Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Blair Reynolds


 * 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 no consensus.  Sandstein  21:24, 17 January 2020 (UTC)

Blair Reynolds

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This man has not been meaningfully discussed by any reliable publications. &#8213; Susmuffin Talk 18:41, 26 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of People-related deletion discussions. &#8213; Susmuffin  Talk 18:41, 26 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Artists-related deletion discussions. &#8213; Susmuffin  Talk 18:41, 26 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Science fiction and fantasy-related deletion discussions. &#8213; Susmuffin  Talk 18:41, 26 December 2019 (UTC)


 * Keep as more sources have been found, otherwise move to draft so that it can be worked on. BOZ (talk) 20:54, 26 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Delete the article is based on a single source. A search found no others.ThatMontrealIP (talk) 21:25, 26 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Delete can only find fan forum type threads. Curiocurio (talk) 22:27, 26 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Delete - All I could find online was social media and a kickstarter. I concur with BOZ that if more sources can be found, then draftify it. Netherzone (talk) 18:51, 27 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Keep I have added a number of sources that should establish this artist's notability. I would ask those who have already voted Delete to re-examine the article.Guinness323 (talk) 19:56, 27 December 2019 (UTC)
 * The three new sources I can see appear to be either blogs or self published items. The Delta force one is just plain weird.ThatMontrealIP (talk) 21:50, 27 December 2019 (UTC)
 * The sources I added are:
 * 1. Review of The Unspeakable Oath in Issue 201 of Dragon by Allen Varney, in which he specifically references the important role of Reynolds' illustrations.
 * 2. Acknowledgement by John Tynes, co-founder of Pagan Press and The Unspeakable Oath, on his website, of the quality of Reynolds' artwork.
 * 3. The foreword to Reynolds' short story "Operation LOOKING GLASS" in the anthology Delta Green: Intelligence: "A member of the original play test group that spawned Pagan Publishing, thirty-five-year-old artist/writer Blair Reynolds is known in the game industry for his excellent, meticulous, and unnerving paintings and illustrations. Blair has done work on Mega Traveller for Game Designers' Workshop and Digest Group Publications, as well as on Call of Cthulhu for Chaosium and Pagan Publishing. Recently, he established Room 308 Publishing, which has produced one ('Yeah," he says, "okay, one, shuddup!") horror graphic novel entitled Black Sands. He recently illustrated the entirety of The Realm of Shadows for Pagan. More than any other piece in this anthology, this effective story emphasizes the hazards of being a warrior against the entities of the Mythos. Be advised that this is a very explicit story."
 * 4. In Issue 232 of Dragon, Allen Varney confirmed that Reynolds was once again providing artwork for The Unspeakable Oath with the comment that "Of Reynolds' latest artwork [editor John] Tynes commented, 'My eyeballs bled.'"
 * 5. In Issue 249 of Dragon, Ray Winninger spends the first three paragraphs of his review of The Realm of Shadows specifically talking, not about the book, but about Reynolds' artwork.


 * Number 1, & Numbers 3–5 are RS. Since John Tynes is notable, I assume therefore that his personal website is also RS. I used a French role-playing games site, Le Grog, to confirm that Reynolds, through Games 308, published The Mysteries of Mesoamerica in 2008. It might not be RS, but I was not looking to confirm notability from that site, only confirmation of a stated fact.Guinness323 (talk) 03:48, 28 December 2019 (UTC)


 * I know you're making a good faith effort here, but the cover of "Delta Green Intelligence" sort of sinks any argument you might have for it being a reliable source when it says "As a training text for young mutants, I cannot recommend it too highly-- Lucius Sheperd". It also makes me doubt your other sources, which are already scraping the barrel of something or other.ThatMontrealIP (talk) 04:02, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * I make no claims about the quality of the writing in the anthology Delta Green: Intelligence. It was written to satisfy a certain audience, mainly players of Call of Cthulhu, of which I am not one. I was more interested in the comments of the editors about Blair Reynolds. Nevertheless, perhaps not RS, but Dragon was the top-rated gaming magazine of its time, winner of numerous industry awards, using writers who are notable in their own right (Allen Varney, Ray Winninger, Rick Swan, Jim Bambra, Roger Moore, Chris Pramas, Bill Fawcett, to name a few); so the magazine is clearly notable, and clearly RS. I'm not certain how that qualifies as "scraping the barrel".Guinness323 (talk) 04:25, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * They are all sources in niche or sketchy publications I have never heard of. I think the "training text for young mutants" quote sort of says it all. ThatMontrealIP (talk) 04:30, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * "publications I have never heard of" has little or no bearing on whether a source is reliable. I have never heard of thousands of sources that are probably still reliable, and I imagine just about everyone could say the same. BOZ (talk) 04:47, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * I am sorry but we will have to disagree on the quality of these meagre sources. Have a nice evening.ThatMontrealIP (talk) 05:03, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * For future reference, the two non-blog publishers are Mongoose Publishing and TSR. Mongoose Publishing is an obscure gaming company. Meanwhile, TSR was the original publisher of Dungeons & Dragons. Neither of these two publishers are particularly reliable. We should not be using questionable sources in our biographies of living persons. &#8213; Susmuffin Talk 20:04, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * And their lack of reliability is determined in what way? BOZ (talk) 20:30, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * I'm afraid to say I think the comment that "Mongoose Publishing is an obscure gaming company" says it all about Susmuffin's knowledge (or lack of) of the subject! Mongoose is one of the largest RPG publishers in the world. -- Necrothesp (talk) 10:24, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks,  Sandstein   21:45, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Games-related deletion discussions. Necrothesp (talk) 10:22, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
 * Keep per all above. Notable figure in the RPG industry. Whether non-RPGers have heard of him or the publications that mention him or not or deride the reliability of the latter is completely irrelevant. Most people are only experts in a handful of fields and wouldn't be expected to know much about other fields. That doesn't make the figures in them non-notable. -- Necrothesp (talk) 10:32, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks,  Sandstein   06:48, 10 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Delete The sources offered don't look good enough quality to source a BLP and don't indicate that this person is of any particular note. buidhe 07:21, 10 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Keep: Designers & Dragons is a critical history of role-playing games; this is exactly the kind of independent secondary source that we're supposed to be using to determine notability. I believe that the people in this discussion who are questioning the quality of this source have probably never read it, and are judging it based on their personal opinions of the topic. Dragon was an extremely well-respected specialty magazine, and doesn't become unreliable just because someone hasn't heard of it before. -- Toughpigs (talk) 00:11, 11 January 2020 (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.