Reviews for Fred the Notable Monkey

[Arven]

I agree.

Wikipedia is too quick to delete things. Internet subjects (flash authors, websites, fads, ect) that are not very well known are one of the things they most commonly delete- yet wikipedia is the only place you can go to find things like that out, as a google search will rarely help you with such things, and questioning on a forum related to the topic will usually result in people making fun of your ignorance and you will be unable to obtain an answer. Lately it's happened more and more, in the FAQ thread on a message board or some such regarding a often spoken of topic will have a wiki link, and when I click it I get the wiki page declaring it has been deleted for being "nonsense" or some such.

If Wiki is truely supposed to be a user-created encyclopedia, they have to stop censoring things that they deem unnoteworthy, as how will they get beyond such if no one can find out about them?

JKR responds:

I think that you are very correct. If they censor everything they don't personally like, how will they build a well-rounded encyclopedia? But moreso I'm just concerned with HOW they delete things. To tell someone they are non-notable is like a slap to the face, especially if you have been working daily for three years (or longer even) at what you do. Perhaps they could find a bit more compassion and do more research into what they are deleting, to see if it is really just for advertising purposes, or if people would be better off at knowing the information that the entry listed.
Thanks for taking the time to write a review. I'm glad you enjoyed the cartoon.

[DLand]

Good, but...

It was a really funny flash until I realized that you're actually serious about this.

If you think your website is "notable" then how come it only has 280 hits on Google, and no Alexa rating at all? That doesn't mean it's a poor website (and I really liked this flash, btw) but it's still non-notable. If you are confused about wikipedia notability you should check out the page where they explain that policy (search for "WP:WEB" on Wikipedia)

JKR responds:

First of all, I have no IDEA why there is "No data" shown for Alexa. And I can't figure out how to get them to show any data, because they even have a screen shot and full info for the site.
At any rate, I am not so much concerned with having Fred the Monkey appear on Wikipedia, as how the people of Wikipedia go about telling people they are non-notable. Artists who perhaps lack the drive that I do would be quite discouraged by comments such as "You fail" and "You are not worth it" so that is what I am fighting. They can explain it away all they want in their policy, but the simple fact remains that they need to do more research into the things they are deleting and have a little more compassion towards their fellow human beings.
Glad you enjoyed the cartoon at first anyway, and thanks for leaving a review.

[Shadow-of-Death117]

Meh

It was an alright flash...nothing too interesting, but still worthy of being on front page (compared to other ones).

As for the "giving up their dreams" deal, you obviously haven't really experienced anything like that. Yes, some people do give up, but others try harder. Just because Wikipedia deletes one thing doesn't mean the person who made it will be crushed and give up. Sometimes, that'll spark something and cause the person to try and PROVE that they are worthy, like what you did with this flash.

I don't think that Wikipedia deletes things to be mean or to save server space. It's more on the point of detail, relevance, and somewhat on the basis of what OTHER people want. Not everyone has heard of Fred. In fact, this is the first time I have. An internet based cartoon is really nothing compared to a website that hosts many different creations (and yes, NewGrounds is on there).

So before convicting someone or some group of something that appears wrong, take into consideration of certain factors.

JKR responds:

Glad you liked the cartoon okay. While I don't agree with you completely, I do understand your very valid points.
I still feel they could, without much more effort, help people along rather than the methods they use now. Yes, there will be people who will say "I'll show you!" and try harder. But I have witnessed many too many artists who recieve a lot of rejection and not much encouragement and so they give up. Some of these potential artists are 50 year old bankers and real estate agents who told me personally "I've always wanted to do art, but my father/mother/friends said I should get a real job and not chase after such dreams." Well I don't think that's right, and I feel like the people at Wikipedia could really help aspiring professionals on their way to greatness.

Anyway, thanks a lot for taking the time to write out such good points, and leave a review. =)

[daRoach]

Reply

"I understand wikipedia for deleting entries about sites like yours because they wish to be a serious encyclopedia."
I doubt that.
They have a lengthly entry for the series 'Bonus Stage'
This doesn't seem very serious to me.

JKR responds:

Yes, as I mentioned in the reply to that person, Wikipedia is certainly not out to be a serious encyclopedia, but merely a large base of knowledge. Which is perfectly fine. We have plenty of serious encyclopedias out there, and Wikipedia is not one of them.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. Glad you liked the cartoon okay.

[njnjnj]

Funny, but the message could have been better.

The cartoon itself was pretty good, and it made me laugh. Even though you said you don't care about the article being deleted, and I'll take your word for that, the message at the end still comes off as whiny. From what I understand, your problem is the way some of the members talk about those articles that get deleted. This doesn't seem like something wrong with Wikipedia itself, more of a fact of human nature. Keep in mind that basically ANYBODY can become a member of Wikipedia. Again, I liked the cartoon itself, and I bades my scores on that, not what I think of its message.

JKR responds:

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the cartoon. Yes, maybe you are right and it is more human nature than Wikipedia's own methods, but if that is the case them I'm just speaking out about how I think that nature should change. I just don't agree with that method of telling people they aren't good enough. Seems too impersonal, but that's just me.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to leave a review!