Talk:Online Etymology Dictionary

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[edit] Site's down (Jan. 31/06)

Not sure how long it's been offline, but it is as of now.

It's back now :D Maerk 23:03, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Marked as non-notable and for not citing sources

Well, it certainly is notable amongst etymologists and people interested in etymology. Try and find another free online etymology dictionary, let alone one as comprehensive. It was created and run by a notable published author, journalist and historian who's credentials can be found through the site itself. But more to the issue of it not citing sources... huh? What isn't it citing sources on? It only claims one thing and specifically cites that it's from the homepage of the site itself.Number36 04:36, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

I've got no problem with the article, in fact I often see it cropping up as a reference in articles. If it were only one of many etymology sites, or had little content it wouldn't be worth writing about, but because of its scope and utility I feel it deserves a place here. Richard001 08:54, 31 December 2006 (UTC)
I have added more information. I removed the notability issues and template. I'm not sure if this template was appropriate or not but in the future a simple "Please" would be nice and may help lessen the shocking effect of seeing a big anoying template. I believe the source will helps us off to a good start. Thank you. And please feel free to use know databases and news papers! --CyclePat 03:14, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Uh huh. Try sending Richard a polite email with five sources of your own pointing out an inaccuracy in one of his unsourced etymologies. The response you will get back tells you all you need to know about Richard's ego and how much interest he has in sourcing his entries. --Cshawnmcdonald (talk) 22:24, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] "Notability" section

It is a self-reference. No Encyclopedia would have a section entitled "notability" except on Wikipedia, it is useless information and likely to change in any given year or month, it's more like marketing information. It might be appropriate for the talk page in order to satisfy some editors nag-tag, but it's inappropriate for the article proper, notability can just as easily be established on talk pages without cluttering up the article with useless links and information just to satisfy a rule. See all WP:IAR, we are here to build an encyclopedia and if the notability rules get in the way of this article then the rule should be ignored, clearly this is a notable site. Finally, if someone honestly still has a complaint about it, then put the article up for WP:AfD and see what the rest of the community thinks about it. -- 71.191.36.194 02:38, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

==Notability== When searching for ''etymology'', the '''Online Etymology Dictionary''' is the first result returned from [[google search|Google's search engine]] out of approximately 8.68 million hits.<ref> Google Inc., ''Google Search''. (Search for etymology), http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=etymology&meta=, accessed [[2007-01-05]].</ref> Similarly, [[Yahoo|Yahoo Search]] places this online dictionary as the first result out of approximately 5.6 million hits.<ref>Yahoo Inc., ''Yahoo Search''. (Search for etymology), http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=etymology&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8, accessed [[2007-01-05]].</ref> It is referenced by the [[University of Ohio]]'s Library as a relevant etymological resource<ref>University of Ohio, ''Online Etymology Dictionary''. Created 2003, http://infotree.library.ohiou.edu/single-records/2705.html, accessed [[2007-01-05]].</ref> and was recently cited in the [[Chicago Tribune]] as one of the “best resources for finding just the right word.”<ref>Bierma, Nathan. ''Internet has best resources for finding just the right word''. Chicago Tribune, [[January 3]], [[2007]], republished by www.factiva.com, http://proxy.bib.uottawa.ca:2241/sb/default.aspx?NAPC=S&fcpil=en, accessed [[2007-01-05]].</ref> Used by many authors and researchers which follow the philosophy of [[etymology]] it is cited in numerous articles and used as a reliable source for explaining the history and evolution of words.<ref>Rudeen, Mike. ''Any questions?; Ask! away on the News' new blog''. Rocky Mountain News, [[December 18]], [[2006]], republished by www.factiva.com, accessed [[2007-01-05]]</ref><ref> Murali, D. ''Big results require big ambitions''. Business Line (The Hindu), [[July 21]], [[2006]], Section:Opinion, republished by Factiva.com, accessed [[2007-01-05]]</ref><ref>Whyte, Ellen. ''Online resources to help improve your vocabulary''. New Straits Times, [[October 27]], [[2005]], republished by www.factiva.com, accessed [[2007-01-05]]</ref>

Some of the material you removed should still be in the article though. Perhaps "Acclaim" or something like that would be a less self-referency way of describing it. Richard001 08:58, 26 September 2007 (UTC)
Hi Richard001
I agree with you. However I don't agree with the comment from IP 71.191.36.194. I believe the information on notability is not self-referencing because some of the sources used where news papers. The Chicago Tribune, Google, Business Line, etc... It is well-sourced section which I believe should remain. To address your "potential problem" with "new information" or a change of information, which I doubt will happen since the website has been virtually the same thing for the past 2 years or more, we could always add another properly sourced citation/reference with that new information. In conclusion: The clearness of this website's notability is a relevant to the article. WP:NOTE even stipulates "The particular topics and facts within an article are not each required to meet the standards of notability guidelines." Furthermore, you alleged problem that the information is useless or, the alleged self referenced material, (none really specified) may change is easily solved. Solution: Per the above comment from Richard001, your own admission to the fact that "notability" as stated within the information removed, as well as my pro belief, I think there is a consensus that the information is useful. Furthermore, to try and solve your secondary alleged problem, we can always update the wiki to reflect the "past" and "more recent past (or as we tend to believe present)." (That is how we keep an WP:NPOV article that reflects not only opposing view but past, present, and perhaps future views) Hence the information you removed, evident because you either read it within the article should be put back. Furthermore, for future reference, the information footnotes should have been dropped into the bibliography to preserve integrity. --AdVocare (talk) 23:48, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How to cite this dictionary in a bibliography on wikipedia

Example of Manuscript:

  • Harper, Douglas. "Manuscript." Online Etymology Dictionary. Nov. 2001. Accessed 10-11-2007.

see also Template:OEtymD —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.240.196.9 (talk) 22:08, 18 February 2008 (UTC)