Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The article on the creation and the creator of Wikipedia was fairly enlightening. I have long considered Wikipedia's information sources to be of the bored teenager variety, and therefore give little credence to the information I find there. I do admit using Wales' "Google Test". What's scary is how much faith that users put in the information found on Wikipedia. Even though there is some sort of policing of information going on, I don't think its enough to consider Wikipedia a credible source. The admins seem to be there mostly to remove profanity and nonsense, not to edit for factual information. I think its Stephen Colbert who actually encourages his fans to make up ridiculous information about him and post it on his Wikipedia page. Also, its concerning that when you review a page or article, you are asked to assess your own level of expertise. I just think there's way too much leeway when it comes to facts and Wikipedia.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with you. As I stated in my blog post, I will only use Wikipedia to get me started with research; never as a credible source. I like your comparison with Wikipedia users to bored teenagers. I can't disagree with this one. The only time I look at Wikipedia is when I am trying to find some quick information about something that is completely irrelevant. I also think that there is too much leeway when it comes to facts and Wikipedia. Why have an informational "encyclopedia" if you are enabling anyone with internet access to be able to edit your work?
ReplyDelete