Re. sources: I'm suggesting a summary, with specific references where available; sometimes this will need to be quite long, but in the case of vague "I heard somewhere it's a pagan ritual" type comments, where no source for the assertion is identified or evidence adduced, the ensuing discussion will probably be of little help, and can be condensed down to something on the lines of "sometimes alleged to have pagan origins".

I've often wished that I could edit some of the threads where I've posted detailed lists of references to related material, in order to incorporate new links and information in one spot rather than spread all over the place (and, I have to say, eliminate some irrelevant "thread-creep" in otherwise serious discussions). Where I've linked to earlier discussions, I usually now include a brief summary of what is actually in that thread (often only one useful post out of many!) so I'm naturally interested in this initiative as a manageable way of achieving what I've been trying to do myself for some time: I haven't as a rule re-posted the information itself because of considerations of space. The model I've arrived at works within its inherent limits, but editable threads should make possible greater concision and a far more coherent end-result. It's an experiment I'd like to be involved with.