On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 11:30 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > That something is not yet available online, shouldn't be a factor in > considering whether or not we should cite it. Even the library of Bora > Bora *could* (theoretically at least) request a copy of an item for > you, provided you have the citation and the repository location (see > worldcat.org).
I think that's somewhat naive. I found a new article the other day and it was all about this guy who was described as "the greatest child genius the world has ever seen". There was a long list of verifications although not enough to cover most of the points made in the article. I smelled a rat and stuck a "hoax" banner on it. There was (IIRC) one editor. There were pictures. The citations were all to books with no online click-thru. The whole thing just smelled wrong. I wish I could remember the article now... Just combed back through my last 500 contribs. Can't find it. If an article had been deleted would it disappear from my contribs? I guess what I'm saying is: it's quite easy to "make up" a book. But perhaps I'm wrong in that. You mention "worldcat.org"... it's not something I'm familiar with: is it your sense that worldcat.org is comprehensive enough to rumble invented books? And even if it is... could I not just choose an obscure book at random and attribute a claim to it? _______________________________________________ WikiEN-l mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
