Talk:Sean Parker/Archives/2012

Co-founder

An editor took out the cite that said that Parker was not a co-founder of Napster and replaced it with a self-published cite that says he was. We need to straighten this out because it affects not only this article but the Napster article (and maybe others, I haven't checked). Even within this article, there is now a disconnect because the editor didn't change the lead, which still has the old language about him being an early employee.

A preliminary search on the Internet makes it seem to me like co-founder is correct and the previously cited article, which was not at all definitive in its language, was not a good source for the proposition that Parker was not a co-founder. Assuming the sources bear that out, we need to cite to something other than a self-published source, and we need to change this article properly, as well as any other related articles.--Bbb23 (talk) 12:26, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

Someone needs to sort out the truth and get to the bottom of this: the article as it stands now is contradictory: the introduction states that Parker was an early employee, while the section below says that he was a co-founder. The article on Napster states that Parker was not a founder or co-founder, but was rather one of the first people it hired. We should also explain how the confusion arose. 98.218.229.58 (talk) 01:44, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

Yes, I noticed the inconsistency. At some point I'll fix both articles - just have to find some time to do it. As I already said, I believe the sources indicate that he was a co-founder.--Bbb23 (talk) 01:55, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

Originally thought he wasn't. Vanity Fair article says co-founder. Citing. Ckywht (talk) 22:33, 1 July 2011 (UTC)

The Vanity Fair cite was already in the article, but you were right to put it in that particular spot. I combined the references though so we don't have dupes.--Bbb23 (talk) 22:50, 1 July 2011 (UTC)

It seems like Mr. Parker clearly answered the question as to whether is was the co-founder of Napster in an interview published in Mashable on October 17th. He clearly states “I was a co-founder” , when directly asked.

We can't cite what is effectively a self-published source for such a "self-serving" assertion.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:38, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

Clearly, later articles have been influenced by repeated assertions that Sean Parker was a co-founder. Contemporaneous articles, such as Business Week article provide details about the founding of Napster: "As the two" -- referring to uncle John Fanning and nephew Shawn Fanning -- "got into the project, they realized it had commercial potential. In January, 1999, with his uncle's blessing, Shawn dropped out of college to focus on Napster. In May, about a month before Shawn finished a test version of Napster, the elder Fanning incorporated the company. John got 70%; Shawn got 30%." It is quite conspicuous that the Business Week article has been removed from the sources for this article. I found the link not in the sources but in the history, as it had previously been present but was removed. 970slashx (talk) 15:16, 31 May 2012 (UTC)