User talk:Stikemanforum


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IFC Forum: message regarding deletion
Thanks for your message on my talk page. I nominated IFC Forum for deletion, because I don't think the subject meets the [WP:notability|notability criteria]] of Wikipedia. To summarise the polcy (as per the Notability guidelines), "Wikipedia covers notable topics—those that have been "noticed" to a significant degree by independent sources. A topic is deemed appropriate for inclusion if it complies with WP:NOT and has received significant coverage in reliable secondary sources." It does not appear that there are sufficient secondary sources about the Forum. A secondary sources is non-trivial coverage by independent parties about a subject. Coverage is considered "trivial" if the source only mentions, or quotes, the subject. So, in essence, to meet notability requirements, other people (preferably several of them) need to be talking about the subject or topic. Note that primary sources, such as press releases, even if they are reproduced in a publication independent from the topic in question, are not really reliable secondary sources.

Further, Wikipedia does not allow original research. To quote the guideline: "...all material in Wikipedia must be attributable to a reliable, published source. Articles may not contain any new analysis or synthesis of published material that serves to advance a position not clearly advanced by the sources." The article, as it stands, contains significant original research and the references included therein are supporting analysis, rather than supporting attributing a source to a statement of fact about the topic. For example, the article uses sources to state that "various reports have noted that there is an absence of up-to-date and reliable empirical data on the contributions made by IFCs to the global economy." It then uses other sources to link the concept of how the IFC Forum has responded to this. A better approach, which would look a lot less like original research (and, indeed, probably establish notability), would be to find a source that already links these two thoughts - that is, a source that says both things.

All this, of course, is only my opinion. The deletion debate is where all of the Wikipedia community has the opportunity to argue the case and try to establish consensus as to whether the article should stay or go. You are, of course, welcome to contribute to that debate. Remember, though, that the outcome will be established with reference to Wikipedia policy and not personal opinion. Wikipeterproject (talk) 14:13, 20 August 2010 (UTC)