--- K Forstner kurt.forstner@chello.at wrote:
Why should articles not be written "merely with the intention of teaching the subject"? If we really wanted to embark on a discussion of whether Wikipedia should, at least in part, be able to replace coursebooks, we would have to come up with a very good and unambiguous definition of "teaching" -- and "learning", for that matter -- first.
I have not said my phrasing was final, others can and should review it, and possibly change the style of writing/definitions.
Printed encyclopaedias do have different types of articles these days. They include the short, basic information type as well as essay type entries. So what's the problem?
Well, I am not clearly set on what you meant by "essay type" but Merriam-Webster dictionary's definition of "essay":
essay, noun; "a: an analytic or interpretative literary composition usually dealing with its subject from a limited or personal point of view b : something resembling such a composition <a photographic essay>"
-- Rotem
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