[WikiEN-l] Re: Poll on templates

[Michael Turley]

On 7/14/05, Daniel Mayer <maveric149 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> --- Haukur Þorgeirsson <haukurth at hi.is> wrote:
> > Admittedly the WikiProject templates are a bit too
> > big and unattractive but I wouldn't mind seeing a
> > slightly prettified version of them in the article
> > namespace where they are much more likely to be seen
> > and do some good - perhaps attracting new editors.
> 
> Those messages are ugly and have no relevance to third party users of Wikipedia
> content. We also do not have a problem with attracting new editors as is so
> this is a solution in search of a problem. Best to keep things as clean as
> possible for the vast majority of our users - readers.
> 
> -- mav

"Ugly" has nothing to do with it.  Readers deserve to know our the
weaknesses present in our articles in the most open and direct way
possible; at the top of the articles in question.   These templates
are every bit as relevant to readers as they are to editors.

This is one way that I can see Wikipedia being '''far superior''' than
any other encyclopedia ever written.

Does Encarta tell you that their [[Jerusalem]] article was revised and
reverted and distilled among many points of view, or do they present
just one, and assume you'll trust them because they're the authority
figure?

Does Encarta allow you to go through the revision history of articles
such as [[Ronald Reagan]] to look for subtle biases and outright
point-of-view imbalances?

Does Encarta tell you that they might not have enough references to be
giving a truly "authoritative" presentation on [[Antiretroviral
drugs]]?  (Picked at random from my watchlist... we actually could use
a few more cited references ourselves.)

Would Encarta acknowledge if they don't have a good photograph of
[[Basil Rathbone]]?


Wikipedia will always be far superior if we always acknowledge our
weaknesses in the most open way possible, not just because it inspires
more contributions, but because it is a more intellectually honest way
of presenting information.  While others hide behind the voice of
authority, we openly ask for help where we need it.

-- 
Michael Turley
User:Unfocused