[WikiEN-l] defused timebomb

[Daniel P. B. Smith]

> From: Ray Saintonge <saintonge at telus.net>

> I don't know how long the list was but being a "list" it should be
> enough if there are sources on the listed pages themselves.  Nobody  
> puts
> sources on the index or Table of Contents of a book, because the  
> sources
> would already be at more appropriate places.

The book analogy does not hold because are integral entities. Once a  
book is printed, the table of contents doesn't change independently  
from the rest of the book.

In theory, I agree that "it should be enough if there are sources on  
the listed pages themselves," but in practice this is _far_ from  
being the case. People simply add names to the list. Just because the  
name is a blue link, it doesn't mean the person who added the name  
even glanced at the linked article.

It is common for the linked article not even to _mention_ the list  
topic. It is _extremely rare_ for the mention to have an inline  
citation of a confirming source. It is probably _less than an even  
chance_ that the page has a general reference or external link that  
is identifiable by inspection as a obvious source that ought to  
confirm the specific fact.

Just for laughs, let me look at a list I've never checked: the  
section of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 
List_of_Swarthmore_College_people headed Arts, film, theatre, and  
broadcasting, blue links only.

Peter Bart: Article says he graduated from Swarthmore, but statement  
has no inline citation. No "references" section. None of the seven  
external links explicitly says "bio." The most plausible place to  
look seems to be the imdb profile link? Nope, the imdb profile does  
not say anything about his education. The next most likely would be  
"Variety's website," maybe he has a bio or profile there? Nope, that  
link is just to http://www.variety.com. Conclusion: not easy to find  
a confirming source.

Al Camines: Article says he graduated from Swarthmore, but statement  
has no inline citation. Article is completely unreferenced.

David Dye: Article does not mention Swarthmore at all.

Judith Edelman: Article says she graduated from Swarthmore, but  
statement has no inline citation. Article has no references section.  
Article has a single external link, to her profile at Compass  
Records. Linked page is not her bio, but has the start of an  
"about..." article. That "about" page is a bio... and does say "She  
followed one of her brothers, coincidentally a bluegrass-loving  
fiddler, to Swarthmore College."

H. C. Robbins Landon: article says he studied music at Swarthmore  
College and Boston University, but statement has no inline citation.  
Article has no references at all and no external links.

So, of the first five entries checked,
a) I was only able to trace _one_ of them to a published source,
b) One of them did not even _assert_ the fact asserted by the list.

This is pretty typical.