And yet if we eliminated anecdotal experience, then we’d be on to reputation, which is even worse. Eliminate reputation, then we have to rely only on people who recently attended or had kids attend every school we talk about. Nobody here has been everywhere.
I struggle with this as well. People get on here all the time and describe schools I know well - whether through it being down the road or as an alumnus or through my kids’ attendance or through one of my sibling’s kid’s attendance etc. - that does not jibe with my view at all. I spend 1/2 my time here wondering how a single poster can opine with such conviction on so many schools. For example, based on being here, stereotypes I myself hang onto, and what I read elsewhere, I presume that Washington & Lee is an infinitely different place than, say, Middlebury. I think I know that, but in reality, I don’t because I’ve never even been to W&L, because my stereotypes of the US south (even US south’ish) are stereotypes, etc. etc.
But with that all said, the traffic here would decline by 95% if we eliminated opinions that are based on limited information and experience or other source of impression. So it’s hard to say Bill’s contribution is inappropriate.