User talk:Todd W. White

JK Hilliard
Thanks for your correction to the John Kenneth Hilliard page. I hope to see more of your editing prowess applied to Wikipedia in the future.

Regarding the reference for your correction; I'm pretty sure that personal letters from major actors in the subject matter fall into the category of original research whereby Wikipedia intends to avoid being the repository for new revelations and experiential, subjective observations. The aim is to cite expert sources, not to synthesize new material. My personal take on your level of expertise is that you are an expert source. As such, you would be discouraged from taking part in editing Wikipedia articles that fall under your area of expertise, amazingly enough. Instead, I see your strength in the mounting online of personal remembrances and amassing of others' subjective histories. I imagine that if you post your personal letters from somebody like George Carrington, Sr. on an online blog or website that your comments will be able to be used by other editors as expert references here on Wikipedia. It seems to me that true (original) experts aren't encouraged to participate; and that second-tier dilletante "experts" and critics rule the roost. (This from a proud dilletante second-tier expert!) It's possible that your strongest influence on Wikipedia is to be had by remaining at a distance; by being a publisher, generating new original expert source material for others to cite. Binksternet (talk) 08:46, 17 May 2008 (UTC)