Talk:BDORT/Mediation/Draft

Proposed question (for Wikipedia_talk:No_original_research):

Hi, this is an attribution question that seems to apply to a combination of WP:V, WP:NOR and WP:RS, but since WP:NOR appears to be the most relevant, it may make sense to post it here. Here is the scenario: assume we have an editor with access to copies of affidavits from an official government agency (in this case, the Patent Office). Assume that we want to rely on these letters as a reference in an article to show that the witness in that affidavit made certain claims (which he affirms in the affidavit). We aren't sure, however, how to verify these documents or obtain them, presumably from the government directly. The editor with access to the original letters uploads the scanned letters into WP as a PDF file of scanned images. The letters seem like affidavits; they have government seals and signatures and appear authentic. The question is: can the article (which includes some controversial claims) make reference to these letters and point to the Wikicommons scanned image as source? Would doing so violate any existing WP sourcing/attribution policy or guideline? How, if at all, might one go about verifying this document, and does this verification method reasonably fulfill Wikipedia requirements? Thanks, XXXX