On Fri, Dec 26, 2008 at 10:35 PM, Nathan nawrich@gmail.com wrote:
But since half the people involved complain about "not being able to get anything done on Wikipedia" now we can politely explain to them that they are a part of the problem.
Nathan
Sorry to jump in so late in the thread... At least in my experience, it's very easy for editors without the subscriptions they need to get articles from other Wikipedians, and quickly.
Maybe a large (and free) part of the solution could be to make better use of the systems we've already developed on our own: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Resource_Exchange
I think there are a lot of priorities for WMF funds that rank higher than buying institutional access to sources. Before we try to make Wikipedia more like a university this particular respect (journal access), we should improve the editing experience (socially and technically) so that it's a place where more editors will stay for 4 years. Giving editors less reason to rely on others (to obtain sources, in this case) may even be counterproductive to that end.
As someone with institutional access to many hard-to-find things, I know I get a warm feeling whenever I'm able to provide another editor with the source they were looking for. Those kinds of interactions, I think, keep me tied to the project more than work I do in my own little corner.
-Sage (User:Ragesoss)