The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was no consensus. NW (Talk) 03:33, 2 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Bullshido.net[edit]

Bullshido.net (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log)
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The admin who closed the previous debate wrote, "The result was No consensus - however, following a request, I have no problem with a re-nomination here, as I was very close to deleting this for lack of reliable sources." With Black Kite (talk · contribs)'s permission, I have re-nominated the article.

The nominator of the previous debate is correct when s/he said that the references in the article are not nontrivial, independent reliable sources that specifically discuss Bullshido.net. I have analyzed and listed the sources in the article as of this revision:

Analysis of the sources in the article

1. This article from Rocky Mountain News mentions Bullshido.net in passing. The only time this website is referenced in this article is: "This week, Browning, 38, posted on the Web site Bullshido.net an exhaustive dissection of Bannon's published claims, which he has investigated over the past two years. He dismisses Bannon's story as tortured fiction." This does gives no context about Bullshido.net, save that it is a website and a man named Browning has posted on it to debunk another man's story.
2. http://realbullshido.blogspot.com/Blogspot is not a reliable source. It is a collection of blogs that can be written by anyone who signs up.
3. http://www.themartialist.com/bullshidofaq.htm is written by Phil Elmore, a man who has been attacked by Bullshido; Elmore writes "The Bullshido.com FAQ incorrectly describes Pax Baculum (and, I suppose, The Martialist and me) as somehow other than "up front about the evidence that exists today."" This is not an neutral article about Bullshido.net. Having read through the article, I have concluded that it is a attack on Bullshido.net. Furthermore and most importantly though, it has not been given the editorial oversight and fact-checking that reliable sources (such as newspapers, magazines, and journals) are given.
4. http://web.petabox.bibalex.org/web/20060504091905/http://www.ashidakim.com/shitlist.html is the same as the fourth source. It was written by someone who has been attacked by Bullshido.net. It is a personal website by an individual called Ashida Kim (see Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ashida Kim (7th nomination)) has also not been given the editorial oversight and fact-checking that reliable sources (such as newspapers, magazines, and journals) are given.
5. The reference that states that Bullshido.net is the "[s]eventh in Alexia category on last view" points to http://www.alexa.com/topsites/category. This link does not lead to anything about Bullshido.net.
6. This article from Rocky Mountain News does not even mention Bullshido.net.
7. This article from Interpol.com is the same as #6. It does not even mention Bullshido.net.
8. http://ashidakim.com/10k.html is from the same source as #4. Not only is it an unreliable source, but it also doesn't even mention Bullshido.net.
9. This article from The Believer (magazine) does not even mention Bullshido.net.
10. http://www.bullshido.net/modules.php?name=Reviews&file=viewarticle&id=28Ashida – a link from Bullshido.net cannnot be a neutral, independent reliable source about itself.
11. http://www.bullshido.org/Ashida_Kim – this is the same as #8.
12. http://www.bullshido.net/modules.php?name=Reviews&file=viewarticle&id=160 – this is the same as #8.
13. http://dojopress.com/catalogms2.html – This unreliable source is a catalogue for selling memberships. Even if it were reliable, it would not be a sufficient source because it doesn't mention Bullshido.net.
I have done much research about this website and have been unable to find any sufficient reliable sources about it. My searches included trawling through several pages of Google results, Google News Archive, Google Books, Google Scholar, and Yahoo!. If this site were truly notable as the above "keep" voters suggest, there should be sufficient sources about it. However, I have been unable to find any.

I am opposed to the merge suggested above by the wub (talk · contribs). There are absolutely no reliable sources that discuss Bullshido.net. Even the passing mentions from reliable sources (see #1) do not provide enough context to justify a stub.

I am also opposed to a redirect to David "Race" Bannon. A member of Bullshido.net may have posted information about Bannon, but that does not guarantee that the website should be mentioned in Bannon's article. Having searched through results (using the search term "Banno bullshido.net"), I have been unable to locate any reliable sources that indicate that Bullshido.net played major role in debunking Bannon's claims. The best source about Bullshido.net and Banno that I could find was this article from Rocky Mountain News. The article states: "This week, Browning, 38, posted on the Web site Bullshido.net an exhaustive dissection of Bannon's published claims, which he has investigated over the past two years." This passing mention that provides little context does not justify a redirect or a merge.

The "keep" votes in the previous debate stated that "Bullshido is quite a notable organization within the martial arts community" and "one of the most notable martial arts web sites", but I have been unable to uncover anything to substantiate their claims. Cunard (talk) 22:40, 23 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]


  • That would be true, if it weren't for Black Kite's closing statement, which makes it clear that this AfD is an exception to the normal rule because Cunard has explicit permission to renominate at once.

    Delete per my previous argument.—S Marshall Talk/Cont 23:13, 23 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • I thought the standard thing to do was to add a template asking for more discussion & re list the 1'st AfD? I understand that Cunard was acting on the recommendation on the close, but I do think that that recommendation was misplaced, as it removes the abrasive comments made buy the original nominator from general view. --Natet/c 09:07, 24 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Big-boards.com is not a reliable source. The website posts user-submitted information about the website. I can't see how Bullshido.net has a high ranking; the unreliable source you gave ranks it as the 898th most-viewed martial arts site. That's not significant enough to indicate notability. Cunard (talk) 02:35, 24 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Correction 898th over all (out of 2319) and 2nd on Martial arts, the other being an exclusivily Mixed martial arts site. The stats arn't submitted by the site but you have to register to be on it, the was discussed @ length on the article talk page as is the Alexia rank. --Natet/c 10:50, 24 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • First, ranking 898th over the 2319 sites that the unreliable source Big-boards.com is unimpressive.

    [Y]ou have to register to be on it. – I wouldn't be surprised if Bullshido.net ranked number one when compared with the sites that are listed in the Big-boards.com's directory. Any arbitrary website developer can register his/her website, so the ranking is not indicative of what ranking Bullshido.net would receive if it were compared to the other websites on the Internet, especially the ones that have not registered with this unreliable source. The fact that Bullshido.net has already received a low rating (898th most viewed out of 2319) in a small selection of websites is a strong indicator that it will rank even lower when compared to other websites. This piece of trivia from an unreliable source does not establish notability. Cunard (talk) 22:24, 24 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • I just wanted to clarify the point as saing "898th of martial arts" was factually incorect as was saying it was user submitted, this was debated on the article talk page already. --Natet/c 08:30, 25 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
comment you renominated the article for deletion a day after it was closed because you didn't like the fact that your arguments were ignored. why are you taking it so personally? The Keep votes were mostly 'IAR, this is an important site,' not 'this site has 11 nytimes sources'. yes, the sources are weak. but the article deserves to be here regardless because it's a big deal in the martial arts community. i cannot believe that you renominated this so quickly just because people ignored your arguments. oh my god Theserialcomma (talk) 07:12, 24 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • In the paragraph above your comment, I explained my reasons for re-nominating the article. The closing admin agreed that the sources were insufficient and that there was not enough participation after my comment to gauge a solid consensus. Contrary to the assumption that I have been "taking it so personally", I have been debating this article in a cool and calm manner. Your last sentence though, strongly indicates that you are not calmly debating this. Furthermore, why did you ignore my arguments? And what proves that this article is a "big deal in the martial arts community"? I have not been able to find substantial evidence of this. Cunard (talk) 07:32, 24 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • "Bullshido members did the investigations ... " No, this does not establish notability; see WP:INHERITED. Furthermore, the sources that discuss David "Race" Bannon (which is the investigation you mention above) and Bullshido.net are very sparse. A member of Bullshido.net may have posted information about Bannon, but that does not guarantee that the website should be mentioned in Bannon's article. Having searched through results (using the search term "Banno bullshido.net"), I have been unable to locate any reliable sources that indicate that Bullshido.net played a major role in debunking Bannon's claims. The best source about Bullshido.net and Banno that I could find was this article from Rocky Mountain News. The article states: "This week, Browning, 38, posted on the Web site Bullshido.net an exhaustive dissection of Bannon's published claims, which he has investigated over the past two years." This passing mention that provides little context does not justify a redirect or a merge.

    I agree that the article needs improvement, but there is no way to improve the article when there are no reliable sources about it. Cunard (talk) 09:49, 24 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • WP:INHERITED says nothing about this, you could argue WP:ONEEVENT was relevent, but as I was not saying this is the only point of notability I would disagree as the whole point of the site is investigate these kind of things. There were other cases that have been removed , and I feel that a trim may be needed but there are enough sources on for some section and more can be added if looked for.-Natet/c 10:41, 24 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • "Note prior the precious AfD 2 the nominator ..." – this is irrelevant to the debate because I am the nominator of this AfD and the editor you are referring to has not participated in this debate yet. Please don't bring old feuds disputes into this new debate. Cunard (talk) 09:49, 24 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • I feel that the circumstances leading up to this AfD are relevant, If this was 6 months-a year down the line it would be less so, but as this AfD is effectively a continuation of that one, I feel it is highly relevant to the discussion at hand that the nominators have never engaged in attempting to improve the article and one tried to 'stealth' delete it. Characterising this as a feud seems OTT, I dislike his attitude, but all my interactions have been where he has made large undiscussed changes to articles I was already involved with and I have not mentioned anything other than edits related to this article here. --Natet/c 10:41, 24 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • You may think think that this AfD should have occurred "6 months-a year down the line", but the closing admin disagrees with you and even states:
  • Let's not discuss how recently this article was nominated; instead, let's discuss why this website is notable.
  • I have refactored "feud" to "disputes" per your concern. Cunard (talk) 22:24, 24 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • The link I provided is not to an abstract. It's to a lengthy article that can be freely accessed online with some basic information. Far from being a passing mention it states:
"A Connecticut lawyer named Samuel Browning runs a Web site called Bullshido.net, which exposes people who inflate their martial arts credentials. Bannon claims to be a third-degree black belt in hapkido -- a Korean martial art -- and has written for kung fu magazines.
Browning spent two years checking dozens of details in Bannon's book -- down to the number of floors in a London hotel where Bannon says he killed a man. In February, Browning published a 10,000-word piece online that disputes most of the key stories in Bannon's book."
  • Thank you for posting the portion of the article that mentions Bullshido.net. Your quote proves my point that these references are all passing mentions. Bullshido.net is only mentioned in a tiny phrase that lacks significant context. No, this passing mention does not establish notability. Cunard (talk) 21:59, 25 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
(post e/c)Groovy, from the snippet you provided it looks like the article is about David Race Bannon, and I am sure (I reserve the right to be corrected) that they provided no more significant coverage than the RMN did.--kelapstick (talk) 22:35, 24 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Two paragraphs is certainly not a passing mention. You can argue that it's still not enough even with the other reliable sources noted, but I think you'd be making a mistake. A merge might be a more reasonable position since there is an appropriate target. ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:11, 25 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The only part of the article that mentions Bullshido.net is: "a Web site called Bullshido.net, which exposes people who inflate their martial arts credentials." One phrase is not "significant coverage". One phrase is not "two paragraphs", so don't inflate the depth of coverage. A merge to Bullshido is not viable for preserving the content because Bullshido has the same problems as this article. Both Bullshido.net and Bullshido lack nontrivial coverage in reliable sources and both are composed of original research, so they both do not belong here.

... not enough even with the other reliable sources. The other reliable sources are also passing mentions. Cunard (talk) 22:28, 25 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Arbitrary break[edit]

  • No, they are not. As refuted above, both sources are passing mentions, which do not establish notability. Why do you think passing mentions establish notability? Cunard (talk) 23:08, 24 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • The arguments advanced above have been weak. The only sources that have been provided are unreliable sources, as well as reliable sources that provide trivial coverage.

    Your argument about Ashida Kim has little relevance to this AfD, save that both Bullshido.net and Ashida Kim lack significant coverage in reliable sources. Cunard (talk) 22:03, 25 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • I took a look for something else on Browning (assuming there would be something secondary about him being a prosecutor available), and found nothing, so I would change my position on having an article about him (but again this is getting off the topic of this AfD). There is only enough sourced material for a mention of both Browning and the website in the Bannon article. --kelapstick (talk) 16:13, 27 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Those investigation we're carried out the site WP policy does not dictate what it reports on that has already happened, or are you suggesting that if someone dosen't like something in Panorama we should delete the article on that? I'm not saying BS is as notable as that just that the point is invalid. --Natet/c 17:12, 29 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I disagree with that assesment. It has been the subject of insignificant coverage in reliable independent sources. And if we removed all the non-reliable sources the article would be: Bullshido.net is a martial arts website that was involved in the exposing of David "Race" Bannon as a fraud. There is no other source that is valid as a cite for use in the article. Although I am willing to agree to disagree with CoM on his assessment of what constitutes significant coverage.--kelapstick (talk) 17:03, 29 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Actually ,there is a lot more in the sources than that about the site's creator and his background, about the site's significance, about it's value and hits etc. etc. etc. I think your vote should be discounted on the basis of your misrepresenting what's in the sources, especially after I generously transcribed some of the content from one of the sources for you. ChildofMidnight (talk) 20:26, 29 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Which reliable source was that?. Because the Charlotte Observer only mentions Browning and Bullshido.net in two paragraphs, and those paragraphs are made up of four sentences, total, not each. As I said, not significant coverage in my eyes, but you are free to your own interpretation. --kelapstick (talk) 20:50, 29 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • As I said to you above: Original research that fails Wikipedia's core policy of verifiability does not improve the quality of Wikipedia.

    Unsourced, non-neutral WP:BLP violations detract from Wikipedia's quality; see here: Kim reacted badly to these investigations ... This clearly shows why the deletion of Bullshido.net would improve the encyclopedia.

WP:NOHARM also provides some relevant reasons:
Just because having an article does not directly hurt anyone does not mean it should be kept. For example, if there has not been any verifiable information published in reliable sources about the subject then there is no way to check whether the information in the article is true, and it may damage the reputation of the subject and the project. Even if it is true, without the ability to check it, false information could very well start to seep in.

As for articles about subjects that do not hold to our basic tenets (verifiability, notability, and using reliable sources), keeping them actually can do more harm than one realizes – it sets a precedent that dictates that literally anything can go here.

  • Although the first paragraph is more relevant to WP:BLPs, it is applicable to all articles. In a nutshell: the lack of verifiability means that the original research in Bullshido.net may or may not be true. Since there is no way to verify this information, false information may start seeping in. This will damage the reputation of Wikipedia. Cunard (talk) 06:41, 30 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Those investigation we're carried out the site, WP policy does not dictate what it reports on that has already happened, or are you suggesting that if someone dosen't like something in Panorama we should delete the article on that? I'm not saying BS is as notable as that just that the point is invalid. --Natet/c 17:12, 29 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • I don't understand the first sentence of your reply, but I can respond to the following sentences. If Panorama were solely composed of original research, it should be rewritten because there are plenty of sources about it. Bullshido.net is solely composed of original research, but it cannot be written because it is a non-notable website and there are no sources about it. Cunard (talk) 18:16, 30 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • The off wiki actions of an individual, group, or program have no baring on if an article on the subject is valild. So the argument is essentialy null, it dose not supprot or oppose notability so does not belong in an AfD disscusion. --Natet/c 09:31, 1 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Very fair and reasoned response. If I may play devil's advocate for a moment, ALL articles run the risk of false information seeping in. This is the very nature of Wikipedia. When that happens, we remove it. If it happens too often, we protect it. If there is original research in an article we can and should remove that too. How does this article appear if we make all the necessary corrections. Is it completely vacant, or not? JBsupreme (talk) 06:46, 30 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • If we make all the necessary removal of original research, the article will lack sufficient context. As kelapstick (talk · contribs) said above, the article would only consist of: "Bullshido.net is a martial arts website that was involved in the exposing of David "Race" Bannon as a fraud." I doubt that this piece of information would improve Wikipedia. Cunard (talk) 06:57, 30 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • My analysis of the sources above shows that none are sufficient to source the information in the article; nor are they useful for the creation of a shorter article — even a stub — that does not have original research. I have not "edited aggressively" anything from the article, so you may judge the article on what it looks like right now. In the searches I performed on Google, Google News Archive, Google Books, and Yahoo!, I could not find any reliable sources that could expand this beyond what kelapstick (talk · contribs) said above (which I quoted in my reply to JBSupreme): "Bullshido.net is a martial arts website that was involved in the exposing of David "Race" Bannon as a fraud." That single sentence does not improve Wikipedia. If an editor were to edit out the original research, only that single sentence will remain.

    The lack of reliable sources means that the article fails WP:WEB and the presence of solely original research means that this article is not verifiable and may contain false information. Those are the reasons why I believe that this article should be deleted. Cunard (talk) 21:58, 30 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.