Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of volcanic eruption deaths


 * 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 Gnangarra 07:27, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

List of volcanic eruption deaths

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Wikipedia is an indiscriminate collection of information nor a directory. Hundreds of thousands of people have died due to volcanic eruptions in modern and ancient times which would make the page unfeasibly long - yet this page gets around that problem by listing six. Oddly even though only six people are listed the page is completely unsourced - which although not in itself a reason for deletion is an additional problem. Another problem is the title of the page which includes not only people by animals, plants and anything else killed by a volcano under its remit. How many dinosaurs have to be listed? Guest9999 20:47, 21 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Delete The idea of extrapolating everything to the limits of the absurd is not a very good argument. Yes, we're all aware that there are ______ thousand people who might be covered under the title of any list, and that a lawyer could define deaths as including deaths of "animals, plants and anything else".  The "potentially endless" excuse actually undermines good arguments against keeping an article.  In this case, the fact that there are six people and only Pliny the Elder seems to be notable beyond his volcanic death, indicates that this is trivia that could be merged into something else.  Mandsford 22:21, 21 October 2007 (UTC)
 * I am sorry, at the time I was writing the argument for deletion I got a bit caught up in the moment. It might be more appropriate for someone to renominate the article more coherently. Guest9999 22:38, 21 October 2007 (UTC)]]


 * Keep. This is a perfectly functional list and despite the nominator's handwaving is not a memorial listing for everyone killed by volcanoes. There are people who are notable and have been killed or have been notably killed. Alluding to the inclusion of dinosaurs or plants is simply WP:WAX in disguise. The list needs sourcing (easily found) and cleanup (easily done). --Dhartung | Talk 23:38, 21 October 2007 (UTC)
 * As I said above the plant/dinosaur thing was probably not the best arguement to make but I do not see how it is WP:WAX. Guest9999 01:33, 22 October 2007 (UTC)]]


 * Keep apparently the nom is withdrawing the nomination. As well he should, because the people listed here are notable precisely because they died in this way--as distinct from all the other people who gave died this way, but not notably. Pliny's death in an earthquake is not his only notability by a long shot, but it is an important part of his biography and one of the things for which he is known. David A. Johnston was a vulcanologist, whose death at Mt helena during an explosion of which he was the only one to predict the details was nationally reported, is fully documented, and the visitors center at the mountain is named after him. Harry R. Truman had a book and film made about his death there--he refused to leave the area. Two features of the region have since been named after him.  (and similarly for the others).
 * Nor is it indiscriminate--An indiscriminate list would be a list that did include everyone who died there. There is a list of those people for whom a good part of their notability is having died this way, and who have articles in WP to demonstrate the notability. this is highly discriminating, the very opposite of indisciminate.
 * many lists have been nom for deletion because they are said to be too long. This list is being nominated because it is said to be too short. There is apparently no list that would be acceptable. there is no WP policy against lists. The systematic nomination of lists in W is what is indiscriminate here. DGG (talk) 16:45, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Comment If the title of the article was List of volcanic eruption deaths of people that are notable for having died in this fashion then you would be right. But since it isn't titled that way, in a year from now it will be full of random notable people that happened to die by volcano. --Brewcrewer 06:36, 26 October 2007 (UTC)
 * that sort of mess can happen to many articles--we cant g=prevent it by removing all possibly susceptible articles. retitling it is an easy editorial decision.DGG (talk) 04:35, 27 October 2007 (UTC)


 * Keep or merge to volcanic eruption (merge as an editorial !vote, not content !vote). This list isn't very long and I doubt it will grow as it is (both number of entries and information per entry); inclusion in another article may give it more positive exposure. – sgeureka t•c 17:28, 22 October 2007 (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.