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Last time I looked, Twitter wasn't considered a reliable reference. How can the reader judge if this one supported the date of birth if we can't even see it any more? Deb (talk) 19:11, 8 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Deb: It is OK per WP:ABOUTSELF if used strictly for data about the subject written by the subject. Sometimes that is the only source of information about some people, stuff they say about themselves. The problem with this reference is that it was once valid and verified as being the person giving that personal info about himself but the bot couldn't recover anything from the archives when he deleted the message leaving a deadlink. Still we should treat this as a WP:DEADREF and not delete it just because it is dead. Verification, unfortunately is going back in edit history of article to when that source was used to see if the data was changed. On the other hand WP:BLPPRIVACY suggests we remove private info if the subject doesn't want it published and the removal of that message may indicate that. The info was removed previously because the link went dead, restored recently as the link used to be valid. What shouldn't happen is the data remaining in the article without a reference. Geraldo Perez (talk) 19:24, 8 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
How do we know it was ever valid? (Honest question - maybe I'm missing something I should know about) Deb (talk) 19:28, 8 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Deb: We need to trust that the people who originally added the reference, and the following editors watching the article who permitted it to stay, verified what was in it. I was one of those people who did check the reference when it was not a dead link. It was added by BlueMoonsetwho recently restored it and vouches for it effectively. Unfortunately that is pretty much all be can do for dead links that used to be valid for any reference. Geraldo Perez (talk) 19:38, 8 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Okay, I'm happy to take your word for it, but that's by no means a failsafe in such cases. There are so many unreliable references knocking around, especially in the case of youthful celebs... :-) Deb (talk) 19:43, 8 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Deb: I feel uncomfortable keeping it too because of difficulty of verification now and the common vandalism of birth date corruption and would have no problem with it gone. People kept putting the date back unsourced, though, so it is likely better if it is kept now with at least a dead link as a source. Also BlueMoonset did restore it with at least the original source and that may keep the article stable. Geraldo Perez (talk) 19:51, 8 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Note to Deb and Geraldo Perez: if you go to Riker's Twitter page in the next few hours, you'll see the statement there that Twitter puts up when someone has registered their birth date: Today is their birthday! The original tweet was genuine; I don't know why it's no longer accessible. Also, Riker has retweeted a couple of birthday wishes from today, so as it's a verified account, I think we have to assume that he still doesn't mind people knowing that November 8 is his birthday. BlueMoonset (talk) 21:41, 8 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@BlueMoonset: It would be great if you could find a replacement for that deleted twitter message currently being used. Need full date, including year or day month and age with dated message. The twitter system message is, unfortunately, transient, and retweets aren't really confirming anything directly, just implying things. Geraldo Perez (talk) 22:30, 8 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
There's this article which gives his age as 23 in August 2015. That combined with any birthday info, should do it, but I think, based on the fact that a confirmed account on Twitter is saying that today is his birthday, we can be satisfied that the information we have there is still accurate. BlueMoonset (talk) 00:21, 9 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I'm OK personally with the information being correct as I have watched the article since the original reference was added and have checked it. Also the transient information on Twitter account today verified this is his birth day and month. What we don't have is something a person not familiar with the article can use for easy verification. The twitter notice will be gone tomorrow. This discussion can be pointed to if there are issues in the future, why I moved it here from my page. The dated article with his age would be the thing to use if we didn't have the twitter info. Still would like something that could be used for easy verification but what we have now is sufficient to keep the information in the article. Geraldo Perez (talk) 00:36, 9 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Agreed. Although I was surprised to just discover that the Twitter notice on his page has changed to Born November 8, so it appears it isn't transient after all. Still, I agree: it would be nice to have a single reliable source for verification. I just ran across this eleven pages in on a Google search. Do you think it might do? It's credited to the Associated Press. BlueMoonset (talk) 07:17, 9 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@BlueMoonset: I'm dubious about the hastingstribune one, they could have gotten their information from Wikipedia. We have the month day in his twitter account now. We have a dated article with his age for the year so we have enough to replace the current dead link. Make sure that both are in archives to head off dead link problems in the future. Geraldo Perez (talk) 17:21, 9 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Just a general question - I saw something on TV recently about fake Twitter accounts and I wondered how a celebrity manages to verify their official Twitter account. I don't really use Twitter, so does anyone here know? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Deb (talk • contribs) 13:18, 9 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Deb: I understand Twitter requires real identity proof and the blue check next to the name means the account isn't a fake. There are a lot of fake ones of people impersonating celebrities which is why Twitter does the verification check on major ones. We generally trust Twitter's verification as proof the account is actually owned by the person named and can be used as a primary reliable source for information about that person. Geraldo Perez (talk) 17:15, 9 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for that info. Deb (talk) 20:38, 9 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Moved from User talk:Geraldo Perez § Twitter reference