Talk:Driftwood crucifix listed on eBay for $25,000

Paulrevere2005,

This is an unusual article for Wikinews.

Unfortunately, Wikinews can't list the links for where you can buy this stuff, because Wikinews is a non-commercial site.

However, this is a bit of a catch-22, because if the article can't cite the sources for where the stuff is for sale, then it would appear to be an unsubstantiated story.

I'm open for ideas about how to best solve this quandary. &mdash; DV 00:39, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * Laughing about it surely won't help... hehe :-} !! -edw 00:58, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * More seriously though, if Paulrevere2005 would tell me where I can get that piece of driftwood, I would gladly consider lifting the article dispute.edw 01:10, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * I'm curious how Wikinews would have covered the recent story about the grilled cheese sandwich which had the image of the Virgin Mary on it. How could we have linked to the auction without violating the "no commercial links" rule, while at the same time having a source to support the credibility of the story?


 * It seems that we would have been forced to rely on secondary sources which had already written about the story, rather than referring to the primary source of the story.


 * Perhaps one of the deeper thinkers among the policy wonks here on Wikinews will be able to devise a policy to cover this situation. &mdash; DV 01:11, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Driftwood found
Here is the link to the driftwood found in the shape of a cross.

However, I don't see how it is possible to insert it into the article without violating the policy against commercial links. &mdash; DV 01:14, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * I have looked at Paulrevere2005 sources for his writing in the Latin American gang piece and was not questioning the accuracy of the reporting with regard to the sources.


 * The link DV provides shows I have days yet to contemplate my bid! Thank you DV.


 * My larger point is this, if the reader is interested, they can pursue it for themselves as DV has done. That does impose a certain amount of effort, yes. But the account being related in this news story is mindless and needless. edw 01:36, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * Well, you'd think the grilled cheese with the Virgin Mary image on it that was offered on eBay was also mindless and needless, and yet it sold for a large sum of money to some online casino if I recall. (OK, so maybe they were made for each other.)


 * The grilled cheese story was covered in quite a few reputable "mainstream media" outlets, so evidently quite a few readers are interested in this type of thing. &mdash; DV 01:44, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * Point taken. But does an item by item account of what is happening on eBay constitute news for WikiNews. edw 01:59, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * An item by item accounting is certainly not useful (it would also be quite boring).


 * As a constructive suggestion, perhaps this article could be revised to focus on the unusual items currently for sale, which is no more than what the grilled cheese stories accomplished in so many other news outlets.


 * Would that satisfy the substance of the dispute? &mdash; DV 02:12, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * Initially, my only positive reaction to the story was the focus on some news worthy prices for some Christian collectables. From there I am afraid it digressed. If the story held focus on the collectables and some of the prices they are fetching, or some other news worthy issue, then I would not object... of course not. edw 02:41, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * Providing the actual link to eBay as evidence of the story should not violate commercial links - since it is not spam - but used as proof of citation. -- Davodd | Talk 03:36, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Newsworthy?
This article is of dubious newsworthiness. It fails the relevancy test - by not answering the "So what?" question that is essential to gauging news worth. -- Davodd | Talk 02:46, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * I think I edited the story to salvage its newsworthiness. -- Davodd | Talk 03:32, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * Excellent work.


 * One man's trash is another man's treasure.


 * After checking the cited sources, and reading the edited article, I removed the dispute tag. &mdash; DV 03:50, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

This begs the question of: DRIFTWOOD IN ARIZONA DESERT?
Arizona is land locked. I bid shipping cost for this for this .... hehe :-} -edw 04:12, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Maybe it's a typo... they meant draftwood because it blew in on a breeze. edw 04:25, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * I don't know about Arizona, but Death Valley used to be covered in water, as the glaciers were retreating at the end of the last Ice Age. &mdash; DV 05:37, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * Not to mention there are rivers, lakes in Arizona, and portions of it used to be ocean front property. Deserts also produce "driftwood", scoured by sand and sun of bark and sharp edges. - Amgine 06:04, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * Somehow I knew these geological stuffs would be brought up. aarrgghh! After 5 days the item has received zero bids... so is this news? edw 06:22, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Paulrevere2005 succeeds to twist and test reasonable discourse, reporting and logic. I think those contributions are amusing at this point... nothing more and nothing less.

I try, Paulrevere2005 presses against the limits of social acceptability.

edw 06:31, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * Driftwood can form in lakes, rivers and reserviors, too. Possible driftwood sites in Arizona: Lake Mead, Canyon Lake, etc. -- Davodd | Talk 08:23, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Is This Article Discussion Page the Place for Negative Personal Generalizations?

 * I wrote this article in an attempt to write an original report on a non-controversial event where POV and NPOV would not rear their heads. I am trying to become more useful in this wikinews platform. So, I don't appreciate the childish,cavalier use of a dispute tag re; this article e.g; ":More seriously though, if Paulrevere2005 would tell me where I can get that piece of driftwood, I would gladly consider lifting the article dispute" and "Laughing about it surely won't help... hehe :-} !!"


 * I also doubt such negative personal generalizations(as directly above) are acceptable on this article discussion page; I'd appreciate an administrator clarifying that for me. I have sent edw a message directly and would appreciate any general,personal comments from him to be sent to my user discussion page. In the meantime, I'd like to read some of edw 's contributions to see what they are like. Please refer me to one, edw . I enjoy arguments about POV etc and can take insults regarding a particular article; I've dished out a few myself; but I don't like somebody using their POV about my work to insult my overall presence here and my contributions in a general way on an article disussion page; I don't find that cute,funny,useful or constructive. And now I've just read the insulting and personal "Muse" reference below. Will an experienced wiki please contact me on my user page and tell me what my options are in dealing with this personal attack. Paulrevere2005 14:26, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * I replied on Paulrevere2005's user talk page. &mdash; DV 14:58, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I support the WikiNews interest of being transparent. Comments regarding an article should be posted on an article's discussion page. That is, after all, the point of the discussion tab at the top of the article.

As to my comments and opinions on they article, they are a reflection on me, and they certainly do reflect my thinking on the qualty of the article. They also certainly reflect my thoughts regarding Paulrevere2005 personally. I borrow some DV's wording by saying are we to "hide in the ghettos of user talk" with regard to conversation on an article? I think we should not. Public domain is exactly what it means... nothing more and nothing less. -edw 15:05, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * Some people can't differentiate between comments about an article and comments about a person; pathetic. Paulrevere2005 22:32, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

WikiNews Muse
I thought I might write a story but this devilish little muse over my shoulder thought it also too would write a story. So much was my attention distracted that in the interest of satisfying my little rapacious muse I was not able to formulate any progress upon my own task at hand.

I therefore happened upon an interesting and distracting discourse with him upon the glacial epoch preceding the birth eBay, where upon my muse insisted Christian paraphanalia (sp?) was news worthy. With due regard I dispatched my attention upon the task, only to realize, like the late great Hunter S. Thompson, that I missed the story.

edw 07:03, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)