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July 19

What purpose does the reference desk serve?

What is the intended purpose of the Wikipedia reference desk? Does the reference desk serve to help answer topical questions where the answers may not be very easily located? Or does it serve to help direct people to where they may find that information? Or both? The reason I ask is because I tend to see questions that are outside the scope of the above two, and yet they are usually responded to anyway, mostly politely, sometimes facetiously. 128.227.142.245 (talk) 14:40, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

See reference desk. (In general, this sort of discussion belongs on the talk page.) Rmhermen (talk) 15:08, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

It's all of the above and more. Although there are guidelines, they are generally loosely applied, so anything goes basically. In addition, it's also the personal playground of several permanent trolls, but that's a whole other problem altogether. Fgf10 (talk) 15:12, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
- Indeed, I had considered asking the question on the talk page, but I believed that my question falls under the scope of that which a reference desk would answer. 128.227.142.245 (talk) 15:38, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict)

The intended purpose is both. It is supposed to be a Wikipedia version of a library's reference desk (for example, see: Reference desk). Also, WP editors who either need to verify an articles information with sources, or find information to expand an article can come here for assistance. What it actually is is open to debate, which your question serves to initiate.

For more information about Wikipedia reference desk, see:

"The paradox of expertise: is the Wikipedia Reference Desk as good as your library?". Journal of Documentation. 65 (6): 977–996. 16 October 2009. doi:10.1108/00220410910998951. ISSN 0022-0418.
"Wikipedia's Reference Desk Will Answer Any Question You Have | The World's Best News for you | BestTheNews.com |Bestthenews community, Blogs news". bestthenews.com.

--2606:A000:4C0C:E200:ACF5:3AA9:C5D2:ED6 (talk) 15:28, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Hello (seeking statistics on violence against black men in Alabama)

This discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.

The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.

Hello.

I am black man.

I want to know if Alabama is most racist state or safe for black man. Friend says people there dont want a black man to come. I dont know. I heard the cops shoot me for black. I like safety.

Good thank — Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.90.133.239 (talk) 19:09, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I added to the title to make it useful. However, I should point out that pretty much everywhere in the US, your risk of being killed by another black man is far greater than the risk of being killed by police. Also, these risks don't vary so much by state, as they do from neighborhood to neighborhood. So, if you want to list the exact location in Alabama you intend to stay, we might be able to find more useful info. StuRat (talk) 19:21, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

In terms of actual relative risk, you are even more likely to be hit by a car than shot by a cop for any reason.--WaltCip (talk) 20:00, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Note you should consider that in quite a few parts of the US, crime rates for quite a lot of different crimes, regardless of race of the victim are higher then you may have experienced in Japan, probably even as a black man in Japan. Patterns of crime will also be different. You should factor this in to your considerations, especially as to how you behave when in the US (especially where you go and when). Nil Einne (talk) 20:55, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

This interactive Alabama crime rate map (w/stats) might be useful, but is for crime in general:[1] 2606:A000:4C0C:E200:ACF5:3AA9:C5D2:ED6 (talk) 21:17, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Closing off topic discussion. Questioning the OP's motivations and personal circumstances is not particularly friendly or welcoming, and irrelevant to the question

Your IP geolocates to Japan. Why would you want to move from Japan to Alabama? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:42, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think it's strange. Possibly he wants to visit where his parent was from and doesn't intend to move there. Possibly the Marshall Space Flight Center and Japanese space program want an engineer exchange to see if they learn something. Of course there's a joke that the most common bar argument between Alabamans and Mississippians is who's state gets to be the 2nd most racist out of 50. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 22:13, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Of the two, Mississippi still has the rebel flag embedded in their state flag. But I've heard black people from those states talk about loving their state. So the OP is buying into hype. The OP would probably be in as much danger plunked down in certain areas of Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, etc., as he would be in Alabama. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:18, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

True that. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 22:26, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

But our high-crime neighborhoods are hellholes, nothing like Japan. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 22:28, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Gaud Bless AMERICA. Aahy Man. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.220.118.95 (talk) 22:56, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

At least we're not Brazil. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:10, 19 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

There are 106 countries with higher homicide rates than USA. -and- Perceived crime levels at odds with reality. --2606:A000:4C0C:E200:ACF5:3AA9:C5D2:ED6 (talk) 00:49, 20 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

None of which are first world (except maybe South Africa). Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 02:00, 20 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, at least 12 are First World (but Wikipedia should not be considered a reliable source). 2606:A000:4C0C:E200:D08C:67D9:56C2:C444 (talk) 05:31, 20 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

You're all assuming the OP lives permanently in Japan. He may just be passing through. We don't know where he normally lives, and it's not our place to be questioning him about this. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 07:03, 20 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I can question the OP about anything I want to. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:40, 20 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I am going to close all such provocative trolling, "left" or "right" μηδείς (talk) 03:32, 22 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]