User talk:Hackel

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Re Ron Paul Spam: you wrote "I just want to get the information out there, about how the internet is being used to abuse the political process by scrupulous individuals, and campaigns can't even be held responsible.". That's not what Wikipedia is for. Please read Wikipedia is not a soapbox, and also Neutral point of view; Notability, and Verifiability. NawlinWiki 19:44, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

Actually, no, the aim of Wikipedia is not "to basically document everything" -- it's to be an encyclopedia. See Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information.

We already have an article on Ron Paul. If you have information about Mr. Paul that you can support with references to reliable independent sources, consider adding it there. And no, an email you received is not a reliable independent source. NawlinWiki 19:56, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

I agree that an email I received is not a reliable source, however, assuming for a moment that the (multiple) emails WERE authentic, how can I ever prove this? How could I turn it into a verifiable, independent source? Apparently I'm not the only one receiving these, doesn't that count for something? I'm asking this in all seriousness. If this story were published in the New York Times would it suddenly be a reliable, verifiable source? This is a significant question not just for this issue but Wikipedia in general. Hackel 08:35, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
 * A single unattributable email is not notable. If Ron Paul or another candidate's campaign were routinely doing this, then it would be notable (and a WP:RS might have done the research for it).  Per No original research, you can't research something for the sole purpose of putting it on Wikipedia.  However, what would be required here is valid tracing of the emails to a member of the campaign, coupled with good estimates of how many were sent, preferably information from a member of the campaign itself, and publication in an external reliable source.  This currently has none of this, and is therefore not suitable for Wikipedia.  The last is particularly important. Michaelbusch 17:10, 31 October 2007 (UTC)