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. The contention in this AfD dealt with whether the article passes the WP:GNG and whether it, by existing, meets the requirements of our current accepted standards. The inital comments about Google Maps being a enough to pass as a secondary source were discounted as weak, as were arguments consisting simply 'per above'. While I am leaning towards a deletion on the point of sufficient sourcing, the major sticking point lies with the argument that state routes are notable by default. Given the mixed responses in this AfD, it would be innapropriate to swim against the status quo. Whether state routes are notable by default is a topic for the Wikiproject, and much more examined discussion encompassing all articles needs to take place. As such, no consensus reflects the conflict between the lack of sources and the accepted practice currently in place. \ Backslash Forwardslash / (talk) 06:06, 14 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

New Jersey Route 64 (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) (delete) – (View log)
(Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs· FENS · JSTOR · TWL)

Does not meet our criteria for inclusion. Notability is defined as, "... significant coverage in reliable secondary sources that are independent of the subject ...". I question the independence of a government discussing its own roads. That is, how is the New Jersey Department of Transportation considered independent of the roads located in its own state? –blurpeace (talk) 11:47, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Ironholds (talk) 13:22, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  1. significant coverage - no original research is involved; there are multiple primary and secondary sources
  2. reliable - Rutgers University is considered reliable; it is used twice; NJDOT is also considered reliable
  3. sources - Rutgers University and the several atlases/maps cited are secondary sources
  4. independent of the subject - Acknowledging that NJDOT may not be independent, Rutgers University is independent; it is neither on the road nor does it have anything to do with its maintenance. And the USDOT is clearly independent.
  5. presumed- "substantive coverage in reliable sources [discussed above] establishes a presumption, not a guarantee, that a subject is suitable for inclusion"
Isn't it ironic that this simple article about a road has generated more discussion in a few hours than the more wide-ranging discussions about date usage and the deprecation of future templates? Interesting, isn't it? Truthanado (talk) 14:28, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
No, the multiple secondary sources (reliable, third-party sourced independent of the subject, et al) must demonstrate significant coverage. "everything puts together adds up to a couple of paragraphs" isn't significant coverage. Note that each secondary source must show "significant coverage"; the primary ones don't come into this. Ironholds (talk) 14:31, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Well, Rutgers is probably quasi-independent, seeing as it's a state school. But there's a tradition of independent analysis by tenured professors. — Rickyrab | Talk 14:36, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Please read what I write. Independence is not in question; significant coverage is. Ironholds (talk) 14:37, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Which boils down to what is meant by significant. — Rickyrab | Talk 14:45, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Correct. So why did you bring up whether or not Rutgers is quasi-independent? Ironholds (talk) 14:57, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I was trying to clarify someone else's point about whether Rutgers was an independent source, which is another requirement of CNG. — Rickyrab | Talk 16:01, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I submit that a total of 9 references covering 6 different organizations and a span of 71 years is significant coverage. If not, then we must all consider deleting 90% of Wikipedia articles because many of them have significantly less coverage than this article does. Truthanado (talk) 16:35, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You aren't getting it. The multiple independent, secondary, third-party, reliable sources required under WP:GNG must each show "significant coverage". WP:GNG requires everything in one source (or two sources, obviously); it isn't a case of pick and mix where you can add coverage by primary sources into the fray. Ironholds (talk) 16:39, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Where does CNG say that the reliable sources must each show significant coverage? Can you point to that requirement? — Rickyrab | Talk 17:07, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The text itself and the footnote ("The 360-page book by Sobel and the 528-page book by Black on IBM are plainly non-trivial.", for example) is written in such a way as to imply that both sources must give "significant" coverage. Even taking that away and applying significant coverage on all the secondary sources collectively it still doesn't pass. Ironholds (talk) 19:36, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The word "each" doesn't even appear anywhere in Wikipedia:Notability. I don't know where that requirement would come from. It certainly is not any interpretation I have ever heard in various other notability discussions I have been involved in. I guess we will just have to have our different opinions. Further attempts at discussion are fruitless. Truthanado (talk) 21:45, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Lets go without "each" for now, then. Explain how the secondary sources in the article add up to "significant coverage". Ironholds (talk) 10:49, 8 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

*Delete It is verifiable, but apparently not notable, due to the lack of reliable secondary sources with significant coverage. Wikipedia is not a directory nor a map nor a road atlas. Edison (talk) 17:46, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • Comment (and note that I don't agree with either of you). I'm pretty sure that Julian knows what the word "refute" means. Some of the arguments have been contested to varying levels of success, but I would not go as far as to say "all...have been refuted." I'm sure that the closing admin will take all opinions into account and make a thoughtful closure. youngamerican (wtf?) 11:31, 10 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

*How about topic ban my big ass and your problems will dissapear. - If you want problems solved, topic ban me.Mitch32(The Password is... See here!) 02:07, 8 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Please revisit
One thing I want to add, is now that the NJ had made it clear they originally wanted to make NJ 64 a freeway, and for many decades after, it seems this may add to 64's clear notability. Length isn't everything.Mitch32(The Password is... See here!) 12:10, 9 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
No it doesn't. Length isn't everything, class isn't everything - in this case, WP:GNG is. I'd appreciate if you road enthusiasts could actually make arguments based on guidelines and policies rather than "stuff that makes sense in the Wikipedia inside my head". Ironholds (talk) 15:53, 12 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

There is definitely no consensus in this discussion and it is doubtful that further discussion would lead to anything but further differences of opinion. Therefore, per Wikipedia policy, I suggest this AfD discussion be closed and the article left as-is (i.e.-Keep, not delete), reason = no consensus reached. Truthanado (talk) 01:48, 10 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The nomination is serving more than the purpose of debating a deletion. It has become a venue for discussion, thus I believe it should be left open until closure time. –blurpeace (talk) 02:34, 10 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • If the government finds it fit to document these roads extensively, surely they must be somewhat notable, at least in their eyes. And in order for an article to pass GA, its sources must meet content criteria such as WP:V, WP:RS, and WP:OR; therefore, the fact that this article is a GA may be an indicator that it is sufficiently notable. –Juliancolton | Talk 13:44, 11 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • In this case, it is not an indicator. The sources are reliable, but that does not necessarily mean they're independent of the subject. The NJDOT's mission statement is, "Improving Lives by Improving Transportation." Wouldn't you assume that documenting roads would one of their duties? –blurpeace (talk) 16:23, 11 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • I think this becoming a WP:PS issue - not an AFD thing :| - Anyway, dividing up all sources looks like this:
This is how it looks to me. You can disagree - but these are how it fall.Mitch32(The Password is... See here!) 16:56, 11 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
To expand on this somewhat (since I previously wrote the same as only a "comment"), if this AfD closes as keep, I would be in favor of rewriting the policy to prevent future AfD's like this, and if it closes as delete or merge, then I would expect the delete voters here to be in favor of deleting many other road articles as well. But to have an AfD for just this one article leaves me confused and frustrated. I believe that sometimes an article that may not be notable by itself should be kept because it is part of a larger whole ... for an example of another such situation see Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/May 2069 lunar eclipse. By itself, the May 2069 lunar eclipse article wasn't much, but deleting it would have crippled the usability of the other lunar eclipse articles, and the lunar eclipses taken as a whole are certainly notable.
Likewise, surely no one would call the US highway system non-notable. If this road article were taken as part of a group, I think it would considered as notable. This is why I object to the single-article AfD. If the article were shorter, I would be in favor of a merge, but I believe this article should stand alone because merging it (and articles like it) into larger pages would produce very long articles. -- Soap Talk/Contributions 16:16, 12 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Have you read the discussion? The article is based on primary sources. In theory, I could write an article on an actor solely on sources taken from his website, but that does not make him notable, does it? The good article assessment does not necessarily establish notability, but may be an indicator of it. –blurpeace (talk) 01:05, 14 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.