Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Benjamin Flam


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete. postdlf (talk) 18:04, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Benjamin Flam

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A PROD said "There is no evidence of notability. The sources either don't mention him or only barely mention him", and that is absolutely true. The PROD was removed by the creator of the article (a single purpose account) without any reason being given.

The references in the article are as follows. (1) A 22 page report, which includes a group photograph of over 20 people, with Flam included in the list of people in the caption to the photograph: there is no other mention of Flam. (2) A 721 page book in which the only mention of Flam is a footnote acknowledging his help in preparing a chapter of the book. (3) A 20 page edition of a journal, in which there is a list of over 200 names of "sponsors" and "volunteers", and Flam's name appears among those 200+ names: that is the only mention of him. (4) & (5) A review of a novel and a "preview" of the same novel with its author, both of which briefly refer to a fictitious character called "Benjamin Flam", who is the Chicago Tribune literary editor. The Wikipedia article states that the real life Flam "served as the inspiration" for the fictitious one, but I can see no source anywhere that connects him in any way to the fictional character: certainly neither of the cited sources mentions him at all. Nor can I find any evidence of any connection, apart from having the same name. (6) A report in a lawyers' journal on one case in which he took part. The report requires subscription to see it, so I can't see its content, but it seems very unlikely that a report on one case in a lawyers' journal can constitute the kind of substantial coverage needed by Wikipedia's notability guidelines.

The first few Google hits for him were his own law firm's web site, his Linkedin page, a wedding announcement (which may or may not be the same Benjamin Flam), his entry on the web site of a business which advertises lawyers, an IMDb page which links to one film, where he merely appears in a list of five people who are given "special thanks" at the end of the cast list, with no further information (it is striking that four of the five have the surname "Flam", which is the same as the surname of one of the writers). None of this is coverage in a reliable independent source. The editor who uses the pseudonym "JamesBWatson" (talk) 16:01, 31 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Delete None of the sources serve to establish he is in any way more than just a run-of-the-mill lawyer.John Pack Lambert (talk) 19:12, 31 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Authors-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 18:00, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Law-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 18:00, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Massachusetts-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 18:00, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, — UY Scuti Talk  20:36, 7 April 2016 (UTC)  Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, North America1000 03:15, 14 April 2016 (UTC)
 * Delete. I've confirmed and agree with the very detailed analysis already presented. -- RM 03:19, 14 April 2016 (UTC)
 * Delete as searches found nothing better. SwisterTwister   talk  05:14, 14 April 2016 (UTC)
 * Delete as my searches came up with the same result as everyone else's - it's not notable. ThePlatypusofDoom (talk) 21:54, 14 April 2016 (UTC)


 * It is perhaps interesting that the article was originally created by an IP editor as an "Articles for Creation" submission, which was declined five times, and then accepted by a single purpose account which has never edited any other page, very probably the perwson who created the page. The editor who uses the pseudonym "JamesBWatson" (talk) 14:16, 15 April 2016 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.