On 12 August 2011 18:09, Andrew Gray andrew.gray@dunelm.org.uk wrote:
I haven't seen Ken's particular case, but I've seen similar ones. Citing a print source is fine, but some (particularly querulous) people will occasionally challenge the print source because they don't believe what it says. In doing so, they'll argue that the person citing it can't be trusted, or that the transcription referred to is inaccurate, or - in this case - that there is something inherently wrong with the scanned file referred to. See, for example, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Kurt_Meyer_(SS_general) which used this style of argument before moving swiftly on to denying the existence of anyone who'd ever read the book. It's a conceptually silly argument - it basically amounts to assuming deliberate deception at some point in the chain of evidence, which isn't a reasonable assumption in 98% of cases - but if someone is insistent enough, they can probably stonewall with it until the other party throws their hands up and gives in. And, sooner or later, we all do.
That's a rather different claim than that it is standard and accepted practice, which is what Ken was clearly implying.
- d.