[WikiEN-l] Re: Selecting content of print version

[Jimmy Wales]

dpbsmith at verizon.net wrote:
> Thought number 1: Is the print version of Wikipedia going to have
>things in it like "List of famous gay, lesbian, and bisexual people"
>in it? That should distinguish us from the Columbia Encyclopedia and
>the Britannica, all right! Leaving Wikipedia subject to attack only by
>the clan Wallechinsky... (and, conceivably, disgruntled members of the
>list who object to their inclusion).

It strikes me as unlikely that such "list" articles will make the cut.

> Thought number 2: regardless of the legal defensibility of the use
>of some other encyclopedia's list of articles as a guideline for
>shaping Wikipedia's, it strikes me as being intellectually lazy and a
>bit dishonest. If we claim to be producing an encyclopedia, and do not
>have any other way of knowing what should be in it other than to
>compare its contents with some other encyclopedia, we're certainly
>leeching off of someone else's work, regardless of whether or not they
>can conduct a successful lawsuit over the matter.

Well, since absolutely no one has defend the idea of doing that, I
don't really know what you're speaking out against.

--Jimbo