Stan Shebs wrote:
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. :-)
That's a significant obseration.
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.
If you would rather that Susan make a visit to the library discuss it
with her. Also take time to discuss the function of the talk page with
her. It could very well end up that spending a half-hour doing this is
more productive than a half-hour spent cleaning up the article. Either
way there's no getting around spending the half-hour. Robotically
starting the deletion process or putting a canned statement on her talk
page may be quicker, but it does not achieve the same results. The edit
wars are slightly different because those articles are probably ones
that have passed the tests that keep them from being deleted; the
article talk page adds another opportunity for discussion.
I acknowledge that it can be frustrating to go over the same arguments
with a hundred different people, and I can see where the urge to find a
quick fix can be very inviting. Nevertheless it still the first time
for the newbie.
Ec