[Foundation-l] Analysis of statistics

[Ray Saintonge]

Henning Schlottmann wrote:
> John Vandenberg wrote:
>   
>> On wikimedia, young people learn how to properly reference an article,
>> which will help them as they progress in their education.
>>     
> Originally Wikipedia was about People, who could already write academic
> papers and did not need tutoring or learning those abilities on
> Wikipedia for their future life.
>   

When was that ever a requirement?  It's about everybody being able to 
contribute. The kind of elite qualifications that you outline are 
exactly the kind of things that are the features of the ivory tower that 
need challenging.
>   
>> Young people have the most to gain from participating, because the
>> skills that they acquire on wikimedia will stay with them, helping
>> them in their many years to come.
>>     
> And what does Wikipedia get from those young people? We don't have the
> man power to nanny them or teach them academic writing. We all are
> authors, first and foremost. I'm not going to change the diapers of any
> promising "young people" who would like to make their first attempts of
> focused writing on Wikipedia.


"Authors, first and foremost" is fine.  Whining  about those who don't 
meet overblown standards has nothing to do with authorship.

Ec