[WikiEN-l] Re: Asimov-still POV

Sun Feb 16 20:50:49 UTC 2003

On Wed, 12 Feb 2003 17:30:46 -0800 (PST), Bridget [name omitted for privacy reasons] 
<lapollutionestsimauvaise=/E1597aS9LQAvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:

>
> Is not, "Bewildering Stories, issue 8" enough? Do we need to say, "Not 
> only does Bewildering Stories issue 8 argue that Nightfall is ONE of the 
> greatest, but be assured, by wikipedia and our ardent NPOV, that 
> Nightfall is considered by many to actually be THE greatest science 
> fiction short story EVER.
>
The words "ever" and "never" are absolutes and should have no place in 
Wikipedia except in a direct quotoation. After all, best ever also implies 
that no better story will be written in the future, somthing that we simply 
do not know.
This hyperbole is commonly repeated, however, particularly at the closing 
ceremonies of the Olympic Games :-(
"Best yet" and "best to date" are possible alternatives, although once 
again "best" is to subjective to use without a particular reference.
-- 
Richard Grevers