Talk:John L. Thornton

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Career[edit]

A committee of independent Ford directors reviewed the claim (raised by one individual who owned 100 shares in Ford) that William Clay Ford used his business relationship for personal gain in the purchase of Goldman Sachs stock and determined the allegation had no merit. Mr. Ford decided to sell the shares anyway, “to keep this from becoming a distraction to the company’s business.”^[1] The proceeds were donated to charity. Mr. Thornton rotated off the Ford audit committee but remains on the board to this day. Mr. Thornton had only a tangential connection to this issue, and the formal investigation revealed no improper actions by Mr. Ford. Media reports from the time contain only passing references to Mr. Thornton as a member of Ford’s board^[2]. None make any allegations involving Mr. Thornton and none suggest that he was “forced to resign” from the audit committee. As such, the issue is given far too much prominence in this entry and does not belong in a biographical article about John Thornton. Dannyshthi (talk) 22:56, 31 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

This set of facts is not material to an overall description of Mr. Thornton’s career, which includes work with many different companies and institutions over 30+ years. A specific issue at Barrick Gold that occurred over two years ago is given way too much prominence here relative to his entire career. Dannyshthi (talk) 23:15, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

It was brought to my attention and definitely appears that there have been several SPAs that have been set up, perhaps by someone with a close connection to the subject, perhaps just several names set up with no talk pages by coincidence, to add only positive information and to remove anything that might in any way bring balance to the article. I have added information about a report on a lawsuit brought directly against the subject and his spouse that brings balance to an article that seems right now to be quite one-sided. LastoftheMohicans (talk) 16:13, 19 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The intention to source additional information is certainly the right approach, but it appears that this particular information does not conform with WP:BLP. There are several lines in that policy that appear to be relevant here: biographies of living persons must be written with regard for the subject's privacy; it is not Wikipedia's job to be the primary vehicle for the spread of titillating claims about people's lives; material should not be added to an article when the only sourcing is tabloid journalism; and do not include personal details such as home address. The cited source clearly alludes to a private dispute between neighbors (relying on unproven allegations) and is not relevant to the subject's overall life and career. Lilypadspeakers (talk) 15:06, 13 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Another day and another SPA is created to work on this page and remove anything that brings balance to the article. The newspaper cited is NOT a tabloid, the story is current, there is and will be follow up. The page is about a person and this adds to other disputes and lawsuits brought against this man or by this man in his personal or personal and business role. It seems that SPAs are being created solely for the purpose of removing anything whatsoever that would show inappropriate behavior by this man. Attacking a well-respected newspaper as a "tabloid" is really quite a peculiar thing to do. It is also truly baffling as to how many SPAs there are on this page to post only good things and to say that anything (even business disputes while he was at the helm of a company that had both ups and downs) is a violation of policy. A lawsuit of course is an allegation, and should Mr. Thornton prevail then I will add that in when / if that time comes. You are welcome to posit the other side, it seems that your account was established solely to publish regarding this individual and so you should know where to go. I am beginning to believe that we should bring in an established and approved editor to look at the IP addresses behind these SPAs as the sheer number of them is quite astounding. I am reverting your edit and would ask that we submit this to arbitration along with the other corporate based disputes that were cited and removed. Many high profile individuals have their own sections for controversies and maybe that would be an appropriate place to move lawsuits. IF you have evidence that no lawsuit was filed then please provide it, but if someone who held the position he held and is now working with students does indeed have those proclivities then it is entirely proper that they be listed and that results also be included LastoftheMohicans (talk) 12:05, 16 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

More and more SPAs are coming on here and removing anything that is printed that brings balance to the article. Allegations have been made and there are ongoing lawsuits that will be historic with regards to the legacy of the subject of this page. Allegations were previously made about certain business practices and these new, and well sourced, articles, add credence to those. This is not salacious and nor is it gutter journalism from a rag. Rather it is deemed highly newsworthy and has high relevance. Accounts are being created with one purpose and one purpose alone: To make this page a glowing hagiography. Waiting a couple of months and then removing now seems to be the Modus Operandi of the person, or persons involved. Please seek arbitration if you think these un-newsworthy or lacking in relevance and we can also have an Editor look at the IP addresses that all these SPAs are coming from. There is no attack in the articles, they are relevant and substantive. LastoftheMohicans (talk) 18:02, 15 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ Butters, Jamie (14 Feb 2003). "Ford plans to sell his Goldman Sachs shares Purchase in '99 drew criticism". Detroit Free Press.
^ "Ford Promises Quality Drive to Shareholders at Annual Meeting". Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News. Orange County Register. 10 May 2002.

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External links modified[edit]

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Bank Street College[edit]

Can anyone find a source for this? "He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Bank Street College of Education in 2003." It's not actually mentioned in the current citation (#10). Pastoralcalling (talk) 14:57, 5 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

[1] Butters, Jamie (14 Feb 2003). "Ford plans to sell his Goldman Sachs shares Purchase in '99 drew criticism". Detroit Free Press.

[2] "Ford Promises Quality Drive to Shareholders at Annual Meeting". Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News. Orange County Register. 10 May 2002.

[1]

[2]