Ray Saintonge wrote
I consider citing sources to be far more important
that no original
research.
Well, a much higher proportion of what is on WP will be wrong and
embarrassingly so, because it was just one man's idea, than because it is
unsupported by chapter and verse.
It clearly depends where you sit, and Ray was talking about Wiktionary in
particular.
But I do worry, now, that the contemporary-politics-and-history issues are
driving policy which then is supposed to apply WP-wide. It seems clear that
the most bitter and generic disputes are going to be along those faultlines.
Those involved use policy instrumentally, where I much prefer to see it as a
style guide: write within policy, but still try to write well and
attractively.
The point here surely is that even with stringent policies, WP can hardly
expect to transcend completely the intellectual scuffling outside its walls.
Charles