Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of Podcasts

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was ambiguous.

I count 13 "delete" votes and 9 "keep" votes (2 new users, 1 unsigned vote discounted. The delete voters clearly cited Wikipedia policy which explicitly states that Wikipedia is not a list of links.  The keep voters argued that this is merely a "list of ..." article and we have a precedent of accepting those articles.

One could argue that this is a drill-down article from Podcasting - that it provides examples which expand upon the text of the article. Reviewing podcasting, I note that it already has a few examples in the text and, further, that the podcasting article is not so large that additional examples would be burdensome to that article. Talk:Podcasting, however, explicitly talks about the difficulty that they have had keeping the article from turning into a linkfarm (and, incidentally, provides several additional opinions supporting the perspective that a list of links is inappropriate in Wikipedia).

Looking at the current version of the article, I am compelled to agree that this is a list of links, not a list of encyclopedia topics. Every item in the list is linked externally. None are linked to Wikipedia articles.

I am going to exercise my discretion on this one and decide in line with the stricter reading of WP:NOT. Notable or historically significant podcasts should have a Wikipedia article written on them first and then be linked directly into the Podcasting article. Rossami (talk) 22:59, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Addendum: I am explicitly keeping Talk:List of Podcasts because some of the facts presented on that page were relevant to this decision. Rossami (talk) 23:04, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)

List of Podcasts

 * Delete This isn't the point of an encyclopaedia. If you aren't convinced by that, also note that it would be impossible to have a meaningful list of podcasts now, you might as well have a list of 'popular TV shows' or 'popular bicycles'. Check 08:24, Jun 16, 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete Why delete thee? Let me count the ways. WP:NOT a list of links, not encyclopedic, can never be complete and we'll run out of not paper trying to complete it. If someone wants to create a podcast directory, link to it from podcast. FCYTravis 10:49, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. Evil Monkey&#8756;Hello 10:52, Jun 10, 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete: Linkfarm and inherently incomplete and inherently out of date. Wikipedia is not the TV Guide for pod people, too. Geogre 19:41, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete Wikipedia is not a collection of external links. JamesBurns 02:14, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete Wikipedia is not a web directory.Tobycat 06:20, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete The Wikipedia is not the Internet, nor is it Google. -- AllyUnion (talk) 08:24, 12 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 *  Delete - but this list will probably reappear in some form; it was created largely to de-clutter podcasting. - DavidWBrooks 12:10, 13 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep If i read podcasting and want to find out more, i can go to list of Podcasts and learn what it is first hand. People expect more from wikipedia these days than just an old-fashioned encyclopedia. Wikipedia is used as a place to kick of one's investigation of a topic, and a list of podcasts complete or otherwise helps people investigate the podcasting topic. The bellman 02:05, 2005 Jun 14 (UTC)
 * Strong Keep If we're going to delete this list, then we need to delete all other lists on Wikipedia. We can't be selective in what listings we delete and which ones we keep. Do a search on "List of" and you'll see all the various lists that Wikipedia has. I think Wikipedia has the best chance for a NPOV listing of useful and/or entertaining podcasts that places like Google or other Podcast directories just can't compete with. And plus, it's very useful in discovering podcasts that search engines won't have listed. Noah 01:48, Jun 15, 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. Clearly violates WP:NOT. Indrian 04:06, Jun 15, 2005 (UTC)
 * Week Keep - How is it different than List_of_distributed_computing_projects or List_of_newspapers_in_Canada? --Chiacomo (talk) 17:04, 15 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. WP is not a directory (yet).  Quale 18:43, 15 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. Very informative and useful. Tombrend 16:57, 15 June 2005 (EST)
 * Strong delete. Link farm; not an article. &mdash; Xezbeth 21:00, Jun 15, 2005 (UTC)
 * Strong keep. Good Info. &mdash; jacob 16:00, Jun 15, 2005
 * Strong keep. I would keep it. Links are useful to people looking for information. Icemaniceman 19:17, 15 June 2005 (EST)
 * user's second edit to Wikipedia
 * Keep I quote "There is nothing wrong with adding to an article a list of content-relevant links; however, excessive lists can dwarf articles and detract from the purpose of Wikipedia." That is why the listing of podcasts was removed from the main article... so it doesn't dwarf the main article. I have found the links useful. JasonBourne
 * Keep Wikipeida is the sum of all knowledge, correct? Mydotnet 07:59, Jun 16, 2005 (UTC)
 * No. Indrian 21:09, Jun 16, 2005 (UTC)
 * Weak Keep But i also thing there should be a Wikilink...
 * Keep It provides a valuable illustration to the article; why not simply add a title/subtitle explaining it as such? It's the equivalent of adding a movie poster to the article about a movie, except here, the poster is a little too large to be appended to the actual article page.  Throw in a disclaimer saying that this list is by no means a comprehensive list but simply one meant to be illustrative, and I think it's a fine addition. jsomethingk 01:14, 17 June 2005
 * Although it's unmaintainable, it does give the reader an idea of what podcasts are like. Keep ··gracefool |&#9786; 07:15, 17 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. Agree with previous editors that Wikipedia should not be a web directory. --  JeremyA 22:21, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep Good reference to what a podcast is like. --Latin Nerd 03:26, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * user's first edit to Wikipedia
 * Delete. Potentially infinite and not the purpose of an encyclopedia. Gamaliel 03:28, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Modify. Only list podcasts that have made it into the news, like adamcurry.com, etc. -Mydotnet 16:03, Jun 20, 2005 (UTC)


 * This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages.  Please do not edit this page .