On 8/25/06, Steve Bennett stevagewp@gmail.com wrote:
On 8/25/06, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
Your patent terse one-liner style fails to make it clear how this contradicts "last word on nothing, first word on everything", assuming that is indeed what you are applying. (Perhaps it's time to make the jump to two-liners ...)
There seems to be mild disagreement about whether "first word" means "chronologically the first to report" or "the inital source one consults". I'm thinking the second is more likely.
"first word" would be an unfortunate selection. Due to WP:NOR and WP:V we are expressly forbidden from being the "chronologically the first to report", although it happens a lot and has resulted in no small amount of problems. (We were technically the chronologically first to report Seigenthaler's 'involvement' in the Kennedy assassination, for example) .. and as you point out that first word can be viewed in that sense.
The use of the word everything is also a potential source of problems. Wikipedia is not the "inital source one consults" about the rumors that your classmate is HIV+.
Of course, we can only protect the stupid from themselves so much and no matter what words we use someone would be able to find a problem... but I think we could do better.