Phil Sandifer wrote:
I'd be similarly shocked if one could write a good article on high temperature physics or group theory while being totally dependent on published reliable sources, because those sources were never written for the purpose of being used to explain the concept to novices.
The best sources for general topics are textbooks actually; reliable, and written to explain concepts. I find the introductions to monographs and papers as useful for WP as the bodies; at least the more articulate writers manage to get in a few words intelligible to the nonspecialist. :-)
Although I think the formal policies may be overdoing it, we do need to make some effort to change the culture. Can Susan be so certain of her twenty-years-ago memory that she can just starting typing away with confidence? I would rather she make a library visit first, or simply leave a note on the talk page - several times I've been able to use somebody else's talk page note as a starting point for doing a bit of research of my own, or triggered somebody else's further research by asking questions. We would also have a lot fewer edit wars if people didn't just wade in and start adding/deleting based on their faulty memory or understanding.
Stan