Wikipedia:Dispute resolution noticeboard/Archive 94

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Talk:United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2014

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Talk:Albert Einstein

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Talk:Suicide of Amanda Todd#Hanged vs. found dead

  – This request has been open for some time and must be reviewed.

Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already.

Location of dispute

Users involved

Dispute overview

On May 25th, I reverted an edit that removed some mention of the hanging that had been reported on by media sources. The person who had removed it had done in response to the concern [the reference desk,] where someone apparently close to Amanda Todd's family had averred that the hanging was false, having requested that the article be edited to reflect this. I have made contested (edits that were later reverted) edits, and that changed the wording back to reportedly found hanged that was changed to found dead. In the user's edit summary, OttawaAC cited a suggestion for me to cite sources that said reportedly hanged in the article. I did such, and was reverted by an account which previously had no dealing in the dispute nor any messages prior or after. As I was at three reverts, I ceased editing the page. After a heated discussion on the talk page, (and at the reference desk) there is some confusion on whether the sources that are cited on the talk page are reliable enough to indicate the word change, and as well as indicate the probable responsibility to label it on other sections as well. (IE: Cause of death as "Suicide" or "Suicide by hanging".)

Have you tried to resolve this previously?

I have discussed it thoroughly on the talk, with uninvolved users on an IRC channel, asking them for advice on what to do. I have discussed it on the reference desk contesting the idea to omit the material. I have asked the advice of another editor who had been kind to me before. That can be seen here; https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Obiwankenobi&oldid=610426225 (Note that he's not personally involved, and I didn't want him to be, so I didn't list him.)

How do you think we can help?

  • Determine whether the sources that are cited for the hanging remark are reliable enough or whether there is a probable cause of WP:DUE concerns.
  • Determine the necessary importance of indicating the reported cause of death in other aspects. (IE: Cause of death)
  • If not resolved here, direct us to a more specific and direct approach.

Summary of dispute by Baseball Bugs

It's important to get it right, and the evidence for the suicide victim allegedly hanging herself is insufficient. While the victim is not a living person and hence BLP doesn't apply to her, her relatives are, and until or if we have rock-solid, widespread reporting of a specific cause of death, we shouldn't be giving artificial notability to such a claim. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots00:11, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

  • Just a comment to mention that BLP does indeed cover the recently deceased. Per WP:BDP:

The only exception would be for people who have recently died, in which case the policy can extend for an indeterminate period beyond the date of death - six months, one year, two years at the outside. Such extensions would apply particularly to contentious or questionable material about the dead that has implications for their living relatives and friends, such as in the case of a possible suicide or a particularly gruesome crime.

--Mark Miller (talk) 00:22, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

Summary of dispute by OttawaAC

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

I believe that if the article should be edited prudently and mention "hanging" as a possible cause of death, because there's been no official confirmation of the cause of death. The sources, some of which are generally reliable, are only reporting unconfirmed hearsay in the guise of factual information. They may have "verified" the hanging detail using insider sources speaking anonymously, but we don't know that, and they don't state how they may have tried to verify the information, or if they even attempted it at all. Any sentence mentioning "hanging" is going to be giving undue weight to hearsay information if it isn't well qualified by balancing that information against the known facts of the case. Another thing I don't understand is how User:Tutelary is getting away with violating WP:OWN... articles are supposed to be edited collaboratively. The consensus is leaning heavily towards editing the article to qualify the statement about "hanging", and Tutelary is effectively blocking opposing edits any and all ways possible, including maxing out reverts, using accusations of personal attacks, and appeals to bureaucracy with this DR. That's my 2 cents'.OttawaAC (talk) 23:06, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

Summary of dispute by Tarc

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

I only made a single comment in this, which I will repeat; Just write to reflect the reality of the sources, e.g. "Several sources report that the cause of death was hanging, but the police have yet to release the official cause of death to the public." Tarc (talk) 14:27, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

Talk:Suicide of_Amanda_Todd#Hanged_vs_.27found_dead.27 discussion

Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary.

Comment from uninvolved DRN volunteer: While User:Tutelary is correct in observing that a number of sources report that Amanda Todd hanged herself, it is worth noting that the overwhelming majority of the most reliable sources covering the story -- The New Yorker, The Guardian, CNN -- pointedly do not cite a cause of death. MarkBernstein (talk) 20:33, 28 May 2014 (UTC)

This discussion regarding whether or not to move forward with this case from an administrative perspective has been moved to the DRN talk page

I am closing this because there is clearly an ANI discussion ongoing about Baseball Bugs, whether they are aware of it or not and it does indeed touch on this dispute, while not being actually about the dispute.--Mark Miller (talk) 00:38, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

I have reopened it because the ANI is completely irrelevant and this dispute is still in need of resolution - unlike the rather silly ANI case, this actually affects content and potentially real people. Guy (Help!) 13:45, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

Comment (not really involved in this, but have been following) - Another case of people trying to find "truth". We report on what sources say, not what is true. If there are reliable sources that claim hanging, while others leave out the exact cause of death, then say that. There is no need to choose between the two. For example, "Some media outlets reported that Amanda Todd hanged herself, while others did not specify the cause of death." We had the same issue on Jodie Foster regarding her sexuality. Remember, just because some sources did not include the cause of death does not mean it should not be included; it means they didn't include it for some reason (probably they could not independently verify it). EvergreenFir (talk) 17:37, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

MODERATOR NEEDED: Despite this case being auto-labeled as IN PROGRESS, it has no moderator. DRN volunteers please feel free to jump in and take this case. Thanks!--KeithbobTalk 20:45, 2 June 2014 (UTC) (DRN vounteer coordinator)

Talk:Expert system#Write_the_Article_First

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Talk:Suicide of Amanda Todd#Hanged vs. found dead

  – This request has been open for some time and must be reviewed.

Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already.

Location of dispute

Users involved

Dispute overview

On May 25th, I reverted an edit that removed some mention of the hanging that had been reported on by media sources. The person who had removed it had done in response to the concern [the reference desk,] where someone apparently close to Amanda Todd's family had averred that the hanging was false, having requested that the article be edited to reflect this. I have made contested (edits that were later reverted) edits, and that changed the wording back to reportedly found hanged that was changed to found dead. In the user's edit summary, OttawaAC cited a suggestion for me to cite sources that said reportedly hanged in the article. I did such, and was reverted by an account which previously had no dealing in the dispute nor any messages prior or after. As I was at three reverts, I ceased editing the page. After a heated discussion on the talk page, (and at the reference desk) there is some confusion on whether the sources that are cited on the talk page are reliable enough to indicate the word change, and as well as indicate the probable responsibility to label it on other sections as well. (IE: Cause of death as "Suicide" or "Suicide by hanging".)

Have you tried to resolve this previously?

I have discussed it thoroughly on the talk, with uninvolved users on an IRC channel, asking them for advice on what to do. I have discussed it on the reference desk contesting the idea to omit the material. I have asked the advice of another editor who had been kind to me before. That can be seen here; https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Obiwankenobi&oldid=610426225 (Note that he's not personally involved, and I didn't want him to be, so I didn't list him.)

How do you think we can help?

  • Determine whether the sources that are cited for the hanging remark are reliable enough or whether there is a probable cause of WP:DUE concerns.
  • Determine the necessary importance of indicating the reported cause of death in other aspects. (IE: Cause of death)
  • If not resolved here, direct us to a more specific and direct approach.

Summary of dispute by Baseball Bugs

It's important to get it right, and the evidence for the suicide victim allegedly hanging herself is insufficient. While the victim is not a living person and hence BLP doesn't apply to her, her relatives are, and until or if we have rock-solid, widespread reporting of a specific cause of death, we shouldn't be giving artificial notability to such a claim. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots00:11, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

  • Just a comment to mention that BLP does indeed cover the recently deceased. Per WP:BDP:

The only exception would be for people who have recently died, in which case the policy can extend for an indeterminate period beyond the date of death - six months, one year, two years at the outside. Such extensions would apply particularly to contentious or questionable material about the dead that has implications for their living relatives and friends, such as in the case of a possible suicide or a particularly gruesome crime.

--Mark Miller (talk) 00:22, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

Summary of dispute by OttawaAC

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

I believe that if the article should be edited prudently and mention "hanging" as a possible cause of death, because there's been no official confirmation of the cause of death. The sources, some of which are generally reliable, are only reporting unconfirmed hearsay in the guise of factual information. They may have "verified" the hanging detail using insider sources speaking anonymously, but we don't know that, and they don't state how they may have tried to verify the information, or if they even attempted it at all. Any sentence mentioning "hanging" is going to be giving undue weight to hearsay information if it isn't well qualified by balancing that information against the known facts of the case. Another thing I don't understand is how User:Tutelary is getting away with violating WP:OWN... articles are supposed to be edited collaboratively. The consensus is leaning heavily towards editing the article to qualify the statement about "hanging", and Tutelary is effectively blocking opposing edits any and all ways possible, including maxing out reverts, using accusations of personal attacks, and appeals to bureaucracy with this DR. That's my 2 cents'.OttawaAC (talk) 23:06, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

Summary of dispute by Tarc

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

I only made a single comment in this, which I will repeat; Just write to reflect the reality of the sources, e.g. "Several sources report that the cause of death was hanging, but the police have yet to release the official cause of death to the public." Tarc (talk) 14:27, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

Talk:Suicide of_Amanda_Todd#Hanged_vs_.27found_dead.27 discussion

Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary.

Comment from uninvolved DRN volunteer: While User:Tutelary is correct in observing that a number of sources report that Amanda Todd hanged herself, it is worth noting that the overwhelming majority of the most reliable sources covering the story -- The New Yorker, The Guardian, CNN -- pointedly do not cite a cause of death. MarkBernstein (talk) 20:33, 28 May 2014 (UTC)

This discussion regarding whether or not to move forward with this case from an administrative perspective has been moved to the DRN talk page

I am closing this because there is clearly an ANI discussion ongoing about Baseball Bugs, whether they are aware of it or not and it does indeed touch on this dispute, while not being actually about the dispute.--Mark Miller (talk) 00:38, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

I have reopened it because the ANI is completely irrelevant and this dispute is still in need of resolution - unlike the rather silly ANI case, this actually affects content and potentially real people. Guy (Help!) 13:45, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

Comment (not really involved in this, but have been following) - Another case of people trying to find "truth". We report on what sources say, not what is true. If there are reliable sources that claim hanging, while others leave out the exact cause of death, then say that. There is no need to choose between the two. For example, "Some media outlets reported that Amanda Todd hanged herself, while others did not specify the cause of death." We had the same issue on Jodie Foster regarding her sexuality. Remember, just because some sources did not include the cause of death does not mean it should not be included; it means they didn't include it for some reason (probably they could not independently verify it). EvergreenFir (talk) 17:37, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

MODERATOR NEEDED: Despite this case being auto-labeled as IN PROGRESS, it has no moderator. DRN volunteers please feel free to jump in and take this case. Thanks!--KeithbobTalk 20:45, 2 June 2014 (UTC) (DRN vounteer coordinator)

I am still looking to do this DRN, thanks. I also reverted the archiving of this discussion, as it is still an active dispute. Tutelary (talk) 21:40, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

Talk:Plasma cosmology

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Global warming conspiracy theory

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Talk:Hallam FM

  Dispute resolved successfully. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Talk:Navarre#Present-day politics

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Leggings

  Dispute resolved successfully. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Talk:Charlene, Princess of Monaco#Statement

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Talk:Mexico#RfC: What_weight_should_be_assigned_to_the_source_Lizcano_2005

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Talk:Suicide of Amanda Todd#Hanged vs. found dead

Closed discussion

Talk:Solar Roadways

  – Closed as failed. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Wholesomegood on 21:37, 11 June 2014 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Talk:Skin Game (novel)

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Religion in_Sri_Lanka

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Talk:California Chrome#Semi-protected_edit_request_on_10_June_2014

  Dispute resolved successfully. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Template talk:Infobox automobile#WP:V vs. Manufacturer

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion