# Why does this woman have a Wiki bio? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2018, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373 "2018-03-11T04:16:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/1 "2018-03-11T04:16:55Z")
And it’s a featured article today, too, no less: [Catherine Lynch - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Lynch) Hard for me to see what sets her apart from the many thousands of other petty criminals of the past century or so and makes her Wiki-worthy. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/2 "2018-03-11T04:51:56Z")
Yeah, there’s really not much in the article that suggests why this woman might be relevant for inclusion in an encyclopedia. The article was only [created](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catherine_Lynch&action=history) a few weeks ago, and someone else has [asked](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Iridescent#Catherine_Lynch_notability) the creator basically the same question. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/3 "2018-03-11T04:52:05Z")
There was a short note saying that her name is very similar to that of a television actress, directing readers to look at another link if they are searching for the latter. Someone may be playing a joke. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/4 "2018-03-11T07:00:36Z")
Tangentially, does she look 10-15 years older to other people? Drinking yourself to death by 28 is quite a feat. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/5 "2018-03-11T08:28:37Z")
There’s actually three of them that make up a set: [Lily Argent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_Argent) [Selina Rushbrook](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selina_Rushbrook) Not that really answers the original question… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/6 "2018-03-11T08:36:06Z")
Is this maybe a bid for publicity by the Swansea Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau (_”Historic Swansea: Definitely Important Enough to Boast Notable [del]Denizens[/del] Citizens Since 1908”_)? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/7 "2018-03-11T09:09:49Z")
I’m confused. I thought anyone could start a wiki page for anyone. Anytime. Is that not how it works? Can I not compose a page about you, if I so desire? If the answer is yes, then why the surprise that there is a wiki page for, well, anyone really? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/8 "2018-03-11T09:22:36Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > I’m confused. I thought anyone could start a wiki page for anyone. Anytime. No, there’s a [notability requirement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability). ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/9 "2018-03-11T09:41:47Z")
Wow, thanks for that! I had no idea, I thought literally anyone could create a page about themselves or their friend. I know a few people with wiki pages and I always assumed it was just something their friends pursued for mostly their own amusement. Don’t get me wrong, these ARE accomplished people with notoriety in their fields. It seems I incorrectly thought if you’re NOT a household name, you’re wiki page is probably mostly a vanity project, by your friends or colleagues. Clearly I was mistaken. Thanks for the learning. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/10 "2018-03-11T10:00:45Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > There was a short note saying that her name is very similar to that of a television actress, directing readers to look at another link if they are searching for the latter. Someone may be playing a joke. Is that why this is in Cafe Society? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/11 "2018-03-11T12:36:35Z")
[Moderating] She might be trying to become a celebrity, but she isn’t one yet. Which takes this out of the perview of CS. IMHO, I guess? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/12 "2018-03-11T13:33:35Z")
This was my first thought when I read it. _And why is this linked on the front page?_ It’s not even April 1st. The “notability” thing is weird. I’ve seen articles about people I’ve heard of marked as up for deletion due to lack of notability. And I’ve seen articles listing the members of a 1930s Olympic basketball (or some such) team for some country. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/13 "2018-03-11T14:20:29Z")
You can vote for the article’s retention or deletion on [this Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Catherine_Lynch). I argued for its deletion. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/14 "2018-03-11T14:35:54Z")
Speaking of the Internet generally, rather than Wikipedia specifically, it’s curious how people from centuries ago are often better represented than people from, say, sixty years ago. For example, many towns published little “Who’s who in our town” books in the late 19th century and, due to fans of genealogy or Americana lore, some of these have been digitized and those relatively obscure “who’s who” people (he ran a small hardware store — whippee!) show up with Google. Some 20th-century people far more notable than those get zero Google hits. Due to social media and career-oriented websites, 21st-century people can also be Googled … but there’s a big hole in the middle of the 20th century! The key inventor of IBM’s magnetic disk drive? He was interviewed for the Computer History Museum so gets at least that hit, but has no Wikipedia page; in fact no mention at Wikipedia at all. In fact there are some Silicon Valley companies from the 1970’s or so which were very notable in their day but get almost Zero hits from Google. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/15 "2018-03-11T14:56:45Z")
All three of the women served at Swansea Prison and each wiki page includes a bibliography referencing a single book, _Swansea’s ‘Bad Girls’: Crime and Prostitution, 1870s-1914_, by Elizabeth F. Belcham. The book is currently sitting unremarked on Amazon with a $93.35 price tag. I expect “someone” is trying to goose her sales figures. Mind you, I’d probably read that book, if I could get it on Kindle at a non-laughable price. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/16 "2018-03-11T15:58:59Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > No, there’s a [notability requirement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability). So, somehow [falling down a well](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_McClure) is notable? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/17 "2018-03-11T16:35:57Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > So, somehow [falling down a well](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_McClure) is notable? The fact that she did, almost definitely not. The fact that the operation to rescue her was followed worldwide, and covered on live TV? Yes, that was notable. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/18 "2018-03-11T17:28:11Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > And it’s a featured article today, too, no less: [Catherine Lynch - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Lynch) Nitpick but it’s _not_ a featured article. Today’s featured article is on “Douglas MacArthur’s escape from the Philippines”. The article in question is in the Did you know . . ." section of the main page and that just calls out new articles or ones that have been majorly updated. It’s not actually that easy to achieve featured article status. As to the notability of the article, I think it’s actually kind of cool that someone that ordinary from that long ago can be documented that well. And it’s interesting as a picture of a normal person from the period. It’s not as if there’s any limitation on the number of articles that can be published in Wikipedia, so I’d vote to keep it. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/19 "2018-03-11T18:03:17Z")
I was tempted to click on the link to Whatsername’s Wiki page, but it occurred to me that every click adds to her supposed notability. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/20 "2018-03-11T20:35:00Z")
Thanks, all. Just one more wonder of the Age of Wiki. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373.md?page=2)