Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of works published under a pseudonym


 * 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   redirect (as an editorial decision) to List of pen names. There is no consensus here for outright deletion, but a wide acceptance that there are issues with the article in its current state. The list only contains a small fraction of notable works published under a pseudonym to the point that it lacks the needed comprehenisveness to be useful. Much of that work would involve duplicating the effort that has already been made in assembling the list of pen names, so as an editorial decision, I am redirecting the page to the list of pen names even though the titles don't give a perfect match. If someone disagrees, and wants to go through the task of expanding the list of works into something more usable, they are free to undo the redirect. Sjakkalle (Check!)  05:27, 24 January 2023 (UTC)

List of works published under a pseudonym

 * – ( View AfD View log | edits since nomination)

The scope is way too broad for a Wikipedia list. Mucube (talk • contribs) 04:35, 9 January 2023 (UTC) Relisting comment: Relisting this discussion as it is pretty evenly divided and opinion seems based on preferences rather than policy. Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Liz Read! Talk! 07:04, 16 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Literature and Lists. Mucube (talk • contribs) 04:35, 9 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Leaning keep, but this would require both radical expansion and diffusion, perhaps by century or by country. We should list pseudonymous works, but if we do, the list(s) should be thorough, and an appropriately thorough listing of pseudonymous works would be too long to have in a single article. BD2412  T 05:01, 9 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Leaning keep, but as says, this would require a major rework of the list contents; Category:Works published under a pseudonym has well over 500 works listed, so even if the list noted only the most historically or artistically significant works (eg. the Federalist Papers and similar) it would still have to be expanded massively. And some of the current list is just cruft. &mdash; The Anome (talk) 08:06, 9 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Keep If its a valid category, its a valid list article. Lists articles are more useful than categories since they provide more information.   D r e a m Focus  11:07, 9 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Comment: I've had a go at improving the list by removing some cruft and adding some famous examples of pseudonymous publication. Truly anonymous works should go in the separate list List of anonymously published works. &mdash; The Anome (talk) 13:51, 9 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Delete List of pen names will be more comprehensive and useful than listing all of the works by all of these authors, which would be a much larger and unwieldly list. It's still untrue that any category should have an equal list. Reywas92Talk 15:39, 9 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Leaning keep as the basic concept looks good, and turning Category:Works published under a pseudonym into an organized list (maybe split across pages) would be a fairly straightforward clerical job once an organization scheme is chosen. XOR&#39;easter (talk) 17:20, 9 January 2023 (UTC)
 * To be clear, when you count this category's subcategories, there are at least 1,700 works by pseudonymous authors with articles. Per WP:SALAT, "Lists that are too general or too broad in scope have little value ..." Even with that followed by "unless they are split into sections", I do not believe we would be well served by such an enormous list. Reywas92Talk 23:18, 9 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Delete This list is doomed to failure, as the number of works that have been written under pseudonyms is unbelievably huge. Just as examples you need all of the works of Samuel Clemens under various pseudonyms, works of folks like Amanda Cross, John Le Carre, and my favorite, Lauran Paine, who wrote hundreds of books under perhaps 2 dozen different pseudonyms. Then you have the works that were once published under pseudonyms, like Flatland, but that later were attributed to a person. In the 18th century many works were given authors like "A Country Gentleman". Is that a pseudonym? How about a work that actual says on it that the author is named "Anonymous"? You have the person who wrote as Colette but whose name was really Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette. Is that a pseudonym? I simply do not find a partial list to be useful, and I don't believe that a complete-enough list can be created. Lamona (talk) 03:53, 13 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Delete as far too broad. List of pen names is the way to go. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:05, 13 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Redirect to List of pen names. This is too broad and the best way to cover this is to follow links from the authors themselves. Archrogue (talk) 16:36, 14 January 2023 (UTC)
 *  Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
 * Delete, this is way too broad ever to work, i.e. the list is hopelessly indiscriminate. Category is a more workable approach for such enormous numbers. Chiswick Chap (talk) 16:32, 16 January 2023 (UTC)