Is Wikipedia Evil Is Wikipedia Evil n Wikipedia

Is Wikipedia Evil?

Is Wikipedia Evil? n Wikipedia is the worlds first Open. Source encyclopaedia. n That means that anyone can edit it. n That’s both a good thing, and a bad thing, as you’ll see. n First, let’s take a look at what I mean…

First, an example…

For example Let’s say I want to edit the page for the First Earl of Shaftesbury. n Here’s what the opening paragraph looked like before I got my hands on it: n

For Example n n Please note that at no time did Wikipedia ask how much I knew about the subject. Here are the changes I put in:

Trusting People You’ve Never Met n Wikipedia operates on a level of trust that people will a) avoid vandalizing the site, and b) fix it if they find bad information n There are no guarantees that people will actually do these things, and that’s the problem

An excellent place to start… There are things to like about Wikipedia. Namely: n In depth coverage n Up-to-date n Links and citations for more reliable information n A good place to develop questions for research

… but a lousy place to finish 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Inherently unreliable Information changes moment to moment No peer review (editing by experts) Skewed priorities: Entry for “World War II” has 11, 884 words. “Call of Duty” has 13, 069. * “Wikiality” *Source: Gamesradar

“Wikiality” is a term coined by Stephen Colbert. In a nutshell: If everyone agrees that it must be true, then it is true, regardless of the facts.

Still don’t believe me? n Take a look at the following quote:

“The site is a wonderful starting point for research. But it's only a starting point because there's always a chance that there's something wrong, and you should check your sources if you are writing a paper. ” n Jimmy Wales, Time magazine, March 22, 2007

Why should you care what Jimmy Wales says?

Why should you care what Jimmy Wales says? n Jimmy Wales is the creator of Wikipedia, and of wiki technology in general. n He’s the person you have to thank every time you log on to the “World’s Largest Encyclopaedia” n If he doesn’t think you should use it as a final source, do you still think it’s a good idea?

Is Wikipedia Evil?

Is Wikipedia Evil? Not exactly. There’s still much to like about it. Wikipedia is an excellent place to go to form questions about what you want to study, provided you go to more reliable places for those answers. n Just remember; Wikipedia is a great place to start research, but a horrible place to finish. n

The End n If you have any questions about Wikipedia, or about research in general, please feel free to ask your friendly library staff.