RationalWiki:Articles for deletion/Polandball

Polandball | Result: Keep

Polandball (edit|talk|history|protect|delete|links|watch|logs) – (View log)

Delete

1. It’s an old meme that a few people apparently used to spread ideas that are tangentially related to our mission. The article even has a “conclusion” section telling the reader that it doesn’t particularly matter. The article is also completely unsourced. Christopher (talk) 19:59, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

Keep

1. I will admit this article is unsourced, but for better or for worse it's a very big part of internet culture that needs to be focused on more - likewise I think more needs to be said of how much it is a part of right wing nationalist communities (IIRC "remove kebab" was popularised by it). As for the conclusion, what I meant to say wasn't "it doesn't matter", but "reader beware". MidnightBlue766 (talk) 20:01, 19 March 2021 (UTC)
2. I'd strongly beg to differ with the notability rationale for AFD. This is a huge part of online meme culture, and it's important that we document this example of such a phenomenon that has been both a blessing (because I'll never stop respecting well-meaning people who try to get average internet folks interested in world history) and a curse (because the alt-right seems to have turned large swathes of the polandball community into yet another wingnut playground and gateway to the indoctrination of angsty teens going through the "white-male-persecution-complex" phase that I have often seen in my classmates virtually every time feminism- a somewhat hot-button issue in my school's student body- is brought up. --Goatspeed. _{See what I'm up to}CircularRasoning^{My experiments} 20:07, 19 March 2021 (UTC)
3. Could be moved to funspace, but I really like Polandball. Chef Moosolini’s Ristorante Italiano^{Make a Reservation} 20:10, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

   Definitely not appropriate for funspace as is, it takes the subject far too seriously. If you like polandball you probably don’t like the article. Christopher (talk) 20:12, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

4. -Flandres (talk) 20:12, 19 March 2021 (UTC)
5. It's within the mission statement of analyzing and criticizing how authoritarian subjects are handled in the media. It does satirize a lot of things like authoritarian governments, but I feel like this should remain to explain how white-nationalists have co-opted it with some enabling comics pandering to the Eurabia conspiracy theory. Rockford the Roe ^{boop my snoot}_{praise Oscar Wilde} 20:13, 19 March 2021 (UTC)
6. Not every article has to be a coverpage gold brain piece. This is one of those articles that is mostly harmless, yet still explains something mission related. Techpriest ^{(I am Alpharius! / / / )} 20:49, 19 March 2021 (UTC)
7. — 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭 ^{talk stalk} 04:06, 20 March 2021 (UTC)

Goat

• I have no strong opinion on this. It seems too goofy for RationalWiki (Know your meme is better suited for subjects like this), but the article itself could be improved and made missional by showing how it is used by the alt-right (Like Pepe The Frog). MarioSuperstar77 (talk) 20:03, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

  Every meme is used by the alt right to some degree, polandball isn’t really used by anyone anymore. Christopher (talk) 20:07, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

  It still has a very active subreddit with spinoffs (see polcompball). Rockford the Roe ^{boop my snoot}_{praise Oscar Wilde} 20:18, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

  It’s clearly like it’s more relevant than I thoroughly, but I stand by my other point about it not being missional. Christopher (talk) 20:24, 19 March 2021 (UTC)