Talk:Mindset List

First of all, this is in fact a registered Trademark. There is no violation here.

Second, I contest that this is a "non-notable" list. This is a noted annual syndicated publication. Any Google search will prove notability.

Third, merging this article with Beloit College is inappropriate as the list is an independent feature not published by the institution.

I am removing all tags. Joeklein (talk) 22:01, 25 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm restoring them, except the {{prod}}, which can be removed by any editor for any reason, or for no reason at all.

It may be a registered trademark (I didn't check), but it is a violation of Wikipedia guidelines to use the "™" or "®" symbol. If it's not a "fair use", it's not allowed in Wikipedia. In fact, if "mindset" is an English word, (which it seems to be) "mindset list" and "the mindset list" (note the capitalization) should not be a valid trademarks, per trademark distinctiveness#Descriptive marks. I don't care enough to challenge it, but, if you bring it to the attention of enough people, someone probably will.
Little evidence for notability has been provided, either at this article, or when it was created at The Mindset List.
In Beloit College, it was linked as [[Beloit College Mindset List|Mindset List]]; this suggests that it is believed that other "mindset list"s may exist. I fixed the link for you.

— Arthur Rubin (talk) 00:46, 26 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

1. http://news.google.com/archivesearch?pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=The+Mindset+List&cf=all&sugg=d&sa=N&lnav=d2&as_ldate=2000&as_hdate=2007&ldrange=1990%2C1999&hdrange=2008%2C2010 Speaking to notability, how about being the topic of 18,600 news stories between 2000 and 2010, including the New York Times, Fox, Boston Globe, USA Today, NBC, and hundreds of other media outlets? I believe that should sufficiently evidence that this topic has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject, meaning, as per the guidelines, it is presumed to satisfy the inclusion criteria for a stand-alone article.

2. http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4010:hij47q.2.1 Registered Trademark. Even so, I realize now that using the trademark symbol is inappropriate, so it will be left out of this article. This isn't the place to debate the validity of a registered trademark.

3. Why is an article published by the employing institution of the creators of the Mindset List not a reliable source to report on the publication of their book? I have no idea where you got the idea that it "seems to be a student newspaper". This is completely untrue, and there's nothing on that page that indicates it. In fact, if you had spent any time looking, you would have seen that those news stories are published by the Beloit College Office of Communications and Marketing.

Even so, I have added a second reference to support the statement.

4. Seeing as this article meets notability guidelines, and is published independently of the College, I fail to see how merging with Beloit College would be a productive change.

Once again, I am removing the notability marker. If you feel that strongly that there is no evidence of notability, it is your burden now to prove it. Joeklein (talk) 14:28, 26 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Update: I contacted Mr. McBride, one of the authors of the Mindset List, to verify the independence of the List from Beloit College. Here is his response:

"1. The holders of the trademark for the term "Mindset List" are Tom McBride and Ron Nief, not Beloit College. The application number is 77901470 with the US Patent and Trademark Office (www.uspto.gov or email teas@uspto.gov)

2. In a 2008 letter Vice President John Nicholas of Beloit College acknowledged that Nief and McBride are independent operators re: the Mindset List, but did ask that we give the college as much publicity as possible, as of course we do.

3. The Mindset List book is no more a product of Beloit College than, say, Steven Pinker's books are a product of Harvard or Joyce Carol Oates's books are a product of Princeton, though they teach at those places.

4. The annual production of the List is handled by McBride and Nief, not the Beloit College Office of Public Affairs, from which Mr. Nief is retired.

5. Mr. McBride will also be retiring from Beloit within a year or two, but the Mindset List will continue to exist via McBride and Nief on line, in books and possibly in other formats, such as greeting cards and quiz games.

I hope this will help. In sum, we started the List at Beloit and will continue to operate it with a view towards giving Beloit a lot of publicity. But the List is produced and presented by McBride and Nief and not by the college." (June 27, 2010)

Given all this, I continue to assert that it is inappropriate to merge this article with Beloit College. Joeklein (talk) 13:02, 27 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Update: This is from the second author, Ron Nief.

"We are both members of the Beloit College community and the list originates from the college and we believe it is representative of the college's concern for the development of the potential of first year students. The term "Mindset List" is trademarked." Joeklein (talk) 18:16, 29 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]