Talk:Alex Smith (disambiguation)

Primary topic

I am curious. In this disambiguation page there is a direct reference to one American professional player named Alex Smith, with subordinate links to all other Alex Smiths. I was wondering if anyone might enlighten me as to whether there is any reason for this? Jamessmithpage (talk) 18:18, 24 January 2012 (UTC)

Further to the above, what I am proposing to do is as follows: a) make all the entries under Alex Smith of equal status, that is, with Alex Smith the footballer born in 1984 to be listed equally, but in alpa order, b) creative an Alex Smith (footballer born in 1984) page, and c) but in a redirect from Alex Smith to the Alex Smith (disambiguation) page. I will await at least 72 hours before actioning this, in order to give opportunity for discussion or comment. Jamessmithpage (talk) 10:57, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

The primary topic (i.e. the American football player) is listed first per the manual of style.—Bagumba (talk) 11:12, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for that. I've checked those links, although I'm actually none the wiser why one particular American football player born 1984 should be considered more significant (a primary topic) than the dozen or so other American football players with the name Alex Smith. Or indeed why the American football player born 1984 is considered more significant than non-football players. Jamessmithpage (talk) 06:41, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

I would guess the traffic on the current primary page is significantly greater than the other pages, though I havent checked all of them. Do you have compelling reasons why it should not be the primary topic?—Bagumba (talk) 07:28, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

Thanks again. What a pleasant surprise for there to be a reasoned and informed conversation on wikipedia. Anyways, I digress. I suppose my concern is that when I look at Alex Smith footballers and soccerplayers, I really don't see any more significant than the other, and therefore logically there ought to be an open disambiguation page, listing all simply in alpha order. I might add that the amount of wikipedia pages devoted to professional footballers is a little curious to me. That's their job, and I am not quite sure whether doing their job actually makes them notable per se. I note one comment about the Alex Smith born 1984 to the effect that the article reads like is was "written by his mom"! I make that comment in passing. Regarding the disambiguation page, I think that as a principle there must be some sound reason for prioritizing one entry over others. Otherwise, it seems to me that all entries should be listed equally, probably in alpha order. Jamessmithpage (talk) 01:17, 6 February 2012 (UTC)

The number of hits seems to validate the choice of the primary topic. More objective evidence that other entries are on par would help, as WP:IDONTLIKEIT is not a compelling reason.—Bagumba (talk) 02:05, 6 February 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for that. Just two points in response: a) I'm not sure that the number of hits actually does validate the prioritization of the 1984 born Alex Smith. After all, there are some 21 persons with the name "Alex Smith". If you are looking for an Alex Smith other than the 1984 born Alex Smith, then your search engine will nevertheless direct you through the 1984 Alex Smith's wikipedia entry. In other words, it seems to me that his stats are artificially high due to the fact that he is currently prioritized. b) The other thing is that I recognize that "I don't like something" isn't sufficient grounds for something to be overturned. However this isn't what I am saying. What I am saying is that there must be some grounds and evidence for one particular Alex Smith to be prioritized over the other 20 individuals with this name. I could be missing something, but I don't quite see that these grounds and evidence are there. Let me know what you think. Jamessmithpage (talk) 19:18, 14 February 2012 (UTC)

I understand your interest, but you also seem to be indicating there is no/little evidence anything is broken. You might consider discussing this at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Disambiguation where there's likely to be more traffic. Cheers.—Bagumba (talk) 19:51, 14 February 2012 (UTC)

Thanks again. I do understand the principle of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Wise words indeed, and one of my favourite sayings! Yet I am not sure if this applies here. The situation is that one particular Alex Smith is prioritized over the 20 other entries for persons with this name, and I cannot see any evidence why this has been done. If someone wants to prioritize one entry over the others, I think it is logical that the onus should be on the person who wants to prioritize the entry to provide reasons and evidence for this. At the moment, I don't think that any such evidence has been provided. The suggestion about referring this to the Disambiguation Project seems a useful one, and I will raise this issue on that forum, to see if a consenus might be reachable. Cheers, Jamessmithpage (talk) 05:34, 19 February 2012 (UTC)