Do you use Wikipedia?

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Tom

Tom

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Many of us use Wikipedia, but don't think about the fact that it costs $$$ to maintain. If you're a frequent user, consider making a small donation to help them stay in business - here. Thanks (I'm not affiliated with them, just a user who donated).
 
I've received one email letting me know that WikiPedia content can be added/edited by anybody, and the result may not be factually correct. I agree with this comment, and always tell folks not to believe everything they read on the internet.

My message was not intended to suggest that WikiPedia was the authoritative source of information. But I openly admit to searching their site when I have a question.
 
For some reason the Wikipedia thread currently in play is locked out.....
Commenting to that discussion.... about how it's not factually accurate....
I don't care, i still find lots of useful information there.

Actually, I find that whole thing funny personally.  Back in the day, before computers and the internet, we would drive down to the library and references sources such as printed encyclopedia, or other books.  No guarantee that any of that information was right either!

I remember a conversation I had a few years back with my niece, who at the time was working on her undergrad degree at NC State.  I may be remembering this wrong, but she was telling me that they were not allowed to use wikepedia.... but they also were not allowed to use books form library as references.  I guess more "stock" is held with sources such as peer reviewed professional journals.

In my thinking, its all funny...... because it's all useful info., just has to be vetted through your own filters and other research.... any of it does.
 
Hi Brad,

I went ahead and unlocked this topic and merged your message into the discussion.

... it's all useful info., just has to be vetted through your own filters and other research.... any of it does
Click to expand...
.

Agreed.

Putting on my chainmail underwear  :(
 
The best part of wikipedia is the references that get added to an article. You can follow the references and do your own research.
 
I read somewhere a long time ago that Wikipedia is a great resource for looking up facts, like the discography of the Beatles or the dates that states were admitted to the union. But it is not a great resource for opinions such as the best president or the best musical of all time. So I only go there for facts and it has never let me down. Yes anyone can edit Wikipedia however they have a large staff of experts in every field that review changes and considering how many millions of people use the site every day it is pretty rare that a fact is presented there that is not accurate.
 
Yes, I use it and have donated a small amount for the last 2 years. We use it often to check out music or film info and other odds and ends. I take everything I read on the Internet with a pinch of salt.
 
I, too, am a Wikipedia fan and supporter.  There's a wealth of dynamic information there.  Yes, there are occasional errors in facts, but have you ever read older encyclopedias?  Even Colliers and Britannica got it wrong once in a while.  And, when they got it wrong, the factual errors stayed on the bookshelf until some unsuspecting soul came along and took what they read as gospel.  At least, with Wikipedia, errors seldom remain for long.  And it does not wait for a later version of the entire document.
 
The first "encyclopedia" software on PC or Apple was laughed at by the likes of Encyclopedia Britannica as zero competition. They completely missed the fact that their competition was the computer.
 
SeilerBird said:
I read somewhere a long time ago that Wikipedia is a great resource for looking up facts, like the discography of the Beatles or the dates that states were admitted to the union. But it is not a great resource for opinions such as the best president or the best musical of all time. So I only go there for facts and it has never let me down. Yes anyone can edit Wikipedia however they have a large staff of experts in every field that review changes and considering how many millions of people use the site every day it is pretty rare that a fact is presented there that is not accurate.
Click to expand...

Independent analysis reports an estimated 80% of wikipedia articles contain at least one factual error.  Wikipedia is good to get some background info.  The links at the end the valuable part.  On several occasions I found the reference stated different than the cite in the wikipedia body.
 
Wikipedia is a great source of technical information.  Generally the folks who create wikis of a technical nature are pretty expert at what they're posting.  If they aren't someone who is will let them know very quickly.

Geeks are like that.
 
We shouldn't beat up on Wikipedia for inaccuracies once in a while, all of us are inaccurate once in a while too. ;D
 
I like that 80% have at least one error..  Well the media 90%+ has at least one error,, The fact is though that the one error may well be minor.. And by following up with 2ndary links you can often override that error.

How many Wiki entries are over 50% wrong?  how many News stories  How many hit 100% wrong.

The nature of Wikepedia is that the number of articles with errors shoudld go down over time... The nature of the Media (news) is that the errors get worse every day.. So yes, I use Wiki,, usually as a path to other resources including the "official ______ web page" of the company or person I'm researching.
 
If you see an error on a Wiki, you can always contribute a correction, or volunteer to write/update a better article.

Some articles contain notes at the bottom, e.g. "citation needed", that suggest the data may not be totally reliable.
 
I use and contribute to Wikipedia..... would miss site. The structure and detail of info presented is sooo professional.

Somewhere in my use of "internet" I recall someone discussing they made a hobby of editing and correcting articles presented. There may even be a name or organization for these people. Does anyone have additional info along these lines? Wikipedia may even have a list of these people and request they review submitted material.
Maybe even the subject material has info regarding the "checks and balances" of articles? 8Muddypaws offered some insight along these lines earlier in post.

If your requirement for knowledge is important, meaning the conclusions you will be forming will influence "important decisions",  double checking sources would be a "natural" requirement.  Yea for Wikipedia!



 
Like most things, Wikipedia has it's uses and limitations.
On some professional forums, citing Wikipedia as your source for argument will get you fried like an egg..... :eek:
 
Wikipedia is just like everything else on the internet.

If you disagree with it....it's probably fake,
 
I'm on the internet (here). I guess I'm fake to some folks haha ;D 8)
 
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