[WikiEN-l] "Exclusion" essay

[Ray Saintonge]

Guy Chapman aka JzG wrote:

>On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 21:09:20 -0700, Ray Saintonge
><saintonge at telus.net> wrote:
>  
>
>>You can't trust the fan sites.  And there's so much being produced that 
>>it's difficult for even a site that limits itself to one genre to keep 
>>up.  We have chosen to comprehensively attempt a documentation of all 
>>genres to the point where many would see us as leading the pack in such 
>>things.  
>>    
>>
>Hmmm.  Not what we're supposed to be for, though, is it?  Leading the
>pack in documenting things?  I thought we were supposed to collect
>information from reliable secondary sources?  Without novel syntheses?
>
I prefer to avoid preconceived ideas about what we're supposed to be 
for.  Very recent material and ideas are the history of the future, but 
it's difficult to know which will last.

>>Other, more "serious" subjects are still doing respectably 
>>well, but our greatest success is in what many people see as trivial.  
>>We still demand NPOV on these articles, but can be more relaxed about 
>>original research. 
>>    
>>
>But we shouldn't be.  Unless we want to change our mission to being
>the *first* secondary source to document things neutrally from
>*primary* sources?
>
Whether we draw from primary or secondary sources shouldn't matter.

>>The good secondary material is just not there, and 
>>you don't maintain a lead by waiting for other sites or books to put 
>>something decent together.
>>    
>>
>Who needs to maintain a lead in doing what is, after all, primarily a
>job of documenting a heavily commercialised fad largely aimed at
>extracting money from gullible kids?
>
I agree that much of these materials were designed to extract money, and 
not just from kids.  It would also be nice to have articles on the 
economics and marketting of entertainment products.  What would you 
think of a warning to kids on each of these pop articles telling kids 
how badly they are being ripped off. ;-)