weeks - 1:02 pm on May 29, 2010 (gmt 0)

I think Brett makes some good points. And gpilling and other pro-linkers have an interesting point of view as well.

I suppose my response to gpilling & company would be that there can be too much information on WW. The value of this site is, in part, the gatekeeper role it plays. When you want to drink from the firehose on a topic, there is always Google and Bing. Or, other sites.

The subject of WW is, in large part, the internet. If you think about that, it's absurd to even try to do a website like this and make it worthwhile. Yet, here it is. And it's very worthwhile.

I have been told time and again that a good writer or publisher always leaves the reader wanting more. That sounds odd, but the alternative is boring the readers. You can having the audience wanting more or give them too much, and if you give them too much, they leave and don't come back. You have to be useful or entertaining, but not wear them out.

With its sometimes annoying filters of policy, WW often provides some useful context in a confusing world. It's a proven formula. It might need to be tweaked, but the reasons for the policy are sound. Overall, I'd say let it stand.

(There are some things that work that we really don't understand why they work. We pretend we understand it, but we don't really. For example, don't think about the US Supreme Court. Just don't think about it. Let it be. It works.)