Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Erle Elsworth Clippinger


 * 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 keep. Sources added to the article and mentioned in discussion provide support for basic notability. RL0919 (talk) 05:08, 14 December 2019 (UTC)

Erle Elsworth Clippinger

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Completely unreferenced biography of a writer, whose only stated notability claim is that he and his work existed. The closest thing to sourcing here is directories of his work on public domain archives -- but as always, the notability test for writers is not just the ability to verify it, but the ability to cite reliable source coverage and analysis about his work to demonstrate its significance. Bearcat (talk) 04:02, 7 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Authors-related deletion discussions. Bearcat (talk) 04:02, 7 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Academics and educators-related deletion discussions. ミラP 04:32, 7 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Language-related deletion discussions. ミラP 04:32, 7 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Indiana-related deletion discussions. ミラP 04:32, 7 December 2019 (UTC)


 * Delete. Not many sources yet alas. Maybe somebody can find some.Xxanthippe (talk) 05:29, 7 December 2019 (UTC).
 * Keep. He wouldn't likely meet modern standards for academic notability but I don't think those standards are appropriate for someone who flourished 100 years ago. He appears to have been a major figure in the early history of Ball State University, his books have multiple reviews, and one of them (according to one source) was widely used as a high school textbook. I expanded the article with better sources. I think it's enough now. —David Eppstein (talk) 06:36, 7 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Weak keep per David Eppstein. The case would be stronger if we had another reliable source for wide use of his textbook.  (Used copies still seem to be available on Amazon, which does suggest significance, but not in a way that we can include in an article here.) Russ Woodroofe (talk) 13:58, 8 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Keep per David Eppstein. FWIW, and it's worth a little but not much, here's another article which calls Clippinger an expert. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 16:46, 8 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Comment. Unfortunately the sources found are only trivial mentions. What is he notable for? Certainly not as a writer of children's books. He does not compare with his contemporaries like Edith Nesbit and Mary Louisa Molesworth (women as it happens) who have scores of sources and have had biographies written about them. Xxanthippe (talk) 22:02, 8 December 2019 (UTC).
 * This comment makes no sense. He was not an author of children's books. He was a scholar of children's literature, and wrote *about* children's books. So comparing him to famous authors is irrelevant and inappropriate. Also, several paragraphs of text about him in the Ball State history is not a trivial mention, to take only one example. —David Eppstein (talk) 23:24, 8 December 2019 (UTC)
 * OK, but the sources are still trivial and the Ball State history is small and not very creditable. Critics (and certainly obscure ones) are much less important than creators. If the BIO is kept, his alleged misbehavior, which nowadays would be considered academic misconduct, should be included. Xxanthippe (talk) 02:47, 10 December 2019 (UTC).


 * Keep passes WP:NACADEMIC Wm335td (talk) 20:32, 11 December 2019 (UTC)
 * On what basis does he pass WP:NACADEMIC? Xxanthippe (talk) 21:48, 11 December 2019 (UTC).


 * Weak keep per the sources from David Eppstein. Seems to have been important at Ball State back in the day, but his notability is fairly marginal. ~ EDDY  ( talk / contribs )~ 00:31, 12 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Keep Besides being an author of books that continue to be read and written about, the subject was a scholar and emeritus professor. Several sources show notability. Passes WP:BIO. -AuthorAuthor (talk) 05:44, 12 December 2019 (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.