[WikiEN-l] CSD A7 and software programs

[Eugene van der Pijll]

Anthony schreef:
> On 1/14/07, MacGyverMagic/Mgm <macgyvermagic at gmail.com> wrote:
> > RoboGeo: the sources include two articles that are not written by its
> > creators.
> > One of those is even a book.
> 
> However, this seems to suggest that any article which doesn't contain
> two sources (or at least claim that two sources exist) is a CSD.  In
> that respect it seems too easy to remove any article (speedily, at
> that) by wikilawyering about lack of sources.

In another thread, Jeff Raymond wrote (about [[Wikipedia:Speedy deletion
criterion for unsourced articles]]):

"The chance of that gaining consensus are next to nil."

Nevertheless, this example shows that there are a number of people who
already seem to follow WP:CSDUA.

<rant>
This is part of a wider trend towards
"reliability" at the cost of "usefulness". By deleting uncontroversial
but unsourced statements and articles, of course we increase Wikipedia's
reliability, because a part of this unsourced information is not true.
But most of that deleted material is true, and useful for the reader of
that article.

For me, it is fun to write an article (probably a stub) about a topic I
know nothing about. A large part of the fun is to find reliable sources
with Google, and I have no problem citing them.

It is fun to write an article about a topic I know a lot about as well.
But I don't need sources for that, so if I have to go look for them, I'd
only do that pro forma, to make the article look good to the
"reliability cabal". That is not fun. So I leave those articles
unsourced.

There are people who think this is a bad thing. IT IS NOT! Adding
unsourced information to Wikipedia is a good thing. It improves the
usefulness of the encyclopedia for its readers. (As long as it isn't
nonsense, of course. So we'll have to trust our editors to a degree. And
we'll have to be very clear to our readers that nothing on Wikipedia is
guaranteed accurate. Just like all competing encyclopedias, in fact.)

I'd rather have an encyclopedia that has few sources but has 95%
relevant and useful information on 100% of the subjects, that I can use
as a starting point for real research if the veridity of the material is
really important for me, than an encyclopedia that claims to be 100%
verified, but with only 10% of the content.

Unfortunately, it seems to me that there is a lot of pressure to move
towards the wrong side of the scale. It is understandable.
Citizendification of Wikipedia look attractive. But it's the wrong way
to go. IMHO.
</rant>

Sorry about the length of my post. It's just something I'm noticing more
and more. But maybe it's just me.

Anyway. Adding unsourced information to Wikipedia is a good thing. That
is really all I wanted to say.

Eugene