Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Etiquette in North America

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 keep. Ron Ritzman (talk) 19:57, 30 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Etiquette in North America[edit]

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This article consists mostly of a long list of entries saying that it's rude to do this or that. It completely lacks scholarly sources, it doesn't seem to mention politeness theory (face needs, etc.) at all, and its tone is rather unencyclopedic. I'd like to see an unbiased article written from a sociological perspective, and I don't see any path from this article to that one. Bob A (talk) 18:22, 23 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Keep I suppose that one could make the same objections to all of the articles in Category:Etiquette lists. Etiquette, as with other aspects of culture, is certainly an encyclopedic topic, and people who consult these very general articles actually are looking for information on what's considered rude within a particular culture, rather than an explanation of the evolution of individual customs. A link to politeness theory could be inserted by editing, but it wouldn't be a large portion of an article. There's nothing to stop you from writing a better, unbiased article about North Amercian etiquette from a sociological perspective, of course, and it would be a useful supplement or replacement to this. In addition, if you see something that is inaccurate or untrue, you may edit it out without seeking approval. Mandsford 21:12, 23 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Not being American, I'm not in a very good position to do this. My problem with the way this information is presented is that the tone seems unencyclopedic to the point of being POV, and it's quite hard to get a sense of how much of this is an accurate reflection of social customs in the U.S. and Canada, and how much is somebody's prescription. Another problem that I forgot to mention in the nomination is that this article tries to cover both the United States and Canada, but not Mexico, despite its title. I'm not even sure how much of it is pertinent to Canada. Bob A (talk) 22:47, 23 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Keep Whether the article is good or bad, I feel there ought to be an article of some description on the subject. AbrahamCat (talk) 21:51, 23 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Social science-related deletion discussions. -- Jclemens-public (talk) 00:11, 24 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I'd add that problems with the title of an article are the easiest to fix. Changing the tone of the writing is a little bit more of an editing task, but not insurmountable. When the topic isn't appropriate for a its own article, then the question comes up about whether the information should be placed elsewhere. Otherwise, throwing out the whole thing is a last resort. Mandsford 13:33, 24 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Keep. I think it needs sources from actual scholars and not just etiquette writers, but it's a worthwhile sociological topic. Roscelese (talk) 20:31, 24 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Keep. The fact that an article is bad is not a reason for deletion. This article is a valid spin-off from etiquette, just like etiquette in Japan, etiquette in Asia, etiquette in the Middle East, etiquette in Europe, etc. RJC ^Talk_Contribs 02:12, 30 November 2010 (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.