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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 68.188.201.146 (talk) at 23:11, 28 June 2009 (→‎Speedy deletion?). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Advertising

Wikipedia is not for advertising! This article contains numerous external links to promotional websites, only a couple of the products mentioned have their own articles (I haven't looked at them) but the rest are direct external links to promotional websites, e.g. http://www.mightyputty.com/

I've marked the site with the spam tag until somebody can look further into this. --204.116.124.68 (talk) 08:14, 27 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

NPOV

There is an unsourced statement that is debatable whether it represents a NPOV. It references his "demeaning tone," yet there is no source that says this is the reason he has appeared in less commercials, so I'm led to believe it's an opinionated statement. 69.117.70.39 02:18, 28 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Deleted and recreated

I have deleted this article and recreated it as a stub. The bulk of the biographical content was a copyright violation of this article. Additionally, the article contained startling WP:BLP violations. From this point forward, the addition of any unsourced material will be reverted without comment. --Jeffrey O. Gustafson - Shazaam! - <*> 23:21, 22 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ref 3

Is broken. Trevor GH5 23:49, 24 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

POV

"...has gained Mays a substantial amount of recognition and a rapidly growing legion of channel changers whenever his fingernails on a blackboard voice eminates from the television screen." How un-biased.65.6.213.12 (talk) 01:20, 24 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Has this page been vandalized? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.33.182.117 (talk) 21:42, 2 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Un-biased? No. Hilarious? Yes. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.66.137.7 (talk) 06:10, 23 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Deleted salary information

According to one of the external newspaper articles linked to from this article, $330 million was the revenue of his employer, not his personal salary. 96.233.103.109 (talk) 12:24, 23 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Stalkerish info on his home?

Does anybody else think that tracking down, and subsequently posting a link to the appraisal of his house is a little, stalkerish? Just because its public info doesnt mean we should necessarily post it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.225.123.235 (talk) 02:11, 29 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Well here is his phone number too 813-920-8780. He posted that online himself as he is selling his home now for 3.8 million. http://www.homes.com PropId=54480547 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.202.33.20 (talk) 05:06, 25 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ghost hunter?

I remember seeing Billy Mays on a Sci-Fi channel production about ghost hunters, where he (using his name Billy Mays) still claimed to have been a ghost hunter. I always wanted to find more info online about that, because it was hilarious, but never can. It could be an interesting foot note to the article if someone can find it somehow.

The show focused around a lady being haunted by "real" ghosts in her house, with them sitting on her kids bed, blood dripping from the walls (in droplets), and when they went into the attic Billy Mays somehow ended up getting hung by a rope hanging in there. Then it went on with Billy and the other ghost hunters at their house with things turning on and off and windows breaking and finding scissors under their pillows and stuff.

I remember thinking it was real when I was younger, then I saw him on informercials. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.113.60.50 (talk) 20:43, 29 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Bear

Wrestled a black bear? Citation please. Ulgar (talk) 19:05, 29 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm going to remove that. It is unsourced and just has the feel of something someone stuck in as a joke/vandalism to see how long it would last before someone removed it. Mantisia (talk) 01:29, 31 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Polar Bear Club

I suspect the mention of membership in the Lake Robinson Polar Bear club is a piece of vandalism that has flown under the radar. I can't find any reference to this on Google that doesn't seem connected to this Wikipedia article. Just in case I'm wrong, I'll leave it up for another day or so to give someone a chance to provide a citation. Mantisia (talk) 01:45, 7 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

New source

The Washington Post did an extensive article about Mays. There could be some useful information here for this article. --Oakshade (talk) 15:27, 19 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Dont be mean hes just making a living. -Eskin

How about criticism?

Standard on Wikipedia to show independent criticism, especially since all of May's awards are listed here. He is well known to sell products for scams and downright fraudulent companies.

The new product he is peddling is the Simoniz Fix-It which is supposed to fix small scratches on automobile paint. It often comes with an applicator pen which doesn't include any product inside, a different vacuum than what is shown, compound which does nothing, a weak buffer, and no return if the package is opened. They are also not upfront with the $13 shipping for this "free" vacuum.

This seems to be common with everything he gives a pitch for. I am sure all of us here know that if something needs a sales pitch, it's likely to be crap. But the level of fraud that he puts his name on is astounding.

There a good way of going about this while keeping the article as objective as possible? I find that it is relevant for the sake of completeness rather than "awareness". 69.59.119.234 (talk) 23:19, 23 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Proper criticism is certainly something that can be put into this article, but only if done correctly. Objectivity is paramount, especially here since the vandalism rate of this article is quite high.
My concern based upon what you wrote is that a flaw with a product is not necessarily a flaw with the spokesperson. First of all you will need to provide evidence that the products are faulty without using original research (i.e. you receiving a defective product) or anecdotal reports (e.g. internet forum rants). Secondly, you will need to provide evidence showing that Billy Mays is aware the products are defective. I bet this will be pretty tough to do. On top of that the Wikipedia rules relating to biographies of living persons are extremely strict about including potentially libelous statements in the article.
Billy Mays may well be deserving of criticism, but finding a way to do it without running afoul of Wikipedia policies will be quite a challenge. Mantisia (talk) 00:50, 24 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Very good points, thanks. I am a new Wikipedia editor, so this information helps me a lot in writing proper articles. My expectation of a spokesperson is probably more demanding than other standards, and most likely much stricter than Wikipedia's standards. The likelihood of finding substance that demonstrates he knows of the experience of these consumers is slim to none. The only realistic option is to demonstrate negligence on his part to look into his own statements about a product. But as you said, this may go outside of Wikipedia standards due to being a living person.
Maybe a dialog here can help in brainstorming some ideas. Clearly there will be nothing libelous because the statement should quote independent consumer research groups, not be specific on products, and not make accusations. Place emphasis on the companies he represents rather than on his direct involvement. 69.59.119.234 (talk) 01:23, 24 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]
What if cricism is not about crap he peddles, but his extremely annoying and obnoxious self himself? I dislike some 90% of all commercials, but there are few that truly makes me want to go out and beat the snot out of everyone who is involved in creating such scum. I am sure I am not the only person who thinks the same way about this guy. So why be so stuck-up about not including criticism for this well-deserving a$$hole?
Criticism is fine. You just need to find a newspaper or magazine article or a major website that criticizes him. Tgpaul58 (talk) 20:04, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Billy Mays' official YouTube page

Found it at [1]. —Preceding unsigned comment added by ScratchMan.EXE (talk • contribs) 22:10, 13 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Evidence that it's official and that the video clips aren't copyright violations? DMacks (talk) 22:17, 13 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
"This account is suspended." is what that URL gave me. That suggests it's not official/authorized, and no evidence that it is has been supplied. Third-party/user-uploaded fansite/tribute material is not encyclopedic. DMacks (talk) 03:53, 20 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I got that it was suspended too. Just looking out for everyone. I thought I'd chime in. Yesitsnot (talk) 19:02, 19 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Tribute/fansites and parodies/remixes

Are they encyclopediac and free of copyright violations? Are they within WP:EL guidelines with regards to relevance? DMacks (talk) 03:56, 20 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

POV, again...

Opening paragraph was clearly written by an obsessed fan--there's no way in hell it qualifies as NPOV. -70.251.131.28 (talk) 19:34, 26 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I agree as far as the last sentence goes. I bet it hung around as long as it did because it had references, but when I saw they were just YouTube videos I decided it was time for that to go. I've edited it to something more neutral (I probably should dig up a reference though to do it the proper way). Mantisia (talk) 00:01, 27 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Request semi-protection to prevent IP vandals

 Done Ok, many things are wrong about Billy Mays. First, someone changed the Biography for no reason and made it irrelevant. Second, someone changed my uploaded image into something redundant. Please protect this page via request. This is to prevent any IP address users from vandalizing this article again. I would also like to know how to post up warnings for vandalistic users. if so, then feel free to send me a message. JMBZ-12 (talk) 18:47, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I've semi-protected it for a while. Not sure what you mean by the last sentence...warnings on their talk-pages, warnings on the article itself (that say what?), etc?DMacks (talk) 19:16, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Take a good look at the history page from the main article. This explains why (e.g. Biography changed by anonymous IP users in a bad way, below there, right after the page has been reverted, IP users made irrelevant edits which are less constructive, image changed as an act of vandalism by another IP user). JMBZ-12 (talk) 19:35, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I'm well aware of the problem with anon-IPs, I just have no clue what your idea was about solving it other than protecting it. DMacks (talk) 19:52, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Billy Mays is a very popular figure on 4chan at the moment. We should put this in the article.--Paperbagsandfluids (talk) 14:34, 4 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

"Youtube Poops"?

Is that a worthy synonym to list? Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Youtube Poop (craze) recently concluded that the term itself wasn't notable. The given cite is from a wiki/blog, which is generally not a reliable source. The given one actually describes itself as "We are not Wikipedia. We're a buttload more informal. There Is No Such Thing As Notability, and no citations are needed." And it's one of the ones that was explicitly mentioned in the AfD. Adding this term here does nothing to clarify or further explain the idea of video remix in general (if it did, it would be appropriate on that page) here, and it's just a generic term (per cited wiki) not relevant to Mays specifically except that the wiki uses his video-remixes as an example. DMacks (talk) 19:52, 6 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Speedy deletion?

What's the deal with the pic? Why is it a candidate for speedy deletion? What's the supposed "problem" (in their eyes) with it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.186.134.103 (talk)

By clicking on an image, you can jump to the information about that image. There, you will see the problem: insufficient information to verify that Wikipedia is allowed to use the file (copyright policy problems). Reading the users' discussions, I see that the uploader is unable/unwilling to provide the required information, so I expect that that it will be deleted in a few days. If anyone has personally taken a picture of Mays and feels like donating it, that would be great! I think WP would also allow a screen-shot of him in one of his key infomercials, as this would be an iconic representation of him (if detailed info about the image origin were provided, that might satisfy copyright policy). DMacks (talk) 05:57, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Im not sure about the speedy deletion but the article is written pretty much as an advertisement and probably does need either re-written or removed to comply with wikipedia standards. It contains links to current events such as television shows that won't be relevant for long.Woods01 (talk) 06:15, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

DMacks is an Admin. or Something?

So just who are you, DMacks, some sort of admin here, or something like that, or...?

Now that the image is set for deletion, all we can do is witness the article being dwindled, thus making it look WORSE than before. I tried improving the article by adding a Billy Mays image, but it seems to me that I keep getting pressed by someone who demands a copyright site for Billy Mays, which I, myself, can't seem to find. Way to make the Billy Mays article look like crap, now that we won't have an image of Billy. JMBZ-12 (talk) 15:36, 17 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia isn't in the business of violating copyright law. Just because something is visible on the internet somewhere doesn't mean you're totally allowed to copy it for any use you desire, even if that image is critical for what you're doing. I agree that a picture of Mays contributes a lot to this article, since his image is one of the things that he's known for. As I said before, all someone needs to do is find an image we're actually allowed to use. DMacks (talk) 15:51, 17 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

"violating copyright law" lol are u serious? there is no such think as copyright on the internet. your free to copy any picture you want.

Dead

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529328,00.html

Also, his son tweeted about it this mroing: http://twitter.com/youngbillymays

24.159.254.71 (talk) 15:55, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Billy's wife is not dead

On his page, next to Spouse it says ?-2009. This is incorrect. FoxNews quoted his wife's statement in the article on his death. It was also she that found him dead in their home. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.37.158.127 (talk) 16:24, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Can you be a dead person's spouse? Peter Napkin Dance Party (talk) 16:29, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Spouses, whether current or past, should be in infoboxes. The years next to the spouse's name in the infobox are the years of the marriage, not the spouse's life. That the marriage ended (in his death) in 2009 remains true regardless of how long his widow lives. Information yes (talk) 17:27, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Hence the "till death us do part." Overthinkingly (talk) 18:12, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Free image

There seems to be some free images at Flickr.[2] (CC BY) I don't feel like uploading them to commons, but it could fix the speedy image deletion problem. There seems to be at least two images. I haven't looked into it very far. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 17:10, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Death similar to Natasha Richardson's?

Could it be that Mays' death is similar to actress Natasha Richardson's a few months ago, who also was struck on the head, and thought she was fine? --Fleckerl (talk) 17:56, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe, but it's mere speculation and original research to include it until more details become known.--Bored of the world (talk) 18:12, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Death

death pronounced at 7:45am on june 28th, 2009-- as per cnn (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/28/mays.death/index.html) Skiendog (talk) 18:24, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You he died from internal bleeding in his head during the overnight? He got hit in the head hard in the plane ride.--24.36.113.128 (talk) 21:22, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Children?

According to Billy May's official twitter, he spent father's day with his *daughter*: —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.8.181.178 (talk) 19:25, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]


Fleshlight?

I readily admit I'm not a Billy Mays expert, but I'm fairly certain he was not a pitchman for the fleshlight as the caption under his picture indicates (in the list of products his pitched). Can someone please look into this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.119.174.204 (talk) 19:38, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Already been done. You may need to purge the page to see the change. - ALLST✰R▼echo wuz here 19:42, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Lock?

When MJ passed, his article was locked. Why not lock this one as well? Someone already vandalized the OxiClean page, and more than likely they'll come for this one soon.

Will (talk) 21:40, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Billy Mays, actually graduated in 1976 from Sto-Rox High School. He lived in Stowe Township not McKees Rocks Borough. I should know as he was my friend, classmate and neighbor. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Alfredenuemann (talk • contribs) 21:55, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Cause of Death?

How did Billy Mays die? If it seemed tragic, then the cause of death is highly needed. JMBZ-12 (talk) 22:45, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The cause of death is not known. The autopsy isn't until tomorrow, then we will wait the 4 to 6 weeks for toxicology results to come back. Patience. ElphabaKathryn (talk) 22:55, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I just heard that the Sham-WOW! guy is a prime suspect.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 32.177.50.27 (talk) 23:01, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

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