On 7/14/05, Daniel Mayer maveric149@yahoo.com wrote:
--- Haukur Þorgeirsson haukurth@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.