[ILUG] Encyclopedia for Linux?

[Paul Jakma]

On Mon, 11 Jul 2005, Paul Biggar wrote:

> On 7/11/05, Paul Jakma <paul at clubi.ie> wrote:

>> Course it's quotable, with proper attribution. Even better, a good
>> Wiki article should itself provide references to its sources, which
                                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> you can follow and quote yourself.
>
> reference is checked, or of who wrote it in the first place.

Err, why not read the reference yourself? Use your brain and evaluate 
credibility - as you have to do for /all/ information.

> And it's references are terrible: if you're lucky, the title of the 
> book the info came from, or a link to the page. More usually 
> nothing.

Strange, other day we were talking about chili on #linux and were 
wondering whether hot chili could be bad for you. Went to wiki and 
found an EU paper on the subject in the references..

(conclusion: chili can cause slight increase in risk of cancer in 
very high doses - but harmless in doses most europeans take. What 
level is safe requires further research).

> So I would say that wikipedia has its use, but if you own
> encyclopedia, you probably want to use them, and wikipedia is a poor
> substitute. And it's not quotable for any real use.

A good wiki article is eminently quotable. If the wiki article isnt 
good - keep googling (and feel free to update the wiki article based 
on what you find).

regards,
-- 
Paul Jakma	paul at clubi.ie	paul at jakma.org	Key ID: 64A2FF6A
Fortune:
He has shown you, o man, what is good.  And what does the Lord ask of you,
but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly before your God?