[WikiEN-l] Archives as sources proposal

[Andrew Gray]

On 14/04/06, Sean Barrett <sean at epoptic.org> wrote:
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> Oskar Sigvardsson stated for the record:
>
> > Honestly, the verifiability argument doesn't fly at all with me. If
> > you pick information out of an archive, it's most certainly
> > verifiable, someone else can check it out as well. I realise that that
> > is a hassle, but that doesn't change the fact that it is verfiable.
>
> I have a specific example: the Wikipedia article on a notable historical
> figure, like all other sources I have checked, states that he had two
> wives (in series, not parallel).  However, an official government-issued
> marriage certificate on file in a county clerk's office proves that he
> had another wife between those two.  What will I be permitted to add to
> this person's article?

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"It has generally been accepted that Smith married Joan in 1972, after
Janet died in 1967. However, an archived marriage certificate suggests
an intermediate marriage, to Jane, from 1969 to an unknown date, which
was not known to biographers until recently.[1]"

[1] See /A third wife?/ Barrett, S. 2006. http://www.epoptic.org/~sean/

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--
- Andrew Gray
  andrew.gray at dunelm.org.uk