# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/21 "2018-03-11T21:48:04Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Thanks, all. Just one more wonder of the Age of Wiki. Look at the first thing on the page: The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia’s notability guideline for biographies. Please help to establish notability by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond its mere trivial mention ---
**Author:** ![Majestic\_Lee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Majestic\_Lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Majestic_Lee)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/22 "2018-03-11T23:16:05Z")
I was just amazed that someone so young (28) could look so old. That’s the power of alcohol I suppose… ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/23 "2018-03-11T23:32:13Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > So, somehow [falling down a well](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_McClure) is notable? I think most adults in the US will remember the story instantly, if not the name. It was followed hour by hour on the news. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/24 "2018-03-11T23:36:43Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > I think most adults in the US will remember the story instantly, if not the name. It was followed hour by hour on the news. > > Dennis It dropped out of the headlines after the Lincoln squirrel was assassinated, though. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/25 "2018-03-12T00:43:19Z")
> [@Majestic\_Lee](#): > > I was just amazed that someone so young (28) could look so old. That’s the power of alcohol I suppose… I suspect that most people looked older in that era, in general. Harder life, more toxins in the environment in general, and fancier clothes. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/26 "2018-03-12T01:17:47Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > So, somehow [falling down a well](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_McClure) is notable? I knew that link was going to be about Baby Jessica, so in this case: yup. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/27 "2018-03-12T01:31:45Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > 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. That’s not how the notability criterion works, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/28 "2018-03-12T04:11:30Z")
It’s an interesting story at least. What a hard life. I don’t know how old she was in that photo but she died at 28, same as my daughter whose life seems to be just beginning. ETA Oh wow she was only 25 in the photo. She looks older than me and I’m 48! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/29 "2018-03-12T05:50:02Z")
I swear I saw this image on CNN Sunday morning. They were interviewing an author who has written about women who are notorious. Juxtaposed against famous women who were skipped over in NYTs obits. One was Sylvia Plath, another was a Bronte sister. That’s all I remember. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/30 "2018-03-12T08:47:21Z")
Depends on who you are, as the author. I started a Wiki page on a friend of mine a few years ago, and it was rejected because, as I was told, he was not important enough. A year later, there was a boringly long and detailed Wiki page on him, created by one of his colleagues. Most of it praising the collaborative work he and the contributing colleague had done. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/31 "2018-03-12T08:53:49Z")
I have a friend who ought to have a wikipedia page, he’s a known entertainer in his country, and has done several medium-profile things on TV. I thought about making it myself, but I haven’t hung out with him in over 15 years, so my knowledge of his exploits are a bit thin. I figure I wouldn’t be the best person to do it. But now I’m thinking maybe he’s not quite at the level he would have to be to have his page retained. He’d probably be marked for deletion pretty quickly. ---
**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 12, 2018, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/32 "2018-03-12T09:04:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > [Moderating] > She might be trying to become a celebrity, but she isn’t one yet. Considering she’s been dead for more than a hundred years, I’d say time’s running out for her. She’d better get a move on! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/33 "2018-03-12T09:12:36Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > 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. This is related to the moving goalpost of the public domain. As one who is interested in various aspects of early twentieth century urban America, I have watched with dismay as books have stayed under copyright when, if not for recent changes in the laws, would have fallen into the public domain years ago. (This all has something to do with Disney not wanting Mickey Mouse to ever become public domain; the company was one of the prime movers of the new law). Given that much searchable text online is based on published works, the lack of public domain rights from about 1923 until today is one reason behind that “big hole”. > [@](#): > > 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: Google is terrible at finding old products, places, or companies that were bestowed with common English words for names, even if at the time of conception the names were understood in context by everyone. This happens with many old software products that may have had names like BASIS and STAIRS. Or companies whose names were simply what they did, like System Development Corporation. The fact that Elon Musk decided to call his tunnel drilling venture the Boring Company suggests that the strain may be getting to him. It’s as if Howard Hughes had decided to name his company just “Aircraft”. As for places, the L.A. community where I used to live is Palms, which again is nearly impossible to google. (If only they’d decided to name it Las Palmas!). ---
**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 12, 2018, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/34 "2018-03-12T14:38:44Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Considering she’s been dead for more than a hundred years, I’d say time’s running out for her. She’d better get a move on! She’s not dead yet! Oh, wait. Never mind. She is. ---
**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 12, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/35 "2018-03-12T14:56:26Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The fact that the operation to rescue her was followed worldwide, and covered on live TV? Yes, that was notable. Well, Baby Jessica gave CNN something to create a 24 hour news cycle, before Gulf War I cemented it. To be honest, I figured that Ms. Driscoll / Mrs. Lynch was going to have had her fame as the poor child who lost her father in a crane accident. But that was not the case. It seems that her wiki was done by family who knew the whole story. Or maybe some random person on the internet was able to piece together a persons life with searches of old newspaper archives. At the very least, the last article is interesting in how men were encouraged to ‘put away’ women who fell victim to the evils of alcohol. ---
**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 12, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/36 "2018-03-12T16:39:15Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > To be honest, I figured that Ms. Driscoll / Mrs. Lynch was going to have had her fame as the poor child who lost her father in a crane accident. But that was not the case. It seems that her wiki was done by family who knew the whole story. Or maybe some random person on the internet was able to piece together a persons life with searches of old newspaper archives. At the very least, the last article is interesting in how men were encouraged to ‘put away’ women who fell victim to the evils of alcohol. Actually, i think **Merneith** is probably closer to the real explanation for how this article made it to Wikipedia: > [@Merneith](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/37 "2018-03-12T16:49:10Z")
Perhaps this came out of somebody’s master thesis research, or something similar? ETA: Looking at the references, most of the data seems to be from _Swansea’s ‘Bad Girls’: Crime and Prostitution 1870s–1914_ by one Elizabeth F. Belcham. So the author perhaps wanted to share some of her research, or maybe it’s a publicity stunt for the book, or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/38 "2018-03-12T16:55:20Z")
Nevermind, now I see **Merneith** above already mentioned that. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/39 "2018-03-12T16:57:10Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > The fact that Elon Musk decided to call his tunnel drilling venture the Boring Company suggests that the strain may be getting to him. I’m pretty sure that name is a play on words, and that nobody is going to have trouble finding information about it if they just use quotation marks to look it up. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373/40 "2018-03-13T10:24:40Z")
The notability requirement is quite rubbery, as individual projects have their own guidelines, which leads to valid articles such as this [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A\_Allen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Allen) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-this-woman-have-a-wiki-bio/810373.md?page=3)