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I don't know if the subject interests anyne else, but I'm already too involved in this article and want to back out if I can. Various problems, see the talk page. I won't comment myself about it, but if, as I said, anyone's interested in Egyptology they might enjoy this. Dougweller ( talk) 21:00, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

oh dear, this appears to be the classic WP:FRINGE case, a theory associated with a single scholar, who is even personally dominating the talkpage and giving directions on how he would like his views advertised on Wikipedia. -- dab (𒁳) 14:07, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

I have left a notice at the Ancient Egypt project talk page about this. Hopefully those with more knowledge of the subject can attend to it. Blueboar ( talk) 14:49, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

I do not think a lot of expert knowledge is needed here. Rohl suggested this revised chronology based on "let's take the Hebrew Bible and find a historical person to match each character that appears in it". Egyptologists have looked at it and said "98% rubbish". It's a fringe theory that received some limited media coverage. It should just be merged back into the David Rohl article and presented for what it is worth. -- dab (𒁳) 14:58, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

No objections... I simply wanted to alert the folks at the project that the article existed and had problems. I assume that they will deal with it appropriately (be it fixing the article, merging it, of nominating at AfD). Blueboar ( talk) 23:15, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

this is pretty bad, and we need to look after the "revised chronology" articles more generally. A lot of undue crackpottery seems to have been festering here. See Institute for the Study of Interdisciplinary Sciences, apparently a clone of the Society for Interdisciplinary Studies dedicated to Immanuel Velikovsky. David Rohl appears to be a product of a sizeable "shadow academy" starting with Velikovsky's Revised Chronology (1952) which engendered the Glasgow Chronology (1978). This is all 100% WP:FRINGE. Other limbs of this would include Emmet Sweeney (link to deletion debate) and Gunnar Heinsohn (a tenured sociologist who apparently fell for Velikovsky), Pensée (Immanuel Velikovsky Reconsidered), Kronos: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Synthesis. All of this needs to be checked for notability and proper presentation, strictly within Category:Pseudohistory. Super-articles are Catastrophism and Phantom time hypothesis. The David Rohl articles appear to be the most vigorous attempt at misrepresenting this thing as part of bona fide Egyptology at the moment.

Help from more FRINGE-savvy editors is badly needed here, as we haven't got past the stage of "but it was on TV" on talk yet. -- dab (𒁳) 10:13, 10 August 2009 (UTC)

PS, Donovan Courville, Peter James (historian). This seems to be a pretty deep well of WP:FRINGE that has so far passed largely unnoticed on this board. Oh yes, Rohl also knows where Eden was, James knows about Atlantis, and Courville can revise the chronology of Sumer to fit Ussher's date for Noah's flood. -- dab (𒁳) 11:24, 10 August 2009 (UTC)

some more assistance here? The talkpage of this article is a regualar COI swamp and I cannot be bothered to resolve this on my own. -- dab (𒁳) 16:06, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

This article is full of shaky claims and lacks anything resembling a reputable source. I suspect the best thing to do would be to delete it. (It was prodded some time ago but the prod was contested.) An editor named James Aslan ( talk · contribs) has complained about the article on the talk page, but apparently isn't familiar enough with Wikipedia procedures to address the problems effectively. Looie496 ( talk) 22:17, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

The problem is that there is quite a lot of material (fringe or otherwise) about this theory. See, for example, Google books. It clearly passes WP:N and should be covered. I made a cursory attempt to make it clear the theory isn't mainstream. I am no expert by any means, so I welcome better editing efforts. However, outright deletion doesn't seem appropriate given the level of coverage. -- ThaddeusB ( talk) 22:57, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

The basic issue is the lack of sources. Since nobody has shown any interest in supplying any so far, I have removed all the unsourced material except a stub. Looie496 ( talk) 15:00, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

I've found some sources but have limited connectivity here so I can't pursue them at this time. It's definitely naturopathic "needs lots of 'claims'" material, though. Mangoe ( talk) 16:46, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

I could especially use some help by someone who is better at medical journals than I am. I've found a few real medical critiques of this stuff, but they are all in uncitable places. Mangoe ( talk) 05:46, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

I don't know enough about this topic to make any kind of realistic call on this article, but it sounds awfully fringey to me. It's currently up for AFD with zero !votes after four days, so I thought people here might want to take a look at it. Dori ❦ ( Talk ❖ Contribs ❖ Review) ❦ 23:21, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

It shows up on Google Scholar well enough, but it is also clearly a fringey attempt to medicalize acupuncture. Mangoe ( talk) 22:01, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

AfD link where the theory that the pharmaceutical industry is engaged in "competitor suppression" forms a major part of the discussion. Tim Vickers ( talk) 04:10, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Another eye on these articles would be useful, see the talk page of both. Thanks. Dougweller ( talk) 18:07, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Time, like light, may best be described as a union of opposites. Time may be both wave and, ultimately, particle, each in some sense a reflection of the other. The same holographic properties that have long been an accepted part of the phenomenon of the perception of three-dimensional space also suggest that interference patterns are characteristic of process. Living beings especially illustrate this: They are an instance of the superimposition of many different chemical waves, waves of gene expression and of gene inhibition, waves of energy release and energy consumption, forming the standing wave interference patterns characteristic of life. We hypothesize that this wave description is the simple form of a more complex wave that utilizes the simple wave as the primary unit in a system of such units, combined in the same way as lines are combined into trigrams and then hexagrams in the I Ching. We will argue that this more complex wave is a kind of temporal map of the changing boundary conditions that exist in space and time, including future time. We have called the quantized wave-particle, whatever its level of occurrence within the hierarchy or its duration, eschaton.

We don’t think about time because we take it for granted like breathing, but consider our hypothesis that the space-time continuum is a modular wave-hierarchy. The Eschaton is a universal and fractal morphogenetic field, hypothesized to model the unfolding predispositions of space and time. This structure was decoded from the King Wen sequence of the I Ching and was the central idea that evolved in the wake of the events of La Chorrera as described in my book, True Hallucinations.

—  Terence McKenna [1]

The above is a good example of the pseudoscientific word-salad babble that makes up the WP:PRIMARY source material for this 'theory' (to which I became exposed after responding to an earlier FTN notice on the topic).

In that time, I have discovered that:

1. This babble is apparently quite notable, at least in the fuzzy new-age quantum mysticism style fringe of things.
2. There appears to be absolutely no WP:RS interpretation or analysis of it.
3. As it is essentially meaningless, it is virtually impossible to summarise.
4. We have an editor, Systemizer ( talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) (mercifully blocked at the moment), who insists on adding his own WP:OR interpretations which, although no more meaningful than the primary source, bear no particular resemblance to it, and appears totally disinterested in discussing the problems this causes on talk.

How does one treat such material, which appears to be so far out on the fringe as to have no contact with reality, whilst still retaining notability? [belatedly signed Hrafn ^Talk _Stalk^{( P)} 17:49, 18 August 2009 (UTC) ]

I still question the notability of Timewave Zero to begin with. Simonm223 ( talk) 14:45, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

If it hasn't been covered in WP:RS then it should be nominated for deletion ASAP. Otherwise, getting it into a much better state before the bock expires would be great. Does it meet WP:GNG? Verbal chat 15:02, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Based on discussion here I have nominated the article for deletion on the grounds that it is not notable. Simonm223 ( talk) 15:47, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

I am not so sure that nomination for deletion is the correct step... yes, Timewave Zero is Fringe pseudoscience... but based on a quick google books search, it seems that it is discussed seriously by several reliable third party sources (some to disparage it, some supporting it, and some simply discussing it neutrally)... so it passes the inclusion test as set out in our guideline. The problem is that the article does not yet properly establish the topic's notability, not that the topic isn't notable. On the other hand, often the threat of deletion will spark those who care about the topic to go out and find sourses to properly substantiate what makes it notable, and if it doesn't, it proably means no one cares enough to keep it. Blueboar ( talk) 16:36, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Which books 'discuss it seriously'? I did a similar search when I first investigated this topic, and although I could find numerous works talking about it in a superficial manner (e.g. Rave culture and religión), I could find none that actually gave any useful explanation of this 'theory's' contents. Hrafn ^Talk _Stalk^{( P)} 17:57, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

The sorts of questions I'd like to see such a 'serious discussion' address would be (i) How do you quantify novelty? (ii) How does this quantification relate to the I Ching? How do either of these issues relate to time (as opposed to some other randomly picked dimension, like ambient temperature or distance from Timbuktoo)? Hrafn ^Talk _Stalk^{( P)} 18:09, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

I just checked and it's categorized Pseudophysics and Pseudoscience. Plus highly critical (appropriately IMO) treatment, so what's wrong with keeping the article? I'd rather have this than nothing at all. Goodmorningworld ( talk) 18:53, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

The problem is that, beyond stating that it's pseudoscience, there's really nothing to say beyond an arbitrarily-long regurgitation of McKeena's word-salad claims. That being so, my favoured arbitrary-length is zero. This being so, the statement that it's pseudoscience can conveniently be included in the article on Terence McKenna and/or 2012 doomsday prediction. Hrafn ^Talk _Stalk^{( P)} 19:12, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

(<---) Turned it into a redirect to Terence McKenna. Goodmorningworld ( talk) 19:20, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Whether the redirect survives or not... I do want to note that this has gone through no less than four AfD debates (three resulting in Keep, one resulting in No Consensus). That does say something. Blueboar ( talk) 19:22, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Make that two "resulting in Keep" -- the first AfD had its result recorded as "deleting [ sic]" (two deletes, one keep, one merge, one merge/redirect, one redirect). Hrafn ^Talk _Stalk^{( P)} 06:21, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

I have found evidence of original research and abuse of sources in this article, and have suggested it for featured article review here: Wikipedia:Featured_article_review/Parapsychology/archive1 Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 193 FCs served} 18:53, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Myron Evans (2nd nomination) and the discussion on my talk page for background. Evans is actively discussiong Wikipedia in his blog and now The World of Hadronic Physics and The Science and Faith of Larry Horwitz have been created, written, directed and produced by Francesco Fucilla: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Francesco Fucilla. It might be worth watching the articles mentioned in his blog. Webmaster6 ( talk · contribs) seems to be an SPA devoted to Evans related articles. Einstein–Cartan–Evans theory is about his theory. He recently tried to start a private University named after him in Wales but the Welsh government wasn't impressed, so it's been renamed and moved to Hungary I believe. Dougweller ( talk) 18:57, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for posting here. In the end I did prod the two articles on the new films as I mentioned on your talk page. Mathsci ( talk) 19:06, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Two of the articles he complains about in his blog were hit by a vandal last night, Black Hole and Stephen Hawking.

Probably quite unrelated. However Webmaster6 also created Alwyn Van der Merwe. Probably as the editor in chief of Foundations of Physics, he has sufficient notability. But editing conference proceedings, being on the faculty at Denver and having been recognized by Fucilla, Evans and Santilli are not at present grounds for notability. Mathsci ( talk) 06:11, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

Two editors have removed a reliably sourced repetition of an admittedly fringe theory, advanced by the Iranian state press, that Taitz' activities are funded by Israel. The assertion being made is that since a state-run biased source with an apparent history of anti-semitic fabrication appearss to have originated the theory, it should remain unmentioned, with a secondary assertion that WP:UNDUE prohibits mention of reliably sourced fringe theories. More input at Talk:Orly Taitz would be welcome. Jclemens ( talk) 06:21, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

To clarify: Everyone knows it's conspiracy theory and everyone knows that conspiracy theories are WP-worthy when mainstream sources report on the conspiracy theory. Not every announcement made by a semi-notable conspiracy crank deserves mention in the WP article dedicated to the subject matter of the announcement. In this case, the mainstream media has in essence ignored these conspiracy theories.-- brew crewer (yada, yada) 07:07, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

"Has in essence" meaning "has come close enough to ignoring them, that I want to treat it as if they actually DID ignore them" in this context, no? Jclemens ( talk) 15:28, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

The mainstream media is "essentially" ignoring this issue when there is a huge amount of media coverage on the crazy birthers, but not one mainstream source has bothered to mention this conspiracy theory except for the one off-hand mention in the on-line blog section of a small (albeit reliable) media source. Hence, it's "essentially" being ignored.-- brew crewer (yada, yada) 15:45, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

The Iranian state media promote an obscure fringe theory as a pretext for criticizing Israel? Quelle surprise. Short Brigade Harvester Boris ( talk) 18:57, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, which is why I find the whole attempt to censor its inclusion quite intriguing. It's not like anyone is going to mistake them or Madsen for objective parties. Jclemens ( talk) 00:49, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Sure, except that "controversial" doesn't quite hit the mark. Instead of saying "controversial Iranian media outlet Press TV" just say "Iranian state media." That's just a plain factual description and has the benefit of avoiding the word "controversial," which is often a controversial word. Short Brigade Harvester Boris ( talk) 18:11, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

There has been a recent edit war on the page of this anti-fringe group, with one editor reverting any changes made to address issues they raised to a version with less information, and now there are accusations of POV and OR. It is claimed that the article is unbalanced, that describing positive coverage without an RS that the coverage is positive is OR, and that the article gives undue credibility to SaS. I would like more editors to review the arguments from both sides and add your own if you like. Please watchlist and join the talk page discussion. Verbal chat 08:20, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

I have now been accused of having a WP:COI because I do not support a users edits - despite having supplied references, etc. Please have a look. Thanks, Verbal chat 10:09, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

I think that editor is making a storm-in-a-tea-cup over this article. It's pretty balanced, certainly compared to the earlier whitewash by SaS, and the sourcing is good. Fences& Windows 22:44, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Ah, declaring COI, rule 76 in the fringe-pusher handbook. I'll add it to my watchlist in case it quickly deteriorates, and take a look after work. Awickert ( talk) 17:09, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Awickert, I do hope you're not suggesting I'm a "fringe-pusher". Someone employed by Sense About Science had earlier edit warred and removed all criticism, so the article was in a terrible shape. A "Reception" section was added in a few months ago, giving a balanced and well-sourced overview of the positive and negative coverage, and it has been pretty stable since then, until Blippy started declaring that it was too favourable to SaS, which I don't think is true.

My personal opinion of SaS is that I don't like any of the organisations founded by people associated with Frank Furedi's Revolutionary Communist Party and Living Marxism magazine, of which SaS is one. They've got an undeclared political agenda of pro-technology anti-environmental libertarianism. I'm pro-science, just not pro-SaS. Fences& Windows 22:23, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Blippy ( talk · contribs) is editwarring a POV tag into the article without justification, despite several requests on the talk page (unless "I dispute the neutrality" can be taken as a justification) Verbal chat 08:08, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

This article is about a fringe book that I believe isn't even notable. I prodded it 9 months ago when it was still fresh. Since then it survived an AfD, based on references from other fringe publications, got a peer review and failed (unsurprisingly) a GA nomination. Some statements of fact are protected with qualifications such as "purported", but the overall treatment is completely in-universe. No wonder, since the only author himself evidently lives in this "infinite universe in which the core element is vibration", as described by an "extraterrestrial group of supernatural entities purportedly contacted by Don Elkins" and others. Comments on the talk page suggest to me that the article may not even represent the mainstream among the fringe group of believers in this stuff.

I am not sure what's the best way to deal with this cancerous article (it grows and grows). Any ideas? Hans Adler 18:30, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Oh dear. Merge into Don Elkins with prejudice. I mean, even Ramtha was merged into J. Z. Knight, and notability was rather more arguable there. -- dab (𒁳) 18:40, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

After reviewing the article and associated talk page I agree with dab's suggestion. Merge with Don Elkins —Preceding unsigned comment added by Simonm223 ( talk • contribs)

I can tell you the counter-argument, because I have heard it before: "The Ra entity was channeled by Carla Rueckert making a merge with Don Elkins a bad idea." The problem is that this series of books has three authors, weakening the merge argument only slightly, but just enough to guarantee victory to the extreme inclusionists. Hans Adler 19:03, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Well thanks for advanced warning but I was busy proposing the merge and didn't get it until after I finished. LOL Oh well, it was my first merge proposal, at least I know how to do it now. Simonm223 ( talk) 19:13, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

The problem is that there isn't really anything to say about the topic because there are no mainstream sources discussing it. Except one strange book about New Age, called "Strange Weather", which doesn't so much discuss as describe it, and possibly the following. Perhaps someone has free access to this paper and can check if it's any use:

A short history of bad acoustics. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 120, Issue 4, pp. 1807-1815 (October 2006)

Hans Adler 19:33, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Well, wow. That's an hilarious example of a cargo cult Wikipedia entry. It has all the resemblance of a proper encyclopedia article, but it's actually full of nonsense. If it is kept as a solo article, it needs the "in universe" material slashing back considerably. What was Stifle doing closing that AfD as "Keep"? That's a "No consensus" if I ever saw one. Fences& Windows 23:47, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

9 months of patience and now the same discussions again.. You should study first, the relevant wikipedia policies, rules and arbcom rulings. To summarize: 1-a fringe topic can exist in wikipedia when it is backed with reliable secondary sources; 2-when tagged with proper tags (paranormal etc.) and styled with proper qualifiers (like purported) the statements become facts and conforms to wikipedia policies and guidelines. The article does not throw any theory before the "scientific community" nor it tries to imply having any scientific basis. Paranormal tag and certain "qualifiers" (purported, claim, etc.) are enough to achieve this, according to an arbcom ruling. Do not misunderstand & overinterpret "reliability", "verifiability" and some other wikipedia policies and guidelines in order to game the system WP:GAME. This noticeboard is not a place for a delete/merge discussion. If you have any problem with any arbcom ruling, that article and this noticeboard are not proper playgrounds. Logos5557 ( talk) 00:36, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Interested parties can find past arbcom rulings here [2]. Logos5557 ( talk) 00:52, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Excellent article. Missed something about the 6th band (what happened to the other five?); a little more attention to detail and it's a straight win at WP:GAN. Growth is a natural condition of a healthy wikipedia article; articles are more like children than tumors. NVO ( talk) 06:29, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Sorry, but in a thread in which someone posts who obviously believes in this nonsense, it's not appropriate to use sarcasm. See WP:SARCASM. Hans Adler 06:55, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Hans Adler; after 9 months of suffering, you are still not civil in this issue. If you have any proofs against notability and verifiability of the material in the article, please provide & share with the community. You very well know that, the material does not need to be discussed in mainstream sources, in order for it to exist in wikipedia. Why don't you first try to change the relevant wikipedia policies and rules, instead of "attacking" this article by gaming the system? My beliefs has nothing to do with this issue. Why do you still use the same fallacious arguments again & again in these nonsense discussions? Should I use the similar approach? For instance, how come a person like you can believe in homeopathy, which is a total nonsense. Logos5557 ( talk) 08:38, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Several points:

• Yes, it was 9 months of suffering. Each time the article appeared on my watchlist I had to decide whether to look at your latest exploits or simply ignore what you were doing there. Or did you suffer? Nobody forces you to edit non-notable topics here.
• It's notability that must be proved, not non-notability. Otherwise we would have no chance to get rid of joke articles such as User:Greg L/Sewer cover in front of Greg L’s house if someone put them into the mainspace. You have not proved notability, although I am sure you believe you have done that.
• "the material does not need to be discussed in mainstream sources" – Wrong. To quote WP:N and WP:RS selectively:

• "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject"
• reliable sources: [fringe sources] "may be used [...] so long as [...] the article is not based primarily on such sources."
• reliable sources: "An individual [...] fringe source may be entirely excluded if there is no independent evidence that it is prominent enough for mention. Fringe [...] sources must not be used to obscure [...] the mainstream view, nor used to indicate a fringe theory's level of acceptance."
• independent of the subject: "excludes works produced by those affiliated with the subject including (but not limited to): self-publicity, advertising, self-published material by the subject, autobiographies, press releases, etc."
• and in any case: "Editors may reach a consensus that although a topic meets this criterion, it is not appropriate for a standalone article. For example, such an article may violate what Wikipedia is not." Under the link, we find that "content hosted in Wikipedia is not: 1. Propaganda, advocacy, or recruitment of any kind, commercial, political, religious, or otherwise. Of course, an article can report objectively about such things, as long as an attempt is made to describe the topic from a neutral point of view."

• Homeopathy is much less absurd than the bullshit about "octaves", "densities", "social memory complexes" and dozens of other totally undefined pseudoscientific terms, but even so homeopathy is absurd enough for me not to believe in it. I am merely working for it to be treated in an NPOV way. Which is exactly what I am doing here as well. Your belief just happens to be much more marginal. Hans Adler 10:20, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

This article has been nominated for deletion: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ra (channeled entity) (2nd nomination) Verbal chat 09:22, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

That was me, my reasoning is on the AfD page. Irbisgreif ( talk) 10:14, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

You could just remove the article from your watchlist, so that you would relieve yourself from that tough decision process whether to look at my exploit or blah blah.. This topic is definitely notable, even it does not need to be covered by academics in order to be able to exist in wikipedia, there are two academics who cover the topic more than enough. I have proved the notability and if any person claims otherwise then he/she should present his/her arguments. Without bringing any argument, you can't just claim that the references presented are not reliable and third-party. You should first read this arbcom ruling here [3] before structuring any claim on reliability, mainstream coverage and similar nonsense which apparently is gaming the system. I am picking the most important ones for you:

• Basis for inclusion

3) In addition to firmly established scientific truth, Wikipedia contains many other types of information. "The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth" (from Wikipedia:Verifiability).

Passed 9-0 at 03:01, 28 July 2007 (UTC)

• Adequate framing

6.2) Language in the introduction of an article may serve to frame the subject thus defining the epistemological status. Examples include "mythical", "fictional", "a belief", and in the present case "paranormal", "psychic", "new age", "occult", "channeling", or "parapsychological researcher". "UFO", "Bigfoot", "Yeti", "alien abduction", and "crop circle" serve the same function. It should not be necessary in the case of an adequately framed article to add more, for example to describe Jeane Dixon as a psychic who appeared on TV says it all. "Purported psychic" or "self-described psychic" adds nothing.

Passed 9-0 at 03:01, 28 July 2007 (UTC)

• Cultural artifacts

5) "Psychic" or "clairvoyant" and similar terms are cultural artifacts, not people or things which necessarily exist. A psychic may not have psychic abilities, nor does use of the term imply that such abilities exist.

passed 8-0 at 03:06, 28 July 2007 (UTC)

• Popular culture

8) Wikipedia includes many articles regarding matters that are of notable popular interest such as alien abductions, animal mutilations and crop circles. Often there exists little scientific interest or analysis of such purported events.

passed 8-0 at 03:06, 28 July 2007 (UTC)

• Paranormal as an effective tag

12) The use of a link to paranormal in the introduction of an article serves to frame the matter. Links to psychic, new age, or occult serve the same purpose.

passed 8-0 at 03:06, 28 July 2007 (UTC) Logos5557 ( talk) 20:13, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

• And let me comment on that brilliant "I am merely working for it to be treated in an NPOV way" whopper.. I checked homeopathy discussions and saw that you are trying to prevent the inclusion of a very important warning from some academics, which is based on some comments from WHO, here [4] [5] into the article. Logos5557 ( talk) 07:31, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

• Thanks for the direct link to a letter that someone found after I wrote the comments to which you are referring. I had to go by the BBC news report. I agree that use of homeopathy in the way described in this letter is dangerous. However, the WHO is perfectly able to publish its opinions on its own. As far as I know it is not in the habit of publishing its official opinions indirectly by telling it to scientists who then write letters to politicians in which they also advertise the dodgy organisation called Sense About Science. (This organisation is connected with pro-GM advertising and denial of global warming, and is said to have been formed by a group around a former extrimist magazine called Living Marxism.) Therefore it seems appropriate to mention the WHO's warning if and when we find it in a publication or press report by the WHO itself or a WHO official.
• Let's continue discussing my character, if it's important to you. Hans Adler 11:31, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

• Ok, you might have objected the inclusion of a warning in the article as if it was coming from WHO. However, it is crystal clear now that the letter comes from a, what you call dodgy, organisation, which is formed by some academics & notable, and now the warning can be included by correctly stating the name of the organisation. Even it is not from WHO, the letter has enough notability & reliability. Logos5557 ( talk) 14:30, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Good distraction technique. This thread is about Ra, not about homeopathy. It'd be better to take discussion of homeopathy to the Homeopathy article talk page. By the way, my opinion of Sense About Science is about the same as Hans', and I give no credence to homeopathy whatsoever. Fences& Windows 22:30, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

ok, at least it is now crystal clear where the problem lies. I am glad we had this discussion. It looks like we're going to delete Ra (channeled entity) and then recreate it as a protected redirect to Don Elkins. I think this pretty much sums up this thread. -- dab (𒁳) 12:50, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

you may now relax, the article is userfied, I moved it to my userspace. I will try the last resort, arbcom. We will see then which users' conduct should be fixed. Logos5557 ( talk) 14:34, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Please consider carefully before going to ArbCom; going to ArbCom can backfire. I fail to see the grounds. The article is probably going to be deleted on the grounds of insufficient notability due to a lack of independent reliable sources covering it in detail, which isn't the sort of thing ArbCom normally rules on. Fences& Windows 22:30, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

excellent. I believe this case is so obvious, it will be difficult even for the arbcom to botch it. What we now need to do is review the Don Elkins article with regard to WP:BIO. THis is an article on a WP:FRINGE author and it does not present any evidence of notability. -- dab (𒁳) 15:24, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

This seems to be caught between worlds, as it were. It also has some significant WP:SYN issues. Mangoe ( talk) 03:34, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, I see what you mean... Actually, I think the only potential WP:FRINGE problem was with the "evidence" section. (I have removed it.) It didn't really fit the scope of the article, as it was about archeological remains and not myths (I am guessing that the idea was that there is some connection between the remains and the myths... but without a source, stating what that connection is, it is hard to tell for sure. Also, without a source, stating any connection would be OR).

As for the rest of the article, the title indicates that the article is about little people in mythology... I am not sure you can call the various modern fictional little people (such as Hobbits and Kinder) "mythology"... but I am willing to give the article's scope a little bit of slack in that direction. Blueboar ( talk) 19:05, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

There's still a significant WP:SYN issue in that it's not clear that anyone whose opinion matters groups all these varied things into the same class. Mangoe ( talk) 22:29, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Some debate on the homeopathy page talk here as to whether homeopathy is covered by WP:FRINGE. Clearly relevant to this noticeboard. Also, several other interesting discussions, if you can cope with the feeling of déjà vu. Verbal chat 11:10, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

That talkpage has never been a thing of beauty or an attractor of purely saner heads, but after reading it, abandon all hope ye who enter there. You have both my sympathies for your participation and my apologies for the lack of mine. I am admitting to this not because I believe my attitude is healthy (it most certainly isn't) but rather to demonstrate what a dire need of reform this project has to issues that befuddle such articles. Baccyak4H ( Yak!) 16:31, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

In case somebody doesn't understand this remark and is afraid of looking: It's about FAQ Question 4: "Should the article call homeopathy a fringe belief?" The FAQ's answer is "yes", but the article doesn't actually do it. An editor changed the answer to "no" and started a discussion. I introduced the aspect whether for the purpose of this question (note the word belief in the question) homeopathy should be evaluated as something that wants to be a science, as CAM, or as a belief system. Personally I don't think a 200-year-old belief system with homeopathy's number of followers (in some key countries) is a fringe belief, even if it has a strong pseudoscience component and attempts to justify it scientifically are without a doubt fringe science or worse. Of course not everybody is happy with treating this topic as anything but a failed science, though. In particular homeopaths generally want it accepted as a science. I think this should give a general impression. ;-) Hans Adler 17:21, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Ah, the yes-or-no answers in the FAQ. A sockpuppet of a permabanned user ran around messing with a bunch of FAQs, including the ones for Evolution and Global warming as well as homeopathy. In the global warming one I got rid of all the yes/no answers on the grounds that we should present readers with the facts but shouldn't tell them what to conclude. (The guy fought this, but eventually it stuck after he was blocked.) The Homeopathy FAQ may benefit from a similar approach; at the least, it would obviate the wrangling over whether the answer should be "yes" or "no."

I admit I've given up regular monitoring of the talk page. It's a mess in the best of times, and lately has degenerated into a free for all. Short Brigade Harvester Boris ( talk) 17:38, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

(ec x 2) As one of the few who almost always answer "it depends" when these polarising questions are asked, I totally agree with this idea, of course. In the current form there is no chance that it convinces anybody in the targeted group, anyway. But perhaps we should give people a few weeks to calm down first.

Yes, it's the same for me. Too much polarisation recently. Hans Adler 17:59, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Seeing SBHS's comments leaves me less with a feeling of validation for my own cowardice but rather more with one of inevitable resignation.

To partially repent for my original lame comment above, I will add that Hans' summary appears reasonably accurate, although the problems there go far beyond and before that particular section. As a silver lining, one extraordinarily disruptive (by being naive to the goals and principles of the project, not by necessarily meaning poorly) editor recently got topic-banned from there, which should be a (very) small step in the right direction. Baccyak4H ( Yak!) 17:47, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

My 2 cents - Homeopathy = fringe. Simonm223 ( talk) 20:58, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

(remove indent) I can see how some people might get the impression of Homeopathy not being fringed when presented with the following in support of it:

• K. Linde, N. Clausius, G. Ramirez, et al., "Are the Clinical Effects of Homoeopathy Placebo Effects? A Meta-analysis of Placebo-Controlled Trials," Lancet, September 20, 1997, 350:834-843
• Kleijnen, P. Knipschild, G. ter Riet, "Clinical Trials of Homoeopathy," British Medical Journal, February 9, 1991, 302:316-323
• Archives of Family Medicine, 1998, 7, 537-40
• Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 61, 12:1197-1204. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2008.06/015
• Archives of Internal Medicine, 159, 17, September 27, 1999

The problem with all these is either the study doesn't say why the person citing it claims or it was refuted by a later study such as the following:

• Linde, K, et al. "Impact of study quality on outcome in placebo-controlled trials of homeopathy." J Clin Epidemiol. 1999 Jul;52(7):631-6
• Ernst E, et al. "Meta-analysis of homoeopathy trials". Lancet 1998 Jan 31;351(9099):366)
• "Belladonna 30C in a double blind crossover design - a pilot study". J Psychosomatic Res 1993; 37(8): 851-860)
• "The end of homoeopathy" The Lancet, Vol. 366 No. 9487 p 690. Vol. 366 No. 9503 issue (Dec 27, 2005)
• "Clinical Trials (2003-2007)" Clinical Trials on Homeopathy Published from 2003 to 2006: Jacobs (2007; 2006; 2005), Robertson (2007), Bull, (2007), Fisher (2006) La Pine (2006), Brinkhaus (2006), Steinsbekk (2005), Thompson (2005); Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysesk of Clinical Trials of Homeopathy: Thachil (2007), Vickers and Smith (2006), McCarney (2004), Smith, (2003).

That in a nushell is the problem with Homeopathy--even scholarly journals drop the ball on it from time to time.-- BruceGrubb ( talk) 03:20, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

There is ongoing debate on the Talk:Historicity of Jesus page regarding how much space in that article should be given to the possibility of Jesus being a myth. Much of the material seems to be based on the Journal for the Study of the New Testament, which is apparently described as being a "cutting-edge" journal on the subject of the New Testament. I'm not sure what "cutting-edge" scholarship relating to documents that are, at least on average, about 1500 or more years old would be, but that's what the journal is about. I have a personal feeling, based on my own lack of any familiarity with the journal, that it might well include a good deal of fringey material.
Anyway, two questions for the esteemed frequenters of this board:

• 1) Is, at this time, the belief that Jesus never existed "fringey"?
• 2) Are there such things as "fringey" academic journals, and, considering how you all are probably better at determining it than I or many of the other editors on that page are, might the journal in question qualify as one such "fringey" journal? John Carter ( talk) 23:41, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

This is absolutely a fringe theory, and it's been discussed many times already on this board. The theory had a brief period of notoriety in the early 20th century, and faded from scholarly discourse thereafter; now it's a dead issue in scholarship (as several sources cited at Historicity of Jesus and Christ myth theory say). I would be very surprised if any articles in the Journal for the Study of the New Testament espouse the theory; what User:BruceGrubb seems to be saying in the discussion at Talk:Historicity of Jesus is that Robert M. Price, a noted advocate of the theory, has published articles in the Journal for the Study of the New Testament and is therefore a bona fide academic. (From a quick Google Scholar search, it seems that most of what Price has published in JSNT are book reviews, not articles.) In this effort to establish Price's legitimacy, BruceGrubb doesn't mention that Price teaches at the Johnnie Coleman Theological Seminary, which is an unaccredited theological seminary. Price is the most prominent "scholarly" proponent of the theory, and this is good evidence of its fringiness--the most prominent advocate doesn't even teach at an accredited institution.

There definitely are "fringey" academic journals, but the Journal for the Study of the New Testament doesn't look like one. --Akhilleus ( talk) 00:30, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

It's published by SAGE. Most of their journals are outside the fields I know, but the one I recognize (Progress in Physical Geography) is definitely a respected mainstream journal. Short Brigade Harvester Boris ( talk) 01:00, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

As I explained over at the Talk:Multi-level marketing page Google is limited in what it can show and have shown that Akhilleus ability to use Google in an effective manner is less than stellar. Also Akhilleus fails to mention that he has tried to keep James Charlesworth's "No reputable scholar today questions that a Jew named Jesus son of Joseph lived; most readily admit that we now know a considerable amount about his actions and basic teachings ..." statement even though there is no evidence the man has any expertise in the field of archeology simply on the merits that director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at Princeton Theological Seminary even though the man is a Professor of New Testament Language and Literature. Akhilleus also argued for months on a "quote" by Michael Grant which was actually Grant quoting two other authors who statements could not be proven and who had published in questionable publishers (Penguin and SCM). The consensus was to throw the quote out but Akhilleus kept defending until it finally disappeared and despite his very long claim it was valid Akhilleus has not put it back in.

Then you have Fischer, Roland (1994) "On The Story-Telling Imperative That We Have In Mind" Anthropology of Consciousness. Dec 1994, Vol. 5, No. 4: 16 stating in the abstract "There is not a shred of evidence that a historical character Jesus lived, to give an example, and Christianity is based on narrative fiction of high literary and cathartic quality. On the other hand Christianity is concerned with the narration of things that actually take place in human life." and in the main body there is this: "It is not possible to compare the above with what we have, namely, that there is not a shred of evidence that a historical character Jesus lived." Despite Drews himself saying "The Gospels are no historical sources in the ordinary sense of the word, but writings of believers, edifying books, literary sources of the community's Christian consciousness." this reference was not allowed in on what IMHO was a bunch of OR tap dancing.

To recape we have nothing even resembling a consensus of what Christ Myth theory even is, a bunch of WP:SYN regarding the definition we have, questionable sources on both sides of the issue, and one statement in a peer review publication tangentially connected to Drews' idea saying the theory isn't fringe. What a mess.-- BruceGrubb ( talk) 06:25, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

It is absolutely NOT a fringe theory, and labeling it as such is just an active campaign by POV pushers to repress legitimate minority academic views. Poor sources can be foiund advancing the theories, but poor sources can be found advancing all sorts of respected theories. You'll note that the sources used in such article to try to claim that supporters of the myth theory are fringe are theologians and pop history authors and others who in no way speak for the entire field of history (or, for some of them, even any part of it at all). It's an institutional bias, and an example of where people can use a consensus to violate policies, most likely just out of ignorance of the thoroughness of their bias in the matter. We see the same thing in articles talking about Christian myths where people their decide that we cannot use the scholarly terms of "myth" and "mythology" for fear of offending believers (while they do not object to such terms for the myths of cultures likes Hinduism, Norse, Shintoism, etc. that they do not personally follow) and in anything dealing with alleged historical basis for Bible/Biblical archeology. DreamGuy ( talk) 13:40, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Folks... It does not matter whether it is Fringe or not... what matters is whether it is notable, determined by whether it has been discussed in mainstream sources (even if those sources say it is rubbish).

Please read the guideline. Blueboar ( talk) 13:48, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Blueboar, this is beside the point. The point is that Christ myth theory is a fringy content fork of Historicity of Jesus. The topic does have notability. The article on the topic is at Historicity of Jesus. You cannot use the (undisputed) notability of the scholarly discussion on the historicity of Jesus to defend the creation of an article dedicated to various selected fringe approaches to that same topic. Please have a glance at the talk archives. I have made this very point about six times over the past few years, and I never got more than hand-waving. The article cannot even delineate its scope wrt Historicity of Jesus for, ahem, chrissakes. Apparently, if a book disputes the historicity of Jesus and if it is dumbed down sensationalism (as opposed to contributing to the academic discussion), apparently it then belongs in the "Christ myth" article. If it's serious, it belongs in the "historicity" article. This isn't acceptable. -- dab (𒁳) 18:42, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

I would imagine that the historicity of Jesus would be the "parent" article. It should discuss the full spectrum from the historical Jesus to the Christ myth, including the many views in between. The most broadly inclusive and mainstream view in reputable literature is that there was a real Jesus and mythology was later added, or attributed, to the historical figure. The " children" articles would be about the Christ myth theories and historical Jesus theories. Neither should be focused purely on a fringe theory.

The former article should be about what portions of the figure of Christ are embellishments, later additions, and other mythological developments. The idea that Jesus Christ did not exist at all or is pure mythology is a small minority view and should only receive a small portion of mention in a broader Christ mythology article. However, its proponents are not entirely fringe in the Wikipedia sense. The latter article should focus on defining the historical person Jesus son of Joseph, proof of his existence, and discussion of what sort of person or teacher he was. The view that the figure of Jesus Christ is identical, or almost so, to the historical Jesus is like the "pure myth" view as a small of the three articles should be dominated by the small minority views (and certainly not their superficially related fringe counterparts). Just as much religious apologetics, pop pseudoscience, traditionalist pseudohistory, and fringe conspiracy theories should be handled as such and should not dominate the article or its discussion. -- Vassyana ( talk) 17:03, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Dab... You say: "You cannot use the (undisputed) notability of the scholarly discussion on the historicity of Jesus to defend the creation of an article dedicated to various selected fringe approaches to that same topic." I agree with that... but if the various selected fringe approaches are notable in their own right you can create seperate articles. That was my only point. I have no idea whether the Christ Myth theory qualifies as notable or not... but if it is, then we can have a seperate article on it.

Vassyana... your take on this sounds very logical and reasonable to me ... assuming the Christ Myth article can be written (as per my comment to dab). Blueboar ( talk) 17:20, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

you can, and we do. Or why, do you think, do we keep the Earl Doherty or Robert M. Price articles? The articles on the notable fringe contributions to the question are in the articles on the individual authors, or in some instances individual books. The article on the topic in general, where academic literature gets all the weight is at historicity of Jesus. Now where, do you argue, does the Jesus myth hypothesis article fit into this picture?

to compare this to a recent case, keeping a "Jesus myth article" alongside the "serious" "Historicity of Jesus" article would be like keeping an article on minority views on Egyptian chronology besides the article on Egyptian chronology, i.e. an article dedicated to discuss an (original) compilation of fringe views connected only by their being not scholarly and thus failing WP:DUE in the main article. We have articles on the various, mutually incompatible, alternative chronologies, such as New Chronology (Rohl) or Glasgow Chronology. But collating these into a panorama article discussing "an overview of chronologies, but not the mainstream views, just the various fringe views" is not acceptable practice, and violates WP:SYNTH.

I would be obliged if you could familiarize yourself with the issue, Blueboar. The point is that there is no identifiable concept corresponding to the "Christ myth theory". The term is just a popular way of referring to views that there was no historical Jesus. Am I putting this clearly enough? "Christ myth theory" isn't a concept in its own right. It is a phrase popular in unacademic fringe literature used to refer to a class of positions within the historicity of Jesus debate.

I am somewhat annoyed at having to spell this out yet another time. This very point is buried in the article talkpage, oh, about a dozen times over. I really cannot see what is so difficult about this. Some people would like to give credibility to fringe views on an academic topic. What else is new? They do so by creating a content fork under a popular title and develop the exact same topic discussed in the main article, but unburdened by the need to respect academic literature, they can, in their cozy counter-article, just discuss their favourite pop culture accounts of the matter. This is exactly the kind of situation this noticeboard is supposed to sniff out and fix. -- dab (𒁳) 10:02, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

I have followed the Christ myth theory talk page for a while, rather loosely, and somehow I managed never to get this important aspect. But based on the discussions I have seen there, I think you are right. It seems to be a bit of a disparaging term for everything from "most of the stories about the historical Jesus are true, but they have been embellished a bit and now they are a myth in the technical sense of the word" to "no such person ever lived, and it was all made up centuries later by copying from other, earlier myths", although various authors use it in different ways.

This makes the article unnecessary as such, and I agree that the effect of the article's existence may well be undue promotion of the less notable theories. Again, all this is not based on actual familiarity but on what I gathered (unsystematically) from the article talk page. Hans Adler 10:32, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

The key problem as I found out is the material both pro and con is a mess. There is no consistent use of the term "Christ myth theory", and the terms "Christ myth" and "Jesus myth" are even more inconstant in their use. Too much in the Christ myth theory article depends on WP:SYN as to who is a supporter and the like with little consistency. As much as I wanted to believe otherwise I have to agree with Dbachmann that there is nothing to support the Christ myth theory article as it currently stands--simply put there is no there there.-- BruceGrubb ( talk) 01:36, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

As Dbachmann says, the "Christ myth theory" is the idea that there was no historical Jesus. This is an identifiable concept! What's more, there exists academic literature that treats this concept and the writers who have advocated it. Albert Schweitzer devoted two chapters of Quest of the Historical Jesus to it, and at least three recent books have covered the history of the theory in some detail: Robert Van Voorst, Jesus Outside the New Testament, William Weaver The historical Jesus in the twentieth century [6], and Clinton Bennett in Search of Jesus: Insider and Outsider Images [7]. Each of these books devotes at least a chapter or substantial section to the idea that there was no historical Jesus, and they focus on the authors who have espoused the theory over the last century and a half (or so). You can see a list of the authors each source covers near the end of this section in the talk archives, and see that Schweitzer, Van Voorst, Weaver, and Bennett largely focus on the same authors, with Bruno Bauer, Arthur Drews, J. M. Robertson, and William Benjamin Smith being the most important.

So there's an identifiable topic here, and it's notable--it receives substantial coverage in a variety of academic sources. The problem is, as Dbachmann says, that in its current state the article presents itself as an alternative version of Historicity of Jesus. But that simply means that the article should be fixed so that it's not a content fork, but a sub-article of Historicity of Jesus (or perhaps Quest for the Historical Jesus), which gives more detail about one aspect of thinking on the historical Jesus. --Akhilleus ( talk) 14:45, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

Surely the burden of proof is upon those who assert that there was a preacher named Jesus in the early 1st century CE. I have seen no evidence that such a person existed. This section should simply be headed the Christ myth. Jezhotwells ( talk) 22:01, 21 August 2009 (UTC) Jezhotwells ( talk) 22:06, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

Akhilleus is reading his own views into the material and engaging in WP:SYN, again. He has yet to produce any source that shows how Bromiley's International Standard Bible Encyclopedia "story of" with examples of Lucian, Wells, and Bertrand Russell of similar ideas fits with Dodd's "Or alternatively, they seized on the reports of an obscure Jewish Holy man bearing this name and arbitrarily attached the "Cult-myth" to him" all the while agreeing with Horbury's "Jesus had never existed" statement.

The reality is as I have proved time and time with actual citations is that "Christ Myth Theory" does not have a consistent definition--it can refer to the Jesus of the Bible being a myth while at the same time admitting there was likely a preacher possibly named Jesus going through Galilee in the 1st century CE) ie Historicity of Jesus) or it can hold that the entire story was made up. Worse there is nothing other than WP:SYN that ties "Christ Myth Theory", "Christ Myth", and "Jesus Myth" together.

For example, Weaver, Walter P. (1999) The historical Jesus in the twentieth century, 1900-1950 uses "Jesus Myth" in talking about Drews' hypthotehtical pre-Christian Jesus cult rather than it being Drews' idea of an non historical Jesus. (pg 51) Even more interestingly, Weaver soft plays Drews' position: "In the first and second editions of his work Drews noted that his purpose was to show that everything about the historical Jesus has a mythical character and thus it was not necessary to presuppose that a historical figure ever existed." pg 50. Further along Weaver says "A second part of the book took up the Christian Jesus. "The Jesus myth" had been in existence a very long time in one form or another, but it was only in the appearance of the tentmaker of Tarsus, Paul, that Jesus community separated from Judaism took root." pg 52. So how can "Jesus myth" be the "Christ Myth" (ie non historial Jesus theory) if Drews said the former predated Paul? Clearly it can't and the article is full of that type of nonsense to POV push the view that "Christ Myth Theory"/"Christ myth"/"Jesus myth" says Jesus never existed when even the literature doesn't say that (see Dodd for example)

To put is a bluntly as possible the literature on what the "Christ Myth Theory" even is is a total train wreck. "Reuben Clark: Selected Papers on Americanism and National Affairs‎" 1987 (University of California and Brigham Young University) from pg 129 on looks like it might help but I haven't been able to get a copy.-- BruceGrubb ( talk) 01:20, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

Was ok until a few days ago. No one takes her 'Pesher' (which it isn't really) seriously, no one can reproduce it, etc, but it's being edited by a fan. It could use some help esp. as I'm busy this weekend. Thanks. Dougweller ( talk) 05:09, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

Taking a look. Simonm223 ( talk) 18:40, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

The article on Parapsychology is up for a featured article review, due to many problems. Please participate. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 200 FCs served} 15:34, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

Should this article exist? The surveys were not run by any major polling company, they were by and large published in a fairly fringe journal, and it's hard to see such a tiny part of the topic as notable, even if the surveys were considered reliable. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 200 FCs served} 22:18, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

This article is an absolute mess. The quality of the writing is poor, it is credulous, it venerates the subject, and is very very poorly sourced. Some help would be appreciated as I am having huge co;puter proble;s, and I've already been called "suspicious" and had ;y editing generally called into auestion by a brand new editor on the talk page... Thanks Verbal chat 16:54, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

After spending some time I've changed my opinion from deleting the "Universal whatchamathinger theory" section and leaving the page intact to deleting the page. Gary Schwartz does not appear to meet the notability criteria laid out in WP:PROF. Article PRODded. Simonm223 ( talk) 19:50, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

Article now AfD. Voice your opinion. Simonm223 ( talk) 15:51, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

Yakub, as we all know, was an ancient Saudi scientist who created the white race on the isle of Patmos. A new editor has recently radically re-edited the article on this, er, historical individual as if he were real, and he repeatedly restores this truth. The dates also suggest that Yakub died 150 years before he was born. Paul B ( talk) 00:27, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

you mean, of course, an ancient Ubaidi scientist. After all, he lived in 4684 BCE. -- dab (𒁳) 16:45, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

Apparently you need to take this up with Elijah Muhammad. I suggest channeling. See Yakub (Elijah Muhammad) for the most recent. Looks like vandalism all around. Unless anyone thinks this is as clever as the vandal does. PelleSmith ( talk) 18:19, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

The new editor has been given a three-hour block to cool down due to edit warring. We'll see what happens when the block expires. Singularity42 ( talk) 20:18, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

Critical Mind ( talk · contribs) has not resumed edit-warring after their block expired. They have vented some spleen at Talk:Melanin theory, but no further article space edits. -- dab (𒁳) 10:54, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

Does anyone know anything about this? A new editor is going around adding his own essays to various entries from Swedenborgianism to Cult. S/he also created New Revelation of Jesus Christ. It seems like an Evangelical polemic against "false prophets". Googling the term turns up all kinds of things, including to some extent various criticisms of prophesy "outside the bible" labeled as such by conservative christian groups (e.g. against Mormon prophesy). I can't find any reliable sources on this, but I have to admit not looking too hard. Any thoughts? PelleSmith ( talk) 20:21, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

Don't go out of your way to find reliable sources... make the editor who wishes to add material supply them. And if he/she can not... then it is probably original research (per WP:NOR) and should be removed... I would start by tagging anything that seems iffy with {{fact}} tags. Blueboar ( talk) 20:40, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

Aha, so that's what's going on at Cult... I wondered. Simonm223 ( talk) 21:39, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

Seaborgiumism? - 2/0 ( cont.) 16:04, 28 August 2009 (UTC)

Swedenborgianism is the belief system developed from the writings of the Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 – 1772). William Blake hated it. Simonm223 ( talk) 16:14, 28 August 2009 (UTC)

Yeah but August Strindberg didn't. I agree with Dab below. Keep a look out. PelleSmith ( talk) 00:53, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

I have taken it upon myself to "encyclopedicize" this article. More references are still needed though. But Torchrunner ( talk · contribs) needs watching, editor is apparently here to make articles "more neutral" by rewriting them from an evangelical viewpoint, mostly going on about how things they disagree with are "cults". -- dab (𒁳) 16:23, 28 August 2009 (UTC)

If anyone is interested, the AAH page is getting more discussion and traffic, with disagreement on how to represent its status in the scientific community. Extra input is appreciated. WLU (t) (c) Wikipedia's rules: ^simple/ _complex 15:15, 28 August 2009 (UTC)

I had a soft spot for this theory when I studied human evolution at uni. It's a lovely just-so-story. It's very much fringe, but it is largely respected as a good but wrong theory. Much like the multiregional hypothesis, some supporters won't let it die without a fight. I will take a look. Fences& Windows 02:56, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

I feel the same way about it. It is a respectable, 'good but wrong' theory, clearly notable, but clearly far from mainstream opinion. -- dab (𒁳) 13:12, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

Proposing merge of Exopolitics into Michael Salla. Simonm223 ( talk) 15:40, 28 August 2009 (UTC)

At the moment this article seems to exist only to give publicity to Wayne Herschel (eyes on that please also). Any suggestions as to what to do with it? A redirect to Dan Brown's forthcoming book? Does the statement that it's also in another book affect what we do? A Google search only suggests it will be in Brown's book. Dougweller ( talk) 07:09, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

Not another Dan Brown book. This must be the worst author ever to meddle with these topics. His commercial success is a sad testimony for the intellectual state of the USA. Seriously, I am not a jealous person, but when I see that a boring, clueless hack gets the publicity and the millions that would properly belong to the many authors that are clearly his betters, I feel angry.

On topic though, this article obviously needs to be done away with by diligent merging. -- dab (𒁳) 13:10, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

The real problem article is Wayne Herschel. I was against deleting the Elkins/Rueckert one, but by the same standards, the Herschel article should also go: this is just yet another guy who wrote a book on pyramids and ancient astronauts. Orion Correlation Theory also bears looking into ("Egyptology" ineed). -- dab (𒁳) 13:27, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

I would start by cutting the "In polular culture" section (ie the Trivia section). This will resolve the problem of giving publicity to Herschel and Dan Brown. Of course that leaves the issue that the rest of the article is woefully under sourced. I would expect that there must be at lease semi-academic published sources, written by amature historians of symbology, that discuss this cipher in a serious manner. Blueboar ( talk) 15:53, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

this "cipher" isn't in any way notable. It is one of literaly dozens of similar diagrams which you find in each of the dozens of manuscripts pertaining to the Clavicula tradition. It is just one random occult diagram out of a huge tradition of verz simlar diagrams. It just so happened to catch Mr. Herschel's fancy, but there is probably no objective reason to discuss this diagram in particular. -- dab (𒁳) 17:42, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

please indulge my typos. I'm on a netbook. -- dab (𒁳) 17:43, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

hmmm... I am not well versed in occult symbology (I am more versed in Masonic symbolism, which is not the same thing, although there is sometimes an overlap) ... if this particuar "cipher" is nothing special in the occult world, is there a more general article on "Clavicula" (or some other topic) we could merge it into? Blueboar ( talk) 17:53, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

Somebody redirected to the Key of Solomon page. That was a perfect solution to this fallout from Wayne Herschel. Simonm223 ( talk) 13:21, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

Desperately need eyes on Key of Solomon I've been blocking a persistent spammer from editing the page but I am now getting accused of vandalism for my reverts. History of reverts visible on article page. Lend a hand please. Simonm223 ( talk) 16:14, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

sigh, it appears Mr. Herschel is not the only one infatuated with this pictogram. -- dab (𒁳) 17:13, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, well that was a... fun... morning. Simonm223 ( talk) 17:18, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

Could someone with more experience in the application of NPOV to fringe theories and pseudoscience on Wikipedia please drop by Talk:Astral projection. There is an edit war brewing over the appropriate way to address mainstream psychological interpretations of the perception of out-of-body experiences, and the outcome does not seem consistent with WP:WEIGHT and WP:FRINGE. In attempting to frame the lead in a manner consistent with a reasonably mainstream account, I have been rather incivilly acused of attempting to "vandalize" the article. Since I do not feel that I personally can remain constructive in such a hostile environment (indeed, I think I would only make things worse at this point), I would ask that a disinterested party please examine the matter. I will recuse myself from editing the article and its talk page for a period of one week, or until the matter has reached a resolution. Sławomir Biały ( talk) 22:22, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

The complainant removed detail of scientific studies and substituted crass generalisations of his own devising with (let us say) "inadequate" citations, noting that he found himself unable to understand the language of those studies and found it "weird" to go into detail. "Reasonably mainstream" is presumably his term for the opinions of someone who does not know much. I noted that insisting upon these changes and refusing discussion would be getting close to vandalism - certainly nobody else has been so "hostile". The complainants still reverts and, as he notes above, refuses to discuss. Redheylin ( talk) 23:08, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

After being attacked by you as a vandal on the talk page, and bearing the (continued and repeated) insinuation that I am somehow too dense to understand what was intended by the term "veridical" in the context, I decided not to engage in discussion. I am under no obligation to discuss anything with someone who personalizes things against me in this manner, and I have voluntarily recused myself from further discussion there precisely to prevent an escalation. I sense that I am being baited into anger, and I will not allow that to happen. Sławomir Biały ( talk) 23:30, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

There is a certain point to the suggestion that "veridical" is inferior in an encyclopedia to a synonym such as "true". Seriously, the Sławomir Biały version of the lede was more effective. Don't take stuff too personally. Simonm223 ( talk) 01:40, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Do you mean "verifiable"? (see WP:V) Blueboar ( talk) 02:43, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

No, the debate centers around the inclusion of the word "veridical". Simonm223 ( talk) 11:46, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

I need more eyes on this article. The overwhelming view is that these people died of accidental drownings in completely unrelated cases due to being drunk etc., but some minor self-declared profilers for hire have decided that this must be a bunch of interconnected murders, and of course because it sounds cooler some edutainment shows (like Larry King Live) have given some of these people air time. I maintain that by WP:UNDUEWEIGHT that the primary view presented must be what the police and FBI say (no murders) and that other views obviously can be mentioned but not everyone with a theory on it and not just because Larry King talked to them. There's very little input on the talk page, and what is there is usually people out to promote the view. Some outside opinions on the matter would be helpful and appreciated. DreamGuy ( talk) 13:37, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

While getting rid of ufoarea.com from Wikipedia because you have to pay to see the content, I ran into this article which anyone interested in UFOs, etc might want to look at. Dougweller ( talk) 20:43, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

I went in, did some edits, realized there were no verifiable references and have prodded. Simonm223 ( talk) 14:16, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

Does this qualify? (I'd lean towards "no", but it might show that the term has some currency... --Akhilleus ( talk) 14:35, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

Hold on... looking at the article, I see a bullet point list of references. The problem is that the article is missing inline citations, not that it is completely unreferenced. Blueboar ( talk) 14:46, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

A lot of those references in the bullet points are for magazines more than 3 decades old. I would count that as pushing the boundaries of verifiability. Still some of the material can be checked. Simonm223 ( talk) 15:00, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

Correction. Of the references that are not more than 3 decades old 2 out of 3 are primary source material. I will check the ONE remaining reference (a magazine a mere 17 years old) and see if I can dig up anything on it. Simonm223 ( talk) 15:01, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

All listed references assessed excepting ones greater than 50 years of age. AfD up. Simonm223 ( talk) 15:30, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

Ah... now I see the issue. The listed sources support the existance of the individual "mysterious weird stuff" stories, but not the existance of something called the "Bennington Triangle" that connects them all together. So the question is whether anyone except Joseph A. Citro (the author who coined the term "Bennington Triangle") has noted the term, and connects it to the stories. Blueboar ( talk) 16:25, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, precisely. Simonm223 ( talk) 16:50, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

OK... I have posted a comment clarifying this at the AfD. Blueboar ( talk) 16:57, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

The references (all but one) aren't actually cited within the article so it's hard to see what they are referencing. I put a note on the talk page. Dougweller ( talk) 18:06, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

Things are getting surreal at Jakob Lorber (Austrian mystic) and Great Gospel of John (his magnum opus). We have two users, and neither of them can write tuppence worth of content, and neither of them will condescend to spend five minutes to learn what Wikipedia is even trying to do.

• Torchrunner ( talk · contribs) (featured here before) is intent on denouncing Lorber as the instigator of an ungodly "cult" who is "criticised by Evangelical Christians"
• NRtruth ( talk · contribs) (where NR = "New Revelation" and truth = WP:TRUTH) is intent on showing how Lorber in the 1850s predicted the internet, satellite communication and what have you.

Between themselves they make a fair mess of things, as they aren't even reverting each other but simply pile on their own material "referenced" with random urls. -- dab (𒁳) 11:35, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

Problems at Jakob Lorber too. Trying to keep page stable pending cohesive discussion. Simonm223 ( talk) 18:16, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

I've deleted a huge chunk of stuff on predictions from the Great Gospel article, it all came from one self-published book (nothing on Google Books or Scholar about it) from an anonymous author. I imagine an attempt will be made to put it back, but as there is no reliable source... Dougweller ( talk) 18:37, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

If I spend any more time talking to Torchrunner ( talk · contribs) today I'm going to break WP:CIVIL so could somebody else please keep an eye on the page for major changes until tomorrow when I've had the opportunity to get the invective out of my system? Simonm223 ( talk) 20:49, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

For anyone interested, there's a discussion currently in play over at talk:2012 millenarianism (recently renamed from 2012 doomsday prediction) about what should be the most appropriate name for this article, with its scope covering various 2012-related speculations/predictions/theorising/phenomena. Arguments for/against various current title proposals are at Talk:2012_millenarianism#Definition_of_Millenarianism and Talk:2012_millenarianism#Formal_discussion_on_page_name, and there's an open poll at Talk:2012_millenarianism#Title_of_article_--_the_.28single_transferable.29_vote.21. Contribs & thoughts welcomed. -- cjllw ʘ TALK 03:51, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

Just to note, this has now gone to Featured article removal candidates. I suspect it is not my place to say more than that. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 204 FCs served} 15:40, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

Two editors, Xellas ( talk · contribs) and Paul H. ( talk · contribs), are in a dispute about the appropriate level of coverage for the ideas of Robert Sarmast, and have escalated to the level of a WQA. It seems to me that the best solution is to bring more eyes to the question, and that this is the right place to do it. Looie496 ( talk) 15:53, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

Paul H may not understand our policies and guidelines as well as some of us, but I'll vouch for his understanding of the subject and attitude - he may need some friendly guidance. Dougweller ( talk) 16:04, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

I should have looked at WQA, this is ridiculous. Paul H isn't Sarmast, Sarmast edits here but not for quite a while, and I told Xellas Paul's not Sarmast. I can't take direct action as I know Paul. Dougweller ( talk) 16:09, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

ANI I think as Xellas is both attacking Paul and trying to out him as Sarmast. Dougweller ( talk) 16:16, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

Paul A. LaViolette . . . is an American scientist who has proposed unorthodox physics theories and interpretations of the Bible, Mayan pictograms, the Zodiac and ancient Vedic stories. . . . LaViolette is the current president of the Starburst Foundation, an interdisciplinary scientific research institute."

This article was started on August 19 (by a now-blocked user) and seems to be generating some rancor, including this thread at ANI, and this AfD that closed without consensus on August 27. Fringe-experienced reviewers might be useful. -- Arxiloxos ( talk) 16:37, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

Currently there is an RfC on notability of certain parts of the bio material. Simonm223 ( talk) 16:36, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

We have Satbir Singh ( talk · contribs), still merrily spamming us with his unspeakable Kamboja essays. I just discovered Komedes, but there are lots of others. I would be grateful if I wasn't the only one trying to contain this. -- dab (𒁳) 11:49, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

A relatively new article about a fringe writer which could use some attention, I came across this today when its creator tried to add the author's website and sps book to Archaeoastronomy. Another attempt to publicise Herschel is here. Dougweller ( talk) 08:04, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

My word but this page is a mess. I've made a few starter changes but this will probably need more than one editor to go through this and figure out whether this article is notable. An attempt has been made to establish notability by referencing mention in local news sources. Anybody able to confirm these? What were the references about? Simonm223 ( talk) 13:10, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

Three new users have logged on since I proposed deletion crying that Herschel is a legitimate scientist that must not be deleted while entirely failing to grasp the underlying Wikipedia policies governing notability criteria. Help always appreciated trying to keep the debate on-topic. Simonm223 ( talk) 01:59, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Quake everyone, Herschel write on Dan Brown's Facebook page that "I have writen to some top wikipedia personel and made my case asking for simple coverage within equal rules as other authors like me have been treated. (11 letters written)". He's now editing here as AstronomerPHD ( talk · contribs) - although he has no PhD (perhaps no degree at all as he doesn't claim one), and is not an astronomer. He's annoyed about my asking about his name, he's mentioned that on Facebook. Dougweller ( talk) 14:59, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Does anybody else think it hillarious that his main avenue of commuication with his friends seems to be poorly spelled missives on Dan Brown's facebook wall? Simonm223 ( talk) 15:03, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Wow... eleven letters? And no action? Yet more proof that all the "top wikipedia personel" are crypto-illuminati-Freemasons who are conspiring to silence "the truth". (rumored to be the subject of Dan Brown's next book "The Lost Wiki of Solomon's Secret Code"... Robert Langdon uncovers the hidden agenda behind the statement "Verifiability, not Truth", which leads him to a death defying race through Article space in search of clues as to the shocking contents of the original "deleted article"). Blueboar ( talk) 15:36, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

ROTFLMFAO, that just made my day. Simonm223 ( talk) 15:41, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Herschel has not taken the deletion well, "WIKIPEDIA UK AUTHORITY DEMAND REMOVAL OF AUTHOR AND SOLOMON KEY FINDING

I have been told by the UK Wikipedia authority Joseph Seddon Re:Ticket#2009090210032671 that I must be removed. Other authors with less status than my own have the right to be on wikipedia but due to the material concerned, I have absolutely no right to be there. All that is left there is the image that I rendered on a separate page... and even my copyrights as the artist have been removed too for the Solomon Key cipher now to be public property. They are out right lying that it has expired. (it was only there two months and copyright text on it now removed) I am releasing all documentation to the media for next week with the other attacks to try and stop my book project that are underway right now. I presented all the third party references they asked for, TV coverage, Coast to Coast radio, many newspapers covering my findings as discoveries, not just an author, two periodicals on the Solomon key and more.

Authors like David Ike that self published, had no media covered historical discoveries, and claims the Queen of England is an alien has a full page spread."

And one of his fans replies "I hope you are able to resolve the above matter as soon as possible Wayne.It appears that a lot of underhanded goings on are taking place presently.Something needs to be done."

So sad. Darrenhusted ( talk) 11:10, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

You can see why he needed a 'co-writer'. Dougweller ( talk) 11:33, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

In the writing biz we usually call them "ghost writers" it appears the "co-writer" got an "as told to" contract. Simonm223 ( talk) 20:27, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

And I figured out why he's ranting about copyright finally. They are using an image of Herschel's re-drawing of circles from the hebrew edition of the Solomon's Key on Solomon's Key Simonm223 ( talk) 20:29, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Key of Solomon you mean. But he gave it to Wikipedia, so what's he complaining about? One more thing he doesn't understand? Dougweller ( talk) 21:08, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Notwithstanding this truth there is also a good question as to whether he could copyright a facsimile of a public domain image just because he did the copying by hand. If I draw the golden arches do I have copyright over the McDonalds logo? Simonm223 ( talk) 21:51, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

this image -- if it's a manual redrawing, we should delete the image as unencyclopedic. I was under the impression that it is a facsimile directly from the BM manuscript. If it isn't, we don't have any use for it, we should acquire an actual facsimile instead. If Herschel copied this by hand I must admit he did a pretty convincing job with the Hebrew cursive. -- dab (𒁳) 10:15, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

ok, here is an actual facsimile of the page in question. I am convinced that Herschel did not redraw this but simply used photographic reproduction. What he apparently did do, though, was adding a cheesy "parchment-style" background (the actual manuscript is on paper). I will replace the cheesy image with the more encyclopedic one at commons. -- dab (𒁳) 10:21, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Evidently, all research on psychic powers this fellow did was completely successful and uncriticised. Who knew? Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 204 FCs served} 11:06, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Oh, and Precognition presents itself as entirely a real phenomena. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 204 FCs served} 11:24, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Also, Pavel Stepanek was never, ever shown to be anything but a full-out psychic phenomenon.

Displacement (parapsychology) shows that if you guess wrongly in a trial, but would have guessed rightly if you had made that guess at some other time, that can be used as evidence of parapsychology too, and there is absolutely no problem with this, indeed, the article says it's a statistically proven phenomena.

...Ah, screw it. Just check the contributions of Rodgarton ( talk · contribs). I caught him abusing sources horribly at Parapsychology, and simple requests afterwards like "You claim this paper on card guessing significantly advanced the field of statistics. Can you show it was ever cited in a non-parapsychological context?" were met with non sequiturs like "I don't need to prove it! It was published in a non-parapsychological journal, that's all that's necessary to show parapsychology advanced statistics!" and, later, "Other papers in that journal are cited." Copious personal attacks were also provided.

Rodgarton is pretty much the epitome of a POV-pushing single purpose account, and a thorough review is almost certainly necessary. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 204 FCs served} 11:24, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

ETA: Joseph Banks Rhine is pretty much an advertisement for parapsychology, start to finish - criticism is only mentioned briefly, and immediately belittled. This is the fellow Langmuir invented the term pathological science to describe the studies of. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 204 FCs served} 13:30, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Article on Warcollier leaves me asking: how is he notable? Seems to be yet another self-published fringe theorist who started a self-created foundation to make his "work" seem legitimate. Dime-a-dozen. Simonm223 ( talk) 13:42, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

I agree. I think we have a situation where bio articles have been written on people who are well known within a narrow Fringe field, but are unheard of beyond it. If wider notablility can not be established, we should consider deletion. Blueboar ( talk) 16:26, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I will support an AfD on those criteria but it may be an up-hill battle as there are cited references. Simonm223 ( talk) 16:53, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I should mention the reason I was checking these articles is because their creator abuses sources horribly (for an analysis of one such section he wrote, and his increasingly irrational defenses, see the first big table at Wikipedia:Featured article review/Parapsychology/archive1‎), and is purely a pro-Parapsychology SPA.. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 204 FCs served} 18:34, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Well he has already started spreading about invective about pseudo-skeptics and I had to put a neutrality tag on a statistics article he edits so... understood. Simonm223 ( talk) 18:55, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Do you think an RFC or similar on him would help? He isn't really here to improve the encyclopedia. just to push his POV. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 204 FCs served} 21:01, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I just discovered something very interesting:

26 July, at Meta-analysis, he makes the following change

Previous

Rodgarton's edit

The first meta-analysis was performed by Karl Pearson in 1904, in an attempt to overcome the problem of reduced statistical power in studies with small sample sizes; analyzing the results from a group of studies can allow more accurate data analysis. [...]

The first meta-analysis was performed by Karl Pearson in 1904, in an attempt to overcome the problem of reduced statistical power in studies with small sample sizes; analyzing the results from a group of studies can allow more accurate data analysis. . However, the first meta-analysis of all conceptually identical experiments concerning a particular research issue, and conducted by independent researchers, has been identified as the 1940 book-length publication Extra-sensory perception after sixty years, authored by Duke University psychologists J. G. Pratt, J. B. Rhine, and associates. [1] This encompassed a review of 145 reports on ESP experiments published from 1882 to 1939, and included an estimate of the influence of unpublished papers on the overall effect (the file-drawer problem).

The claim he makes there is almost certainly false, see http://jrsm.rsmjournals.com/cgi/content/full/100/12/579 - a comprehensive analysis of the history of metanalyses that makes no such claim, whereas his cite for the extraordinary claim is to a conference paper presented at a fringe theory conference - however, more interestingly, despite what he wrote there, he makes a very different, very much more inflated claim in Parapsychology:

Parapsychology, 11 August. [8]

“

[...] A monographic review of the first sixty years of organised parapsychological research has been noted as the first meta-analysis in the history of science; [...]

”

Same reference. Claim he knew was false. Bad. Faith. Editor. Let's ban him. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 204 FCs served} 22:04, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

He also has made repeated personal attacks in talk pages, major violator of WP:CIVIL; this is rather annoying. The entire "pseudo-skeptic" lable he bandies about is just a concealed way of criticizing non-believers for questioning in-universe sources he provides supporting "PSI phenomena" (or as I would call it hoaxes, poor experiment design, pattern seeking behaviour and superstition). Simonm223 ( talk) 15:37, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Just what is a "pseudo-skeptic" anyway?... someone who is not skeptical enough? Blueboar ( talk) 22:16, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Someone who uses the cloak of skepticism to attack things they don't believe in, when objective skepticism would not have a problem with it. It's the methodology of many conspiracy theories. (Or at least that's my take on the word. We should have an entry at Wiktionary.)

However, in practice, a "pseudo-skeptic" is anyone who debunks something that I believe in. Since they fail to recognize the Truth, their skepticism must be false. kwami ( talk) 22:58, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Kwamikagami basically hit the nail on the head; believers in this sort of hokum assume that a real skeptic would remain open to their theory and admit that a UFO was equally likely to a Sun Dog since it can not be known either way. Anybody who argues that although certainty can not be attained near certainty can be by the assumption that a parsimonious fitting solution (IE: a Sun Dog) is more likely than one that depends on extraneous entities must not be a real skeptic and thus they are a pseudo-skeptic. Simonm223 ( talk) 02:22, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

pseudoskeptic: someone who is skeptical more than enough, to the point of WP:COI.. for an encylopedic definition; Pseudoskeptic#Pseudoskepticism. Logos5557 ( talk) 07:11, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

AfD Open, interested parties may want to have a look. Simonm223 ( talk) 02:33, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

I removed what I saw as a pov statement, including something about a race of giants ( Zamzumim}, and it was reverted by Til Eulenspiegel with the edit summary " the part you blanked makes no mention of any "giants", it merely states that the Hebrews conquered Canaan which is only disputed by fringe". Fringe has a specific meaning on Wikipedia, is Til right? Thanks. I've removed the text again. Dougweller ( talk) 17:45, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

Who actually disputes that the Hebrews conquered Canaan? Are those few who dispute it now the "mainstream", and everyone else "fringe"? Til Eulenspiegel ( talk) 17:55, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

I would argue that anyone with a basic comprehension of archaeology would dispute that the Hebrews conquered Canaan. We simply do not have the data which indicates that there was ever an organized, homogenous conquest of "Canaanites" by "Hebrews". There is evidence of warfare, and the movement of people, but we are nowhere near having a clear picture of historical events in that period, or whether a distinct group of Canaanites ever controlled the area in the first place. Hiberniantears ( talk) 20:05, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

"Anyone with a basic comprehension of archaeology would dispute that the Hebrews conquered Canaan". Yes, I'm sure you would argue that, but on the other hand, there are entire magazines like Biblical Archeology Review devoted to the mountains of archaeology evidence of how Israelites came to be in Canaan. Stating that "basic comprehension" is required to agree with your POV seems like just typical rhetoric. Til Eulenspiegel ( talk) 20:09, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

You are correct that there are mountains of solid research done on how the Israelites came to be in Israel. However, there is no evidence of the exodus, or a conquest. We lack a clear view of the historical record in that time frame to clearly delineate between Canaanite and Israelite, which is to say that Israelites may actually have been Canaanites, or a blend of Canaanites and other peoples. Last week, archaeologists announced the discovery of a massive stone wall below the location of the City of David. We had no idea this was there, and aren't certain who built it. It dates to the time of the Canaanites, but we have nothing in the evidence that says the people who built the older wall weren't the ancestors of the people who built the City of David. I reworded the article to try and strike a compromise, leaving in references to the Bible as describing events, but not relying on the Bible to state these events as definitive. Hiberniantears ( talk) 20:28, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

Sure, there's Biblical Archaeology Review, but you must know it's a pov journal and not in the top rank of archaeology journals. As for 'entire magazines like' it, what else is there? Are you thinking of Bible & Spade? That's your fringe. Dougweller ( talk) 20:43, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

Since you guys basically control wikipedia, why don't you just declare that the Bible is officially and unanimously declared "fringe", and be done with it? (In the name of "neutrality", of course) If anyone disagrees, just block them, then it will be "unanimous", right? Til Eulenspiegel ( talk) 20:50, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

We don't control Wikipedia, or the Bible. However, the Bible is not a reliable source. It is an extremely important text because of its impact on history, however, it is not an accurate or contemporary record of the events it describes. More than anything, it represents a political text which was assembled after the Babylonian exile from various histories in order to create a unifying foundation myth for the Jewish kings of the time. Hiberniantears ( talk) 20:58, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

That theory is far from proven, and many other scholars and sources disagree. Why don't we just stick to presenting all of their views neutrally and impartially, instead of taking part in these marginalization games and trying to decide which ones are "right"? Til Eulenspiegel ( talk) 21:04, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

The idea that the Bible is not a reliable source is not in dispute. How or why it was written is certainly open to debate, but there is no question that the Bible is an important piece of history, rather than an accurate report of it. Hiberniantears ( talk) 21:13, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

I can agree with that. I never suggest that we consider the Bible a reliable source. But there is an opposite extreme view that says if the Bible says anything, it's automatically wrong and the opposite of true, even something as basic as saying the Israelites conquered Canaan. I don't take the Rig Veda as a reliable source either. But just because it says Aryans invaded India, can we then presume they definitely did not, because it is an unreliable source and therefore lying? Til Eulenspiegel ( talk) 21:29, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

this is ridiculous, nobody suggested anything like this. Incidentially, the Rigveda at no point says anything like "the Aryans invaded India". Hell, the Rigveda doesn't even have a concept of "India". -- dab (𒁳) 09:07, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

The conquest is certainly not fringe: as TE says, a lot of scholarship is dedicated to the idea that the outlines of history in the OT are more or less accurate. IMO, biblical accounts of history should not be deleted by a rational that they are fringe. OTOH, the conquest should not be presented simply as fact, but as the biblical account. What TE has restored is not neutral or impartial for this reason: "probably the best account of the Hebrew conquest"--the OT is the only account of the Hebrew conquest. kwami ( talk) 21:23, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

I did restore that phrase, but didn't keep it there for long since whoever wrote it is obviously not impartial. Although the gentile Roman historians also mention it, btw. Til Eulenspiegel ( talk) 21:32, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

Kwami, you have a fair point, but the rationale is not that the information presented in the Bible is fringe. The problem is that the Bible is known to be wildly innacurate on numerous things, while containing interpretations of actual historical events. Historical events portrayed in the Bible cannot be corroborated. If the Bible is the only account of the Hebrew conquest, this does not make it a reliable source that can be referenced. To that end, a description of Canaanites in an article can definitely include descriptions from the Bible, it would have to be presented along the lines of "While the historical record describes XYZ, much of the popular view of Canaanites comes from descriptions in the Bible. Because the Bible cannot be used as a trusted source, it describes the Canaanites as...". That said, such a section would have to be deeply subordinate in the article to any reliable sources. Hiberniantears ( talk) 21:53, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

Some confusion here - Til was calling the view that the Hebrews did not conquer Canaan fringe, I don't think anyone is calling the Bible fringe. Dougweller ( talk) 06:08, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Ah, my bad. Hiberniantears, that's way more than necessary. All we have to say is s.t. along the lines of 'according to biblical sources'. We don't need to get into a debate about how reliable the Bible is every time we mention s.t. biblical. (As for the Roman sources, wouldn't that be long long after the fact?) kwami ( talk) 06:20, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Til (aka Codex Sinaiticus) has a long history of bible-thumping pov-pushing. Typically insisting on using the Bible directly as a secondary source, as evident by his complaint that we are "treating the Bible as fringe". The Hebrew Bible is, of course, neither fringe nor non-fringe, since it isn't a secondary source in the first place. It is a primary source, a compilation of Iron Age Hebrew texts. Be that as it may, the paragraph in question can be salvaged by improving it: it is almost never a question of "do we keep this material, yes or no" but one of how do we need to edit this to make it acceptable. Now the point here is conflation of the Biblical account with other evidence. In the topic of Canaan, the Biblical account is certainly highly notable, but it should be made very clear which bits are taken from the bible and which aren't. Consequently, the passage

"Many earlier Egyptian sources also make mention of numerous military campaigns conducted in Ka-na-na, just inside Asia. Probably the best descriptions of the Hebrew conquest and occupation of Canaan are given in Deuteronomy 3:12-17 and in Joshuah 12-21."

is not acceptable. We need one paragraph or section detailing the account in the Hebrew Bible, and another one detailing Egyptian sources, but we cannot conflate the two. Obviously, Deuteronomy and Joshuah are in no way a reference to the "many earlier Egyptian sources", which need to be specified in order to satisfy WP:CITE. -- dab (𒁳) 09:01, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

"Til (aka Codex Sinaiticus) has a long history of bible-thumping pov-pushing." -- Yet another appeal to ad hominem "logic" and blatant personal attack, sounds familiar... Til Eulenspiegel ( talk) 11:12, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

how is it ad hominem to call a pov pusher a pov pusher? I wasn't making a logical argument, I was imparting information for those unfamiliar with Til's history on Wikipedia. "Ad hominem" is something entirely different. It would be "ad hominem" to resort to comments unrelated to the content of Til's edits, instead speculating on his sexual preference, his intellect, his personal hygiene, or his mother. You get the idea. Saying Til has a history as a problem editor with an infatuation for the Hebrew Bible is about as detached and on-topic as it gets. -- dab (𒁳) 11:46, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Obviously, I would dispute that I am a "problem editor". That is only your personal and subjective opinion, isn't it? Just like I have witnessed countless scores of editors express their personal opinions about you. Til Eulenspiegel ( talk) 12:23, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

sure. Most of the "countless scores" you mention are "editors" who were blocked because they were in fact socks of other blocked editors, or because they were trying to sabotage the project by inserting the sort of stuff WP:FRINGE is talking about. You can't write an encyclopedia without alienating some people who prefer to adhere to some pre-encyclopedic, pre-rational worldview. If you are one of those, you need only say. Oh, and there is Ottava Rima ( talk · contribs). This isn't so much pre-rational as post-rational, this chap will go on an epic crusade to shoot the messenger who told him he was wrong before considering just admitting he was wrong. Perhaps you want to join his cause of "Dbachmann is an evil vandal". Or then you could just focus on the issue and try to discuss the Bible encyclopedically instead of your regular hysteria on how Wikipedia mistreats it as "fringe". I would be more accommodating if you were a new user, Til, but you have been doing this literally for years, and you show no signs of a learning curve. Everyone is entitled to their "personal opinion". But your opinion will put you in a company. And you will be known by the company you keep. -- dab (𒁳) 08:22, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

That is quite possibly the most arrogant diatribe directed against other editors I have ever read on wikipedia, with some other comments you routinely make coming a close second. Whatever happened to "comment on edits, not the editor?" Doesn't seem to apply to you. I don't have any more time to waste on your obvious superiority complex and predilection for baiting and accusing everyone with whom you disagree, but neither will I ever acknowledge the pretended superiority you imagine you have over me, and I am no longer going to be baited into continuing this discussion where it doesn't belong since I have better things to do. What you are speaks enough for itself. Til Eulenspiegel ( talk) 11:29, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Refocusing on the content question: Assertions that the Biblical accounts of ancient Middle Eastern history are factually accurate are almost certainly fringe views. This is akin to stating that Homer's famous version of the Trojan War is a factually accurate recounting of history. Kernels of truth exist, but we must mainly rely on current mainstream scholarship to identify those portions (and to identify how they've been altered in the narrative) and most certainly should not take Biblical acocunts at face value. Jericho's walls are the prime example of the conquest: The walls did certainly fall, but the city was in area then prone to earthquakes and the city itself was a ghost town during the purported time of Joshua (or at least thus is general consensus of secular archaeology). In a similar vein, the overwhelming majority of scholarship sees a complete lack of evidence for the Hebrew conquest of Canaan. It is also important to note that modern archaeology generally considers the Iron Age Hebrews to be fundamentally Canaanite in language and culture even as late as five centuries after the supposed conquest (even extending into the time after the united monarchy is said to have split into the kingdoms of Judah and Israel). Accounts with some considerable distance in time from this period are generally considered to have a greater foundation in historical fact, but are still usually regarded as heavily biased and edited versions of historical truth at best.

tl;dr version: Insisting that the Bible is an accurate representation of Iron Age history in the region is a fringe view. -- Vassyana ( talk) 12:07, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

"the overwhelming majority of scholarship sees a complete lack of evidence for the Hebrew conquest of Canaan." That's the old circular argument appealing to the "overwhelming majority of scholarship" in a hotly disputed question, if it discounts an equally vast body of scholarship as "fringe" just because it does see solid historical evidence that Israel conquered Canaan and established a polity on their territory. We should acknowledge that there is a dispute among the scholars over the degree of accuracy or inaccuracy, but the most neutral path is always to describe what these positions are impartially, not officially marginalize one POV to endorse the other. Til Eulenspiegel ( talk) 12:25, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Actually it's nothing new, certain people have been trying to rewrite Israel completely out of the history books as much as possible, ever since it started. Never mind Egyptian propaganda, rest assured there are still people today who wish they could bring back the Imperial Romans' Damnatio memoriae that tried to efface the name of Judea following Bar Kokhba and rename it Palaestina. Til Eulenspiegel ( talk) 12:34, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

That's reminiscent of Finkelstein's being accused of anti-Semitism - I'd appreciate it if you'd make clear you aren't accusing any of us of anti-Semitism. Dougweller ( talk) 12:44, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

No Doug, I didn't accuse you or anyone else here, but what I said is still certainly true of bona fide Anti-Semites in the world (not anyone on wikipedia of course). Til Eulenspiegel ( talk) 12:48, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. We agree on that but it seems irrelevant here. Dougweller ( talk) 13:01, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

No ancient source is taken uncritically by modern historians. Not the Bible, not Herodotus, not Tacitus, no one. Historians always look over these sources carefully and examine them for whatever biases the writers might have had. We should treat the Bible no different than other ancient historical documents in this regard — sure, we can describe what the sources say about a topic, but we should also take care to discuss how these primary sources have been evaluated by scholars in the modern era. In many cases this will entail saying that Herodotus/Tacitus/the Bible say "X" but modern scholarship holds that this is a myth for reasons "Y", "Z", etc. *** Crotalus *** 20:04, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

A page created exclusively for the purpose of ethnic bickering among Turks, Armenians and Kurds, under the pretext of the name of a cat breed. The article didn't even bother to link to the article on the cat in question before I touched it. -- dab (𒁳) 09:55, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

There seem to be a whole heap of forks on this topic:

• Van Cat naming controversy (  | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)
• Van Kedisi (  | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)
• Turkish Van (  | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)
• Turkish Vankedisi (  | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)
• Van cat (  | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) (a dab page)

Merging the whole shebang into a single neutral article would seem to be appropriate. Hrafn ^Talk _Stalk^{( P)} 10:07, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

I know the internet loves cats, but this is ridiculous. This kind of self-publicity by cats must not be tolerated! [9] Fences& Windows 23:42, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

In a content dispute Aristocide As a Force In History by Nathaniel Weyl has been removed [10] pr WP:Fringe & WP:UNDUE and not a WP:RS from an article. Any comments? Only third opinions please. Thanks!-- Termer ( talk) 06:10, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

According to Google Scholar that article, published in 1967, has a rousing total of 6 citations, none from reputable sources. Google Books shows a few cites, none very important. I basically don't see any discussion of this article from strong sources, so I don't think it should be treated as evidence that the views it describes have been influential. In claiming that extermination of intellectuals is an essential feature of communism it's at least getting close to being fringe, but one way or another I don't think it should be treated as a strong RS. Looie496 ( talk) 00:30, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

This fringe blp may be unintentionally hilarious, but I think it suffers from several problems, including coatracking, peacocking and puffery, an unencyclopedic and credulous tone, and undue weight. It's a big job though, I'm not sure where to start - and I'm sure tagging will be bitterly resisted. Related awful article Prediction of the United States collapse in 2010... Verbal chat 08:54, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Decided to apply my favorite Wikipedia policy ( WP:BOLD) and redirect the "prediction" article to Igor Panarin. Simonm223 ( talk) 14:23, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Oh great. User:Лъчезар was the fellow who was driving us crazy in the moon land hoax article. Maybe this guy needs to find something else to do besides editing here. Mangoe ( talk) 17:34, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

It's coatracking lunacy but it's almost worth keeping until June 2010 just to see what the excuses are for the failed prediction of the carve-up of the US. -- Folantin ( talk) 19:08, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

• The Fatima UFO Hypothesis (  | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)
• Jacques Vallée (  | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

I redirected the UFO Hypothesis article to the article of its main proponent. "The Fatima UFO Hypothesis" article's citations were exclusively to proponents' books published by Anomalist Books and references that do not address the UFO theory. Thus, the article was highly inappropriate in the context of both "no original research" and notability. It served as little more than a soapbox to expound on proponent's views. The redirect was reversed by Zacherystaylor ( talk · contribs) with the edit summary of "redirect and virtual deletion done without discussion or good explanation". I have reinstated the redirect and left a message for Zacherystaylor explaining the problems with the article ( User talk:Zacherystaylor#Fatima UFO Hypothesis, permalink). Additional eyes would be welcome on this topic. Also, did I take the correct action here? Is my rationale sound or lacking? Vassyana ( talk) 00:11, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Seems sound to me. But, then, cleaning up the UFO fringe stuff on wikipedia is a stated goal for me so I may constitute a slightly biassed person to confirm from. Simonm223 ( talk) 21:06, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Zacherystaylor ( talk · contribs) made an extensive and heartfelt plea to keep this article. Unfortunatly the internal logic actually made an extensive and heartfelt plea to keep this article. I have said I would support redirecting to The Miracle of the Sun rather than to the Jacques Vallée article if he would prefer that. Considering that he posted a huge block of text complaining we don't want to discuss the issue and then said he would not be responding to rebuttals for a while so I don't know... might be easier to just keep it at Jacques Vallée. Simonm223 ( talk) 17:38, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

After giving it some thought I'm going to be bold and swap the redirect to The Miracle of the Sun. Simonm223 ( talk) 18:58, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Zacherystaylor ( talk · contribs) is back again and has launched an RfC on the redirect based on the same "virtual deletion" argument previously used in the timewave zero debacle. I have restored the redirect and commented that he was pointed to the RfC on the issue of whether redirects are deletions a week ago but eyes will be needed. Simonm223 ( talk) 19:05, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Apparently meridians have been proven to exist, and light proven to flow through them. This article is a spammy mess of poor sources and COI advertising. More eyes please. Verbal chat 05:04, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Organic waveguides in the optical regime: applications to electromagnetic signal induction in biological systems. Also, the article is at AfD now; despite the spammy CoI issues, I am not sure it should be. - 2/0 ( cont.) 17:19, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

It does look a lot better now. Will have to check the sources etc if I ever have time. Verbal chat 18:54, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Could someone familiar with pseudoscience take a look at Alfred Matthew Hubbard? This article has some strange fringe claims: "In addition to being a major proponent of LSD, earlier in life, Al Hubbard invented a device at the age of 16 which provided enough energy to power a boat around Portage Bay, on Lake Union, in Seattle, Washington." They are saying that he invented the "most powerful nuclear battery ever created, and as early as 1919, easily making it the first" — which definitely sets off some red flags in my mind. This article needs major review and cleanup and I don't have the knowledge or resources to do it myself. *** Crotalus *** 15:27, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

These claims are sourced to Rex Research, a one man operation that disseminates information about "suppressed, dormant, or emerging Sciences, Technologies, Inventions, Theories, Therapies, and miscellaneous Alternatives that offer some Hope of helping to Liberate Humanity from itself. " Not exactly a reliable source. - LuckyLouie ( talk) 16:07, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Looking at the sources and a capsule bio here, it's quite clear that the coil was a free energy scam. A 1928 Popular Science article on "fuelless motors" characterizes it as a perpetual motion hoax. [11] Mangoe ( talk) 17:12, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

It's not especially bad but there's no strong warning like "THIS IS FALSE".. and there are some pro-dowsing sources that are presented as reliable. Does anyone have access to some reliable studies? .froth. ( talk) 19:42, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Some minor tweaking could be used in section on evidence and in lede to make sure there is adherence to WP:DUE but in general the article looks fair and balanced. Suggest consulting JREF and the magazines Skeptic and Skeptical Enquirer for sources if it is felt WP:DUE would be served by additional information on dowsing debunking. Simonm223 ( talk) 19:52, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Talk:Quantum mysticism

Please look to Talk:Quantum mysticism#Third opinion. This discussion has been shifted to absurd rhetoric and I can't start a user RFC until there is more than one party involved. Thanks to anyone willing to deal with all the parties involved.-- OMCV ( talk) 22:40, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

(moved here from policy RfC by Francis Schonken ( talk) 16:02, 16 September 2009 (UTC))

I have been looking at it but I've found it impossible to follow the quantity of verbiage that has been generated. Not really sure what to do. Looie496 ( talk) 21:42, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Fire and lots of it! Simonm223 ( talk) 20:58, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

Quantum mysticism?... Let me guess... if you seal a cat up in a box with a hunk of radioactive rock... can you determine if it has achieved a higher plane of existance without looking in the box? Or perhaps... is it really that sinful to seal cats up in radioactive boxes? Blueboar ( talk) 21:21, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

If some more medical type doctors could look over this article and check whether it is fringe or not, and accurate, I'd be grateful at least. There are a few warning signs - such as "despite FDA approval there is no evidence that it works..." (paraphrase) Verbal chat 18:55, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

That paraphrase isn't quite accurate -- what the article says is that there is no understanding of how it works -- there is indeed evidence that it works, although not huge amounts of it. I don't think this should be considered fringe when used for the specific purpose of bone healing -- however there is a tendency in the alternative med community to push treatments like this beyond their validated uses. (I should say that I'm a biologist but not an M.D.. WikiProject Medicine is often a good place if you want input specifically from M.D.'s.) Looie496 ( talk) 21:51, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Indeed, I misread. Maybe it should be made clearer. Thanks. Verbal chat 08:20, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm in the process of cleaning up this article but would appreciate outside eyes (drum shot) and review. I'd be shocked that this topic was presented with such a high level of credence, but I've been around here long enough to know better. There seems to be some connection with the Bates Method, which I remember to have been a contentious topic but don't know the specifics of. Skinwalker ( talk) 22:33, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

Also note the impassioned defense on Talk:Sungazing wherin the advocate admits to having permanent visual artifacts. Skinwalker ( talk) 23:18, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

I've put up a report on him up on ANI. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 206 FCs served} 12:14, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

Could I get some eyes over here Displacement (parapsychology) to confirm or counter my reasoning on the talk page. I'm about the only one on the talk page and if the article gets returned to a redirect I'd like to have more than my say-so for the basis. Simonm223 ( talk) 16:34, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

Article plagued by normal notable-fringe-researcher problems with PoV, Peacockery, etc. Please help. Simonm223 ( talk) 21:14, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

I started to clean it up, but the "Research" section is unsalvageable. It's just a list of Fortean claims peripherally connected to Radin. If a 3rd party reliable source can be found to draw from, that's what's needed to base a rewrite on. - LuckyLouie ( talk) 22:54, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

There is a lot of good information on this article but there are a few editors who insist on adding npov stuff or poorly referenced pseudoscience and paranormal information; in particular there are a lot of links to BLT Research Team INC. which is a not-peer-reviewed journal about crop circles and Haselhoff, Eltjo (2001) "The Deepening Complexity of Crop Circles:Scientific Research & Urban Legends", Frog Ltd, ISBN  1583940464. Frog publishing is a small publisher that focuses on the paranormal. Neither of these seem to be reliable sources but I'm afraid removing them will result in an edit war since these sources provide the best evidence for paranormal explanations of crop circles. Could either of these be considered reliable sources? Does anyone have suggestions for fixing the articles npov problems? Voiceofreason01 ( talk) 15:42, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

• Yes, that's been a problem since forever. Remove it, explain it patiently to them, and if they perist then call the cavalry. Guy ( Help!) 20:46, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

• I'm not sure that having "editors who insist on adding npov stuff" is a bad thing. Short Brigade Harvester Boris ( talk) 17:33, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

he means WP:UNDUE stuff. Although I see nothing wrong with using "a small publisher that focuses on the paranormal" in an article that is already dedicated to the small world of paranormal fringe theories. -- dab (𒁳) 18:24, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

The problem comes when they start adding "balancing" paragraphs asserting the paranormal POV after each discussion of provably man-made circles. I tweaked it a bit, it's not as bad as it has been in the past though, not by a long way. At one point there were editors who sought to portray the idea that circles are man-made as a minority POV going against the overwhelming scientific consensus - the scientists in qwuestion being so-called "cerealogists". Guy ( Help!) 12:11, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

Article currently undergoing astroturfing to give the possibility that he has psychic abilities undue weight. - Nunh-huh 11:46, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

The problem with this one is that there are virtually no reliable sources, no one takes it seriously enough, so we are ending up with a number of fringe sites used as links. See the edit history as well, please. Thanks. (any time you see Clyde Winters name, be assured it is fringe). Dougweller ( talk) 17:21, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

Subject is a scientist with an interest in fringe science. He seems to have written the article himself and his English is poor. Hence the article is listed for wikification, which is how I found it, and now as having multiple issues. Someone with a physics background could probably knock it into shape more quickly than I can. Is the subject notable anyway? Itsmejudith ( talk) 11:05, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Seems non-notable to me after a read. Putting it up for a PROD. If he is notable that should get some RSes into it quick. Otherwise problem solved. Simonm223 ( talk) 14:47, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. Itsmejudith ( talk) 15:09, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Oh, and in discussions back in 2007 Cardone citing pages on Ruggero Santilli and Giovanni Amelino-Camelia as parallels to his that have persisted without deletion discussions. Both do indeed seem to be similar cases. I will prod. Itsmejudith ( talk) 15:22, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Me again. Haven't prodded, as have read more and cases are more complicated. Santilli is director of an institute, subject of an article that was up for deletion, then kept. Amelino-Camelia - don't know if if he is fringe or not, notable or not. Noncommutative geometry is clearly not fringe, its application to physics also doesn't seem to be. Whether or not he is a leading figure on its application to physics as the article asserts, I would have no idea. More eyes on such articles would be great. Itsmejudith ( talk) 15:33, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Whether he is fringe or not isn't a criterion for WP:PROF being director of an institute might or might not be. What institute? Simonm223 ( talk) 15:42, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

His own Institute for Basic Research. Definitely fringe, possibly notable, article judged worthy of keeping although perhaps that should be reviewed. Itsmejudith ( talk) 16:13, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Yeah... doesn't meet WP:PROF. Simonm223 ( talk) 16:18, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Funky sources. Clean or AfD. - LuckyLouie ( talk) 16:20, 30 August 2009 (UTC)

I would see if there are any better sources that discuss the topic (even to riducule it). If not, AfD. Blueboar ( talk) 16:42, 30 August 2009 (UTC)

Of course there are scattered mentions of black clouds in the paranormal literature, but they don't seem particularly notable. Merge somewhere? Fences& Windows 16:49, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

Proposed merging into Ghost. Simonm223 ( talk) 16:51, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

I thought of that as an option too. Trim and merge into Ghost#Typology? Fences& Windows 18:37, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

My thoughts exactly. Simonm223 ( talk) 18:46, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

In other news, Conspiracy Theorist Convinces Neil Armstrong Moon Landing Was Faked. Goodmorningworld ( talk) 20:26, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

LOL. Simonm223 ( talk) 20:31, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

It's up for AfD. - LuckyLouie ( talk) 13:26, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

This is a terrible recreation (sort of) of Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Dropa. That was a better article. Neither had much about the Dropa -- this one is actually about the so-called Dropa stones. Dougweller ( talk) 13:05, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

The whole Dropa thing is just about the worst example of bad archaeology ever. See here for details. Simonm223 ( talk) 15:34, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

Deleted now as a recreation of an article deleted through AfD. I was tempted but felt I was too involved. Dougweller ( talk) 06:46, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

I was not involved previously and thus felt no such need for restraint. Glad this awful little hoax is no longer on Wikipedia. _{I've always found the underlying hypothesis of Erich Von Daaniken to be actually quite racist, this idea that the only way non-Europeans could have accomplished anything lasting is through alien intervention, and I hate to see his made-up stories having undue space on Wikipedia.} Simonm223 ( talk) 12:07, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Clearly a fringe topic that is occasionally full of many unsourced claims. Please add WP:RS, and otherwise improve the page. Verbal chat 09:58, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

The only source I really have to contribute is already there. I put the page on watch and if any unsourced claims pop up I'll be on it. Simonm223 ( talk) 13:16, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

It could be merged to Pseudoarcheology. The only reliable source I found in my searches is the Salon article already in the external links. This book chapter touches on the issues too: [12], mentioning "seemingly-out-of-place artifacts" in a footnote. There just isn't the reliable source coverage for a stand-alone article. Fences& Windows 18:35, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Actually my biggest concern with the current form of the article is that it gives the impression that the Maine penny is fringey. It may be fraudulent, as the article explains, but since the Vikings were indisputably present in Newfoundland around that time, there is nothing bizarre about the idea that a single Viking penny may have made its way down to Maine. Looie496 ( talk) 18:56, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

This is true. I only left it in because... well... the two editors who recently became active on this, Verbal and I, both have a bit of a reputation and I really didn't want to be involved with yet another accusation of back-handed deletion argument at the moment. (For the record, when I want an article deleted I put up an AFD and I'm tired of having people call valid redirects and merges back-handed deletions.) Simonm223 ( talk) 19:05, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

• OOPs are a significant topic in archaeology and anthropology. While they are often used for fringe theory promotion, they are also an important teaching tool in the field. OOPs are broadly discussed as reasons why a skeptical, conservative, and exacting methodology is required in digs and the analysis of data acquired in them. I do not believe that I have still have my textbooks that mention them, but it should not be difficult to find textbooks discussing the phenomena and how it emphasizes the importance of solid field and research practices. The Center for Inquiry and other clearly reliable skeptics have also addressed the topic in various publications. The article should focus on the handful of most prominent examples and the scholarly use of the topic that I just mentioned. A paragraph or short section noting the (mis)use of OOPs for fringe theories, most notably within the broad field of "alternative history" (pseudoarchaeology), would be appropriate and sufficient. Vassyana ( talk) 19:51, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

If you can find good sources you'll be doing better than I. My searches for "out of place artifact[s]" got almost no reliable sources, am I missing a good alternative search strategy, or will offline sources probably be needed? Fences& Windows 23:47, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Fringe religious figure, huge biography, few citations, needs serious pruning. Simonm223 ( talk) 14:53, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Fact tagged a bunch of stuff and tried to fix the PoV a little. Help would be useful. Simonm223 ( talk) 17:32, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

As far as theosophy related figures go, Prophet is actually quite prominent. I have access to a lot of material about that general topic area and NRMs in general. I have some other wiki obligations that I need to attend to first, but some time later today or in the next few days, I will dig around for some sources and help prune/rewrite the article. If I don't get to it sometime in the next few days, please leave me a talk page message as a reminder. Vassyana ( talk) 19:58, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

She is rather significant, and actually rather important to the new NRM workgroup as well. The recent biography by her daughter, Prophet's daughter by Erin L. Prophet would be a great source for the article if anyone has access to it. John Carter ( talk) 20:34, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Oh, no doubt, she is notable but the article is a mess. Simonm223 ( talk) 20:41, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

This pending AfD might benefit from review by some fringe-policy savants.-- Arxiloxos ( talk) 00:35, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

See here: [13], [14], [15]. Can someone keep an eye on this? A Quest For Knowledge ( talk) 10:36, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

BTW, for those who are admins, a 2008 arbitration case, administrators were given the power to impose discretionary sanctions on any editor working on articles concerning the September 11 attacks. Before any such sanctions are imposed, editors are to be put on notice of the decision. User:Cs32en has been editing disruptively for months now. This is just the latest example. A Quest For Knowledge ( talk) 11:34, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

I recommend checking the talk page history for the required notice. This user is well aware. I've disputed their editing before and believe they were notified then. Next, go to WP:AE and request an indefinite topic ban from an uninvolved admin. Jehochman ^Talk 11:50, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

A Quest For Knowledge has insisted on adding/maintaining content that is not supported by independent secondary reliable sources. [16] [17] [18] While the user would always (correctly) insist that content that he dislikes must be based on independent secondary reliable sources, he apparently does not consider this necessary for content that he likes.

However, if content from Matt Taibbi's book, for example, could be included in the article, then content from David Ray Griffin's books would be admissible, too. Of course, such a general rule would be unhelpful and in violation of Wikipedia policies.

I hope that A Quest For Knowledge will reconsider his actions. I have already warned the user that his actions may be considered edit-warring.   Cs32en  12:57, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

David Aaronovitch is a British journalist who authors regular columns for The Guardian and The Times. Aaronovitch won the What The Papers Say award for a writer about broadcasting, the Orwell prize for journalism and the What The Papers Say Columnist of the Year award. BBC News His articles on conspiracy theories have been published by WP:RS including 9/11 conspiracy theories: The truth is out there...just not on the internet. He's been featured in National Geographic's 9/11: Science and Conspiracy documentary.

Matt Taibbi is a journalist whose articles on 9/11 conspiracy theories have been published by Rolling Stone magazine including 9/11 Truth: Bald Regurgitation of Another Bombing Conspiracy and THE LOW POST: The Hopeless Stupidity of 9/11 Conspiracies. He was also featured in National Geographic's 9/11: Science and Conspiracy documentary. A Quest For Knowledge ( talk) 15:29, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

So there should be enough reliable, independent secondary sources that have reported on the opinions of both authors.   Cs32en  19:33, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

User is aware of the decision per [ this AE thread]. However, since he's a single purpose account, he got a pass, after promising, er, nothing. But hey, Wikipedia is an experiment in internet sociology, and if people just blocked individuals like Cs32en the second they appeared there wouldn't be the requisite drama, right? Hipocrite ( talk) 13:15, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

OK, I've filled out a request for arbitration enforcement. [19] A Quest For Knowledge ( talk) 16:31, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

No comments on the actual merits, but from the viewpoint of somebody who hasn't been involved in this (i.e., me), the diffs in that AE request don't even come close to justifying action. If Cs32en has committed other sins, you will have to point to them. Looie496 ( talk) 18:46, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Concur with Looie496; I am quite familliar with both sides of the argument as some members of my family subscribe to 911 conspiracy theories while my own skeptcisim prevents me from saying more than there is a slight, very unlikely, possibility of subterfuge beyond the official story. Frankly the most recent edit from Cs32en was removal of a properly referenced source that suggests that belief in 911 conspiracies is idiotic. Though it appears to meet the criteria for inclusion I can certainly understand why somebody would not want to have wikipedia calling them an idiot. I am inclined to say that, while I may not personally agree with Cs32en's position it does not warrant any sort of punitive action on the part of Wikipedia. Simonm223 ( talk) 19:29, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

That some sources use words such as "idiot" is not really a problem. Every reader may decide for him or herself whether to take such sources seriously. However, we should not make those sources appear to be more notable or prominent than they actually are.   Cs32en  15:32, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Brought to attention of this board as it involves WP:EXTREMIST AfD up. Simonm223 ( talk) 16:12, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Colloidal silver (  | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) is sort of a perennial trouble spot. "Conventional" authorities like the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the FDA, and Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration tend to uniformly agree that it is ineffective and potentially toxic. However, a positive view of colloidal silver is represented by editors active on the page well in excess of its actual representation among experts in the field. Arguments put forth on the talk page tend to include personal websites, editorial testimonials (colloidal-silver-cured-my-dog-without-all-the-side-effects-of-conventional-antibiotics - seriously), medical treatises published in 1913, and the ever-popular conventional-medicine-was-wrong-about-leeches-too argument. Most recently, a negative study of Internet-marketed colloidal silver ( PMID  15114827) was excised as "a tinpot study from Botswana". I would appreciate additional input. MastCell  ^Talk 16:45, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

That colloidal silver has ineffective and potentially toxic is an accurate statement regarding the above sources, and the general consensus of the scientific community. The tinpot study from Botswana ( PMID  15114827) appears to be a standard application of microbiology techniques to demonstrate the utility of a substance as an antiseptic. In addition to testing an internet source, they also tested two home-made solutions at concentrations substantially exceeding those in the purchased one, and likewise found no demonstration of efficacy. While nanoscale particles are an area of active exploration in materials science, an observation of what is happening at Colloidal Silver (  | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) is nothing short of advocacy, primarily one user. DHawker is a WP:SPA who has for the past two years apparently made edits to colloidal silver of any significance. 70.171.202.96 ( talk) 18:49, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

On wikipedia, anyone editor of fringe theories that doesn't side on the "Its a bunch of bullshit" side is immediately labeled an advocate. Colloidal silver is FAR FAR FAR less toxic than acetaminophen and ibuprofen (Which are known to cause harmful side effects beginning as low as a few hundred milligrams). Niether of those are labeled toxic in their lead. Argyria is not toxic, and neither is silver. If you think otherwise, please prove it on the talk page of Colloidal silver, or go change the silver article to say it is toxic and watch your change be reverted. - ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ  ^τ _¢ 19:16, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

I had written a short paragraph on colloidal silver for the article alternative medicine over a year ago, but it was removed there quite soon and I didn't bother with fighting the fringe advocates back then, I already had enough of that. Here is that paragraph, I think it could be quite useful.

Colloidal silver was used before 1938 as an antibiotic, resulting in an "alarming increase"<ref:Gaul&Staud, 1935, in The Journal of the American Medical Association, quoted after Rosemary Jacobs My Story page/ref> of Argyria. Since latest 1995 is has been promoted as an alternative medicine, sparking heavy critique from a victim from the 1940s: "Colloidal silver (CSP) is not a new alternative remedy. It is an old, discarded traditional one that homeopaths and other people calling themselves "alternative health-care practitioners" have pulled out of the garbage pail of useless and dangerous drugs and therapies, things mainstream medicine threw away decades ago."<ref: Rosemary Jacobs My Story page/ref> diff

I'm going to see whether I can get the articles from the medicine journals from the 1940s that are mentioned on the homepage, and if I'll get some support with that, I'll expand the article. Zara1709 ( talk) 20:02, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

This shouldn't be discussed here, but that ref is clearly biased based on the wording. I guess the endless supply of antibiotics prescribed to patient by doctors now are the holy grail, clearly safe, with no danger, ever.

Argyria is just argyria. Is is cosmetic, and harmless. - ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ  ^τ _¢ 21:01, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

You write: "clearly biased based on the wording". So what? That's not a wiki-policy legimate argument for excluding a source. Try reading this section in our NPOV policy: Wikipedia:Npov#Neutral_point_of_view and the next section on "bias". Read the wording very carefully. We include biased sources all the time. Without them we wouldn't have articles. NPOV requires that we include sources from all sides of a debate, and thus obviously including biased ones, because we are supposed to tell the whole story from the real world as represented in V & RS. If there's a debate, we must document it. -- Brangifer ( talk) 22:24, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Zara, Maybe comments like colloidal silver has been "pulled out of the garbage pail of useless and dangerous drugs and therapies" could be considered somewhat biased language (and probably inaccurate too). But anyway, all the points you make are already covered in the colloidal silver article. The fact that silver can cause argyria is mentioned numerous times. BRangifer, I've read those policy statements you cited but I don't see that they justify including a word for word personal blast such as the one from Rosemary Jacobs about a product (CSP) that has virtually been unavailable for years. Its supposed to be an encyclopedic article, not a blog. DHawker ( talk) 08:15, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

Pertaining to MastCell's initial paragraph, I presented the "medical treatises published in 1913", some of which were research by doctors published in the Lancet and BMJ, for the HISTORY section of colloidal silver. In spite of the fact that colloidal silver was commonly used by doctors at that time, MastCell questioned using historical research in the history section because it was "outdated" [20]. Perhaps it is MastCell's opinion that using references from the time that you are talking about is "outdated", but I don't think this is wikipedia policy. stmrlbs| talk 06:30, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

This article, which was previously a racist troll magnet called Race and crime, has reared its ugly head again. Some have tried to fix the problems, and the article is better than that it replaced, but it still contains (until I removed them anyway) raw statistics, in a table format without any contextualising or explanatory text, and some fringe theories, one factoid sections (removed), and a section "Racially motivated crime" which contains a paragraph about one rather dubious theory. Many many more eyes and opinions please (I may be being overly harsh as I remember the problems with this article in the past, so please can as many of you go and have a look, and see what you can do). Verbal chat 15:15, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

A very random collection of anecdotes from various publications. I'd start by looking for publications that summarize what other scientists have written, and things that have received attention outside of the scientific community. The article should also contain a section on the evolution of the controversy inside and outside of the scientific community. The current structure of the article is unhelpful for further development. I suggest removing content that is not supported by independent secondary sources as a first step.   Cs32en  15:27, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I remember a suggestion last time this came to this board to expand such an article to become Demography and crime, to give balanced coverage of the impact of demography on crime. Fences& Windows 17:04, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I doubt whether this article will be rescuable and although the Demography and crime suggestion could be considered, I don't hold out much hope for it either. You can pluck two ideas from the air and they will sound like an essay question (miniskirts and antisocial behaviour; alcoholism and computer games; Heideggerian philosophy and climate change). They may not make a good essay question though, and it is not the way to generate an encyclopedia article. Itsmejudith ( talk) 22:28, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I'd like to encourage you all (and anyone else) to make their views known on the article talk page. Verbal chat 08:20, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Please note the recreation of Astrotheology. PelleSmith ( talk) 15:15, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Previously AfDed & deleted -- see WP:Articles for deletion/Astrotheology. Hrafn ^Talk _Stalk^{( P)} 15:40, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Derham's book seems notable enough as per Google scholar here and even JSTOR has a few articles relating to the subject here, but the article is a mess. John Carter ( talk) 15:52, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Speedied and gone. Simonm223 ( talk) 20:10, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Since I last touched this article in 2005, apparently this person has invented time travel. See also Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Lovondatr. Uncle G ( talk) 19:22, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Super. There's lots of stuff I'd like to go back and undo. Short Brigade Harvester Boris ( talk) 22:43, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

How is he notable? Simonm223 ( talk) 00:57, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

This is a report on a bizarre project that claims that any tiny statistical variation in a random number generator that occurs for any length of time any time within a few days of an event the authors deem important is proof of psychic powers.

• Presents this as legitimate, respected science
• Leaves all criticism out of the lead
• Minimises criticism and gives proponents of the project the last word to any criticism.

In short, a pretty bad article. A lot of the articles in Category:Parapsychology could use a similar cleanup, since a lot of true believers have pulled out the crankiest research in parapsychology and made promotional articles out of it. More mainstream parapsychological articles tend to be better. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 206 FCs served} 00:38, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

I have made some improvements and fixed some of the worst wp:undue and wp:npov problems. I cleaned up the citations a little but was unable to add any new or reliable sources, which would go a long way to getting this article into shape. Voiceofreason01 ( talk) 16:01, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

I've done some further edits to sharpen it and reorganised it. I've put some sources on the talk page here. Fences& Windows 20:24, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

I think I have to bow out. I have found some of the comments on the talk page to be quite offensive for personal reasons but I don't believe they actually violate WP policy. If I continue I fear, however, that I may violate WP:CIVIL. Sorry guys. Simonm223 ( talk) 16:37, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Ok, went out, had a bike ride, blew off some steam, feeling a bit better - not likely to violate WP:CIVIL now. However I'm still not engaging with the other involved editor if possible though I will make some constructive edits to the page. Simonm223 ( talk) 19:04, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

The constructive edit you made into the article is not about global consciousness project, it is about laboratory experiments carried out on individuals to test their "mind powers". Sorry, we have to remove it. Logos5557 ( talk) 18:28, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

All this renewed attention to the article, and yet still no mention there of the definitive project that stands a chance of pegging the meters and silencing the critics for good. I may get around to adding it myself, but then again it might be more productive to use that time to train for this year's big December event. Tim Shuba ( talk) 03:35, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

One of the best constructive edits in this section, though a bit violating Wikipedia:Noticeboards. Thanks for bringing global orgasm into attention. Logos5557 ( talk) 08:27, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Hi.

There's this article at Zero-point field that seems to promote various alternative theories about quantum mechanics and zero point field in a manner not consistent with Wikipedia's policies on the issue. I went and started to discuss it on the talk page at that article, and they seemed to want to turn it into a discussion about the validity of the theories and not how it conforms to WP policy or fails to do so. It seems to involve a group of anon editors, and they're threatening to pull the dispute tag. What to do about this? You should also review the discussion at Talk:Zero-point field too (the last couple of threads about neutrality dispute). mike4ty4 ( talk) 07:28, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

Most of the article seems reasonable. The section on "Andrei Sakharov and the elasticity of space" seems essayish and a bit inflated. The section called "Related" is really bad. It says, "Such views are not without controversy. Some see such discussion as pseudoscience. [22] However, physicist David Bohm and other respected scientists...". The reality is that nearly all physicists see this as utter nonsense. Looie496 ( talk) 01:17, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Hmm. However some also seems to recapitulate stuff already said in Zero-point energy, like the bit about the harmonic oscillator, so perhaps it needs to be worked more into the context of the quantum field theory, as the very first part "In quantum field theory, the zero-point field (or zpf) is the lowest energy state of a field, i.e. its ground state, which is non zero.[1] This phenomenon gives the quantum vacuum a complex structure, which can be probed experimentally; see, for example, the Casimir effect. The term "zero-point field" is sometimes used as a synonym for the vacuum state of an individual quantized field." Also there seems to be so much focus on the E/M field, is not there a zero point field of every quantum field? mike4ty4 ( talk) 00:04, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Just went in and tweaked the "new age" theories bit. What do you think of the revised version? mike4ty4 ( talk) 00:04, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Oh, I didn't realize there are two articles. I don't really see any need for that. Looie496 ( talk) 00:37, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Another thing is, I wonder about statements in there like these: "More recently it has been understood that the electromagnetic zero-point field and the electromagnetic force carrier (the photon) are probably fundamental to all three forces, because the electromagnetic force (expressed by the Lorentz force equation) does not require mass." However is that really right? I thought the nuclear force were carried by other particles like gluons (which may or and the W and Z particles (which have mass!)). Or does this relate to stuff like electroweak theory and grand unified theories (the latter of which are not yet even agreed on)? But would it really be proper to call the unified force particles "photons" in that case? mike4ty4 ( talk) 00:43, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Do you think it would be best to merge it with Zero-point energy? mike4ty4 ( talk) 00:43, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

I redirected it to Vacuum state. See my comments on the physics project page for more info. Tim Shuba ( talk) 20:49, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

An IP has been doing a whitewash of this article, stripping all critical material [21]. He's at 5RR, for the record. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 208 FCs served} 06:46, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Revert, block, ignore? Fences& Windows 17:09, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Blocked, WP:MEDRS intact, second unblock request looks unlikely to be persuasive. They made their points on the talkpage so I at least am not quite to the I part of RBI, but we shall see. - 2/0 ( cont.) 18:30, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Make that unresolved, but we seem to have successfully transitioned to the discuss at Talk:Acupuncture phase. More eyes would still be welcome. - 2/0 ( cont.) 18:11, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Could do with some attention. Arguments about notability and adding dubious sources countering criticism, and not only giving the article a criticism section but a response to criticism section - which I find very unencylopedic. Anyway, could do with some TLC from assorted editors here. Please join in! Verbal chat 21:33, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Verbal, is there likely to be any mileage in the idea of merging it with the article on its founder, Shelton? I don't know if it's notable in its own right, but I don't like to see it with only two kinds of source (its founder and the debunker Stephen Barrett). If its profile were as high as some other forms of complementary medicine then there might be some independent sources. Itsmejudith ( talk) 13:45, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

I'd support that merge. At the moment there is a new editor attempting to remove the criticism by Barrett saying it's unfair. Verbal chat 17:07, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

That would help, especially since the field is not well-distinguished by outside observers from similar practices. The Shelton article should not get the Fit For Life stuff, though. If I recall correctly, the paucity of material treating the modern revival has more to do with my attention span than availability of independent sources. - 2/0 ( cont.) 17:11, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

I've proposed the merge, however the other editor has again removed some of the only reliably sourced material - the criticism - from the page, in apparent retaliation that I removed his quote and WP:SYNTH. Verbal chat 17:22, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Needs some attention, Systemizer ( talk · contribs) is adding what is apparently OR, but eyes from more scientific types would be useful. Dougweller ( talk) 19:21, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Unsure if it is OR or not but it is certainly hardcore edit warring. 8 reverts against edits by 4 editors in 24 hours is double-plus-un-good. I have notified 3RR noticeboard. Simonm223 ( talk) 20:52, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Also Holographic principle is being spammed in the same way by the same editor, who refuses to participate on the talk page. Verbal chat 20:59, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

At this point I'm waiting on the 3RR admin board to do something before I engage him further in edit warring. Simonm223 ( talk) 21:10, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Has been blocked for two weeks. Looie496 ( talk) 00:33, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

He has immediately started trying to put the disputed material back on Holographic principle now that his block has expired. Simonm223 ( talk) 10:43, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

Clear content fork with Random Number Generator. Article creator is opposing redirect. Third party opinions welcome. Simonm223 ( talk) 17:16, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Sorry but I don't think this is a proper redirect. The material in that article does not belong in Random Number Generator in my opinion, so by redirecting, you're effectively deleting the article without discussion. The phrase "random event generator" gets 447 hits on Google Scholar (virtually all parapsychology-related), including a number of articles that use it in their titles, so a claim that it does not deserve coverage on Wikipedia would be doubtful at best. Looie496 ( talk) 17:34, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Other than the name in what way is a "random event generator" different from a "random number generator"? Simonm223 ( talk) 18:20, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Two ways: first, it runs in hardware whereas most random number generators are actually "pseudorandom" algorithms that generate sequences that are not truly random; second, it is used for a specific purpose whereas software random number generators are used for a huge range of purposes. A "random event generator" is a type of random number generator, but its use is so unusual and fringey that it would be undue weight to even mention it in the random number generator article. Random event generators are notable but barely so; random number generators are a major topic in computer science that every programmer needs to understand. Looie496 ( talk) 20:01, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Would the alternate redirect (which links to parapsychological uses of the hardware device) satisfy you? I am fine with it. Simonm223 ( talk) 20:05, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

( edit conflict)Being hardware doesn't make it not pseudorandom, that would depend on the hardware - and it should be discussed at random number generation. Parapsychology isn't the only, or even a very good, application for real random numbers. The software/hardware debate is also a bit misleading - there really isn't much difference between them, any hardware can be implemented in software - and hardware is generally "petrified software". All instances of general purpose software and hardware are used for a specific purpose, so I don't see what that changes. The new redirect is the best resolution I feel. Verbal chat 20:15, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

My concern with the redirect is that if things go as they usually do on Wikipedia, somebody will remove that material from the random number generator article in a week or so, and nobody will complain about it. (I'm certainly not going to keep watch for this.) Other than that, the only quibble I have with what you wrote is that unless you believe in hidden variables, quantum mechanical randomness is "true" randomness that can't be implemented in software. Looie496 ( talk) 21:11, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Quantum computation is one of my areas of professional expertise :) You are right that measurement cannot be simulated in software authentically without using a random source, but these exist and we don't need to mention parapsychology to discuss these. There are interesting in their own right and for much more important practical reasons (in cryptography, for example), or even simulating a QC. Verbal chat 21:47, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

{Undent}I wouldn't entirely rule out hidden variable theories within quantum mechanics; it's fully possible that there is deterministic crap happening that we just haven't observed or effectively described with math just yet. But that's getting a bit off topic. I have no intention of removing information from random number generator either, I understand your concern but I'm reticent to allow a POV fork in the off chance that somebody deletes properly referenced discussion to a fringe use of hardware derived random number generators. Simonm223 ( talk) 21:15, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Hardware means all physical artifacts, not just related to computers (and actually hardware in "hardware number generator" means "physical artifacts"). A zener diode is a hardware for instance, which can provide random data based on its thermal noise. You can't upload (or petrify) a software into a zener diode but you can use a software to collect and transform the data from it. Therefore, there is a huge difference between hardware and software random number generators. When the source is physical, it is hardware random generator, when the source is an algorithm or a software it is pseudorandom number generator. Logos5557 ( talk) 21:23, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

And that is a topic appropriate for discussion in random number generator. Simonm223 ( talk) 21:42, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Seems to be resolved. I see that Random number generator has already had a section on hardware random number generation for at least a month. Also there's the article Hardware random number generator, which has a section on parapsychology. I was going to suggest redirecting to that section, but I see that that's already been done. ☺ Coppertwig ( talk) 17:49, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

Capoid race had a lot of original research and didn't make clear that the term was no longer current. I've dealt with that, but I've also come across Africoid peoples, which is a harder nut to crack. There's debate on the talk page that flags up the problems with the article, but broadly it has a lot of personal opinion, original research, poor sourcing, and confused writing. A reduction and merge into Negroid has been proposed. Fences& Windows 17:47, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

This whole series of articles is a massive mess. It will need a whole taskforce to clear it up, because the minute any voice of sanity is introduced, at least 3 sockrings start jumping up and down all over again, plus a bunch of other Afrocentrist non-sock accounts. Afrocentrism is another unholy mess, as is Race of ancient Egyptians, where the destruction into stupidity of months of hard work drove me into wikibreak for months. I don't even want to start thinking about Africoid peoples, where the most bizarre claims are made, by the Afrocentrists, that 19th century concepts of race are still viable. Moreschi ( talk) 14:23, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

Race of ancient Egyptians needs to be reverted to the last sane revision. We have rules for a reason. The "historical racial categories" articles are a huge magnet for current-day racists, and we need to impose some sort of order there. The best move may be to merge all of them (excepting some three major ones) into scientific racism. As it is, the Iranid race article gets disproportional attention from Iranian racialist cranks, the Africoid peoples/ Negroid race one gets disproportional attention from Pan-Africanist racialist cranks, etc. Having a main article on historical racial categories more generally will even out this effect. This whole racism issue remains a huge unsolved problem for Wikipedia. On one hand, we have politically correct hysteria preventing detached coverage of perfectly encyclopedic topics like the Race and crime debate in the US, while at the same time, positive racist fringe theories are running unchecked at all these little "this race", "that race" articles. On the Afrocentrist side, I think we are seeing a concerted effort at pushing the theories of [[S.O.Y Keita] way beyond their WP:DUE relevance -- dab (𒁳) 15:07, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

There have been several previous threads on this noticeboard about the Telesio - Galilei Academy of Science, a web organization either down a back lane in East Croydon or somewhere in Hungary. (It is connected with The Alpha Institute for Advanced Study, a web organization either in a village on the outskirts of Swansea or somewhere in Hungary.) This organization is devoted to pseudoscience and awards prizes mostly to those who have contested well-established parts of theoretical physics. Prizewinners include Myron Evans, Jeremy Dunning-Davies, Diego Lucio Rapoport, Alwyn Van der Merwe, Lawrence Paul Horwitz, Florentin Smarandache, other editors of Progress in Physics and Franco Selleri, whose BLP is currently up for deletion here. The organization at first bore the name of Ruggero Santilli; it appears to be financed by Francesco Fucilla, who has edited wikipedia himself (his editing style is instantly recognizable because he uses capitalization and exclamation marks, London IPs and often adds his own signature, a tell-tale sign). Webmaster6 ( talk · contribs) has been slowly adding pages to wikipedia connected with Fucilla and this organization. Several articles on promotional videos have been deleted (starting with "The Universe of Myron Evans"; here's a video of Dunning-Davies extolling Santilli's theories [22]). Both Evans and Fucilla run off-wiki commentary on the BLPs they wish to add to wikipedia and the deletion process: Evans on his blog at www.aias.us [23] and Fucilla on the Telesio-Galilei website [24]. I believe that Myron Evans actually threatened WMF with action over his BLP (later confirmed by User:Daniel), which resulted in his own biographical stub being put up for deletion by me some time back. (A neutral description of his eponymous theory took its place.) I think more eyes are needed on this little walled garden of articles and in particular the contributions of Webmaster6 who appears to have a WP:COI. No need for wikipedia to become a mirror site for pseudoscientific websites, even if there is a slightly comical aspect to the whole thing (Santilli's magnegas - an alternative fuel based on his own new molecule, made from reprocessed human waste, tested on a Ferrari). Mathsci ( talk) 10:33, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

Just to remind everyone that the first step in handling a suspected conflict of interest is "direct discussion of the issue with the editor, referring to this guideline". There is no evidence that Mathsci has troubled to do that, or even had the courtesy to notify Webmaster6 of this discussion about his contributions. A further reminder: "Using COI allegations to harass an editor or to gain the upper hand in a content dispute is prohibited, and can result in a block or ban." 213.48.162.2 ( talk) 21:14, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

213.48.162.2 ( talk · contribs) appears to be a sockpuppet account. There seem to be too many around at the moment. Their statements are inaccurate, because of previous deletion discussions of Webmaster6's contributions ( here for example) and threads on this noticeboard. Perhaps when 213.4.162.2 has a moment to spare, they can consult with their twin 213.48.162.4 ( talk · contribs) on how to stalk me in a slightly less obvious way. Mathsci ( talk) 21:23, 29 September 2009 (UTC) Note: this editor also seems to be Quotient group ( talk · contribs), probably a new account of A.K.Nole ( talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log).

Unsourced BLP about a hero doctor of the alternative health movement. The section that describes his battles with the FDA doesn't seem very balanced. He's an Associate Editor of Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, so definitely very fringe. Fences& Windows 00:41, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Someone is claiming that as this guy has written 3 non-notable books he doesn't need to be notable, and is adding references to the article which are sourced to ... wait for it ... the articles talk page! Which features the famous Nancy Merkle!! And the subject himself (or so the IPs claim) has also posted a long diatribe on the rather awful talk page. Help needed to fix this! Should it go to AfD? Is he notable? Verbal chat 20:13, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Maybe we should wholesale transwiki all our articles about alternative health practioners, conspiracy theorists and assorted crackpots into Wiki4Cam? Fences& Windows 20:26, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

This Guardian article is one source that briefly mentions Blaylock. Asking for WP:RS, as Verbal just did, seems to be the appropriate way to tackle this issue. Clearly, the article in its present state would be an AfD case.   Cs32en  20:36, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

How is a person a fringe theory? 86.3.142.2 ( talk) 01:32, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Don't be obtuse. Fences& Windows 01:36, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Not being obtuse, serious question, how can this board consider the biography of a real human being to be a fringe theory? 86.3.142.2 ( talk) 10:02, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

My medical knowledge doesn't extend much farther than first aid so I would not be appropriate to review it and it may very well be just fine. However this article: Excitotoxicity is strongly connected to Blaylock and presents the subject matter of the article as fact (it could very well be fact, again I don't have the background to really make statements to that) With that being said, it might be good for somebody with some serious medical expertise to give it a look over and confirm whether it's scientifically supported assertions or a fringe theory. Simonm223 ( talk) 03:42, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Blaylock's recent work on nutrition etc. places him in the scientific and medical fringe, whether or not he's correct in his claims. Proponents of fringe theories should be discussed here. Fences& Windows 13:10, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

I am not aware that his theories place him in the scientific and medical fringe, and I see nowhere a cite or statement which of his theories is considered so. The right place to discuss a biography of a living person is Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons/Noticeboard, regardless of what they are "proponents" of. 86.3.142.2 ( talk) 15:38, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

I assure you his theories are fringe, hence this noticeboard is appropriate. The BLP noticeboard would also be appropriate, but this noticeboard is more specialised towards fringe theories and proponents, while the BLP noticeboard is more geared towards breaches of the BLP policy. One of the problems with this article is there is no evidence yet that he is notable, and the article should probably be deleted. Verbal chat 15:43, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply. I am not assured. I see no evidence that his theories are fringe, and with respect, either of us assuring each other is no substitute for evidence. I understand your logic for putting people on a fringe theory notice board but respectfully disagree - as I believe compartmentalisation of overview leads to systemic bias as I believe is demonstrated when one looks at the earlier comments in the thread, which all assume guilt of fringe without any evidence. I respectfully disagree with your assessment of his notability. 86.3.142.2 ( talk) 16:11, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Then please provide WP:RS and address the notability issue on the talk page. Thanks, Verbal chat 16:53, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

This Guardian article indicates that Blaylock's viewpoints are fringe with regard to the scientific debate, which is what WP policy refers to. There may be other sources, but in the absence of them, this is a reliable source that is clearly sufficient to characterize Blaylock's viewpoint as a viewpoint that has fringe status with regard to WP policy.   Cs32en  20:24, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for providing a source, I can understand your position now. The paper you quote is from 2004 and says

But popular opinion has travelled - spectacularly - in the opposite direction to science. By the early eighties, fuelled by books like Russell Blaylock's Excitotoxins - The Taste That Kills, MSG's name was utter mud. Google MSG today, and you'll find it blamed for causing asthma attacks, migraines, hypertension and heart disease, dehydration, chest pains, depression, attention deficit disorder, anaphylactic shock, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and a host of diverse allergies.

It is making a bit of leap (WP:OR) to say he has "fringe status" based on 'popular opinion's spectacular travelling away from science' as couched in the journalist's opinion. The source does not show Blaylock's position on MSG at all, or if it itself is non-mainstream, just that his book was a spur against MSG. Even then, the article continues

However, there remains a body of respected nutritionists who are sure MSG causes problems - especially in children. And parents listen. Most doctors who offer guides to parents qualify their warnings about MSG - it may cause problems, it has been anecdotally linked with disorders. But public figures like the best-selling nutrition guru Patrick Holford are powerful advocates against MSG. He's sure the science shows that MSG causes migraines and he is convinced of the dangers of the substance to children, particularly in the child-grabber snacks like Monster Munch and Cheesy Wotsits.

If I were to WP:OR that myself I would say "Respected nutitionists and most medical doctors warn about MSG" but that is actually closer to the source. I note a more recent article from the same paper, attributed to the BMJ as listing MSG as one of the common things that can trigger a migraine attack. Whereas MSG may have been dismissed recently as not being the cause of 'Chinese restaurant sydrome', Blaylock's concerns were not that it ever did. 86.3.142.2 ( talk) 23:55, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

The Guardian article indicates that it very likely is a fringe viewpoint (theories that "depart significantly from the prevailing or mainstream view in its particular field of study", WP:FRINGE); it is not a proof that Blaylock's views are fringe. However, there is, to my knowledge, no default assumption that a particular theory would be not fringe, and as we would prefer to err on the side of caution, I'd say it's sufficient for making the preliminary determination that Blaylock's views are to be considered fringe and that WP:FRINGE thus applies to the article. A single mention in one article is not enough to meet the notability criteria anyway, and additional secondary sources would very likely contain further information that can help to clarify the status of his theories and hypotheses. In the unlikely event that there would be enough sources to meet WP:N, but no further information on the status of his theories, we would probably have to quote the relevant part of the guardian article verbatim, so that the reader can draw his or her own conclusions about its meaning.   Cs32en  00:11, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

With all due respect, the source does not say what you are saying it says, using anything that amounts to 'likely pointing to being fringe' is utterly unacceptable in BLP. None of the information in the article refers to fringe science, the information in the article refers to a person's biography and is adequately and appropriately sourced. As I noted on the talk page, there is a wealth of information out there when you trawl, most of it, though, wants money to view the data, so I have deliberately chosen to use only those pieces which are free. 86.3.142.2 ( talk) 00:23, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

I wasn't advocating to write in the article itself that (some) views of Blaylock are fringe, but that, based on the available information, we should classify the article, or the part of the article that deals with these views, as falling under the WP:FRINGE guideline. If there is a (permanent) article on Blaylock, we will very likely have further information on this question, and we need not say that his views are "fringe", we can (always depending on the actual information from appropriate sources) characterize his views as "supported by a minority", "minority viewpoint", "differing from the established theory" or whatever would seem most adequate. Many of these terms do not violate WP:BLP guidelines (and "fringe" also would not, if sources clearly indicate that the views are unambiguously fringe).   Cs32en  01:03, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Just a note that this article has been nominated for deletion. Verbal chat 12:27, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

If a fringe theory appears in an article, should the fact that it is fringy, and the current mainstream academic view of the theory be consigned to a footnote, or should it appear in the main copy of the article? Davémon ( talk) 18:32, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

I'd suggest the following:

• Always in the text, not in a footnote.
• Always refer to the relevant article with a link, and state that it is a specific viewpoint.
• Depending on the circumstances, describe the majority viewpoint.
• Depending on the circumstances, use "minority viewpoint" or a more specific description that clearly characterizes the viewpoint as a viewpoint held by a minority. The term "fringe" may sound dismissive rather than encyclopedic (my personal viewpoint), so I would be reluctant to use it, but this also probably depends on the circumstances.   Cs32en  20:19, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

So fringe=minority, mainstream=majority ??? Gandalf61 ( talk) 20:36, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Always with reference to the relevant scientific community. Minority viewpoints should be characterized as minority viewpoints, while some fringe viewpoints may in fact best be described as "singular" viewpoints, if they a propagated by a single proponent.   Cs32en  20:47, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

I really don't think this is something we can or should make firm and fast rules about. Some Fringe theories do not even merit mention in other articles (per WP:UNDUE), while others do. Of the ones that are mentioned in other articles, sometimes it is best to clearly note that it is a fringe theory, and at other times it is best to phrase things with more subtlety. How to phrase things in articles is really a matter of consensus between the editors working on the article. Blueboar ( talk) 20:49, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

(← outdent) Since y'all are discussing here what I brought up there, I'll quote myself and hope for an answer here:

• "I wish WP:Fringe specifically said whether editors may or may not introduce the word fringe in an article when it isn't found in any source. IMO if something is decidedly non-notable fringe we leave it out, otherwise we call it minority."

Thanks, Hordaland ( talk) 21:12, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

We have to take the discussion of Fringe theories on a case by case, article by article basis. Blueboar ( talk) 21:27, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

I agree that the specific situation is very important, and that editors thus should make decisions on a case by case basis. However, guidelines may contain guidance on (a) which aspects should be taken into account when discussion a specific case (b) the range of possible solutions applicable to most cases.   Cs32en  21:37, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

I agree with pretty much all points raised. I think Cs22ens outline is a good one. Formal guidelines should only be based on already formed general consensus, with an aim to aid editors in arriving at a conclusion quicker. I would say that the phrasing should be taken as verbatim as possible from at least one of the mainstream sources which are critiquing the fringe theory, avoiding the editorial judgement of using the phrase 'fringe' or 'minority' (unless the critiquing source does). Strong or emotive language (even from highly respected experts in the field) should probably be avoided! Davémon ( talk) 21:28, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Context should also be important. E.g. the article about (say) Robert Graves's The White Goddess should (and does) have a section on criticism of that work. This needn't be replicated in the text body of every article that even mentions that book; it would be redundant, and require maintaining every separate copy. A footnote and/or wikilink — e.g., [ref] Grave's work on Greek myth was often criticized; see The White Goddess#Criticism and The Greek Myths#Reception.[/ref] — should suffice in that situation. Also note that this does not put Wikipedia in the position of declaring Graves's work either "fringe" or wrong (or right); this only says it was "criticized" (objectively true), and points to where those criticisms are quoted and cited. That leaves this encyclopedia a "fair broker" of ideas, not an advocate. — Sizzle Flambé ( ☎/ ✍) 05:48, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

The "redundancy" concept does not sit well with the idea that minority/fringe views should be explained as such where they are talked about in detail, which is clearly beneficial so not to mislead average reader into thinking wikipedia endorses a minority view. Relying on wikilinks and footnotes isn't quite enough to get the message across, some acknowledgement in the main body of the article is preferable. Wikipedia should be a "fair broker" of ideas as they are reported by the mainstream academia, subjects like 911 conspiracy theories, alien abduction, prehistorical matriarchal societies, should not be treated as equal with mainstream historical and scientific narratives. I agree, using the words used by the mainstream sources that critique a fringe theory is the right way of approaching this. Davémon ( talk) 07:54, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

There are two points to clarify here. (1) "where they are talked about in detail" doesn't mean "everywhere they are mentioned or alluded to", e.g. in a short dependent clause of a sentence. (2) "should be explained as such" can be done very briefly in such mentions/allusions by adding (say) the word "controversial" and either a footnote or a wikilink to the detailed coverage — rather than inserting a lengthy argument that breaks the narrative and swings the whole sentence out of balance. I have in mind the one-line sentence with a four-word dependent clause:

According to Robert Graves, Persephone is not only the younger self of Demeter, she is in turn also one of three guises of Demeter as the Triple Goddess.

... which became:...

According to the Robert Graves whose work on Greek Myth classicist Micheal Grant CBE considered to be "refashioned after [Graves] own images" and has been characterised as "startlingly distorted" and "misguided" by academics such as Richard Buxton ^[13] and considered only useful as a guide to Graves personal mythology ^[14]; Persephone is not only the younger self of Demeter, she is in turn also one of three guises of Demeter as the Triple Goddess.

...adding two lines of text to the four-word dependent clause, and overshadowing what the sentence was actually about. Adding just "the controversial^[13] or "the controversial" before Graves's name wouldn't have been so obtrusive, but still would have given fair warning — perhaps even more clearly than that long text.

Incidentally, the idea that Kore (the maiden) is not Demeter's daughter, but Demeter's own younger self, was discussed much earlier than Graves, in 1896, by Lewis Richard Farnell in The Cults of the Greek States, volume 3, p.121. — Sizzle Flambé ( ☎/ ✍) 13:16, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

The problem in this example is simply poor writing... The material could be rewriten as...

According to the Robert Graves, Persephone is not only the younger self of Demeter, she is in turn also one of three guises of Demeter as the Triple Goddess. Graves's theory, however, is controvercial. Academics such as Richard Buxton have characterised Graves's work as "refashioned after [Graves] own images" and "startlingly distorted" and "misguided" ^[13] and considered only useful as a guide to Graves personal mythology ^[14];

... and it would be both acceptable and accurate. Blueboar ( talk) 14:10, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

Blueboar's text is an improvement (except for the spelling!), but I wonder if it would be better to cut out the sentence "Graves's theory, however, is controversial." The following sentence, cited to Buxton, seems sufficient to establish that Graves' opinions aren't widely shared--although I actually think Graves' views are quite popular, or at least many people seem to have views of Demter that are similar to his, even if they're not directly inspired by his work. --Akhilleus ( talk) 15:17, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

Fine, so there we have it, clear as crystal: "Graves's opinions are not widely shared, though his views are quite popular, or at least many people have similar views even if they're not directly inspired by his work." — Sizzle Flambé ( ☎/ ✍) 04:45, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

... I'm hoping you were being sarcastic. — The Hand That Feeds You: ^Bite 13:16, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Sorry, who was being sarcastic? Anyway, Sizzle, I don't think it's that hard to understand what I was saying--Graves' views are not widely shared in academia, especially among people who study ancient Greece and Rome, but his ideas have had impact in the popular sphere. --Akhilleus ( talk) 16:34, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Buxton's sentence establishes that Graves's opinions are not shared by Buxton. Each of the critics presumably expressed his own view. Whether academia (or the lay population) in general agreed more with the critics than with Graves is not in evidence just from quoting the critics. — Sizzle Flambé ( ☎/ ✍) 03:35, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

I am sorry, Sizzle, you are not making a whole lot of sense here. Please make an effort to separate academic opinion on historical Demeter from modern literary or pop culture references to Demeter. I submit that this is a problem of section scope. The whole Graves discussion should be removed from the "Demeter and Persephone" section (which should focus on academic literature on the Eleusian mysteries), and put in a new "reception in modern literature" section. Grave's book is perfectly notable, but it isn't notable because it contributes to the scholarly study of ancient religion. It is notable, as the The White Goddess article points out, because it "remains a major source of confusion about the ancient Celts and influences many un-scholarly views of Celtic paganism" and because it has "misled many innocent readers with his eloquent but deceptive statements about a nebulous goddess in early Celtic literature". This makes Graves a perfect addition to an "in popular culture" section, but his WP:DUEness really stops there.-- dab (𒁳) 09:07, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Academic opinion is not monolithic. Some of that criticism is quoted/paraphrased from an essay by Michael Pharand, who himself was quoting it but then disagreed with it. FYI, The White Goddess article points all that out only because I moved the text to that article from Triple Goddess. It is appropriate to point all that out in the article on the book, which is why I moved it there. That done, it needn't all be said again everywhere the book is mentioned: we can wikilink to it with a brief summary comment like "Grave's work on Greek myth was often criticized; see The White Goddess#Criticism and The Greek Myths#Reception." ... Which is precisely what I did.
Re Demeter: Graves is not the only person who has ever referred to her as part of a triple goddess; however, he is the person who popularized the idea, which makes him (and the book) worthy of mention there. — Sizzle Flambé ( ☎/ ✍) 10:58, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

I realize that academic opinion is not monolithic. I should hope it is not. This is no excuse for discussing Demeter in terms of Graves. Graves is relevant indeed for popular opinion, but he is completely irrelevant for academic opinion. I am not sure what you are trying to do with these articles. It's ok to include the criticism in the White Goddess article, as you did, but at the same time, The White Goddess is also extremely relevant to the (neopagan) Triple Goddess article, while all of this is perfectly irrelevant at the Demeter article, which I thought was what is under discussion here. -- dab (𒁳) 11:03, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

David Talbott

Consider stubbing this article. Most of the sources are promotional and directly connected to the author. Is essentially WP:VANITY. 64.206.236.98 ( talk) 03:25, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Uh, no. Unlike the de Grazia article above, this one is well-sourced and appears neutrally written. — The Hand That Feeds You: ^Bite 13:23, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

that's after I tweaked the intro into not going on about just how radical Talbott is. [25] -- dab (𒁳) 14:14, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Alfred de Grazia

Consider stubbing this article. Lacks third-party independent sources. Is essentially WP:VANITY. 128.59.171.155 ( talk) 21:46, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

Wow, what a mess. yeah, I'm going to stub this down for now, and see about some sources later. — The Hand That Feeds You: ^Bite 13:21, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

I worked on it about this time last year, and Science Apologist also put in useful work. Subject's notable as a political scientist, and the books on political science are worth listing. Later he became a fan of Velikovsky, and I suppose that is a notable fact about him, but it doesn't need too much detail. User:Amideg is the subject or close to him, so the article continues to be dogged by COI. Itsmejudith ( talk) 11:07, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, he does seem notable. I'd say this can be re-written with an eye towards his works, but the way it was when I found it... blah. I'm expecting to get a heaping helping of flak when the interested parties notice, but I might be able to get some more relevant citations by then. — The Hand That Feeds You: ^Bite 13:18, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

I am not sure if you live in some parallel Wikipedia. Or what do you mean by "notable"? The article as it stands indicates no trace of notability. Just whence do you take your knowledge that he "does seem to be notable"? Nothing currently in the article I am sure (wrote a book, founded some sort of commune in 1970 which fell apart in 1972) -- please note that "notability" does not mean "can be googled". It means significant coverage in quotable, independent third party sources. Where are these sources? If they aren't forthcoming, simply delete the article, especially if it is a WP:BLP. -- dab (𒁳) 14:19, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

He did write quite a lot of books on political science, and they looked to me like standard textbooks but I'll look again. WP:PROF should be our guide. Itsmejudith ( talk) 15:29, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

Dargaville's article involves a number of highly fringy things he's involved with or promotes. The article has quite a few issues, from style and grammar to lacking cites, to bordering on advertising. I had a go at trimming the fringe a bit, but there's plenty left to do. (much of it was written in the tone of an unquestioning believer, stating as fact things like Dargaville's meditation techniques being able to cure cancer, or his physics of mind 'validating' teleportation and "alien space travel")

Point is, I don't honestly know where to start with the numerous issues, so I thought I'd bring it to the attention of those more experienced and see if anyone wants to work on it, rewrite it, ignore it, or nominate it for deletion. ;)

Hatchetfish ( talk) 17:59, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

I've sent it to AFD as third party interest seems decidedly lacking. Mangoe ( talk) 19:24, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

An editor trying to connect Stephen Hawking's remarks on dark matter to paranormal beliefs. The article itself is based on very marginal sources. - LuckyLouie ( talk) 16:56, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

Yes, the whole article appears to be nothing more than presentation and synthesis of (mostly fringe) WP:PRIMARY sources. Hrafn ^Talk _Stalk^{( P)} 15:29, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

An article about a software program claiming to predict the future including 9/11, the Columbia accident and 2012. I would probably go and afd the article as being not notable. Or we can wait for October 25 for its next prediction to see if it comes true or not. -- McSly ( talk) 03:56, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

It has received significant coverage in the press, so I'm not sure AfD is appropriate. I've done some sourcing, still needs improvement. Fences& Windows 20:20, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Given its connection to various fringe theories, people on here may be interested in this AFD. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 210 FCs served} 15:12, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

If anyone has time and an interest in this, there are quite a few sources on the talk page that could be used to improve the dating section which at the moment is biased towards a fringe viewpoint. I am not around much for a while and don't have time myself. There's also a long forum style post on the talk page and although maybe it should be removed I think editors should avoid responding in kind, we all know talk pages aren't forums. Some of the links on the talk page can't be used themselves but lead to good sources. Thanks. Dougweller ( talk) 19:51, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Corrected link. Moreschi ( talk) 20:24, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

This sentence, sourced to an article in National Geographic, sounded bizarre. "Ceramic artifacts depict imagery of warriors, masked with puma skulls, decapitating their enemies and holding trophy skulls, adorned with belts of human heads with their tongues torn out." First, what was adorned with the belts, the warriors or the trophy skulls? Second, how do you show in a ceramic artifact that a tongue is torn out? I'm not even sure what a depiction, in ceramic, of warriors masked with puma skulls would look like. How reliable is National Geographic for archaeology? Itsmejudith ( talk) 22:30, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

More likely NG has been rendered inaccurately. And this dating issue sounds rather worrying. I need to look into it but 15,000 BC sounds rather implausible. Antiquity frenzy anyone? Particularly when that seems to be partially sourced to German astronomy (huh?) from the 1930s (dated research by now, methinks). Moreschi ( talk) 22:42, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

I just double-checked that. Astronomy. What? Moreschi ( talk) 22:44, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

The section Pre-Graves goddess threesomes in Triple Goddess has a {{cn}} tag on virtually every clause. I'm inclined to delete the whole section, but if anyone would like to take a crack at cleaning it up before I take WP:BOLD action, be my guest. Mangoe ( talk) 15:56, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

It looks like you have provoked a burst of referencing, which is good, because it would be a real shame to lose that material if it is valid. Looie496 ( talk) 17:38, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Actually no, the "sources" added are all primary sources with the 'interpretation' of them is being done by an editor. I'd leave the section up for a while, there is some potentially citable content there hidden amongst the nonsense. Any help properly citing it would be appreciated! Davémon ( talk) 18:01, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

It would be nice if some new voices would join the discussion at Talk:Triple Goddess, things seem to be going in circles. --Akhilleus ( talk) 04:17, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

I've barged in WP:BOLDly. I just don't see why the the triple goddess and the the notion of truine goddesses in general all have to be shoved into that one article. Mangoe ( talk) 13:29, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

(undent) OK, I'm losing patience. This thing is being sat upon by a WP:SPA who is talking the thing to death. Can someone uninvolved care to take a look and see whether we are off-base in resisting him? Mangoe ( talk) 23:15, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

This is getting out of hand. If Sizzle wants to improve coverage on triple goddesses in general, why cannot he do so in a straightforward manner and without pointless disputes on the Neopagan article? -- dab (𒁳) 18:26, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

Colonel Warden‎ ( talk · contribs) recently nominated Reincarnation research for speedy delete as an attack page. More input and eyes requested on this and related articles ( Ian Stevenson, Jim Tucker, Reincarnation, and European Cases of the Reincarnation Type). Verbal chat 09:43, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

Please don't canvass speedy deletions. Ikip ( talk) 16:12, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

I note that this is not the first time you've done this. Do not post requests here in this way. Ikip ( talk) 16:12, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

What are you talking about? This is an appropriate noticeboard and the speedy template was removed before I posted here - there is no ongoing deletion debate. I have never canvassed an AfD or speedy. Verbal chat 16:33, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

Ikip, you are not Colonel Warden's keeper. Let him make his own mistakes and defend them. Trying to delete that page via speedy deletion was... bizarre. Fences& Windows 00:50, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Let's emphasize the key point: posting to noticeboards is not canvassing, ever. That's what noticeboards are for. It might be forum shopping, depending on how it is done, but it should never be characterized as canvassing. Looie496 ( talk) 02:40, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

I've just removed the POV tag as it doesn't seem justified. The resons given include that it is too skeptical (like the preponderance of RS) and that the lead summaries the article, including the fact that belief in reincarnation has been linked to trauma. Verbal chat 14:02, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Add borderline coatracking at Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect to your list of related problem articles. - LuckyLouie ( talk) 00:23, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

What the heck's going on in this user's contribution history? Both the articles and the edits need examination. -- Brangifer ( talk) 02:33, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

Scratching around from this user's history, there seem to be a number of rather fringey-looking quantum/mind-related articles that may be in need of closer scrutiny:

• Quantum mind (  | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)
• Quantum mind/body problem (  | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)
• Orch-OR (  | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) (aka Roger Penrose' "quantum mind theory", probably the worst of the lot)

Hrafn ^Talk _Stalk^{( P)} 05:14, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

I wonder if there is an article devoted to documenting the misuse of the word "quantum" within fringe science and alternative medicine? It's got to be one of the most misused terms. There are plenty of examples (including articles here), with V & RS of the type allowable for an article on a fringe subject. Sources from believers and from skeptics would be allowable. -- Brangifer ( talk) 14:00, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

Not sure I see the problem here. Quantum mind/body problem is a survey of philosophical thinking on the apparently anomalous position of the conscious/sentient observer in some interpretations of quantum mechanics; quantum mind is an overview of various theories that invoke quantum mechanics as an explanatory mechanism for mind, concoiusness and free will; and the most notable quantum mind theories are detailed in individual articles such as Orch-OR. Minority views, maybe, but those articles seem to be balanced, NPOV and well sourced. What exactly are your concerns ? Gandalf61 ( talk) 14:41, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

For some background you might also want to look here. Simonm223 ( talk) 14:43, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

Quantum mind/body problem seems to have little but original synthesis. Apart from mentioning Hugh Everett, it doesn't tell you anything about how quantum mechanics has been regarded in philosophy. Itsmejudith ( talk) 15:13, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

I don't think quantum mind/body problem breaks WP:SYNTH because it is not advancing a position. It is just a survey article like history of quantum mechanics or philosophy of mind. It summarises a whole bunch of attributed views, from Einstein to Dennet. Somewhat unevenly written, perhaps, but not a problem article. I still don't see what Brangifer's concerns are with the three article he listed ( quantum mysticism is another kettle of fish entirely ...). Gandalf61 ( talk) 15:32, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

Not advancing a position? It's purely the view of Wigner. Which might be notable enough to warrant summarising somewhere (probably in the article on Wigner), but not like this. Itsmejudith ( talk) 14:50, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

That's not how the article reads to me. The term "quantum mind/body problem" may have been coined by Wigner, but the article presents the views of several scientists and philosophers on this topic. Gandalf61 ( talk) 22:52, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

It collates the views of several scientists and philosophers, but they were usually not directly addressing this topic. So it's synthesis. Itsmejudith ( talk) 09:14, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

Well, I guess we just have different interpretations of what the article is trying to say. Gandalf61 ( talk) 09:22, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

??? I didn't list three articles. Please refactor. -- Brangifer ( talk) 00:27, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

We have a fresh Indian racial drama, with Jaggi81 ( talk · contribs) bent on declaring "Aryan" anything connected to the Telugu people or the Telugu language. The factual background of this is that Andhra Pradesh was indeed an Indo-Aryan/Dravidian contact zone in the Middle Ages. Check out the contribution history to see how this is turned into the usual confused racial nonsense. -- dab (𒁳) 07:57, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Yep, I'll be watching out in case this guy tries any further nonsense. Moreschi ( talk) 09:33, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

PS: This IP is the same guy. Moreschi ( talk) 09:47, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

This article has just been boldly renamed without discussion. Probably deserves some debate. At the very least the text needs changing to match to the new title of Outline of pseudoscience. (I prefer the very old title without the silly extra verbiage) Verbal chat 10:53, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

so The Transhumanist ( talk · contribs) is at it again. One of the more ill-advised mass-editors I have come across, and one of the most resistent to good advice and criticism. Needs more eyes watching their contributions history.

this chap insists on littering article namespace with absolutely abominable content forks. Check out his Outline of chocolate or Outline of Iceland (you'd expect a description of the island's coastline) or Outline of water, etc. He copy-pastes the lede from the developed article, and then proceeds to posting a sort of "list of loosely connected articles", looking as if it was just the wikilinks ripped from the deveoloped article by means of a very short shell script.

this WP:OOK thing isn't pertinent to WP:FRINGE, but "The Transhumanist" and his renitent attitude has caused major disruption and lost man-hours. -- dab (𒁳) 11:26, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

I have suggested that the proposed policy Wikipedia:Outlines should be marked as failed due to the controversy and resistance found across the mainspace. See the talk page for my suggestion that it be marked as failed. Verbal chat 14:57, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

so it's just an essay now. If there was ever an essay that deserved being marked as "failed", it's this one. Either that, or userify as one editor's personal ramblings. -- dab (𒁳) 15:10, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

There is, or was, a dispute at Orpheus over whether he can be classified as Thracian, Greek, or Macedonian. See Talk:Orpheus, the last revision before I swung the axe, my talk page, and even ANI. Weirder and weirder, it appears that Bulgarian Orpheus is even something of a meme in Bulgarian nationalism. This stuff applied to Alexander the Great was weird enough, but when applied to a mythical figure is simply frightening.

Read and weep. Moreschi ( talk) 11:11, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

probably a good candidate for wp:lame Voiceofreason01 ( talk) 16:02, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

I thought everyone knew that Orpheus was Goa'uld. Blueboar ( talk) 17:00, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

ROTFLMFAO! Seriously though, added page to watch. Simonm223 ( talk) 17:02, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Having a passport no doubt helped him get in and out of Hades. Don't die without your passport, and make sure you're buried with it! — Sizzle Flambé ( ☎/ ✍) 23:51, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Which is proof the passport must have been Greek, because there's no way Charon would have taken any Macedonian passports as valid. Euridice, an alien, unfortunately got held up at the immigration desk. Moreschi ( talk) 00:01, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Clearly, he was a Kamboja. I have 278 references to demonstrate that. Itsmejudith ( talk) 11:16, 9 October 2009 (UTC)

Let's not even go there. ('Sides, everybody knows that Orpheus was an Irish / Scottish Canadian) :p Simonm223 ( talk) 14:49, 9 October 2009 (UTC)

Rodgarton ( talk · contribs) is engaging in persistent personal attacks against editors on the talk page of this and related articles, and his own user page (where he calls other editors "retarded"). He's had several warnings about this, and related blocks. Could an admin look into this please? Verbal chat 12:38, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Two weeks for him. Moreschi ( talk) 12:48, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Just a note that he's since been indef'd. Verbal chat 19:16, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

There is a debate going on here about what constitutes a fringe viewpoint and what constitutes a significant minority viewpoint. Namely: is it sufficient to be able to name a few notable proponents of an idea (even though they may be notable for other things) for this idea to be considered a "significant minority viewpoint"? Opinions are most welcome.-- Ramdrake ( talk) 22:07, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

the significant minority viewpoint needs to be debated, and its existence needs to be recognized, in peer-reviewed academic literature. It doesn't matter so much who or how many people propose the view, it matters what impact it makes in academia. -- dab (𒁳) 14:54, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

And don't forget that the debate moves on. What is the mainstream at one point may not be so for ever. Consider whether that can be addressed by using a chronological structure, or by finding scholarly histories of the contentions. Itsmejudith ( talk) 11:14, 9 October 2009 (UTC)

• Lord, what a mess. This is one of those times where we really just have to make a judgement call and hope it all goes well, because it is an ongoing debate and the tertiary sources we could base meta-descriptions on haven't caught up with the research. My general impression is that the "hereditarian" position on race and intelligence - that is, a position that posits a 50/50 role between genetics/environment in explaining race and intelligence data - isn't "significant minority" and isn't "fringe" either. Probably "small minority" gets closest, if anything does. It's not a widespread view but evidently there is a small community of reputable people out there who go for it. As to what impact they make in academia - in a topic such as this naturally quite a lot. The type of impact is a different question altogether. Moreschi ( talk) 01:05, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

• It is funny, sad and interesting to me that wikipedia is trying to purge articles that are 'fringe'. Wikipedia is quickly coming just a run of the mill encyclopedia, like any other. The vision of what wikipedia could have been, ie: an encyclopedia that anyone can add to, is simply gone....this sux, i didn't get the memo until a few days ago. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.184.121.12 ( talk • contribs)

No... Wikipedia does not try to "purge" articles that are 'fringe'... this policy is explicitly about which fringe topics should have articles, and how to write them. Blueboar ( talk) 13:40, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

There are two issues of interest here, I think. 1, There has been a lot of vandalism here today (anti fluoridation TV show somewhere?), and 2, there is a talk page discussion about whether the page is "balanced". Cheers, Verbal chat 19:18, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

Today's featured article on the Main Page, which at least explains the vandalism (if not the talk page stuff). -- Bfigura ^{( talk)} 22:16, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

Water fluoridation is a contraversial topic within a relatively small sector of society, as are related topics such as fluoridated toothpaste. The article as it stands (and as was promoted to FA, for what little that is worth) acknowledges the controversies in line with WP:WEIGHT: it is mentioned, but it is not the main point of the article. Physchim62 (talk) 22:59, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

Not sure if this entirely qualifies as fringe, but the authors autiobio makes me think so. Relevant articles are:

• David A. Kaiser
• Nicholas Dogris
• Penijean Rutter
• and Human-suit which I redirected to Human suit (original here [26]).

The first article in the list seems wacky, which combined with the self-promotion angle made me bring it up here. The editor in question has also been removing tags (improvement ones and CSDs) that I and other editors placed. Rather than get into an edit war, wanted to let other eyes take a look. Best, -- Bfigura ^{( talk)} 04:22, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

• Oddly, this has gotten less overtly fringy after templates were placed. Compare the old [27] version to the current David A. Kaiser. Weird, but still worth a look I think. -- Bfigura ^{( talk)} 04:24, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

This doesn't solve the massive COI and notability issues with this editor's contributions. I've prodded the articles listed above that weren't already there. Simonm223 ( talk) 18:59, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

At Hecate, one editor thinks that "Hekat" should be given as an alternative name of the goddess in the lead sentence, based on 2 neopagan sources. Another editor thinks these are pretty poor sources on which to base the first sentence of an article about a Greco-Roman goddess. Input welcome at Talk:Hecate#Hekat. --Akhilleus ( talk) 15:09, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Commented. Moreschi ( talk) 15:36, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

A fringe bio which is having a lot of back and forth. Mostly consisted of a dubious biography and dubious praise. The AfD seems to rely a lot on GHITS and his large "publication" record. Verbal chat 09:11, 14 October 2009 (UTC)

Don't forget the ever-entertaining accusations of bad-faith editing. Simonm223 ( talk) 13:47, 14 October 2009 (UTC)

For those interested, my recent post at WP:AN#Wikipedia and nationalism - this is not getting any better might be worth looking at. Moreschi ( talk) 23:54, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

Please see the etymology section [ [28]]. I could not find any of the google book links the person mentioned. But I did check etymology [ [29]]. I tried to put the information there, but was reverted with what appears to be a WP:SPA in here: [ [30]]. I did a google books search and they mention the word as either Tungus and many sources relate it to the Sanskrit word. Also prominent Turkologist like Gerald Clauson are not sure if Tungus can be classified as Altaic. [ [31]]. Any help clarifying the etymology of this word is appreciated. Also I rather not edit that article, but the article requires some work. -- Nepaheshgar ( talk) 14:29, 16 October 2009 (UTC)

More Turkophilic stuff. If they can come up with a reference in English which we can assess, it could be included as an alternate theory if shows any signs that there are non-Turks who give in some credence. Replacing the whole section is a no-go given the strength of the references backing the Tungus theory; claims that the latter is Turkic can remain in that article. Mangoe ( talk) 16:16, 16 October 2009 (UTC)

This was just vandalism. Roll it back, a brainless s/Tungusic word/Turkic word/ replacement, the editor didn't even bother to adapt the spelling šamán. It is a paragraph I wrote back in January. It was already somewhat deteriorated before the vandalism.

The article is already aware that the word made it into Turkic. If more detail on the history of the word within Turkic is added that would be fine, but is it too much to hope that the Turkic history of the word can be documented without vandalism to the non-Turkic content? -- dab (𒁳) 18:51, 16 October 2009 (UTC)