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.
How about, as a compromise, if someone would like to include a source from an archive, they are required to submit a copy of the document, so everyone can see it for themselves.
The WP:NOR argument is better, but it's still sketchy. WP:NOR is kinda devious, and if we take it to an absolute, one might arrive at strange conclusions. The classic case is book summaries, that you can't write a book summary based solely on the book, because then you might be construed as doing research about it (this is obviously ridiculusly exagerrated (I have no idea whether I spelled any of those two words right), but one could make that argument).
The fact is, it's really hard to define research in this context. How is looking up someones birth certificate in an archive worse than looking it up on the internet?Technically, they're both research. Honestly, I'd prefer it if the info got directly from the source. Same thing with things such as trial transcripts, if we quote someone from a trial, I'd prefer it if we knew excactly, word by word, what they were saying instead of trusting a third party.
As long as you don't do analysis, and pick your information straight from the source, document it and be sure other people can see it too, what's the big deal? How is that any different from looking up information on the internet or in a magazine from half a century ago? Especially so if we make them provide a copy of the document.
--Oskar
On 4/12/06, Garion1000 garion1000@gmail.com wrote:
Wikipedia:Archives as sources WikiEN-l@Wikipedia.org
There is a proposal going on to alter the No Original Research policy.
Just in case people missed it.
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