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Tammy Duckworth was nominated as a Social sciences and society good article, but it did not meet the good article criteria at the time (January 13, 2013). There are suggestions on the review page for improving the article. If you can improve it, please do; it may then be renominated.

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Archives
25 October 2006 – 18 June 2007 19 June 2007 – 13 November 2012

Request from Tammy Duckworth to withhold date of birth and mother's maiden name

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.

The following request was confirmed as coming from Tammy Duckworth (if necessary, I will forward proof by email to any administrator upon request). The result of the discussion at the biography of living perons noticeboard (archive link is here) and in keeping with WP policy/guidline, consensus is to remove the exact date of birth and her mother's maiden name (as requested). Thanks, R. Baley 22:25, 19 September 2007 (UTC) For the most recent iteration of this issue, please see the archived biography of living perons noticeboard discussion link here. Essentially, regardless of whether or not the subject of a WP:BLP is a public figure, Misplaced Pages's policy on date of birth states that if a subject objects to the inclusion of their date of birth, simply list the year of birth instead. Regards, AzureCitizen (talk) 22:48, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

Hello. This is Tammy. I am requesting that all editors please leave my birth date and mother's maiden name off the page for protection from identity theft. I truly respect the free nature of this excellent page and know that I am now a public figure (if only a minor one). However, I would be grateful if we did not make it so easy for someone to have access to my personal information that is commonly used to verify identity. Thank you all in advance for your help. cheers, tammy. (IP address removed, R. Baley) 05:59, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Tammy Duckworth/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Edge3 (talk · contribs) 02:42, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Hello! I will review this article. Edge3 (talk) 02:42, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

I have partially reviewed the article against the good article criteria. I will follow-up with a complete review once the preliminary issues are resolved:

GA review – see WP:WIAGA for criteria

1. Is it reasonably well written?

   A. Prose quality:

   There are too many quotations in the article, especially in the "Political positions" sections. The "Recognition" section has a boxed quote that has unclear significance. It needs to be cited and further explained, if it is to remain.

   Fixed.

   B. MoS compliance for lead, layout, words to watch, fiction, and lists:

   Please reduce or remove the citations in the lead paragraph. (WP:LEADCITE)

   Fixed.

2. Is it factually accurate and verifiable?

   A. Has an appropriate reference section:

   B. Citation to reliable sources where necessary:

   Missing citation on first paragraph of "Post-military career". References also are not consistently formatted, especially the dates. Bare URLs in citations 9, 19, 28, 32, and others. This isn't a GA issue, per WP:GACN.

   C. No original research:

3. Is it broad in its coverage?

   A. Major aspects:

   Please expand both subsections of "Congressional elections". The 2006 section could use some significant expansion, unless someone can demonstrate that there really isn't much to say about that election. As for 2012, the section is longer, but surely the civil suit isn't the only noteworthy part of the campaign?

   I've expanded both but I feel the 2006 election should be kept short since it has it's own article.

   B. Focused:

   Perhaps the "Political positions" sections could be merged and condensed.

   I've seriously cut down this section but I feel trying to put it in another section would be irresponsible.

4. Is it neutral?

   Fair representation without bias:

5. Is it stable?

   No edit wars, etc:

   Ongoing content dispute about the inclusion of the date of birth. Please resolve this soon. I should point out that WP:OPENPARA says in part: "The opening paragraph should have...dates of birth and death, if known" (emphasis added). I'll look into this policy further, but it seems that including the date of birth might be necessary for this to meet WP:GACR, since the date of birth is known.

   The article's been protected so there'll be no more warring over her DOB.

6. Does it contain images to illustrate the topic?

   A. Images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid fair use rationales are provided for non-free content:

   B. Images are provided if possible and are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions:

7. Overall:

   Pass or Fail:

   I'm placing this on hold for now. Edge3 (talk) 03:34, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Further comments:

• Early life, education, and military service
  • Ref 5 (Slevin) doesn't support the statement: "Because of her father's work with the United Nations and international companies, the family moved around Southeast Asia. Duckworth became fluent in Thai and Indonesian, in addition to English."
  • In the statement: "Following in the footsteps of her father and ancestors, who served in the Revolutionary War, World War II, and the Vietnam War..." — Ref 4 doesn't mention that she had an ancestor who fought in the Vietnam War.
  • "The explosion 'almost completely destroyed her right arm, breaking it in three places and tearing tissue from the back side of it.'" — Quotation not contained in ref 11.
• Post-military career
  • "She worked to develop state programs giving tax credits to employers who hire veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Desert Storm; more state grants to service organizations; and backing for below-market mortgages for veterans." — This statement almost copies word-for-word the phrasing used in ref 16. Please rephrase or use a quotation.
  • The Recognition paragraph begins with "Duckworth credits Dole..." without mentioning who Dole is until linking to Bob Dole in the third sentence.
  • "Duckworth credits Dole for inspiring her to pursue public service while she recuperated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C." — Not supported by ref 22, which only says "Duckworth has cited Dole's experience as an injured veteran-turned-politician as an inspiration for her candidacy."
  • "Former Republican Presidential candidate and Senator Bob Dole dedicated his biography One Soldier's Story in part to Duckworth." — First, it's an autobiography, not a biography. Second, perhaps it would be better to cite the book directly?

--Edge3 (talk) 15:32, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

More comments:

• Congressional elections
  • The section for 2006 contains only one citation, which verifies only the final results between Duckworth and Roskam. The rest of the paragraph needs to be cited because there are statistics that need to be verified.
  • "Duckworth defeated former Deputy Treasurer of Illinois Raja Krishnamoorthi for the Democratic nomination on March 20, 2012, then faced incumbent Republican Joe Walsh in the general election." — Not supported by ref 30.
  • "Duckworth was considered the favorite, as the district had been redrawn to be significantly more Democratic than its predecessor." — Missing citation.
  • "On October 11, 2012, during a live debate between the two, Walsh brought up the fact that Duckworth had been named in a civil suit filed by two employees against Patricia Simms, director of the Anna Veterans' Home in southern Illinois." — Refs 18 and 19 seem to be irrelevant.
  • "... the first member of Congress born in Thailand." — Doesn't seem to be supported by the source.
• Political positions
  • Entire "Veterans affairs" section directly copies text from ref 38
  • Perhaps her stance on education isn't noteworthy? It's sourced to her campaign website's press release.
  • The first "Iraq War" paragraph implies that the positions Duckworth expressed in her press release were also expressed in her response to Bush's weekly radio address. Please separate the two and clarify the difference.
  • I'm not sure whether the quote in the "Iraq War" section is necessary.
  • In the "Gun control" section, none of the three citations have working links, and the quotation does not have a reference.

I now conclude this review. Because I have identified close paraphrasing or copyright violations, I fail this article's GA nomination per WP:GAQF.

I have also noticed that edit warring occasionally resumes over the inclusion of Duckworth's DOB. Most recently, an anonymous user re-added the DOB today. This edit cannot be considered vandalism, per WP:VANDAL: "Even if misguided, willfully against consensus, or disruptive, any good-faith effort to improve the encyclopedia is not vandalism. Edit warring over content is not vandalism." Thus, the article currently fails GA criterion #5, which is also grounds for quick failure.

Even if there is no edit war, I would argue that the GA criteria urges that the full DOB be included, per WP:OPENPARA. (For the path, see GA criterion #1, which requires compliance with WP:LEAD. Go to the WP:LEAD#Biographies section, which in turn points directly to WP:MOSBIO. See WP:MOSBIO#Opening paragraph.) I should note that WP:GACR does not require me to check for compliance with WP:BLP. Because there seems to be a conflict between WP:GACR and WP:DOB, which is further complicated by the existence of WP:WELLKNOWN, this GA nomination cannot proceed without further clarification on how the guidelines and policies should be interpreted when we mix them together.

I recommend asking Tammy Duckworth if we can include her full birthdate on the article, since that would allow us to sidestep this debate entirely. Once all of the other issues I listed above are addressed, I recommend submitting this for renomination or, if you challenge my reasoning, reassessment. --Edge3 (talk) 02:48, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Ancestors vs forefathers

This is a really well written article. Kudos to all who have contributed. It was only when I came to the use of the word ancestors that I felt that not quite the right word (nor the right tense in the subordinate phrase) had been used. Ancestor has the connotation of legal terminology on the one hand, biological descent trees on another, and spiritual and ethnic roots on another. In the context of military prowess and service to one's nation, it seems to me that either forebears or forefathers is the better term. Given that all the said fighting forebears were fathers rather than mothers, forefathers seems to me to be the right word here.124.186.93.5 (talk) 07:14, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

RfC on providing full date of birth

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As Tammy Duckworth has previously requested to have her birthdate excluded from this article, we have complied as per WP:DOB. This decision is the result of a consensus developed over several years, as documented on #Request from Tammy Duckworth to withhold date of birth and mother's maiden name.

The request may have carried more weight in 2007, when Ms. Duckworth had less notability as an official in the Illinois state government. However, now she serves on the US Congress and has less of an expectation of privacy, as per WP:WELLKNOWN. I am initiating this RfC to request that the community allow this article to display Ms. Duckworth's full date of birth, as per WP:OPENPARA and WP:WELLKNOWN. WP:OPENPARA states that "The opening paragraph should have... dates of birth and death, if known". Since the date of birth is known, the MOS urges us to include it. Furthermore, WP:WELLKNOWN suggests that we should publish information that is "noteworthy, relevant, and well-documented", even if the subject does not want it mentioned.

For reference, the birthdate is published on her official, Congressional bio (). Edge3 (talk) 01:58, 24 July 2013 (UTC)

• Do not include. I see no good reason to go against her specific wish. It is not vital information and the MOS does not override our responsibility towards living subjects of biographies.User:Maunus ·ʍaunus·snunɐw· 02:17, 24 July 2013 (UTC)
• do not include - have you read the threads above? This issue has been discussed ad naseum. Why does her birthdate matter to you? If she specifically asked to have it removed, in hopes of a little bit of security-through-obscurity, we can certainly do this for her. --Obi-Wan Kenobi (talk) 02:44, 24 July 2013 (UTC)

  FYI, a newer thread in January 2013 suggested that an RfC may be necessary. Just because the issue has been discussed ad nauseum doesn't mean we can't discuss it now. Edge3 (talk) 03:53, 24 July 2013 (UTC)

• Why not include it? As Edge3 noted, it's not that hard to find her birthday, since its published on her official Congressional bio. Canuck 03:58, July 24, 2013 (UTC)
• I don't think it's up for debate to say that at this point her full DOB is extremely easier to readily find presently rather than around 6 years ago. I see no reason not to include it at this point as the circumstances have obviously changed from 2007. In addition to the Congressional bio, it is worth mentioning that multiple 2012 election publications also include the full date. – Connormah (talk) 04:31, 24 July 2013 (UTC)
• Include. Consensus can change. Widely available information from multiple reliable secondary sources. Published in her own congressional bio, which obviously renders her six year old request moot. Gamaliel (talk) 06:19, 24 July 2013 (UTC)
• Weak Include - Agree with Edge3 that this subject clearly has become more notable, which suggests it might be more appropriate now than it was previously to include the birth date. At the same time, agree with User:Maunus ·ʍaunus·snunɐw· that there is very little value to readers to know her exact date of birth, and there are legitimate personal privacy concerns as suggested by WP:DOB. All-in-all I think the bottom line is that, for better or worse, it's probably not reasonable for US members of congress to expect that their birth date should not be public knowledge. NickCT (talk) 12:32, 24 July 2013 (UTC)
• Do not include per the prior rationales in the archived talk page threads unless the policy issue is resolved. WP:DOB states that if a subject complains about the inclusion of the date of birth, simply list the year instead. It's obvious from looking at WP:BLP that WP:WELLKNOWN was not intended to trump WP:DOB which comes immediately afterward. Regardless of the stature of the subject (let's say it's the President for example, rather than a first term Congresswoman), or Internet exposure of the information (let's assume even the simplest of Google searches will return the exact birth date), WP:DOB makes it possible for any subject to request their exact DOB be omitted and Misplaced Pages renders that courtesy. There is nothing in the policy about second guessing the subject's intentions or putting an expiration date on their request. If it's important to include the exact month/day here on the subject's Misplaced Pages entry, we should either 1) contact the subject and ask if they would like to rescind their prior request or 2) amend the WP:DOB policy such that it doesn't give subjects that unconditional courtesy. Regards, AzureCitizen (talk) 19:50, 24 July 2013 (UTC)

• WP:BLPPRIVACY also states that "Misplaced Pages includes full names and dates of birth that have been widely published by reliable sources, or by sources linked to the subject such that it may reasonably be inferred that the subject does not object." - I thinks that this can be argued at this point that this has become the case. If anything, it seems that people are coming to this article and asking themselves, "why is the full date missing?".. – Connormah (talk) 23:15, 24 July 2013 (UTC)

• WP:BLPPRIVACY is the sentence immediately preceding WP:DOB: "Misplaced Pages includes full names and dates of birth that have been widely published by reliable sources, or by sources linked to the subject such that it may reasonably be inferred that the subject does not object. If the subject complains about the inclusion of the date of birth, or the person is borderline notable, err on the side of caution and simply list the year." Thus, we display a subject's DOB if it has been widely published, or if an inference can be drawn, but if a subject complains, we err on the side of caution. Again, a policy change should be sought to put the matter to rest. Additionally, it is unlikely the subject herself personally created the biographical entry at bioguide.congress.gov. That database covers every congressperson since 1774 and is likely maintained by non-elected Government service employees who are charged with assembling the information for congressional records. On that last point (the readers), I certainly agree with you, I'm sure people do come to this article and wonder why the month/day is missing. Regards, AzureCitizen (talk) 00:52, 25 July 2013 (UTC)

• Some more sources that state the full date, just for reference: – Connormah (talk) 03:27, 25 July 2013 (UTC)

• Include My rushed thoughts are that if the information is PD, we should summarize it here. I have not read related policies though.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 00:51, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
• Include: It's the right thing to do, perhaps not by Misplaced Pages standards, but by encyclopedic standards. Grammarxxx 16:27, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
• Include More well known than before, already published in many sources.--Otterathome (talk) 15:08, 28 July 2013 (UTC)
• Include Found in multiple reliable sources, and as a former Federal official (2009), her birthdate was public record in many places now. Inane to withhold something so widely found. Collect (talk) 17:10, 28 July 2013 (UTC) clinches it for me. Collect (talk) 18:13, 28 July 2013 (UTC)
• Do not include I have trouble understanding why anyone wants this information on a garden-variety biography. It is not typical for encyclopedias to include birthdates unless there is some particular reason, such as a national holiday on the person's birthday. I suppose that an encyclopedia written by astrologers would include birthdates for everyone, but who else cares about this? Does knowing that the subject is born on January 4th or 5th or 6th (or whatever the date is) really improve your understanding of the person? (Again, for non-astrologers.) The exact date is pretty close to trivia. WhatamIdoing (talk) 14:48, 30 July 2013 (UTC)

• Birth dates may may be trivia, but almost every other biography on this encyclopedia provides birth dates, as instructed by the MOS. The question here is whether there is a compelling reason for this article to go against the MOS by providing the year only and not the date. Edge3 (talk) 22:55, 30 July 2013 (UTC)
  • I don't think that complying with BLP really counts as "going against the MOS". If you think that these are in conflict, then I suggest changing the MOS to reduce trivia and more clearly comply with BLP. WhatamIdoing (talk) 04:45, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

• Do not include. WP:BLPPRIVACY is clear about this: "If the subject complains about the inclusion of the date of birth, or the person is borderline notable, err on the side of caution and simply list the year." SlimVirgin 17:02, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
• Additional reason to not include I recently emailed Duckworth, and received the following response:

From: Duckworth for Congress <info@tammyduckworth.com>
Date: July 31, 2013
Thanks for checking with us - we really appreciate you seeking the congresswoman's input. 
Rep. Duckworth still prefers that her birthdate not be published.
Please let me know if there are additional steps we should take to weigh in.
Thank you,
Eve, Duckworth for Congress

--Obi-Wan Kenobi (talk) 18:27, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

You've already voted. Hot Stop talk-contribs 01:20, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

• Include Privacy can only apply to information that is at least somewhat private. Otherwise, elected officials (and others) could constantly be challenging sourced info on WP on the grounds of so-called "privacy." Arbor8 (talk) 18:39, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
• Include the information is readily available on her congressional bio. Her concerns about identify theft fall flat unless she can prove she's more likely to have her identity stolen than any of the countless other individuals have who have birthdays listed on Misplaced Pages. Hot Stop talk-contribs 01:20, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

It should be noted, Duckworth's Misplaced Pages bio is the only Congressman Bio, which Wikipeida has no birthday on it.Seeroftruth (talk) 14:01, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

• Include Based on Wikipolicy WP:WELLKNOWN, WP:OPENPARA as well as her birthday is published on her official, Congressional bio () IF she don't like it on wiki, then don't be a congressmen, Her request, considering her status as a "ELECTED PUBLIC FIGURE" precludes and superseeds her desire to keep her bday off of Misplaced Pages. Duckworth's desire to keep her birthday off of Misplaced Pages is unreasonable and should be ignored, based on Wikipolicy as stated above, as well as basic Encyclopedic standards. Seeroftruth (talk) 13:31, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

Please read Misplaced Pages:BLPPRIVACY#Privacy_of_personal_information_and_using_primary_sources, which states, quite clearly: "If the subject complains about the inclusion of the date of birth, or the person is borderline notable, err on the side of caution and simply list the year." That's pretty clear, and there's no "tough cookies" clause. Why exactly do you want to ignore a reasonable request, esp from an elected official who lost two legs while serving her country? The insensitivity in the responses above is rather stunning- plz remember BLPs are people too.--Obi-Wan Kenobi (talk) 13:54, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

Its rather stunning considering, even Duckworth's Official bio on Congress.gov includes her birthday demonstrates how ridiculous her request is. Also, such compliance with such a ridiculous request, calls in the question the fairness and non-bias place Misplaced Pages should have on Political Bios. as well, it should be noted that Duckworth is the ONLY one of the 500 Plus Congressmen listed on Misplaced Pages? What makes her so special is to warrant this special treatment?Seeroftruth (talk) 14:20, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

I don't think it's a ridiculous request, and publication elsewhere doesn't mean much. We don't have to dig into details as to why she doesn't want it listed here - it's a simple fact that she doesn't. We would do the same for any other figure on wikipedia who made the same request - so if 500 congressmen request it tomorrow, we should delete their birthdates too. We're not giving her special treatment, we are giving her standard treatment accorded to all bios and enshrined in our policy.--Obi-Wan Kenobi (talk) 14:44, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

• Comment - This is not a valid topic for an RfC, as any calls to "include" are moot per WP:BLPPRIVACY, which is part of a policy page. BLP policy cannot be occasionally be set aside as guidelines can, so if there is objection to how the Misplaced Pages currently treats date of birth and the subject's wishes therein, you would have to make your case at Misplaced Pages talk:BLP and gain consensus for a policy change first. Tarc (talk) 14:01, 1 August 2013 (UTC)
  • Policy: or by sources linked to the subject such that it may reasonably be inferred that the subject does not object -- I suggest her official Congressional bio is "linked to the subject" and that she did not object to the DOB being in it. Collect (talk) 15:05, 1 August 2013 (UTC)
    • I think you need to brush up on your reading skills a bit. The first few sentences describe what we do in normally in regards to date-of-birth and BLPs. The Next sentence tells what the exceptions are; a) the subject requests removal, or b) the subject's notability is notable. Condition "a" is satisfied. Case closed. The only thing this hinges on is whether the person requesting the deletion is verifiably the subject...if that is going to be a nitpick, then all we have to do is point her or to WP:OTRS. Tarc (talk) 15:16, 1 August 2013 (UTC)
      • WP:BLP also states: "In the case of public figures, there will be a multitude of reliable published sources, and BLPs should simply document what these sources say. If an allegation or incident is noteworthy, relevant, and well-documented, it belongs in the article – even if it is negative and the subject dislikes all mention of it." See WP:WELLKNOWN. We're not attempting to "set aside" the policy, but rather interpret it in a way that allows us to comply with all policies and guidelines. Edge3 (talk) 01:56, 2 August 2013 (UTC)
• Include This is an encyclopedia, not a data base of information. Its sourced and its notable. And we cannot simply remove reliably sourced and notable information from an article simply because some random ip or new account "claims" to be the person in question.--JOJ 14:44, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

Did you read the email cited above? That was sent to me from her official congressional account, after I posted a query on her official web page. If you have doubts, I encourage you to write her directly and ask her yourself, or I can forward the email to you. I'm an editor in good standing here, I don't know Duckworth and have never heard of her until this discussion, and have no reason to make sh*t up.--Obi-Wan Kenobi (talk) 14:46, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

Your email is not a reliable source for her information, nor would mine be. And if being a editor in good standing, which you are, is enough of a reason to add or remove information from Misplaced Pages, then we wouldn't need sources or proof at all.--JOJ 15:13, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

That is an absurd argument. We are talking about exluding information not adding it, and removing information does not require reliable sources but a consensus of editors in good standing. What is your reason to assume that someone other than Duckworth would email Obi Wan Kenobi to have the birthdate removed. AGF applies. User:Maunus ·ʍaunus·snunɐw· 16:01, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

I agree. If you notice, the staffer who responded to the email even asked if there was more they could do. Are we really going to force them to send a formal request in triplicate to WP:OTRS? The only other possibility is that I'm making this all up, which, frankly, is absurd.--Obi-Wan Kenobi (talk) 17:22, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

Just to be extra clear, Duckworth's staffer did not initiate the conversation with me. I asked a question on her official website, and her staffer responded a few days later (having presumably talked to her). That exchange was way more than enough for me.--Obi-Wan Kenobi (talk) 17:25, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

• DO NOT Include per the WP policy on BLP DOBs, and the policy on the misuse of primary sources in BLPs. These policies are crystal clear on this issue: "If the subject complains about the inclusion of the date of birth ... simply list the year." (from WP:DOB) and "Do not use public records that include personal details, such as date of birth ..." (from WP:BLPPRIMARY). I agree with Tarc, we should not even be having this discussion. If you don't like the BLP policy, feel free to begin a discussion at Misplaced Pages talk:Biographies of living persons. Until that policy is changed, any further discussion here is moot. -Wine Guy~Talk 16:09, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

• Except it's not solely primary sources that we're relying on. Multiple secondary sources that I have linked above do include the full date. – Connormah (talk) 19:14, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

• The sources argument isn't important, what is important is that the subject has made their wishes known, and per policy, the full DOB can be kept out. There is no wigle room here; if you want wiggle room, then goto the BLP talk page and propose a change in policy. Tarc (talk) 19:36, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

• (edit conflict)Yes, I should clarify a bit. My point in referring to BLPPrimary is that many here are arguing that since her DOB is listed on her official congressional webpage that it should be fair game. I would suggest that her webpage falls into the category of being both a primary source and a public record; while there are other sources, the congressional page is specifically excluded from consideration according to our policy. Regardless, the WP:DOB issue still applies. That the information is available elsewhere should not give us latitude to casually throw BLP policy out the window. –Wine Guy~Talk 19:50, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

• Whether or not the congressional page is a primary or secondary source is irrelevant, as on the first page of a Google search you find her full date of birth in the Washington Times. - The Bushranger _{One ping only} 05:25, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

• Include As a Member of Congress, she has no reasonable expectation that this information would be kept private. --rogerd (talk) 20:45, 1 August 2013 (UTC)
• Include. If she wants her birthdate offline, tell her to make an official complaint to the Office of the Clerk regarding the presence of her birthdate in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Despite Tarc's claim, we have no need to change policy: we are operating an encyclopedia here, and the republication of basic information already published elsewhere may not be censored per our Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not policy's WP:NOTCENSOR policy. Nyttend (talk) 03:54, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

• Comment. This is the point, she is now a "public figure", as well as standing member of Congress, where her birth day is a valid constitutional issue regarding Duckworth's qualifying for office () so Duckworth's DOB is relevant. Also, why should Duckworth have any expectations of her DOB censored on Misplaced Pages, since "ALL" of the 500plus members of congress, who have articles on Misplaced Pages, have birthday details listed. Besides, is Duckworth entitled to more special treatment, in contrast to the other 500plus Congressmen who's birthday is publish on Misplaced Pages and have no problems with it.? This slavish devotion to Duckworth's unreasonable request is inconsistent with Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not policy's WP:NOTCENSOR policy and Commonsense.Seeroftruth (talk) 19:45, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

• Do not include. You want it in? Then change the policy. --NeilN 05:19, 2 August 2013 (UTC)
• Include. Her date of birth, on a quick Google search, is on biography.com, the Washington Times, imdb, Women in Combat: A Reference Handbook, and others. The first two of those are the second and third hits on Google, in the snippet Google displays. While policies should, indeed, be upheld, slavish adherence to policy in the face of WP:COMMONSENSE does nothing but harm the encylopedia - this is exactly the sort of thing that the people who like to say "Misplaced Pages is Inaccurate!" devour. WP:IAR is also policy (and one of the Five Pillars, at that), and when, as in this case, following a policy is bad for Misplaced Pages, we need to IAR until the policy is changed, not say "change the policy" as we blindly follow it off a cliff like lemmings. - The Bushranger _{One ping only} 05:25, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

Comment. I'm no fan of slavish adherence to policy, and I'm a big fan of WP:IAR—but not when it comes to privacy issues in BLPs. I agree that it is common sense to include the exact date in this case, and it gives us good reason to revisit the wording of WP:DOB. That discussion is taking place now at Misplaced Pages talk:Biographies of living persons#Proposal on date of birth. It's a shame that people seem intent on hashing this out on this individual article, rather than fixing the policy which clearly needs refinement. One other note, listing the year of birth is in no way, shape or form inaccurate unless the wrong year is in the article. –Wine Guy~Talk 20:34, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

• Include I agree with Nyttend and the Bushranger-Ballotpedia had an article about Tammy Duckworth and her birthday is mentioned there. In 2007, I can see excluding her name because Tammy Duckworth was not in elective office at that time; however in 2013 with Tammy Duckworth in the US House of Representatives and her birthday mentioned in the Congressional Biography this has changed greatly since 2007. Thank you-RFD (talk) 19:07, 2 August 2013 (UTC)
• Include- There is no good reason not to, and misstating the intent of WP:DOB is not giving a valid policy reason. Beyond My Ken (talk) 20:18, 2 August 2013 (UTC)
• Proposal to Move Discussion – Can we move this to WP:BLPN? This issue really is a policy one and BLPN can recommend a policy change. Otherwise the resolution is confined to this single article, and subject to even more discussion. Thanks. – S. Rich (talk) 02:06, 3 August 2013 (UTC)
  • Actually, it's not a policy issue. What's happening is that people are incorrectly interpreting policy in this specific case, given this particular set of circumstances, and that is a local matter, not a global one. Beyond My Ken (talk) 02:50, 3 August 2013 (UTC)
    • If they are incorrectly interpreting policy (and the issue has arisen here 5 different times), then let's get the policy clarified. (In fact, there have been 2 dozen BLPN debates over the years.) If this is a local matter for a Congressperson, what about a state government representative, or non-government "famous person", or someone "not-so-famous", and how about non-United States BLPs? Why do we have so much debate if the policy is clear and people are clearly "incorrectly interpreting policy"? BLPN is the best way to go for the community. – S. Rich (talk) 03:10, 3 August 2013 (UTC)
      • I'm not sure it should be moved, however a seperate discussion on changing the policy should be done. - The Bushranger _{One ping only} 04:48, 5 August 2013 (UTC)
• Do not include per WP:DOB and the subject's wishes. Incidently, does anyone have decent secondary sources publishing the date? So far all I've seen are primary sources like the officla bio and minor or contentious secondary sources like Washington Times. Nil Einne (talk) 16:59, 3 August 2013 (UTC)
  • ...how exactly is the Washington Times "minor or contentious"? As for "the DOB is a privacy issue", that horse not only bolted long ago, it was so long ago that the barn has collapsed from old age and removing the full date on the grounds of privacy isn't just locking the door after the horse left it's building an entirely new door just to lock it (without rebuilding the rest of the barn). - The Bushranger _{One ping only} 04:48, 5 August 2013 (UTC)
• Include. The information is out there, and including it here is not a threat to information security. Andrew 18:54, 3 August 2013 (UTC)
• Include since there is no reasonable expectation of privacy of birthdate for a US congressperson , when it is included in her official congressional biography and in numerous reliable sources. Edison (talk) 02:07, 5 August 2013 (UTC)

WP:DOB does not state that cases in which there is no reasonable expectation of privacy are exempt from the policy. Dezastru (talk) 19:44, 5 August 2013 (UTC)

• Include heck, we should ask her office if she minds at this point. The request is stale give the time that's past and that she publishes it. Hobit (talk) 12:40, 5 August 2013 (UTC)

We've asked her office, and as you will see above they responded that she preferred it to be excluded.User:Maunus ·ʍaunus·snunɐw· 13:55, 5 August 2013 (UTC)

Noted. Seems very strange. But I can't see a justification for not publishing something due to privacy concerns when she has it published. Hobit (talk) 14:42, 8 August 2013 (UTC)

• Do not include - The WP:DOB policy says, "If the subject complains about the inclusion of the date of birth, or the person is borderline notable, err on the side of caution and simply list the year." She HAS complained about inclusion of this information in her BLP, so we should follow the policy. No one has explained what overriding public interest would be served by superseding the policy and including the information in the article. Does it really make that much of a difference to know the precise date of the birth, rather than just the year? Is so, how? Someone argued here that her date of birth is relevant to the position of public trust she holds—her main point of notability—on constitutional grounds (since the Constitution requires that members of the House of Representatives be at least 25 years old). That argument would only be relevant to whether Misplaced Pages should publish the precise date of birth if there were some question as to whether she had reached the requisite age by the time she took the oath of office – a moot point since she was over 40 when she took the oath (and we only need show the year of birth to establish that in the article). Several have noted that her birthdate is published in her Congressional bio, but WP:DOB says, "Misplaced Pages includes full names and dates of birth ] by sources linked to the subject such that it may reasonably be inferred that the subject does not object." Publication of someone's date of birth on their personal Facebook page, or on their personally-managed website, or in an autobiographical book or article would be examples of "sources linked to the subject such that it may reasonably inferred that the subject does not object." An official Congressional bio is not such a source. There are many scenerios under which a person could reasonably object to the information being published in their Congressional bio yet not have had the information removed, not the least of which might be the Streisand effect. And for those who say that 'the information is already widely available, what harm could including it in Misplaced Pages do?' the difference is that the reach of Misplaced Pages is far, far greater than that of many other sources. Misplaced Pages info box material appears at the top right of Google searches on people, while info from newspaper articles, scholarly books and articles, and other more reliable sources is typically buried in search results. Dezastru (talk) 19:40, 5 August 2013 (UTC)

• Comment SO much double talk, but in the wikipolicy WP:DOB its the fact Duckworth is a standing Congressman, as well as her DOB sprayed allover the Internet like here Duckworth's Bio Considering Duckworth is noteworthy, her birthday is not bound under WP:DOB. Seeroftruth (talk) 22:34, 5 August 2013 (UTC)

The policy says "If the subject complains about the inclusion of the date of birth, or the person is borderline notable, err on the side of caution and simply list the year." Thus, the subject's birth date is bound by WP:DOB and we are properly following policy by honoring the subject's request to omit the exact month/day while simply listing the year instead. Regards, AzureCitizen (talk) 22:45, 5 August 2013 (UTC)

The policy you quote only applies to non-public figures - and Ms. Duckworth is very Public Figure, as well as as an elected Congressman. Plus you convietly discount this "...Public figures

Policy shortcuts:

WP:PUBLICFIGURE

WP:WELLKNOWN

In the case of public figures, there will be a multitude of reliable published sources, and BLPs should simply document what these sources say. If an allegation or incident is noteworthy, relevant, and well-documented, it belongs in the article – even if it is negative and the subject dislikes all mention of it (bold mine). If you cannot find multiple reliable third-party sources documenting the allegation or incident, leave it out..."Seeroftruth (talk) 00:47, 6 August 2013 (UTC)

WP:DOB applies to both public figures and non-public figures. If you disagree, please point out exactly where in the text "If the subject complains about the inclusion of the date of birth, or the person is borderline notable, err on the side of caution and simply list the year" that you perceive that the WP:DOB policy excludes public figures from this courtesy. WP:PUBLICFIGURE and WP:WELLKNOWN appear in the section immediately preceding WP:DOB and speak to "allegations" and "incidents" that are noteworthy, relevant, and well-documented. The examples included therein are about divorces and affairs... negative things which subjects often dislike any mention of it (and we don't censor allegations and incidents just because a subject asks for it). A person's exact month and day of birth, however, is not a scandalous "incident" or allegation". WP:DOB follows the text of WP:PUBLICFIGURE and WP:WELLKNOWN and makes it clear that if a subject requests removal of the exact birth date, we simply list the year instead. Hence, we are following policy here (and have been doing so for many years now) when we omit Duckworth's exact DOB. Regards, AzureCitizen (talk) 02:18, 6 August 2013 (UTC)

I disagree that "WP:DOB follows the text of WP:PUBLICFIGURE and WP:WELLKNOWN and makes it clear that if a subject requests removal of the exact birth date, we simply list the year instead." If we are excluding a piece of information that is well-documented in a "multitude of reliable published sources", then how are we compliant with WP:PUBLICFIGURE/WP:WELLKNOWN? This policy does not grant an exception to dates of birth. Edge3 (talk) 23:21, 6 August 2013 (UTC)

We are fully compliant with WP:PUBLICFIGURE and WP:WELLKNOWN right now with the month/day of birth omitted. WP:PUBLICFIGURE and WP:WELLKNOWN say nothing about publishing the exact month and date of birth because WP:PUBLICFIGURE and WP:WELLKNOWN have nothing to do with a subject's DOB. The policy issue of DOB is governed by WP:DOB, which appears immediately after WP:PUBLICFIGURE and WP:WELLKNOWN and makes it a condition that if a subject (which can be any subject, regardless of whether they are a public figure or a non-public figure) requests removal of the DOB, we remove it. By contrast, WP:PUBLICFIGURE and WP:WELLKNOWN speak to "allegations" and/or "incidents" that are "noteworthy, relevant, and well-documented", going on to say that they belong in the article "even if" they are "negative and the subject dislikes all mention of it." The examples given are divorces and affairs. How is a subject's month/day of birth an "incident" or "allegation" that is noteworthy and negative like a divorce or an affair? Why should we think WP:PUBLICFIGURE and WP:WELLKNOWN were ever intended to be interpreted the way you're trying to construe them? Regards, AzureCitizen (talk) 00:16, 7 August 2013 (UTC)

The examples provided on WP:PUBLICFIGURE/WP:WELLKNOWN are not meant to be exhaustive. It is possible that they were meant to provide guidance on specific issues that were on the minds of the editors that drafted the policy and the community members that approved it. As stated in WP:BURO, policies are reflections of evolving consensus and should not be subjected to strict interpretation. Even though DOBs aren't explicitly mentioned in WP:PUBLICFIGURE/WP:WELLKNOWN, DOBs may still be subject to the general mandate of this policy, in the same way that DOBs are also subject to other considerations like WP:OPENPARA.

Our discussion archives suggest that there is no absolute right to privacy with respect to one's DOB. In this discussion we can see that the editors of the BLP policy were aware that Misplaced Pages's guidelines should reflect different degrees of notability and fame. Edge3 (talk) 00:38, 15 August 2013 (UTC)

Saying that although DOBs "aren't explicitly mentioned in WP:PUBLICFIGURE/WP:WELLKNOWN, DOBs may still be subject to the general mandate" of those policies would make sense to me if WP:DOB did not exist. WP:DOB does exist, however, so we are correct in looking first to what WP:DOB has to say on whether or not to include DOBs. Regards, AzureCitizen (talk) 23:16, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

• comment Please weigh in at the broader policy change being discussed here Wikipedia_talk:Biographies_of_living_persons#Proposal_on_date_of_birth. --Obi-Wan Kenobi (talk) 19:45, 5 August 2013 (UTC)
• Do not include. This is a tough call because, practically speaking, regardless of what we publish, the information that she's requesting be excluded is out there. Never-the-less, WP:DOB seems clear to me:

  If the subject complains about the inclusion of the date of birth, or the person is borderline notable, err on the side of caution and simply list the year.

  Please note the highlighted or - that is not an and. That means if either condition is true -- either the subject complains OR the person is borderline

notable -- then we exclude. Well, the first condition is undeniably true. Therefore we do not include, per the subject's request. Our hands stay clean that way, we're compliant and consistent with our own policy, and no harm is done. --B2C 05:35, 6 August 2013 (UTC)

• Comment ::: Commonsense dictates the DOB should be added to Duckworth's Bio as it is the cass with the other 431 congressmen with published DOB, on Misplaced Pages. Why is Tammy Duckworth the only one who who does not have a Birthday published on Wikipeida. What makes Duckworth so special to get this special treatment by Misplaced Pages contrary to 434 of her colleagues? Seeroftruth (talk) 05:47, 7 August 2013 (UTC)

I'd have figured that common sense would have deduced that probably very few, if any, of Duckworth's colleagues have similarly requested that their birthdates not be included in their bios, which would explain why Duckworth is the only one who does not have a birthday published on Misplaced Pages (if she actually is the only one). The rest are free to request that their birthdates likewise be excluded, and under Misplaced Pages policy, we should generally accede to those requests. Dezastru (talk) 06:04, 7 August 2013 (UTC)

• Include There is no point in removing information which is a click away and listed on the official Congress bio, and as such massively public and officially recognized as correct. Therefore there is no privacy concern whatsoever. There are many requests from BLP subjects we can kindly accomodate, but being gagged from telling the obviously public is not one of these. To whoever cites policy: Here WP:DOB fails spectacularly, and in fact it is now under discussion, with consensus leaning towards its narrowing. I am not a big fan of WP:IAR, but this is a correct case for its application: when rules have it wrong, reason needs to get it right (and then to change the rules accordingly). BLP exists to avoid chances of clear unnecessary harm, not to slavishly self-censor at every BLP subject whim. -- cyclopia 14:05, 7 August 2013 (UTC)
• Include Absent a recent request, it is safe to assume that her more recent publication of her birthday in her official biography obviates any prior concern. Alanscottwalker (talk) 18:09, 7 August 2013 (UTC); Under "Privacy of personal information and using primary sources" in biographies of the more than borderline notable persons, the policy only requires partial compliance ("err on the side") of the request (by including only the year) when privacy and weak sources are all there are. Here, we should follow the usual practice of high quality biography sources and include the year, there is no reason to "err" at all. The subject here is very notable and the prominent, high quality secondary sources (which we have) - and which obviate any privacy issues - should be followed by including the date. Alanscottwalker (talk) 11:46, 17 August 2013 (UTC)
• Comment - Several have commented here that Duckworth has published her birthdate in her official congressional bio, the implication being that she does not really object to this information being readily available to the public. But has she? Do we know for a fact that the online bio cited by Edge3 as being her official bio is really her official bio, meaning that she approved the content prior to its publication? Is it not reasonably possible that a functionary working for her employer prepared that bio without consulting her about the content? Is there any other information available which might suggest that her own preference would be to exclude this information from her public bio? Such as we see in the biography section on her official House of Representatives webpages and in the biography information on her Facebook page? I don't see her birthdate mentioned in either of those bios which are far more likely to have been prepared according to her instructions than the bio at the previously mentioned http://bioguide.congress.gov webpage. Dezastru (talk) 15:27, 8 August 2013 (UTC)

I would say that what we know is that the Historian of the United States Congress views the date as part of her official biography, and that she works in the United States Congress, and we follow reliable sources on what they view as pertinent information. Alanscottwalker (talk) 01:25, 9 August 2013 (UTC) "Privacy of personal information and using primary sources"

Duckworth's "employer" technically is the people of Illinois, not Congress. A lot of information related to her service is already publicly available. But that doesn't matter here, since we hold all sources to the same standards of reliability. I don't want to misrepresent the opinions of others, but I think the main argument now is that Misplaced Pages generally includes information that is published in a multitude of reliable sources, even if the subject dislikes any mention of it. Edge3 (talk) 02:06, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

fwiw, her employer is the United States : she is paid a US government salary, and receives US government retirement and and health care benefits. See United_States_Congress#Privileges_and_pay. She is chosen by the people of her district, and is of course ultimately paid indirectly by them in combination with everyone else in the country through federal taxes. It is not unknown that a person's employer keeps in publicly available records material which the person would otherwise not publicize--for example, as a government requirement, the salaries of key corporate employees. DGG ( talk ) 15:33, 11 August 2013 (UTC)

That is true -- unless the information is the full date of birth and the subject has asked that it not be published in Misplaced Pages. (And I'm pretty sure that Duckworth's paychecks are issued by the US government, not the state of Illinois.) Dezastru (talk) 02:14, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

• Include – Misplaced Pages is basically all (or most) of the information available about a subject unified to one central source. If the information is out there—especially on a relatively high-profile subject and more especially if it's from a official, online source—we should include it. ~HueSatLum 04:10, 9 August 2013 (UTC)
• Include -- if it's good enough for her official congressional biography, it's good enough for Misplaced Pages. Failure to exclude it from the congressional bio suggests that if she controls the content of her bio, she's being very selective about where she wants it published; and if she doesn't control the content of her bio, then perhaps she shouldn't have run for Congress. Then she would still have complete control over her personal information. She is a public figure now, and there are good things and bad things that arise from this change in status. She accepts the good things. She should be an adult about this and take the bad with the good. GoodeOldeboy (talk) 04:28, 11 August 2013 (UTC)
• Do not include per longstanding BLP policy on dates of birth. Andreas JN466 08:43, 12 August 2013 (UTC)
• Do not include

"As Tammy Duckworth has previously requested to have her birthdate excluded from this article, we have complied as per WP:DOB."

This tells me what I need to know. Duckworth made the request properly and the policy that is established is to honor that request. If editors want to make distinctions between individuals who have a "public profile" and those who ordinary are ordinary citizens, then they should work on changing the policy. We shouldn't ignore a valid request and break policy and create exceptions in order to refine a policy. That is working backward.

It could be that the WP:DOB is changed and no longer applies to celebrities or people with a public persona and then this article can be revisted AFTER the policy has been changed, not before. To ignore policy because of subjective evaluations of "Well, the information has already appeared in X" or "The policy wasn't really meant to apply to people who are Z" sets a bad precedent. Newjerseyliz (talk) 18:38, 14 August 2013 (UTC)

That is not what DOB requires. "Privacy of personal information and using primary sources" is not categorical: Request does not equal exclude. Although, it would have been very easy to make it so: "do not include." Instead it is written as an appeal to editorial judgement: "err on the side of". And its concern is "privacy" and "primary source" use. This means that editors may choose not to "err" at all, and instead follow high quality secondary sourcing, and the usual practices and discipline of high quality biography to include. Alanscottwalker (talk) 13:58, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

WP:DOB states "If the subject complains about the inclusion of the date of birth, or the person is borderline notable, err on the side of caution and simply list the year." Thus, if a subject complains about the inclusion of the date of birth, we simply list the year. Thus, a request does oblige us to exclude, which is the way WP:DOB has been applied for years now. Newjerseyliz has it correct in saying that if editors want to make exceptions, they should work towards changing the policy. Regards, AzureCitizen (talk) 23:16, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

No. It does not say "do not include". It asks for editorial judgment -- we are obliged to consider the request in kindness, respect, consideration, privacy concerns, and in light of the high quality sourcing on the subject -- and when in doubt to "err on the side" of the request (in part, only, by including the year). But we need not err at all. Not for non-existent privacy, where high quality sources already include. If you want the policy to read "do not include," or "must not include," you need to change the policy. Alanscottwalker (talk) 11:03, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

No. It does not say "use your own editorial judgement". It says if the subject complains, simply list the year. If you want the policy to read "use your own editorial judgement", you need to change the policy. Regards, AzureCitizen (talk) 12:59, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

No. I did not say it did: it's a matter of WP:Consensus not my own anything. It does not say "if the subject complains, simply list the year" If you want it to say that, you need to change the policy. Alanscottwalker (talk) 14:13, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

No, I don't need to change the policy to say "If the subject complains, simply list the year." The policy already says "If the subject complains about the inclusion of the date of birth, or the person is borderline notable, err on the side of caution and simply list the year," which is the way it has been interpreted here on this article for many years now. If you want it to say something else, you need to change the policy. Regards, AzureCitizen (talk) 15:51, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

I agree with Alanscottwalker. Our Wiktionary entry on wikt:err on the side of caution implies that we have to assess the risks and choose the least risky approach. Under normal circumstances when the DOB is not widely published in other sources, the least risky approach is to protect privacy by excluding the DOB from Misplaced Pages. But in the case of Tammy Duckworth, whose DOB is widely published in government and news sources, the privacy concerns are negligible. By excluding her DOB, we are exposing ourselves to a different kind of risk -- the risk of being criticized for withholding publicly available information. This risk should also be considered, since WP:DOB does not categorically say that we must exclude the DOB. Edge3 (talk) 14:41, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

The risk that we will be "criticized" for withholding publicly available information? It seems to me we could advance many bizarre arguments about how we might be criticized for doing or not doing something. Regards, AzureCitizen (talk) 15:51, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

How is there any risk involved in "withholding publicly available information"? User:Maunus ·ʍaunus·snunɐw· 14:55, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

I do not know if I would call it a risk, but any Misplaced Pages article that ignores and fails to reflect the pertinent information identified by high quality reliable sourcing in the scholarly discipline at issue (here biography) -- indeed, to go so far as to "err" (introduce error) -- is a failure of WP:NPOV (and depending on the evidence compelling the decision WP:OR) and must be a very exceptional case, with exceptional facts/need, subject to well considered consensus -- (and these cases do exist and having participated in such discussions on the side of "err" it can be warranted, but not, given consensus, here in this article, with this subject profile, with this quality of sourcing). Alanscottwalker (talk) 15:11, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

I dont see anyone having suggested that we should introduce a fake DOB. I still dont see why short of astrology birthdates are pertinent information about politicians. And if it is then people can find it elsewhere.User:Maunus ·ʍaunus·snunɐw· 15:47, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

Agreed - we are not "introducing error" by listing the year of birth instead of the month and day, nor is it a violation of WP:NPOV to follow policy and omit something. Regards, AzureCitizen (talk) 15:51, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

That's not the error. The error is refusing to follow the information in high quality sourcing. As you are not a professional biographer of a Congressperson (under our rules) but the Historian of Congress is, following his/her judgment ensures that error does not occur. Alanscottwalker (talk) 15:56, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

"Refusing to follow the information in high quality sourcing" is a blatant distortion of the situation here. We know that the subject's date of birth is readily available in reliable sources; WP:DOB, however, says that if the subject complains, we err on the side of caution and simply list the year instead. Whatever the Historian of Congress wants to do with DOBs and their website is up to the Historian of Congress. Editors such as ourselves are making edits here on Misplaced Pages, where we follow policy, precedent, and consensus. Regards, AzureCitizen (talk) 16:07, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

You explicitly are refusing to follow high quality sourcing. That's why it's a decision that runs afoul of NPOV and OR. And, yes, as I've repeatedly said it is subject to consensus. Alanscottwalker (talk) 16:14, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

ANI about reopening prior RfC

A discussion about reopening the RfC on Duckworth's DOB is here WP:Administrators'_noticeboard#Tammy_Duckworth_RfC. – S. Rich (talk) 02:16, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

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