Simon Kissane wrote:
But if all I want to do is put some articles on a website, that isn't crawling with tables, why can't I simply but up something at the end saying, e.g., "This page was originally based on an article from Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki/Mathematics)".
I think you are 100% correct about this. We should change the "how to use the FDL with Wikipedia instructions to more accurately reflect this".
Basically, what we want to do is give people some guidance on how to print the invariant sections. We prefer the table, because it looks nice. But the link you suggest would certainly be fine with me as well. And of course in print media, CD-ROM media, and the like, the attribution requirement should be sensibly adjusted.