The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 10:32, 8 August 2023 (UTC)

Sanctioned Suicide

Improved to Good Article status by Freedom4U (talk). Self-nominated at 03:37, 19 July 2023 (UTC). Post-promotion hook changes for this nom will be logged at Template talk:Did you know nominations/Sanctioned Suicide; consider watching this nomination, if it is successful, until the hook appears on the Main Page.

General: Article is new enough and long enough
Policy: Article is sourced, neutral, and free of copyright problems
Hook: Hook has been verified by provided inline citation
QPQ: Done.

Overall: Kate the mochii (talk) 04:11, 19 July 2023 (UTC)

  • Hi Kate, this appears to be your first DYK review? Out of an abundance of caution, I would rather that this was seen by more editors (with some discussion of the hooks themselves), as it is potentially contentious, before it is approved. I've moved it back for now. :3 F4U (they/it) 05:57, 19 July 2023 (UTC)
I've opened a discussion about this at WT:DYK, where it's likely to get more attention. Sojourner in the earth (talk) 18:00, 21 July 2023 (UTC)
I'm going to disapprove and strike ALT0, which mentions links between the forum and incels. I understand that the founders self-identify as incels, but the hook would "focus unduly on negative aspects of living individuals", which violates WP:DYKCRIT 4a. Additionally, the hook could be interpreted to link all members of the forum to the incel subculture. See MOS:SUICIDE: Language choices sometimes carry connotations that are not obvious to every editor. Additionally, see WP:BLP: [BLPs] must be written conservatively and with regard for the subject's privacy... It is not Wikipedia's job to be sensationalist, or to be the primary vehicle for the spread of titillating claims about people's lives; the possibility of harm to living subjects must always be considered when exercising editorial judgment.
@Freedom4U: I'm wondering if you'd be willing to propose hooks that avoid including the name "Sanctioned Suicide"? Edge3 (talk) 01:59, 22 July 2023 (UTC)
@Edge3: Agree with your judgement on the first hook. I bet I could refactor ALT2 while keeping it quote, hooky, unquote. What about:
ALT4 ... that an internet forum dedicated to suicide called Australia an "anti-liberty country" after being blocked by some Australian internet service providers? Source listed above
ALT5 ... that the naming of an internet forum dedicated to suicide was described by journalist Megan Twohey as one of the "biggest ethical issues that we had ever dealt with"?
ALT6 ... that an informal survey conducted on a suicide forum found that half of its userbase were 25 or younger? Where the Despairing Log On, and Learn Ways to Die - About half were 25 or younger, the survey showed
Let me know what you think. Also, should "an" be inside or outside the wikilink? I'll be logging off pretty soon for tonight and my day is packed tommorow, so I may not respond until Sunday. :3 F4U (they/it) 02:41, 22 July 2023 (UTC)
I'm inclined to oppose ALT6 for similar reasons as I articulated before. MOS:SUICIDE says: Suicide and self-harm are complex behaviors with multi-factorial causes. Do not oversimplify the causes of suicide. I'm reluctant to have any hook that could be interpreted as a generalization of the website's userbase. (e.g. whether the hook impies that they are incels, or they are young people.) Such language could lead to a variety of interpretations based on the perspective of the reader. (A young person at risk of suicide could either feel encouraged to have found a community of people just like them, or in the alternative, insulted that their problems are being reduced to youthful naïveté.) As I quoted previously from MOS:SUICIDE, Language choices sometimes carry connotations that are not obvious to every editor. Young people are already a vulnerable population; we shouldn't bring attention to their high levels of participation on this site.
Additionally, the source is an informal survey conducted by the site itself. If we're going to present sensitive statistics on such a vulnerable population, we should stick to the highest possible standards of sourcing.
By the way, @Freedom4U: I wasn't sure if you wanted to keep ALT3, so I added the version ALT3a which avoids directly naming the forum. Edge3 (talk) 04:22, 22 July 2023 (UTC)
@Edge3: I really need to sleep, but one comment before I'm out. Support striking ALT6, yeah it definitely seems insensitive in retrospect. I didn't convert ALT3 because I feel it would be too wordy at that point for it to also be "hooky". :3 F4U (they/it) 05:03, 22 July 2023 (UTC)
Re-review[edit]
@Freedom4U and Kate the mochii: GA reviewers can't review for DYK as well; re-review needed. theleekycauldron (talkcontribs) (she/her) 02:09, 22 July 2023 (UTC)
I didn't know about that lol, but yeah I did want a new review. :3 F4U (they/it) 02:14, 22 July 2023 (UTC)

Nominated on the same day as attaining GA status. Long enough. Neutrally written, and well-sourced. Passes Earwig. QPQ is done. No image has been submitted.

Addressing the broader question of suitability for DYK — According to WP:DYKAIM, our goals are:

The first four factors weigh heavily in favor of approving this nomination. The article covers a highly-trafficked and dangerous website, and our readers should be informed about its existence. It helps fulfill Wikipedia's encyclopedic mission, and all articles that meet our quality standards deserve to be showcased. The article is well-written and well-sourced, having passed GA review. The editors involved in this article, including Freedom4U, deserve recognition for working on such a difficult topic. The fifth factor, facilitating the recruitment of new editors, is unlikely to be impacted by this nomination.

Of course, Wikipedia is WP:NOTCENSORED. Having said that, the specific contents of a DYK hook remain a matter of editorial judgment. wmf:Resolution:Controversial content recognizes the principle of least astonishment: content on Wikimedia projects should be presented to readers in such a way as to respect their expectations of what any page or feature might contain". Additionally, WP:OM requires that potentially offensive material should be used only if its omission would cause the article to be less informative, relevant, or accurate, and no equally suitable alternative is available. Furthermore, as I explained in prior comments on ALT0 and ALT6, there is ample guidance from MOS:SUICIDE and WP:BLP.

The article by Barbara Allen on Poynter is helpful here. While we have an obligation to showcase our work and keep our DYK readers informed, it is not strictly necessary to identify the website by name on the Main Page. This aligns with community consensus at Talk:Sanctioned Suicide#RfC on linking to the forum. Accordingly, ALTS 1, 2, and 3 are rejected.

ALTS 3a, 4, and 5 are compliant, well-sourced, and supported by in-line citations. Edge3 (talk) 05:56, 22 July 2023 (UTC)

@Edge3: In what sense do we have an obligation to showcase our work? This is something that we choose to do, and may equally choose not to do. Your argument that as many people as possible should be told about this website seems contrary to the general consensus of reliable sources, which intentionally refrain from naming the site; see e.g. [1][2][3][4]. Removing the name from the hook seems like a very minimal concession, since it still appears prominently on hovering over the link, and the whole point of the hook is to entice readers into visiting the article.
As a side note, I think ALT5 needs rewriting; it currently gives the impression that Megan Twohey gave the site its name. Sojourner in the earth (talk) 08:11, 22 July 2023 (UTC)
@Sojourner in the earth: We have an obligation to follow WP:5P2 and WP:NOTCENSORED. As long as the hook fulfills our objectives in WP:DYKAIM, we should run it on the Main Page. The Main Page is in article space, so the content policies apply just like they do to any other article.
I agree that ALT5 needs rewriting. @Freedom4U: When you have a moment, could you please try rewriting ALT5 to avoid implying that Twohey gave the website its name? I know you're busy, so no rush! :-) Edge3 (talk) 13:44, 22 July 2023 (UTC)

information Note: The GA nomination was reviewed by a sockpupppet in violation of their ban and is therefore not valid. GA status has been removed, but the article may be re-nominated. ––FormalDude (talk) 17:25, 22 July 2023 (UTC)

Review remains invalid while such is the case. theleekycauldron (talkcontribs) (she/her) 00:06, 23 July 2023 (UTC)
@Theleekycauldron: The article is currently being re-reviewed, so it might come back to DYK soon. I'd suggest keeping this page open rather than closing the nomination. Edge3 (talk) 00:23, 23 July 2023 (UTC)
Way ahead of ya :) would've marked for closure otherwise, but this can't be promoted yet. theleekycauldron (talkcontribs) (she/her) 00:48, 23 July 2023 (UTC)
Arbitrary break[edit]

Just so that its clear here—a second GA review is currently being carried out after the original reviewer was found to be a sock. As for hooks, we currently have the two following working hooks:

In addition, as of this moment, there is still an ongoing discussion in the above section regarding whether the article should run at all. :3 F4U (they/it) 03:26, 23 July 2023 (UTC)

Just to clarify, ALT 3a was also approved, but I understand you had concerns about it. Whatever you prefer is fine with me! Edge3 (talk) 15:12, 23 July 2023 (UTC)
Yeah, I'm not a fan of it and I rather it not be used. :3 F4U (they/it) 03:30, 27 July 2023 (UTC)
Re-re-review[edit]
I'd be glad to! I'll review within the next day or so. Edge3 (talk) 04:55, 27 July 2023 (UTC)
@Freedom4U: I know I promised a second review within one day, but I'm going to need a bit more time. Given the sensitive nature of this article, I'd like to be thorough. Edge3 (talk) 05:22, 28 July 2023 (UTC)
@Edge3: I advise you to take a look at the recent article history before you take a look. There is a LTA who likes to edit this article. :3 F4U (they/it) 11:42, 28 July 2023 (UTC)
Are you referring to the recent IP editor? Anyway, I see that you responded to the new thread at Talk:Sanctioned Suicide#Articles used to establish first sentence. I'll be reading the talk page threads and reviewing the article history as part of this DYK review. I even was able to get the original GA review (by the sockpuppet) restored to my user space as part of this review. Edge3 (talk) 15:03, 28 July 2023 (UTC)
@Edge3: Yes. It's the same sock/editor that appeared back in February/March and was blocked. :3 F4U (they/it) 22:13, 29 July 2023 (UTC)
Noted, thanks. Edge3 (talk) 01:49, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

A few things:

List recreated below without items that were addressing additions/removals made by a WMF-banned user
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
  • Does the forum have paid staff? The very first sentence says "staff-regulated", and the body of the article contains text saying "The staff of the forum have since restricted the accounts..." (emphasis added).
  • Is there a source supporting the claim that the forum is "staff-regulated"? If not then it should be removed.
  • "The forum is primarily reported on in terms of the harm it has caused to users of the site and the resulting legal responses." — This sentence is too wordy. Since this is the second sentence of the article, it's better to be direct. (MOS:INTRO)
  • I think you're giving short shrift to the Nashrulla 2019 source. For instance:
    • Nashrulla provides a lot of biographical info on Small, which you could incorporate into the article. e.g. Small was 25 at the time and from Virginia, and he did address concerns that the incel sites were connected to SS.
    • Despite Small's claims that the communities are separate, a user ("Alex") was banned from SS for asking questions about their links.
    • SS is used by many women who are victims of rape and abuse.
    • Apparently the link to incels was not immediately known to the SS community. Nashrulla's reporting apparently prompted the mods to disclose to the forum members that they are connected to incel sites.
    • You can mention that when the forum was started in 2018, the founders relied on domain registrars and hosting companies that were against censorship, and those entities are connected to their incel sites.
  • Neither the Nashrulla 2019 nor Reddit 2018 sources confirm that the date of ban was precisely March 14, 2018. In face, Reddit doesn't even provide a date at all.
  • "The incel communities run by Small and Galante promote the 'blackpill', a misogynistic and biological determinist ideology." The sourcing here doesn't seem strong. Twohey 2021 notes only that most incels "share a dark outlook known as 'black pill,'" but that's not the same as saying Small and Galante directly promote that ideology. Squirrel 2023 doesn't mention Galante at all, but it does mention Small, though not necessarily in the context of black pill.
  • If you keep the Squirrel source, add the year of publication (2023) to the citation.
  • Regarding the case of the 22-year-old woman from Glasgow, I think it's important to note that Scottish police aren't investigating the site due to lack of jurisdiction. (Twohey 2021).
  • Clean up the sourcing for the story of Daniel (the "male minor"). Nawaz 2021 (the year is missing from the ref, by the way) doesn't explicitly mention that he used sodium nitrite, but that information is available in Twohey 2021.
  • Regarding the "Australian who died by suicide after members of Sanctioned Suicide taunted him and asked him to film his death", are you sure that Twohey 2021 and Bridges 2022 are referring to the same person? I don't see support for this in the sources.
  • "online sellers of poisons" – Might as well be specific and identify the poison as sodium nitrite.
  • "While the .org domain remains blocked in Australia, access to the site remains unrestricted through the .net and .site domains." – What is the source?
  • "Many U.S. states have laws against assisting suicide" – True, but not the whole story. Twohey 2021 notes that such laws are "inconsistent, rarely enforced and don’t explicitly address online activity." Additionally, Love 2020 notes that activity on SS doesn't necessarily meet the legal definitions under such laws. You could also specifically cite the California and Pennsylvania statutes, along with the federal proposed Online Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Act, that are mentioned in this article.
  • Maybe also mention the fact that Epik terminated its services for the site. (Twohey 2021).
  • Is Barbaro 2021 actually used for anything in this article? I checked both statements in which it is cited, but Twohey 2021 is actually the more comprehensive source.
  • "Small noted that registrants who only sought the recovery forum were unlikely to be approved" — But you could also counter that with Love 2020, where Small himself is quoted promoting the Recovery section as a way to save users going through suicidal ideation.
  • From Love 2020 you could also mention:
    • SS has around 500 members
    • Only Galante and Small are the known "incels" on the forum, and other mods are hand-picked and trained community members.
    • Perhaps mention the support group on Facebook that's run by Wilson?
    • Near the end of this article, Love argues that banning SS wouldn't necessarily solve a problem, since people at risk of suicide would still find other ways to obtain the desired information. I wonder if there's a tactful way to include that perspective.

This is just my first set of comments for now. I'm going to continue checking the sourcing. Edge3 (talk) 01:49, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

I'm also aware that this review is more thorough than typically required at DYK. If you have concerns about the scope of review, I'd be happy to tell you which items are optional for DYK purposes. Edge3 (talk) 03:16, 30 July 2023 (UTC)
@Freedom4U: Pinging you directly, in case you haven't seen the above comments. Edge3 (talk) 19:13, 31 July 2023 (UTC)
@Edge3: Ah! Thank you, I'll address them by the end of today. :3 F4U (they/it) 13:04, 1 August 2023 (UTC)
@Edge3: The WMF-banned sock has been blocked and the changes reverted, I would suggest that you take a look at the article again. I believe these are the concerns that are still relevant:

The remainder have to do with additions/removals made by the sock. :3 F4U (they/it) 15:38, 1 August 2023 (UTC)

@Freedom4U: I still haven't finished my review of the sources, so I'll add additional thoughts later. Also, it might be easier for you to just strike (<s> ... </s>) whatever feedback you think has been addressed, rather than repeating them as a separate set of comments. Edge3 (talk) 18:47, 1 August 2023 (UTC)
@Edge3: Addressed the rest of your concerns. I'm gonna be blunt: if your concerns don't have to do with NPOV or errors, please provide them on the talk page instead. Suggestions to do with comprehensiveness are not relevant to the DYK criteria, with exception to potential NPOV. :3 F4U (they/it) 02:18, 2 August 2023 (UTC)
Understood. I'll try to be more focused going forward. I was conducting a thorough sourcing check because of sock involvement. I do think that comprehensive coverage of certain topics may be required to ensure NPOV, but that is not always the case as you astutely point out. More comments to come. Edge3 (talk) 03:02, 2 August 2023 (UTC)

@Freedom4U: Please see the above for my final set of comments. Edge3 (talk) 03:58, 5 August 2023 (UTC)

Given the sensitive nature of this topic and the high frequency of sock/vandal involvement, I have thoroughly reviewed all of the online sources in their entirety. (AGF on the offline sources.) I have also reviewed the talk page history, related discussions at the BLP and COI noticeboards, and both GA reviews. I reviewed numerous comments posted by socks, though I gave little or no weight to their perspectives. Based on the aforementioned information, I conclude that this article is neutrally written. Inline citations are provided for every contentious statement, and the sources are of high quality. Earwig does not detect any significant copyvio.

The article has been submitted for GA reassessment. I have read the concerns raised over there, and I disagree that there is any issue with regards to neutrality and completeness. As I stated previously, the article is compliant with WP:DYKCRIT. Furthermore, WP:DYKSG states that nominations are placed on hold only when the article is going through AfD (Rule D5) or has any dispute tags (Rule D6). A GAR does not fit within either category, so this DYK nomination may proceed.

As for eligibility to be published on the Main Page, I refer to my prior review on July 22 as if fully repeated here. Additionally, a previous RfC in 2018 determined that: (1) DYK hooks should not be excessively sensational or gratuitous, and (2) There is no consensus for any overarching ban on hooks that feature murder, riots, war, or any other potentially "sensitive" issue. My review on July 22 is consistent with this guidance, even though I wasn't aware of it at the time. Posting the hook on DYK – without naming SS explicitly – would not be excessively sensational or gratuitous.

ALT 4 and 7 are approved for the reasons previously stated on July 22. Edge3 (talk) 17:43, 6 August 2023 (UTC)