[Foundation-l] Wikipedia and Wikinews - Wikimedia-l

17 Dec 2007

Brian writes:

...
 >  Wikipedia is not, and should not attempt to be, a
news source. If  
> you
> can't
> accept that news coverage is incomplete and *not encyclopaedic*  
> then you
> don't understand the differences between the projects.
...
  > I don't want to get dragged into a
prolonged flame war on the  
> subject, but
> I
> agree wholeheartedly with the philosophy that Wikipedia should not  
> try to
> act as a news source.
...
  > Someone dies? The facts (date/time/cause)
go on Wikipedia. The obit  
> goes
> on
> Wikinews. 

Speaking as a former reporter (and still a sometime journalist), I  
respect the distinction Brian is trying to make here.  To me, the  
problem is partly enforcement (I don't want to add a new restriction  
on Wikipedia contributions) and partly user satisfaction. I think this  
is less an issue of project rivalry than one of simply trying to  
address how users actually use the projects.  I know from experience  
that en.wiki users value the up-to-dateness of Wikipedia entries  
regarding breaking news. I think this particular user community  
(en.wiki) would like for that usefulness to continue, and I would be  
saddened to see a new class of edit wars start based on whether this  
or that addition should be in Wikinews rather than Wikipedia.  What I  
would like to see more of is Wikipedia articles citing Wikinews as a  
source.

---Mike

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