[WikiEN-l] Rx Dosage Instructions in Wikipedia

[Steve Bennett]

On 2/20/07, MacGyverMagic/Mgm <macgyvermagic at gmail.com> wrote:
> Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. Not everything belongs in here.
> Travel info belongs in Wikitravel.
> Dictionary stuff belongs in Wiktionary and so on.

The first problem with this simplistic view is that there is a huge
amount of overlap. For example: "Lyon is a city in France with 1
million inhabitants" - WikiTravel, Wikipedia, or both? Its main
visitor attractions are its churches, renowned gastronomic restaurants
and art galleries - Wiki travel, Wikipedia or both? It is served by
two airports and is a major stop on the Paris-Marseille TGV line -
same question.

I think the answer to those three is all "both". Probably even true
for a statement like "According to the Lonely Planet, Lyon is not a
must-see destination, but a worthwhile detour while heading south to
Provence."

The second problem is that the different projects aren't really
"complementary" in the sense that they fit nicely together. WikiTravel
isn't even a WMF project. The standard at Wiktionary is far below that
of Wikipedia. And Wikibooks? The format is so different, and the
standard even lower. And at the end of the day, I'm really not
interested in the other projects - Wikipedia is *the one*. Not a
single other project (including commons, wiktionary, wikispecies etc)
has yet to make the slightest impact on popular culture.

Rather than say "this would be better in project X", let's restrict
ourselves to saying "this must not go in Wikipedia under any
circumstances".

> You may think giving the advice is useful, but it isn't unless it comes from
> an expert.

I'm not saying we should give medical advice. What I'm saying is that
a cake recipe can be perfectly encyclopaedic, if it comes from the
right source.

Steve