Why is Wikipedia not so Great?
I always try to keep in mind that Wikipedia is not the most ideal place to end your research, in many cases you don't know where the information came from or who wrote it or if it's been moderated or fact checked.
I stumbled into this answer, whats yours?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Why_Wikipedia_is_not_so_great
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M$14 Answers
That said, Wikipedia's biggest weakness is ingrained in the strength of the community. There are a large number of wiki-pedians who have special permissions beyond those of the average editor. It is a mistake to view Wikipedia as a completely democratic/egalitarian system, since special powerful rights are given to several thousand of these editors.
The most irritating special editorial right is that of "speedy deletion". Editors have used this as a blunt instrument to squelch articles that don't adhere to Wikipedia's definition of "truth" (for example, people who create or edit pages about themselves or their own companies). But since speedy deletion expunges all edits and comments completely, the victims of speedy deletion have little recourse. There is an arcane appeal process, but mere mortals will not be able to navigate it to successfully get their page/edits reinstated.
Over time, I've seen a lot a great contributions to Wikipedia articles completely deleted because they did not comply with someone's ideal for "neutral Point of View". The current system not only is not "fair" but is highly inefficient resulting a lot of churn and conflict between submitters.
I am one of many people that have simply stopped contributing to it because of these problems. I'd rather own (and stand behind) my own content; hopefully the search engines evolve to promote and drive traffic to those most valued sources that are outside of the the walled garden of Wikipedia.
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M$
One of the first things I learned in high school was that encyclopedias are not to be considered a citable source for research projects or term papers. They represent an excellent place to START research, as they may provide ideas for avenues of research that you could never have thought of on your own. But they are a beginning, not an end—because in covering all subjects to a limited extent, it cannot concentrate on any one subject to a GREAT extent. That is what more directed sources such as books, magazines, etc. are for.
Wikipedia is exactly like that. In fact, in some ways, it may be better than an ordinary encyclopedia for telling you how and where to research your topic, because any well-written article will have a list of citations at the end that will lead you to magazine articles, books, and other media that you CAN use as primary sources.
Wikipedia IS a great place to START your research—but because it is an encyclopedia, it is a lousy place to end it.
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M$
Moderation would help, but that also detracts from what makes Wikipedia so good, a free medium that allows a constant update of ideas.
Hope this helps. Just my 2 cents.
Granted I
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M$You should take everything you read on the Internet with a grain of salt, because of the free, independent, community vibe that makes up this information highway. You are bound to stumble across dead info on the highway, as well as opportunistic hitchhikers and such...
Wikipedia may not be flawless but it is, in my opinion, one of the great success stories of the XX-XXI century. A widely accessible, human powered engine of knowledge, with all the flaws, pride, beauty and excesses that make up human kind as a whole. It can be the beginning, the end, or the middle of any investigation or research, and it's up to the users to find the best way to filter the information they use by double or even triple checking.
Specially when writing scientific or professional papers, you should never rely only on one source of information. Wikipedia is good, but not god.
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M$
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The thing that makes wikipedia "not so good" for me personally is that I've come across several pages that had incorrect information due to the fact that they allow anyone and everyone to edit. Sure, they track your IP if you don't log in when you make a change, but that doesn't always prompt them to correct errors that have been left on pages. The internet is a great resource for information, and one of the things I like about Mahalo in comparison to Wikipedia, is that instead of stopping at the Guide Note and Fast Facts, we take things a couple steps further by citing all of the facts used that aren't common knowledge and we provide the best links on the net where you can find out everything you need to know about the subject. With Wikipedia, you have their resources cited section, but other than that, they expect you to take their word for it.
Even the most world renowned experts will gladly lead people to more information about the subject, encouraging them to further their own learning experience. Of course, the time I have spent as a freelancer for Mahalo may have biased me a little bit, but I really feel that Wikipedia is okay if you're looking for something quick and fun, but if you really want to learn about something, a place like Mahalo will get the job done.
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M$
I don't like that some internal politics seem to be resulting in censorship of material (see link below).
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So my rule of thumb is to always check the info there on another site. I don't know any other site that can offer as complete information as on Wikipedia, but at least I can catch glaring errors this way.
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M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$Bad information is a problem, but aware readers can see the information and judge for themselves. The big problem with wikipedia is that it's too easy to delete comments you don't like, or to get rid of information that is still in the process of being developed. Readers can't judge for themselves whether this deleted material is bad because someone else decided it wasn't bland enough (or was too bland) to be included. For an especially ironic example, see the recent scuffle over Deletionpedia.
http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/09/22/slashdot-coverage-nets-deletionpedia-wikipedia-reprieve
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Others to look at, and some have free trials and premium services:
http://www.britannica.com
http://www.encyclopedia.com
http://encarta.msn.com
http://www.questia.com
http://www.worldbookonline.com
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
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