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Latest comment: 11 days ago by JerryGraf in topic RfC: Duplicate content from Criticism of Yahoo

COI edit request: Duplicate content from Criticism of Yahoo

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Latest comment: 14 days ago6 comments4 people in discussion

Hi! I'm a COI editor for Yahoo through my employer, Porter Novelli. I'm working on some proposed updates for this article, but first wanted to raise a more general question about how much this article should overlap with Criticism of Yahoo.

WP:SPINOFF states that Summary sections are used in a broader article to briefly cover the content of more detailed subarticles. However, the Similar Page Checker tool shows that this page is 46% similar to Criticism of Yahoo, and Duplication Detector identified numerous paragraphs that are verbatim between the two articles, including:

  • the entirety of the Criticism section, except for the two sentences under "DMCA notice to whistleblower" and "Censorship of private emails affiliated with Occupy Wall Street protests" – the other 23 paragraphs are verbatim copies
  • commentary on the 2010 Yahoo! Groups remodel
  • 3 paragraphs on Scott Ard's lawsuit
  • the paragraph on paid inclusion in 2004
  • the first paragraph on data breaches
  • the paragraph on the Flickr redesign
  • the paragraph on the Fox IT malware attack

This seems to have initially come about as part of a plan to merge the two articles, but Criticism of Yahoo passed its AFD nomination, resulting in the redundancy. The overall effect, with a Criticism section almost as long as the History section, feels WP:UNDUE, which is I suspect why the content fork to the designated Criticism article was first created.

I propose converting the itemized content above into summary format and incorporating it into the History section rather than keeping it in a designated WP:CSECTION. Happy to take a pass at drafting this if other editors are aligned, but wanted to flag here first in case I was missing something about the duplication of content. Alternatively/additionally, I could rework "Criticism" as "Reception" (per WP:POVFORK, If possible, refrain from using "criticism" and instead use neutral terms such as "perception" or "reception"; if the word "criticism" must be used, make sure that such criticism considers both the merits and faults, and is not entirely negative), moving select items into History as appropriate.

Would love any feedback here to help ensure this article reflects best practices. Thank you! Mary Gaulke (talk) 15:18, 15 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

@LWG, Homo ergaster, Pats322, and Finell: Pinging some folks who have worked on this article in the past few months, in case you'd like to weigh in on the above. Thank you! Mary Gaulke (talk) 13:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC)Reply
Thanks for the ping. My only involvement with this article was to excise a slew of ChatGPT text that was added a while back. I don't plan to be further involved here at this time. -- LWG talk (VOPOV) 15:25, 18 May 2026 (UTC)Reply
What do you think is most urgent: deleting Criticism of Yahoo or trimming Yahoo#Criticism? ~Kvng (talk) 19:44, 17 September 2026 (UTC)Reply
Given the consensus to retain Criticism of Yahoo, I think condensing Yahoo#Criticism (and the other duplicate content in this article) to a summary makes sense. Per the discussion below, I've prepared a new edit request to do this – just don't want to jump the gun sharing it while the RfC is still open. Mary Gaulke (talk) 00:19, 18 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

Reply 4-JUL-2026

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↩  Please use WP:NPOVN, WP:WPTECH or WP:RfC  

  • The {{Edit COI}} template is for specific, actionable requests that a reviewer can singly respond to.
  • The COI editor appears to be seeking generalized feedback from other editors, in which case, other, more appropriate tools can be used, including:
  1. The neutral point of view noticeboard
  2. One or more relevant WikiProjects, such as WP:WPTECH.
  3. Requests for comments

Regards,  Spintendo  10:18, 4 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Lost market share to Facebook?

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Latest comment: 3 months ago1 comment1 person in discussion

This is quoted prominently but I think it’s over-egging it. Lost market share to Google yes but to Facebook less so. Does anyone have a decent citation for the Facebook claim? SirSiliconBones (talk) 10:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

RfC: Duplicate content from Criticism of Yahoo

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Latest comment: 11 days ago13 comments3 people in discussion

How much should the contents of Yahoo duplicate Criticism of Yahoo? Per a diff of the latest version of each article and Duplication Detector, the two articles currently contain 29 closely paraphrased or identical paragraphs, including all of the Criticism section except for the "DMCA notice to whistleblower" and "Censorship of private emails affiliated with Occupy Wall Street protests" subsections. Mary Gaulke (talk) 03:54, 11 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

  • Comment Flagging that I'm a COI editor for Yahoo through my employer, Porter Novelli. I'm opening this RfC at the suggestion of Spintendo above, following attempted outreach to past editors of this article, WP:NPOVN, and WP:WPTECH. As I mentioned above, the duplication of content seems to have initially come about as part of a plan to merge the two articles, but Criticism of Yahoo passed its AFD nomination, resulting in the redundancy. I appreciate any input on how to address this. Thank you!
Mary Gaulke (talk) 04:00, 11 September 2026 (UTC)Reply
Why do we need an RfC? I see no evidence anyone disagrees with you. Seems like what's needed is for an editor to actually do the work. Agree? JerryGraf (talk) 13:20, 11 September 2026 (UTC)Reply
I believe so, but I hadn't really heard feedback either way, and I didn't want to overstep in unilaterally proposing a rewrite, given my COI. Sounds like I'm on the right track, so I can put together an edit request with condensed/reorganized language, barring objection from anyone else. Thank you! Mary Gaulke (talk) 20:29, 12 September 2026 (UTC)Reply
Yes. I'm not that interested in this topic, but if you made the edit request straightforward, I'd be happy to make it. JerryGraf (talk) 21:43, 12 September 2026 (UTC)Reply
I think a potential first step would be to rewrite Yahoo#Criticism as a single paragraph summarizing Criticism of Yahoo (retaining the {{Main}} link). How much duplication do you think this would address? ~Kvng (talk) 00:31, 18 September 2026 (UTC)Reply
There's some duplicate content in Yahoo#History that could be addressed separately, but the Criticism section is the bulk of it. I took a shot at condensing into three paragraphs:
In 2009, the Electronic Frontier Foundation criticized Yahoo for sending a DMCA takedown notice to whistleblower website Cryptome for posting details about obtaining private information from Yahoo subscribers.[1] The company also censored private emails affiliated with Occupy Wall Street protests, apologizing and attributing the action to a mistake.[2][3] Additionally, Yahoo profited from partnerships with adware and spyware distributors whose pop-up advertisements appeared on users' computers,[4] with a former employee stating in 2006 that the company adjusted ad frequency based on revenue needs.[5]
Yahoo's cooperation with censorship in China drew severe criticism. The company provided user information to Chinese authorities that enabled the prosecution of journalists and dissidents, including Shi Tao, sentenced to ten years in prison in 2005 for sending censorship directives through a Yahoo email account,[6] and Wang Xiaoning, arrested in 2002 after Yahoo assisted authorities by providing account information.[7] In February 2006, Yahoo's General Counsel denied knowledge of these cases to Congress,[8] but evidence surfaced in July 2007 showing Yahoo had received explicit government warrants requesting user data.[9] In August 2007, human rights organizations sued Yahoo in San Francisco on behalf of Shi Tao and Wang Xiaoning.[10] A U.S. congressional panel criticized Yahoo in November 2007 for providing incomplete testimony, characterizing the company as "at best inexcusably negligent" and at worst "deceptive."[11]
Yahoo also shuttered multiple user-generated platforms. In June 2005, user-created chatrooms were closed due to child safety concerns and insufficient ad revenue.[12] Yahoo News message boards were closed in December 2006 due to trolling.[13] In October 2008, Yahoo deleted millions of user profiles without notice or explanation.[14] The company acquired GeoCities in 1999 when it was among the web's most-visited sites,[15] but closed it in 2009 after a decade of losses, deleting millions of user web pages.[16] Critics described the closure as a missed opportunity.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Yahoo Tries to Hide Snoop Service Price List". Electronic Frontier Foundation. November 30, 2009. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012.
  2. ↑ Fang, Lee (September 20, 2011). "Yahoo Appears To Be Censoring Email Messages About Wall Street Protests (Updated)". ThinkProgress. Center for American Progress Action Fund. Archived from the original on December 21, 2012.
  3. ↑ Nelson, Miranda (September 20, 2011). "Yahoo admits blocking Wall Street protest emails, says censorship was "not intentional"". The Georgia Straight. Vancouver. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Yahoo's Adware Counterattack". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  5. ↑ "Yahoo's Pop-Up Connection". Bloomberg L.P. 17 July 2006. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  6. ↑ "Jailed Chinese Journalist Wins WAN Golden Pen of Freedom". wmd.org. Archived from the original on 2007-09-18. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  7. ↑ "Advocates Sue Yahoo In Chinese Torture Case". The Washington Post. 2007-04-20. Archived from the original on 2018-03-04. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
  8. ↑ "Yahoo's Statement before the U.S. Congress" (PDF). The New York Times. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  9. ↑ "Letter Casts Doubt On Yahoo China Testimony". yro.slashdot.org. July 30, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  10. ↑ "Yahoo plea over China rights case". BBC. 2007-08-28. Archived from the original on 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  11. ↑ "US rebukes Yahoo over China case". BBC. 2007-11-06. Archived from the original on 2007-11-08. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  12. ↑ "Yahoo closes chat rooms over child sex concerns". CNET. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  13. ↑ "No hint Yahoo was to close news forums: executive". CBC News. December 29, 2006. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  14. ↑ Is Your Yahoo Profile Deleted, Missing or Blank? Yahoo Did It on Purpose Archived 2008-10-23 at the Wayback Machine. The Internet Patrol. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
  15. ↑ Marshall, Rosalie (April 24, 2009). "Yahoo closing Geocities web hosting service". vnunet. Archived from the original on April 26, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
  16. ↑ "GeoCities' time has expired, Yahoo closing the site today". Los Angeles Times. 2009-10-26. Archived from the original on 2012-12-21. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  17. ↑ D'Monte, Leslie (April 25, 2009). "Yahoo! writes GeoCities' obituary". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 2009-07-22. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
Also noting that I've confirmed that this wouldn't leave any orphaned ref names in the article. Let me know what you think – happy to adjust. Mary Gaulke (talk) 15:40, 18 September 2026 (UTC)Reply
I made a small organizational adjustment. I have not read Criticism of Yahoo so I can't say this covers all the highlights, but it does appear that what's covered has good WP:NPOV. ~Kvng (talk) 16:55, 18 September 2026 (UTC)Reply
One comment I'd make is that the Geocities piece feels more like simple investor criticism regarding a business decision, rather than the unlawful or unethical acts cited in the balance of the "criticism." JerryGraf (talk) 16:39, 19 September 2026 (UTC)Reply
@JerryGraf, so same for deleting profiles? ~Kvng (talk) 16:50, 19 September 2026 (UTC)Reply
@Kvng My apology. My first read was myopic. I think this all works. I would just consider some mild changes. My draft below removes the Geocities acquisition story, which is what caused my misinterpretation, and also reestablishes the criticism premise in the first sentence.
"Yahoo also faced criticism for the shuttering of multiple user-generated platforms. In June 2005, Yahoo’s user-created chatrooms were closed due to child safety concerns and insufficient ad revenue. Yahoo News message boards were closed in December 2006 due to trolling. In October 2008, Yahoo deleted millions of user profiles without notice or explanation. In 2009, Yahoo closed GeoCities when it was among the web's most-visited sites,  deleting millions of user web pages." JerryGraf (talk) 20:54, 19 September 2026 (UTC)Reply
@JerryGraf, that sounds reasonable. Would you mind making your proposed changes to MaryGaulke's version above so that we can directly diff and so citations and wikilinks are retained? ~Kvng (talk) 22:02, 19 September 2026 (UTC)Reply
See below:
Yahoo also faced criticism for the shuttering of multiple user-generated platforms. In June 2005, Yahoo’s user-created chatrooms were closed due to child safety concerns and insufficient ad revenue.[1] Yahoo News message boards were closed in December 2006 due to trolling.[2] In October 2008, Yahoo deleted millions of user profiles without notice or explanation.[3] In 2009, Yahoo closed GeoCities when it was among the web's most-visited sites, deleting millions of user web pages.[4][5][6] JerryGraf (talk) 17:44, 20 September 2026 (UTC) JerryGraf (talk) 17:44, 20 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

"Y!" listed at Redirects for discussion

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Latest comment: 13 days ago1 comment1 person in discussion

The redirect Y! has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2026 September 19 § Y! until a consensus is reached. A1Cafel (talk) 02:59, 19 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

"Y !" listed at Redirects for discussion

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Latest comment: 13 days ago1 comment1 person in discussion

The redirect Y ! has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2026 September 19 § Y ! until a consensus is reached. A1Cafel (talk) 02:59, 19 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

  1. ↑ "Yahoo closes chat rooms over child sex concerns". CNET. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  2. ↑ "No hint Yahoo was to close news forums: executive". CBC News. December 29, 2006. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  3. ↑ Is Your Yahoo Profile Deleted, Missing or Blank? Yahoo Did It on Purpose Archived 2008-10-23 at the Wayback Machine. The Internet Patrol. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
  4. ↑ Marshall, Rosalie (April 24, 2009). "Yahoo closing Geocities web hosting service". vnunet. Archived from the original on April 26, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
  5. ↑ "GeoCities' time has expired, Yahoo closing the site today". Los Angeles Times. 2009-10-26. Archived from the original on 2012-12-21. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  6. ↑ D'Monte, Leslie (April 25, 2009). "Yahoo! writes GeoCities' obituary". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 2009-07-22. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
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