On Tue, Oct 12, 2010 at 12:20, Ian Woollard <ian.woollard(a)gmail.com> wrote:
The expert can try to explain the problem, they can
revert it back to the
objective truth of the literature, but in the end they will be the ones seen
as problematic, rather than the majority of people that are repeatedly
putting the wrong information into the wiki.
The more careful experts are, the more likely that they are to get banned or
otherwise censured for 'causing trouble'.
The classic example of this is William Connolley.
That's not even close to what happened in that case, Ian.
Speaking generally (not about WTC), just because someone has a higher
degree in a topic doesn't mean they can write, or that they're good at
the kind of research that Wikipedia needs. It doesn't mean they're
good at collaborating with others, or that they're knowledgeable about
the topic in general (only in the narrow area they specialized in).
And we don't know whether they're highly regarded by their peers.
It's important for Wikipedians to recognize that there is expertise
out there, and we need to be very careful not to assume we know
everything. But it's also important not to be dazzled by people who
claim expertise.
Sarah