Wikipedia talk:Did you know

Did you know?
Introduction and rules
Introduction	WP:DYK
General discussion	WT:DYK
Guidelines	WP:DYKCRIT
Reviewer instructions	WP:DYKRI
Nominations
Nominate an article	WP:DYKCNN
Awaiting approval	WP:DYKN
Approved	WP:DYKNA
April 1 hooks	WP:DYKAPRIL
Preparation
Preps and queues	T:DYK/Q
Prepper instructions	WP:DYKPBI
Admin instructions	WP:DYKAI
Main Page errors	WP:ERRORS
History
Statistics	WP:DYKSTATS
Archived sets	WP:DYKA
Just for fun
Monthly wraps	WP:DYKW
Awards	WP:DYKAWARDS
Userboxes	WP:DYKUBX
Hall of Fame	WP:DYK/HoF
List of users ...
... by nominations	WP:DYKNC
... by promotions	WP:DYKPC
Administrative
Scripts and bots	WP:DYKSB
On the Main Page	T:DYK
To ping the DYK admins	{{DYK admins}}

This is where the Did you know section on the main page, its policies, and its processes can be discussed.

Wikipedia:Did you know/Statistics/Monthly DYK pageview leaders oddly showing Joanne McCarthy (basketball) as lowest

Joanne McCarthy (basketball) ran on at DYK from 00:00 to 19:56, May 7, 2024 (7208 pageviews) and 20:08, May 9, 2024 to 00:00, May 10, 2024 (1777 pageviews). So in 23:48 it had 8985 pageviews. It is listed only for the second run, but as if the second run was 24 hours with some sort of adjustment making her pageviews 1303 with an average pageview of 1303/24=54.3, which is the lowest of the month at both Wikipedia:Did you know/Statistics/Monthly summary statistics and Wikipedia:Did you know/Statistics/Monthly DYK pageview leaders. Can this be fixed somehow?-TonyTheTiger (T / C / WP:FOUR / WP:CHICAGO / WP:WAWARD) 08:49, 12 May 2024 (UTC)

Moved it on pageview leaders, although I don't really understand summary statistics.--Launchballer 13:34, 12 May 2024 (UTC)

@TonyTheTiger: The bot seems to have undone our edits.--Launchballer 11:44, 13 May 2024 (UTC)

It looks like User:GalliumBot is run by user:theleekycauldron, who frequents this page. Hopefully, she checks in and can offer some advice.-TonyTheTiger (T / C / WP:FOUR / WP:CHICAGO / WP:WAWARD) 18:20, 14 May 2024 (UTC)

• @Theleekycauldron:-TonyTheTiger (T / C / WP:FOUR / WP:CHICAGO / WP:WAWARD) 01:27, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

RfC: Should contentious topics be ineligible for Did You Know?

The following discussion is an archived record of a request for comment. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this discussion. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.

Snow close.--Launchballer 15:02, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

---

Contentious topics are constrained and tagged per WP:CTOPICS. They are, by definition, controversial and so will generate additional contention and work at DYK compared to ordinary topics. The editing restrictions applied to these topics also tends to make resolution of disputes difficult, protracted and slow. As DYK is oversubscribed, it may not need this aggravation. The question is whether we should add a rule to WP:DYKCRIT making contentious topics ineligible for DYK?

Andrew🐉(talk) 11:54, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

There should be discussion before an RfC, and I feel confident it would quickly find that we should not ban all DYK hooks from India. CMD (talk) 11:58, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

This follows the recent extensive discussions here and at ANI. Looking for the most recent hook from India, this seems to be Asha Sobhana. That's not tagged as a contentious topic. Andrew🐉(talk) 12:14, 15 May 2024 (UTC) (edit conflict)

I don't recall in those extensive discussions someone proposing the idea that all articles falling under CTOPICS should be banned, let along there being specific discussion on that question. There has been a suggestion to restrict BLPs, but that is only one of the many CTOPICS. CMD (talk) 12:13, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Just to emphasise what I said below, any editor is free to add {{Contentious topics/talk notice}} to Talk:Asha Sobhana if they so desire. I mean I could do it right now. I'm not going to in part since some may argue it's WP:POINT. I'd disagree on that since it's not disruptive to do so considering the DYK has already run and there's no harm in having the notice there; but it also doesn't seem to be that important to have a notice so better to just tell and don't show. Nil Einne (talk) 13:22, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

We have lots of BLPs about sportmen and women like this. If such a template is added, at what point are constraints like 1RR and ECP activated? And at what point do you have to notify editors per the awareness clause? As this stuff seems quite bitey, it's good to understand it. Andrew🐉(talk) 14:07, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

This is unclear. Are you talking about "controversial topics" or about Wikipedia:Contentious topics? I definitely oppose any restriction on "controversial topics" because almost anything can be controversial (for example, anything with shock value or involving sex or crime or religion). —Kusma (talk) 12:00, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

This is clearly not ready for RfC, so I have removed the RfC tag. —Kusma (talk) 12:00, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

I thought it was quite clear that this meant those topics which are formally tagged as CT per WP:CTOP. I have revised the text to make this clearer. Andrew🐉(talk) 12:07, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Just for clarity, you are aware that anyone is free to tag any article where CT applies with the Template:Contentious topics/talk notice? There is no "formal" process for doing so, the only thing that really matter is whether CT applies so it can be done to any BLP to give one example. Normally this is no big deal since CT applies regardless of the notice, but your proposal makes it a big deal. Nil Einne (talk) 13:11, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

The specific example which sparked this was Killing of David Ben Avraham -- someone said they wouldn't promote this to DYK because touching it was too dangerous. The talk page for that has an {{ARBPIA}} template which says: "The contentious topics procedure applies to this article." and goes on to explain that WP:ECP and WP:1RR applies. It's this level of CT that I intended to cover. It's news to me that any BLP at all can be tagged in this draconian way and that bit of WP:CREEP seems to have happened at the end of 2022. Andrew🐉(talk) 13:35, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Looking at talk:Andrew Tate, as that's been the main bone of contention lately, it has a {{controversial}} template which just seems mildly informational and a {{contentious topics/page restriction talk notice}} which is the full monty. Andrew🐉(talk) 13:54, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

• Oppose Biographies of living people are a contentious topic — are we really going to ban these from DYK? Multiple contentious topics are completely fine to be shown at DYK, we can't just ban all of them out of nowhere. Skyshiftertalk 12:19, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Contentious topics include all biographies of living people, India, Pakistan, Iranian politics, Sri Lanka, anything related to post-1992 US politics, COVID-19, Eastern Europe, gender and sexuality and climate change. Disallowing so many large content areas is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. —Kusma (talk) 12:20, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

No, BLPs are not all contentious topics -- they are a different class of topic per WP:BLP. Excluding all BLPs would be a much bigger deal. Andrew🐉(talk) 12:25, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

You are aware that "All living or recently deceased subjects of biographical content on Wikipedia articles are designated as a contentious topic." (Wikipedia:Contentious topics/Biographies of Living Persons)? ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 12:37, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

(edit conflict) This seems to be an example of why you really need to workshop before starting an RfC. It sounds like the OP is proposing that any article where the talk page is tagged with {{Contentious topics/talk notice}} or {{Contentious topics/page restriction talk notice}} is forbidden from DYK but this has been very poorly explained.

More importantly, I'd note that anyone is free to place the first template on any page it applies, so anyone can place it on a BLP talk page for example. Normally this is no big deal unless editors are confused how CT works. The presence or absence of the talk notice doesn't affect whether CT applies. However under this proposal any editor can place the CT notice on a talk page where it would apply and ban it from DYK.

So suddenly the presence of the notice becomes potentially a big deal leading to WP:gaming concerns and a likelihood of editors being dragged to ANI over concerns they're adding CT notices just to ban something from DYK. I'm not sure the wisdom of such a proposal, DYK is already controversial enough on the administrative noticeboards.

At the very least IMO, this proposal should require the notice is present before it's proposed for DYK.

Nil Einne (talk) 13:07, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

That is not a good solution either: new articles could still be nominated before anyone has had the chance to add a CT notice. The presence or absence of the CT notice at the time of nomination has very little to do with the contentiousness of the actual article and DYK hook. —Kusma (talk) 13:18, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

• Oppose. It is certainly true that CT's are more difficult to write about, which often means they involve more work to process at DYK (see Template:Did you know nominations/Environmental damage of Gaza caused by the Israel–Hamas war for another recent example). But that's not a reason to blanket ban them from DYK. RoySmith (talk) 12:55, 15 May 2024 (UTC)
• Oppose. I suppose there could be some way of flagging CTOP entries for review, but let's face it the vast majority of hooks related to CTOPs are completely unremarkable (especially as, technically, all BLPs fall under that flag). And, as we saw with Tate, most controversial issues arrive here anyway for discussion. Black Kite (talk) 13:19, 15 May 2024 (UTC)
• Strongly oppose Absolutely not. This is too large a category to exclude. Toa Nidhiki05 13:27, 15 May 2024 (UTC)
• Oppose: as long as the article is in good shape (which includes a neutral point of view) and the proposed hook is not a contentious or controversial claim, a contentious topic article should be an article like any other for the DYK process (and for all article-related processes such as AFC, PR, GAN, FAC, etc; for that matter). Cambalachero (talk) 13:58, 15 May 2024 (UTC)
• Oppose and suggest a snow close - The proposal is simply too broad. Now I know we just had a few discussions about contentious topics on DYK, including one that's ongoing, but I am not convinced that a blanket ban is the solution. It should probably be a case-by-case thing. Plus, having blanket bans would be unfair to editors who worked hard to bring the article to a good state if not create it, only to be told their efforts cannot be incentivized just because of the subject matter. There are times when precisely due to an article's subject it's not a good fit for DYK, but they are the exception and not the rule and we shouldn't have any strict rules about them. I know this discussion has only been up for a few hours but I would suggest closing this as soon as possible as this simply will not go anywhere. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 14:58, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

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.

Future RFC on BLPs at DYK

Hi all. I an going to request that our regular DYK promoters, reviewers, talk page discussion participants, etc. participate in collecting examples of negative hooks on BLPs that ran on the main page, were pulled from the main page, or became contentious either at Wikipedia talk:Did you know or at the nomination page. This would include rejected hooks to be fair, because we want people to see where we have succeeded in the review process as well as where we may have failed. I know that some of our active project members do not wish for an RFC, but I think it best we allow for wide community discussion on this topic to help us be more consistent in implementing WP:BLP policy at DYK. The community needs to consider the challenges of meeting BLP policy within a DYK format where we limit content expression to 200 characters or less within a single sentence. I contend that the challenges of our format make compliance with WP:BLPBALANCE difficult in a way that is unique to DYK. The current BLP policy as written is article space targeted and its application at DYK is therefore challenging to work through. For this reason we need an RFC and we need to ask the community at large the questions within this RFC.

I am doing my best here to allow for as a wide a range of opinions as possible. Any thoughts on a better way to structure this RFC are welcome, as this is not something I normally do. We may stop the RFC earlier or expand the questions of exploration depending on the WP:CONSENSUS over individual questions. The goal here is to give us a community supported process for handling BLPs with either negative and contentious content at DYK nominations that specifically looks at how BLP policy should be applied at DYK review/promotion. That should benefit the project and hopefully prevent long protracted arguments at DYK (which are often over BLP policy) and elsewhere such as ANI. If we have a better articulated process with community support this will hopefully make our lives editing at DYK easier when it comes to reviewing proposed BLP hooks and will hopefully prevent conflict at DYK review and potential drama on project pages related to the Main page.

Opening statement draft

In the past year, I have either witnessed or participated in several contentious discussions concerning Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons policy within hook nominations at WP:Did You Know that have arisen from hook proposals involving "negative" material about BLPs where the information could be perceived as an attack on the BLP or an attempt to smear the BLP's public image. While the vast majority of BLP nominations at DYK are non-controversial, the project does receive a small percentage of hook proposals on BLPs where the subject is presented in a negative light on an on-going periodic basis. These hooks are sometimes submitted by seasoned DYK participants, and sometimes editors new to the project.

The reactions to these various "negative hook" proposals has been inconsistent on the part of the DYK community with a wide range of expressed opinions from active editors in the project as well as a wide range of responses within DYK hook review process. Negative hooks on BLPs have sometimes been rejected as violating BLP policy using rationales from either Wikipedia:Did you know/Reviewer instructions and Wikipedia:Did you know/Guidelines, or the WP:BLP policy page itself. They also have sometimes been approved by editors, have been promoted by DYK admins to Template:Did you know/Queue, and have made it to the WP:MAIN page. These various responses have sometimes been received with community support, no comment by the community other than the reviewer, or have been heavily contested either within the individual hook review template, or at DYK's talk page. Those negative hooks which have made it to the main page have sometimes been brought to noticeboards such as WP:ERRORS and WP:ANI where responses have equally been inconsistent; including the pulling of hooks due to BLP violations, no action, etc.

It's my contention that this pattern of inconsistent response is evidence of an on-going failure of the DYK community to consistently implement BLP policy. I believe the reason for this failure is two fold. 1) The BLP guidelines in the Wikipedia:Did you know/Reviewer instructions and Wikipedia:Did you know/Guidelines are currently poorly written, and in particular the words "unduly negative" have been interpreted as meaning the DYK community can run negative hooks on BLPs that individual editors have labeled as "bad people" because they deserve it. This has inevitably allowed for WP:POV pushing and politicization within certain hook proposals; drawing into question the integrity of the DYK platform and the encyclopedia when such hooks have successfully made it to the main page. 2) The current BLP policy page is written to address article space and does not currently address the unique format of DYK where we limit content expression to a single sentence of 200 characters or less. What is possible to do in terms of WP:BLPBALANCE within article space is not possible in a DYK hook by virtue of limited space.

The community needs to take a close look at how DYK should interpret BLP policy within the unique DYK hook format for the purposes of DYK hook review. The purpose of this RFC is to assist DYK in more consistently following BLP policy going forward by reviewing DYK's current processes and guidelines for reviewing BLP hooks; and making any necessary changes to Wikipedia:Did you know, Wikipedia:Did you know/Guidelines, and Wikipedia:Did you know/Reviewer instructions as it relates to BLPs. To help us achieve that goal, the DYK community has assisted in gathering real examples of potential BLP violating hooks that have either run on the main page successfully, been pulled from the main page after being reported to a notice board, or failed to be promoted but with contentious and sometimes lengthy discussion. Other types of evidence have also been put forward, and other kinds of potentially BLP violating hooks have been identified in the evidence gathering process besides just negative hooks. For this reason, I have crafted the RFC question process with some flexibility because there may be avenues of exploration raised by the community at this RFC that the community may wish to explore that could not have been anticipated earlier. It should be noted that the examples given are just a sampling of mainly recent examples of this problem, and this is by no means a thorough or complete presentation of all issues related to BLPs that have come up at DYK.

I want this RFC to be helpful no matter what conclusions ultimately are arrived at. I have my opinions, but they may not be the majority view, and my goal here is to make things better as a community space for DYK volunteers no matter what proposals are ultimately successful at achieving broad community support. I am hopeful we will come up with a better reviewing document for BLP hooks as a community which will prevent further incidents at WP:ERRORS and WP:ANI, and make the DYK review process less stressful for our dedicated volunteers by eliminating the need for repeating the same unproductive or contentious arguments in circles at DYK review.

RFC format: Questions and Proposals

Note 1. This is a presentation of this RFC's format, including planned guiding questions and a described process for future proposals. Please do not respond to the questions or make proposals in this space. Questions will be opened for comment one at a time, as answers to prior questions are important for informing responses to succeeding questions.

Note 2. The term "negative hook" may mean different things to different people, and individual hooks may be perceived as "negative" by a certain group of editors but not by others due to varying backgrounds among our editing volunteers. In examining policy language at WP:BLPSTYLE, a broadly construed definition of a negative hook could be any hook that may be perceived as an attack on the BLP or an attempt to malign their public image, or a hook that may be perceived as a partisan representation of the subject. These could include the use of contentious labels, loaded language, or terms that lack precision. Real examples of hooks that have been identified as negative by some editors have been gathered in the evidence section. See WP:BLPSTYLE and WP:BLPBALANCE.

RFC Questions

• 1. Can DYK feature negative hooks on BLPs and remain in compliance with WP:BLP policy? Consider the limitations of the DYK format and the language of WP:BLP policy in your answer. If no, why? If yes, why?

If the WP:CONSENSUS is yes or no consensus we move on to the next question. If the consensus is no we skip question 2 and move to question 3.

• 2. How can we determine when a negative hook on a BLP can and can't be used? What specific guideline(s) should DYK reviewers follow when reviewing negative hooks on BLPs? What language should we include in a guideline that assists reviewers in making decisions and prevents conflict at DYK, Wikipedia:Main Page/Errors, and other project pages? Consider the limitations of the DYK hook format and the language of WP:BLP policy in your answer.

Once opinions have been gathered and summarized we move on to the next question.

• 3. Are there changes that DYK should make to Wikipedia:Did you know, Wikipedia:Did you know/Guidelines, and Wikipedia:Did you know/Reviewer instructions as it relates to BLPs?

Once opinions have been gathered and summarized we move to question 4

• 4. Are there any additional questions we should consider as it relates to DYK and BLP policy before moving on to proposals?

It's possible we may need to ask a question that was not predicted at the onset of the RFC, after getting input to the first three questions. We will leave room to ask additional questions for community input if needed before moving on to proposals. We will discuss any other questions raised by the community. Once completed, we will begin accepting proposals that should come from WP:CONSENSUS input.

Proposals

• Proposals should come out of the discussion resulting from the above questions. This RFC will not start with a set list of proposals. These should come directly from the community input to the RFC questions. Proposal submissions will be open to all contributors in the RFC after the questioning period concludes. The goal of this RFC is to improve DYK's review process as it relates to BLPs in order to assist DYK and its volunteers in being consistently compliant with WP:BLP policy and prevent conflicts at DYK review on BLPs. Once a proposal has been made we will vote and arrive at a WP:CONSENSUS on each individual proposal.

That is it folks. I am creating a sub-thread below for evidence to aid in the RFC. I am not the most knowledgable person on historic negative BLPs, so assistance from others is a must if we are going to do this RFC fairly, neutrally, and with the best possible chance at a positive outcome for DYK as a project. Thanks to everyone in advance who helps. I will also create a sub thread on any suggested changes to the RFC questions/format. I want this RFC to be helpful no matter what conclusions ultimately are arrived at. I have my opinions, but they may not be the majority view, and my goal here is to actually make things better as a community space for DYK volunteers regardless of the ultimate outcome. I am hopeful we will come up with a better reviewing document for BLP hooks which will save us all unnecessarily repeating the same unproductive or contentious arguments in circles, and will make reviewing BLP hooks less contentious and stressful for our dedicated volunteers.4meter4 (talk) 16:54, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Suggestions on RFC construction

Please comment on the proposed RFC structure here. Any suggestions for improvements are much appreciated. Best.4meter4 (talk) 16:54, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Evidence

Please add examples below for the upcoming RFC. We need examples for the community at large to examine. The RFC can not go forward until there is a good sampling of evidence gathered.4meter4 (talk) 16:54, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

• NOTE Please just post links and do not editorialize or discuss examples unless for some reason they should be excluded. We need a working list, not a running commentary. Limit all examples to BLPs specifically.4meter4 (talk) 18:44, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Negative BLPs that were promoted to the main page without issue

Incident	Year	Hook/comments	Discussion
Murder of Jiang Ge	2024	... that the murder of Jiang Ge led to public debate in China over the actions of Jiang's roommate during her murder? The living person in question is Liu Xin, mentioned in the hook and discussed at length in the article.	Raised at ERRORS but no response: [1]
Going Infinite	2024	Hook draws attention to a negative comment made against a living person; it had to be toned down at nomination stage and again in prep.	WT:DYK: [2]
Diether Dehm	2020	Two "negative" hooks were proposed, one about the BLP employing a terrorist and the other one about the BLP being a former informer of the secret police.	The "terrorist" hook ran without controversy.
Hsinchu Kuang-Fu Senior High School	2024	Raised at ERRORs but alas, no pull as it was only an hour until it rolled off MP. @Theleekycauldron: said "This article looks like a straight NPOV violation to me". Therapyisgood (talk) 23:43, 17 May 2024 (UTC)	Raised at ERRORs
Debbie Currie	2024	... that Debbie Currie once worked as a lollipop lady? whole damn thing reads like a BLP violation. "reprimanded for smoking aged 13, and had to retake all of her A-levels after being accused of cheating; she graduated with a C and two Ds, and read English and Communication" " She used an October 2009 article in the Daily Mail to announce that she had become a single mother by choice after a drunken one-night stand aged thirty, and encouraged others to have their children before finding a partner." "claimed that she had enjoyed a four-in-a-bed orgy and lost her virginity at fifteen" Therapyisgood (talk) 00:08, 18 May 2024 (UTC) I feel like this was an issue with the article rather than the nom/hook? I think DYK should have caught it. Valereee (talk) 00:19, 18 May 2024 (UTC)	Raised at ERRORs with 4 minutes before the hooks rotated.

Negative BLPs that were pulled from the main page

This discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
A DYK on the death of actress Gemma McCluskie, posted only three weeks after her 2012 murder: ANI thread:[3] Talk:DYK thread:[4] I hope that it shouldn't prove necessary here to point out what WP:BLP says (and said in 2012) about taking consideration for friends and relatives etc of the recently deceased, the need to avoid tabloid-style sensationalism, and all the other obvious issues with this DYK. AndyTheGrump (talk) 18:27, 15 May 2024 (UTC) I'm not sure an issue from twelve years ago is relevant now? Except to show Andy's been calling people names for at least that long. Maybe we should concentrate on the past year or two? Valereee (talk) 18:38, 15 May 2024 (UTC) This is from 2012, and shows that there is a long-standing issue with AndyTheGrump. It is an inappropriate hook sensationalising a murder, not a "negative hook about a BLP". —Kusma (talk) 18:40, 15 May 2024 (UTC) Attempts to stifle discussion of long-term systemic issues with DYK duly noted. AndyTheGrump (talk) 18:44, 15 May 2024 (UTC) Andy, I don't think anyone would disagree these were bad. But let's focus on today's issues. Valereee (talk) 18:46, 15 May 2024 (UTC) Not without clear and unambiguous evidence that DYK has undergone systemic changes which would prevent a recurrence. AndyTheGrump (talk) 18:47, 15 May 2024 (UTC) So is it your intention to bring in here as evidence every DYK you've ever objected to in the past 12+ years? Because I think your strategy would be counterproductive to fixing the problem. Something that has been pointed out to you before, including very recently. Valereee (talk) 18:49, 15 May 2024 (UTC) It is my intention to respond to the request made in this thread. AndyTheGrump (talk) 18:52, 15 May 2024 (UTC) Which means you're going to completely jam up this apparently well-intentioned RfC by someone who agrees with you. Okay. Valereee (talk) 18:53, 15 May 2024 (UTC) That's exactly what is happening. Thank you. Viriditas (talk) 19:05, 15 May 2024 (UTC) If it hasn't happened in twelve years then it's not a recurring problem. This is why 12-year-old evidence sucks. Levivich (talk) 18:54, 15 May 2024 (UTC) How about actually waiting to see what other evidence is offered before dismissing it? I am still under the impression that this request for such evidence was made in good faith, even if some would apparently prefer to exclude anything they would prefer not to get scrutiny. Let other contributors provide their own evidence. If mine is all there is (which seems unlikely) you can then argue that there isn't a systemin problem. And no, I have no intention of bringing 'every DYK I've ever objected to in the past 12+ years' here. I brought up two, because they were clearly relevant to a discussion which seems on the face of it to be focussed around adressing systemic issues. AndyTheGrump (talk) 19:04, 15 May 2024 (UTC) Do you have a suggestion how to get people to review more properly? Your method seems to be to reduce the number of DYK volunteers by insulting them. If you want to help, please review nominations and double check prep sets. All kind of issues are occasionally caught only at the prep-to-queue stage or at ERRORS. Some of them are comparatively minor (like repeating incorrect claims about "X was the first Y to do Z" from sources), others are bad (copyvios) or really bad (accusing BLPs of crimes that they have not been convicted for). It can be exhausting to check everything, and we do not have enough admins doing it. We need more (non-admin) eyes on the prep sets and queues. Yelling at volunteers like you do has as its most likely effect a reduction in our number of capable volunteers. Please stop making DYK worse and start helping to make it better. —Kusma (talk) 19:04, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Please note that I have raised the improper hatting above, along with what appears to be a more general attempt to prevent legitimate participation in this thread at WP:ANI. [5] AndyTheGrump (talk) 19:33, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Limit examples to BLP hooks only. All BLP examples, regardless how old, will be accepted. Editors are smart enough to recognize the age of the nom may impact its relevance. We don't have to trim them. All hooks not about a BLP will be hidden as above. Please avoid discussing examples unless there is a glaring problem (such as the hook isn't a BLP or the hook is not negative). Examples can be discussed at the RFC. We are just gathering evidence in list format without discussion at this time. All off-topic discussions will be swiftly archived to protect the RFC preparation process like the one above. Thank you.4meter4 (talk) 19:15, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

@4meter4, maybe put the information into a sortable table so people can at least sort by age? Valereee (talk) 19:26, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

If an editor skilled in templates wants to take that on, more power to them. I am not the best at table design.4meter4 (talk) 19:28, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

I am probably the editor least skilled in templates in any discussion on this page, so if anyone wants to fix whatever I did wrong, please do. Valereee (talk) 19:47, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Incident	Year	Hook/comments	Discussion
Gemma McCluskie	2012	Concerns about recently deceased BLP violation	ANI thread:[6] Talk:DYK thread:[7]
Nandipha Magudumana	2024	... that the celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana was imprisoned and investigated for twelve crimes, including murder connected to a fugitive's prison escape?	ERRORS discussion: [8] Article at the time of promotion: [9]
Angelle (singer)	2024	... that the British entrepreneur Sarah Bennett went from being "one of the biggest flops in pop history" to appearing on the Sunday Times Rich List 2017?	ERRORS discussion: [10]

Negative BLPs that were contentious at Wikipedia talk:Did you know

Incident	Year	Hook/comments	Discussions
Andrew Tate	2024	... that social media influencer Andrew Tate described himself as "absolutely a misogynist"? Concerns about BLP vio	WT:DYK: [11] WT:ANI: [12]
Sarah Jane Baker	2023	... that author Sarah Jane Baker was so desperate for gender affirming care in prison that she cut off her testicles with a razor blade? (one example of several contentious hooks on this person that were proposed)	WT:DYK: [13]
Shootings of Sydney Land and Nehemiah Kauffman	2024	Pulled from queue and then rejected, in part due to BLP concerns.	WT:DYK: [14]
Jews Don't Count	2023	Altered in queue, after it was argued that the original hook falsely attributed an anti-semitic POV to a living person.	WT:DYK: [15]
Lil Tay	2023	Pulled from prep due to poor sourcing of negative information in the article.	WT:DYK: [16]
Marvin Harrison Jr.	2023	... that one NFL scout compared watching Marvin Harrison Jr. (pictured) to "window shopping at a Lamborghini dealership for the model that doesn't come out until next year"? Concerns about objectifying people of colour.	WT:DYK: [17]
Child abuse in association football	2023	Pulled from queue for various reasons, one of which was BLPCRIME concerns.	WT:DYK: [18]

• I'm not sure how to add it to the table, and technically it was a BDP and not a BLP, but Killing of David Ben Avraham might be of relevance here even if it being contentious had more to do with IP rather than BLP per-se. Just leaving it here for the record. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 23:45, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

@Narutolovehinata5, tables are easily edited in the visual editor. Try this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Did_you_know?veaction=edit WhatamIdoing (talk) 20:31, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Negative BLPs that were contentious during review but not rejected

Incident	Year	Hook/comments	Discussion

Negative BLPs that were contentious during review and rejected

Incident	Year	Hook/comments	Discussion

Other kinds of BLP violation concerns in DYK hooks

Incident	Year	Hook/comments	Discussion
HorsegiirL	2024	Pulled from prep; original hook used the article subject's real name against their wishes	WT:DYK: [19]

Evidence discussion

Please do not interrupt the list with discussions in order to keep information easily readable for everyone. Any comments/disputes over listed items can be commented on here.4meter4 (talk) 01:38, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

Other issues

I can't predict what other issues might come up. So I created this subsection if anybody has further comments that they want to make on this future RFC. I want this to be an RFC the whole DYK volunteer community can feel good about going into it.4meter4 (talk) 16:54, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

A DYK on the 'Murder of Ayakannu Marithamuthu' was finally pulled in prep, just before it was due to go live, back in 2013. But only after a WP:BLPN thread, and another on WP:ANI, brought the matter to the attention of the broader community, DYK regulars having entirely failed to notice the numerous issues. The DYK stated as fact that this individual had been 'cooked in a curry'. This assertion was sourced in the article to a food blog. Note that not only have there have been no convictions for this alleged murder, it has never even been determined that Marithamuthu was murdered (or, apparently, that he is even dead at all), never mind being disposed of in this bizarre manner.

BLPN thread :[20]

ANI thread:[21]

Talk DYK thread:[22]

AndyTheGrump (talk) 18:38, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Again over a decade ago. Maybe let's focus on current issues instead of playing Andy's Greatest Hits? Valereee (talk) 18:43, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

No. Not without clear and unambiguous evidence that DYK has undergone systemic changes which would prevent a recurrence. AndyTheGrump (talk) 18:47, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Andy, I mean this absolutely sincerely: why? If we want to fix now, let's focus on now. Valereee (talk) 18:53, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Ah yes, the "let’s hold DYK hostage until it gives into our demands" tactic. I originally suspected the Tate nomination would lead to this, regardless of the hook. This tactic is popular in some sectors, and it’s the preferred strategy of conservative legal activists who have used it to try and control the Supreme Court and get them to rule in their favor by bringing artificial cases for them to rule on. Viriditas (talk) 18:54, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

I go away for a few hours and it looks like a cyclone came through here. Maybe we need to close out some of these threads? There were relevant comments by others but I cannot even find them. I am seeing ATG throw a tantrum in here and at ANI. I agree with Kusma's advice in the hatted discussion Your method seems to be to reduce the number of DYK volunteers by insulting them. If you want to help, please review nominations and double check prep sets. This method of damning the volunteers and their ineptitude is not going to have the desired effect. Lightburst (talk) 03:58, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

@AndyTheGrump Undoubtedly, DYK has failed in other areas on occasion, but we can not handle every issue all at once. This RFC has a very specific focus. Please keep your examples limited to the specific topic area of this RFC. We are not looking at hooks that involve people who are dead, only those who are alive because the focus of this RFC is WP:BLP policy as it relates to WP:DYK. We have to keep the RFC. focused or it won't work and will be closed without any productive work being done. We can always look at another policy area in another RFC if it is needed. At this time, BLP issues have been the most consistent point of contention within the project which is why this RFC is needed. Best.4meter4 (talk) 18:58, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

As I stated above, it hasn't been established that Ayakannu Marithamuthu is actually dead. And both in 2013, and now, claiming, without proper sourcing that a named individual cooked another named individual in a curry to dispose of their body is clearly and unambiguously a WP:BLP violation. AndyTheGrump (talk) 19:10, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

There's a consensus in this discussion to only stick to recent evidence. Since Wikipedia runs by consensus, you're beholden to it. Viriditas (talk) 19:12, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

I see no evidence whatsoever that there has been any sort of discussion sufficient to reach such a 'consensus'. And if there has, it should probably be brought to the attention of the broader Wikipedia community, who may very well have a differing opinion as to what is or isn't relevant to a discussion on the sort of systemic issues that this thread was apparently created to tackle. If we can't discuss it here, perhaps we need to do so in an environment where certain individuals cannot reject evidence because they don't like it. AndyTheGrump (talk) 19:19, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks isn't conducive to an RFC. Old evidence isn't helping us. If you want to study a problem and find a potential solution, you first have to ask the right question based on a set of assumed values. The evidence cannot tell you if those values are good or bad, it can only help you arrive at a solution you already agree is useful or helpful. Old evidence doesn't get us any closer to this answer. The majority of the respondents to this discussion have asked you to provide current evidence only. I'm asking you as well. Viriditas (talk) 19:21, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

This is why we can't have nice things. Valereee (talk) 19:28, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Andy, I'm trying to assume good faith, but it feels like you're torpedoing this effort, which seriously is making me wonder whether your actual intent is to prove DYK problems can't be fixed. I'm really sorry to say this. I think you're a well-intentioned editor. But it feels like...well, almost sabotage. I'm sure if anything it's subconscious, I know you'd never actually want to do that. This editor seems to be making a good-faith effort. Valereee (talk) 19:42, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Actually, I believe BLP is kind of incidental here, and not the underlying issue. DYK has three major problems:

• QPQ reviewers sometimes do not check the article and hook for policy compliance
• Prep builders sometimes promote the hook to prep without checking for policy compliance, assuming the QPQ reviewer did their job
• Admins sometimes promote the prep to queue without checking for policy compliance, assuming the QPQ reviewer and prep builder have done their jobs.

When these three problems occur at the same time, errors slip through and we end up violating BLP, NPOV, copyrights or other core policies on the Main Page. Additional rules will not help as long as people skip the checks for rule compliance. —Kusma (talk) 19:15, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Everything you've said is true, but it ignores the fundamental question that has been asked in previous discussions up above, namely, are all nominations suitable for DYK? Because right now, the problem is that we default to approve, even if people don't think it should run, instead of to discard, of which there is no mechanism to facilitate such a decision other than letting it time out, which rarely happens. Viriditas (talk) 19:23, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

I think having strict timeout rules would make it a lot easier to remove bad noms (for any reason) and would be worth trying, but I do not anticipate this to become community consensus. —Kusma (talk) 20:33, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Kusma, I'd add a fourth reason:

• Some editors expect perfection.

A 1% rejection rate would result in one "bad" DYK hooks every ten days. A Six Sigma standard would allow one "bad" DYK hook every ten years. We probably want something in between these two, but where? And how do we make the perfectionists among us accept a level of imperfection? WhatamIdoing (talk) 20:42, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

• A different example of a BLP problem: Wikipedia_talk:Did_you_know/Archive_197#Pulled_Template:Did_you_know_nominations/HorsegiirL, which I pulled from prep because of a WP:BLPPRIVACY issue, see Talk:HorsegiirL. Things do not have to be "negative" to be a BLP issue at DYK. —Kusma (talk) 20:33, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

@Kusma This is a good point. I created an "other kinds" section for evidence. Please add that as an example to that section. Thanks.4meter4 (talk) 22:38, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

• The evidence categories seem too limited and debatable. For example, consider the case of Jimmy Carter who is remarkably still with us. In that case, several issues were raised at WP:ERRORS about a hook about him and multiple changes were made to the hook. That's often how it goes down – a discussion at WP:ERRORS and then a variety of possible outcomes. Pulling is not the only possibility. Andrew🐉(talk) 21:02, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

  Here's a list of cases from my records which I'll compile as I come across them:

1. Jimmy Carter
2. Killing of Sara-Nicole Morales
3. Murder of Alexis Sharkey
4. Mick Jagger
5. "35 people, including the President, First Lady, three senators, and a governor"

Andrew🐉(talk) 21:18, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

These probably belong in the tables above if we want people to consider them, rather than in "Other issues"? Valereee (talk) 22:04, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

@Andrew Davidson I created an "other kinds" of BLP violations section. Please add these. If there is another section you think we should create, I am open. This structure was not intended to limit us, I was just intending to get the ball rolling. If we need to expand (provided we stay focused on BLPs) we can. Thanks for participating.4meter4 (talk) 22:41, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

I'm just getting started and gathering the raw data should come before attempts to classify it. My current impression is that examples are easy to find and so it's just a matter of looking. I looked at the current DYK set and immediately found two examples which I have reported at WP:ERRORS. What happens there is usually quite haphazard so we'll see how it goes. These fresh examples indicates that DYK is paying no particular attention to whether the topic is a BLP or MEDRS matter. As these are both quite serious, the checklist or other processing templates should highlight these aspects for special scrutiny. Andrew🐉(talk) 07:18, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

These are instructive discussions, so here is a permanent link. There seems to be no general agreement as to what constitutes a "negative hook"; any attempts to outlaw these would require more precise language than "negative". Was the Andrew Tate hook negative? Or was it allowing him to advertise his misogynist agenda? Was it both? —Kusma (talk) 08:25, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

The big problem with WP:ERRORS is that it's ephemeral and doesn't maintain archives or any kind of project files. That's why I record some completed discussions in my personal archives but just those that I took an interest in.

DYK keeps archives of its discussions and trawling through those with keywords like "BLP" will probably yield many more examples. As these issues are quite subjective, it may be good for DYK to keep a list of controversial cases, like it keeps a list of hooks which did well.

Andrew🐉(talk) 10:45, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

The issue raised with the Tate hook wasn't initially that it was simply negative per say, but that it's a quote taken out of context or otherwise over-inflated. The wording of such has since been changed after discussion on the talk page, from quoting "absolutely a misogynist", to the widespread attribution from RS of being a self-described misogynist see diff.

It seems plausible that this wouldn't of been such an issue (or an issue at all) if non-quoted wording would of been applied. Even if would of been a clearly negative hook, it would of been a lot more due based on widespread description from RS, unlike the quote in question. The article itself doesn't paint Tate is a good light (per weight of RS), so not convinced this is good advertising for him, quite the opposite. I highly doubt that people read the wikipedia page, or even the summary, and it inspires them to become a follower or fan. It's more likely to put people off him than anything else. CommunityNotesContributor (talk) 13:22, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

@CommunityNotesContributor: The context doesn't make it any better. He frames sexism as a privilege for wealthy men who can't be "canceled". He goes from the quote to saying sexism is realism and attempts to provide examples of where men should not trust women, like as pilots, surgeons, to build the Suez canal, etc. He goes on to say that there is "no such thing as an independent female". He has recently described his past comments as part of a persona rather than his actual beliefs, but reliable sources quote from this interview as reflective of his positions,[23][24] call him a self-described misogynist,[25][26], and quote Joe Mulhall from Hope Not Hate that he is attempting to "totally rewrite his own history".[27][28]

The reason I upset feminists so much is because the typical feminist tactic is to cancel somebody, right, to come at somebody and call a misogynist and call them all these things and then that person loses their career or they or they're slandered. You can't slander me because I will state right now that I am absolutely sexist and I'm absolutely a misogynist and I have fuck you money and you can't take it away so I'll say what i want because I'm a realist and when you're a realist, you're sexist. There's no way you can be rooted in reality and not be sexist. If you're about to get on a plane and that plane's gonna fly through a hurricane and there's a 50 50 chance of it crashing and dying do you want a male pilot or a female pilot?
— "Andrew Tate Tells His Life Story," Jun 20, 2021, 1:26:31

Regards, Rjjⁱⁱⁱ (talk) 15:10, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

I think you somewhat missed my point here. I'm not arguing that the quote is out of context, I was referencing the initial issues raised with it being used at DKY (followed by at the BLP itself). I already argued that the quote is well within context on that article talk page as referenced. My point is that it was unnecessary and short-sighted to use the quote "absolutely a misogynist" that isn't widely referenced by RS, when the description of Tate as a "self-described misogynist" is referenced by several RS, per cite bundle. Then we don't need to argue over whether a quote is out of context or not, as we're not using it anymore. Notably ATG hasn't bothered to argue against attributing Tate to being "self-described as a misogynist" as a BLP vio, which is why I believe this controversy could have potentially been avoided, even with a negative hook. Hopefully that explains things better. CommunityNotesContributor (talk) 15:41, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

I did; thanks for the explanation, Rjjⁱⁱⁱ (talk) 05:36, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

Since I've been busy lately and missed the start of this fracas, I'm wondering just how much objection to this hook there was? Was it confined to the thread at AN/I initiated by ATG, or was it broader? Because if the former, I would suggest that this issue has been blown right out of proportion as the community at large appears to have greeted it with a shrug. Gatoclass (talk) 10:52, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

There was additionally this query at WP:ERRORS (basically a question about sourcing and whether Tate saying he has been quoted out of context means that any quotes of what Tate has said are unreliable). Overall, I think the community did not care much until ATG saw it as an opportunity to insult DYKers. —Kusma (talk) 11:20, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

• Comment. I have written an opening statement draft and added it above. If anyone cares to make suggestions on needed changes or possible improvements, let me know.4meter4 (talk) 16:00, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

I boldly added a sentence to WP:DYKBLP which I regard as spelling out what that section was unsuccessfully trying to say, but was reverted by @Theleekycauldron:. That could be a good starting point.--Launchballer 16:30, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

@Launchballer That new language could be a proposal to make during the RFC after the question discussions have been answered. You should present that as an idea in response to question 3. I am intentionally not making specific proposals or offering specific solutions in the opening statement. The opening statement is meant to identify and describe the problem, and set up a structure for the community to discuss the problem in order to arrive at a consensus over what may be working and what needs fixing, followed by brainstorming solutions, etc. Proposals then should come out of that discussion.4meter4 (talk) 18:58, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

• Comment. It's been quiet for a few days. So I started the RFC.4meter4 (talk) 14:55, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

"No BLP" rule

The following discussion 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.

---

• Adding this here for discussion because Andy and others are trying to propose it, so I'm just anticipating their future proposal. I can't say that I really oppose or support it, but I think we should start discussing it now rather than later. Viriditas (talk) 20:03, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

• I don't recall making any such proposal. AndyTheGrump (talk) 20:26, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

It would certainly get rid of a lot of articles about minor sportspeople or opera performers. —Kusma (talk) 20:27, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

While BLP-related DYKs have clearly been amongst the most problematic, I'm not sure this is necessarily the best approach. To me, the underlying systemic issues are often more to do with the 'how' than the 'what' when it comes to DYKs. The problem lies in the process, more than the subject matter. Poor sourcing, poor judgement, and what appears to be an overwhelming concern to get something on the main page at any cost - even without proper agreement as to what - can happen with any topic. So yes, BLP-related material absolutely needs to be treated with great care, and if DYK can't do that, it shouldn't be permitted to, but that won't make the remaining problems go away. AndyTheGrump (talk) 20:37, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

One of the biggest issues with DYK has always been the reluctance to reject nominations. We really should be more willing to do so if it's for a good reason (not necessarily BLP related), but most of us do not want to hurt editor feelings, and in several instances editors are reluctant to let their hooks be rejected without a fight. Indeed in some cases, nomination pages for articles that may not have been good fit for DYK ended up being longer than the article itself. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 23:49, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

As others have said, a blanket ban on BLPs on DYK will do more harm than good. Most BLP DYKs are uncontroversial and it would be overkill to throw the baby out of the bathwater, or to do something drastic just because of a few bad apples. It would be deeply unfair to ban DYKs just because of a handful of controversial cases, especially when in these cases the issues had more to do with a lack of proper enforcement of rules rather an issue with them being BLPs themselves. Banning BLPs should be an absolute last resort, not a first resort: instead we should focus on improving enforcement or trying other proposals like automatically timing-out stuck nominations. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 23:52, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

• This would be a sensible option in an omnibus RfC because it seems likely that some BLP-hawks might support it. The main complication is that almost any page is within the scope of BLP – not just biographies. The page just needs to involve living people in some way to qualify. Andrew🐉(talk) 21:07, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

• I sincerely hope a BLP topic ban isn't proposed. That seems a disproportionate response as the vast majority of hooks on BLPs are non-controversial. My hope is to see some limits placed on DYK in recognition of the challenges of meeting WP:BLPBALANCE within the DYK hook format. My own suggestion would be banning all negative hooks on BLPs. If we don't have something nice to say on a BLP we don't run it. It's as simple as that. A DYK hook doesn't have the space for contextualizing complex topics/controversies, displaying nuance, or providing balance within a single one sentence question.4meter4 (talk) 23:13, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

  I would oppose your simple suggestion "banning all negative hooks on BLPs", unless there is also wording that bans BLPs primarily focused on negative information about the subject altogether. I do not want to see us making happy feel-good hooks about bad people because hooks that more accurately represent those people are banned. —David Eppstein (talk) 23:33, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

David Eppstein You are welcome to propose that, and I can sympathize with that position. It may have been better to not run a hook on Tate for example, for that reason. That said, I'm not as concerned with presenting positive facts about people as I am negative ones because the risk of doing harm is not as high. I also have reservations about that as a policy because it provides a subjective moral judgment element into the review process. It's usually easy to identify a negative hook about a BLP, and making that call doesn't require that we evaluate whether the person is good or bad. It's harder the other way, where we have to evaluate is this a good person and do they deserve to be featured at DYK? I could see a lot of POV pushing and politics motivated decision making coming into play on this latter one, and that is concerning. I'm open to hearing more on that idea, but I have reservations on endorsing that within a DYK guideline. I would have to hear specifics on what that process would look like and how we prevent personal biases and politically motivated editors from sinking a DYK nom that probably should run. We have several editors with vehemently opposed ideas on the Palestine/Israel conflict active at DYK for example. I could see politics easily sabotaging a nom on a living Palestinian or Isaeli under that guideline in a way that wouldn't sit well with many people on both sides of that issue; particularly with the global increase in both islamaphobia and anti-semitism. I could even see someone like Minouche Shafik being labeled a "bad person" for political reasons. The potential for abuse within such a policy is pretty high which worries me. It smacks a bit too close to cancel culture which is not something I want to see endorsed at DYK. 4meter4 (talk) 00:55, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

The risk of doing harm to the article subject may not not high. The risk of triggering readers and of discrediting the encyclopedia as a whole is much higher. —David Eppstein (talk) 06:36, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

• Comment I oppose establishing any future restrictions. The system works fine now. --evrik ^(talk) 00:35, 16 May 2024 (UTC)
• I would also oppose any kind of BLP ban, if it came to that. Yes, this would theoretically solve some of the problems mentioned above, but it would also go overboard in that a large number of non-problematic BLPs would also be rejected (essentially, throwing the baby out with the bathwater). As mentioned by Andrew Davidson, such a ban could also be interpreted very broadly, to the extent that any article that talks about any living person might be subject to restrictions.
  I'd rather we try a much less drastic solution first. For example, perhaps we could allow reviewers to more easily reject BLP-violating hooks. – Epicgenius (talk) 00:54, 16 May 2024 (UTC)
• I have no objection to anyone closing this thread. My purpose was to investigate the window of applicable and acceptable discourse on the proposed proscriptive approach to dealing with BLP issues on DYK. This small sample of community discussion shows that the range is narrow and that contrary to the opinions of others expressed elsewhere, there is little perceived support for a "No BLP" rule. While a larger sample may show otherwise, I want to thank those who participated. Viriditas (talk) 08:05, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

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.

• Comment: Uh, wait, bring back that proposal. I absolutely support a BLP ban at DYK. In general I think DYK has a quality issue, which includes boring, promotional, and inappropriately negative hooks about living people. I mean, the boring issue spans a lot of topics. But yes, let's ban BLPs—they are often of very low quality, and generate too many issues. Zanahary (talk) 07:54, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

• Zanahary, you will need to address the specific objections up above to continue the discussion. Otherwise, it’s just going around in circles. Feel free to reopen the discussion as a new community-wide RFC if you can make a proposal that takes those objections into account and counters them. Viriditas (talk) 08:16, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

  I think it is worth putting up "no BLPs" as a possible option in the RfC that is being drafted. I would certainly prefer this to a possible proposal of "all BLP related hooks must promote all of the BLPs in the hook" or "no BLP related hooks may contain content that can be perceived as negative". That said, I still believe the focus on BLPs is entirely misplaced and the whole premise of this discussion is wrong. The main issues of fact checking/policy compliance and sensationalism/neutrality affect all articles, and BLPs already tend to attract more scrutiny. —Kusma (talk) 09:34, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

  Agreed. Zanahary, this is the best way forward. Viriditas (talk) 20:37, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

• That "often" and "too many" are doing a lot of heavy lifting. I'd prefer to see statistics and examples. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 13:11, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

• Comment. DYK has quality controls on the articles it promotes, so I think it would be impossible to successfully make the argument that BLPs featured at DYK are consistently of poor quality, promotional, and use "poor sourcing". We require inline citations throughout to reliable sources per WP:Verifiability standards, no copyright infringement, a reasonable level of completeness, neutral point of view, encyclopedic tone, etc. Granted, many of them may be short and not at GA or FA standard, but they do tend to be much better than articles that don't go through some sort of submission process, and are usually better than those that go through draft review. I'm concerned that the comments here seem to be motivated not from a place of helpful critique, but derision of DYK, which to my mind is not the right attitude to have going into an RFC. If your goal is to discredit, dismantle. or damage DYK (which is what it sounds like when the hard work of hundreds of volunteers are dismissed as "poor", "boring" and "promotional") then it doesn't sound like you are coming into this with the desire to work with others and be collaborative. This is counter to the stated goal of the RFC, which is to assist DYK and its editors in doing its work as it relates to BLP policy.4meter4 (talk) 22:44, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

  For the record, I do agree with Zanahary that too many hooks are boring and promotional, but given the nature of open society (surprisingly, many people have a problem with this idea, particularly in the regressive era we are in now) I expect a certain number of hooks to be boring and promotional because we are part of a democratic tradition that allows these things to exist. I don't expect that comment will go over well with many people, but there is a lot of philosophy behind it, and not enough space to go into it here. Suffice it to say that I do not personally believe things like interestingness are entirely objective, and the promotional opportunity of the DYK space is difficult to completely close to all disciplines (people will always have new music, books, films, etc.) As for inappropriately negative hooks, I agree with others that I do not see this as a concern, but I understand and acknowledge that others do. Viriditas (talk) 23:03, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

I can definitely understand those critiques, but I don't think they are related to the current problem being examined. "Interestingness" as a concept is subjective, and it isn't an issue that is BLP specific or related in any way to BLP policy. In general I find people who complain about being bored are in that state for reasons other than the actual "interestingness" of a particular topic. For example, I find almost all sports related hooks boring because I have almost no interest in professional or college sports. I therefore am intelligent enough to recognize when reviewing a sports hook that just because I find some piece of sports trivia boring, doesn't mean that it is in fact boring to other readers. In general, people with wider interests, and more curious minds tend to find more hooks interesting, and are less likely to complain of boredom.

As for promotion, that too is a wider topic not limited to BLPs. We have notability guidelines for products like films, books, etc. which aid us in minimizing promotion, and writing content is a way appropriate for an encyclopedia. For example Madame Web (2024) is a recent film which I don't think anyone could say we are promoting given the large number of negative opinions in the criticism section. Just because something is a product doesn't mean that it isn't encyclopedic or that its content is inherently promotional. I get that the proposed limitations being placed on BLPs in terms of negative content may impact issues of promotion and that will be a point raised at the RFC. I am expecting that. I would argue though, that we have a responsibility to place negative content on BLPs in context, and with appropriate nuance, for ethical reasons enshrined in BLP policy which is something that can't be done in a 200 character hook. I would also argue that not all non-negative hooks are inherently promotional (in fact most aren't). It's a false argument to state that they are, because many interesting verifiable facts are neither positive or negative and are entirely neutral and non-promotional. 4meter4 (talk) 00:41, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

I laughed out loud when you brought up Madame Web. Made it through an agonizing five minutes and then had to turn it off. Did they intentionally try to make a bad film? It sure feels like it. Viriditas (talk) 02:44, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

Older nominations needing DYK reviewers

The previous list of older nominations was archived several hours ago, so I've created a new list of 36 nominations that need reviewing in the Older nominations section of the Nominations page, covering everything through May 7. We have a total of 231 nominations, of which 116 have been approved, a gap of 115 nominations that has increased by 10 over the past 9 days. Thanks to everyone who reviews these and any other nominations.

• April 5: Template:Did you know nominations/Tachikawa Sumito
• April 21: Template:Did you know nominations/The Sign (Bluey)
• April 25: Template:Did you know nominations/DarkZero Esports
• April 26: Template:Did you know nominations/Ilie Purcaru
• April 27: Template:Did you know nominations/Travis Glover
• April 27: Template:Did you know nominations/Lev Gatovsky
• April 28: Template:Did you know nominations/Travis Clayton
• April 28: Template:Did you know nominations/Delta (emulator)
• April 28: Template:Did you know nominations/The Days of '98 Show
• April 29: Template:Did you know nominations/Jarrett Kingston
• April 29: Template:Did you know nominations/Eurovision Song Contest 1991
• April 29: Template:Did you know nominations/Camping in Alaska
• April 30: Template:Did you know nominations/Hae Nang Maew
• April 30: Template:Did you know nominations/Claude Hamilton Verity (two articles)
• April 30: Template:Did you know nominations/Sebastian Zouberbuhler (two articles)
• April 30: Template:Did you know nominations/Larmanjat guided rail system
• May 2: Template:Did you know nominations/Peter Demetz
• May 2: Template:Did you know nominations/Peewee Jarrett
• May 2: Template:Did you know nominations/Casey Washington
• May 2: Template:Did you know nominations/Bar Kokhba refuge caves
• May 2: Template:Did you know nominations/Jordynn Dudley
• May 3: Template:Did you know nominations/Julius Welschof
• May 4: Template:Did you know nominations/Aurora Gaming (two articles)
• May 4: Template:Did you know nominations/C. J. Hanson
• May 5: Template:Did you know nominations/Alas! and Did My Saviour Bleed
• May 5: Template:Did you know nominations/Adnan al-Bursh
• May 5: Template:Did you know nominations/El-Jai cave
• May 5: Template:Did you know nominations/Professor Layton and the New World of Steam
• May 6: Template:Did you know nominations/Animal stereotypes of Jews in Palestinian discourse
• May 6: Template:Did you know nominations/Chronotropic incompetence
• May 6: Template:Did you know nominations/Jwaneng diamond mine
• May 6: Template:Did you know nominations/Homeworld: Vast Reaches
• May 6: Template:Did you know nominations/Mrs. Brisby
• May 7: Template:Did you know nominations/Kefah Ali Deeb
• May 7: Template:Did you know nominations/The Star Beast (Doctor Who)
• May 7: Template:Did you know nominations/Toro de fuego

Please remember to cross off entries, including the date, as you finish reviewing them (unless you're asking for further review), even if the review was not an approval. Please do not remove them entirely. Many thanks! BlueMoonset (talk) 01:07, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

Template:Did you know nominations/Han Bong-zin

I'd appreciate if another user could chime in at Template:Did you know nominations/Han Bong-zin, regarding whether the hooks are sufficiently interesting. Thanks, BeanieFan11 (talk) 13:17, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

The hooks relating to the North Korean government/media seem interesting to me, but there seems to be a notability question separate to that. CMD (talk) 13:54, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

@Chipmunkdavis: I think I sufficiently addressed the notability question in my comment there, FWIW. BeanieFan11 (talk) 14:04, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

@BeanieFan11: You still need the QPQ. --evrik ^(talk) 15:49, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

BeanieFan has seven nominations with QPQ outstanding at WP:DYKN, a couple of which are almost a week old. I have previously suggested that they do their QPQs when nominating so that other editors don't have to ping them on every nomination, but they seem unwilling. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 15:52, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

QPQ added. Its not that I'm "unwilling" to do QPQs with the nominations, but more that I've got too much I've written currently to do all the QPQs immediately. BeanieFan11 (talk) 16:14, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

You might try doing the opposite. I do the QPQs before any nomination, and that leaves me with too many QPQs so that when I eventually do have a nomination, I don't have your problem. If you have seven nominations with outstanding QPQs, you're holding up the reviewers, so do the QPQs before the nominations in the future. Viriditas (talk) 19:29, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

@Chipmunkdavis, Evrik, AirshipJungleman29, and Viriditas: The reviewer also questioned the reliability of the Liverpool Daily Post (see further discussion at nom). Would either of you be willing to give thoughts on whether it is reliable? BeanieFan11 (talk) 00:35, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Done. Viriditas (talk) 00:46, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

List of pulled hooks

I think 4meter4 is right that the first step towards reform is the collection of data. One of DYK's problems, it seems to me, is that it has no institutional memory. Yesterday's errors are literally wiped from the record each morning. Any time serious concerns are raised, there's always someone to characterise the situation as a one-off event, a statistical anomaly. And it may well appear that way to each individual editor, but that's only because there are no logs kept that might provide a bigger-picture view.

As just one data point, then, I've revived a long-defunct process and created Wikipedia:Did you know/Removed/2023–24, which lists all the hooks that have been pulled from the Main Page in the past year and a half. Hopefully some among you will find it useful. Sojourner in the earth (talk) 20:46, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

Your preliminary results lend weight to Kusma's hypothesis up above, namely that BLP is incidental and not the issue. It also shows that the main problem is basic fact checking, not NPOV. Viriditas (talk) 20:54, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

I agree with that. BLP violations are the most harmful manifestation of the problem, so I understand why some want to focus on that specifically, but the question to be asking is not what kind of hooks are appropriate, but why bad hooks get through. Sojourner in the earth (talk) 21:13, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

An uncomfortable part of that question is "who lets bad hooks through?", which would need to be compared to the reviewer/prep builder/promoter's overall output (looking at hooks pulled from prep or queue by admins would also be interesting and give a larger sample size). Another question to ask is what kind of error rate (and what type of errors) are acceptable. All kinds of websites, be it newspapers or encyclopaedias, get things wrong occasionally, for some value of "occasionally". —Kusma (talk) 22:46, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

I saw someone somewhere on the project said that an issue they saw was that we have no coordinator; like nobody is captain of the ship so everyone is trying to steer. Another issue someone raised somewhere (sorry to many discussions going) is that we have up to 18 separate hooks promoted a day and no other other main page project does that. So many individual hooks, articles and sources to check. Also every article is from anywhere in the world and on every subject imaginable from cartoons to cartographers. At errors editors are sometimes not pinged. Errors has no archive as Sojourner in the earth has said, any errors are literally wiped from the record each morning.

Maybe we go back to 8 hooks or 7 seven. If we worry about filling empty space we could promote two image hooks? I am just highlighting a few observations that can help explain slips and maybe a way to slow us down. I have previously highlighted that we are either sprinting (two sets a day) or walking (one set a day). We never jog and the eighteen hour set idea is always waved off as not a viable option. Bruxton (talk) 01:59, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

A few observations and thoughts:

• Even good publishers make errors. Our goal can't be zero errors, or it becomes unachievable and folks walk away.
• A list of pulled hooks is a great idea. Is there any way we could automate that so it just happens?
• Are DYK noms more or less likely to violate a policy or guideline? At a glance, it seems they are less likely to be bogus but more likely to be scrutinized. DYK nominations are at the very least more heavily cited than the average article. For all the problems the process may have, it would never, for example, pass the largely uncited gang articles like Simon City Royals or Spanish Cobras to the main page.
• When building preps, I encounter approved nominations with issues. I usually leave some kind of comment and move on. Is that the norm? This seems like a great place to introduce scrutiny.
• Template:DYK symbol list and the nomination header offers several options to tag comments ranging from approving to rejecting the hook. Could we come up with some kind of alternative to and ? These are used to indicate issues that don't fail the nomination but require work on the article or clarification. Could we have one for more serious issues () or change how is treated. I'm thinking of something that could flag major issues on a nomination that will somehow autofail it if not addressed within a week.
• I don't think this is BLP-specific or editor-specific issue. Check out the nominations and reviews from a prolific editor who was blocked for ongoing plagiarism:[29]

Rjjⁱⁱⁱ (talk) 02:31, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

I do not think a coordinator is the way to go. We need more people to take some responsibility, not a few people with more responsibility. We need better QPQ reviews, and we need to either (a) make it easy and common for prep builders to send noms back for further review and discussion or (b) automatically time out and reject hooks that multiple prep builders have not used although given the opportunity.

At all stages, it needs to be easier to reject hooks, and rejections should be more common. —Kusma (talk) 10:08, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Making it easier to reject nominations is almost a perennial proposal for DYK but it never happens because editors don't want to hurt other editors' feelings. Understandable but one can argue that this sentiment is doing more harm than good. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 23:37, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

That is why I am advocating for time-out rules: instead of having one editor explicitly reject a nomination (at whatever stage), the DYK community would collectively reject a nom by not processing it and just waiting for it to time out. I would like for us to not spend ages arguing over questionable hooks, but have an option to give up on a nom. —Kusma (talk) 06:48, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

I think that's a great idea; if a hook nom is just not getting any attention one way or the other (beyond perhaps QPQ) then maybe that's a sign it's not meant for the main page. JoelleJay (talk) 16:58, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

Kusma at the moment, the top nomination at WP:DYKNA has been sitting there for ten days; I haven't promoted it because I don't feel it meets standards, the nominator disagrees, and I think other promoters concur with me. It was nominated on February 28, and has been twice pulled from prep. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 17:19, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

...[W]e have up to 18 separate hooks promoted a day and no other main page project does that. So many individual hooks, articles and sources to check. Also every article is from anywhere in the world and on every subject imaginable from cartoons to cartographers.

This is the Fundamental DYK Problem. Wikipedia doesn't have the human resources necessary to vet that many hooks every day in such a wide variety of topic areas. Until this problem is addressed, any other reforms are just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

Maybe we go back to 8 hooks or 7 seven.

That's still too many for the available resources, but it would be a significant step toward reducing errors, perhaps by half.

The way to fix this is to use evidence-based decision-making; i.e. objectively measure performance, and then appropriately throttle the system so the number of hooks is not more than the review system can handle. Set key performance indicators (KPIs) like "all queues and all preps should be filled at all times," and "99% WP:ERRORS-free," i.e., less than 1 out of 100 "bad" hooks get through. (Maybe shoot for 99.9%, or 1/1,000.) So cut down the number of hooks drastically to something like 5 per day and run it for two weeks or a month to make sure DYK hits those KPIs (all queues and preps filled every day; less than 1% bad hooks get through), then increase it to 6/day, then 7/day, etc., until KPIs start slipping, and then we'll know how many hooks DYK can have while still hitting its KPIs. Levivich (talk) 19:37, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

According to the data above, our "pulled at ERRORS" rate is something like 5/1000. But DYK is more than its error rate; it also aims for audience engagement (can be measured by clickthrough rates) and to encourage Wikipedians to create more new articles of a minimum standard (harder to measure). —Kusma (talk) 20:12, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Good point, click thru (reader engagement) and "more first-time noms than last month" (editor engagement) could be KPIs. Levivich (talk) 20:19, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Reducing editor time wasted arguing with each other would be a better one. —Kusma (talk) 06:37, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

That would also improve if the volume did not exceed capacity as it currently does. Levivich (talk) 16:18, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

Considering that we only switched to nine-hook sets two months ago (i.e. before all but the top four hooks in that removed list) I highly doubt that errors would be reduced by half if we reduced the number of hooks. But that's not all, because between 26 March–15 April we were running 12-hour sets (i.e. 18 (!) hooks per day) and that period had 0 hooks pulled. That's one hell of a performance indicator. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 23:58, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

That's great, but it's also three weeks, which is a small sample size. When I say errors reduced by half, I'm thinking over the course of like a year. And I didn't mean WP:ERRORS, I meant all errors, including those caught at the queue, prep, and nom levels. Levivich (talk) 16:16, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

Figuring out how many of those we have in a year is a rather massive research project. I am not sure it is worth any DYK volunteer time (a rather limited resource). —Kusma (talk) 16:38, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

It's not a research project at all, unless you're talking about past error rate, and past error rate data would be of little use going forward. However, tracking errors going forward, on an ongoing basis, would be a good use of time, as would reviewing the data on a regular basis, and making adjustments to the process as needed. Levivich (talk) 21:11, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

Wouldn't it be easier to just write a monthly "error report" and scrape the data every 30 days? Viriditas (talk) 23:17, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

Yeah, that's the kind of ongoing error tracking I had in mind. Levivich (talk) 23:26, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

Are all the errors reported in one place? It looks like they are split between ERRORS and this talk page. Viriditas (talk) 23:32, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

Idk but some (most?) errors caught by prep and queue builders are probably just dealt with on the nom pages and don't get reported anywhere else. Levivich (talk) 00:36, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

It should be expected that errors will be caught in prep, that's part of the process. But if a system is developed to track pulls from the Main Page, it should also include pulls from queue. Hooks in the queue have already been signed off by three reviewers and the rest is left to the bot, so it's a sheer fluke if someone spots an error in the queue before it hits the Main Page. Sojourner in the earth (talk) 15:50, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

We need more eyes on the queues. Or improve the quality and independence of the three reviews. (I would prefer a system with two thorough and dependable reviews to three sloppy ones). —Kusma (talk) 17:15, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

Re: An uncomfortable part of that question is "who lets bad hooks through?" is indeed uncomfortable, but maybe it needs to be faced. I hate to do anything that makes it less appealing to do the work, and I wouldn't want to handle it in a way that shamed people, but it's actually valuable feedback to those who are letting errors through because it allows us to learn and adjust. Valereee (talk) 13:52, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

Wow, great work, @Sojourner in the earth, thank you for pulling that together.

Given that there were only two hooks pulled for BLP vios in nearly a year and a half, maybe a simple solution would be that all hooks with any negative content about a BLP, target or not require a discussion here plus notification of that discussion at WP:BLPN? That wouldn't seem like it would overburden anyone, and it would help alleviate non-regulars' concerns that DYK is a walled garden. Valereee (talk) 13:47, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

@Valereee: If we want a BLP-focussed approach, we could explicitly put a "BLP compliance check" into the nom template and force reviewers to comment on any BLP aspects, no matter whether the article is a biography or not; such a check could possibly involve BLPN if there is any doubt. I do not think "negative" is the right focus, though. Consider the very fresh I'm really excited about the opening of Tuen Ma line (nom): nothing about the hook is negative, but there is a possibility that further wide dissemination of this meme will lead to more harrassment of an autistic young man. I am mentioning this here because protecting people from unintended meme attention is part of the early history and the DNA of BLP as much as the Seigenthaler incident was: Jimbo legendarily unilaterally deleted Brian Peppers (see List of Internet phenomena if you do not know about him) back in 2006, and the real name of the Star Wars Kid was kept out of the article for many years. —Kusma (talk) 09:52, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

I think that's a good idea. Valereee (talk) 13:33, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

And re: Tuen Ma. @S5A-0043, I'm kind of thinking the same as Kusma. This kid has been doxxed, had his phone number posted online, and had to shut down his Facebook. I'm a bit uncomfortable about the article, even. Valereee (talk) 13:44, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

I made a comment at the nom page. Perhaps the article should just be merged into Tuen Ma line, but I do not know enough about current Hong Kong internet trends to know whether the meme is notable enough for a standalone article. —Kusma (talk) 16:09, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

I'm not convinced this is the right approach. DYK has often been criticized for excessive bureaucracy, needing to involve an entirely different board for theoretically multiple nominations a month would just add to the right approach. The issue has always been more of quality assurance and enforcement rather than our processes themselves. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 10:11, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

We've had two pulled in the past year and a half, and then this Tate one that wasn't pulled but started this whole discussion. Are you saying we're running multiple negative BLPs a month that aren't generating opposition? Valereee (talk) 13:36, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

No, I was thinking we can just do our regular processes. A WT:DYK discussion is sensible and probably even encouraged. Involving BLPN, especially making it mandatory, seems overkill. At most it could be considered an option but more of a case-by-case thing. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 14:35, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

We're criticized for bureaucracy, and we're criticized for lack of transparency. Personally I'd rather increase the transparency, even at the expense of more bureaucracy. Honestly we can't even get people to ping nominators when they raise a question here or make a change in prep, even though we've repeatedly begged them to do so. BEGGED. Some just won't do it, for whatever reason. Should we start nagging, to which they can respond, "I'm not actually required to do that"? Is that better than simply making a rule?

It's our regular processes that those not involved in them are criticizing. We keep saying we need to increase quality assurance and enforcement, but we repeatedly exhibit reluctance to do it because we might hurt a nominator's feelings or have people think their work reviewing/promoting has been wasted.

I think notifying BLPN of discussions of BLPs that may be of interest to them would help make our processes, which often seem opaque even to regular nominators, seem less so. It might help with the perception the project is a walled garden, which would be a positive. And it's a pretty small job to open a section at BLPN and place a link. I feel like bringing the Tate to the attention of BLPN would have prevented a lot of drama. Valereee (talk) 16:37, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

I don't know if it helps, but I've copied a couple of sentences from WP:DYKTRIM to Template:Editnotices/Page/Template:Did you know/Preparation area.--Launchballer 17:21, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

What happened to these edits?

Wondering what happened. I saw that edits have been suppressed? I noticed this because my own contributions showed similar. If this was private feel free to email me or ignore me. Bruxton (talk) 22:39, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

I was wondering that. I guess it's in the nature of oversighted edits that you don't get to know what or why... It's a shame to lose attribution and history on such a large chunk of edits to this page, but if the functionaries feel it's necessary then so be it.  — Amakuru (talk) 23:18, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

Indeed it was, and the loss of talk page history is not very important in comparison. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 23:35, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

Yes, I was just thinking I had inadvertently done something until I saw many more edits were suppressed on WT:DYK. I was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Bruxton (talk) 00:19, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Go to the first instance. That should explain it. Viriditas (talk) 00:37, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

I've never seen anything quite like that. --evrik ^(talk) 02:11, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

It’s pretty common on the noticeboards. Viriditas (talk) 07:47, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Wow, that's a huge amount. I'm trying to follow it...Barkeep49, was that your edit? Valereee (talk) 17:14, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

I'm guessing my response is going to feel pretty unsatisfying. On a procedural matter, it's not always possible to reveal who performed specific suppression. In this case I'm ok confirming I did the suppression which happened after a user notified me. I consulted with another member of the oversight team before doing so and we both agreed suppression was appropriate. As noted suppression at noticeboards always are unfortunate and difficult when not caught ASAP given the number of edits they end up including. At least for me this did include consideration of the amount of time/edits that happened prior to suppression. Beyond this I'm not really able to say much. Barkeep49 (talk) 17:25, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

No worries, just thought such a huge suppression was worth asking about. Valereee (talk) 17:32, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

Prep 6

Two same subject matter hooks in Prep 6

I thought we may want to separate two related hooks in Prep 6 Looks like @Launchballer: added the second one with Special:Diff/1224285221 about Billie Eilish who wrote a song about lesbian sex. There was already a song about a queer anthem in the set. I know this happens when three editors build a set, so I posted it here rather than undo anything. Bruxton (talk) 04:33, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Nxdia is one of mine, so I knew she was there. WP:DYKVAR says two such hooks are allowed, so what I did was technically fine. However, with the benefit of hindsight, most of the views interested in that are probably going to go to Eilish, so I've kicked her back.--Launchballer 10:14, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

26 May

is Trinity Sunday this year. I created an article about a church dedicated to the Trinity, because it was a red link in a recent deaths article. It then occurred to me that it would be sort of quirky to have a DYK about it on Trinity Sunday, which is in eight days, or rather almost seven, Template:Did you know nominations/Trinitatiskirche, Wolfenbüttel. If you agree please review fast and have room for it in prep, pictured preferred because it looks unusual for a church ;) - I am not married to the hook but think it matches the unusual looks. -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:14, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

• The article has been reviewed. @Launchballer and AirshipJungleman29: This affects Template:Did you know/Preparation area 6. --evrik ^(talk) 16:13, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

@Evrik: You sure about that? Prep 6 is 27 May, and the request is for the 26th. (The lead hook of prep 6 is a church, and there should not be two adjacent churches in the lead slot - but there is my Boyz Unlimited hook in prep 5, which I'm happy to move.)--Launchballer 16:24, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

@Launchballer: Math are hard. As long as you see this request, that's what is important. :-) --evrik ^(talk) 16:27, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

Promoted. I will say that if you're going to put 'a palace' in the hook, the article should probably include the word 'palace', which I've now added.--Launchballer 16:44, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

Noted. --evrik ^(talk) 17:10, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

Queue 1

Philomena Franz

@Lajmmoore, AirshipJungleman29, and Launchballer: I'm having trouble verifying the hook fact. The source talks about her various experiences, and says that she wrote an autobiography, but doesn't explicitly say that those experiences are covered in her book. It's reasonable to assume they are, but that's not what the source actually says. RoySmith (talk) 19:34, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Hello @RoySmith - thanks for picking this up de:Zwischen Liebe und Hass describes the plot of book, and that it includes these things. Of course that can't be used as a reference to the page, but can the book itself be the reference? I left it out initially Lajmmoore (talk) 19:50, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

I'm not very familiar with our sourcing rules when it comes to book plots, so I'll leave that to somebody else to answer. RoySmith (talk) 20:01, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Plot sections about fiction are generally exempt from our guidelines on sourcing, but this is not the case for nonfiction books. If the hook is from the autobiography itself, I guess simply citing the book itself and the page number would be enough. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 23:35, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Live into 85

@AirshipJungleman29, Launchballer, and Sammi Brie: The article says "sexually assaulted", which got turned into "groped" in the hook. Not quite the same thing. RoySmith (talk) 19:40, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Didn't think there was a difference, but the source says "groped", so I've adjusted the article.--Launchballer 19:48, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

One is a subset of the other. Thanks for the adjustment. RoySmith (talk) 19:49, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

@AirshipJungleman29, @Launchballer, @Sammi Brie, @RoySmith -- the hook is

• ... that over the course of Live into 85, John Grieve forgot his lines, Chic Murray spent his set berating the floor manager, and Maggie Moone was groped mid-performance?

Moone is still alive. I think we need a discussion about negative content in a BLP, here. It's in Queue 1, which is up next. Valereee (talk) 14:01, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

I had a similar thought when I reviewed this, but decided it was adequately sourced so OK. However, if somebody else is also thinking it's a problem, then it's a problem and needs to get fixed or pulled. RoySmith (talk) 14:10, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

... that the Hogmanay special Live into 85 was sufficiently shambolic for the BBC to promise that the following year's offering would be free from bagpipes, accordions, and kilts?

... that the Hogmanay special Live into 85 was so shambolic that it ended a 32-year tradition?--Launchballer 14:21, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

I've swapped to P4. Valereee (talk) 14:28, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

It's in prep 2, and right now queue 1 has three adjacent bios.--Launchballer 14:37, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

I think the second of those hooks works well, if anyone wants to slip it in. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 15:41, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

Note that the hook is now in a different prep area, as there was a TV hook, a film hook, and a theatre hook in prep 2.--Launchballer 15:46, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

Amie Parnes

@Launchballer, Juxlos, and Pac-Man PHD: This is a WP:BLP citing tweets for biographical information. That's pretty dubious. Surely some better sources could be found? RoySmith (talk) 19:45, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Both uses (birthdate and birthplace) comply with WP:ABOUTSELF.--Launchballer 19:52, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

One tweet says "There are a million of those on Calle Ocho. I was born here :)", the other, "For my covid birthday today, I’m putting on a fresh pair of pants." I don't see how those support the stated facts. RoySmith (talk) 20:14, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Okay, so I just checked the Calle Ocho tweet, and 'here' appears to be a reply to another tweet, which isn't there any more. I've taken it out. "April 15" refers to "today" on a tweet posted on 15 April, and the other source gives her age as 35 in October 2013, which is permissible per WP:CALC.--Launchballer 20:33, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Are we supposed to assume that "covid birthday" means "actual birthday during covid lockdowns"? It could and maybe even likely does mean that but this medium is so terse and fluid that it's hard to be sure. Also, when I view the tweet, I see its date as "5:33 AM · Apr 15, 2020". Do we know what time zone it was when it was posted? Do we know whether that's the same as the time zone shown? Do we know whether the poster thought of that time as being late at night on one day or early in the morning on the next day? That's why we need better sources for this sort of thing. —David Eppstein (talk) 20:42, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Or "covid birthday" could be "the anniversary of when I got covid". I see https://wikibiography.in/amie-parnes-wiki-bio/ says "15th of April 1977", as does https://www.marathi.tv/amie-parnes/. https://wikinetworth.com/politician/amie-parnes-wiki-bio-age-married-husband-education.html says April 19. I don't count any of those as WP:RS, but neither do I count guessing what some tweet really means to be a RS. I agree with David; we need better sourcing for this. RoySmith (talk) 20:55, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Cut, and merged the rest of that section per WP:OVERSECTION. It won't mean "anniversary of when I got COVID" as it wasn't really a thing in April 2019.--Launchballer 21:01, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Queue 2

Jonathan Stoklosa

@BeanieFan11, TonyTheTiger, and AirshipJungleman29:

The source link used to verify this hook is broken, and I could not find an archived link. Is there another source that can verify this? Z1720 (talk) 02:04, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

• @Z1720: The same text should be here. BeanieFan11 (talk) 02:09, 19 May 2024 (UTC)
• I suggest making the bolded links include less text, to avoid the WP:SEAOFBLUE effect. RoySmith (talk) 01:16, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

• I moved some words out of the links, but I think there will always be a little bit of SEAOFBLUE unless someone proposes alternate phrasing. Z1720 (talk) 02:11, 22 May 2024 (UTC)
  • @Z1720: I don't think that looks better; hooks of that type will inherently be SEAOFBLUE (see similar ones such as Template:Did you know nominations/Patricia Kenworthy Nuckols and Talk:George B. Chadwick at Wikipedia:Did you know/Multiple Article Hook Hall of Fame) – why should, for example, in the statement "include a man with Down syndrome who has lifted 425 pounds (193 kg)", we only link "who has lifted 425 pounds"? One option would be to delink the "the"'s and "a"'s to be something like this:
    • that the 2024 inductees to the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame include a man with Down syndrome who has lifted 425 pounds (193 kg) (pictured), an "average gymnast" turned Olympics judge, a "preeminent sportswriter", the state's "greatest high hurdler", the "inventor" of the modern sports mascot, a record-setting 10-year-old, a champion gymnast, an Olympic field hockey player, and a pro baseball player in five countries?
  • I think that or the previous hook would be better than the changes that were made. Thoughts? (Hoping to make this quick as we've got an hour and 40 minutes till publication). BeanieFan11 (talk) 22:19, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

• I changed it to the one above. Z1720 (talk) 22:21, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

• Thanks! BeanieFan11 (talk) 22:23, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

Unreviewed backlog mode

Over at WP:QPQ we discuss "unreviewed backlog mode." Can we create some sort of shortcut that points to that passage? --evrik ^(talk) 02:41, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

I have created a shortcut with the title "DYKUBM". If others would like to use a different shortcup, feel free to ping me. Z1720 (talk) 16:28, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

I will have a tallcup please. :) Bruxton (talk) 18:44, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

Thank you. --evrik ^(talk) 15:52, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

QPQ tool

This is really a quibble about a specific tool, rather than about the DYK process itself. I noticed that the QPQ tool doesn't show any DYK credits for me after February 2024.

The last nomination shown on that tool is Template:Did you know nominations/Henry Clay Frick House, which is a nomination by another user a decade ago. My nomination of the article is a DYK rerun, at Template:Did you know nominations/Henry Clay Frick House (2nd nomination). After that, it seems like none of my DYKs from March, April, or May are displayed on the tool. However, it seems that the tool works correctly for other users with nominations from the past three months.

I forgot who maintains this tool, so I'm posting here in case anyone knows who can fix it. – Epicgenius (talk) 01:34, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

It also doesn't show any credits for me from before the start of this year.--Launchballer 22:21, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

Based on the toolhub info, it is maintained by Sohom Datta (github repo) who I assume is Sohomdatta. RoySmith (talk) 22:57, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

Or Sohom Datta, one of the two.--Launchballer 23:38, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

That me. I'll take a look once I reach a compute. Sohom (talk) 23:55, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

I've applied a quick fix for the issues surround the fact that it did not report credits from the last few months. (We were caching a response from 3 months ago Facepalm) Wrt to the misattributed DYKs, I will need to take a far deeper look. Sohom (talk) 01:31, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

Empty queues

@DYK admins: All the queues are empty. --evrik ^(talk) 00:08, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

Lunch (song)

Template:Did you know nominations/Lunch (song)

@User:Launchballer@User:PSA@User:Prince of Erebor

Currently in prep 7. Hook doesn't appear to be neutral. If I'm reading the sources correctly Eilish is rejecting the term outing which the hook uses.©Geni (talk) 05:35, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

My reading of the sources is that Eilish is objecting to actually being outed; if she had a problem with the term, she wouldn't have used it in the Instagram post mentioned in the Background section.--Launchballer 14:30, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

From what I read in the source [30], she said "i like boys and girls leave me alone about it please literally who cares." so I am not sure focussing on her sexuality (instead of on the song) is appropriate for the Main Page. —Kusma (talk) 14:46, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

"... that Billie Eilish included a song about lesbian sex on her third album?"--Launchballer 14:58, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

Queue 5

Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud

• ... that the "beef" between Kendrick Lamar and Drake (both pictured) dates back to the 2013 song "Control"?

@Cadenrock1, Evrik, and PrimalMustelid:

While "Control" is the first song listed in the article, I could not find in the article where it explicitly states that it started with "Control", and the GQ source used in the DYK nomination suggests that the feud started with "Like That". Can this be clarified?

Also, the following sentence needs a citation: "It also mocks Lamar's short stature of 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 meters)." Z1720 (talk) 13:49, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

• I added the citation. --evrik ^(talk) 16:01, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

• @Z1720: This is what GQ says, "but the collaborative vibes stopped a year later, after Drake was one of the many peers Kendrick named in his timeline-stopping, call-to-arms verse on Big Sean’s “Control." I think that should be good enough to let this go forward. --evrik ^(talk) 16:09, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

The Skeptical Environmentalist

@Arcahaeoindris, Sdkb, and PrimalMustelid:

The following text in the article is a quote, but does not have a citation:

• "Lomborg designated the report "one of the best-researched and academically most ambitious environmental policy publications," but criticized it for using short-term trends to predict disastrous consequences, in cases where long-term trends would not support the same conclusions."

Also, the following needs a citation:

• "The charges stated that The Skeptical Environmentalist contained deliberately misleading data and flawed conclusions. Due to the similarity of the complaints, the DCSD decided to proceed on the three cases under one investigation."

These will need to be cited before the article goes on the Main Page. Z1720 (talk) 14:04, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

Today's mass-hook DYK, from WP:ERRORS

(Where gatekeeper Schwede66 won't let a simple discussion play out, per NOTBURO, especially one that might actually be on the verge of reaching a compromise.)

• What the hell is up with the amount of DYK articles in the first blurb? Is that necessary? wound theology◈ 06:33, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

• I suggest you calm down. People can nominate as many articles for a hook as are eligible. Schwede66 08:06, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

• It's not only an eyesore, but it arguably makes the blurb less accessible for those who are visually impaired. I guess there's precedence for this sort of thing, but I still think that slamming a million bolded articles for the novelty of it is a bad idea. wound theology◈ 08:19, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

• Multiple article hooks help prevent having many individual hooks that all say the same thing. They are not common and seem to cause more good than harm overall. —Kusma (talk) 11:25, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

• @BeanieFan11: pinging. BorgQueen (talk) 13:49, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

• I understand the reasoning for combining blurbs like this, but I also agree with the OP that this example is excessive. The blurb is unreadably long, the syntax and punctuation is difficult to follow, and the sheer number of bold links is overwhelming. This should have been split into two or three blurbs (in different sets). It's not worth changing now, but for future related sets DYK should have a maximum of maybe 3 or 4 bold links in one blurb. Modest Genius ^talk 11:39, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

• I do think we should always reduce the overall number of hooks when we run an extra-long one and not run nine overall like today. We should perhaps try to make multi-hooks that are less of a wall of bold blue text. —Kusma (talk) 11:51, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

• A messy blue muddle of Bf links that ignores the DYK ethos of grab the reader at a glance. Suggest sub with something readily readable. -- Sca (talk) 12:44, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

• Agreed. We're supposed to be a serious encyclopaedia, and this is not representative of our best work.  — Amakuru (talk) 13:53, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

• It's an absolute abomination. It will actively drive readers away who will see a mass of bold text that makes no sense combined. It's an outrageous way of treating the punter, and as as for MOS:ACCESS, can we not do slightly more than merely play lip service to those of our readers who are partially sighted? Of course, the early 21st-C. feral fanboy's desire to cram as much as possible onto the front page for gratification is easily recognizable, but WP:NAVEL, please. ——Serial Number 54129 13:55, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

• Since there's an increasing consensus that this isn't a compliant hook, perhaps we should consider paring it down to just the first entry:

• • ... that the 2024 inductees to the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame includes Jonathan Stoklosa (pictured), a man with Down syndrome who has lifted 425 pounds (193 kg)?

•  — Amakuru (talk) 14:27, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

• Speaking just personally, I think that's an excellent suggestion. While the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame is clearly a most notable event for the state, I'm not even sure we'd use this kind of mass blurb for something like the Kenneddy Assassination, and all things being equal, I think the two events are on slightly different magnitudes. ——Serial Number 54129 14:41, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

  Please no. Anything but removing the vast majority of the entries – I put too much effort into this to see it pared down like that. Would removing the amount of blue in the hook be a better solution? BeanieFan11 (talk) 15:13, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

  I stopped caring about your opinion when you said "feral fanboy's desire". If you have a point, please make it without personal attacks (and I don't even know who you are attacking). —Kusma (talk) 15:25, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

• Paging those that commented: @Wound theology, Kusma, BorgQueen, Modest Genius, Sca, and Amakuru: ——Serial Number 54129 14:47, 23 May 2024 (UTC)
  • What the hell is up with the overblown hyperbole in this thread? An absolute abomination which compromises the idea of a serious encyclopedia, an eyesore which actively drives readers away, the work of feral fanboys obsessed with gratification? Talk about navelgazing! Newsflash: none of our readers will care one bit! (and no, it is perfectly comprehensible) ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 15:21, 23 May 2024 (UTC)
    • While we're on the topic, could someone please point out 1) which part of MOS:ACCESS this violates, and 2) why our DYK images don't have alt text? ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 15:52, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

The tone of the complaints are needlessly hostile, but I'm not sure why WP:SEAOFBLUE should not apply to DYK. Having as many bolded links as possible in a sentence just doesn't seem like something anybody should be aiming for anywhere on any website. Multiple Article Hook Hall of Fame is a hall of shame if you ask me. Levivich (talk) 15:29, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

I think the length of the links (more than their number) is what causes the issue here. (Compare Wikipedia:Did you know/Multiple Article Hook Hall of Fame for other examples). "Try to keep bolded links short in multi-article nominations" would be my suggestion for the future. —Kusma (talk) 15:36, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

Will be away for some of today, but I could try to develop another version with less blue if necessary. BeanieFan11 (talk) 15:56, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

I think the folks that worked on this did manage to avoid violating the letter of SOB (after some discussion above at #Jonathan Stoklosa. In spirit, I think we all agree that tightly packed blue links are worse than well-spaced-out ones, but I see it as something that will recur in many main page sections (ITN, OTD) due to the brevity requirements. I think the value of multi-hooks—highlighting DYK-quality work without flooding the MP with closely-related items—outweighs the negatives.

I would appreciate hearing more about the accessibility concerns; I have some basic familiarity with the ways in which color and bold formatting affect accessibility, but I haven't encountered advice to avoid clusters of links. Open to changing my mind on this. Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 16:10, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

RFC on DYK and BLP policy

1. Can DYK feature negative hooks on BLPs and remain in compliance with WP:BLP policy? Consider the limitations of the DYK format and the language of WP:BLP policy in your answer. If no, why? If yes, why?4meter4 (talk) 14:58, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

In the past year, I have either witnessed or participated in several contentious discussions concerning Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons policy within hook nominations at WP:Did You Know that have arisen from hook proposals involving "negative" material about BLPs where the information could be perceived as an attack on the BLP or an attempt to smear the BLP's public image. While the vast majority of BLP nominations at DYK are non-controversial, the project does receive a small percentage of hook proposals on BLPs where the subject is presented in a negative light on an on-going periodic basis. These hooks are sometimes submitted by seasoned DYK participants, and sometimes editors new to the project.

The reactions to these various "negative hook" proposals has been inconsistent on the part of the DYK community with a wide range of expressed opinions from active editors in the project as well as a wide range of responses within DYK hook review process. Negative hooks on BLPs have sometimes been rejected as violating BLP policy using rationales from either Wikipedia:Did you know/Reviewer instructions and Wikipedia:Did you know/Guidelines, or the WP:BLP policy page itself. They also have sometimes been approved by editors, have been promoted by DYK admins to Template:Did you know/Queue, and have made it to the WP:MAIN page. These various responses have sometimes been received with community support, no comment by the community other than the reviewer, or have been heavily contested either within the individual hook review template, or at DYK's talk page. Those negative hooks which have made it to the main page have sometimes been brought to noticeboards such as WP:ERRORS and WP:ANI where responses have equally been inconsistent; including the pulling of hooks due to BLP violations, no action, etc.

It's my contention that this pattern of inconsistent response is evidence of an on-going failure of the DYK community to consistently implement BLP policy. I believe the reason for this failure is two fold. 1) The BLP guidelines in the Wikipedia:Did you know/Reviewer instructions and Wikipedia:Did you know/Guidelines are currently poorly written, and in particular the words "unduly negative" have been interpreted as meaning the DYK community can run negative hooks on BLPs that individual editors have labeled as "bad people" because they deserve it. This has inevitably allowed for WP:POV pushing and politicization within certain hook proposals; drawing into question the integrity of the DYK platform and the encyclopedia when such hooks have successfully made it to the main page. 2) The current BLP policy page is written to address article space and does not currently address the unique format of DYK where we limit content expression to a single sentence of 200 characters or less. What is possible to do in terms of WP:BLPBALANCE within article space is not possible in a DYK hook by virtue of limited space.

The community needs to take a close look at how DYK should interpret BLP policy within the unique DYK hook format for the purposes of DYK hook review. The purpose of this RFC is to assist DYK in more consistently following BLP policy going forward by reviewing DYK's current processes and guidelines for reviewing BLP hooks; and making any necessary changes to Wikipedia:Did you know, Wikipedia:Did you know/Guidelines, and Wikipedia:Did you know/Reviewer instructions as it relates to BLPs. To help us achieve that goal, the DYK community has assisted in gathering real examples of potential BLP violating hooks that have either run on the main page successfully, been pulled from the main page after being reported to a notice board, or failed to be promoted but with contentious and sometimes lengthy discussion. Other types of evidence have also been put forward, and other kinds of potentially BLP violating hooks have been identified in the evidence gathering process besides just negative hooks. For this reason, I have crafted the RFC question process with some flexibility because there may be avenues of exploration raised by the community at this RFC that the community may wish to explore that could not have been anticipated earlier. It should be noted that the examples given are just a sampling of mainly recent examples of this problem, and this is by no means a thorough or complete presentation of all issues related to BLPs that have come up at DYK.

I want this RFC to be helpful no matter what conclusions ultimately are arrived at. I have my opinions, but they may not be the majority view, and my goal here is to make things better as a community space for DYK volunteers no matter what proposals are ultimately successful at achieving broad community support. I am hopeful we will come up with a better reviewing document for BLP hooks as a community which will prevent further incidents at WP:ERRORS and WP:ANI, and make the DYK review process less stressful for our dedicated volunteers by eliminating the need for repeating the same unproductive or contentious arguments in circles at DYK review.4meter4 (talk) 14:49, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

RFC format: Questions and Proposals

Note 1. This is a presentation of this RFC's format, including planned guiding questions and a described process for future proposals. Please do not respond to the questions or make proposals in this space. Questions will be opened for comment one at a time, as answers to prior questions are important for informing responses to succeeding questions.

Note 2. The term "negative hook" may mean different things to different people, and individual hooks may be perceived as "negative" by a certain group of editors but not by others due to varying backgrounds among our editing volunteers. In examining policy language at WP:BLPSTYLE, a broadly construed definition of a negative hook could be any hook that may be perceived as an attack on the BLP or an attempt to malign their public image, or a hook that may be perceived as a partisan representation of the subject. These could include the use of contentious labels, loaded language, or terms that lack precision. Real examples of hooks that have been identified as negative by some editors have been gathered in the evidence section. See WP:BLPSTYLE and WP:BLPBALANCE.

RFC Questions

• 1. Can DYK feature negative hooks on BLPs and remain in compliance with WP:BLP policy? Consider the limitations of the DYK format and the language of WP:BLP policy in your answer. If no, why? If yes, why?

If the WP:CONSENSUS is yes or no consensus we move on to the next question. If the consensus is no we skip question 2 and move to question 3.

• 2. How can we determine when a negative hook on a BLP can and can't be used? What specific guideline(s) should DYK reviewers follow when reviewing negative hooks on BLPs? What language should we include in a guideline that assists reviewers in making decisions and prevents conflict at DYK, Wikipedia:Main Page/Errors, and other project pages? Consider the limitations of the DYK hook format and the language of WP:BLP policy in your answer.

Once opinions have been gathered and summarized we move on to the next question.

• 3. Are there changes that DYK should make to Wikipedia:Did you know, Wikipedia:Did you know/Guidelines, and Wikipedia:Did you know/Reviewer instructions as it relates to BLPs?

Once opinions have been gathered and summarized we move to question 4

• 4. Are there any additional questions we should consider as it relates to DYK and BLP policy before moving on to proposals?

It's possible we may need to ask a question that was not predicted at the onset of the RFC, after getting input to the first three questions. We will leave room to ask additional questions for community input if needed before moving on to proposals. We will discuss any other questions raised by the community. Once completed, we will begin accepting proposals that should come from WP:CONSENSUS input.

Proposals

• Proposals should come out of the discussion resulting from the above questions. This RFC will not start with a set list of proposals. These should come directly from the community input to the RFC questions. Proposal submissions will be open to all contributors in the RFC after the questioning period concludes. The goal of this RFC is to improve DYK's review process as it relates to BLPs in order to assist DYK and its volunteers in being consistently compliant with WP:BLP policy and prevent conflicts at DYK review on BLPs. Once a proposal has been made we will vote and arrive at a WP:CONSENSUS on each individual proposal.

Evidence

Note. This evidence was initially gathered by the wiki community in a discussion preparing for this RFC. If new evidence is found, please add it to the tables.

Negative BLPs that were promoted to the main page without issue

Incident	Year	Hook/comments	Discussion
Murder of Jiang Ge	2024	... that the murder of Jiang Ge led to public debate in China over the actions of Jiang's roommate during her murder? The living person in question is Liu Xin, mentioned in the hook and discussed at length in the article.	Raised at ERRORS but no response: [31]
Going Infinite	2024	Hook draws attention to a negative comment made against a living person; it had to be toned down at nomination stage and again in prep.	WT:DYK: [32]
Diether Dehm	2020	Two "negative" hooks were proposed, one about the BLP employing a terrorist and the other one about the BLP being a former informer of the secret police.	The "terrorist" hook ran without controversy.
Hsinchu Kuang-Fu Senior High School	2024	Raised at ERRORs but alas, no pull as it was only an hour until it rolled off MP. @Theleekycauldron: said "This article looks like a straight NPOV violation to me". Therapyisgood (talk) 23:43, 17 May 2024 (UTC)	Raised at ERRORs
Debbie Currie	2024	... that Debbie Currie once worked as a lollipop lady? whole damn thing reads like a BLP violation. "reprimanded for smoking aged 13, and had to retake all of her A-levels after being accused of cheating; she graduated with a C and two Ds, and read English and Communication" " She used an October 2009 article in the Daily Mail to announce that she had become a single mother by choice after a drunken one-night stand aged thirty, and encouraged others to have their children before finding a partner." "claimed that she had enjoyed a four-in-a-bed orgy and lost her virginity at fifteen" Therapyisgood (talk) 00:08, 18 May 2024 (UTC) I feel like this was an issue with the article rather than the nom/hook? I think DYK should have caught it. Valereee (talk) 00:19, 18 May 2024 (UTC)	Raised at ERRORs with 4 minutes before the hooks rotated.

Negative BLPs that were pulled from the main page

Incident	Year	Hook/comments	Discussion
Gemma McCluskie	2012	Concerns about recently deceased BLP violation	ANI thread:[33] Talk:DYK thread:[34]
Nandipha Magudumana	2024	... that the celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana was imprisoned and investigated for twelve crimes, including murder connected to a fugitive's prison escape?	ERRORS discussion: [35] Article at the time of promotion: [36]
Angelle (singer)	2024	... that the British entrepreneur Sarah Bennett went from being "one of the biggest flops in pop history" to appearing on the Sunday Times Rich List 2017?	ERRORS discussion: [37]

Negative BLPs that were contentious at Wikipedia talk:Did you know

Incident	Year	Hook/comments	Discussions
Andrew Tate	2024	... that social media influencer Andrew Tate described himself as "absolutely a misogynist"? Concerns about BLP vio	WT:DYK: [38] WT:ANI: [39]
Sarah Jane Baker	2023	... that author Sarah Jane Baker was so desperate for gender affirming care in prison that she cut off her testicles with a razor blade? (one example of several contentious hooks on this person that were proposed)	WT:DYK: [40]
Shootings of Sydney Land and Nehemiah Kauffman	2024	Pulled from queue and then rejected, in part due to BLP concerns.	WT:DYK: [41]
Jews Don't Count	2023	Altered in queue, after it was argued that the original hook falsely attributed an anti-semitic POV to a living person.	WT:DYK: [42]
Lil Tay	2023	Pulled from prep due to poor sourcing of negative information in the article.	WT:DYK: [43]
Marvin Harrison Jr.	2023	... that one NFL scout compared watching Marvin Harrison Jr. (pictured) to "window shopping at a Lamborghini dealership for the model that doesn't come out until next year"? Concerns about objectifying people of colour.	WT:DYK: [44]
Child abuse in association football	2023	Pulled from queue for various reasons, one of which was BLPCRIME concerns.	WT:DYK: [45]
Template:Did you know nominations/Killing of David Ben Avraham	2024	There was a contentious discussion on the DYK talk page. That link should be added. Please assist.

Other kinds of BLP violation concerns in DYK hooks

Incident	Year	Hook/comments	Discussion
HorsegiirL	2024	Pulled from prep; original hook used the article subject's real name against their wishes	WT:DYK: [46]

4meter4 (talk) 14:49, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

RFC Discussion Questions

Question 1 is now open for comment.4meter4 (talk) 14:50, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

Question 1

Can DYK feature negative hooks on BLPs and remain in compliance with WP:BLP policy? Consider the limitations of the DYK format and the language of WP:BLP policy in your answer. If no, why? If yes, why?

• No. We have the responsibility to present negative information on BLPs ethically, and with more care than what is required on other topics. WP:BLPBALANCE requires that we present negative information in context, with nuance, and with care. That is not something that is possible to do within a 200 character single sentence. We have other options in what content to feature. Most BLPs have at least one interesting non-negative/ non-positive fact that we can feature that is entirely neutral. Concerns of neutrality are mostly spurious for this reason with only rare exceptions. Those that are rare, should simply be rejected from being featured, because the tendency is to promote negative hooks from personal bias rather than measured neutral intent.4meter4 (talk) 14:54, 23 May 2024 (UTC)
• Yes. We need to get BLP right, but prohibiting "negative hooks" impacts neutrality. The "unduly negative" of the current rules is the right balance between neutrality and not causing harm. This RfC totally misses the mark in terms of the actual BLP problems we have at DYK: many of the biggest problems are not related to "negative hooks" (see "lollipop lady" above, or "HorsegiirL"). —Kusma (talk) 15:09, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

Other comments

4meter4, this RfC will not transclude properly, since it lacks a "brief, neutral statement" preceding the first signature. Since your intention is that only Q1 be open for comment right now, perhaps you could simply ask Q1 right under the rfc tag and follow it with your sig? Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 14:53, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

How do I fix this?4meter4 (talk) 14:57, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

Firefangledfeathers Did I fix it?4meter4 (talk) 14:59, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

Yep. Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 15:00, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

Is Question 1 really the right question? There are two separate issues here: do negative statements violate BLP, and should DYK feature negative statements about living people. There are many good reasons to answer no to both issues. --Ahecht (TALK
PAGE) 17:09, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

I think it is the right question. Negative statements on BLPs don't violate BLP policy in article space when they follow WP:BLPBALANCE and WP:BLPSTYLE. I contend that its inherently impossible to follow BLPBALANCE in a one sentence 200 character question statement on the WP:MAIN page. There's no room for context or nuance on complex content in a DYK hook, or presenting differing opinions together, etc. Not everyone reading a hook will go to the article, so whatever we present in that one DYK sentence must be balanced on its own. We could always ask a follow up question, should DYK feature negative hooks on BLPs? if you still think its needed.-4meter4 (talk)

(invited by the bot) The way this is worded, you really need people with "behind the scenes" DYK experience/expertise to understand and participate rather than the general net cast by the RFC bot. Starting with the whole RFC being about "hooks" without explaining what a "hook" (in DYK) is. But the RFC creator did a very thorough job of researching and presenting this to people who already have "behind the scenes" DYK experience/expertise. North8000 (talk) 17:43, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

@North8000#top Do you have a suggestion for making this better for the average editor? Should I modify the open statement is some fashion?4meter4 (talk) 17:49, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

I'm a dummy on DYK so you asked the perfect person.  :-) I'll work on an answer. North8000 (talk) 17:53, 23 May 2024 (UTC)