[Foundation-l] Verifiability: Constitution?

[Andre Engels]

2006/9/17, Christoph Seydl <Christoph.Seydl at students.jku.at>:
> I assume that Jimbo means that only material that is verifiable with
> reference to reliable, published sources should be used. And if we
> remove all unsourced statements, Wikipedia will shrink and grow less
> fast. However, there are reliable sources even for the most simple
> objects. According to Norstedts svenska ordbok och uppslagsbok, a bucket
> is a "cylindrical vessel with a carrying handle for the transport of
> liquids sand or the like".

Can you provide such a reference too for all the other parts of the
definition of 'bucket'? And if not, should we delete that? And if you
can, should we delete it nevertheless until you have done so?

> As Jimbo said, several editors will stop contributing, if all material
> has to be sourced. At the same time, the motivation to provide sources
> will increase, whereas there is almost no motivation to source
> statements, if they will not be removed.

The motivation will certainly increase, yes. Nobody wants to add
material to Wikipedia that will be removed again. But it also means
that we are going to delete more if the rule is added than in the
whole of Wikipedia until now. Use [[Special:Randompage]]. The chance
that it's sourced is small. The change that if it is sourced, it is
specified what comes from which source is even smaller. You might as
well go and delete pages at random.

> No matter how a codification of verifiability will look like, there
> should be at least a statement on verifiability at Foundation Issues in
> my opinion. There are several options how verifiability can be defined:
> - Everything must be sourced, what Jimbo seems to prefer.
> - Only critical material (e. g. negative information about living
>   persons, disputed issues, hard facts, quotes,...) must be sourced.
>   Statements on everyday objects (cf. bucket example) may not be
>   sourced.

How do you define critical material?

> - Source what you like.
> - Abolish sourcing at all.

Why? Can't this rule be left to the separate projects?

-- 
Andre Engels, andreengels at gmail.com
ICQ: 6260644  --  Skype: a_engels