Gathatoulie

I've noticed on wikipedia that an accepted etymology or other such explanation is often preceded by an anecdote, often demarcated as unreliable. For an example of the form just look up teetotalism, which illustrates the form nicely.

"One anecdote attributes the origin of the word to... / A more likely explanation is that teetotal is..."

I suggest that this convention is largely an effect of the "accretion environment" where the accepted fact or truth often acknowledges the imperfect predecessor which possibly inspired the more knowledgable editor to correct the article. Of course it's also partly just the desire to appear erudite, by dismissing a spurious theory before presenting the truth.

In either case, it's an interesting form for a repository of knowledge and might be worth some further study. Does the discussion, dynamic over time, almost literally stratify into a sort of fossil record, in a consistent and predictable way? What about erosion?

(Note of course my complete lack of scholarly rigor as I'm not even testing the hypothesis on the case I cite. It's Sunday & I'm lazy.)