Wikisource:News/2006-04-03/Discussion renewed over reference data

Inclusion policy

• 05 March 2006: Inclusion guidelines move to discussion phase
• 03 April 2006: Discussion renewed over reference data
• 02 May 2006: Vote excludes reference material
• 13 November 2006: Reference data phased out

Following an aborted proposal for deletion^[1] concerning Pi to 1,000,000 places, a discussion^[2] has begun at the scriptorium concerning the inclusion of reference data on Wikisource.

The discussion challenges the inclusion of such works as lists, source code, cryptographic data, and data tables. The question is a contentious one, with previous discussions^[3][4][5] ending in an ambiguous compromise. Although many of the reference pages were kept, they were unlinked from the main page.

Proponents of inclusion argue that there is no other project suited to accept the texts, and that they are important reference materials that are not easily available elsewhere. Opponents point out that original research and unpublished works are outside Wikisource's stated inclusion guidelines, and that without active maintainers it is impossible to sort corrections from vandalism.

Notes

1. "Pi to 1,000,000 places" (Proposed deletions, April 2006)
2. "Inclusion of reference data on Wikisource" (Scriptorium, April 2006)
3. "Math and source code" (Main page discussion, September 2005)
4. "Math, source code, misc. data" (Proposed deletions talk page, September 2005)
5. "Ugh, the mathematical tables debate." (Scriptorium, January 2006)