Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bill Gates/Criminal record

This page is an archive of the discussion surrounding the proposed deletion of a page entitled Bill Gates/Criminal record/Delete.

The result of the debate was to delete the page


 * Bill Gates/Criminal record Not encyclopedic. Borders on personal attack. --FvdP 03:07, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * keep Lirath Q. Pynnor
 * keep, but merge into the main article. No need to divide them into two articles. --FallingInLoveWithPitoc 04:21, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * On second thoughts, it seems useless. Delete. --FallingInLoveWithPitoc 04:26, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * keep. Just as 'encyclopedic' as when he went to school or captured Rome etc. Public record/history of a famous person. -Antwelm 08:14, 2003 Nov 1 (UTC)
 * keep, (Of course I think that, I wrote it). It adds a bit of humor to wiki, and is mostly harmless. Please also see Talk:Bill_Gates. Gorm 08:40, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Delete. I'm no fan of Gates, but is it really necessary to have an encylopedia article devoted to someone's traffic tickets? MK 04:44 (EST) 1 November 2003
 * A stupid ad hominem attack. Who hasn't gotten a speeding ticket? Microsoft's corporate crimes are far more significant. Delete. Viajero 09:49, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * I've never committed any legal violation related to driving a vehicle. JamesDay 16:02, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Viajero, in answer to your question, please see the inevitable List of people who havn't gotten a speeding ticket.2toise 11:53, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Delete. We are not making this for everybody, are we? Muriel Gottrop 11:52, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Delete, unless we're going to have a /Criminal record subpage for every person listed on WP. Does the US have something like the UK Rehabilitation of Offenders Act which would make it illegal to even mention "spent" convictions, anyway. -- Arwel 12:09, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Delete. Arrest != Criminal record. That said, factual accounts of his arrests are valid content, not least beacuse the mug shots are so widely circulated, that people may be curious about the reasons for thier existence. Andy Mabbett 12:16, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Keep notable arrest items, including this one. Celebrities do garner wide attention for such things, regardless of the merits fo their doing so.JamesDay 16:02, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Is it correct to assume this was created by some Linux geek to make fun of Gates and Windows? (Even if it wasn't, I would vote to delete it.) Adam Bishop 19:36, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Delete. Nonsense and unnecessary, and subpages are evil anyway.  RickK 20:19, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Delete. Who cares about Gates' speeding tickets? At18 21:45, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Delete. If anything at all is kept, merge a single sentence into the main article on Gates.  No need to have a page detailing minor crimes in excrutiating detail.  --Delirium 23:38, Nov 1, 2003 (UTC)
 * Delete. If his auto ticketing history is notable enough to include in his article, put it there. If it's not, loose it. -- Infrogmation 23:45, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Delete. I agree with Delirium above. -- Minesweeper 04:31, 2 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Can someone please justify the 'Awards' list on the main page, since this subpage is not justified? -Antwelm 11:24, 2003 Nov 2 (UTC)
 * Why don't you? BTW, the Bill Gates fly is "Bill Gates in recognition of his great contributions to the science of Dipterology" - so perhaps not after MS's Bill Gates? Andy Mabbett 19:42, 2 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * So, you'r saying the 'Awards' list should also be deleted? I defend it as I defend the 'Criminal record' addition (I also agree it should be in the original mainpage, highly comprised), it is a matter of public record of a higly famous person, and therefore suitable in a biography article. NPOV isn't just the nice bits is it? -Antwelm 13:11, 2003 Nov 3 (UTC)
 * Delete. Useless information. Andre Engels 11:50, 5 Nov 2003 (UTC)

I wrote it. I must say, much of the critisim here is just. I've been thinking about it a lot since it came up as VfD. The title of the page is bad. It should not be a subpage (I dont like them either). It should be wikified. The information could have been compressed even more. Hints about what sort of minor felony (DUI, substance posession) that may be deleted over time, should not have been there. I do not like Microsoft, but I'm not a Linux geek (have'nt even used any OS else than MS and Apple). I was not expicitly trying to make fun of mr Gates or MS, but I do see the humor in the article. Mr Gates has told the world about the 13.dec 77 incident via spokesperson Dean Katz in MS.

All in all, I think the information is just. The format/presentation is not. Sorry. Anyone is free to make it more subtle and NPOV.

Gorm 00:04, 2 Nov 2003 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate up to the point of deletion and, like other '/delete' pages is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion or on the new method of assessing voting, should be placed on other relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.