Wiki Pages Exist Outside Of Time

(I don't know where to write about this issue, or where to link it to, so I'll create it and see if any other WikiZens can suggest related pages and/or link it appropriately. Or, of course, this may be discussed elsewhere; if so, please provide links so that this page can be appropriately deleted or merged.)

WikiPages can be changed at any time, and their exact authorship can change (particularly during a ConvertThreadModeToDocumentMode operation, where comments by multiple authors are refactored into a cogent document). As such, WikiPages exist outside of regular time as we know it.

This means that, when one is referring to a Wiki page from a static source (see HowToCiteWiki), for example when one writes an article about a Wiki page, one cannot reliably refer the reader to any content on that Wiki page, because the content may be refactored at any time.

This goes beyond problems that arise with malicious DisagreeByDeleting behavior. A provocative comment may be rightly merged with the rest of the document as part of appropriate RefactoringWikiPages (see RefactorByCondensingConversation). This can completely obsolete an external reference to that comment.

So, how should one refer to Wiki pages from a static source? Should all Wiki referrals be accompanied by a disclaimer that the Wiki content may change at any time? Should the referrer take the WikiNature into account and simply avoid referring to specific Wiki text? This latter suggests that a Wiki should only be externally referenced at a page level rather than a textual level.

No - no disclaimer or special type of referral required.

See PerpetualNow