12/12/06, UPDATE!: Wikipedia mods have given Zanta a proper trial, and in their wisdom have concluded that he is worthy of wiki. And so he shall remain, Zanta. YES YES YES!!!

Zanta (geez, 46 comments?!?) may be a big part of Toronto counter-culture, but it seems that the Wiki-police are doubting his significance. As of today the former (and well-written) Wikipedia entry on Zanta has been removed and is in Wikipedia's "Deletion Review Queue", citing Zanta as not notable outside of the GTA and therefore not wiki-worthy.

The Wiki-Admin that chose to delete Zanta was Alkivar, a local DJ from a small town in Maine. Among Alkivar's arguments against Zanta's published notariety (The Toronto Star has published articles on him) - "It doesnt really count if its only the local/regional paper. The local newspaper in my town of residence (circulation around 35,000 copies) has had 12 stories in the past 10 years with my name in them, and 1 of those 12 was entirely about my business as a DJ... does that make me notable? I think you'll find just about everyone would agree thats a no." First - comparing a small town newspaper with 35,000 circulation to The Toronto Star (Canada's largest national newspaper) is ludicrous, and second - - bitter much?!

The debate is raging as other users are voicing counter-opinions on the Zanta deletion review log (a fun read, promise), where it has been countered that "the scope of Wikipedia is large enough to allow, for instance, notable statues, notable landmarks, and other such features of any city their own pages. Any tourist or torontonian encountering this loud, santa-hatted downtown fixture, clad in shorts in the dead of winter, would find him puzzling enough that an explanation from an encyclopedia would be of great value. People years from now encountering photographic evidence of this man would also appreciate it".

People with Wikipedia user profiles can voice their opinions on the deletion via the site's deletion review guidelines. It's a little bit comical that the wiki-bulldogs have sunk their teeth so deeply into this "controversy", but frankly I dig Zanta and hope the poor guy gets to stay.

(Photo above by Wordfreak. Think Zanta's not famous? 267 flickr photos disagree.)