Admin Forum:What is a fact?

Hi everybody. I contribute to the WOT wiki on a regular basis and I love doing so. I am disputing a point in an entry. The point is that "someone planned this." Looking at the books, its obvious that they probably did, (note the conditional) but there is no one saying so, no scrap of paper mentioning it, no confessional, no nothing supporting this. It's just probably what happened from how things look. I am trying to make a point that it's not a fact; it's speculation. And, it's okay to go ahead and put it in the wiki as speculation--that is the most accurate portrayal of events.

Additionally, in this event a person is described as having participated. Her name is not mentioned anywhere as having participated, no one admits it to anyone else, no one identifies her during the event. The only reason she is included is because she has a certain characteristic that would make her ideal for the part. I will happily admit that she probably did participate, but once again, there's that qualifier.

Now, I am not asking this forum to step in and mediate. I am sure that, with patience and sensitivity, we'll work it out. What I am asking is for someone to tell me if an official policy exists on what should be called fact and what should be treated with less, ah, respect, for want of a better word. Professional encyclopedias never label speculation as fact, and I hope we recognize the wisdom of that policy. Do we? Or is it something no one has addressed? If this is already addressed somewhere, then please point me to the location and I will take a good hard look. I think I am addressing the Admin forum, where this is a natural question. If I am not, or if there is a better forum to ask this question, please let me know that, too. Pedantic 23:34, May 31, 2012 (UTC)