[WikiEN-l] Nuke [[WP:CITE]] and [[WP:RS]]

[Stan Shebs]

Phil Sandifer wrote:
> I'd be similarly shocked if one could write a good article on high  
> temperature physics or group theory while being totally dependent on  
> published reliable sources, because those sources were never written  
> for the purpose of being used to explain the concept to novices.
>   
The best sources for general topics are textbooks actually; reliable, 
and written to explain concepts. I find the introductions to monographs 
and papers as useful for WP as the bodies; at least the more articulate 
writers manage to get in a few words intelligible to the nonspecialist. :-)

Although I think the formal policies may be overdoing it, we do need to 
make some effort to change the culture. Can Susan be so certain of her 
twenty-years-ago memory that she can just  starting typing away with 
confidence? I would rather she make a library visit first, or simply 
leave a note on the talk page - several times I've been able to use 
somebody else's talk page note as a starting point  for doing a bit of 
research of my own, or triggered somebody else's further research by 
asking questions. We would also have a lot fewer edit wars if people 
didn't just wade in and start adding/deleting based on their faulty 
memory or understanding.

Stan