From: Ray Saintonge saintonge@telus.net

I don't know how long the list was but being a "list" it should be enough if there are sources on the listed pages themselves. Nobody puts sources on the index or Table of Contents of a book, because the sources would already be at more appropriate places.

The book analogy does not hold because are integral entities. Once a book is printed, the table of contents doesn't change independently from the rest of the book.

In theory, I agree that "it should be enough if there are sources on the listed pages themselves," but in practice this is _far_ from being the case. People simply add names to the list. Just because the name is a blue link, it doesn't mean the person who added the name even glanced at the linked article.

It is common for the linked article not even to _mention_ the list topic. It is _extremely rare_ for the mention to have an inline citation of a confirming source. It is probably _less than an even chance_ that the page has a general reference or external link that is identifiable by inspection as a obvious source that ought to confirm the specific fact.

Just for laughs, let me look at a list I've never checked: the section of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ List_of_Swarthmore_College_people headed Arts, film, theatre, and broadcasting, blue links only.

Peter Bart: Article says he graduated from Swarthmore, but statement has no inline citation. No "references" section. None of the seven external links explicitly says "bio." The most plausible place to look seems to be the imdb profile link? Nope, the imdb profile does not say anything about his education. The next most likely would be "Variety's website," maybe he has a bio or profile there? Nope, that link is just to http://www.variety.com. Conclusion: not easy to find a confirming source.

Al Camines: Article says he graduated from Swarthmore, but statement has no inline citation. Article is completely unreferenced.

David Dye: Article does not mention Swarthmore at all.

Judith Edelman: Article says she graduated from Swarthmore, but statement has no inline citation. Article has no references section. Article has a single external link, to her profile at Compass Records. Linked page is not her bio, but has the start of an "about..." article. That "about" page is a bio... and does say "She followed one of her brothers, coincidentally a bluegrass-loving fiddler, to Swarthmore College."

H. C. Robbins Landon: article says he studied music at Swarthmore College and Boston University, but statement has no inline citation. Article has no references at all and no external links.

So, of the first five entries checked, a) I was only able to trace _one_ of them to a published source, b) One of them did not even _assert_ the fact asserted by the list.

This is pretty typical.