On 9/9/07, Nick Wilkins nlwilkins@gmail.com wrote:
On 9/9/07, Anthony wikimail@inbox.org wrote:
On 9/8/07, Steve Bennett stevagewp@gmail.com wrote:
On 9/9/07, Anthony wikimail@inbox.org wrote:
Presumably you knew this before you went to the article about him.
Nah, I frequently follow links just to find out who the person is.
But surely the text surrounding the link tells you why the person is notable.
Well, I actually use a javascript plugin that lets you hover over a link and that shows you the first paragraph.
There are all sorts of reasons you'd end up on a Wikipedia article - not necessarily because you're searching for more information on that specific subject.
Well, yeah, if you're new page patrolling, for instance, and searching around for stuff to delete. But I would think the times "normal people" go to an article for a reason other than to find more information about that subject are extremely rare.
I use the "random article" button a lot when I'm not editing, because it's often an interesting way to learn new things. If articles didn't say quickly why the subject is notable, I doubt I'd have much interest in doing that.
-- Jonel
Yes, saying quickly why the person is notable is important. Also David's right about giving the birth date right off, and death for those who have passed. It instantly puts a person and the possible information you can gain about them in a well defined category.
And, yes, I look people up because I don't know about them, not because I do.
KP