I’m sure you all are quite familiar with Wikipedia, and I’m pretty sure you all have used it in the past. Just incase you don’t quite know what it is, here is a quick definition: Wikipedia is “a multilingual, web-based, free content encyclopedia project.” Moreover, and this is why there is so much controversy revolving Wikipedia, it is written and edited by anyone with access to the website.
Personally, I love Wikipedia. Throughout my high school and college career, teachers have constantly been telling me to stay away at all costs, as if Wikipedia is some evil manifestation designed to lie and deceive me every time I look at it. On the contrary, I have rarely come across something that is a blatant lie. Obviously certain details can be missed out, but there is no more convenient way to learn a basic overview of a subject (in my opinion).
While browsing basic search engines I came across an interesting article in which a very opinionated critic by the name of Nicholas Carr voiced his thoughts after reading two articles at random on the wonderful Wikipedia. “This is garbage, an incoherent hodge-podge of dubious factoids that adds up to something far less than the sum of its parts.” After reading this quote for the first time, the only thing I could think is, “Wow, this guy really hates Wikipedia.” But on a serious note, Carr does make a valid point. Wikipedia can, in some cases, contain information this is incredibly inaccurate, and in some cases, be just plain pranks from users. To combat this weakness, Wikipedia claims that users quickly see problems and then correct them “rapidly.”
In some instances, usually with highly debatable topics, it is impossible to correct all vandalism and as a result, Wikipedia has to lock up the page. This was the case in 2006 when two companies, Nintendo and Sony, both released new products that created the biggest debate of all time (read with sarcasm). Due to an obscene amount of flaming, Wiki chose to lock up the pages. At the bottom is a link to an article that describes the conflict. Just incase everyone doesn’t quite make it to the link, I want to make sure everyone reads an incredibly interesting and important quote from the article: “Interestingly, the Wii seems to attract more conflicts of opinion on the site than the subjects of Scientology (8,475 revisions), God (7,537 revisions), and even Britney Spears (9,886 revisions.)” Ha-ha, that is just great.
Although Wikipedia creates a lot of controversy, and rightfully so, it remains an abundantly used and highly popular website. Although it is not a very “quotable” source (I don’t recommend you use it extensively for your research paper), it can be very informative on a basic level. On Thursday I am going to go into more detail on Wikipedia as well as other forms of online knowledge.
Sony and Nintendo article:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6161547.html
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
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