Talk:Robert Olen Butler

The Butler-Dewberry separation & e-mail
I can't see any reason to devote so much space to this issue, even if Butler did make his email public. The fact that he and his wife are separated is about as much as needs to be said in an encyclopedic article. The rest is just trivial gossip that will certainly make for a juicy chapter in Butler's biography 20 or 30 years down the road but doesn't amount to anything to do with his work or the reasons why he's worth an encyclopedia article. Two solid paragraphs on this issue is simply disproportionate to the rest of his life and career. It just looks like an unhealthy fascination with the details of a well-known person's failed marriage. Leave that stuff for the gossip rags.-- Shelf Skewed  Talk  22:21, 1 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I agree that the earlier coverage in the article (350 words in an 1200 word article!) was pretty absurd. It might be reasonable to include a mention of Ted Turner's name, though. RedSpruce 14:40, 2 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Then beef up his accomplishments section to balance it out. I am trying to include as much and more about his literary career and have done so over the past few days; both of you, however, are focussing solely on the Personal Life section. One woulud think it might be constructive for you both to do the same.Kitchawan


 * You are adding crap to the article. It stinks. End of argument. RedSpruce 16:50, 2 August 2007 (UTC)


 * A civil discussion would be better than an ultimatum, RedSpruce. Ultimatums, angry responses, and vulgarity are decidedly un-Wiki.Kitchawan 17:40, 2 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I stand by my earlier comments. You have yet to make a compelling argument that treating this subject at such length has any encyclopedic value. Your personal interest in the details of all this is your business, but your insistence on putting it all in the article is, I think, rather odd. Two editors now have expressed the opinion that your coverage is over the top, but you continue to expand it. I don't want to get into a revert war, so I'm willing to settle for one concise paragraph on the topic. You can cut the current content down to a reasonable size yourself, or I will. If that makes you unhappy...well, I don't think it deserves more than a sentence or two, so I'll be unhappy also.-- Shelf Skewed  Talk  04:18, 3 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I believe I have provided a succinct cut at this moment.Kitchawan 20:44, 15 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I think you have covered the situation succinctly, and, in the spirit of compromise, I wouldn't object to a little more detail: Brief mention that Butler responded publicly, directly to the offending website and in interviews, to the leaked email. -- Shelf Skewed  Talk  21:10, 15 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I think the current version is a good compromise, and I appreciate the work that Kitchawan did in expanding other parts of the article. RedSpruce 01:18, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

I'd agree that the earlier coverage of 350 words in a 1200 word article, regarding the Dewberry/Turner affair, was excessive. However, Butler chose to disseminate his response to his divorce very widely, in an email to colleagues and students, and with a lack of discretion that is dazzlingly bizarre. For sheer strangeness, and for what this reveals about his intensity and originality of response, some portions of the email letter should be quoted in the article. This is not trivial gossip, by the way. It's a central event in Butler's life, it tells something important about him, and should be treated (respectfully) as such. Younggoldchip (talk) 17:57, 27 October 2017 (UTC)

definition of gossip per Wiki
Gossip: Gossip consists of casual or idle talk between friends. While officially value neutral, the term often specifically refers to talk of scandal, slander, or schadenfreude relating to known associates of the participants, and discussed in an underhand or clandestine manner. Compare backbiting.Kitchawan 16:41, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

OPEN DISCUSSION FOR PERSONAL LIFE SECTION
We seem to have only three editors with any interest in this article, as far as I can see. I believe we should open the discussion to other Wiki contributors. I have been the only person, as far as I can tell, actually trying to beef up the professional aspects of the article in order to achieve a balance that would allow for Mr Butler's colorful personal life to be included.Kitchawan 20:27, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

WikiProject class rating
This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as start, and the rating on other projects was brought up to start class. BetacommandBot 14:37, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

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