Wikipedia:About

WIKIPEDIA or Brittanica
What's the true fee?

Wikipedia, the mere fact that it is free, makes it worthwhile exploring. After-all, isn’t it just plain human nature to want things that are free? Also, doesn’t it just make good sense to use products that are free rather than pay a fee for it? In order to respond to those questions, we must consider what is the true cost? In other words, will the information be credible. Ian McGill stated “information should be "free" not like free as in beer but like without confinement or gates”.

The origin of Wikipedia has a noble aurora. A group of highly qualified contributors wanted to develop a free encyclopedia known as Nupedia. However, the project was moving very slow and Larry Sanger introduced the wiki format and the rest became history. Another feature that I find somewhat noble is it allows anyone to contribute or edit. However, the question is, how reliable is this source when it allows anyone to contribute as well as edit.

Although, the article stated that Wikipedia is just as reliable as Britannica encyclopedia, because of the processes that Wikipedia have in place in an attempt to ensure that the information is credible, I still have reservations in using Wikipedia. A good point was made in the article when it stated that the information should be validated by another source. It also stated, that “Users should be aware that not all articles are of encyclopedic quality from the start”. In other words, many articles go through a metamorphosis over a period of time until the article is considered balanced.

My concern is generally when you look at various books/references such as the dictionary or encyclopedia, you consider them as the source of truth. You rarely consider cross referencing unless you have some former knowledge that would cause you to question the information. I must admit, if I were using the Britannica encyclopedia I would not necessarily cross reference the document with another source to validate or for support. I’m not justifying that this is best thing to do; and I believe that many other people may do the same.

I am in agreement with the librarian in the article Free Range Librarian. I want to keep my garden free of weeds. The best way that I know to do that is to make sure that my seeds are good.




Strenski, Ellen, comp. "The Wikipedia/Encyclopaedia Britannica Controversy." University of California, Irvine. 22 Mar. 2007 -http://compositioncafe.com/25950/wikicontroversy.html-.