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 speedy keep. There are valid concerns that this might be part of a bad-faith AfD-ing. (non-admin closure) Winged Blades^Godric 06:23, 3 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Paul Robinett[edit]

AfDs for this article:

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unremarkable YouTube personality Mjbmr (talk) 03:29, 3 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Keep - The nom hasn’t given proper rationale to delete this, or any, article. The subjected "unremarkable YouTube personality" opinion is noted, but it has nothing to do with WP's notability standards. This topic has received in-depth significant coverage from multiple reliable sources, internationally no less, spanning many years. [1], [2][3] (called a “YouTube All-Star") by the Chicago Tribune) There are more, like a very in-depth piece specifically about Robinett from the German Berliner Zeitung, but they seemed to have taken it offline. Still counts though. --Oakshade (talk) 04:22, 3 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Keep per the significant coverage in multiple independent reliable sources.
1. Tufnell, Nicholas (2013-11-27). "The rise and fall of YouTubes celebrity pioneers". Wired UK. Archived from the original on 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  The article notes:
  
  Paul Robinett -- one of YouTube's first celebrities -- began his YouTube career posting videos as "Renetto", a bizarre and sometimes grotesque character he created to amuse his business partner at the time. Within days Paul was featured on the front page, having amassed hundreds of thousands of views. A later success was his "Diet Coke and Mentos" video, currently standing at 14 million views, in which he suggested he was seriously injured by ingesting large amounts of Coke and Mentos (an American sweet).
  Although these videos amused Paul, he soon realised he was wasting the potential to turn this platform into something more constructive, so he retired his Renetto character and began engaging with his audience.
  ...
  Paul began receiving offers from TV shows, but he rejected them on the grounds that he had the potential to get higher viewing figures than Bill O'Reilly and Jon Stewart put together, "I got the fuckin' internet!" he screams over Skype. For Paul, it's the intimacy and authenticity that YouTube offered that made it so attractive to viewers.Whilst he admitted that the overall quality might not be as good, the authenticity was a key attraction: "Thanks to YouTube, you know me, so who the fuck do you want to get your news from?! BOOM. DONE. REVOLUTION."
2. Tedeschi, Bob (2007-02-26). "New Hot Properties: YouTube Celebrities". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  The article notes:
  
  I think everybody that has a site has contacted me,” said Paul Robinett, whose YouTube persona Renetto has attracted 1.19 million views and more than 23,000 subscribers. Mr. Robinett, who is based in Columbus, Ohio, and frequently posts commentaries on YouTube-related issues, said: ...
  ...
  But Mr. Robinett said he was contacted by a talent agency claiming YouTube plans to share about 20 percent of the advertising money gleaned from each video clip with the clip’s producer. Mr. Robinett said he could not confirm that claim with a YouTube executive.
  ...
  That is what Mr. Robinett, a k a Renetto, is hoping. Mr. Robinett recently posted a video chastising YouTube stars who have bolted to other sites. He said the video was tongue in cheek, though many in the YouTube community missed the joke.
3. "Renetto: Der 39jährige Paul Robinett aus Ohio treibt das wohl undurchschaubarste Spiel mit Kategorien wie Authentizität und Inszenierung auf Youtube". Der Spiegel (in German). 2006-09-07. Archived from the original on 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
4. Pamperrien, Von Sabine (2008-07-12). "Paul Robinett ist auf Youtube berühmt. Dort heißt er Renetto und kämpft für eine bessere Welt Ein Träumer". Berliner Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  The article notes:
  
  Paul Robinett ist eine Youtube-Berühmtheit. Als Renetto zählt er zu den 100 bekanntesten Menschen auf Youtube. Im wahren Leben ist der 41-Jährige Erfinder von transportablen Hängematten und Strandstühlen sowie eines Fortbewegungsmittels, dessen Konstruktion sämtliche bisher bekannten physikalischen Regeln zu widerlegen scheint. Eigentlich müsste der Stiel mit zwei Rädern ständig umkippen. Tut er aber nicht. Berühmt wurde Robinett aber nicht durch seine technischen Innovationen. Er ist ein Youtube-Evangelist. Ein Verkünder. Aber von was?Renetto veröffentliche am 7. Juli 2006 sein erstes Video. Ein wohlgenährter Enddreißiger mit schütterem Haar, an dem irgendwie alles rund erscheint, ohne fett zu wirken, erzählt mit verstellter Stimme, warum er nicht mehr länger nur fremde Videos anschaut und kommentiert, sondern auch eigene Videos veröffentlicht. Es ist nicht ganz klar, ob er den chinesischen Koch aus der Kultserie "Bonanza" nachahmt oder die Fistelstimme des Schriftstellers Truman Capote. Seine riesigen, runden Augen mit den langen Wimpern schauen dabei wie die von Altkanzler Kohl. Renetto ruft zum Mitmachen bei Youtube auf.
  From Google Translate:
  Paul Robinett is a youtube celebrity. Renetto is one of the 100 best known people on Youtube. In real life, the 41-year-old is the inventor of transportable hanging mats and beach chairs, as well as a means of transport, the construction of which seems to disprove all known physical rules. Actually, the handle with two wheels would always have to tip over. But he does not. But Robinett was not famous for his technical innovations. He is a Youtube evangelist. A herald. But from what? Renetto will release his first video on July 7, 2006. A well-nourished end-thirties with thin hair, somehow appearing all around without looking fat, tells in a disguised voice why he no longer only looks at foreign videos and comments, but also publishes his own videos. It is not quite clear whether he imitates the Chinese cook from the cult series "Bonanza", or the falsetto of the writer Truman Capote. His huge round eyes with long lashes look like those of old Chancellor Kohl. Renetto calls for participation in Youtube.
5. Masterson, Kathryn (2006-10-13). "YouTube all-stars". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  The article notes:
  
  Paul "Renetto" Robinett, 39
  Canal Winchester, Ohio
  Four months after starting to post videos on YouTube, Paul Robinett--known on Web as Renetto, a Moby-looking bald guy with thick black glasses--was recognized in the real world.
  Several people browsing Robinett's Ohio candle store last week asked the 39 year old if he was Renetto from YouTube. He said yes--then promptly made a video about it.
  Robinett is a frequent contributor to YouTube, posting daily. The father of four gets anywhere from 10,000 to 300,000 views per video, though a clip of him eating Mentos, drinking Diet Coke and spitting it all up got more than 2 million.
  ...
  The path to becoming an Internet celebrity was accidental, Robinett says. He was surfing on YouTube with a new MacBook Pro and decided to try it himself. Using the camera in the laptop, he made a video in the character of Renetto, who speaks in a nasally voice. Soon, Robinett was posting more. He's put his family online (including his kids and his dad when he forgot to pick up Robinett from the airport) and stood on his roof to protest world poverty. That was requested by an ad agency, Robinett said.
6. Hjorth, Larissa; Horst, Heather; Galloway, Anne; Bell, Genevieve, eds. (2017). The Routledge Companion to Digital Ethnography. New York: Routledge. p. 325. ISBN 131737777X. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  The book notes:
  
  When a video is created, the video creator often dominates media discourses and scholarly analysis. For example, early vloggers such as Paul Robinett (known as "renetto" on YouTube) and Bryony Matthewman ("Paperlilies") have rightly been profiled as instrumental for helping YouTube's early success. Their imaginative vlogs about their lives have sometimes received millions of views, and they were active in promoting community in YouTube's early years. Yet, when asked to reflect on their participation, they identify a range of video creation pressures they felt as YouTube became increasingly commercial. Google's acquisition of the site in 2006, the addition of YouTube's partner program, and increased advertising revenues from ads placed on videos were forces that they say complicated their individual video making process. Robinett was quoted as feeling uncomfortable about financially benefitting from the YouTube community that was forming in the site's early years (Tufnell 2013).
There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow Paul Robinett to pass Wikipedia:Notability#General notability guideline, which requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject".
Cunard (talk) 04:43, 3 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Comment - As noted by BigHaz in this other AfD, this might be part of a bad-faith multiple AfD effort. --Oakshade (talk) 04:47, 3 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Much as I don't like to assume, I think that's a good catch. Looking at the nominator's Talk page archives, there's a pattern of behaviour here. BigHaz - Schreit mich an 05:58, 3 May 2017 (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.