Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Pteridophobia

:{{la|Pteridophobia}} – (View AfDView log{{int:dot-separator}} [http://toolserver.org/~snottywong/cgi-bin/votecounter.cgi?page=Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Pteridophobia Stats])

:({{Find sources|Pteridophobia}})

Removed prod. I am unable to find any reputable source for this word. This may be a hoax that has gone viral. I find no evidence that Freud disliked ferns (as the article states) and some evidence that suggests the contrary (he writes of a "wonderful wood full of ferns and mushrooms"). Looie496 (talk) 01:59, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

• Delete First, I could find zero reliable mental health sources discussing this topic. Zero. Yes, it is mentioned in a few unreliable, trivial, pop cultural sources, such as blogs and lists of goofy phobias, which people apparently enjoy reading. Just because a nurse writes a blog, that doesn't mean an amusing cut-and-paste list becomes a reliable source. But never did I expect to see Cracked.com put forward as a reliable source. I guess Mad Magazine rejected the article. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 02:48, 10 June 2013 (UTC)
• Delete What, Cracked.com doesn't fact check? I am appalled. Both the phobia and the Freud reference appear in Fact #54 in the book [http://books.google.com/books?id=PrWadLUa5xoC&dq=%22Pteridophobia%22&lr=&source=gbs_navlinks_s Scared Sh*tless: 1,003 Facts That Will Scare the Sh*t Out of You] Often books are reliable sources, but I don't know about this one. Even it if was reliable, it is the only one I could find. The topic seems to fall below threshold for general notability guidelines, suggesting that the article should be deleted. --Mark viking (talk) 03:44, 10 June 2013 (UTC)
• Delete, doesn't even seem close to real, supported by the lack of WP:RS on the matter. Ansh666 05:16, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

:Note: This debate has been included in the list of Health and fitness-related deletion discussions. Evano1van(எவனோ ஓருவன்) 05:43, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

• Delete - surely a hoax, though per Mark Viking, seems to be a hoax-in-a-book for once. Guess there's a clue about its degree of unreliability as a source in its title. Chiswick Chap (talk) 08:05, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

::The book was published less than a year ago, so there's a good chance the author got the "fact" from the internet. Looie496 (talk) 14:22, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

:Note: This debate has been included in the list of Behavioural science-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 14:43, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

• Delete I will assume good faith that the sources are sincere, not hoaxing. Even then, and even if the phobia is real, it should not have an article here unless there is something that takes it beyond "pteridophobia is a fear of ferns," and then some general info on phobias. Borock (talk) 16:38, 10 June 2013 (UTC)
• Delete: nothing on Gbooks, nothing on Gscholar. Sounds like a hoax to me. --Cyclopia^talk 16:42, 10 June 2013 (UTC)
• Delete - I might not be as quick as others to jump on the "hoax" train, but this would seem to fail our inclusion guidelines anyway, so it's a moot point really. Stalwart111 02:11, 11 June 2013 (UTC)

:: Yeah, maybe its category is Internet WP:BOLLOCKS and excited wishful thinking, but given the WP:SNOW of deletion certificates, it's pretty academic. Could someone please close this AfD? Chiswick Chap (talk) 07:06, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

:::Ha ha, yeah, absolutely. Seconded. Stalwart111 07:23, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

• Comment I've nominated Geniophobia, by the same author, for deletion as well here. Ansh666 21:54, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
• Delete With no evidence and a few editors having attempted WP:BEFORE I would strongly delete with no prejudice -- hoax or OR. Mkdw^talk 05:55, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

: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.