Wikibooks:Requests for deletion/Homeopathy

Homeopathy
Tagged twice for speedy, once by an ip, removed once. I do not consider it is a book that should be deleted however process should be followed. Over to you folks -- Herby talk thyme 18:16, 5 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Delete - I put it for deletion the second time. Reason - the style of the book as it started presents homeopathy as something you could use without any warnings of hazards of these recipes. Moreover statements in this book stub seem to be presented not from critical point of view but from strong supporting point of view. Until now publications on homeopathy this issue do not make major contribution to the pull of top medical journal. Using such kind of treatment cannot be performed safely, but information on homeopathy methods of treatment might be assumed by unexperienced reader as a Cookbook - "so simple, I can do-it-myself". I have nothing against book on homeopathy, which will have a huge red banner on top of every page, saying something like: "this is all just a fairy tale, this is not true method of cure, you can severe harm yourself using this guidelines or receiving treatment from practicing homeopath" --Redsunrising 20:03, 5 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Delete - Warnings or not: is Wikibooks a dumping ground for any old kind of pseudoscience? What's more, is there any respectable university that has a homeopathy class? But even if there were, the fact still remains that there are no respected scientists who support the homeopathic theory of medicine. What I would support would be a history and debunking (something which tells the story of homeopathy, and why the theory is false)--- but not a "how to", which is what the book is right now. PurplePieman 01:24, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Delete with extreme prejudice Utterly unverifiable. Kellen T 09:03, 7 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Move - "severe harm" ? Isn't that overreacting a bit ? Perhaps http://protoscience.wikia.com/wiki/Medical_controversies would be a better location for this book. --DavidCary 15:43, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Keep: I think homeopathy's a load of fetid dingo's kidneys myself, but why should that allow me to erase somebody's description of the practice? If you have a problem with the content, then edit it: this is a wiki. I've added the 'Danger' notice which is intended for such books. If this were deleted, I'd hope it was because this book is poor/limited quality and not to censor a minority viewpoint. Ewen 17:26, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Keep: there is at least some content here that deals with the history of the movement, and as a movement it does have some importance. "Alternative medicine" was very much in the news not so long ago in responce to the first wave of the AIDS epidemic. Keeping an eye on these books is a good idea however... the "Danger" notice really only needs to be applied to pages with dangerous treatments (for example, an herbalism book would need to be careful about describing the use of Digitalis, Hellebore, or Aconite, since an overdose of any of them would be lethal). I think it's valid to provide descriptions of such things, so long as it's also made very clear when a treatment could have dangerous consequences. -- SB_Johnny | talk 18:03, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Keep: I would agree that a strong medical disclaimer ought to be displayed prominently (NPOV in tone too, not "this is pure fantasy and don't do this") on especially the "main" page of this Wikibook. Still, this is a verifiable subject that does have legitimate research that has gone into investigating this topic.  Licensed medical doctors (with MD degrees) do get involved with homeopathic remedies.  Now the tone of this particular book is a bit off on the NPOV side of things and it could use some better references to legitimate studies about these treatments.  But that doesn't mean a book about this topic is invalid to have here on Wikibooks.  --Rob Horning 03:52, 11 March 2007 (UTC)
 * If anyone can find a better disclaimer than 'Danger'... I'd say that homeopathy is potentially dangerous if it used in place of life-saving conventional treatments. Ewen 10:29, 11 March 2007 (UTC)
 * A specific template for the book would probably be better, with a warning on each "remedy" page alerting the reader to the importance of discussing the technique with a physician before "trying it at home". -- SB_Johnny | talk 13:26, 11 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Fair enough! Ewen 16:06, 11 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Keep - This is a popular and interesting topic which may encourage visitors to Wikibooks and more contributers. It's detailed and informative too.  A disclaimer is probably needed just like we added one for the Cookbook page for magic brownies. Xania [[Image:Flag_of_Poland_2.svg|15px]]talk 19:37, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

Kept, but those in support of keeping the book are encouraged to monitor it and help create appropriate warning templates -- SB_Johnny | talk 20:14, 11 March 2007 (UTC)