http://blog.ihatewikipedia.com/ Somebody even writes a blog on their hatred for Wikipedia. Seriously?
I am fully aware that ordinary people can create and edit posts on Wikipedia. But my question is, what if these ordinary people know a lot of stuff about random stuff? I do not trust Wikipedia 100%; however, I use it as a starting point for finding more sources. The well written articles have cited, and usually reliable, sources at the bottom of the page. I always start my online research by checking out the links on Wikipedia.
The problem I see with Wikipedia is like you said the issue of ordinary people having the ability to change things. This could cause the information to be wrong. It is a good site to use, if the article is cited well, so a person can check the facts. Also, I agree that it is a good jumping off point; it's just not the best source to take at face value.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have encountered, 9 out of 10 times I look something up on Wikipedia the article is cited and good to go. I don't know how history submissions or any liberal arts submissions go but for science-esque things you can pretty much rely on what you find. Albeit there was one time that I typed in "Floridda" in the search bar and the only result was "the penis of the United States." Later I realized i had put two d's in Florida. :(
ReplyDeleteIt is true that ordinary people can add to Wikipedia. Honestly though, how many people who don't have an interest in the topic are going to take the time to write about it. While its not 100% correct all of the time, MOST of the information is correct.
ReplyDelete