Re: [Bug-gnupedia]External Links in New Window

[hooker]

> Tom Chance <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
> > If we allow external links, there is the risk that it
> > will link to a non-free site, one that contravenes our
> > policies. That is unacceptable, as has been stated
> > many a time by RMS, Hector, and the rest of us.
> 
> Perhaps I don't understand why this is unacceptable. Am I not allowed to
> mention Amazon.com in my articles, because some computers will interpret
> that as a "link"? Are my articles not allowed to include the forbidden
> characters: http://www.*.com/ ? What's so bad about mentioning other
sites.
> Surely, if we were building a great encyclopedia -- the task we seem to
have
> thrust on Nupedia -- we would want to not include links, but I don't see
why
> they can't be in the great, open, uncensored GNE.
> 
> I guess I still don't even understand what the GNE is...

I'm having similar troubles .. my first flash of insight was that GNE is
not an encyclopedia. It's a collection of articles/images/whatever about
pretty much any subject under the sun with no editorial influence over
accuracy, quality or content (apart from a lose requirement to dump spam,
viruses/worms and blatant adverts). To me this is a library, not an
encyclopedia.  It's also, and perhaps more importantly, a social experiment
along the lines of Usenet, which is what I can see it degerating into.

Sorry to be blunt and a bit negative, maybe it's the lack of coffee this
morning !

Paul