Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Sullivan Black

 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 delete. Mindspillage (spill yours?) 07:17, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Sullivan Black
So this Sullivan Black was supposedly the antagonist of Gilbert White. Identical years of birth and death. Many impressive names among the people he allegedly met or corresponded with. "Fortunately, a small archive of Black's manuscript work survives in that village". The article author claims in this (and other articles he changed accordingly, which also makes up the entirety of his edits) that Black "was an adept early practitioner of the limerick verse-form" and offers this gem as proof:
 * Seducing young Annie Buccleuch
 * In Hawkley, a storm raged and blew.
 * The Hanger collapsed [2]
 * But I did not lapse.
 * I enquired, “Did the earth move for you?”.

''[2] This dates Black's seduction precisely to the night of 8th/9th March 1774, when the side of the Hanger [the local term for a steep clay ridge] collapsed in a fierce storm. A cottage built on the site is still known as "Slip Cottage".''

Google draws empty. I smell a rat.Rl 20:34, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. Was he later named as Antipope George Ringo? FreplySpang (talk) 21:05, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete hoax. (In case anyone doesn't get the joke of the name, "Sullivan" is a natural counterpart to "Gilbert" and Black is of course the opposite of White.) --Angr/comhrá 21:10, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, obvious hoax. Megan1967 08:06, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Why delete?. Is there no room for gentle comedy in Wikipedia?  It's not as if it were a libellous or ridiculous entry on the Pope, the President or even Gilbert White himself.  You'd have to go looking for it specifically.  It harms nobody. Plestor House is opposite The Wakes.  The Hanger did collapse on the night in question.  Hawkley is 3 miles from Selborne.  Slip Cottage does exist to this day.  --Sherefong 12.11, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * If there is a place for gentle comedy in WP, it's the user pages. Gentle comedy is wrong (and thus bad) information. If say a user checks "What links here" on Gilbert White's article, she won't expect to be offered, among other pages, a hoax. In my personal opinion, hoax pages that look genuine are much more damaging to WP than vandalism, and they are more expensive to fix. Please consider making positive contributions to WP. Rl 18:30, 17 Apr 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.