Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Donn Finney


 * 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.  Jujutacular  talk 00:55, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

Donn Finney
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Hi. I've been working on Wikipedia for about 16 months, but I've just encountered something for the first time, and I need assistance from someone who is experienced in dealing with this kind of problem.

I have been working on a clean-up of biographies of University of Florida alumni, including athletes in various sports. I am fairly knowledgeable on the topic of Gator sports and I can generally connect the dots of Gator alumni life stories and professional biographies with on-line sources, my collection of hard-copy Gator sports references and my access to the on-line Florida alumni directory. Today, I encountered the Donn Finney article while working my way through the "Florida Gators football players" category file. According to the unsourced text of the Wikipedia article, Finney attended the University of Florida in 1964 and played football while he was there. I had never heard the "Donn Finney" name before, so I checked my usual Florida alumni and Gator sports references. Having done this, I note Three Problems: First, according to the 2009 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, there has never been a Gator football letterman by that or a similar name. Second, my search of the on-line Florida alumni directory (available through the University of Florida Alumni Association website, only to registered Florida alumni) also did not produce any results for any person who had every attended the university with the same or a similar name. Third, the birth date given in the article is 1948; "Don Finney" purportedly played football at the University of Florida in 1964at the age of 16!

The article also states that the subject person, Donn Finney, was posthumously inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1995. This yields a Fourth Problem: neither the Wikipedia article about the GMHOF nor the GMHOF's website lists anyone by the same or a similar name. I was, however, able to find some obscure on-line references to a saxophonist named Donn Finney, mostly in the nature of obscure music fan sites.

After having done this basic due diligence, I looked to see who was the Wikiedpia editor that created the article: "gloriafinney." That editor's total contribution to Wikipedia are the three edits that created the Donn Finney article. An internet search reveals several blogs where someone named "Gloria Finney" discusses her dead father, Donn Finney.

Moreover, the three footnoted references actually used in the Wikipedia article either link to a Youtube video or album collector sales websites. In summary, I cannot find any verifying references that "Donn Finney" ever attended the University of Florida, ever played football for the Florida Gators, or was ever inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. It would appear that this article has some rather serious WP:V and WP:NPOV problems, and to my way of thinking, some serious notability problems, too.

So, what is the proper procedure for dealing with this article? I'm all ears. Dirtlawyer1 (talk) 21:19, 4 August 2010 (UTC)


 * You pretty much solved the problem, getting it to this page, although it's at the very bottom so not many people are apt to wade through the long explanation... Carrite (talk) 23:14, 4 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Speedy Delete - Possible hoax, multiple unverified assertions by Single Purpose Account. Highly dubious. No independent coverage. Etc. Etc. Carrite (talk) 23:14, 4 August 2010 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure if it's a hoax or just family "lore." Either way, the article has at least three probable false assertions, which calls into question all the rest.  Donn Finney, saxophonist, apparently existed.  Beyond that . . . who knows?  Dirtlawyer1 (talk) 00:24, 5 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Delete, no sources + solid evidence that some of this is false = possible hoax = no reason to keep. Great job, Dirtlawyer1, in spelling out a very well-reasoned case; your use of the UF alumni page is especially helpful.  Nyttend (talk) 22:07, 5 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Delete as hoax or un-notable, either will do. First Light (talk) 03:50, 7 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Delete per Dirtlawyer's long, but very helpful and clear, explanation. Jenks24 (talk) 16:43, 7 August 2010 (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.