[WikiEN-l] Online Newspapers Considering Subscription Model

[Charles Matthews]

Bod Notbod wrote:
> On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 10:40 AM, michael west<michawest at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>   
>> We cite books which aren't available online and in some cases out of
>> print. I don't see the problem.
>>     
>
> I take your point. Although a difference strikes me. I'm not sure it's
> valid but I'll throw it out there.
>
> Where a book (possibly out of print) is cited we should be giving
> details of Title, Author, ISBN and possibly Edition.
>
> With newspaper links we should be giving Newspaper, Journalist, Access Date...
>
> I'm wondering if, if newspaper content goes behind a pay wall, we
> would really have to be giving citation information that pertains to
> the actual printed copy of the article, ie, Newspaper, Print Date and
> Page Number?
>
> Also, though you don't see a problem and are comfortable with how you
> would handle this development I wonder how you can be sure how editors
> (particularly anon and policy ignorant editors) will respond to this
> new turn of events. People will have an entirely reasonable
> expectation that if they click on a citation link that they will,
> indeed, be taken to a page that backs up any given assertion (and not
> a registration screen). If that doesn't happen they may respond by
> removing the link and the content it was supposed to verify.
>   
Well, removing a reference that supports a fact in an article, without 
providing a better reference instead, is quite a serious offence in our 
terms. Note the tension between "you can edit this page right now", 
which is part of the credo, and "you can verify this fact right now", 
which isn't and never has been, however much some people have muddied 
the water on verifiability. The obvious solution is the one I would 
normally apply where possible: reference in parallel to a paper source 
and and online source, even if the best online source is inferior to the 
best paper source (which is typical in academic areas). So online free 
sources and online subscription sources, within reason, should co-exist. 
"Within reason" implies this is mainstream information, nothing very 
private.

We can actually expect some sort of shake-out if newspaper journalism 
becomes more subscription-led, where public libraries subscribe to 
certain important and reliable newspapers.

Charles