Wikipedia:Featured article review/Columbine High School massacre/archive1


 * The following is an archived discussion of a featured article review. Please do not modify it. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page or at Wikipedia talk:Featured article review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was removed 15:21, 21 May 2007.

Review commentary

 * Messages left at SmthManly, Disaster management, and Criminal Biography. Sandy Georgia (Talk) 17:30, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

This article was promoted to FA almost 2 years ago and since that time the criteria have improved. This article is quite large, but has many unsourced statements, including allegations that the columbine high school gunmen were influenced by specific people, movies or music. Statements to that extend are potentially libellous and should always be sourced to reliable references. If the referencing is improved, I see no further objections to this being FA, but others are welcome to post their suggestions ofcourse. --Cpt. Morgan (Reinoutr) 21:06, 17 April 2007 (UTC)


 * Delist I've only had time to glance down this article, but there are nowhere near enough citations for the article. What little bits of the prose I saw, however, did look to be of a very high standard. Blood Red Sandman  (Talk)   (Contribs) 21:19, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Well, honestly, most of the shooting section is put under just one citation, due to the fact it all came from that one main place (official investigation report), you can't link each portion directly since it's all .pdf files where there are thousands of pages in one link, technically, it could have dozens more links but it's too much work to link each one directly.  SmthManly  / ManlyTalk  / ManlyContribs  21:39, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I appreciate that, but an FA should really use much more in-line references. This article has whole sections without inline referencing, even for "controversial" statements, like I explained above. --Cpt. Morgan (Reinoutr) 21:52, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
 * No, I agree with you, a lot of these controversial statements were added over the past two years that I never liked to see, and many people have fought tooth and nail to keep them there so they have remained, still, a lot of the statements in this article are grouped together into one reference, the first few references contain a lot of information themselves, if you want, maybe you, or we, can try and get a few people to go in there and decipher the 40 references and break them down, but it's too much of a task for one or two people. -- SmthManly  / ManlyTalk  / ManlyContribs  22:00, 17 April 2007 (UTC)


 * Keep I have read over teh article many times, and while I do notice that it needs to be a bit better referenced, it is not bad enough to make me want this article delisted. Karrmann 00:48, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Comment FAR =/= FARC. Also, FAR =/= GA/R.--Rmky87 03:13, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Keep All the sources are there, they're just located within each citation, check out each link and compare, you'll see... I say, if you as a user really believe each citation should be broken down into several, then we all band together and get it done, and not just remove the article over something that isn't technically an issue. This wasn't a current events article like red lake or dawson college or virginia tech where hundreds of credible sources came at it, users had to sift through archives and websites to find this information 18 months ago, it's all there, sourced, with perhaps a few unsourced sentences here and there, but it's not to a caliber where delisting is really necessary. --  SmthManly  / ManlyTalk  / ManlyContribs  03:38, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Comment&mdash;at this phase, we do not vote "keep" or "delist"; we merely point out problems and attempt to fix them before moving to FARC. Articles are usually at this phase for 2-3 weeks, so hopefully the article can be fixed up before then. &mdash; Deckiller 07:30, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Meeting criterion 1a&mdash;examples of potential prose issues from the lead:
 * "It is the third-deadliest school shooting" I'm pretty sure there doesn't have to be a hyphen there, but I could be wrong.
 * "everal of the victims, who were portrayed as having been killed for their religious beliefs, became a source of inspiration to others, and some lamented the decline of religion in public education and society in general, often blaming the tragedy on insufficient government endorsement of religion." This is a snake that should be chopped into two sentences. How about "...to others. Some lamented..." Off hand, that second argument seems pretty radical, like something only two religious nuts would ramble on about (and therefore not important enough for the lad). But I'll probably be proven wrong after reading that section.
 * Please make a check to ensure that references are outside punctuation; the final sentence of the lead needs such a check.
 * The main issue seems to be the excessive length and need for sources&mdash;not 1a. But that's based on the lead. &mdash; Deckiller 07:36, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
 * This FA urgently cries for 1c. 1c.  1c.  Also, I think it goes into too much detail at some points.  As this is just purely opinionated, I cannot offer any deep thoughts on how to improve it.  It however is 1AM and i really, really need to get to sleep, so perhaps tomorrow. hbdragon88 08:09, 18 April 2007 (UTC)


 * Comment: People... I've been bold and crossed all the votes. This is FAR, Featured Article Review, not FARC, Featured Article Removal Candidates. We are not discussing delisting the article, but discussing what should be improved to maintain the FA status. It is NOT a vote. Please read my opening statement with regard to sourcing so see the reason for listing the article here. --Cpt. Morgan (Reinoutr) 09:30, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Comment.. I thought it was a FAR at first, then everyone started voting. Again, sources are all there, we should just band together and decipher them as needed. --  SmthManly  / ManlyTalk  / ManlyContribs  21:08, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
 * In rationale, undue weight is given to violent media (section appears to be not-fully cited also). Christopher Connor 15:35, 19 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Delist I'm not one who likes to delist articles, but this one is not up to the featured article standards. I quickly counted over 10 "citation needed" markers and many other questionable content. It is not what the ideal article is supposed to be so i say, delist. YaanchSpeak! 01:09, 20 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Perhaps it's a good thing you don't like to do so, because this is the FAR stage not the FARC stage. -Phoenix 23:16, 21 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Comment -- This is not a FARC, you're supposed to comment on what you think should be done to improve the article, not just criticize it. Also, the citation needed tags have been added AS A RESULT of this FAR, to which I've already THREE TIMES stated on what to do about the citations, yet no one even bothers reading the here comments anyway before commenting. --  SmthManly  / ManlyTalk  / ManlyContribs  01:28, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

I agree that the page could stand a whole lot more sourcing, though it's reasonable to take the the timeline of the killings directly from the sheriff's report.

I think that someone has correctly identified the two most problematic sections of the page, "Warning Signs" and especially "Third shooter theory." "Warning Signs" is on the right track, but it gets several details wrong.

Here is a breakdown on several key dates/events for the Warning Signs section. Most of the text came from this website: http://www.columbine-angels.com/History.htm -- but I have checked each one of these references while researching my book, and they're all correct. (I added a few sources where I verified them, but my primary timeline spreadsheet is separate, so what I only typed the verification info into this document in a few places):

August 7, 1997 - An unidentified citizen called the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office to complain about Eric Harris's violent laced web site. The tip was investigated by Deputy Michael Burgess who forwarded the report and print outs of the web site to the investigator in charge of computer-related crime, John Hicks. This was the end of the investigation

January 30, 1998 - Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold are arrested by Jefferson County Deputy Tim Walsh for breaking and entering an electrician's van and stealing equipment from it

February 15, 1998 - Using a search warrant, Jefferson County sheriff's deputies found and defused a pipe bomb in a field at Garrison and Field Streets (verified: Source: grand jury report, draft affidavit to search Eric’s house, from GJ report, aug 19, 2004.)

March 1998 - Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold are placed in Jefferson County's Juvenile Diversion Program and given anger management classes

March 18, 1998 - Randy and Judy Brown meet with investigators to discuss the violent writings and threats against their son, Brooks, posted on Eric Harris's website

From dave: Mar 31, 98: Mike Guerra met with Investigators Hicks and Grove. They discussed the Browns’ complaint, and Eric’s bomb descriptions on his website. Source: grand jury report, draft affidavit to search Eric’s house, from GJ report, aug 19, 2004.

The "Third shooter theory" section is complete nonsense, in my opinion. I think it's reasonable to include a brief sentence or two on the idea--since rumors about it abound--with the main emphasis on how little evidence there is to back it up. Both killers left huge stacks of writings about the killings and created videos together, all of which make it abundantly clear that it's a two-man plan. They cite each other regularly (and did the videos together), and also explicitly state that no one else was involved. Is the theory that it was a three-man plan, with two of them proud about it and the third insistent on anonymity--to which the other two agreed to play along and never slipped up? OK. Then we have the hard evidence: the video cameras in the cafeteria and a Patti Nielson's extensive 911 tape in the library captured the two killers on video and audio tape and no third gunman appears either place. Also, the vast majority of witness testimony made it clear that there were two. It is not surprising that some witness think they saw someone else: witness testimony in general is extremely unreliable, and you always have conflicting testimony. Finally, the cops were initially assuming there was a conspiracy, and investigated all Harris and Klebold's friends intensely, confiscated emails and writings etc., and could find nothing on anyone. (Harris and Klebold would have had to be extremely careful to avoid ever referencing the third person in anything they said.)

This theory is about as credible as the idea that the Appolo moon walk was faked at that men have never set foot on the moon.

I can't tell you how many emails I have received (and comments on my website) advancing the third-shooter theory, and I have yet to see one remotely convincing argument, or anything supported by substantial evidence. Some of the other sections lack citations, but the bulk of the info elsewhere is correct (and has been documented elsewhere, even if not here. I'll cite a few exceptions below.) But this third-shooter section lacks any citations and is almost universally accepted as complete myth. Therefore, I strongly urge deleting it unless/until someone can support it with any citations.

Overall, I think the Columbine Massacre entry gets most of the information right, and it is dramatically better than the last time I reviewed it a few years ago. I think the jocks thing is still played up too much, though, and should be balanced by the opposing facts: especially that Columbine was planned primarily as a bombing, and the cafeteria bombs would have been about as indiscriminate as you can get. (Also, many of the most prominent jocks had lunch that hour, but almost always went out for lunch, which was widely known. A great number of them were not even in the building.)

The fact that the massacre was intended primarily as a bombing seems to be very underplayed overall in the article. It's in there, but it's kind of buried. I think the fact that what happened is vastly different from what the killers' planned should be in the lede.

Also, the section on the killers' choice of date for their attack could use work. There is contradictory evidence on whether they were planning to do it on the 19th or 20th. The best evidence that they were actually planning on the 19 comes from the sheriff's report and is not cited here. Quoting from the report:

"There were also indications that Harris and Klebold initially planned the shootings to occur on April 19. They specifically mentioned Monday and another time said, 'Today is the 11th, eight more days.' They never articulated why they chose the day they did and never mentioned that April 19 was the anniversary of Waco, Texas or the Oklahoma City bombing.   They never verbalized that they even knew April 20 is Adolph Hitler's birthday." I suggest citing and quoting that. You can find the quote here, almost at the bottom: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/columbine.cd/Pages/SUSPECTS_TEXT.htm

I'll have to check, but I think this sentence is citing a discredited theory: "One theory states that the original date chosen was April 19 because it was a date on which Robyn Anderson, one of the people who purchased the guns and a close friend of Klebold, would not be present." I'm pretty sure that Robyn told the cops she was in school on the 19th.

Davecullen 05:45, 24 April 2007 (UTC) Dave Cullen 23 April 2007

I just read through a few sections more closely, and the section on journals and videotapes badly needs work. This sentence, is particularly problematic: "The entries contained blurbs about ways to escape to Mexico, hijacking an aircraft at Denver International Airport and crashing into a building in New York City, as well as details about the attacks. The pair hoped that after setting off bombs in the cafeteria, they would rampage through the school and shoot any survivors, then continue their attack on surrounding houses as neighbors came out to see the commotion . . ." Those things are all mentioned, briefly, but they are grossly unrepresentative of Eric's journal. (I assume they came from an early account when Sheriff Stone had only quoted a few passages, and that moron--who eventualy lost credibility with everyone--chose ridiculous passages to share with the media.) That passage does not give the flavor of what Eric's journal was like at all (and no mention is made of Dylan's), and it gives the reader the impression that they were planning something different from Columbine. Eric dreamed big and wanted to do something far bigger than blowing up his school. But once he was actually making the bombs, he complained about how much work it was even to make enough explosives to destroy a string of buildings, much less a city. He realized that he had to be practical and scale back his dreams, and long before April 20, he/they were set on just the attack on the school, though it was primarily going to be a series of bombings, without a shootout in the middle. This passage gives a very different impression.

This statement is also way off: "The pair also kept videos that were used mainly as documentation of explosives, ammunition, and weapons they had acquired illegally." The Basement Tapes did do that, but they were mainly about bragging about what they were going to do, and about explaining themselves. This sentence takes a relatively minor aspect of the tapes and describes it as the main focus.

(Also, the section does not distinguish between The Basement Tapes--as they're widely known--and other videos now on the web, such as the one where Eric and Dylan are praticing firing their weapons at Rampart Range. This distinction has caused a lot of confusion, especially among people who want to see the tapes. They have heard that the videos are online, and want to see the Basement Tapes, but don't know that there were different kinds of videos.)

Davecullen 06:35, 24 April 2007 (UTC) 24 April 2007
 * Comment There are definitely serious ref issues, not enough and what's there is not formatted properly. Quadzilla99 00:01, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Still needs refs, work is not progressing. Quadzilla99 01:56, 1 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Comment In my opinion the structure of the article is inappropriate, with the large "Warning signs" section incompletely introduced and the meat of the article, the shot-by-shot of the massacre itself, buried halfway down the page. I would put this whole section as a subsection under the "Search for rationale" (or a more general name like "Investigation"). The article also repeats itself due to its chronological structure, discussing the confusion between Cassie Bernall and Rachel Scott at least three separate times. This may not be a real FAR issue, though. What seems more FAR pertinent are the elements of synthesis -- not fatal, just troubling -- in trying to divine the "why" of the massacre. So they got in trouble a lot and carried grudges, but how do we get from that to the next step that 99% of people who fit that description never do, which is go around killing? That needs to either go back into the individuals' articles, if not explicitly connected, or it needs to be part of a connection made by an attributable source. --Dhartung | Talk 05:49, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
 * In addition to the redundant and excessive attention shown to that minor controversy (covered in sufficient detail in Cassie Bernall and Rachel Scott), there's almost nothing about the extended criticism of the Sheriff's Office for delays in its self-investigation and for poor decisions made during the assault, and how this led to the active shooter strategy. There is even this month a judicial decision made to suppress information on the shooters, and that update is needed and would dovetail with the near-last section about the academic viewpoint. There is insufficient discussion of the controversy caused by suggestions to profile students following the massacre, and maybe too much discussion of the criticism of videogame and music influences (again, falling into dodgy WP:SYN areas). These are areas in which the article seems to fail balance and comprehensiveness. --Dhartung | Talk 06:03, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

I agree with everything in Dhartung's last post.

Davecullen 00:55, 28 April 2007 (UTC)Dave Cullen


 * Comment—it appears that most of the citation needed tags are in the section "Aftermath and the search for rationale", so a copy-edit of that section would be especially beneficial, and to see if any of its contents fall under WP:NOT. The song lyrics seem like a little too much. Cliff smith 01:52, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

FARC commentary

 * Suggested FA criteria concern is referencing (1c). Marskell 16:50, 3 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Delist. Multiple people have analyzed the article above and all came to the conclusion that it had serious problems with sourcing (lack of sources for quite some statements), in-line referencing (whole sections supposedly are be reffed from a single source, but this is difficult to assess) and some orginal research. As these issues were not addressed or resolved during the review, it is time to delist and wait with renomination for FA until the issues have been resolved. --Cpt. Morgan (Reinoutr) 10:50, 6 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Remove&mdash;still some lingering 1a and 1c issues as per above. &mdash; Deckiller 21:25, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Remove this is kind of ridiculous considering this article could probably be sourced in 4-5 hours just by scouring the interent. The prose would take longer but this article could easily be saved if anyone was trying. Quadzilla99 00:39, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Remove per 1c and 1a. Also, I echo what Quadzilla's saying. LuciferMorgan 12:52, 21 May 2007 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article review. No further edits should be made to this page.