Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Letchworth Corset Riot


 * 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   speedy delete. Cirt (talk) 11:20, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Letchworth Corset Riot

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This and the related article Garden City (album) seem to be hoax articles. I was clued into this by the discussion at DYK here. This seems to be a sophisticated hoax by Jspearmint, even more so the Garden City article, which is backed up by text inserted at other wiki articles (generally by IPs) and also a user-created last.fm page here, with three musical tracks (one labelled "Morrisons: Fresh Choice for You"), the British supermarket chain had no actual shops in Howard's lifetime. The prime movant of the riot, Penelope Waldegrave-Houghton described as a moderately successful suffragist, doesn't show up on google, nor does her father, Hugo, a "local dignitary". It's a clever hoax but a hoax nonetheless. Note that there is a phony image in the article, which may require action by Commons. Wehwalt (talk) 13:02, 6 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Delete Masterfully written hoax, but a hoax nonetheless. It has all the elements-- authentic book titles just slightly out of reach; a picture of the marchers (probably suffragettes); truthful statements about the fact that the Spirella corset factory opened in Letchworth in 1914, and that there really was a "rational dress" society, and that a lot of people thought corsets were trashy.  The only thing that you can't fake is a Google search.  Well played!  Author! Author!  That's enough, get the hell out of here.  Mandsford (talk) 13:35, 6 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Delete. Fails WP:V. I don't know the ultimate source of the photo of "Penelope" and her two friends, but it also appears at www.ehow.com/facts_5167128_flapper-dress-explained.html (WP-blocked domain), and as one can infer from that page, their hairstyles and garb are characteristic of the late '20s, not 1914. Deor (talk) 15:56, 6 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Delete. Beautifully done, with just enough sly winks to let the careful reader in on the trick.  But fake.  PhGustaf (talk) 16:02, 6 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Delete, I saved a local copy. Printed sources on Corset Castle are totally silent about the "riot". What a shameful corset-mongering conspiracy, but wikipedia is about verifiability and not truth - who cares about it these days. NVO (talk) 20:00, 6 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Delete. Almost certainly a hoax. There was a Spirella factory in Letchworth in the 1920s but some of the claimed references do not check out. Also a search has failed to turn up anyone by the name Waldegrave-Houghton. Sam Blacketer (talk) 20:10, 6 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Comment I've posted on Commons' version of AN/I and in response thereto, a debate has started for the deletion of all of Jspearmint's images. Looks like to me he had at least one more hoax in mind, the painter Spencer Gore.--Wehwalt (talk) 21:07, 6 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Sigh. He really is rather good. Tempting to let him pull it off then delete teh article and finish him off. Crafty (talk) 01:51, 7 September 2009 (UTC)
 * I'm open to ideas as to how to get him devote his talents to improving the encyclopedia. I know something about writing, I have 14 FA's.  But this guy is good.--Wehwalt (talk) 02:09, 7 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Good? No.  Oh, I think he started out good, in an Anakin Skywalker kind of way, but then began to use his powers for evil instead... Chances are, he probably does create legitimate articles under his main user name, but creates a sinister alter ego to create hoax pages.  I can't blame anyone for making a hoax, considering all the legitimate articles that get voted off the island, but it only adds to the misgivings people have about Wikipedia reputation.  Mandsford (talk) 20:59, 8 September 2009 (UTC)
 * That was my thinking, too. There are several million wikipedia articles that are worse written, worse laid out, and worse referenced than this one. (The references are of course all made up.)  I suspect that the author has some legitimate editing to his credit.  Not to mention great promise as a writer of fiction. PhGustaf (talk) 21:43, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, TheWeakWilled
 * Mega/Speedy/Ultra Delete This hoax was well written though. 0 results in google search (-wikipedia) proves this is a hoax.   TheWeak   Willed   (T * G)  22:46, 6 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Delete as a hoax. Supremely well done, though. Crafty (talk) 00:53, 7 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Delete Blatant hoax, but nicely done nevertheless! Jack1956 (talk) 06:47, 7 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of England-related deletion discussions. Thryduulf (talk) 22:50, 7 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Events-related deletion discussions. Thryduulf (talk) 22:50, 7 September 2009 (UTC)
 * What would be hilarious at this point would be if someone were to add "Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so consensus may be reached". Mandsford (talk) 21:42, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
 *  This probably won't be Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so consensus may be reached, since it seems like a consensus has already been made.

Note: If anybody finds this message to be deceiving, please delete it, it was meant only as humor.  TheWeak   Willed   (T * G)  23:11, 9 September 2009 (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.