[WikiEN-l] Let us not attack sources as unreliable without reason

[Charles Matthews]

David Gerard wrote

> In general, questioning a reference shouldn't provoke this level of
> defensiveness. It did turn out to differ in small but important ways from
> the original citation.

Is it me, or is this thread and its predecessor(s) illustrating something
quite different from what we were being told?  The proposition 'cite
original sources and all will be well' seems hardly to be sustained by all
this.

Like it says under the edit box, citing sources is supposed to help others
to verify postings.  Unless it is done with exactly that in mind (easy
access, amongst other things), doesn't it mostly displace debate?

Charles