Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/First images of Earth from space

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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. Consensus that this is a notable topic, but may benefit from copyediting and potentially renaming. Eddie891 Talk Work 12:55, 14 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

First images of Earth from space[edit]

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First images of Earth from space (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log)
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Arbitrary list of images based on the vague notion of 'first image' (first what, first ten? first fifty?). The subject may be more appropriate for a list article, e.g. List of images of Earth from space, with a table of entries in chronological order, which would immediately give the reader the first N images and all the following ones as well. Deeday-UK (talk) 09:00, 7 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Withdrawn by nominator – Now I see what the article's creator was trying to achieve, but the title is so ambiguous and the content so chaotic that I thought the article was hopeless (and it looks like I'm not the only one; therefore, I won't speedy-close this discussion myself).
I suppose the intention was to create a List of firsts in space imaging of Earth, rather than what the current title might as well suggest, i.e. an article about the earliest space images of Earth. Therefore, this article needs not be binned, as far as I'm concerned, but it needs to moved, restructured as a proper list and heavily pruned. --Deeday-UK (talk) 21:48, 7 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

  • Weak keep Right now article isn't good, but the subject is notable. A lot can be improved upon. 78.36.163.169 (talk) 09:53, 7 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep I think there is merit here, I think the article should be moved to List images of Earth from space I don't know how many there are but they surely must be unique. Or the list could be date-ranged which adds a degree of precision. Govvy (talk) 11:53, 7 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Strong keep OMG, Wikipedia editors keep surprising me, in the wrong way. This could be a did-you-know feature article but instead someone thinks it's a non-notable subject. Did you try searching for reliable sources? How many do you want with nearly the same title as in the Wikipedia article?
And what about "vague notion" -- there is an article about first photograph and a whole category for firsts in space. The difference between black-and-white photography and color photography was a big deal before it became commonplace. Then there's the difference between sub-orbital flight and Earth-orbiting satellites, and the moon. What else do you need, a caveat about "earliest images of Earth from space... known to humans"? It just blows my mind, starting a deletion nomination instead of a renaming discussion is just overkill. fgnievinski (talk) 17:08, 7 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep - as others have said, it is a notable subject. Foxnpichu (talk) 18:02, 7 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete An encyclopedia entry should have a well-defined topic. This is just a ill-defined list of self-defined "first" images. "First images of Earth from space"? What does that actually mean? Nigej (talk) 18:43, 7 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep - Clearly notable subject, although some cleanup and expanded context might be nice BlackholeWA (talk) 02:07, 8 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Rename List of images of Earth from space. Category:Photographs of Earth from outer space has six entries, so there probably aren't a lot of notable more-general "images". Therefore, an ill-defined "initial" isn't required or wanted. Clarityfiend (talk) 04:28, 8 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
The six-entry category you mention refers to images from outer space. Any image of Earth taken from orbit could in theory be included in the list you propose, and that's probably hundreds of images, so such list seems to be too broadly defined. The original intention was (I believe) to list only the 'firsts' by some relevant criteria, e.g. first color picture of Earth from space, first photo taken from lunar surface etc., which makes more sense. --Deeday-UK (talk) 11:16, 8 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
There aren't many notable images, and "firsts" are too open-ended. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:17, 9 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
What do you mean 'too open-ended'? A list of firsts is certainly less open-ended than a generic list of notable images. It is understood that firsts must be notable according to some meaningful criterion; e.g. "The first image of Earth from space taken on a Friday" isn't notable; "The first image of Earth taken from outside the solar system" is. --Deeday-UK (talk) 22:49, 9 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Who decides what's a "notable" first? Clarityfiend (talk) 05:25, 11 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep Notable subject. Something is not arbitrary when its defined as the "first" of something. Follow the sources.★Trekker (talk) 11:54, 10 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep but needs a strong COPYEDIT, some re-org, and additional prose content as opposed to links. The huge LINKFARM at "History," for example, needs to be removed, converted into prose, and added to the article body. These are editing issues though. The subject is interesting and notable, as "first" has a very specific meaning, so perhaps "Early" would be a better title modifier. Anyway, the content can be beefed up and the title adjusted accordingly. GenQuest "Talk to Me" 19:44, 11 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Rename and define list criteria This should be something like "Milestone images of the Earth from space". Qono (talk) 03:30, 12 October 2020 (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.
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