SC - Re: First feasts-long

[UlfR]

On Mon, 22 Jan 2001, Philip & Susan Troy wrote:

> > The Cooks list can be and has been just as capable of spreading
> > misinformation as any other medium of information.
> 
> True. However, unlike many other published sources, the cooks' list,
> being essentially a gestalt organism, is not a static source of
> information, and when one of us errs, another of us will usually catch
> it before too long and point it out. Of course, that doesn't apply to
> individual posts; you kind of need to be in it for the long haul.

"Peer review". What we do here is actually one of the models that has
been proposed for taking the academic peer review process into
electronic publishing. 

Look at what happens in a typical example. I give my redaction of
malaches, with original recipie and comments on the results. Other voice
opinions, pointing out errors and alternate interpretations of the
original. The end result is that someone who reads the whole thread will
have a fairly accurate view of how malaches was made, from what it was
made, and what the end result would be. If I (or someone else) had been
in error in the commentary then we can be quite confident that someone
else would have pointed out where we were wrong, and explained why.

To make it fully compliant with an academic peer review system I could
have done it slightly differently.

1. Clearly labelling it "DRAFT" I send off my original post.

2. It is debated, and I consider all opinions that are given.

3. I send of an amended version labelled "MANUSCRIPT(1)".

4. People point out remaining errors in it.

5. Lather, rinse, repeat steps 3 & 4 until it is in a stable state where
either no one has anything to complain about, or the Committe of Elder
Gods[1] tell me that it finished.

6. I send off the "FINISHED VERSION". Anyone who reads it can now be
fairly certain that it is correct. This version might also go out on a
separate list, or be placed on a webpage somewhere. Or even published on
paper to compete with (or be art of) "Serve it Forth".

This is somewhat cumbersome, and is not something that I suggest that we
do with the list. What we have now is the anarchy model of it, and that
works fairly well. But it would be fun to do anyway, just for the fun of
it. Don't get me started, electronic publishing is something I have an
interest in.

/UlfR

[1] Or one of them, depending on the model used.

- -- 
Par Leijonhufvud                                      parlei at algonet.se
[...] Land Survival involves several days living off the land in Northern
Alberta, and Urban Survival involves getting let loose in West Edmonton
Mall for a day with twenty bucks.  -- Anthony de Boer