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> > > > I don't follow your reasoning. What would be the value of doing so? > > If -in your own words- everyone knows that Paris is the capital of France, > then there is not real need for the datum on the Wiki's article and we > could save bites whereas improving the enciclopedia (best > useful-information noise ratio ;-). > > > Michael Kay > > http://www.saxonica.com/ > > > > Maybe the problem was in the starting point, i.e. your statement everyone > knows that Paris is the capital of France. The fact no everyone knows is > that is doing the Wiki information valuable and therefore -if it was not > clear- i wait no editing of the Wiki from your part. > Not definitely, there are other reasons why an encyclopedia article might include information that everyone knows, these are: 1. traditional structure of article goes from common 'wide' knowledge to uncommon 'narrow' knowledge. 2. The presence of knowledge that everyone can verify helps provide users with a sense of trust in other information. Much presentation of factual information is predicated on creating feeling of trust. Some might argue that this is a bad thing but I think any such argument would be based on a foolish feeling that one should never accept anything on trust. 3. Getting started writing an article, even when one knows a lot about the subject, is often difficult. In getting over this difficulty it is often easy to focus on something non-arguable. Something is non-arguable when it is something everyone knows. This may explain number 1. Cheers, Bryan Rasmussen
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