Pat,
I completely agree when you said "You can't take one person to task for not producing sources and give another a pass for not producing sources. The standards have to be applied equitably, not selectively." That is why I have never taken anyone to task for not producing sources. In my example of David I made certain to include that I supported his right not to show his work or portions of it until he chose to.
You, though, seem to be advocating that one MUST show sources when you state, "To end this spat, the need for the production of source material should be the same for everyone. If that hasn't been the case in the past, it should be the case going forward."
Consider, too, the bigger picture. If all have to include source material then almost nothing will ever be able to be posted or discussed on here. Again, this is a discussion board and not a serious published journal that would require sources, footnotes, etc... If George Bahto makes a statement about Raynor I would expect it to be correct because I have deep respect for all of his research. If I believe him to be mistaken I will approach him in a respectful manner in questioning it. It is this lack of respect for each other that is the problem.
Not to pick on Tom, but he actually called me a liar just a few posts back. In response to his ascertion about what I stated early on in this thread I quoted my response:
"Yes, I have the dates for all of those courses including the actual opening days for a number of them. I know you're getting tired of hearing my "no" answer to if I'll share because of the timeline i'm working on, but I'm getting close to finishing it and when published I am sure that it will be the subject of much discussion. I will say that every date I give will be totally verifiable and the timeline will come complete with ciotations and notations..."
Did he respond with anything approaching a "I'll just wait" or "Please hurry and finish so we can see" or anything at all approaching respect? NO!
His response: "Phil, Whatever you say. Anyone can go back to the early pages and read what actually happened, including the information I presented that seem to conflict with your information. It sounds like you are still gathering the information, which is likely why you refused to answer my question in the first place. You don't have the supporting documentation."
The man flat out called me a LIAR! I didn't make a point of it earlier but Pat, the problem isn't one of not sharing and proving; it is clearly a problem of lack of respect. Frankly, Tom owes me an apology for that comment but I certainly don't expect that one will be forthcoming.