappropriate. However, the biographical parts should be left in since they are common in such entries of most writers and artists.

One thing I would be curious to learn more about however, is CP's qualifications as an "editor." His own biography states that he has a "B.S. in Management Science." It is common practice for encyclopedia editors to hold degrees in the subjects that they edit, and to certainly, at least, have a background in English. Merely being a native speaker of the language, while it may qualify one to order a coffee at Starbucks, does not qualify one to be an "editor."

Furthermore, on this subject, a brief glance at CP's interests and personal pursuits, such as video games, slasher movies, former Olympians, etc, also seem to conflict with his role as an "editor" of literary entries. One must have some sense of the subject in order to make valuable contributions.

Lastly, encyclopedias normally have teams of editors review entries; the final edit is not up to some random individual roasting a marshmellow in an igloo somewhere.

These practices render the Misplaced Pages problematic in the intellectual community. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.15.204.152 (talk) 03:44, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

First of all, do not remove the comments of others from talk pages, as you did here, as it is not acceptable per our talk page guidlines. Second of all, your response to my legitimate comments above amounts to a personal attack and further comments will not be tolerated, as they are not tolerated anywhere on Misplaced Pages. Thirdly, any person, regardless of their qualifications, is allowed to edit Misplaced Pages, that is what this entire project is about. Fourthly, I do not have to reveal every last bit of my personal life on my talk page in order to edit; to foolishly respond to your personal attacks, I'll note that I've had my literary work published and won writing awards at UCSD, I just choose not to delve into that subject because I hate excessive pretentious ego trips. I've wanked myself off enough to include the fact that I'm a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and you can't be "some random individual roasting a marshmellow (p.s. it's "marshmallow") in an igloo somewhere" to join that. Cheers, CP 04:06, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

I would also like to note that your edits do not fully address the problems listed in the section that you deleted. Cheers, CP 04:06, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Questioning your abilities and qualifications as an editor does not constitute a personal attack, it in fact lies at the heart of the controversy over the Misplaced Pages. To put yourself forward as someone who is qualified to edit literary entries because you won a writing award at school is preposterous. You simply do not have a literary or writing background.

It's obvious that anyone can edit wikipedia entries, but just because you have "edited" 40,000 entries doesn't qualify you to arbitrate a final edit. Quantity is a poor substitute of quality.

Lastly, as for the other edits, some of them are considered primary source biographical details. Many, many wiki entries contain such details. In the world of scholarship, primary sources are highly valued and difficult to come by. Quoting secondary and tertiary sources is not as good and doesn't add much to the general knowledge of a subject.

The entry will be modified to include citations that involved interviews with friends, family, and literary critics of the subject.

• Unassessed biography articles
• WikiProject Biography articles