Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Random Shutdown Syndrome


 * 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 Delete - No evidence provided for the existence of the concept other than the creator's original research. Yomangani talk 17:05, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Random Shutdown Syndrome
Neo/protologism, apparently: became popular in 2k6 to quote the article. However, some ghits make me reluctant to outright prod: [Check Google hits]. Still, I wouldn't consider this one WP:V. (|--  UlT i MuS  23:40, 16 October 2006 (UTC)


 * There's no other article which deals with a subject even close to this one, and 13,500 google hits is not to be sneezed at. Every example noted has a link in the references section.  Cancerward 23:56, 16 October 2006 (UTC)
 * There is no references section in the article. There's an external links section.  External links are not references.  Two of the linked-to articles, on Toshiba and Compaq notebooks, talk about various specific models of notebook PCs overheating and possibly shutting down.  The causes of overheating aren't even the same across both, and none of them describe a syndrome, let alone call it "random shutdown syndrome".  In fact, that phrase occurs nowehere on either of the articles.  A third article, on Dell notebooks, similarly mentions no syndrome, and is a collection of pseudonymous comments, added to a product review, about what will cause that particular model of notebook to overheat &mdash; again with different causes to the other two brands. The first external link listed, discussed by the fifth page linked to, appears to be the single-idea web site whose single idea this article is propounding, to which the other links are being added in what we might call "Random External Link Syndrome".  It is a collection of pseudonymous web loggers posting "my MacBook shut down!" comments, with no indication that there's any fact checking or peer review going on, no indication of that a consistent syndrome has even been identified, and lots of comments on the level of "Any ideas as to the problem? It seems as if my RAM is affected or something.", which hardly makes this an adequate source for an encyclopaedia article. Uncle G 01:01, 17 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Actually, the Toshiba, Compaq, Apple, and Dell problems referred to in the external links are occurring for the same reasons -- poor design causing overheating followed by shutdown. The article title may be a "neologism" but perhaps there was no phrase to describe it until recently.  As for the Dell article, it's difficult to find an "official looking" article about the problem if Dell won't admit to it.  Perhaps provides some better link ideas. Cancerward 01:20, 17 October 2006 (UTC) At Apple link Apple admits to the problem.  "Tech & U" and "PC Magazine" is about as official as it gets at this point.Cancerward 05:53, 17 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Glibly describing the causes as "poor design" is the only way in which the reasons can be said to be the same. In truth, they are quite different, and entirely disconnected.  And the Apple web site makes no mention of a syndrome.  What we have here is not a documented syndrome, but a pile of external links to an arbitrary list of articles about notebook PCs failing, most of which are anecdotal at best, in support of a novel synthesis of these data and a conclusion that is being drawn for the first time here in Wikipedia, in contravention of our No original research policy.  A documented syndrome would have someone, outside of Wikipedia, already documenting it. Uncle G 11:21, 17 October 2006 (UTC)
 * The topic may be real -- you've certainly documented a rash of disconnected laptop shutdowns -- but a neologism is still a neologism. Until a third party uses this term I have no evidence of notability and verifiability, so I have to move to merge to laptop and delete. Alba 04:18, 17 October 2006 (UTC) Vote changed due to evidence: see below. Alba 15:24, 17 October 2006 (UTC)
 * There is a third-party reference to this phrase in print, in the computer journal "Tech & U" on 10 August 2006, page 14 (courtesy Factiva). Plus the PC Magazine/eWeek/extremetech.com references (basically the same article by Scott Ferguson linked to) -- don't know if these have appeared in print though. Cancerward 05:28, 17 October 2006 (UTC)
 * The PC Magazine article supports MacBook, since it discusses just one specific make of personal computer. It doesn't support creating a whole article about a supposed, and completely undocumented, syndrome. Uncle G 11:21, 17 October 2006 (UTC)
 * In that case, you have a documented case for merging to MacBook and redirecting. Until you have references describing it for all laptops it's not a separate term. Alba 15:24, 17 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Delete per Uncle G's rationale and the fact that it's a neologism. BigHaz - Schreit mich an 06:09, 17 October 2006 (UTC)
 * weak merge While the nature of problems with Laptop computers is certainly notable and verifiable, I'm not sure this specific article is the proper place to offer information on it. I recommend putting whatever information is worth saving in the laptop article which is curiously silent on things like this, and encouraging the contributors to this article to work on it instead.  I'm only saying merge because it might save some time. FrozenPurpleCube 16:55, 17 October 2006 (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.