Talk:Ray William Johnson/Archive 1

Archive 1

Archive 2

Article creation

• There is no doubt that Ray William Johnson is now notable. I can't see the article that was deleted in August 2010 (Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ray William Johnson), but what's i've seen is that no one took the time to compile all the sources, and some of the coverage is from non-English sources recognizing his huge popularity.--Milowent • ^talkblp-r 00:34, 23 March 2011 (UTC)
• Seeing as there has been prior controversy about the notability of the subject, but no AfD since 2010, I would request that anyone seeking or advocating for deleting of this article request an AfD instead of some sort of speedy process, which would not be appropriate as this is a wholly new article. Cheers.--Milowent • ^talkblp-r 01:13, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

This is much better and deals with sourcing and notability. No problem with unprotecting. Acroterion (talk) 19:30, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

• Could someone drop a copy-edit template on it? It needs some editing to improve flow and cohesiveness. --Silverhand^Talk 23:30, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Keep

No doubt this article needs major expansion, but it should be kept. RWJ is notable enough by far, with sources to back this up. -The Wing Dude, Musical Extraordinaire (talk) 02:42, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

Photo

Are we allowed to RWJ's Facebook profile pic as our image? --Ashershow1_{talk•contribs} 03:10, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

• No, we ideally need a pic where copyright is waived/limited to suitable creative commons license(like one a fan may have shot of him and can upload here or on flickr). If someone who knows RWJ personally can get him to release a pic with permission (email proof) I think we can try to get that verified and permitted.--Milowent • ^talkblp-r 03:58, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

• Well, i see it looks like this is in process already.--Milowent • ^talkblp-r 04:00, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Fatty Spins section

I'd just like to point out this is totally wrong. I've watched RayWilliamJohnson back when he was new on YouTube, and he definitely did not create Fatty Spins before Equals Three. His show did not even start on YouTube - he originally had his own site for his content, under a different name. Ray was just getting 'popular' when he started Fatty Spins and Doin' Your Mom helped him explode into popularity. --174.111.98.50 (talk) 04:22, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

• If you can find some links to help prove this I will fix it. That section originally said fatty spins dated from 2007, which also seemed wrong.--Milowent • ^talkblp-r 04:32, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

• I've fixed it up some. This is a perfect example of why us anal wikipedia editors insist on sources to verify things. The "make shit up that sounds right" method doesn't really fly when 2,000 people a day are reading this.--Milowent • ^talkblp-r 04:42, 25 March 2011 (UTC)
• Thanks. I would've done it myself, but I'm not really versed in the world of Wikipedia. I figured I'd let someone know how blatantly wrong the article was originally. It's a lot better now. --174.111.98.50 (talk) 17:38, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

DYK nomination

I nominated this article for the Did You Know section of the main page. The reviewer said:

The article still has a few tags, and three sections are not referenced at all. I believe this should be done before it appears on the main page.

Could someone solve this problem so we can get this on the main page? I think it would give us some good publicity. --Ashershow1_{talk•contribs} 17:31, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Update: This article has been accepted for the main page's Did You Know section. Should give us some good publicity. --Ashershow1_{talk•contribs} 20:36, 31 March 2011 (UTC)

Update: It is scheduled to hit Wednesday the sixth at 9:00am to 5:00pm Pacific, (noon to 8:00pm Eastern). 117Avenue (talk) 01:30, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

Last Update: Ray William Johnson is on the Main Page's Did You Know section now. --Ashershow1_{talk•contribs} 17:55, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

Taking out some sections

I removed some parts of this article for various reasons. They were unsourced, non-encyclopedic and covered subjects that really were not notable enough. If you have any concerns about this or would like to see the content re-instated, please provide your argument for doing so.. KnowitallWiki (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 01:12, 31 March 2011 (UTC).

Added back CHG section. That was his show before Equals Three. I became a fan of his right before he switched to Equals Three. His show was still known as "Capital Hill Gangster" back then. Since he had like 10,000 subscribers back then, I doubt I will be able to find a link for it, but it is important to include it. PokeHomsar (talk) 04:05, 31 March 2011 (UTC)

• I would not recommend removing "parts" without saying what they are, as the article is extremely popular and casual editors will keep adding stuff back unless we have coherent consensus.--Milowent • ^talkblp-r 04:25, 31 March 2011 (UTC)

Very big in Israel

RWJ seems to be featured frequently on some kind of news show in Israel (sorry, I do not speak Hebrew and am not familiar with Israeli telecasts,) so I was wondering if anyone could tell me which show this is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oyr36vhxRU

I want to include this in the article, but I can only include if I can figure out the name of this television program. PokeHomsar (talk) 04:37, 31 March 2011 (UTC)

• I think we'd need a news source saying he's big in israel, i don't think its reasonable to extrapolate it from youtube clips showing him being mentioned on israeli TV. otherwise we could also be claiming he's huge in the UK because The Independent frequently lists him in their top videos list.--Milowent • ^talkblp-r 01:46, 1 April 2011 (UTC)

The clip on youtube is taken from Israeli news program "6 o'clock with Odded Ben Ami" (hebrew: שש עם עודד בן עמי), witch is broadcasted daily on Israeli channel 22.

http://www.facebook.com/6oddedbenami —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.127.236.136 (talk) 17:52, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Deleted

I got so pissed when this article kept being deleted for no reason other than previous administrators had done the same, instead of actually reviewing it to see how notable this guy actually is. I will help expand the article when I have some time.--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 20:16, 31 March 2011 (UTC)

Capital Hill Gangster

This was his show before Equals Three. It is significant enough to add. We can't source Equals Three either, so should we remove that section. Seriously, guys, don't just remove the section unilaterally. PokeHomsar (talk) 01:09, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

I've removed it twice as non-notable, mostly because of your own words. Here [1] you reverted a completely appropriate citation needed tag with the edit summary "citation will never be found -- this was back when he had 10,000 subscribers." That's pretty much the opposite of the way Wikipedia works. Either this show is notable enough to have a source somewhere stating he did it, or there's no record of it, and it's by logical conclusion non-notable. I'm sure a lot of other comedians have done early work that's forgotten, there's no need to mention it in their articles. I'm readding the CN tag, maybe someone else has a reference somewhere that would be sufficient to source it. Dayewalker (talk) 01:39, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

It was the start of his YouTube channel. We can't source Equals Three either, so if you're gonna remove it, you have to remove the Equals Three section as well. Just because I can't source doesn't mean it never existed. He put the videos on a private setting so no one can view them and was back before he had any notoriety. Your logic is a bunch of BS. Half the stuff in the Biographies of people on Wikipedia can't be proven with sources. PokeHomsar (talk) 18:39, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

My logic is fine, thank you. If you're going to write an article, source it. If you find something in another article that's unsourced, feel free to deal with it at that page. That's not a sufficient excuse to just ignore proper sourcing entirely. Dayewalker (talk) 21:28, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Added sources which proves the show existed at one point. Not the best links, but one of them is a discussion by his fans. PokeHomsar (talk) 18:43, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

• I agree with you, but I don't think the links were the best (like a Facebook discussion). So I sourced it with better links. Though we do need to find a source that states the reasoning behind Ray's discontinuation of the show.--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 20:32, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Well, how about straight from the horse's mouth? The oldest video on his channel, unfortunately, is after a video he had where he explains why he started Equals Three. I checked thoroughly. PokeHomsar (talk) 21:24, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

I think that anything a person says about themselves (if not in a humorous voice), is a primary source, and can be used in Wikipedia. Additionally, does he answer questions posted on Twitter? His birthday and age are still missing. 117Avenue (talk) 21:32, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Primary sources aren't preferred, but for something non-controversial such as this, I imagine it would be fine. Dayewalker (talk) 21:36, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Why aren't primary sources preferred? To me they are much more reliable.--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 21:50, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

We also need to write a section about his vlogs, Breaking NYC and Breaking Los Angeles.--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 21:53, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Re. Why aren't primary sources preferred? - imagine if you wanted to know if I'd sold a million records. Who would you believe - my website, or BBC News?  Chzz  ►  23:19, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Which one do you think would have the more updated information?--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 23:21, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Oh, my website, definitely. In fact, I just edited it, and updated it to two million. Strangely, the BBC and other media haven't picked up on my astounding fame. So - do you think there should be an article about me?  Chzz  ►  23:24, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

The thing is though, what if the BBC news never said how many records you sold? Then, if your website is considered unreliable, it would be as if you never sold any records at all. Jerry314 (talk) 23:28, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia is concerned with verifiability, not truth. People exaggerate their own claims, frequently - and that is why we avoid primary sources for anything except very neutral, factual information. And you might consider a "date of birth" to be a simple, unassailable "fact" if the person themselves declares it on their Twitter or facebook page, or on their agency or company profile - well, it isn't. We go with reliable sources that are independent from the subject; with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy, and editorial control. See WP:PRIMARY - which is a very important policy.  Chzz  ►  23:32, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

This page needs to be semi-protected, seriously.

Lots of trolls are vandalizing it since ray posted the link to the articel on his facebook (idk about Twitter but he probably posted it there too. They are probably ALL unregistered so i suggest semi-protection asap. ~L.H.C.D.1~ (talk) 22:30, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Ray William Johnson's Request

Please view the facebookJohnson, Ray William. "Ray William Johnson's quote". Ray William Johnson's =3 Facebook post. Ray William Johnson. Retrieved 2 April 2011. post from Ray William Johnson before you consider protection for this page.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Ssbtodayy (talk • contribs) 22:47, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

• It doesn't matter if he wants his page to be vandalized. This is an encyclopedia, not a twitter account for him to piss on. --Ashershow1_{talk•contribs} 22:55, 2 April 2011 (UTC)
  • Agreed. I like his show but damn, all we're trying to do is write an article, he doesn't have to send in a wave of vandals.--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 22:56, 2 April 2011 (UTC)
    • Yeah, even though the article is on him, he isn't Jimbo, he doesn't make the rules. ~L.H.C.D.1~ (talk) 23:04, 2 April 2011 (UTC)
      • I Don't mean to nitpick, but even Jimbo doesn't make the rules. They're made based on community consensus. --Ashershow1_{talk•contribs} 00:15, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

It doesn't matter what you guys think. maybe Ray doesn't want this page to exist. did you even ask for his permission before making this page? this page is about him and he makes the rules. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.76.28.147 (talk) 19:05, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Actually, it doesn't matter what Johnson wants. If an article about a living person contains errors, the subject may request that they be corrected, but (s)he certainly has no right to vandalize the article or permit others to do so. Vandals are vandals; they will be reverted and ultimately blocked. Favonian (talk) 19:41, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Actually we don't need the permission of the subject to write a biography about them, nor do they have any say about the content. See Wikipedia:Biographies of living people#Relationship between the subject, the article, and Wikipedia and Wikipedia:Ownership of articles. Thryduulf (talk) 19:43, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

• Suggesting that fans vandalize his wikipedia page would be typical RWJ humour, I am glad the page got protected.--Milowent • ^talkblp-r 17:53, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from PokeHomsar, 3 April 2011

Yeah, since this page has been completely blocked, I have an edit request. The last YouTube in the "Earliest Videos" section needs the "t" capitalized. Thank you. PokeHomsar (talk) 02:24, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

 Done—I think I caught it in this clean-up. Airplaneman ✈ 03:14, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

In the "Equals Three" section "millions views" should be "millions of views" near the end of the section. PokeHomsar (talk) 17:19, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

 Done 117Avenue (talk) 22:44, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Unsourced and non-notable stuff taken out

Sorry guys, but until some sources from legitimate websites are found, we can't have his earlier stuff on this page. If you can find any sources that you believe are sufficient, feel free to post them here. If they're from reputable sources and discuss the removed content, I'll consider adding it back in, but a random blog isn't going to be good enough, nor a single sentence or two mentioning one of the projects. KnowitallWiki (talk) 19:59, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

As an aside, does anyone else think it's funny that RWJ was so offended by the deletion of the parts on his old, unnotable projects, that he posted a Facebook status imploring his fans to vandalize the page? Very mature. KnowitallWiki (talk) 20:12, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

What exactly was he offended about? 117Avenue (talk) 22:16, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

To be fair, I can't say with certainty, but I presume it was due to the removal of several sections. The post popped up a couple of days afterwards, amid a dispute where sections were being taken out and put back im constantly. I may be wrong, but I can't see any other reason why he would have been mad about the page. KnowitallWiki (talk) 00:34, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

There was no indication in his facebook page, I don't believe, that he was upset by the content. It was just a general call for people to troll his page--typical RWJ humor, and maybe influenced by the fact that the existence of this page was defeated for a long time after he became notable by wikipedia standards. There there are lots of sources showing RWJ is notable, but one thing he is missing is a full major newspaper article that would cover some of this early history. Since RWJ will likely become the most subscribed on youtube next month [2], this will come along shortly and the article can be re-expanded then.--Milowent • ^talkblp-r 01:18, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

He wasn't upset with the article, I don't think. He said that some "old-school fan" must have written the article because of the mentioning of his early work. I don't think he asked for his fans to troll because he didn't like it, I think he did it for humour.--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 21:27, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

Do not remove the stuff I just added back. You need to build a consensus before you remove stuff people who actually care about this article worked on. Seriously, how un-Wikipedia of you to just remove huge parts of the article without any talk page consensus. PokeHomsar (talk) 04:43, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

In accordance with WP:GRAPEVINE, we do not post unreferenced rumours, all additions must be cited and verifiable. 117Avenue (talk) 04:55, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

Also WP:BURDEN. It's up to the editors who add material to properly source and reference it, especially on a BLP. Unreferenced material can be challenged and removed at any time. Dayewalker (talk) 05:26, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

For the time being, I will leave what you removed here so it can be added back later:

Early videos

The earliest videos he uploaded to the internet, in early 2007, were basic video blogs. He would talk directly into a stationary camera about his personal life and school. Ray posted nearly 100 of these video blogs on YouTube between 2007 and 2008. These were posted infrequently until mid 2008 when he stated that he was very interested in the then United States Presidential election and would talk about it until its end in late 2008. He stated that he would call that temporary segment "Capitol Hill Gangsta" and would post it on a separate channel called RayWilliamJohnson, the channel which currently hosts his Equals Three series. These videos have since been removed from YouTube.

Capitol Hill Gangsta

You do know almost everything on Wikipedia isn't sourced, right? Every sentence on Wikipedia doesn't have a source. I don't know why you're targeting this article. PokeHomsar (talk) 18:56, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

Because this is a highly viewed article[3], with a couple of thousand views a day. And we know that if RWJ sees something he doesn't like, or is wrong, he will tell his followers to spam the page. 117Avenue (talk) 19:47, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

Wait, we have to care about the sources in this article more than others because of trolls? PokeHomsar (talk) 21:12, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

No, we have to care about the sources in this article because it has been deleted repeatedly for being poorly written, and lacking reliable sources, and because it is a highly viewed article. 117Avenue (talk) 23:09, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

You people are making it sound like RWJ is an Internet terrorist or something, that if we add/remove something that he doesn't like, he'll send his troll army to spam this page. Seriously, look at his Facebook posts, clearly he didn't send his army because there was something he didn't like, he just did it for fun, and he might be immature and a big troll, but he does have some senses in him and I very much doubt he'll do it again. That's just me. Jerry314 (talk) 00:00, 8 April 2011 (UTC)

Oh, and who are you to claim what is "non-notable," hmm? And you really think the two sections you removed were "rumors"? The reason we can't source them is because the videos were removed, not because they never existed. You make it seem like we're lying. PokeHomsar (talk) 18:58, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

Why was the Capitol Hill Gangsta part deleted? I had three different sources.--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 21:24, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

Oh nevermind.--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 21:26, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

Would it be of notability...?

To add that he posts his videos on Mon. and Thurs. BlackScarabZ (talk) 03:38, 17 April 2011 (UTC)

You still need a reliable source saying that he does so, though that shouldn't be too hard to find. Silverseren^C 03:43, 17 April 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from User:Stormthetempest, 21 April 2011

Under the "Your Favorite Martian" section, you need to add "Orphan Tears (April 20, 2011)" at the end of the list of his songs and videos. It came out yesterday. The updated list on a reference is here, http://www.music-chart.info/artist/139813/Your-Favorite-Martian It is the same reference as the song before this one, "The Unofficial Smithers Love Song". Stormthetempest (talk) 18:43, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Looks to be there already. also see http://www.music-chart.info/song/674840/Orphan-Tears. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 06:00, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

This was fine when there was only a few. But if this continues the list will become too long. I think that the list should be removed so not to encourage editors to make a long list distracting from the purpose of the paragraph. 117Avenue (talk) 22:55, 4 May 2011 (UTC)

Relevency of recent edits

This edit was just added to the Your Favorite Martian section: "Ray promotes these videos by playing a part of the song when he shows the hand picked "Comment Question" answers of the previous episode." I'd like to know the relevancy of this. And if it is relevant, why is the source not cited?

Also, the final edit "Almost all of the videos get positive reviews, but Mr. Douchebag, has a 50% dislike rate, the worst yet" not only lacks a source, but it is completely irrelevant and even comes across as petty.

Third, the Capitol Hill Gangsta section is inaccurate. The "source" video it links to are fan-created. It isn't even a legitimate CHG video; it's just a website that some kid mad. Sources indeed.

Come on now, people. Let's hold ourselves up to Wikipedia standards and start sourcing our material. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Afropuff76 (talk • contribs) 02:09, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Feel free to remove any material that isn't sourced. Obviously, the Douchebag comment is vandalism and should be removed anyways. Silverseren^C 02:39, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Actually, the CHG video is not "inaccurate." It is not fan made. It actually was the first video on the RayWilliamJohnson channel.--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 22:54, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

The "MeeFeedia" source may be questionable, but the Exploredia source is very accurate, I would say.--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 22:55, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Also, learn the meaning of the word "irrelevant." Perhaps you mean "insignificant," but not "irrelevant." Saying that he refers to the audience as "forum" may not be significant, but it is relevant. I agree that it should be removed, as it is unsourced, but please do not call it irrelevant.--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 23:00, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

(A) I've seen the first video on the Ray William Johnson channel before, and that video on that exploredia website is NOT it. It's a fake. Ray even publicly stated on his Twitter that it's a fake spliced together. Search his tweets if you don't believe me; it's probably still there. Ray once showed a brief clip of his first video in an episode of =3 called "Lonely Rednecks". In the clip Ray was wearing a black jacket; it almost looked like a dinner jacket. See a black jacket in that exploredia video? No. Why? BECAUSE IT ISN'T HIS FIRST VIDEO!

(B) Stating that he refers to his audience as "forum" IS both IRRELEVANT and inaccurate. He hasn't referred to his audience as "forum" in almost a year. He now refers to them simply as "you guys" or "guys", and considering =3 is less than two years old, I'd say stating definitely that Ray refers to his audience as "forum" is inaccurate. The statement is also IRRELEVANT because it has no connection to anything that makes/made him influential enough to have an article on Wikipedia, while nearly everything else in the article posses such relevancy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Afropuff76 (talk • contribs) 00:28, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

Oh well xD--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 00:55, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

I haven't seen his show in a while, but whatever. It would be relevant, if it was significant enough to be added.--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 00:56, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

Also Lonely Rednecks was equals three, after CHG. That was his first Equals three video, I believe. But CHG was before that.--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 01:00, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

Here we go again: "Lonely Rednecks" was not Ray's first Equals Three episode. I've been a fan of Ray's videos for a long time. Capitol Hill Gangsta was merely a brief segment during the 2008 US presidential election. It ran for about 4 months until the election was over. Ray had about a years worth of videos on Youtube before he started the RayWilliamJohnson channel and briefly switched to the Capitol Hill Gangsta format in order to cover the election going on at the time. I can't remember the name of his earliest channel, but I imagine the videos have since been deleted from internet existence. In his earliest videos he simply vlogged about his life; to be honest, it wasn't really anything special. After the election was over, he started Equals Three, where he reviewed viral videos. A few months after starting the show, he produced an episode titled "Lonely Rednecks", wherein he spoke of his earliest episode of Capitol Hill Gangsta and showed a 3 second clip from it. In said clip, Ray was wearing a black jacket; it almost looked like a dinner jacket but wasn't actually a dinner jacket. That's how everyone should be able to tell that Wikipedia's link to that supposed "first episode" is a fraud. It is neither his first episode of CHG nor his first video on Youtube from his old channel. I've seen everything Ray's put out so far, and that particular video is a fan-made fraud designed to draw traffic to that stupid website. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Afropuff76 (talk • contribs) 12:25, 10 May 2011 (UTC)

Alright, so I'm new to this Wikipedia editing thing, and I don't just want to remove that supposed "Ray's first episode" source, because I'm worried about getting flagged for vandalism. How do I go about officially questioning source #14 (the link to that Exploredia "article") to the moderators of this page? I know "the people" are supposed to be able to moderate Wikipedia, but I have a feeling if I simply remove source #14 for being inaccurate, I'll get flagged. Thoughts anyone? I'd like to reiterate that source #14 links to an an "article" on some website called Exploredia, and the Exporedia website is just some random dude's website.

• If RWJ would respond to press inquiries, we'd have more articles on him to verify this capitol hill gangster stuff. I think all we can say about CHG is that around 2008, RWJ released a series of politically-themed commentary videos under the name "Capitol Hill Gangsta".--Milowent • ^talkblp-r 17:29, 10 May 2011 (UTC)
• To Afropuff: you can sign your comments by typing four tildes ~~~~, to get rid of that annoying little unsigned template. Just a friendly pointer. You obviously know a lot more about his videos than I do, so I would just suggest finding a better source to back up that section, since you are displeased with the current source. If you need help with citing, just use the {{Cite web}} template.--Architeuthidae (Talk | Contributions) 20:45, 10 May 2011 (UTC)

Regarding BreakingNYC Channel

Sorry I'm relatively new here and I see this page's been protected so I'm not sure how to edit it or request to edit... but, Ray William Johnson has another quite notable YouTube channel called BreakingNYC, it's first video dates back to Dec. 9, 2009, and I think he made a video nearly every day until the channel closed on May 11, 2010. He basically makes normal vlogs on this channel, quoting Ray himself, "This is a personal vlog. This isn't supposed to be comedy like my other =3 videos. It's supposed to be a snapshot of my day-to-day life when I'm not at school or work." He eventually closed it because he didn't have enough time for a video every day, but the channel and its videos are still up and available. I think this is a pretty significant part of his YouTube career and should have its own section under Shows. Jerry314 (talk) 23:14, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

• *EDIT* I didn't see the post up there by Chzz till I finished typing this, sorry for the double request... Jerry314 (talk) 23:23, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

• • http://dailyblowhole.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/youtube-spotlight-ray-william-johnson/ This article here talks about BreakingNYC; there are several others... I mean, these are not necessarily very significant sources, but I just find BreakingNYC a lot more significant than some of his other shows such as Capitol Hill Gangsta

Yes; pretty much 'as above'. Requests need reliable sources. If a newspaper, or some major news site, has discussed this "vlog" (or whatever else), then we can include it; if not, we can't. See WP:V. Sorry,  Chzz  ►  23:17, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

BreakingNYC is running again, same name but the setting and content is different. Produced by a team and so on. This really should be added. 217.73.97.28 (talk) 12:02, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

the downfall of micfri and breeze

Hi. So, I think we should put a little something about how fatty spins broke up the violent way they did, and about micfri beating his wife and the royalties and all that shit.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Doopliss von grapple 2.0 (talk • contribs) 22:24, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

• find a source to verify it, but there's not much out there.--Milowent • ^talkblp-r 00:36, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

For once I actually agree with the mod about not putting this information out there. Without a clear understanding of what actually happened, writing about in this article seems a bit too gossipy at this point. Also, I'm not 100% certain said event is significant enough to include in this article. Ray mentions it as if nothing news-worthy actually happened, so we can't be 100% sure what (if anything) actually took place. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Afropuff76 (talk • contribs) 04:26, 15 May 2011 (UTC)

Alright afropuff 142.227.97.253 (talk) 12:51, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

oh sorry this is doopliss im logged off but i guess afro makes a good argument142.227.97.253 (talk) 12:52, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from 139.168.164.90, 14 May 2011

Please change "over 900 million views" in paragraph 2 of the first section to "over 1 billion views" because if you check his YouTube channel, he just reached 1 billion a couple of days ago.

139.168.164.90 (talk) 06:03, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

 Done I update the stats once a month, but since this is a major mark. 117Avenue (talk) 07:23, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

YFM and RWJ

your favourite martian account was started in 2006 an didn't upload any videos till febuaray and ray started filming inm 2006 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.25.244.59 (talk) 21:28, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from Cornflake76, 31 May 2011

In the Equals Three section, replace "Since April 28, 2011 episode of Equals Three, Ray announced that he and his friend P-D-Flo created a Spanish version of Equals Three called Igual a Tres." with "Since April 28, 2011 episode of Equals Three, Ray announced that he and his friend P-D-Flo created a Mexican version of Equals Three called Igual a Tres." The YouTube user 'igualatres' speaks a very specific Mexican dialect, not standard Spanish. Most Hispanic users of other countries point that out on the comments of his videos. Even he points out that he speaks a dialect of Mexican Spanish that is heard mostly in the Los Angeles area (http://www.youtube.com/user/IgualATres).

Cornflake76 (talk) 16:41, 31 May 2011 (UTC)

Sounds reasonable; I've made the change which can be seen here. Best, Airplaneman ✈ 17:06, 31 May 2011 (UTC)

I don't think that "created a Mexican version of Equals Three called Igual a Tres, spoken in Spanish" is a good way to transport the message. It sounds as if the version is somehow aimed at or limited to the country Mexico and uses standard Spain. It's probably better to write "created a version of Equals Three in Mexican Spanish called Igual a Tres". --::Slomox:: >< 13:03, 6 June 2011 (UTC)

Fatty Spins

Ray explains why fatty spins got canceled in one of his old breakingnyc videos, i think we should include it. The video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjZfblF0j_h

Someone please help me edit the article cos im new and im not allowed to edit this article. BoomBoomPoo (talk) 12:12, 6 June 2011 (UTC)

re: Let's not. That's getting into gossip. no its not gossip the other two talented people in fatty spins had a fight over who got what of the money they were making its not gosip as all 3 have stated the same story

Edit request from Therockstar95, 2 April 2011

{{edit semi-protected}}

He has another channel titled BreakingNYC in which he he does video blogs, generally talking about what he is currently doing. His series Equals Three usually airs a new episode every Monday and Thursday. Therockstar95 (talk) 22:47, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

• What is your specific edit request? --Ashershow1_{talk•contribs} 22:59, 2 April 2011 (UTC)
• :* RWJ has closed down the BreakingNYC channel I believe many months ago, the videos are still up, he just doesn't make anymore daily vlogs. Despite that, yes, BreakingNYC should be significant enough to have its own section under Shows. Jerry314 (talk) 23:01, 2 April 2011 (UTC)
  • Agreed. They are more notable than his earlier videos, and unlike them, are still available, just as the Fattyspins vids are. — Preceding unsigned comment added by LHCD1 (talk • contribs) 23:05, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia needs independent reliable sources. We cannot just add information about some videos, just because they exist. If you can provide references to show that they've been discussed in newspapers, or something like that, then we can add it. Otherwise, we cannot, because we do not permit original research.

So, an edit request needs references to reliable sources. If you can provide those, please re-request. Thanks.  Chzz  ►  23:09, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

This article looks terable. Please clean it up!--94.103.222.231 (talk) 09:28, 30 May 2011 (UTC) he has rebooted the breaking nyc but in breaking L,A — Preceding unsigned comment added by Assassin4359 (talk • contribs) 19:38, 24 June 2011 (UTC)

Ray as an Entertainer

I tried to change Ray's official occupation from "Youtube Comedian" to "Entertainer" and it was reversed. This is why I hate editing things on Wikipedia. Some mod who undoubtedly knows less about the subject than I do, will always come along and reverse my changes. I changed his occupation from "Youtube Comedian" to "Entertainer" for four reasons. (1) Ray has stated very publicly in numerous BreakingNYC video blogs that making Youtube videos is NOT his only occupation, nor his main occupation. He apparently works in other areas of entertainment; although, he won't specify exactly what. (2) His Your Favorite Martian songs consistently dominate the iTunes Comedy and Tunecore sales charts. If I had to guess, I'd bet my money that this is Ray's main source of income. Not Youtube. Itunes and Tunecore have nothing to do with Youtube. (3) Last I checked, his official website RayWJ.com is nearly ranked in the top 1000 of all websites on the internet. His official website also has nothing to do with Youtube. (4) Not all of his properties on Youtube revolve around comedy. He specifically states multiple times that his video blog is "not supposed to be comedy". Thus, he clearly has very successful properties outside of the Youtube website, and not all properties he has on the Youtube website are comedic in nature, despite how funny you or I may find them. Everything I've just mentioned is easily verifiable. Yet, some bull-headed moderator insists that we all refer to Ray as a "Youtube comedian". Let's have some standards here, people. Afropuff76 (talk) 04:18, 15 May 2011 (UTC)

This article only talks about his YouTube accomplishments, and being a YouTube comedian is what he is known for. If his other activities can be noted on the article, then it would be make sense to change that in the infobox. 117Avenue (talk) 04:39, 15 May 2011 (UTC)

Being a "Youtube comedian" is what he is known for? According to whom? Where are your sources on that? Please don't make generalized assumptions that aren't verifiable. 76.89.180.85 (talk) 05:41, 15 May 2011 (UTC)

• When i created this article, the lead line was "is a popular comedian best-known for his YouTube videos." That has stuck around (someone took out "popular" at some point), by and large, and is accurate and supported by the sources.--Milowent • ^talkblp-r 15:37, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

he also has a store for his t-shirts and stuff so thats alot of money too--Assassin4359 (talk) 19:59, 24 June 2011 (UTC)

EDIT REQUEST

could you please mention the YourfavouriteMartian account was created in 2006 but started making videos in 2011 and the next your favourite martian song is on june 15th 2011 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.0.94.235 (talk) 21:33, 10 June 2011 (UTC)

CAPATOIL HILL GANGSTA

hi i hvae a edit request i was wathing him at that time and i know alot about it the reason he stoped making them was he would talk about the news and current events however his current job saw the videos and were not pleased with them so they made him take them off can i add this to that topic plz? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Assassin4359 (talk • contribs) 19:40, 24 June 2011 (UTC)

Most subscribed

Ray's channel is finally closing up to be the top subscriber on YouTube, should be there before July, and I think he will stay at that spot for a really long time given his consistency, we should definitely edit the opening paragraph, listing some stats and records made by his channel.

EDIT: As of 27 June 2011 (04:38-GMT time), Ray William Johnson is the most subscribed youtube user. He has reached over 3.9 Million subscibers, which even nigahiga (second most subscribed) has not. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.8.234.237 (talk) 03:34, 27 June 2011 (UTC) Hongyi192 (talk) 04:38, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

Need a change

Ray William Johnson is now the most subscribed on Youtube, beating NigaHiga. Would someone one mind changing the whole page around? Unobliging (talk) 10:17, 26 June 2011 (UTC)

Yea definitely, the entire introductory paragraph should be edited with the most current events and accomplishmentsHongyi192 (talk) 13:11, 26 June 2011 (UTC)

I can tell this is going to cause a lot of issues. Ryan Higa is the most subscribed again, so I changed his Wiki page back. However, I predict manic subscription tug-of-war coming soon. RWJ and Nigahiga might frequently switch places during the new few days or weeks. Are you guys going to just keep updating their Wiki pages every time their status changes? 74.68.114.16 (talk) 08:43, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

RayWJ has been consistently getting more subscribers than Ryan Higa every day for the last year or so, that's why he finally caught up to him, and the stats shows that he's already pulling away, so we can safely just keep the most subscribed status. 198.103.96.11 (talk) 13:47, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

There never was a "manic subscription tug of war" between Ryan Higa and Ray. Ray passed Ryan and became #1 and that was it; Ryan never got the spot back. The problem is that you were looking at the Youtube most subscribed page which is slow to update and usually a few days behind. In order to get an accurate subscriber count for both channels, you have to look at each of their channel pages. Looking at both pages will reveal that Ray is indeed way ahead of Ryan. Afropuff76 (talk) 04:18, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Background

I think we should add a small section before the "Projects" section to give some background information on RayWJ, there is this interview that RayWJ did with Forbes recently where he explains how he was in the middle of college and preparing for law school and then took interest in YouTube. the link is http://blogs.forbes.com/michaelhumphrey/2011/06/28/ray-william-johnson-3-adds-up-to-most-subscribed-on-youtube/ Hongyi192 (talk) 17:57, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from Cih997, 28 June 2011

Add very popular Equals Three fan site http://equalsthree.net in external links. Cih997 (talk) 21:27, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Not done: Fan Sites are not added to external links per policy Jnorton7558 (talk) 00:10, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

Criticism?

I think we should add in a little paragraph (or even a whole section if we have enough information) regarding the criticism he has been getting about him earning money off of videos not of his property and etc. Any thoughts?

Blarten (talk) 03:43, 24 June 2011 (UTC)

What criticism? I doubt anyone with any legal authority is criticizing him. I'm a 3L law student, and everything he does appears to be within the letter of US copyright law. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Afropuff76 (talk • contribs) 11:07, 26 June 2011 (UTC)

What the hell does legal authority have to do with criticism? He profits off other peoples videos, it is an ethical issue not a legal one. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.110.73.33 (talk) 22:29, 20 July 2011 (UTC)

"To become a YouTube Partner, you must meet these minimum requirements:

• You create original videos suitable for online streaming.
• You own or have express permission to use and monetize all audio and video content that you upload–no exceptions. "

RWJ breaks the rules, the only reason he is a partner is because he is the most subscribed user and Google wants to make money. There definitely should be a section for this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.110.78.110 (talk) 12:55, 22 October 2011

Fatty Spins

Why are we deleting the Fatty Spins section? Just because one editor is butthurt over things he thinks are "gossip" doesn't mean it should be deleted. I didn't put anything in the section that wasn't stated by Johnson himself in his BreakingNYC vlog titled R.I.P. Fatty Spins. There is no reason whatsoever for it to be deleted. --Spence The Chef (talk) 19:45, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

The "butthurt" editor you're complaining about is right. You're just posting gossip. There's no need for it on Wikipedia. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.89.180.85 (talk) 10:31, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

well Fatty Spins is the first major project he did besides Equals Three, so it should be included as one of the projects, so instead of deleting, I think it's better to trim it down.198.103.96.11 (talk) 12:48, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

It was 4 videos. I would hardly call that a "major project". Also, as we learned from Ray's recent Forbes interview. Ray had many projects before =3. We can't/shouldn't include every single little video Ray has done on here. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.196.156.211 (talk) 00:04, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

It was four videos, but one of those videos was "Doin' Your Mom", which helped Ray gain popularity and exposure. It's also one of his most viewed videos. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.76.70.230 (talk) 21:46, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

RE: Sorry, but "Doin' Your Mom" didn't "help Ray gain popularity and exposure". "Doin' Your Mom" became popular long after its release and much later in Ray's career. It essentially became popular AFTER Ray became popular. Sorry, but Fatty Spins was NOT a major project. It is just one of the many side videos Ray has done throughout his career, most of which are NOT notable and should NOT be discussed on Ray's Wikipedia page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.89.180.85 (talk) 03:15, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

Nomination of List of Equals Three Episodes for deletion

A discussion is taking place as to whether the article List of Equals Three Episodes is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.

The article will be discussed at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of Equals Three Episodes until a consensus is reached, and anyone is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on good quality evidence, and our policies and guidelines.

Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion template from the top of the article. JDDJS (talk) 20:04, 1 July 2011 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Babelcolour5 (talk • contribs)

Ray in Guinness Book of World Records

On 7-12-2011 Ray made the Guinness Book of World Records http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Comedian-Ray-William-Johnson-sets-new-record-for-YouTube-subscribers/blog/4830881/7691.html

I thought this might be worth mentioning in his wikipedia page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.89.180.85 (talk) 22:13, 12 July 2011 (UTC)

Januray

January was spelled wrong:

My Balls (Januray 26, 2011) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.241.113.74 (talk) 07:22, 23 July 2011 (UTC)

Ray studied in Spain

Other than studying in Columbia University, he studied in Spain too. He says it in the last 20 seconds in one of his vlogs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5Hbw50s-cw 175.142.231.52 (talk) 04:50, 26 July 2011 (UTC)

Reopening Discussion of CHG Content

I believe the CHG summary should be returned to the article. The reason being a new source other than fan-sites and here-say is presented: the Internet Archive. One such source page: http://web.archive.org/web/20080622143405/http://www.youtube.com/user/RayWilliamJohnson. This source clearly demonstrates both CHG's existence and definition per RWJ's description on said archived page. As per WP:ABOUTSELF, it is acceptable to use RWJ's page itself as a source of it's own existence and definition as long as it is only used for that purpose, and not a source of verifiability in the terms of the actual content. Matt72986 (talk) 02:34, 22 August 2011 (UTC)

I do not agree that it is relevant enough to be mentioned here. Ray has tried lots of different projects since he started creating content on the internet back in early 2007 (that's as far back as I have been a fan), and we CAN'T include them ALL on his Wikipedia page. I remember his original Youtube channel (before Youtube.com/RayWilliamJohnson), and Ray experimented with many many different types of shows (too many to name) before later starting =3 on his RayWilliamJohnson channel. We can/should only name what's relevant on here, and any early experimenting Ray did with show ideas or show formats just aren't relevant enough to mention. Also, that page you linked to is a fake as far as I can tell. I've been a fan of Ray since 2007 and I've never seen his Youtube channel page like that. Even if said page did exist (which I don't think it did) its existence doesn't imply it's important enough to be mentioned here, nor does the page you linked to suggest anything other than "it may have existed at one point". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.89.180.85 (talk) 06:45, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

CHG was a large segment that lasted months, I wouldn't categorize it as a little project that he experimented with. That's like saying Fresh Prince wasnt relevant to Will Smith starting his Hollywood career. And the page isn't fake, the archive verifies linked content. We don't make decisions based on people "thinking" something is fake.207.181.234.14 (talk) 22:12, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

It's laughable that someone would compare Fresh Prince to CHG. Will Smith started his career on Fresh Prince. RWJ did his brief little CHG thing nearly a year AFTER he began making videos. Have you ever even heard Ray or anyone else mention CHG? No. Why? Because it isn't relevant. It's a tiny blip on the radar that lasted less than a few months. He had formats BEFORE he experimented with CHG that went on longer and were more popular. Trust me, we've been watching Ray since his 1st channel went live in early 2007, before he successfully re-branded himself as Ray William Johnson. CHG was just a very brief experiment and did absolutely nothing for his career. Also, I've found plenty of fake content on that archive before. Everyone knows fake content makes it on there all the time, similar to the way it makes it onto Wikipedia. Again, even if the page weren't a fake, its existence doesn't imply it's important enough to be mentioned here, nor does the page you linked to suggest anything other than "it may have existed at one point". You may not make decisions based on people "thinking" something is fake, but you SHOULD make them based on what's relevant, and something "existing at some point" does NOT imply that it is worthy enough to qualify as relevant. Sorry, but we fail to see how listing one of Ray's brief experiments on his Wikipedia page as relevant. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.89.180.85 (talk) 04:33, 31 August 2011 (UTC)

File:Ray-william-johnson.jpg Nominated for Deletion

An image used in this article, File:Ray-william-johnson.jpg, has been nominated for deletion at Wikimedia Commons in the following category: Deletion requests September 2011 What should I do? Don't panic; a discussion will now take place over on Commons about whether to remove the file. This gives you an opportunity to contest the deletion, although please review Commons guidelines before doing so. If the image is non-free then you may need to upload it to Wikipedia (Commons does not allow fair use) If the image isn't freely licensed and there is no fair use rationale then it cannot be uploaded or used. This notification is provided by a Bot --CommonsNotificationBot (talk) 04:33, 11 September 2011 (UTC)

Citations for guest hosts

i have just added meekakitty and dan brown as guest hosts, can someone help me add citations for them, because i don't know how to but I have the links. I don't want them to be removed again like they were a couple of weeks ago. Here are the links: Meekakitty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE9z3sLYL0U and Dan Brown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksIX51i7F2I 175.142.167.192 (talk) 12:40, 18 September 2011 (UTC)

Update: I found out how to add the citations myself, its ok now 175.142.167.192 (talk) 14:13, 18 September 2011 (UTC)

Anal Plug Line

On May 8th, 2010, Ray William Johnson launched a new anal plug dildos. There were lots of flavoured ones as also as a special limited edition one, wich was gold and it was rainbow flavored. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.82.74.244 (talk) 22:30, 6 November 2011 (UTC)

Incorrect Date

In the small box at the top-right of the page, it claims Ray William Johnson has been active '2012-present.' I myself don't know the precise date at which his career began, but this is clearly incorrect. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.146.20.130 (talk) 21:30, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

• Thanks for the note, some idiot messed with it. Its reverted.--Milowent • ^hasspoken 21:42, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from , 19 November 2011

according to his =3 channel he has changed his new video days to Tuesdays and Fridays now.

92.11.59.115 (talk) 00:12, 19 November 2011 (UTC)

 Done ~ Matthewrbowker ^{Say hi!} 22:50, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

birthday & age

Isn't there someone that knows his birthday, or at least his age? I'm pretty sure he must have 'revealed' it at least once, maybe someone heard of it?

--78.43.209.139 (talk) 00:38, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

I keep trying to look, but haven't found anything. The closest thing is the Forbes article, which says he was 23 years old in June 2011. But it is striked-out, possibly indicating that it was not fact checked. 117Avenue (talk) 04:56, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

• It probably was not fact checked and was based on loose self-report by Ray. I would guess he is at least 23 based on what we know, but there is no reliable source for it. He could be older and wants to keep that quiet. Even yahoo answers doesn't know![4]. Nalts (someone very knowledgeable about youtube fame) wrote an April fools piece this year claiming that Ray is 37[5], linking to wikipedia for that false claim. In the comments to that article, a few people proclaim Ray to be 23. A good way to approximate his age would be to determine his high school graduation year, but even this information is not readily available. This[6] November 2011 article refers to him as an "Oklahoma boy". A few unreliable blog/answer type pages suggest he attended Norman North High School, with no year identified.--Milowent • ^hasspoken 14:13, 2 December 2011 (UTC)

People with his high school year book would know. To the Norman North High School library! 117Avenue (talk) 14:18, 2 December 2011 (UTC)

• I scanned some of the edit history of Ray's article and the high school article to see if unsourced claims had been made and reverted about this, but I didn't see anything in a quick look.--Milowent • ^hasspoken 15:03, 2 December 2011 (UTC)

• I had checked on wikianswers, and it said that Johnson was born on 1983. But this is unreliable. Abhijay ^Talk?/_Deeds 07:01, 7 December 2011 (UTC)

you guys realize, even if you went to the school and got the papers and updated the article, some cranky wikipedia editor would just remove it and point at the WP:OR rules right? Divinity76 (talk) 09:22, 8 December 2011 (UTC)

Yes, but it would be a WP:V problem, not original research. 117Avenue (talk) 14:18, 8 December 2011 (UTC)

That's not true. We are supposed to respect offline sources and assume good faith in editors if they have done the legwork to obtain them. I, Jethrobot ^{drop me a line} (note: not a bot!) 01:00, 12 December 2011 (UTC)

• Jethrobot, what must be understood is that as Wikipedians, we have to put sources that are reliable. Abhijay ^Talk?/_Deeds 02:56, 12 December 2011 (UTC)

This discussion is getting into the theoretical, unless anyone here is near Norman, Oklahoma, and can actually go. 117Avenue (talk) 04:17, 12 December 2011 (UTC)

Are you dumb?

Maybe he is dead, then we will do our duty(to inform the people) and show our respect to him. If he is not, big deal - we'll change it later. But I would suggest that we remain silent and follow the rumors, which now are spreading very fast and becoming more like a fact. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.172.102.75 (talk) 01:49, 3 January 2012 (UTC)

The addition of something like this to any article, if it's unreferenced is contravening Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons. I am now watching this page, if people keep adding unreferenced death rumours then I will change the protection so only admins can edit the page.--5 albert square (talk) 01:56, 3 January 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 3 January 2012

Death

On New Year's Day, 2012 rumours spread rapidly amongst the online community that Johnson had passed away. It is reported that he died in a car crash whilst returning home from the New Year's celebrations. Rumours are yet to be confirmed, however an increasing numbers of sources are beginning to confirm the story's likelihood. Many YouTube users have already begun dedicating videos to Johnson's death. The Twitter community have responded to Johnson's death via the hashtag #RIPRAY.

Eg6Mike (talk) 01:58, 3 January 2012 (UTC)

Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Sorry but Twitter and Youtube do not qualify as reliable sources. --5 albert square (talk) 02:04, 3 January 2012 (UTC)

• This must be about the tenth fake death rumour about RWJ. See, e.g. [7]. Super lame.--Milowent • ^hasspoken 04:12, 3 January 2012 (UTC)

Or #Apparently dead above. 117Avenue (talk) 04:22, 3 January 2012 (UTC)

Apparently dead

The news on Youtube is that he died in a car accident. RocketMaster (talk) 16:27, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

That isn't reliable. Abhijay ^Talk?/_Deeds 04:27, 30 December 2011 (UTC)

Be advised, a new Yourfavoritemartian song came out the day before. It is likely that the rumors are false. However, the material may have been recorded before hand. It is more likely however that Ray William Johnson is still alive and kicking. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.177.133.115 (talk) 07:13, 6 January 2012 (UTC)

Missing Sections

There appear to be a few parts from his online career missing. He's got Your Favorite Martian: The Series now with Makers Studios and Animonster. And there's nothing about Fatty Spins here either. Shouldn't an encyclopedia cover his entire career, past and present? --75.76.70.230 (talk) 04:43, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

Criticism and A Racist...

There needs to be a section about the criticisms Ray William Johnson has received about his work along with references.

I am sure you've heard that Ray William Johnson has been labeled a racist douche bag. Even though I agree, this would be something very useful in the article along with references. Mr. C.C.^{Hey yo!}_{I didn't do it!} 04:17, 30 December 2011 (UTC)

BLP says that would be a bad idea. 117Avenue (talk) 09:23, 30 December 2011 (UTC)

No one with any credibility has labeled Ray "a racist douche bag". Why on earth would we allow such childish name-calling to appear on his Wikipedia page? Get off Wikipedia, kid. Go outside and play. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.252.208.222 (talk) 22:40, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

WSJ

The Wall Street Journal interview says he graduated in 1999, is 30 years old, and explicitly states 23 is wrong. 117Avenue (talk) 00:01, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

• Thirty!! Friggin 30! I KNEW IT!--Milowent • ^hasspoken 04:12, 19 February 2012 (UTC)

External links

equalsthree.net - official fan site — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cih997 (talk • contribs) 23:35, 18 February 2012 (UTC)

WP:FANSITE. 117Avenue (talk) 02:15, 19 February 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 8 March 2012

hello, i would like to add to the RWJ an addition of a partner. CUrrently, Ray William Johnson is dating Youtube Comedian Anna Akana. This is a legitimate statement. There relationship has been announced on his vlog channel BreakingNYC and is facebook official.

68.112.82.61 (talk) 20:54, 8 March 2012 (UTC)

Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Begoon ^talk 03:08, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

Questioning revert

1117Avenue, could you please explain why you are reverting the addition of sourced information? Johnson's Youtube profiles says, "I was born and raised in Oklahoma City and later went to college at Columbia U. I was about to study law when I started making Youtube videos." Does the WSJ article say something different (I can't see it because it's behind a payroll)? Also, that shows that "planned to law", while not grammatically correctly, clearly meant that he was planning to study law, and thus should have been fix instead of reverted.

Afropuff76, one thing I do note is that the Forbes blog cannot be used as a source. Wikipedia allows some "news blogs" to be used as sources, but only when it is clear that the newspaper/magazine asserts editorial control over the writing. The Forbes blog explicitly says, "The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer."

Also, a more general question: someone raised the concern that Johnson's words cannot be taken as reliable, even with regards to himself, because he is known to not be truthful to his audience. Is there evidence of this? We have to tread a complicated line between what a person says about themselves and what other sources say. We may even need to state both (something like "According a Wall Street Journal interview, Johnson grew up in Norman Oklahoma; on his Youtube profile, however, Johnson stated that he grew up in Oklahoma City." Qwyrxian (talk) 11:30, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

I guess no one wants to back me up with his reliability anymore, but his bio also states "Are you some kind of stalker?!", "This bio sucks so far, eh?", and "I work part time as a garden gnome." I also see from a recent video title he has super powers, and I'm sure his videos are filled with jokes stated in a serious tone. He has also wanted others to spread stories about himself, initiating the mass vandalization of 2 April 2011. With Norman North High School less than a half hour away from Oklahoma City, it is possible he states his hometown is the closest big city, for simplicity's sake for his global audience. All we know is that he graduated from Norman North High School, and he claims to be from Oklahoma City, saying "Johnson was raised in Oklahoma City [but] later graduated high school from Norman North" is WP:SYNTH. 117Avenue (talk) 00:36, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

117Avenue, I'm not sure what kind of joke Ray would be attempting to make by claiming he was raised in Oklahoma City as opposed to the Norman town you claim he was raised in. Am I missing the pun here? Also, to my knowledge, he has never insisted that "others spread stories about himself". In the Facebook post to which you are referring, Ray merely linked to this Wikipedia page and made some sort of joke about how people aren't getting his information right. Ray himself may or may not be a reliable source of information, but we can't just assume he's lying about where he's from. --Afropuff76 Afropuff76 (talk) 10 March 2012 (UTC)

Qwyrxian, we couldn't use the "According a Wall Street Journal interview, Johnson grew up in Norman Oklahoma" method, mainly, because the Wall Street Journal interview doesn't state that Ray grew up in Norman, OK. It only states that Ray GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL from Norman North High High School. For all anyone on this talk page knows, Ray could've transferred to that high school his final year of high school or he could've been a commuter student. If Norman Oklahoma is less that a half hour away from Oklahoma City, my guess is that Ray commuted there. I suggest we either take Ray's word on his hometown being Oklahoma City or we don't put anything at all. The issue with stating that his hometown is Norman, OK is that NOWHERE does it state that Ray's hometown is Norman, OK. Thus, this "fact" has never once been sourced by 117Avenue or anyone else for that matter. --Afropuff76 Afropuff76 (talk) 10 March 2012 (UTC)

You must live locally, to attend a school. He had to have lived in Norman to attend school there. I wasn't saying that Oklahoma City is necessarily a joke (garden gnome is though), but simplicity. If you would travel internationally, and are asked where you are from, you would answer with something recognizable. I say I am from Edmonton, Alberta, but the doesn't mean I was born and raised in the big city, Edmonton is just something recognizable. Johnson has a global audience who would like to know about him. 117Avenue (talk) 03:48, 11 March 2012 (UTC)

If the WSJ article does not state that his hometown is Norman, we cannot write that. I think 117's guess that Johnson said "Oklahoma City" just to be simple is correct, but Wikipedia does not run on assumptions. However, I am inclined to agree with the assessment that Johnson is not a reliable source about anything, including himself, if we know for a fact that he has explicitly lied about similar things before. As such, I recommend, we remove all mention of the hometown from infobox (where it's impossible to handle subtleties). I think it would be okay to include, in the "Background" section, a sentence which says, "According to Johnson's Youtube profile, he was raised in Oklahoma City." That way, we're not stating it as fact. Qwyrxian (talk) 13:30, 11 March 2012 (UTC)

All, I've corrected the page as per Qwyrxian's suggestions. I removed the "hometown" until we can find an accurate secondary source for Ray's actual hometown. I also added "According to Johnson's Youtube profile, he was raised in Oklahoma City" to the background section, so as not to state it as fact. --Afropuff76 Afropuff76 (talk) 10 March 2012 (UTC)

117Avenue, you don't necessarily need to "live locally to attend a school". There are ways around that depending on the district in which one is living. I understand you're 100% dedicated to telling things the way you see them, but you have to acknowledge at some point that you're writing your assumptions into Wikipedia. There is not one shred of evidence anywhere stating that Ray's hometown is Norman, OK. Let's keep the hometown section removed until we can find an accurate secondary source for Ray's actual hometown. --Afropuff76 Afropuff76 (talk) 10 March 2012 (UTC)

Qwyrxian, I'm confused by your statement "if we know for a fact that [Ray] has explicitly lied about similar things before". We certainly don't have to take Ray's word regarding his background, but at what point did Ray "lie about similar things before"? I'm failing to evidence of this anywhere. I have a feeling you're taking 117Avenue's word on this and just assuming Ray blatantly lies about this or that when there is no evidence to support this statement. --Afropuff76 Afropuff76 (talk) 10 March 2012 (UTC)

• "You must live locally, to attend a school. He had to have lived in Norman to attend school there." This is WP:OR and not necessarily true. "According to Johnson's Youtube profile, he was raised in Oklahoma City" -- that's fine with me. Ray is a big fat liar, but this is not "garden gnome" territory.--Milowent • ^hasspoken 20:16, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Afropuff76, how can you say I am making claims with no evidence? I told you exactly where Johnson's garden gnome and super powers claims were. 117Avenue (talk) 04:14, 16 March 2012 (UTC)

Milowent and 117Avenue, pardon me while I facepalm at both of you. Are you seriously taking Ray's jokes (which are OBVIOUSLY jokes) and calling them lies? Seriously? When Ray states that he "works part time as a garden gnome" who in the hell actually actually takes that as anything other than a short joke? That doesn't make him a liar. In fact, I've heard both of you suggest Ray is a liar, yet neither of you have yet to provide any solid evidence of this. Also, 117Avenue, Ray never claimed that he had super powers. That was merely the title of his Youtube video, which was about a little black kid who claimed to have super powers. Again, you have no evidence to suggest that Ray has ever lied about anything. --Afropuff76 Afropuff76 (talk) 10 March 2012 (UTC

The point is that we know that Johsnon makes jokes, including about himself. THis is, in fact, what he does for a living. How do we distinguish between "jokes" and serious claims? By using only secondary sources (which can sometimes include interviews, although it will depend on who did the interview and each point of information will have to be evaluated seperately--i.e., is this a claim that the intervewer or the interviewee seems to be making, and was it fact checked)? This is no different than any other comedian or actor. Given that we must provide only good quality information, and are required by WP:BLP to not include information that we cannot scrupulously source, this means we must have less rather than more, always removing information in cases of doubt. Qwyrxian (talk) 02:35, 17 March 2012 (UTC)

The youtube links added as citations have been removed. They do not meet wikipedia's standards for adequate sources. If ray wrote he was born on the moon on his youtube profile we would not include that as fact. As of now we are relying on respected third party sources. As well the info gleamed on ray in the wsj profile was not done totally based on an interview but on their own research such as discovering ray's real age which he previously would not admit, as well as his high school.Duhon (talk) 13:50, 19 March 2012 (UTC)

This is incorrect. Per WP:BLPSPS, we do allow information from the subject of an article as a source for non-contentious information. Johnson's youtube profile is written by him, thus we can treat it as reliable for information about himself. Since we have contradictory information from wsj, we should use both. While I am concerned about using anything in his videos, given that they are explicitly labeled as comedy, the profile is a reasonable source, for information that isn't ridiculous. Personally, I think that his profile uses Oklahoma City as his hometown in the sense that it's the closest major area (I do the same thing when I say my hometown, because it's within a major metropolitan area, although technically a separate city, so I just say I'm from Big City X.). Unfortunately, we can't use my supposition in a WP article, so just statting the facts plainly as written is fine. Qwyrxian (talk) 02:54, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

But drawing a line between Oklahoma City and garden gnome is original research. 117Avenue (talk) 04:24, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

No, it's not. WP:RS does not say that a source has to be determined to be entirely reliable or entirely unreliable. Instead, sources are reliable on some things, and not on others. A person's blog or other self-published website about themselves is a reliable source unless we have strong reason to believe otherwise; even then, we may well still include the SPS info and the secondary info, as we've done here. Obviously his profile is not a reliable source for him claiming to be an inanimate object; such an extraordinary claim would require an extraordinary source...however, his claim about where he grew up is small and believable. Qwyrxian (talk) 08:38, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Many articles on wikipedia contradict the words of it's subjects when other sources become available. Look at the pages on half the celebrities on wikipedia and look at the contradictions between what they say is their age and what it is in actuality. Citing a youtube profile does not fit Wikipedia's definitions for reliable sources. The aritcle comes off as very amateurish as it now stands with those inclusions and wordings.Duhon (talk) 09:58, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Please read WP:ABOUTSELF, which is part of WP:V, our policy on verifiability. If you think that policy makes Wikipedia look amateurish, please start a discussion on WT:V to get the policy changed. Qwyrxian (talk) 12:21, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

I agree with Duhon. How can we use a source that also says things like "are you some kind of stalker" and "this bio sucks so far, eh"? 117Avenue (talk) 01:08, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

Since we cannot seem to come to a conclusion I will likely put this article up for third opinion review. So we can get a another view of this situation.Duhon (talk) 18:04, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Since a number of editors are discussing the point, you'll need to use WP:RfC; 3O is only for use in cases where there are only 2 people discussing. Let me know if you need help setting that up (I don't know if you've set one up before). Qwyrxian (talk) 23:40, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Yes I believe that would be an appropriate actions. If one can be set up that would perhaps aid to diffuse the controversy still going on.Duhon (talk) 06:28, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

I was just going to say that I'll get it set up for tomorrow...but I also realized we might get a better, faster answer by asking at WP:RSN. Would that be okay with the two of you? Qwyrxian (talk) 07:27, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

Background

The background section says that Ray was a general history major, but I could have sworn in a Forbes interview he did that he said he was going for Pre-Law. Can anyone else confirm this? -The Wing Dude, Musical Extraordinaire (talk) 04:45, 21 February 2012 (UTC)

Read the reference, it states Forbes was wrong. 117Avenue (talk) 05:51, 21 February 2012 (UTC)

At what point does anyone or anything state Forbes was wrong? If anything, WSJ (not Forbes, who actually interviewed Ray) was very publicly proven to contain a lot of misinformation. If you read the Forbes interview, the "I was pre-law" statement came directly from Ray's mouth. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.89.180.85 (talk) 18:30, 21 February 2012 (UTC)

• Is pre-law an actual major though?--Milowent • ^hasspoken 18:36, 21 February 2012 (UTC)
  • Pre-law is an actual major, when you're going for an undergraduate degree (like Ray was). The law major only applies to graduate school and postgrad work. -The Wing Dude, Musical Extraordinaire (talk) 22:55, 21 February 2012 (UTC)
• Ray said on his channel that WSJ did have a lot of misinformation, and he directed me to his Forbes interview a year or two ago. -The Wing Dude, Musical Extraordinaire (talk) 22:55, 21 February 2012 (UTC)

The Forbes article isn't even a year old. 117Avenue (talk) 04:32, 22 February 2012 (UTC)

• According to Columbia's website, they have a pre-law program to help students interested in law school, but no degree that i can find.[8]. "Bachelor of Science in Pre-Law" would sound ridiculous! In any event Ray is not trustworthy himself on these issues, he has a vested interest in staying mysterious, its part of his street cred.--Milowent • ^hasspoken 23:35, 21 February 2012 (UTC)

Where did you get this "he has a vested interest in staying mysterious, its part of his street cred"? Did you just make this up? According to whom? I've never heard that EVER come from Ray's mouth. As far as we know, Ray is being straight forward with all of this information he's giving out in his interviews. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Afropuff76 (talk • contribs) 06:38, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Afropuff, re my comment, its my observation based on years of observing him, I'm not suggesting it be put in the article, I'm suggesting that we verify all content as best we can as we normally do.--Milowent • ^hasspoken 00:01, 1 March 2012 (UTC)

Where are you getting that he was raised in Oklahoma City? 117Avenue (talk) 04:05, 29 February 2012 (UTC) He said it in his latest facebook post, shared 31 minutes before this posting. "Ray William Johnson

Why does someone keep putting the wrong hometown on my Wikipedia page? my hometown = OKC" 24.215.46.230 (talk) 23:53, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Guys, the IP address above is Ray William Johnson himself. Look at his Facebook post from about an hour ago, it's the same exact statement: https://www.facebook.com/#!/raywilliamjohnson -The Wing Dude, Musical Extraordinaire (talk) 00:14, 1 March 2012 (UTC)

Wingdude, it's doubtful the above IP address is actually Ray himself. Ray doesn't seem like the type of person to personally add to his own Wikipedia page. Trolls are everywhere. Don't be so gullible. --Afropuff76 Afropuff76 (talk) 10 March 2012 (UTC)

I've re-added the citation about ray's education there is no reason to doubt the articles authenticity as it comes from a respectable source. As well wikipedia never tends to use information repeated directly from the subject with other sources available. Duhon (talk) 10:02, 22 February 2012 (UTC)

There's plenty of reason to doubt the articles authenticity. It was publicly proven to be very wrong on a number of things, all of which are publicaly verifiable. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Afropuff76 (talk • contribs) 06:38, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

With the Ray William Johnson IP, I googled it and it traces to Ontario, not Oklahoma. So it's not him. Be peaceful. Be a Dalai Lama. (talk) 02:20, 6 April 2012 (UTC)