-----Original Message----- To: English Wikipedia Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] A Wikipedian asked to write for a paper
encyclopedia
http://savageminds.org/2012/01/19/wikipedia-encyclopedias/
- d.
Note that citing references is forbidden; proof Wikipedia is not a real encyclopedia.
Fred
"Encyclopedias give us no reason to believe their claims are true except the arbitrary authority of those who write them. They are the ultimate triumph of the authoritarian impulse in academics."
Yes, but.
Ultimately, a paper encyclopedia says "This article is written by a qualified person (you can see his name) he has been chosen by an expert panel (here are their names) and his work will be reviewed by them. All of the above named people, and this encyclopedia, are willing to stake their professional reputations on the accuracy of this work and that we have credible quality control - whether that's enough for you, is up to you"
Wikipedia says "this article is written by [[User:Warhammer2000]] and maybe some others. We've no idea who they are and what expertise they have. If you are lucky, it may have been checked over by many others (or no one at all), those people may be knowledgeable and unbiased (or not at all). No one whatsoever has staked anything on the accuracy of this article, and Wikpedia (while it tries) guarantees absolutely nothing (see our disclaimer)."
The only reason why anyone should take it seriously is that we try to say "here are the sources, the best thing to do is check for yourself"
(The other reason for demanding sources is that it somewhat increases the chances of what Quality Control we do have, because it makes it easier for someone to review the article for accuracy.)
Scott