User:Drmies/Notoriety

In 13th century French law, as set down in Philippe de Beaumanoir's Coutumes de Beauvaisis, the concept of notoire applied to events and crimes where the identity of the perpetrator was widely known. An event or crime (but not a person, note) became notoire if done before six or more people bonne renomee, and had a lower standard of proof. In Roman and canon law, something that was notorium facti was well-known in fact, the modern equivalent of which would be roughly judicial notice. On Wikipedia, you should wait until the notoire is properly documented, and always double-check the notorium facti.

Don't conflate notoriety with notability. That some recorded silliness might be the latest fad on some WWW site does not mean that the person being silly (or worse, flatulent, literally or metaphorically) has had his or her life and works documented in depth in independent, reliable, sources.

Don't conflate notoriety with correctness. There's no such thing as truly common knowledge for a worldwide editorship, and common knowledge is often wrong.

Don't abuse Wikipedia as a means for either castigating or glorifying the notorious. Wikipedia is not a soapbox. It's supposed to be a reference work, for readers to consult.