In this edit a user has reverted in the Criminal charges, Criminal penalty and Criminal status lines in the infobox person summary of Harris. I had removed these because Template:Infobox criminal says of that template:
This template is generally reserved for convicted serial killers, gangsters, mass murderers, old west outlaws, murderers, mafia members, fugitives, FBI 10 Most Wanted, serial rapists, mobsters, and other notorious criminals. It is also appropriately used in Nolle prosequi cases of perpetrators dying during the commission of the act or shortly thereafter, common in a suicide attack or murder–suicide. Infobox criminal is rarely used where notability is not due primarily to the person being a convicted criminal.
But, of course, we are not using that template, a point made by Khiikiat in their reversion. We are just using the same three lines that have been included into the generic infobox person. And as that editor says, why are those there if we can't use them? But equally, just because we have them does not mean we should use them. MOS:INFOBOXPURPOSE says:
The less information that an infobox contains, the more effectively it serves its purpose, allowing readers to identify key facts at a glance.
I think these three lines are out of proportion here. Harris was well known prior to conviction, and although the conviction is key information, and part of his legacy, I think that using these three entries straight out of the criminal infobox runs counter to the advice in the criminal infobox. One third of the space in the infobox is consumed by these. Why do we have these? Perhaps for BLP1Es where crime is the primary subject of the page, but the criminal does not meet the infobox criminal threshold. But a single line summary would be better, or we could rely on the very full coverage in the lead and on the page. Is there a good reason this needs to be summarised in an infobox? Is there a more succinct summary of the key facts that we could use here? Sirfurboy🏄 (talk) 13:24, 17 September 2024 (UTC)
- I would agree to some kind of summary indication of convictions in the infobox, as these were serious charges after all, not just driving offences or breach of lockdown infringements. But that's why those parameters exist? As for the distinction between types of infobox used, I think it means very little to the reader. As one of Manchester's finest political commentators once said, "Heavy words are so lightly thrown"... Martinevans123 (talk) 13:33, 17 September 2024 (UTC)
- p.s. "BLP1Es where crime is the primary subject of the page"... don't they use Infobox:criminal? Martinevans123 (talk) 14:02, 17 September 2024 (UTC)
- Not if they do not meet the definition quoted above. For instance someone who causes a notable case of death by dangerous driving. Sirfurboy🏄 (talk) 14:06, 17 September 2024 (UTC)
- He was convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault against 4 underage girls, one of which was later overturned. That puts him in the same category as a serial rapist and therefore it's appropriate to use infobox criminal. TarnishedPathtalk 10:17, 20 May 2025 (UTC)
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