[WikiEN-l] Age fabrication and original research

[Ray Saintonge]

Cary Bass wrote:
> Ray Saintonge wrote:
>   
>> One secondary source that uses 1904 for Jeane Dixon's birth is
>> IMDB, but they err in their link to her husband James Dixon. He
>> was an acquaintance of Hal Roach, and the Dixons were married in
>> 1939, but the linked James Dixon was *born* in 1939.
>>     
> In my experience, IMDB is hugely unreliable as a secondary source,
> notably because the material can be edited by you and me (provided you
> have an account); and while it is all subject to editorial review, a
> good portion of the data is accepted without question.

So they suffer from the same crowd sourcing problems as Wikipedia? ;-)

If we are aware of its problems we are warned to proceed with caution.  
That's not entirely a knockout blow to it as a source.

Ec