Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/'A' Net Station

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete. JForget 00:02, 27 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

'A' Net Station (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log)

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I don't buy it.

The website looks suspiciously like a hoax to me. Tell-tale signs include (but are not limited to):

• The few pictures (I've only found two!) of the "base" where George Maat supposedly lives are dubious at best. Low resolution, strange lighting, "ghosting" around objects. Bad Photoshop job?
• A traceroute of http://www.anetstation.com/ seems to point to a server somewhere around Phoenix, AZ. Oh, that's just the website, you say? The actual web radio-stream is originating from Antarctica? Could be, BUT;
• http://www.anetstation.com/MP3/ANETSTATIONDOTCOM.m3u is simply a playlist of MP3-files in http://www.anetstation.com/MP3/ ! Not exactly my definition of "
  web radio
  ".
• The web cams linked to on the page do not show pictures from Ross Ice Shelf where the base is supposedly located.
• Visiting the "talking help desk" and clicking on "Are you REALLY in the South Pole?" results in a sound file with the words "I screwed up again, I don't deserve to live" being played.
• Furthermore; the same "help desk"-page has a link to http://load-o-crap.com/ further suggesting the whole "'A' Net Station"-project is.. just that.
• How does George Maat make a living? Where does he get supplies from? Has he really lived in Antarctica some 15-20 years now? Not even researchers stay that long. I'm pretty sure it would drive anyone crazy being in Antarctica for more than a year or two, especially if one were to be living there alone.

I say it's bunk, but go ahead and prove me wrong (now would be a good time to post pictures, George!). Until then, I move that this article be deleted or at least changed to reflect that the whole thing is a hoax. —Per Hedetun (talk) 05:10, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

• Strong keep A simple look at the book sourced in the article shows this is not a hoax. Nominator, did you happen to talk to the creator before you put this up for deletion? I am having trouble finding sources on this station beyond one book. Delete 3 books mention this webstation in passing. No articles about this station on google news, not a single one: i find that hard to believe. Lord the picture on the website looks so incredibly fake. http://www.anetstation.com/
  talk) 08:38, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply
  ]

No, I didn't contact the creator of the website. Seeing as he edits Wikipedia himself, he's more than welcome to join this debate publicly. And you're not going to find an independent source verifying the Antarctic base. All credible sources say the same thing: there are NO permanent settlers on Antarctica. Here's one example: http://wy.water.usgs.gov/projects/antarctica/htms/facts.htm —Per Hedetun (talk) 09:03, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I was talking about the creator of the article actually, I let them know about this AFD after I asked.

I agree, it seems like there are no sources that I could find. I very, very rarely !vote delete, but this seems like a hoax to me.

This George Matt character who allegedly runs this radio station seems notable enough.[1][2] Same guys picture is in the banner on this radio web site. So why this web site is attached to him is a mystery to me.

talk) 09:10, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply

]

Uh, I don't see the resemblance between http://www.anetstation.com/images/georgemaatopt.jpg and http://leidsewetenschappers.leidenuniv.nl/photos/748.jpg ? —Per Hedetun (talk) 09:18, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Banner: http://gyazo.com/0d05f7624f8bde49b4af9a7ace5cd7f4.png same guy. Same name.

talk) 09:23, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply

]

Really the same person? I'm not so sure. Jawline is different, wrinkles on forehead are different, face is longer on "banner guy". Well, I don't know. Maybe it's just a coincidence that the "Antarctic" guy is called George Maat too. Or "George Maat" is the name of a character for the website, and perhaps the creator of the website was browsing through science journals looking for names, and found this Leiden guy. —Per Hedetun (talk) 09:38, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I respectfully disagree, but it doesn't matter in this AFD anyway, except that it raises questions since we are calling this a hoax.

talk) 09:53, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply

]

• comment two separate issues - is the radio station real and does it broadcast from where it says it does. It could be real and simply say it broadcasts from the Arctic, in the same way, that 2000ad is published by a Green alien... --Cameron Scott (talk) 09:57, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Well... Like I mentioned in my original post, even claiming that "'A' Net Station" is a "web radio station" at all is questionable. Sure, you can listen to songs via the webpage, but it's just a playlist for files located on the server. But web radio to me means the same thing as regular radio: broadcasting stuff. The playlist on the page is more like a "web mixtape" to me. Either way, the "station" certainly isn't located in the Antarctic. I think I've made a pretty strong case trying to disprove that. —Per Hedetun (talk) 10:14, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

• Note: This debate has been included in the list of Websites-related deletion discussions. Thryduulf (talk) 19:59, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
• Note: This debate has been included in the list of Radio-related deletion discussions. Thryduulf (talk) 19:59, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
• Note: This debate has been included in the list of Antarctica-related deletion discussions. Thryduulf (talk) 19:59, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

• Delete - The issue as to whether this station really "broadcasts" from the Ross Ice Shelf or not is not relevant. Hoaxes can be an appropriate subject for an encyclopedia article. For example,
  The War of the Worlds (radio) and Piltdown Man immediately spring to mind. However, the article as written treats it all as fact, which I find dubious. And the only coverage about it are a book reference and a web article. That isn't sufficient to establish notability regardless of whether it is a hoax. -- Whpq (talk) 17:31, 23 September 2009 (UTC)[reply
  ]

As the Creator of 'A' Net Station ( http://anetstation.com ) this story disturbs me. First my privacy has been invaded by people claiming to be what they are not to "CREATE" a Wikipedia page about my site, lying about who they were, and then creating a rather uncomplementary public debacle concerning my authenticity. It speaks ill of Wikipedia, and does more to discredit the work of Wikipedia than to discredit me.

I would respectfully request the story about 'A' Net Station be deleted because I do not want Wikipedia receiving gratuitous hits for people searching for my website.

Before reading farther, please consider the following questions: If you visit a website, click on a button and immediately find yourself listening to hours upon hours of commercial-free, unique and original quality music are you being hoaxed by the website when it told you this is exactly what you will get? Or are you being hoaxed by the website which offers you quality music to listen to and instead gives you the same old mechanical music industry POP chart soup with a healthy dose of advertising and talk?

Profess a definition of a radio station with an all encompassing accuracy, and an exception can be found. Technically the internet is not capable of "RADIO" broadcasting, merely repeating right? But then what about web-only stations. What then is play on demand? How about a "LIVE" broadcast versus a "RECORDED" one? What is a DJ's job? Why are there no broadcast licenses for internet radio? How is music for broadcast on the internet encoded and transmitted? Define a playlist (music delivery system) , so as to say there is clearly no way a RADIO STATION would use this kind of playlist.

There is a book, there is a cover. Judging the book by the cover has long been decried as less than intellectually acceptable. When you read the following commentary, please try to distinguish between criticism of the cover, versus criticism of the book and content. I don't believe I have seen a single comment regarding the validity of the content.

On the "Inside Page" of 'A' Net Station it clearly states that:"This page is a parody, had it been a real serious page, it would not say this."

If you solemnly say "I don't buy it" it's evident that you didn't get it., which, by the way is the premise of the site you speak of so disparagingly, http://load-o-crap.com . Load-O-Crap advances the observation that "The easiest thing anyone can do on the internet is to publicly demonstrate how stupid they are." - Harvest the stupid and you have the ideal majority. Buying your products, crushing your critics by sheer numbers.".

So please go away. If you don't like 'A' NET STATION, tough beans. Get a life, fight a real dragon, get a little dirty doing something hard instead of pretending to be doing something meaningful with these silly little remote control character assassinations.

I never said I was NOT in Antarctica, vTuner link is NOT dead, There are no "BAD" Photoshop jobs on the site, the "Talking Help Desk"is an "outsourced" Universal help desk, the web cams linked on the site ARE real LIVE webcams broadcasting from Antarctica, how George Maat makes a living is none of your business you little snake-eyed gerbil, I get my supplies from the supply place, just like everybody else, and as for how long I've been in Antarctica and that it would drive me insane, you're probably A#1 right on hootin-tootin kee-rekt. Loonier than a hoot owl. But is my project "BUNK"? or is this story "BUNK"? If your work were called "BUNK" by someone calling themselves anaphrodisiac, and a self-proclaimed Rothbardian-Hoppean-Misesian-paleolibertarian anarchist, computer geek[1], meat eater[2], beer drinker[3] and tea connoisseur, you might get a bit offended by the quality of the work that finds its way into the annals of Wikipedia you friggin' sanctimonious airheads.
Cheers. Respectfully, George Maat24.110.226.10 (talk) 14:56, 22 September 2009 (UTC), 'A' Net Station creator.[reply]

• Delete it doesn't mater whether this station actually exists, whether it is or has broadcasted or whether its located at the bottom of the world or Phoenix, AZ. What matters is whether or not there is significant coverage in reliable sources, which I'm not finding.
  talk) 17:03, 25 September 2009 (UTC)[reply
  ]

Is it just me, or are you folks using insinuating innuendos to cover for the fact that you are actually incapable of using real scientific methods to prove or disprove your theories? SINCERELY, GEORGE MAAT, 'A' NET STATION CREATOR AND OWNER — Preceding unsigned comment added by User talk:24.110.226.10 (talk • contribs)

• Comment I'm honored, really. But you really need to stick the
  talk) 02:03, 26 September 2009 (UTC)[reply
  ]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.