[Wikipedia-l] Non-notability "abuse"

[daniwo59 at aol.com]

I wanted to avoid this discussion, but I don't think I can, so here goes  ...
 
Given its size, Wikipedia has an enormous responsibility to people  
everywhere. While most of us who work on Wikipedia know how to take its content  with a 
grain of salt, the fact is that the vast majority of people simply  turn to 
Wikipedia as a first (only?) source of reference. Like it or not, warn  against 
it or not, for many it is "the" reference--the most accessible  source for 
reliable information. 
 
This can be dangerous. For instance, putting pet pseudo-scientific theories  
on Wikipedia gives them a certan credence that they would not get anywhere  
else. Often, those articles will be better sourced than the more  conventional, 
standard entries on accepted scientific theories. People seeking  information, 
who are not quite discerning, will turn to the net, see the  article, see the 
copious references, and come to accept that as normative  scientific fact, 
when actually the vast majority of scientists may well reject  it. 
 
Rather than consider this as hypothesis, it has already happened,  
frustrating some of the conventional scientists who edit this site. The  debates over 
use of the Pseudoscience category tag are very telling in this  regard. 
Wikipedia's goal is to report, rather than promote ideas. It can,  however, happen 
that by giving unequal weight to spurious topics, we are doing  the latter.
 
Danny
 
In a message dated 9/18/2007 10:42:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time,  
ian2 at knowledge.co.uk writes:

>I  completely fail to see what's so magic in "encyclopedias" that  they
>must not list bloggers or actresses. Specially when they are not  bound
>by the limits of the paper.


Indeed. There are already  encyclopedias  on:

Pseudoscience
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia_of_Pseudoscience

Star  Trek
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Star_Trek_Encyclopedia

Ideas
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Ideas-Inventions-Concepts-Discoveries/dp/B0
00QRZLTC

African  Americans At  War
http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/url.cgi?=~=http://www.powells.com/partner/531
/biblio/1576077462=~=Powells

Homicidal  Poisonings
http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/url.cgi?=~=http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/Pa
raRoute?pid=16143&url=http://www.abebooks.co.uk/abe/BookDetails?bi=891861039

Magical  spells
http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/url.cgi?=~=http://newbibliophile.ammonet-serv
ices.com/ibooknet/search?submit=AddAll&bookId=550017&dealerLogin=unclephil&the
_club=ibooknet

World  Shopping
http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/url.cgi?=~=http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/Pa
raRoute?pid=43&url=http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/BookDetails?bi=975949410=~=
Abebooks

Asteroid  Names
http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/url.cgi?=~=http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/Pa
raRoute?pid=43&url=http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/BookDetails?bi=243339144=~=
Abebooks

Singapore  Business
http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/url.cgi?=~=http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/Pa
raRoute?pid=43&url=http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/BookDetails?bi=962933484=~=
Abebooks

Regards,


Ian  Tresman
www.plasma-universe.com








************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com