[WikiEN-l] Emails as factual confirmations

[Daniel P. B. Smith]

> From: SPUI <drspui at gmail.com>
>
> I just posted an email I got from FDOT that confirms what their  
> data shows:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:State_Road_913_%28Florida% 
> 29#SQUIDWARD.21
> The IP claims that this is original research and won't accept it;  
> is he
> correct?

Well, yes, technically it is.

Sending something to your email inbox is not a "publication," and  
there's no direct way for me to access your email inbox.

Now, personally I've used email queries to get facts straight, and  
have sometimes quoted these emails (with permission) on talk pages.  
For example, it wasn't too clear from published sources whether the  
Babson Globe on the Babson College campus in Needham does or does not  
rotate _as of 2006_, and I queried Babson to resolve the ambiguity; see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 
Talk:Babson_College#Phrasing_claim_for_the_Babson_Globe

This has held up mostly because not many people care deeply about the  
fact, and other editors have been willing to accept this. It wouldn't  
hold up against an editor that seriously challenged it.