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 delete. This is a largely indescriminate list focusing heavily on a recent event. Our concern for lists is not merely that each entry be supported by a source but that some encyclopedic constraint on entry actually exists. In this case the only constraint is that someone famous dumped a bucket of ice on their head for charity. There's not much of an upper bound for entries there and more importantly, there's little preventing the list from becoming a directory of specific events shown to exist.

Participants (on both sides) note that the Ice Bucket Challenge is "notable" and that individual members are notable, but this list merely represents the intersection of those two things. The clever memetic nature of the challenge makes managing this list quite difficult, as a number of advocates for deletion have noted. Although that is not, by itself, cause for deletion it's a good indicator that the list represents only that intersection.

Further, the size and nature of the list itself makes a merge highly problematic. Many editors have noted that merging this list into Ice Bucket Challenge will cause that page to grow unwieldy quickly. I'm inclined to agree. Even if we retain this as a standalone list, the nature of the list itself subverts reasonable attempts to cut it down to size. Proposals that the list be limited to particularly significant participants or actions are bound to be difficult and contentious because the list itself is indiscriminate. Again, that's an editorial concern but it flows directly from the reasons for deletion.

Those arguing to keep the list have noted (correctly) that each element meets the MOS on lists of people. While true, that's merely a guide to what goes on the list and not proof that the list is constrained by some encyclopedic interest. If we're interested in bringing the MOS into the discussion we could just as easily look at our guidance on standalone lists which points to the limited value of indiscriminate (though blue linked) lists.

By the numbers, the debate is relatively pitched. We do see some sockpuppet/SPA contributions, but that's not by itself dispositive or reason to distrust the sentiment behind keeping the list.

The compelling counteraguments which find support are, variously: the list itself isn't a red linked mess, the size/nature of the list makes it inappropriate for the related article, notability is permanent (directly responding to the RECENT charge), and the list itself is meticulously and prodigiously sourced. However, the arguments for deletion flow from relatively well established policy (mainly NOT) and even if we accept the majority of arguments to keep the list, the concerns about its indiscriminate nature remain. As such, I see a consensus to delete the list. I agree with many comments that a merge would be undesirable or difficult to accomplish and I don't think the title is a likely search term, so a redirect (with or without history) seems unwise. Protonk (talk) 15:47, 29 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

List of Ice Bucket Challenge participants[edit]

List of Ice Bucket Challenge participants (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log · Stats)
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Indiscriminate list of people in the Ice Bucket Challenge. Having a list of everybody who dumps ice water on their head and donates to charity is hardly encyclopedic, and would be similar to listing all the participants in a marathon. — Parent5446 (msg email) 01:29, 21 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Lists of people-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 01:48, 21 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep - While I didn't support splitting from the main article initially, the list has grown considerably. It's well sourced and I believe the Challenge is as notable as it is because of the various famous participants, so this list remains useful. A collapsible option on the main Ice Bucket Challenge remains a better solution than total deletion.LM2000 (talk) 07:11, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete When I voted to merge this list into the Ice Bucket Challenge article, it looked like this:[1]. It was much shorter, better organized and sourced and listed a proportionate amount of people who were legitimately famous. Now, it is unorganized, sourced poorly, incredibly long and contains a disproportionate number of people who only just meet notability requirements and are thus not particularly famous. While I debated several people on this point, I am now going to have to agree that this list is indiscriminate, or at the very least to overly broad to be of use to anyone. While I'm exited that so many people have contributed to this cause, I think that it has ultimately been demonstrated that any living person with an article could potentially be included on this list. I would not be surprised if the number of people potentially covered by this list entered the tens or even hundreds of thousands.
Now, the reason that I originally wanted a merge was because I felt that the fact that so many notable people from so many different fields were participating was an important aspect of the Ice Bucket Challenge to cover in the main article. However, at this point it would just be simpler to create a section in the article that directly states this, and perhaps namedrop a few uber-notable individuals (such as former president George W. Bush) whose participation was covered by reliable media sources (and by reliable I mean CNN or New York Times quality, not celebrity gossip sites, not sources owned by the notable subject and most certainly not YouTube or Facebook). While it would be possible to do a selective merge, it would ultimately take far less effort to start a section in the Ice Bucket Challenge article from scratch than to merge this list. As such, I support a delete. Spirit of Eagle (talk) 01:21, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete Changing my opinion as the list has changed. Once again, Spirit of Eagle has hit all the important points. This is no longer an encyclopedic article. JimVC3 (talk) 17:36, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Sub-question - doesn't this article survive, at least partly, on the notability of the subject matter of the main article? If there are sufficient WP:RS sources supporting that, isn't this list notable by default - it's just more detail? Martinevans123 (talk) 19:54, 21 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
1. User talk:8110charlie: contributions - no edits from January 2014 until yesterday
Why I am a sockpuppet? I use Wikipedia a lot but I don't edit it frequently. A coworker told me about this discussion and I were interested to participate in it. 8110charlie (talk) 16:04, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
2. User:Mohfinite: contribution - three total edits, and none since December 2013 until today
3. User:Bosozoku: contributions - five total edits, and none since April 2013 until today
4. User:Soupy sautoy: contributions - no edits from January 2013 until today
5. User:Mimiru123: contributions - newly registered account, all edits to the list or this AfD
Yeah, I registered recently. Because no one was doing what was necessary : 1) the list kept being deleted and created again on the main page, instead doing something clever. 2) Some people would keep deleting some names for some random reason (Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, for instance). 3) Some names were missing.Mimiru123 (talk) 06:02, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
6. User:Reiro: contributions - three edits since January 2014
7. User:117.192.170.214: contributions - IP user, only edit is this AfD

It's time to request a sock puppet investigation. This AfD smells like a giant sock puppet farm, and someone is trying to game the system. Dirtlawyer1 (talk) 22:45, 21 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

  • Comment regarding SPI Update - I have initiated a sock puppet investigation here: Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Soupy sautoy. everyone is welcome to review the editing histories linked above, draw their own conclusions, and voice their opinion at the newly opened SPI. I am changing my !vote to a firm "delete." Dirtlawyer1 (talk) 00:39, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment: In my opinion, there's no reason to suspect these are sockpuppets, and if you do, this is not the proper venue. The challenge has attracted an unprecedented amount of interest and coverage, even among young people who would ordinarily have little or no interest. The fact that lapsed editors are interested in the list is to me more of a sign that the challenge is hugely popular than a sign that something nefarious is going on. Softlavender (talk) 23:33, 21 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment: Just because some of us are not active Wiki Editors, does not make us "Sock Puppets". Is this what the whole Wikipedia Editor Circlejerk people talk about when it comes to Contributing? Instead of jumping to conclusions regarding someone having the motivation to rig the votes, how about be receptive of the fact that people care enough regarding an article's deletion to make an account/re-log in and vote. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mohfinite (talkcontribs) 00:03, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment, Ok. I admit it. I have a secret sockpuppet. B. Gates (Medina, Washington) 18:24, 22 August 2014 (UTC) [reply]
This isn't a meme, and calling it that is a real disservice and blow to the suffers of this disease, who heretofore have had little or no voice. Softlavender (talk) 23:33, 21 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Something being a meme is not a shameful thing. It is just that - it is something that propagated quickly on the internet through social media. It also in this case is helping a charity. Hence the need to keep the main article. But as a meme, documenting every detail is not our purpose -that's what a site like Know Your Meme can go into. We need to summarize the major point, and that, in this case, highlighting a few notable challengers, not every single one of them. --MASEM (t) 00:36, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I agree that this should never have been made into a standalone list. However, I feel that it is unusual for so many celebrities, entrepreneurs and political leaders to video tape themselves getting doused with freezing water for a charitable cause. While not supporting the continued existence of this list as a standalone, I feel that the fact that so many notable people have participated in the charity is worthy of coverage within the Ice Bucket Challenge article. Spirit of Eagle (talk) 00:54, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
A fair question to ask is , are those being listed (eg specifically the ones getting dumped on) actually following through on the charity aspect? The main article begs the question that one variation has people either donate $100 or dump ice water without the subsequent $10, eg just propagating the meme. As there's very little way to confirm that for some of the videos (like, its not clear from the Kermit the Frog one that there was a donation), then this is just "who helped spread the meme". Additionally, if this was a normal charity drive with an open register of donors, we would not list out who donated to that drive save for a few examples that were called out by third-parties. Every blue-linked person involved is far too indiscriminate in a case like this. --MASEM (t) 00:59, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I really don't think that it is relevant whether the celebrity donated money or not, as the rules consider getting drenched with ice water without donating to be a valid form of participation. I know that this has been criticized by some sources, but that is besides the point for this AfD. As for your point about charity drives, I completely agree with your point. I would note that the overwhelming majority of those who have participated are not listed. Hundreds of thousands of people have participated worldwide, but the list is obviously much shorter than that because only notable people who "were called out by third-parties" are included (any that do not met this criteria should be removed). Spirit of Eagle (talk) 01:10, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I really don't think that it is relevant whether the celebrity donated money or not, as the rules consider getting drenched with ice water without donating to be a valid form of participation. Then this list has nothing to do with the charity effort. It's about propagating a meme, and we don't document each person that does that (even the subset of people noted by third-party sources). Since there's nearly zero effort to participate in the "spread" (filming yourself being dumped with water), that's gives no significance to this list. --MASEM (t) 01:21, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
The rules of the ice bucket challenge are that a person either donate money or drench themselves with ice water. If they drench themselves in water, they are participating even if they have not donated money. Whether you want to call getting drenched without donating "charity" may be a point of debate, but people who do this are still participants by the definition of the challenge. I honestly do not understand how someone can fail to be a participant in an event that they are taking part in.Spirit of Eagle (talk) 02:37, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not saying they aren't participating, but now from the standard of WP's indiscriminate information, this is basically an equivalent to a person using a specific hashtag. There's no effort or end result beyond a feel-good aspect. Add that this is purposed set to be a 3^N viral expansion, and there's no practical end to this list. We do not document events of this trivial nature to this level, period. --MASEM (t) 02:41, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

First Break[edit]

Per WP:LISTPEOPLE, people are not supposed to be added to lists unless 1. they are notable and 2. their inclusion is backed up by a reliable source. So far, this list is in compliance with the guideline, so you would not be able to add yourself unless you are a notable individual (COI issues notwithstanding).Spirit of Eagle (talk) 00:42, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Yes I know the rules! I've been here for 5 and a half years I was just stating that because that's how the list feels like. JayJayWhat did I do? 01:53, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@JayJay:, uh no. Technically speaking, you have only been here for 5 years, 6 months and 30 days.  ΤheQ Editor  Talk? 20:03, 26 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Just because some celebrities have taken part in a "social craze", why does that belong in a Wikipedia list? That's like having a 'List of celebrities who have been rick roll'd" or "List of celebrities who have posted a lolcat photo". I don't think it's notable enough to make a standalone list, especially when a lot of people in this list are Z-listers or only just notable enough to be on Wikipedia themselves. --BZTMPS · (talk? contribs?) 15:25, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Who cares? The celebrities who have taken part could probably buy wikipedia and a bunch of jobsworth editors do not need this much say on something that hundreds of celebrities and even former presidents have taken part in.

Comment @Modest Genius Wrong, most of the sources are reliable. Several new users or IPs have added people citing Instagram or Youtube as it was easier than looking for an article about them, but I'm sure that most of them can be backed with better sources; that problem can be easily fixed. --Sofffie7 (talk) 10:55, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • In the first ten footnotes on the list, five are from Facebook.com, YouTube.com or Comicbooks.ocm -- none of which satisfy Wikipedia's guidelines for reliable sources per WP:RS. Dirtlawyer1 (talk) 11:05, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@Dirtlawyer1 I know, but I'm saying that this problem can be fixed and we could remove the people where nothing else can be found. So yeah we can work on finding better sources if that's truly the problem. I for example always try to have good sources when I add someone new to the list. However, if you feel that the content overall does not belong here, that's another problem.  ;) --Sofffie7 (talk) 11:23, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Per policy, but per policy, WP:PRIMARY sources are OK for simple incontrovertible facts. ("A primary source may ... be used ... to make straightforward, descriptive statements of facts that can be verified by any educated person with access to the primary source ....") are OK for simple incontrovertible facts. ("A primary source may ... be used ... to make straightforward, descriptive statements of facts that can be verified by any educated person with access to the primary source ...."). Softlavender (talk) 16:36, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, SL, primary sources may be used to establish facts (but not notability), but we generally do not treat blogs and other self-published sources as reliable sources per WP:SPS and [[W{:RS]]. Bottom line: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc., are generally not considered acceptable sources on Wikipedia. Dirtlawyer1 (talk) 16:47, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
These aren't blogs, and they are not establishiing notability. They are the WP:PRIMARY sources used "to make straightforward, descriptive statements of facts that can be verified by any educated person with access to the primary source". Exactly per policy. Softlavender (talk) 16:52, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
The list is literally growing by the minute and is getting out of control. Don't take this seriously but, it might almost be easier to note all the celebrities who have not participated in the challenge. :) Meatsgains (talk) 16:51, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
This isn't a fad, it's a charity fundraising drive event. Softlavender (talk) 18:56, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
How many people on this list are actually donating money, given they are taking the cheap way out of just dumping water on their head instead of actually donating $100 to the charity? In most cases we can't tell (I suspect some are, not all of these are avoiding the charity part, but we can't say all of them). --MASEM (t) 19:26, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
You've misunderstod the challenge. It's not a one or the other thing. The ice bucket raises awareness, and everyone who does the ice-bucket part challenge is encouraged if not expected to also donate. That's how the challenged has raised $53 million in less than two months. Softlavender (talk) 19:39, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
As the article states, and as I know people personally have done it, the "alternate" rules of just dousing oneself with water to avoid any charity element is commonplace, so unless the noted celebs actually state "Oh, and I donated too", we cannot assume these people are donated. You take that out, and just noting who is raising awareness of a cause by showing a 1-2 minute video on social media is far from an event we should even be documenting. --MASEM (t) 19:47, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
1. User:Neukenjezelf: contributions - 2 edits from August 2014 until today
2. User:112.198.77.131: contributions - IP user

Keivan.fTalk 19:34, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

@Keivan.f: I was going to suggest the same thing but you beat me to it. Meatsgains (talk) 19:37, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
lengthy unrelated chatter
  • Keep has 402 sources, must be notable. </sarcasm></wit></humor></closingadminignore>--v/r - TP 21:30, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@TParis: Well, I don't know why you said this, but because it has 402 sources it doesn't mean that it's notable. Some of them aren't reliable. We discuss about the material of this list here.Keivan.fTalk 21:56, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@Keivan.f: I hope someone else is kind enough to explain this to you. I'm just going to headdesk. On a related note, how is the planet Vulcan this time of year?--v/r - TP 22:02, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@Keivan.f: TP's post is what we call sarcasm... haha Meatsgains (talk) 22:29, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@TParis: AfD is no place for sarcasm anyway. --AmaryllisGardener talk 01:37, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Really? Says whom? Where is the policy?--v/r - TP 02:35, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@TParis: Are you taking WP:SARCASM too seriously? Usually pages in the WP namespace tagged with "Humorantipolicy" say that you should do the opposite of what you really should. (Wikipedia:Please bite the newbies, for example.) P.S. Aha, I knew I saw it somewhere! Here it is. Specifically "Avoid personal attacks against people who disagree with you; avoid the use of sarcastic language and stay cool." --AmaryllisGardener talk 02:50, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
What? Who said anything about a personal attack? Who am I personally attacking? I think this is the time for your to graciously step out and retract whatever argument you are trying to make. There is nothing against humor on Wikipedia.--v/r - TP 06:21, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@TParis: So I should find someone else who is kind enough to explain something to me. If you want something to be explained, explain it yourself.Keivan.fTalk 07:17, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I've already done so. Since you apparently didn't get the obvious, and I do mean obvious, someone else will have to explain it to you. Sometimes people are incapable of seeing something right in front of them.--v/r - TP 18:44, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@TParis: Let me tell you something. I don't need anyone, especially you, to be worry about what I see. I see what I want. And I think the obvious thing that you mentioned is right in your opinion but wrong in my mind. Keivan.fTalk 08:46, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Why do you ping me? Everyone else understood me, I don't need to keep getting called back by you. Not my fault you are having difficulties. Either you are incapable of getting it or you refuse to get it. Either way, I can't help you.--v/r - TP 08:53, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@TParis: I wasn't saying you personally attacked anyone, I just stated the line where it says to avoid sarcasm! Couldn't you see the bolded text? And don't say "there is nothing against humor on Wikipedia". There isn't anything against it period, but this is on AfD's page! I'm not against humor on Wikipedia at all anyway, but AfD is just not the place for it. --AmaryllisGardener talk 12:39, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Ahh, so you cherry picked lines from an essay to support what you were saying without reading the essay in context? I see. The essay says not to use sarcasm to personally attack someone - it does not say not to use sarcasm ever. Next time, you should try not cherry picking.--v/r - TP 18:44, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@TParis: Maybe it was just about personal attacks. Honestly I wasn't trying to "cherry pick". I read it as "Avoid personal attacks against people who disagree with you, avoid the use of sarcastic language, and stay cool." --AmaryllisGardener talk 20:02, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Righteo - that's my understanding too. So I ask you again, who was I personally attacking? My exact comment "Keep has 402 sources, must be notable. </sarcasm></wit></humor></closingadminignore>". Where is the attack and who is it directed at? Did you read the part of WP:NPA (a policy, unlike your essay) that says "Accusing someone of making personal attacks without providing a justification for your accusation is also considered a form of personal attack"? It appears to me the only one here making personal attacks is you. I'll accept your apology.--v/r - TP 21:16, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@TParis: No, I meant "Do not make personal attacks, do not use sarcasm either" I meant not having anything to do with personal attacks! --AmaryllisGardener talk 23:27, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@TParis: Adding to that, I'd like to see someone else's opinion about this. Feeling that wherever I get into a dispute with someone more respected than me, they do everything but personally attack me, I always try not to personally attack others. I hope that once this is resolved we can be on good terms. Regards, --AmaryllisGardener talk 00:40, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
You were never on bad terms with me, I've been screwing with you from the start. You should've bowed out earlier, I know these policies frontwards, backwards, upside down, and in the mirror universe.--v/r - TP 01:07, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Um, the first sentence of your reply sounds like you were testing me to see if I'd give in, and the second sentence sounds like I'm doomed because I didn't give in? I still don't see why sarcasm is needed here, but I give up. Maybe I use common sense too much. I am an administrator at Wikidata after all (a place where common sense practically rules). --AmaryllisGardener talk 02:34, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Amaryllis, would you mind dropping this? It's prolonging a completely unnecessary thread in an already overlong AfD. Everyone, even people who voted Keep for real (that includes me), could see that TP was making an extremely well-labeled joke. Could you please just step back and call it a day, for the sake of those of us who want this page to be navigable? Thanks. If you have anything further to discuss with TP, please retire to his Talk page, if you would. Thanks again! Softlavender (talk) 04:48, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@Softlavender: I said I gave up. One main reason I started with this was I thought TP didn't label his sarcasm, since Keivan was confused about it. Dropped. --AmaryllisGardener talk 12:32, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Second Break[edit]

1. User:94.189.198.68: contributions
2. User:23.242.72.149: contributions

Keivan.fTalk 07:20, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

  • There is certainly no consensus to delete. Are you proposing the AfD is closed early? Martinevans123 (talk) 18:41, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Yes that's what I would like but I don't know whether it sometimes happen or not so I was just wondering :) The list is getting out of control now. There may not be a clear consensus now, but you have to keep in mind that most people who were in favor of keeping it were either newbies (who created an account for this matter only) or not very active users in general, which could explain that they might not know Wikipedia's standards. Several users who have been here active for a long time have changed their vote since then. 83.134.218.196 (talk) 18:56, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • We don't "weight" votes depending on length of editing. In fact we don't even have votes. But what would you regard as "in control" exactly? Oh, and as you are not editing with a user name, does that mean you are also "a newbie"? Martinevans123 (talk) 19:05, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • @83.134.218.196: I'm newbie in English WP, but I also heavy editor in Korean WP. So I am confident I know well Policies and guidelines of Wikipedia. Your comment makes me unpleasant.--Reiro (talk) 20:17, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • you mean "Your comment makes me feel unpleasant." Martinevans123 (talk) 20:24, 23 August 2014 (UTC) p.s. my Google Translate fails spectacularly with Korean. [reply]
  • I write English originally in there, not Korean.--Reiro (talk) 21:03, 23 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Third Break[edit]

eight Hong Kong socks with nearly sequential IPs chime in with !votes in rapid succession; related commentary
  • Delete as an worthless list of unmaintainable trivia. 27.122.12.72 (talk) 05:25, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Please delete the dumb list already. Can we just end the debate early? This fails meeting any criteria for Wikipedia. 116.193.159.38 (talk) 05:28, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete Not important enough 116.193.159.46 (talk) 05:30, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • I would like to voice my vote to delete. I do not think it is necessary to wait 5 more days to delete this, the votes are clearly stacking up in favor of removing this content. This is a bane on this encyclopedia. This type of thing belongs on a pop culture blog, and not an encyclopaedia. 116.193.159.37 (talk) 05:34, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete - Failing to meet even the most basic of notabililty guide lines. 116.193.159.42 (talk) 05:36, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete It serves of no value on Wikipedia. 27.122.12.78 (talk) 05:38, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete Has no context of its own without the main article. This unmaintainable list, has no place on Wikipedia. 116.193.159.50 (talk) 05:40, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete Not encyclopedic. It is simple this is not yahoo news 116.193.159.52 (talk) 05:43, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment Six Hong Kong IPs vote cast delete votes within a half hour of each other... Somebody wants this to be over with quickly.LM2000 (talk) 06:05, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    • Agreed that the !votes (6 of them as I type) from 116.193.159.* should be discounted. --MASEM (t) 06:12, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Note: I see 8 Hong Kong IPs directly above -- 2 from 27.122.12.7*, and 6 from 116.193.159.*. All are Delete !votes. Softlavender (talk) 07:00, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
My bad, you're right. The 27s and 116s are both from Hong Kong, so that's eight sock votes in a row.LM2000 (talk) 07:07, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Jeez, they couldn't even make an attempt at sounding believable? Six nearly identical IP addresses voting in direct secession of one another — nothing suspicious about that. Kurtis (talk) 11:04, 25 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I'd appreciate it if people would please stop misrepresenting this as "people who had rather a bucket of cold water poured on their heads than pay 100 bucks to a charity". All of the notable participants I've come across have donated. It's certainly not a one or the other thing -- this is an awareness-raising activity and a call to donate. That's how the foundation has raised $70 million in three weeks. So I'd say nearly everyone notable participating is donating. Softlavender (talk) 03:25, 25 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Citation needed. Unless they specifically say they have , you have no evidence that every person on this list donated. I know some have clearly made sure to say they donated (like Neil Gaiman's this morning), but again, as pointed out in the article on the ALS challenge, some have simply been dumping water and avoiding the charity so we cannot assume that everyone has donated. --MASEM (t) 03:31, 25 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@Softlavender: No problem, Softlavender: so let's restrict this list to those people who did donate, since this would be a welcome clarification. As it is, I am entitled to believe this is just a list of people preferring a bucket of cold water to a donation. Sad! --Azurfrog (talk) 23:19, 25 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Unnecessary. The list is of notable people who participated in the challenge, not how much they donated. If you really think that notable people who can afford to donate did not, I personally find that incredibly cynical and misanthropic. The challenge has raised $80 million in three weeks. Softlavender (talk) 23:31, 25 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
How much did they contribute? the minimum $10? the recommended $100? <sarcasm>WOW</sarcasm>. Those types of charitible donations are done all the time by average people, so it is super trivial. Now, if they poured water over their head and made what I would consider to be a reasonably donation that went beyond the "everyman" aspect that the challenge originally captured, like $10,000 or more, then that would be something to possibly document, but you'd need to site that first, and in the bulk of these, I'm not seeing any mention of the monetary amount they gave each time. Again, no one is trivializing the overall outcoming, but the documentation of this fine a detail is not WP's job per WP:IINFO. --MASEM (t) 23:38, 25 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
My point exactly, as it shows that this list is both indiscriminate and potentially limitless. --Azurfrog (talk) 19:24, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
With at least half of them from social media sites (youtube, twitter, instagram, facebook). That's not appropriate sourcing for Wikipedia. --MASEM (t) 19:29, 24 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
WP:PRIMARY sources can be used "to make straightforward, descriptive statements of facts that can be verified by any educated person with access to the primary source", per policy. Softlavender (talk) 03:25, 25 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
That's fine to validate, but does nothing to show the notability of the action of the person getting dumped on with ice water. If this was based on a list compiled by a secondary source, that might be something, but compiling it ourselves is a problem. --MASEM (t) 03:33, 25 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This debate has been included in the list of Events-related deletion discussions. Good afternoon (talk) 10:41, 25 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment: User has 5 contributions. --CrunchySkies (talk) 05:30, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
It's not possible to merge this article -- it's far too large. NOTE TO CLOSING ADMIN: PLEASE IGNORE ALL MERGE !VOTES BECAUSE THE ARTICLE IS FAR TOO LARGE TO MERGE. Softlavender (talk) 08:28, 26 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Reply - If it is not possible to merge this article because of its size, that only implies the possibility of splitting the page somewhere down the road. --Jax 0677 (talk) 19:08, 26 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment: User has <50 contributions, and this !vote was their first edit in 11 months. --CrunchySkies (talk) 07:28, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Yes, that list has the same problems and if you look around, it is an example of the type of list that makes Wikipedia a laughing stock. We should not be dealing in the trivia. That said, however, that there is definitely interest in other sources in explaining problems of colleges with lax standards or that are diploma mills that use the example of animal/pet degrees as an issue, so there is some justification for explaining some cases. --MASEM (t) 14:03, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Fourth Break[edit]

  • The reason why many feel it could be merged is the article has become increasingly bloated and much of it is rather poorly sourced. After cutting out all the bad sourcing, it would be more manageable. Snuggums (talk / edits) 21:35, 26 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • More manageable, but still not manageable enough. Back before the list was first split from the main article, it was much shorter and more carefully sourced than it is now, but it still took up a large proportion of the page and interfered with editing the rest of the article. —Mr. Granger (talk · contribs) 22:09, 26 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • If there was a way to only include the participants that had the most notable ice bucket events, there might be reason to keep it. This would need to be elevated beyond just being in a third-party source, and more than just an article that is "Hey, look, X did the IBC". To compare, List of Internet phenomena is a list that requires a major, high quality RS to make note of the fact that the specific item is one that meets the guidelines. This prevents that list from becoming a second copy of Know Your Meme. If a similar inclusion criteria could be found here, I would be all for keeping this list. However, when I go through the sources, ignoring straight up YouTube links and the link, the bulk are "okay" RS sites but are aimed at a "Look at me" type fashion (TMZ, Daily Mail) or too tied to the industry or local they cover to be independent (for example, notable video game developers sourced to video game sources is not good enough, or a local paper reporting on a local celebrity doing it). I'm looking for things like the NYTimes or the BBC to report on these. But I don't think such a level can be set well at this article, and it will always be a challenge to rein in inclusion (compared to the Internet phenomena article that we're having very little problems with). Hence deletion still makes the most sense. --MASEM (t) 22:19, 26 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with the idea of making this a category instead of a list. --BZTMPS · (talk? contribs?) 13:44, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, making it a category is a horrendous idea. When placing article X in category Y, we generally require that the article more or less explicitly shows that it indeed belongs to Y. The last thing we need is people going around thousands of articles and adding "X participated in the ice bucket challenge" just to add it to the category. It's a completely useless factoid in most biographies. Pichpich (talk) 22:50, 28 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • The majority that chimed in on this issue on this AfD have said they are against using primary sources, and when this list was part of the main Ice Bucket Challenge article the consensus was that a secondary source was needed for inclusion. I personally agree with AmaryllisGardener's changes.LM2000 (talk) 04:27, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Two references can be given then, one showing the person's activity is notable because it got coverage, and the other shows where they did it at for those who want to see it. Dream Focus 05:40, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Spot checking, 90% of the references on this list after you remove the SPS (Youtube/facebook links) are sources that say "Hey, look at this person do it". This is not a source of notability as that is not significant coverage of the event. (Contrast: this is better than average in actually saying a bit about the specific version of the challenge). unless you can trim the list to this small percentage, this still is indiscriminate inclusion. --MASEM (t) 05:50, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • No matter how many times you repeat yourself, it doesn't change reality. It is not an indiscriminate list. Just because there isn't always a lot of information to write about the person, doesn't make any difference at all. Reliable sources felt it notable enough to mention, so that makes it notable enough to be on a list article. We're not making an individual article page for each person's ice bucket event. Dream Focus 06:22, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • An indiscriminate list can be one where there is an inclusion metric but it is so diffuse that the resulting list remains unmanageable. For example, "List of people with "a" in their names". This is a case where because the act of participating is so simple and the sourcing requirements extremely weak, that the resulting list is also unmanageable and thus indiscriminate, akin to listing all people who have Twitter accounts. --MASEM (t) 13:53, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • The list *is* manageable, just look at the article. Simply being large does not make something unmanageable, and being unmanageable is not related to being indiscriminate. If an article can be fixed through normal editing then it is not a candidate for deletion.AioftheStorm (talk) 21:13, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Fifth Break[edit]

Agree completely. At the end of the day, this is my biggest concern... not often is an AfD article actively edited so intensely by so many editors. No matter what else happens, this effort should at least be preserved somehow on the project space for posterity... please see to that. If this winds up "Delete", I think the best way to handle it would be either to Userfy the content, or change the article into a protected redirect to Ice Bucket Challenge -- in either event, keeping edit history intact of course. I haven't even worked on the article much, but if no one closer to the situation wants this on their Userspace, I'll volunteer mine. --CrunchySkies (talk) 13:41, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment WP:MERCY, WP:EFFORT, and WP:LOSE aren't very convincing arguments for AFD's as they don't explain the value of keeping an article. If you'd like to retain the information, I suggest storing in sandbox or a word processing document or something. Snuggums (talk / edits) 15:03, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I don't see how there will be any consensus to delete. I count about the same number of keeps and deletes at the moment. Martinevans123 (talk) 20:44, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
AFDs are not vote counting processes, it is based on the policy arguments presented. --MASEM (t) 21:09, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I was aware of that. Except what happens when arguments are evenly stacked? Do you think there is a consensus to delete? Martinevans123 (talk) 21:14, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
While that should be the case in practice it never is. An admin will either delete or keep this depending on whether they like or dislike the topic, or it will be closed as no-consensus because there is a roughly even "vote".AioftheStorm (talk) 21:17, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Are you sure? Have you checked all of the usual "reliable" sources -- like Jimmy's Facebook, Instagram, MySpace and Twitter pages? Dirtlawyer1 (talk) 22:45, 28 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@Dirtlawyer1: He's not on this list. Martinevans123 never said that he didn't do it, he just said that he wasn't on this list. --AmaryllisGardener talk 22:53, 28 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Perhaps you misunderstood my ironic comment regarding reliable sources. I have now added scare quotes to the word "reliable" in my comment above. Dirtlawyer1 (talk) 23:01, 28 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@Dirtlawyer1: I see. --AmaryllisGardener talk 23:05, 28 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I know this. I'm not saying it's notable now, just that deleting it now would piss people off. Once it isn't cool anymore, they won't mind. The illusion of notability is temporary. There's less harm in leaving a poor article up for a while. It's not exactly slanderous or anything, just a bit stupid. InedibleHulk (talk) 12:50, 29 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
This actually makes perfect sense to me. If there's no consensus to delete now, it might be worth revisiting the issue in six months or a year. Cheers, Dawn Bard (talk) 15:39, 29 August 2014 (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.