User:Njyoder/Essays

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[edit] Reliable Sources

TODO

  • Expand on policy vs. guideline. Policy = large agreement, guideline = large disagreement.

[edit] User:Njyoder's new WP:RS essay

DRAFT v 0.5 beta

Summary of verifiability changes

I believe that WP:V should remain as is with the criteria for what constiutes an RS removed. It should simply state that reliable sources be used with the relevant exceptions concerning when a reliable source need not be used and it should outline a distinction between verifiable sources (i.e. something that can be looked up by anyone, regardless of quality--a set that includes the set of reliable sources--most often this applies to primary sources) and reliable sources, but I won't go into detail about those here since this is about the new RS, not the new V.

Policy

  • Pro: Strict, rigid and as such less prone to abuse via overly broad interpretation.
  • Con: Slow to change due to consensus taking longer to form. Being rigid, oversights and changes are more difficult to account/compensate for.

Guideline

  • Pro: Flexible, allowing more interpretation and built-in allowance for exceptions not previously conceived. Consensus is garnered more quickly, allowing changes to account for oversights and changes.
  • Con: Flexibility allows for more abuse due to overly broad interpretation.

Arguments for status as policy/guideline

V is a general, abstract concept and can be easily understood as such and there are no exceptions as to where a verifiable source shouldn't be used. Because of this, it's possible to to apply it much more consistently and objectively by Wikipedians. This means changes to it are much less likely to occur, making it ideal as a policy.

RS entails various general concepts, but can also become onerous when dealing with new, less traditional media (due to evolving media and technology). Changes in application are much more frequent due to divergence from traditional sources (both in terms of new quality sources arising and traditional sources being less likely to give adequate coverage to new niches of a technical [not necessarily technological] nature) and oversights are much more likely due to the large number of potential quality sources. The nuances of the various types of sources requires a more descriptivist (as opposed to prescriptivist) approach. This makes it ideal as a guideline.

How reliable sources should be changed

WP:RS should be about what it means to be reliable, not a list of DOs and DON'Ts. So what is the essence of reliability? What makes a source reliable from Wikipedia's perspective and is it possible to judge reliability without making judgments of veracity of the source material?

Isn't a source being judged as 'reliable' against the spirit of NPOV policy? Suggesting that a source is 'reliable' means making a judgment call on how accurate the source is...an assertion of veracity of the source included in the content. From WP:NPOV: "None of the views should be given undue weight or asserted as being judged as "the truth."'

The spirit of RS should be 'what do people consider to be reliable', in line with NPOV's spirit of 'what proportion of the population holds a given view' when determining its 'due weight.'

The number of people in the relevant population (e.g. scientists for scientific journals) that consider the source reliable (relatively speaking) within the context that it's being used in. In terms of contexts, its possible a source may be considered reliable for certain things and for those it could be used, but for many others it could be considered horrible and it wouldn't be used for those.

e may also consider 'hypothetical reliability' instead of 'known reliability'--that is, instead of just going by a source that the population already knows about, you may consider sources that the population is less aware of, but would consider reliable if they encountered it.

This is a measure that can be enforced consistently, without passing judgment of veracity, by users who have any type of view. Most traditional sources (e.g. print newspapers) are very notable and would do well, so that's not an issue. This would have the added advantage of including non-traditional sources that many would consider reliable in technical and other types of niches that the general population isn't as directly aware of.

-Nathan J. Yoder 03:38, 2 September 2007 (UTC)