Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2016 July 7

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July 7

Facebook help

Sorry if this is the wrong place ... I have fully protected David Dorfman due to a dispute concerning his date of birth. The only reference being offered is a Facebook page, purportedly belonging to the actor. I have been offered a screenshot on my talk page which says it's July 2nd (7/2 or 2/7), and on the article's talk page a link from the same page which apparently says February 7th (2/7 or 7/2). I have been unable to verify either link, nor the owner of the Facebook page; I obviously don't see the same information as the others. I suspect it's either because I'm wrongly geolocated, or because I don't have a Facebook account. I am extremely sceptical that this is not an imposter's account, but I would appreciate it if any regular editor can verify either or both dates, or the owner of the account, so I can see who if anyone is supplying misinformation. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 08:08, 7 July 2016 (UTC)

A simple dispute over a birth date is grounds to fully protect an article? And to disable all edits? Really? Seems a bit much. Not like this is some controversial actor/page, either. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 16:13, 7 July 2016 (UTC)

It's not something I'm comfortable with, but the obvious option to stop this edit war is to semi the article and block the user whose every edit has been to revert. I note that almost every edit this year, some 150 or so edits, has been this edit war, and there's no sign of it stopping. Unless it can be verified, which it hasn't to date, policy says this information should be removed and person who keeps adding it should be blocked (I haven't yet ruled this out). I chose the least worse option for now, and am keen to find a solution, any solution. My other concern at this time is that we may be potentially using an impersonator's account as a reference. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 17:31, 7 July 2016 (UTC)

I'm not friends with Dorfman on FB, so I can only see a limited amount of info. That said, there are a number of posts from other people that I can see who are wishing him a happy birthday on February 6th and 7th from a number of years past. Dismas|^(talk) 16:22, 7 July 2016 (UTC)

Thank you that is useful to know. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 17:31, 7 July 2016 (UTC)

According to Gale's Biography in Context: "Full name, David Benjamin Dorfman; born February 7, 1993, in Los Angeles, CA; father a dentist." Gale gives the source citation as: ""David Dorfman." Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Vol. 84. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Biography in Context. Web. 8 July 2016." I can email this to you, if you want. John M Baker (talk) 15:23, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Ooh that's fantastic. If there's any further information, John M Baker, I would like an email, but otherwise I consider this to be a good enough source, and you a reputable enough fellow, to have finally sorted this out. Thanks! -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 17:20, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

That's pretty much it, but I've emailed you the full article so you will have it if questions arise. John M Baker (talk) 18:47, 8 July 2016 (UTC)