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1. crazyg+(OP)[view] [source] 2026-02-05 01:18:51
It made sense in an age of print. But in the era of Wikipedia it's not really needed anymore. If you want population statistics or whatever, Wikipedia will tell you and link to the country's own official metrics. You don't need the CIA to collate it all for you.

And, as multiple commenters here have noted, it's on the Internet Archive. So let's just cherish it as another print tradition that would inevitably end.

replies(5): >>simonw+x >>jfenge+x9 >>burnt-+No >>t-3+Ay >>techbl+we1
2. simonw+x[view] [source] 2026-02-05 01:23:13
>>crazyg+(OP)
It hasn't been a print-first publication in many years - the site was updated weekly.

It's also where a lot of the facts on Wikipedia came from. This is a real loss.

I trust CIA over official population numbers from a lot of countries. There was a thread on here recently that pointed out a lot of countries haven't conducted an effective census in many years, if at all: >>46810027

replies(2): >>stopbu+q61 >>edsu+Rc1
3. jfenge+x9[view] [source] 2026-02-05 02:38:40
>>crazyg+(OP)
Wikipedia isn't a source. Wikipedia gathers data from elsewhere, including the World Factbook.

Wikipedia has other sources for most of that information. It comes from organizations like the UN, which the administration detests, and now lacks its own way of gathering that information.

4. burnt-+No[view] [source] 2026-02-05 05:10:03
>>crazyg+(OP)
> It made sense in an age of print.

Reading books is still important. That has nothing to do with the CIA factbook website edition.

Archiving copies of internet-published information is important, especially when a regime lies, tries to rewrite history, and destroys knowledge and public resources regularly.

> So let's just cherish it as another print tradition that would inevitably end

Self-fulfilling prophecy, learned-helplessness doomer fallacy. It only ended because some assholes ended it.

5. t-3+Ay[view] [source] 2026-02-05 06:46:39
>>crazyg+(OP)
Wikipedia is nowhere near the same level of quality or trustworthiness.
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6. stopbu+q61[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-05 11:43:10
>>simonw+x
Hopefully the next admin will regain an understanding of the value of the World Facebook collection of somewhat-vetted facts and opinions.
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7. edsu+Rc1[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-05 12:40:50
>>simonw+x
Yes, apart from the loss of the publication as a historical artifact, it is the loss of the continuing process that kept it up to date as a representation of the present (with whatever flaws you always have with such representations).
8. techbl+we1[view] [source] 2026-02-05 12:53:45
>>crazyg+(OP)
Start paying attention to references next time you look for a piece of factual information about a country.
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