Why not editing the calendar via threads?

[Muzza]

Hello, Folks,


EvilPumpkin just closed the thread with corrections to the calendar, kindly pointing me to a note in the Ten Tenths FAQ section which explains that such issues should be addressed to the Calendar Moderator via PM (my apologies for not knowing that beforehand). In a constructive comment, let me explain why I think this is not a good idea.

As you surely know, there are hundreds of motorsport researchers - writers, publishers, editors, journalists, historians (like me) - that daily browse Ten Tenths for information. If editions to the calendar are made via PM, Ten Tenths visitors are "in the dark", as no one else - bar the submitter and the Calendar Moderator (our Marcus Garth, who does a great job) - will know of the correction.

This is not, in my humble opinion, the best way of sharing knowledge nor to correct many of those "perpetual" errors and misconceptions that are so common in racing (a "perpetual error" happens when someone finds something wrong in a given source, this info becomes popular and overwhelms the true version of the facts). This is of course no criticism to Ten Tenths - we are only as good as our sources.

May I suggest that corrections to the Calendar should be made by specific threads in the Announcement and Feedback forum - that means, one thread by "calendar subject". That would be much more informative to Ten Tenths visitors - and to motorsports researches in particular.

Also, making editions to the calendar "in the open" - that means, via threads and not via PM - would prevent having incorrect information replaced by equally wrong data and even the case of having correct info replaced by wrong stuff! (this latter is the so-called "circular error"). I know you folks always cross-check info before updating the calendar, but who can guarantee that your sources are accurate? "Circular" and "perpetual" errors are a pain...

Many times I have been surprised by events when sources that I could swear were free of any error - including eyewitnesses' accounts - proved to be wide off the mark. Or, in another example, many people quote Tony Bettenhausen's year of death by citing his tombstone - which is wrong! Who would know that if editions to the calendar are made via PM? By making the process of editing the calendar transparent - and "public" - the possibility of incurring in "circular errors" is much reduced, and Ten Tenths calendar would be much more accurate.

Hope this helps,


Muzza
(Sal Chiappetta, Oak Park, CA, United States
Motorsport Memorial Project Manager)