[WikiEN-l] WikiEN-l Digest, Vol 41, Issue 153

[Sarah]

On 12/19/06, charles.r.matthews at ntlworld.com
<charles.r.matthews at ntlworld.com> wrote:
> Sarah wrote
> > Any public library can order material that's in a regular academic
> > library.
>
> Sorry - any public library in Kerala, Kampala or even Lima can order up anything from any academic library? Do remember that this is a global project. The 'populist' idea that anybody should be able to fact-check anything rather founders on the reality that it at most refers to about 5% of the world population, selected just about entirely on wealth.
>
> We are really doing the opposite: making the cream of reliable-source material actually globally available whereever there is a decent internet connection.
>
Charles, anyone in the English-speaking world should be able easily to
fact-check our material, and this is the English-language Wikipedia,
so that has to be our priority. Your argument seems to be that because
everyone in the world can't fact-check it, no one should be able to,
and that we should instead leave the writing and research to
self-selected Wikipiedia "experts," many of whom are anonymous and may
have no expertise at all, or if they do, may not be highly regarded by
other experts in the field.

I agree wholeheartedly that we should make the cream of
reliable-source material globally available, but I strongly disagree
with allowing Wikipedians to insert their own opinions and
interpretations between those sources and our readers.

Sarah