Wikipedia:Argumentum ad Larryem

Argumentum ad Larryem is the logical fallacy that Larry Sanger's opinions (as someone involved early in the project) are somehow a reason to operate Wikipedia differently.

Avoid creating policy proposals, content change requests, or appeals based on the notion that others will care what this man has said. He has criticized the project from the very beginning, using very similar arguments. Sanger's arguments have not held sway among Wikipedia's editors at any point in those 24 years, so why would they hold sway now?

Larry Sanger left Wikipedia in 2002, called it "broken beyond repair" in 2007, and founded an attempt at a competitor that became a haven for snake-oil salesmen before vanishing into the mists of time.

To the journalists who may be inclined to quote Larry Sanger's opinions: Every day, we are grateful for your work. We depend upon your "first draft of history", and we could not succeed in our effort to write helpful reference material without your adherence to the high standards of your profession. From one cadre of wordsmiths hoping to serve the public good to another, we salute you. We believe that Mr. Sanger's proposal to turn Wikipedia into a hybrid between Facebook, a YouTube comment section and the men's room in a gas station just off I-40 should be considered with all the respect it deserves. It is against our policy to indulge in speculation that Mr. Sanger has been desperately grasping for relevance since the year of Super Troopers, Star Trek: Nemesis, and Blade II. However, if you make that comparison, we are allowed to report that he has, according to reliable sources, been trying to ice-skate uphill. Good night, and good luck.