[WikiEN-l] Wikipedia and Free Culture at Large

[WJhonson at aol.com]

In a message dated 8/29/2008 1:24:06 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
wilydoppelganger at gmail.com writes:

the  correct answer is probably "Propose a new
project".  Wikicompendium,  or something.


--------
If by this you mean something like, a wiki which includes (at least links)  
to fan details, non-notable characters and episodes, obscure rock rocks, 
authors  of single papers, etc etc
 
The only way a wiki like this would survive as an "overview" is if one of  
the core policies were stated at the outset to be "We we never have  any 
notability requirement".  In addition imho we would need to drop  the requirement 
that only third-party sources be used, since the vast majority  of fancruft for 
example, is first or second party, but not third.  And then  what about BLP?
 
I just don't see the possibility of being a "compendium" *with* a  blp.  
There are just too many things that certain "focus groups" want  to exclude on the 
basis of BLP.  If the people of San Francisco know the  Mayor cheated on his 
wife, we can't include it, unless 35 other newspaper pick  it up and he 
appears on 5 talk shows denouncing it.
 
If I find something in a newspaper 30 years ago, but no one since has  
mentioned it, I can't include it, because no one else has mentioned it?   That's a 
ridiculous bar that bears no relationship to standards of journalism  and 
writing.
 
By the way, "Nikko" was King of the Flying Monkeys.  The *sole* place  you 
will find this, is in old newspapers.  Obviously everyone since then  has 
suppressed the information.
 
My biography of Henry Fonda, corrects dozens of inaccurate statements, some  
appearing in otherwise good print biographies, based on contemporary newspaper 
 quotes.
 
IN Biography, this sort of source-based research would be considered what  we 
*want* to present, not what we want to suppress.  And that's exactly the  way 
other print encyclopedias do it.  If they find evidence outside of  print 
biographies, yet published, they include it.
 
I'm venting :)
 
Will Johnson



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