psychiccyberfreak 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2006 (edited) yeah, too much problems moderating and stuff, and nobody really has a static IP, so they just can't do it, and it's just way too hard, anyone can post anything with no security clearance. I like this, but it's hard to manage (I know from experience after someone wrote 50 comments, all the same thing, you know I restricted it to members only, )Also, if someone writes something wrong, and then I use it for a paper or something, I'm bad, because my textbook says it differently. Edited March 24, 2006 by psychiccyberfreak (see edit history) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BordaForx 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2006 Well, it's certainly good, to me. I barely find mistakes. (I just heard on the news though that Wikipedia banned the government's IP from editing themselves, because they hired people to actually erase all of their bad stuff and rumors and stuff. So, Wikipedia is checked often, so I think it's pretty reliable. It's also written kind of professionaly. Come on, admit it, you would expect some of the writings to be like this: 1337 sp38k pwns j00.So, I like Wikipedia...and yeah, I use it for work and stuff. It's very detailed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
htdefiant 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2006 I love wikipedia. I can add info if I know it, and it is accurate. Wikipedia seems more "friendly" then other encyclopedias if you know what I mean. Go Wiki! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cool_Freaker 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2006 Yep, Wikipedia is great. It provides information on so many topics, many even which are not covered in conventional encyclopaedias. Of course there may be some inaccuracies, though even with a growing user base, theoretically, more people should be able to spot the increasing number of edit errors. I use it, but usually double check information on it from another source. I find most of the articles give a good general overview of a topic and allow you to research further into it with some main ideas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wasser 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2006 Ok people I don't know you. But I was doing a school homework for physics (specifically the temperature measures) and I went to wikipedia (Portuguese and Spanish) and I summarize the info of both sites.For my surprise, the teacher asks us to read what we had brought and when I say my information (?There are 8 temperature measures accepted by the International System?) my teacher says it?s definitely wrong, and that I would have to bring her my sources so she could tell the ?book writer? that the info was wrong. Imagine what would happen if she knew that I took the info from wikipedia, from where none of the information has any supervision? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stlgoalie 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2006 Wiki is a useful tool. When I was doing book research, it had some different topics, and sometimes when I'm bored at work waiting for a render to finish I will look around Wiki. That being said, I am not sure I would use it for any academic work other than to see what sources they cite. The problem with something that anyone can edit is that any one can edit. That just makes it ripe for vandels and that 1% of the population that enjoys screwing things up for everyone else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wasser 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2006 The problem with something that anyone can edit is that any one can edit. That just makes it ripe for vandels and that 1% of the population that enjoys screwing things up for everyone else. I think that the problem is not only the vandals that want to screw everything on the site like some people. I think that the real problem is that most of the people that writes articles aren't qualified for it (despite i know some teachers/professors that write in there) so maybe I think I know about something and I write an article and, without noting, the article has some wrong information, because, let's face it, half of the wikipedia articles don't have any sources and if they have, the sources say something totally different to what is being said in the article, they just put sources to say their article has credibility but in the truth, they don't have. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T100 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2006 This is something that I have been worrying about for quite some time. As far as my profession is concerned, information provided by wikipedia is not only comparable to that of Britannica, but much better than it. As for computing and math, the two major strong realms of wikipedia, I can also tell that the information is up-to-date and accurate. As a lover of literature, I often refer to this encyclopedia for updates of the authors I read. However, I am less sure about history articles, as they are often the ?disputed? notice. I think readers should refer to more authoritative references in these areas. After all, Britannica and Encarta are written by experts and the articles often come with references so further reading can be carried out to clarify the facts. I think, users in general should focus more on wikipedia?s unique ability to keep abreast with current affairs. I often browse it for new entries about new animes and dramas aired on TV every day and the synopsis and character list help a lot in understanding those animes and dramas. This is just one example of many things that only wikipedia can deliever. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites