Wiki: It Is What It Is
I'm running the risk of oversimplifying my opinion of Wikipedia (and perhaps Wikipedia itself), but...it is what it is. Whether or not it was founded on (too) idealistic principles, whether or not the founders knew it was going to explode as it did, whether or not the system of addition and deletion is sort of arbitrary, and whether or not you like the site or use it, it is what it is: a free, experimental, communal website that attempts to distribute information of encyclopedia caliber (with a dash of popular culture).
I agree with Eric S. Raymond's analogy of the bazaar, especially: "With no central authority, order sort of emerges bottom-up from the actions and desires of the participants." That, I think, pretty accurately describes Wiki's unique structure.
And I'm OK with that. And that doesn't mean my attitude toward Wiki is "take it with a grain of salt," even though I think you must. I appreciate Wikipedia for what it is, for the structure of it, and for how it grew. I would never rely on it for a research paper, and I would always double-check the information it provides, but it's a useful site if you need information quickly, if you want to jog your memory, or if you want to explore some aspect pop culture. Where else might I find all of this X-Files information on one page?
Perhaps the one down side is that some people, especially younger people, make take Wiki's information as 100% true, either because they don't understand how the site works or because they trust internet information too much. But then, we probably shouldn't trust any information too much.
I agree with Eric S. Raymond's analogy of the bazaar, especially: "With no central authority, order sort of emerges bottom-up from the actions and desires of the participants." That, I think, pretty accurately describes Wiki's unique structure.
And I'm OK with that. And that doesn't mean my attitude toward Wiki is "take it with a grain of salt," even though I think you must. I appreciate Wikipedia for what it is, for the structure of it, and for how it grew. I would never rely on it for a research paper, and I would always double-check the information it provides, but it's a useful site if you need information quickly, if you want to jog your memory, or if you want to explore some aspect pop culture. Where else might I find all of this X-Files information on one page?
Perhaps the one down side is that some people, especially younger people, make take Wiki's information as 100% true, either because they don't understand how the site works or because they trust internet information too much. But then, we probably shouldn't trust any information too much.
