BLP challenge, Show them how many bad ones there are Options Rating

[Doc glasgow]

One of the problems with BLP is that few Wikipedians have actually explored the sheer scale if the problem for themselves. All they see is the one or two that are brought to their attention, and they rightly conclude that such articles can be fixed and monitored to prevent further problems - so they say "what's the problem?"

The problem is scale. The problem is that lurking amongst the 250,000 BLPs are probably several thousand libels and even more total one-sided hatchet jobs maintained by character-assassins. The problem is that articled "BLP fixed" a year ago that simply degenerated in the months that followed.

What is needed is to keep pointing out muck until people realise that it isn't just a few spots here and there, but that they are actually living in a swamp - and that it might be time to drain it.

I probably identify as many bad BLPs in a week as most people - and, since the summer I've been doing it without the aid of ORTS access (which I no longer have), I find them myself rather than tracking subject complaints.

I thought I'd share some of the (pretty obvious) ways I find them, in the hope that others might help out (or find better ways).

*First, some surface at the BLP noticeboard, [[WP:BLPN]]

*Second, Google is my friend
**search wikipedia for "living people" articles (I'm not sure why that only finds 150,000 - but never mind)
**second refine the search by looking for stuff marked as unsourced ("does not cite") - (remember that some bad bios will not be marked as unsourced) - scary that throws up 124,000 bios!!!!!
**then chuck in an intelligent keyword that's likely to be in libels "accused" "criminal" "pederast" "homosexual" "fraudulent" - "convicted"
**Then it is just click and look time - I average one bad (deletable) bio in 20-30 articles, and far more with unsourced statements that need removed. Here's the third bio I clicked on - clearly violates BLP (whether true or not)

How many can you find today?

(Any improvements on the system would also be welcome)

[Kato]

On another thread, I began looking at the WP biographies of the first people that came into my head. Every biography I looked at contained one or more BLP violations in the history. Some of them very serious like this one...

http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?s=&sh...indpost&p=90077

For two months WP had a whole section called Wife-Beating on this footballer that was entirely unsourced. Nobody on WP even commented on it when and after it was reverted, until I found it at random.

[Doc glasgow]

For two months WP had a whole section called Wife-Beating on this footballer that was entirely unsourced. Nobody on WP even commented on it when and after it was reverted, until I found it at random.

Heck, if I commented on every BLP violation I reverted I'd be here all day. But that this stuff hangs about for so long is really worrying. I wish there was statistical way to analyse the size of the problem.

[Moulton]

I wish there was statistical way to analyse the size of the problem.

The very first bio I looked at was an utter travesty. Then I looked at other bios (and related articles) written by the same cabal. They were all unmitigated hatchet jobs.