Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Greasy pole


 * 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. Since it was brought up, there was no consensus for a rename here, but that conversation can take place on the talk page. Good suggestions for improvement in the discussion. ~ Amory  (u • t • c) 01:16, 24 June 2018 (UTC)

Greasy pole

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The events listed in this article, inasmuch as they are notable, may warrant their own articles. But having an article titled "Greasy pole" that is about greased poles? We could just as well have one called "Slippery pole" or "low-friction pole". Or we could decide that we maybe don't actually need an article called "greasy pole". I understand that there is an expression about climbing such a pole-- if kept, maybe this should be moved over there. A loose noose (talk) 07:06, 9 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Games-related deletion discussions.  CASSIOPEIA(talk) 10:48, 9 June 2018 (UTC)


 * Comment : As it currently stands, the text of the contested article is one long essay, put together without any references. No strong case for independent notability is made. Quality itself of text is irrelevant. -The Gnome (talk) 14:37, 9 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Keep and rename : The greasy pole competition - by any number of names and different methods of how it works - is practiced in various places around the globe, including the United States. There's actually a Laverne & Shirley episode Festival, part 2 that features this. There are numerous variations on this.  This article started out as an unsourced 2-sentence article about a contest to walk down a greasy pole.  The edit history looks like a lot of people decided to add their own local variant of the contest. The contest exists ... but the article is a mess. — Maile  (talk) 19:49, 9 June 2018 (UTC)
 * I get the sense that content exists for the various greasy pole contests (which may warrant their own articles) but "greasy pole" as a Wikipedia article? We could have "List of greased pole competitions", maybe? A loose noose (talk) 05:31, 11 June 2018 (UTC)
 * And I have the sense we're dealing with an article that's essentially about a metaphor. -The Gnome (talk) 08:32, 11 June 2018 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, North America1000 08:56, 16 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Speedy Delete Not encyclopedic. 344917661X (talk) 13:48, 16 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Keep This seems best considered as a broad concept page as contests of this sort seem quite common all over the world. There's lots of scope for expansion and improvement per our editing policy.  Deletion is not appropriate as it would be disruptive. Andrew D. (talk) 18:28, 16 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the Article Rescue Squadron's list of content for rescue consideration. Andrew D. (talk) 19:00, 16 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Sports-related deletion discussions. Andrew D. (talk) 19:01, 16 June 2018 (UTC)


 * Keep Google news search at the top of the AFD shows thousands of results. Reading through them "greasy pole" is used as an expression in politics, so mention of that should be in the article also, as well as all the events involving an actual greasy pole.   D r e a m Focus  23:37, 16 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Google news search for "Greasy pole competition" has 34 results. "Greasy pole" "competition" 996 results, down to 513 if you add in a minus sign before the word "politics".  "Greasy pole" "festival" is 914 results.  So there are a lot of these things around the world.  I'm curious how many of them have their own Wikipedia articles, or considerable mention in an Wikipedia article.   D r e a m Focus  00:07, 17 June 2018 (UTC)
 * The greasy pole challenge is something Guinness World Records Gone Wild did an episode of. I would assume they have to be connected to Guinness World Records, otherwise they'd get sued for using that name.  Not sure if its been in any of their books, and you need to pay to access their website to look over things.   D r e a m Focus  00:29, 17 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Keep, do not rename This is a common turn of phrase, heck, it dates back to Benjamin Disraeli "I have climbed to the top of the greasy pole", and also appears in popular culture - The Greasy Pole. As a consequence, there is plenty of scope for this article. The question is of improvement. The climbing contest should be a subsection, as it stems directly from the proliferation of the phrase. &#x2230; Bellezzasolo &#x2721;   Discuss  00:54, 17 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Keep - The individual events could always be spun off to individual articles with a summary here. I think the political phrase came from the literal festival event, certainly predating Disraeli's quote. There is a June spike in searches, perhaps from Gloucester. StrayBolt (talk) 04:47, 17 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Keep: notability reasonably well established; suitable content. No need for a rename. K.e.coffman (talk) 04:04, 19 June 2018 (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.