[WikiEN-l] Verifiability equating to notability

[Anthony DiPierro]

The first half of your post answered my questions.  I haven't decided
if I agree yet :), but it does make sense.

On 5/2/06, Steve Block <steve.block at myrealbox.com> wrote:
> > But as I pointed out when the comment was first made, it's not clear
> > whether or not the four-way stop on that intersection is verifiable
> > without resorting to original research.  It might be, and it might not
> > be.  It would, of course, be the job of the person adding the
> > information to show that it is.
>
> But what, in this instance, is original research?  Is sourcing from
> public archives original research?  Is reading a book original research?
>   Is looking at a map original research?
>
> Steve block
>
The way I see original research is basically any text which can't be
derived trivially from a published source.  That's my understanding,
without looking at any Wikipedia pages.

Now I suppose "derived trivially" is subject to some dispute there.  I
like the way Steve Bennett explained this, though I think we have to
allow interpretation (including context) to the extent that no one
would reasonably dispute the interpretation.

And that's another factor that has to be kept in mind.  NOR is, more
than anything, a fallback for when there is a disagreement.  If no one
(who isn't banned, anyway) has a problem with the text as its written,
then NOR can safely be ignored.  NOR comes into place when someone,
(anyone acting in good faith), reads a statement in a Wikipedia
article, then reads the source or sources, and isn't *convinced* that
the statement is true.

To answer your questions...  The main source of original research in
the four-way-stop case would be direct observation.  Interviews would
also qualify as original research, to give another example.  Sourcing
from public archives wouldn't be original research as far as I'm
concerned.  Reading a book, assuming a published book, would be fine. 
Looking at a map, assuming a published map, would be fine too.

What counts as published?  I'm sure there's grey area, but the main
distinction is that copies are available to the public, for free or
for a fee.

Anthony