On Wed, Jan 7, 2009 at 1:19 AM, Carl Beckhorn <cbeckh...@fastmail.fm> wrote: > On Wed, Jan 07, 2009 at 01:03:12AM +0000, Carcharoth wrote: >> Why not both? Wikipedia requires editorial judgment for some things, >> but selection of primary sources is one of the more tricky ones, and a >> secondary source showing that you are not cherry-picking the primary >> sources is a good safeguard. > > I wouldn't cite a source that just says "Thoerem X was very interesting" > because such a source is of no interest to someone who is trying to > learn more about Theorem X, and because such a source would never be > cited in the scientific literature. The point of sources is > fundamentally to enable readers to learn more about the topic. > > A reader who knows nothing about the material is in no position to worry > about whether the sources have been cherry-picked, and has to trust > whoever wrote the article. This is true for both secondary and primary > sources. There are many discredited secondary sources that no > knowledgable writer would use, but which would seem perfectly reasonable > to an untrained reader.
Very good point. Some people are too ready to believe secondary sources. >> >> What I was suggesting is that an article with no secondary mentions >> >> (of any kind, whatsoever) is probably a good AfD candidate. >> > >> > Every topic I am intrested in having an article for will some sort of >> > oblique secondary mentions - but I don't consider those to be sources for >> > the article, and would not include them when I add material. >> >> Consider those oblique secondary sources to be "notability sources" to >> "allow" the use of the primary sources. > > I usually only mention the notability sources at an AFD, when someone > needs an infusion of clue. Well, that's your approach, which is fair enough, but it does help to do that beforehand. Carcharoth _______________________________________________ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
