User:Octane/Wikipedia is a court room

From WikiProjectMed
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Disclaimer

This essay was authored by an exclusionist, and will thus appear rather silly to both eventualists and inclusionists. Please don't edit this to suit your fancy; write a response in a counter-essay.

What this means

Objection—speculation!

It is useful to compare Wikipedia to a common law courtroom, where evidence must be shown to establish guilt of a crime (or in our case, truthfulness of a statement). Therefore, going further with the analogy, articles are to be presumed blank, nonexistent or without certain statements if no evidence can be shown—or if that "evidence" is total bollocks. However, Wikipedia (thankfully) does not have a double jeopardy clause, and thus statements can be reviewed again if a different (and presumably more truthful) source states such-and-such a thing.