[Wikipedia-l] Entries getting delete...

[Maury Markowitz]

>* Should "notability" be relevant as a test-of-value in a cyber
>encyclopedia, where the amount of space available, at least
>theoretically, is unlimited in scope?

The problem is that an entry on the wiki _becomes_ a notability criterion 
for many people. For instance, if I believed that drinking 50 litres of 
water a day makes you live forever few people would give it credence. But if 
someone were to write a wiki article on the topic, it suddenly becomes much 
more "real". This is why we need notability as a filter.

>* Isn't "notability" a relevant issue? For instance, in my village in
>Goa, India, the old schoolteacher who ran a local tiny grocer's shop
>was also "notable". So would Wikipedia have the space to include this
>kind of diversity?

I think you mean "relative issue"? In that case, no. The wikipedia is a 
worldwide resource, a grocer in Goa has no worldwide notability. Yes, I 
realize there is a huge amount of existing content that falls into this 
category.

We have to draw a line in the sand somewhere. If you think this person is 
important enough to deserve a web page for, then by all means, set one up on 
Facebook.

>To my mind, I think a stronger test for Wikipedia-inclusion could be
>accuracy of the entries. As long as outlandish claims are not made
>about a particular entry, a project like the Wikipedia (not
>constrained, theoretically, by paper or space ... and

I agree to some degree. But it is also important to note that an article can 
be perfectly accurate and still completely bogus. Many people believe we 
didn't actually go to the Moon. A perfectly accruate article on their claims 
would still be extremely misleading. That's why there's lots of filters and 
appeal to NPOV.

Maury

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