:First off, as always it is necessary to point out that wikipedia has guidelines not requirements. Longer intros are not required though they can enhance an article. 
 #Typing any two or three words into google provides hits that have nothing to do with the realities of a given historical situation. The rational for removing the first part of the statement was not about whether he was "flamboyant", yes, Oscar was flamboyant. It was removed because the sentence was, in fact, much longer and indicated that he was "flamboyant about his attraction to younger men." This is still debated among historians. The fact that his dealings with rent boys took place behind closed doors, at Alfred Taylor's house or hotels, is just one piece of evidence against the statement. Also, having it in the opening makes it sound like this was something that was a part of his entire life and not just the later years. Also, no citation for this assertion is provided. 
 #Oscar was provoked into the trial. First, by Queensbury's card and second, as you state, by Lord Alfred in his relentless dispute with his father. Most of the biographies that I have read speak of Oscar as a pawn in this dispute between the two and not the master of the situation. The sentence, as written, makes it sound like Oscar was looking for a reason to go to trial even before receiving Q's card. Again no citation for the statement is provided. 
 #Internal links are fine and one of the powerful things about wikipedia. However, the one you provided was not an "internal link" that took a reader to a seperate page giving detail about gross indecency and what a charge of it would entail. Clicking on the link simply took one to a section header of this page - making it more of an "intrapage link". The average reader would have to do some searching to figure out why this link lead them there and "no surprise links" is one of the guidelines for creating them. Also, the reader would have wound up at this point in the article anyway and some would have been annoyed at having to scroll back up to read the article from the beginning. 

 :I am not saying that the intro couldn't be improved. Historical research into Oscar is rife with varied interpretations of the events of his life. My readings indicate that the intro in question gave a reader a somewhat POV view of some of the controversial parts of Oscar's life. The points above are only a few of the many items of debate that could be brought up about them. If you want to alter and expand the intro I suggest that you might make requests of editors like ,  and , all of whom, like you, have worked on this page before, to pool some ideas and see where that leads.  |