signor_john - 5:27 pm on Oct 31, 2009 (gmt 0)

Article A is a long, well researched article, full of information about the subject, but doesn't specifically address my question? Article B is short, poorly written, but is only written to address my question (& does)?

But what if Article A is a long, well-researched article that answers your question, and Article B is short, poorly written, with an incomplete answer to your question? That's a more likely scenario, and it's why (for example) a Wikipedia article about X, Y, or Z probably will--and should--outlook a Demand Media or Examiner.com article about that topic.

I suspect that "information rot" is going to prove the real bugaboo for sites that run millions of short articles as filler content. Let's say that John Doe has written a 400-word article for Demand Media on how to get to Widgetville from Widgetville International Airport. In 2010, the Widgetville Transit Authority puts in a light rail line to replace the existing bus. How long will it be until John Doe's article is updated? Will it ever be updated? Or will it sit on the Web forever, like Web sites that still talk about Italian lire and French francs?