Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Sagan (number)


 * 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   transwiki.  MBisanz  talk 03:10, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

Sagan (number)

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This was a fairly early addition to Wikipedia, probably inherited from an entry in the Jargon File. It's of dubious provenance, suggesting only that the term "Sagan" was only ever used as a joke quantity by a few hackers on Usenet. There is no evidence that the term entered common use either generally or in any specialized field, or is even common jargon on Usenet (it is not). The article was recently tagged for merge to Carl Sagan but it would not be appropriate there because of due weight and lack of reliable sources. TS 11:40, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Some attention to Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium and Indefinite and fictitious numbers is also required. Note the existence of "."I have my suspicions as to Petersen's source. Uncle G (talk) 13:10, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Delete. Essentially a dictionary definition and an explanation of its etymology.  Whether the term is actually used or not is irrelevant, as wikipedia is not a dictionary. JulesH (talk) 17:10, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Delete. I'm usually a mergist, and it was me that suggested merge and redirect, but the only source for this word's entry at dictionary.reference.com is the Jargon File, so let it go. The content for it in the three other articles mentioned above should also then be trimmed. - Fayenatic (talk) 17:58, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
 * If it were sourceable, a brief mention in Carl Sagan may be appropriate. But that's another matter, and there is no evidence that this term is in wide usage.  Lack of sources means delete.  Friday (talk) 18:56, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Perhaps transwiki to Wiktionary. 76.66.198.171 (talk) 05:54, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Merge sourceable content and redirect to Carl Sagan or Indefinite and fictitious numbers; also transwiki to Wiktionary since it lacks an entry there. There are reliable sources, including this column by William Safire in The New York Times, and those sources mentioned above; although the idea that "billions and billions" means the same as "at least 4 billion" is likely original research. DHowell (talk) 06:39, 17 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Changing to Merge and redirect now that a source other than the Jargon File has been identified. - Fayenatic (talk) 19:00, 17 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Merge and redirect (and transwiki) per DHowell. -- Quiddity (talk) 19:34, 17 January 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.