Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Vikas Kedia

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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 delete. A pile of canvassed SPA votes saying "He's notable" clearly doesn't cut it. Black Kite (talk) 21:15, 1 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Vikas Kedia[edit]

Vikas Kedia (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log · Stats)
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Article arrived here via contested WP:PROD. Article concerns a tech entrepreneur. Insufficient coverage in reliable sources to meet the guidelines of WP:ANYBIO. Lesser Cartographies (talk) 15:35, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Nevada-related deletion discussions. Northamerica1000(talk) 23:00, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This debate has been included in the list of Businesspeople-related deletion discussions. Northamerica1000(talk) 23:00, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete. Easy call. What we have here is a hagiographic article by a series of WP:SPAs based solely on WP:PRIMARY sources. Googling turns up nothing useful. Done. Msnicki (talk) 23:15, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete. Not enough WP:RS coverage to establish notability. 31.203.74.244 (talk) 05:52, 24 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Reluctant delete - unless we can get some more solid sources, and some editing by somebody with a better grasp of English (WTF is a "mortgage community", for example? What is a "quinstreet"?). --Orange Mike | Talk 17:07, 24 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete as above, all sorts of kids do quickie apps or web sites that come and go. W Nowicki (talk) 16:32, 25 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Definite Keep - I am a moderator at the debtcc community. The following is an opinion of the senior members of our community.

Our reasons to vote for a definite keep are:

  • Vikas kedia runs the largest community of people in debt and mortgage problems and has declined large offers to be bought out. He has contributed his work to open source and he has also given back to his alma-mater with the goal of spreading education in India.
  • When Msnicki and ip address 31.203.74.244 had voted at that time there were 4 references. Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vikas_Kedia&oldid=569875522 We have added more references and now there are 11 references.
  • Taking suggestions from Orangemike I have gone back and added 7 secondary sources and tried to fix the language issues.
  • Nowicki in his vote claims that Vikas Kedia's work might be "Quickie apps or web sites that come and go". The debtcc community has been around for 10 years and at this time is the largest community of people trying to get debt free in america. The mortgage community has been around for 8 years and is the largest community of people with mortgage problems in America.

We have been debating if we should ask the senior members of the debtcc community to come and cast individual votes. The wikipedia guidelines says that the number of votes do not count but the reasoning accompanying the votes count. So for the time being we have decided not to ask the senior members of the community to cast individual votes but rather we are letting our opinion be known in collective through me as the spokesperson. Paulmergel (talk) 06:04, 26 August 2013 (UTC)— Paulmergel (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic. [reply]

Asking for others to come vote your way is called WP:CANVASSING and you should not do it. Re: the new sources, the only ones that might count are the Times of India and Santa Cruz Sentinal articles. But both appear to be reporting local news of passing interest. The former reports the subject was to attend a competition as a student but does not report what happened and whether he won. (Apparently, he did not.) The second reports that he was starting a website, hardly a remarkable event. These are run-of-the-mill local news stories and fall short of what it takes to establish notability. Msnicki (talk) 14:31, 26 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep and improve, article meets Wikipedia guidelines. --Wikifan115 (talk) 10:21, 27 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, we are debating here if it meets the guidelines. Arguments would be more persuading if they include evidence rather than just an assertion. I would point out that I certainly "get debt free" and in fact live in the same county as mentioned in the source where the web site was based in 2004 (although the current web site claims the company is "based in Nevada" and the person's LinkedIn page says Chicago?). I would say almost everyone I know also wants to "get debt free" too, but none of us have ever heard of this person. The claim that it is "the largest community" of such people is only asserted by itself, twice. We can assume good faith that it thinks this claim is true, but without any independent source, all the article should say is that the web site "says it is the largest community...". I did look at the "US Observer" and was amused: hardly a reliable and unbiased source. Certainly confidential term sheets are not verifiable. I would also observe that the web site links to this Wikipedia article as part of its self-promotion. The article conveniently leaves out how the web site is funded. In fine print it says that the information about people who register is sold. Also for what it is worth, here is one review, albeit biased in its own way. There have been a few (presumably minor) complaints at the BBB. This could very well be a noble group, but until it or the other ventures started by the subject get some independent coverage, maybe it could be userfied. Also ran across this site which also links to the Wikipedia article in its self-promotion. W Nowicki (talk) 19:47, 27 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
I am not sure that this article is for self-promotion but anyway, the subject is notable per coverage (see how media is talking about him). We can meet in some other arguments but that means article should be improved, not deleted. What do you think ? --Wikifan115 (talk) 11:11, 28 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Wikifan115, you've asserted the subject is notable based on guidelines and coverage but the problem is that you haven't identified either the sources or the provisions of the guidelines you rely on to make that claim. So far as I can tell, there are no sources to establish notability that might satisfy any of the guidelines, so saying it's there somewhere but not identifying where really isn't very helpful. Msnicki (talk) 11:18, 28 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
You could find them if you had searched. Here are some secondary sources talking about Vikas Kedia :
  • Sorry, but I think only MoneyControl is a good source from the above links. But 2 issues with that link: (a) it does not seem to be news, rather just a press release; (b) is that really this same Vikas Kedia? It could be another person with the same name. - Aurorion (talk) 13:44, 28 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I've made another pass through the article and it's not so clear cut as I first thought. The subject of the article is discussed in a couple of of solid reliable sources as an exemplar of the kind of entrepreneur that India should be cultivating: the story of him turning down a (moderately) high-paying job to start his own business is repeated in most of the sources I'm seeing. However, the best sources are often just a single paragraph. I'm not seeing the depth or breadth of coverage that would justify an article. So for now I'll keep my delete !vote and file this under WP:TOOSOON. Lesser Cartographies (talk) 16:07, 31 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

  • Delete - does not meet notability criteria. The few sources provided do not seem to be very reliable. - Aurorion (talk) 13:42, 28 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment : HERE is a book excerpt talking about the subject of this Wiki page and HERE is a mention in a well-know Indian online newspaper, hoping that an administrator will take it into consideration. --Wikifan115 (talk) 10:13, 29 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Definite Keep and improve - I agree to wikifan. It requires improvement. I am a beginner and in my opinion the person is notable due to creating IIMB Kite.This was the first initiative on part of IIMs (the best business school in India) to put its classes online. This is the information I googled out. The reference SSRC students will get a peep into cyberspace clearly defines that Vikas Kedia is notable. — Manishvyas13 (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic. The preceding unsigned comment was added at 13:36, 29 August 2013 (UTC).Note: An editor has expressed a concern that Manishvyas13 (talk • contribs) has been canvassed to this discussion. [reply]
  • Comment As we have several first-time editors here, it might be useful to point out that notability is a term of art here with a significantly different meaning than the usual sense of the word. Quoting from WP:ANYBIO:

    Generally, a person who is "part of the enduring historical record" will have been written about, in depth, independently in multiple history books on that field, by historians. A politician who has received "significant press coverage" has been written about, in depth, independently in multiple news feature articles, by journalists. An actor who has been featured in magazines has been written about, in depth, independently in multiple magazine feature articles, by magazine article writers. An actor or TV personality who has "an independent biography" has been written about, in depth, in a book, by an independent biographer.

    Yes, the subject of this article has been mentioned in a handful of publications, and I'm happy to stipulate that he's a good person doing useful work. However, as none of his companies have wikipedia articles (due to their lack of notability) and he himself has not garnered significant coverage, I still don't consider him notable in the wikipedia sense. I'd be happy to reconsider given an argument based on our notability guidelines. Lesser Cartographies (talk) 13:45, 29 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Keep - I don't think this article should be deleted as this man is quite notable. I have heard of his business as well as his charity work. To me, this article seems as if it deserves to be om Wikipedia :) AzzuriItalia (talk) 00:55, 31 August 2013 (UTC) — AzzuriItalia (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic. Note: An editor has expressed a concern that AzzuriItalia (talk • contribs) has been canvassed to this discussion. [reply]

  • Delete - is this Vikas Kedia some cult leader? Coverage in very few reliable sources, and that too trivial. But lots of fans/followers trying their best to prove that he is notable. Very weird. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 37.34.163.139 (talk) 11:06, 31 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Keep - After reading the entire discussion I think this article should be kept for updation and should be improved. I think this man is quite notable. I found one evidence about the article in "Times of India". Though it is equivalent to "Los Angeles Times" or "New York Times" or "The Guardian" yet as per Wikipedia notability guidelines only one reference won't work. The article need a handful of references from "third-party" or "independent sources" so that one can write a fair and balanced article that complies with Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy and that articles are not advertising a product, service, or organization.A lot of improvement required. Royal Heart 08:08, 1 September 2013 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Royale.heart (talk • contribs) Note: An editor has expressed a concern that Royale.heart (talk • contribs) has been canvassed to this discussion.

Keep Vikas Kedia is a notable person and his article should go live. Wiki admins should mark him as notable. He has helped many people get out of debt. His work is notable and could be easily seen in this reference of Times of India. Selling his idea to Indian Mafia in Silicon Valley — Preceding unsigned comment added by Geoffsmile (talk • contribs) 10:26, 1 September 2013 (UTC) Note: An editor has expressed a concern that Geoffsmile (talk • contribs) has been canvassed to this discussion. [reply]

  • Comment. Most of us weren't born yesterday. Anyone who's spent any time at all in AfDs knows you do not get so many WP:JUSTAVOTE participants with so little previous editing history unless they've been WP:CANVASSED. Msnicki (talk) 15:03, 1 September 2013 (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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