Worst Wikipedia article titles

[The Devil's Advocate]

Baseball metaphors for sex has to be one of the better ones, because you can't excuse it as a formal title for the subject.

[EricBarbour]

Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them! controversy (T-H-L)

One of the notorious "men's rights" target articles. And one of the few places on Wikipedia where right-wing cranks like Glenn Sacks and Rush Limbaugh will be quoted as "references".
Still amazing to me that things like the misandry and "violence against men" categories aren't being deleted every day. Wikipedia tends to be PC to an extreme.

And btw, men's rights leads to Category:Fashion_freedom (T-H-L), which contains:
Male bra (T-H-L)
Men's skirts (T-H-L)
Pantyhose for men (T-H-L)
The Utilikilts Company (T-H-L) (a company that Wikipedia actually likes!)

[Hersch]

Keep 'em coming, ladies and gents -- I'm working up a splendid blog post for next week.

[eppur si muove]

More contenders:
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo (T-H-L)
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously (T-H-L)
James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher (T-H-L)
Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft (T-H-L)
Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them! controversy (T-H-L)
Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion incident (T-H-L)
Baseball metaphors for sex (T-H-L)
New Testament athletic metaphors (T-H-L)
Proverbs commonly attributed to be Chinese (T-H-L)
Vampire pumpkins and watermelons (T-H-L)

I culled these all from Wikipedia:Unusual Articles (T-H-L).

"Colorless green ideas sleep furiously." is a famous example sentence by Noam Chomsky. The existence of an article for it and ones for the repeated "buffalo"s and "had"s isn't an issue with Wikipedia, though the lack of a full stop in the title could be criticised.

[Anroth]

I am not sure how you could rename the buffalo one so it was more informative without making it needlessly wordy. As it is, its going to stand out and accurately depicts what the article is about.

[dogbiscuit]

I am not sure how you could rename the buffalo one so it was more informative without making it needlessly wordy. As it is, its going to stand out and accurately depicts what the article is about.

Isn't the issue that in any real encyclopedia, these would be individual examples not worthy of an entire article? The enthusiasm for minutiae is what makes these articles, so there is a lack of balance overall. That someone could generate such a long article on Buffalo for contrived trivia of no real educational merit... these are Pokemon articles.

[Anroth]

I should point out that I really have caught them all. So that argument wont work with me

[dogbiscuit]

I should point out that I really have caught them all. So that argument wont work with me

???

I guess the underlying point is, no editorial control to sort this out. If someone wants an article and can fill it, it stays even if it is quite pointless as an article. You can't crowd-source management, and Wikipedia desperately needs managing. (And don't count AN/I as management).

[Anroth]

I should point out that I really have caught them all. So that argument wont work with me

???

I guess the underlying point is, no editorial control to sort this out. If someone wants an article and can fill it, it stays even if it is quite pointless as an article. You can't crowd-source management, and Wikipedia desperately needs managing. (And don't count AN/I as management).

Guess you would need to be a pokemon player to get that one...

Well using the above example of the Buffalo sentence article, what editorial control would you use to 'sort this out'? I found it useful in the past when I first heard of it, mainly because of the detail in which it breaks down the sentence. Its educational and the blue links to other articles are relevant/informative. You could probably cut it down heavily and include it in another article as an example of its type. But unless we start counting KB there is not really any need to.

[lilburne]

But unless we start counting KB there is not really any need to.

360+ watchers 4000+ edits revert->vandal->revert this stuff is not free its cost is in maintenance, and that maintenance is becoming harder:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?tit ... =436638618

[Retrospect]

You could probably cut it down heavily and include it in another article as an example of its type. But unless we start counting KB there is not really any need to.

Yep. WP:ISNOT paper is a great argument to justify keeping any amount of bloody rubbish on WP. But you try using it to keep a worthwhile article that some members of "the community" don't like and see how far it gets you!

[Anroth]

But unless we start counting KB there is not really any need to.

360+ watchers 4000+ edits revert->vandal->revert this stuff is not free its cost is in maintenance, and that maintenance is becoming harder:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?tit ... =436638618

I tried reading that discussion, I got as far as EP saying 'at the end of the day' and realised it was only going to go downhill.

I do find the argument 'we shouldnt make edits because it might be difficult to maintain' a bit weak though. If we only did things that were low-maintenence, WP would be a very boring place.

[dogbiscuit]

I do find the argument 'we shouldnt make edits because it might be difficult to maintain' a bit weak though. If we only did things that were low-maintenence, WP would be a very boring place.

That's a bit of a Wikipedian way to argue it though. The argument is not that, but overburdening the encyclopedia with pointless rubbish simply because we can means that everything becomes more complicated. The issue of filling Commons with crap is more obvious - especially when nothing really gets deleted and then it becomes an issue that it becomes actually impossible to properly maintain the system - backups take days or become endless, storage costs escalate, performance becomes an issue and so on. A fork is impossible because of the gigantic amount of crap being carried around.

How much could you cull from Wikipedia and still have something recognisable as very comprehensive?

In the main, it is about seeing the wood for the trees. If you were to have say a quality initiative, where you tried to ensure that everything was of a minimum standard? Can't contemplate it, so what happens is that the core articles get churned and the pet project articles gather dust.

[lilburne]

But unless we start counting KB there is not really any need to.

360+ watchers 4000+ edits revert->vandal->revert this stuff is not free its cost is in maintenance, and that maintenance is becoming harder:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?tit ... =436638618

I tried reading that discussion, I got as far as EP saying 'at the end of the day' and realised it was only going to go downhill.

I do find the argument 'we shouldnt make edits because it might be difficult to maintain' a bit weak though. If we only did things that were low-maintenence, WP would be a very boring place.

The issue is that rather than 1 article there are 10, 20, 100, ... each of which needs watching, so one ends up with Bugs claiming to have 5000 articles on his watch list. You can't possibly watch 5000 articles. Those particular synagogue articles have almost no one watching. If they clumped them all together into a regional article which discussed issues of Judaism in the particular location, and tied to wider issues then the stuff would make sense. Or if after creating the stuff they locked it down against random edits.

They are adding 1000s of stub articles on roads, villages, and beetles, no one is going to watch those, no one is going to notice if someone adds photos of the wrong thing, no one will know is someone adds crap about the local publican, rabbi, or village elder. There are a bunch of them catting up photos of hedges and bridle paths, and another bunch coming along behind recatting them. No fucker cares. Its all just make busy work.

[Kelly Martin]

Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them! controversy (T-H-L)

One of the notorious "men's rights" target articles. And one of the few places on Wikipedia where right-wing cranks like Glenn Sacks and Rush Limbaugh will be quoted as "references".
Still amazing to me that things like the misandry and "violence against men" categories aren't being deleted every day. Wikipedia tends to be PC to an extreme.

And btw, men's rights leads to Category:Fashion_freedom (T-H-L), which contains:
Male bra (T-H-L)
Men's skirts (T-H-L)
Pantyhose for men (T-H-L)
The Utilikilts Company (T-H-L) (a company that Wikipedia actually likes!)

I almost quit Wikipedia after my first run-in with the men's rights manchildren. Oh, if only....

[Kelly Martin]

I am not sure how you could rename the buffalo one so it was more informative without making it needlessly wordy. As it is, its going to stand out and accurately depicts what the article is about.

Both the multibuffalo and the Chomsky sentence would be, perhaps, mentioned in the entry on linguistics, and perhaps in the biographies of their respective inventors. They don't necessarily deserve their own articles, although cross-reference headings are perhaps appropriate. Wikipedia's editors have no clue how to organize information usefully.

[The Devil's Advocate]

Here is another if you still want some.

Catholic politicians, abortion and communion or excommunication (T-H-L)

Just remembered this gem while looking over Rob's RfC/U. Forked product of an edit war on Catholic Church and abortion (T-H-L) between Esoglou (T-C-L) and Roscelese (T-C-L), it was, as expected, subject to immediate edit-warring upon its creation.

[The Devil's Advocate]

Just stumbled upon this one:

1983 West Bank fainting epidemic (T-H-L)

Was originally called "Poison affair of Palestinian schoolgirls" so it just went from one horrible title to another.

[isaan]

No encyclopedia would be complete without the following article subject.

Glucosaminylgalactosylglucosylceramide beta-galactosyltransferase (T-H-L)

Okay, not exactly a hotbed of edit-warring or biased writing, since it's only been updated by bots since its inception, but what a useless conceit. Experts will already know actually reliable sources from which to find any needed information, and general readers will gain absolutely nothing.

[Sweet Revenge]

No encyclopedia would be complete without the following article subject.

Glucosaminylgalactosylglucosylceramide beta-galactosyltransferase (T-H-L)

Okay, not exactly a hotbed of edit-warring or biased writing, since it's only been updated by bots since its inception, but what a useless conceit. Experts will already know actually reliable sources from which to find any needed information, and general readers will gain absolutely nothing.

Somebody start an "In popular culture" section. Now!

[Willbeheard]

No encyclopedia would be complete without the following article subject.

Glucosaminylgalactosylglucosylceramide beta-galactosyltransferase (T-H-L)

Okay, not exactly a hotbed of edit-warring or biased writing, since it's only been updated by bots since its inception, but what a useless conceit. Experts will already know actually reliable sources from which to find any needed information, and general readers will gain absolutely nothing.

This is an odd article to come from WillowW. He is a sound, sensible editor who made nearly 30,000 edits, including 4,600 in one month, though he's only made five in the last 12 months.

http://toolserver.org/~tparis/pcount/in ... =wikipedia

But usually his thing is maths and mechanics; he's done very little on biochemistry. When people wander outside their specialisms, how reliable are they, one wonders.

[Volunteer Marek]

Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them! controversy (T-H-L)

One of the notorious "men's rights" target articles. And one of the few places on Wikipedia where right-wing cranks like Glenn Sacks and Rush Limbaugh will be quoted as "references".
Still amazing to me that things like the misandry and "violence against men" categories aren't being deleted every day. Wikipedia tends to be PC to an extreme.

And btw, men's rights leads to Category:Fashion_freedom (T-H-L), which contains:
Male bra (T-H-L)
Men's skirts (T-H-L)
Pantyhose for men (T-H-L)
The Utilikilts Company (T-H-L) (a company that Wikipedia actually likes!)

I almost quit Wikipedia after my first run-in with the men's rights manchildren. Oh, if only....

From that "Boys are stupid article": People magazine ran a story on the T-shirt, opening with a quote from a then 10 year-old girl, "I want to make boys feel bad because it's fun."

Man, those 10 year old femi-nazis! When will they stop oppressing us?!?

[Vocal]

Category:BDSM people (T-H-L) is pretty bad, too.

[isaan]

No encyclopedia would be complete without the following article subject.

Glucosaminylgalactosylglucosylceramide beta-galactosyltransferase (T-H-L)

Okay, not exactly a hotbed of edit-warring or biased writing, since it's only been updated by bots since its inception, but what a useless conceit. Experts will already know actually reliable sources from which to find any needed information, and general readers will gain absolutely nothing.

This is an odd article to come from WillowW. He is a sound, sensible editor who made nearly 30,000 edits, including 4,600 in one month, though he's only made five in the last 12 months.

http://toolserver.org/~tparis/pcount/in ... =wikipedia

But usually his thing is maths and mechanics; he's done very little on biochemistry. When people wander outside their specialisms, how reliable are they, one wonders.

To the extent that such things may be determined online I believe WillowW is female, for instance see this. Other than that, I agree that WillowW has been generally an exceptionally good contributor to technical scientific articles, so this one is probably an anomaly.

[EricBarbour]

Category:BDSM people (T-H-L) is pretty bad, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_X

In 2006, Ariel X started wrestling for various adult XXX wrestling companies. In September, 2009, Ariel X won the season 6 championship for kink.com's Ultimate Surrender.[6] She was one of the smallest competitors in the tournament. Ultimate Surrender does not have weight classes.

In 2008, Ariel X portrayed a model named Roxy in the horror movie "Slaughtered".

In November, 2010, Ariel X entered into the merchant services business. She works with a reseller in merchant services setting up high risk and adult merchant accounts.[7] She still works as a performer in the adult industry.

She has stated that she prefers mostly women, but fell in love with a man once: "I don't know..I loved one man..I’m sure it could happen again…so confusing. [...] I love women but I’d turn straight for the right one." [8]

Is this an "encyclopedia" or a supermarket tabloid?

[Vocal]

Category:BDSM people (T-H-L) is pretty bad, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_X

In 2006, Ariel X started wrestling for various adult XXX wrestling companies. In September, 2009, Ariel X won the season 6 championship for kink.com's Ultimate Surrender.[6] She was one of the smallest competitors in the tournament. Ultimate Surrender does not have weight classes.

In 2008, Ariel X portrayed a model named Roxy in the horror movie "Slaughtered".

In November, 2010, Ariel X entered into the merchant services business. She works with a reseller in merchant services setting up high risk and adult merchant accounts.[7] She still works as a performer in the adult industry.

She has stated that she prefers mostly women, but fell in love with a man once: "I don't know..I loved one man..I’m sure it could happen again…so confusing. [...] I love women but I’d turn straight for the right one." [8]

Is this an "encyclopedia" or a supermarket tabloid?

When I picture a Wikipedia contributor, I picture a bot, hovering around the interwebz, hoovering up every last bit of info, no matter how insignificant, and collating them into a page.

[HRIP7]

It has to be said that not all these titles are silly upon inspection, and that many readers like it that Wikipedia has articles on obscure subjects that no one else covers. The Buffalo sentence article is an example – I read it, it was useful and entertaining, and it's hard to see what other title to give it. So arguing to the public that Wikipedia should not have articles on narrow topics like that may not be very effective. They mostly like'em and might consider us spoil-sports.

What plays into this is that in today's information-saturated society the psychological need for answers to idle questions often seems to be greater than the need for dependable answers. People like collecting facts. My impression is they don't actually care that much if a few of them should turn out on closer inspection to have been wrong. Even a wrong answer can still an idle question in one's mind and cause a subjective feeling of "knowing" another fact, with an associated feel-good factor.

[Michaeldsuarez]

http://wikipediocracy.com/2012/08/15/whats-in-a-name/:

Another fun article title from the same historical period was “Iranian Genocidal Intentions”, which apparently did not have enough Reliable Sources™ to survive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&profile=all&search=%22iranian+genocidal+intentions%22

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Israeli_apartheid/Archive_1#This_article_is_less_valid_than_Iranian_genocidal_intentions

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22iranian+genocidal+intentions%22

I haven't found any evidence of a Wikipedia article named "Iranian genocidal intentions" actually existing. Special:Log doesn't mention any such article. From what I can see, some guy just made a red link to an article that didn't exist. Can someone please correct the blog entry?

[Hersch]

I made the sentence in question more ambiguous, since I don't know conclusively that someone did not attempt to create such an article.

[Volunteer Marek]

This one's not a silly title but a pretty silly article: Economics of gambling (T-H-L)

I like how it delivers on its promise "The economic benefits and costs resulting from the toss of a die will be examined in detail."

[Hersch]

It has to be said that not all these titles are silly upon inspection, and that many readers like it that Wikipedia has articles on obscure subjects that no one else covers. The Buffalo sentence article is an example – I read it, it was useful and entertaining, and it's hard to see what other title to give it.

I think Kelly addressed that issue adroitly (I also liked her used of the term "multibuffalo.") The information in question would unquestionably be found in a normal encyclopedia, but under a title for which someone might actually be searching, and probably grouped with similar clever constructions.

[Michaeldsuarez]

I made the sentence in question more ambiguous, since I don't know conclusively that someone did not attempt to create such an article.

http://wikipediocracy.com/2012/08/15/whats-in-a-name/:

Another fun article title from the same historical period was “Iranian Genocidal Intentions”, which apparently did not have enough Reliable Sources™ to cut the mustard.

"Did not have enough Reliable Sources™ to cut the mustard" doesn't really let readers know that the article never existed. In addition, it's out of context. Zeq appears to have been using "Iranian genocidal intentions" as an example for why the "Israeli apartheid" article shouldn't exist:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Israel_and_the_apartheid_analogy&diff=55739997

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Israel_and_the_apartheid_analogy&diff=55741948

Zeq wasn't advocating for the creation of an "Iranian genocidal intentions" article.

[Hersch]

Dude, even if the article title only existed in Zeq's fevered imagination, I think it is germane to the topic to mention it. My carefully worded mention does not assert anything contrary to the facts.

[Anroth]

Ha! Anyone else reminded of Pinocchio in the Shrek films when he is avoiding telling the truth?

[EricBarbour]

Fuck for the heir Puppy Bear!

Entirely authored by one Russian nut, somehow connected to this nut.

[Michaeldsuarez]

Fuck for the heir Puppy Bear!

Entirely authored by one Russian nut, somehow connected to this nut.

One, two, or three people tried to have that incident mentioned in the "Pussy Riot" article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pussy_Riot&diff=507745489&oldid=507734102

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pussy_Riot&diff=507831476&oldid=507831257

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pussy_Riot&diff=507845863&oldid=507845475

The people managing the "Pussy Riot" article don't seem to be aware of the existence of the "Fuck for the heir Puppy Bear!" article. The "Viona" section of the "Pussy Riot" articles doesn't include a link to the "Fuck for the heir Puppy Bear!" article or even mention it by name:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussy_Riot#Voina (permalink)

[Volunteer Marek]

Fuck for the heir Puppy Bear!

Entirely authored by one Russian nut, somehow connected to this nut.

One, two, or three people tried to have that incident mentioned in the "Pussy Riot" article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pussy_Riot&diff=507745489&oldid=507734102

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pussy_Riot&diff=507831476&oldid=507831257

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pussy_Riot&diff=507845863&oldid=507845475

The people managing the "Pussy Riot" article don't seem to be aware of the existence of the "Fuck for the heir Puppy Bear!" article. The "Viona" section of the "Pussy Riot" articles doesn't include a link to the "Fuck for the heir Puppy Bear!" article or even mention it by name:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussy_Riot#Voina (permalink)

That's a very ... clumsy translation of "Ебись за наследника Медвежонка!"

[86Mookie]

Star Soldier vs dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU (T-H-L)

Video game. "Notable".

[Randy from Boise]

That's a very ... clumsy translation of "Ебись за наследника Медвежонка!"

How would you render this?
"Fuck for the epigone successor, Baby Bear" ???

RfB

[Zoloft]

[... That's a very ... clumsy translation of "Ебись за наследника Медвежонка!"

Wouldn't it be more like, "Fuck the heir to the Bear!" with a pun on the name?
(Remembers drinking too much vodka with black bread, and a pinch of pepper on top of the clear liquid).

[thekohser]

This one's not a silly title but a pretty silly article: Economics of gambling (T-H-L)

I like how it delivers on its promise "The economic benefits and costs resulting from the toss of a die will be examined in detail."

Wow, that is a horrible essay, penned by someone in high school in a non-English-speaking country, it sounds like. Should be deleted rapidly, with fire, but it will likely stay on in Wikipedia.

It is hard to find any statistics regarding the economics of casino. One can easily find reports on charitable activity of casino. It is much harder to find answers to the following questions. How much does an average casino make? What is the typical number of players per table? What is the typical bet (most people bet minimal bet; the bigger bets have progressively decreasing probability). What is the money extraction efficiency that is how many cents a casino receives for every dollar bet?

Strange, I find these statistics very simple to find; for example, every casino in Atlantic City reports publicly its revenues in detail.

This Wikipedia article is simply insane, written by a mental midget.

[Volunteer Marek]

[... That's a very ... clumsy translation of "Ебись за наследника Медвежонка!"

Wouldn't it be more like, "Fuck the heir to the Bear!" with a pun on the name?
(Remembers drinking too much vodka with black bread, and a pinch of pepper on top of the clear liquid).

Hmm, this one's actually sort of hard to translate - the original (the article title) is "literal" but makes little sense in English. But it would definitely be "for" (as in "in honor of") not "the".

[DanMurphy]

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel refers to the relations between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the State of Israel, characterized by contentious speeches and statements, including calls to "eliminate the Zionist regime" (Israel).[1] Ahmadinejad has questioned the existence of the Holocaust, took part in a protest called "World Without Zionism" and has derided Israel on numerous occasions. He has urged regional powers to cut ties with Israel and halt oil sales. Tensions have risen over Iran's controversial nuclear program.[2]

[EricBarbour]

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel

One of those old Jayjg shriekfests. Amazing it's still there after all these years. I'm beginning to suspect that Jay & Co. all have multiple sockpuppets.

[Vocal]

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel

One of those old Jayjg shriekfests. Amazing it's still there after all these years. I'm beginning to suspect that Jay & Co. all have multiple sockpuppets.

Jay hasn't edited since May 30th. I would be extremely surprised if he wasn't editing away with a sockpuppet.

[The Joy]

European Sexuality leading up to and during World War II (T-H-L)

[thekohser]

European Sexuality leading up to and during World War II (T-H-L)

For over a year and a half, that should have been a redirect to Lebensborn (T-H-L).

[Michaeldsuarez]

Okay, how about Animal conspiracy theories involving Israel?

Or, as it's now called, Zoological conspiracy theories (Arab-Israeli conflict) (T-H-L). What a hash.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Zoological_conspiracy_theories_%28Arab-Israeli_conflict%29

The article is now being considered for deletion.

[Tarc]

Okay, how about Animal conspiracy theories involving Israel?

Or, as it's now called, Zoological conspiracy theories (Arab-Israeli conflict) (T-H-L). What a hash.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Zoological_conspiracy_theories_%28Arab-Israeli_conflict%29

The article is now being considered for deletion.

While the article history shows the usual I-P d-bag involvement; Mbz1, Epeeefleche, Roseclese, Huldra, that doesn't tell the whole story. This subject matter has been attempted several times in the past, all connected with either socks or true I-P dirtbags, i.e. Zeq (T-C-L).

Apes and pigs (T-H-L)
Apes and Pigs (T-H-L)
Apes and pigs in Islam (T-H-L) (AfD, where an ARSehole can always be counted on to contribute to shit article retention)

[Volunteer Marek]

Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them! controversy (T-H-L)

One of the notorious "men's rights" target articles. And one of the few places on Wikipedia where right-wing cranks like Glenn Sacks and Rush Limbaugh will be quoted as "references".
Still amazing to me that things like the misandry and "violence against men" categories aren't being deleted every day. Wikipedia tends to be PC to an extreme.

And btw, men's rights leads to Category:Fashion_freedom (T-H-L), which contains:
Male bra (T-H-L)
Men's skirts (T-H-L)
Pantyhose for men (T-H-L)
The Utilikilts Company (T-H-L) (a company that Wikipedia actually likes!)

I almost quit Wikipedia after my first run-in with the men's rights manchildren. Oh, if only....

Well I tried: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia ... ontroversy, but judging by the discussion, it turns out boys really are stupid. At least on Wikipedia.