The Signpost

Discussion report

Is an interim WMF executive director inherently notable?

The newly appointed interim executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, Katherine Maher

Who needs a crystal ball, when you've got Wikipedia?

Disclaimer and author's note: I have !voted in the AfD, but i try to not pass on any opinions in this publication.
Related articles
Katherine Maher

A few complaints and mild disagreements
30 September 2022

Wikimedia LLC and disinformation in Japan
28 March 2021

Google isn't responsible for Wikipedia's mistakes
28 March 2021

Maher stepping down
28 February 2021

Wikipedia celebrates 20 years of free, trusted information for the world
31 January 2021


More articles

It didn't take longer than one day from the time Katherine Maher was announced to become an interim executive director at the Wikimedia Foundation (see Signpost coverage) until an article was created about her on the English Wikipedia. This has caused some controversy and discussions.

It all started when an IP-editor inserted a proposed deletion-tag (PROD-tag), which was objected by another user within five minutes.


The tag was later removed by a third editor, with the following edit summary:


Following which, a new editor nominated the article for deletion (diff), per the English Wikipedia's deletion criteria.


The nominating user stated that the article should be deleted because Wikipedia is not a crystal ball, while others stated that the article should be kept because the subject of the article most likely will attract attention in the near future, and some suggested that the subject may be inherently notable.


Other users took note of this comment and responded with arguments to move it to draft space until such time the subject has gained enough notability in mainstream media.


The outcome of said deletion nomination is still under discussion; feel free to weigh in with your policy-supported opinions on Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Katherine Maher.

The usage of promotional images in articles

Beyonce singing in Montreal
Cover art featuring Beyonce
Author's note: Since this discussion is in Swedish, I will not include quotes, but will try to summarize views and opinions instead.

Freely licensed cover arts of Ms. has been in discussions on the Swedish Wikipedia lately (diff). Even if no other image exists on Commons, it seems like using these images on articles is controversial, due to the promotional nature of the images themselves. Examples that were the subject of the discussion were the infobox-image of Beyoncé, this real photo and this cover art (see images to the right).


















Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2016-03-16/Discussion_report