[WikiEN-l] Being bold doesn't work anymore, or why our prose is so bad.

[Rich Holton]

K P wrote:
> On 9/9/07, Nick Wilkins <nlwilkins at gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 9/9/07, Anthony <wikimail at inbox.org> wrote:
>>> On 9/8/07, Steve Bennett <stevagewp at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On 9/9/07, Anthony <wikimail at inbox.org> wrote:
>>>>> Presumably you knew this before you went to the article about him.
>>>> Nah, I frequently follow links just to find out who the person is.
>>> But surely the text surrounding the link tells you why the person is
>>> notable.
>>>
>>>> Well, I actually use a javascript plugin that lets you hover over a
>>>> link and that shows you the first paragraph.
>>>>
>>>> There are all sorts of reasons you'd end up on a Wikipedia article -
>>>> not necessarily because you're searching for more information on that
>>>> specific subject.
>>>>
>>> Well, yeah, if you're new page patrolling, for instance, and searching
>>> around for stuff to delete.  But I would think the times "normal
>>> people" go to an article for a reason other than to find more
>>> information about that subject are extremely rare.
>>
>> I use the "random article" button a lot when I'm not editing, because it's
>> often an interesting way to learn new things.  If articles didn't say
>> quickly why the subject is notable, I doubt I'd have much interest in doing
>> that.
>>
>> -- Jonel
> 
> Yes, saying quickly why the person is notable is important.  Also
> David's right about giving the birth date right off, and death for
> those who have passed. It instantly puts a person and the possible
> information you can gain about them in a well defined category.
> 
> And, yes, I look people up because I don't know about them, not because I do.
> 
> KP

Right! It's not at all unusual to come across someone's name in such a 
way that does NOT give you any real context about that person.

Just one example that comes to my mind: A few years back I was looking 
at the lyrics to an old pop song called "Year of the Cat". One of the 
lines goes (something like) "You go strolling through the crowd like 
Peter Lorre contemplating a crime." At the time, I had no idea who Peter 
Lorre was, but Wikipedia eliminated my ignorance. This sort of thing is 
not all that unusual.

One good thing about having the birth and death dates in the first line 
is that it helps as a sort of "disambiguation". Since names are not 
unique, it's not always clear that you have the right person when you 
look someone up. But a date will often help to determine if you've found 
the person you're looking for.

-Rich