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Geek Culture / Why do so many people believe that Wikipedia is so inaccurate?

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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 5th Jan 2012 23:58
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I have noticed that around half the people I talk to either very very strongly believe that Wikipedia is inaccurate and that none if it's information is true. The other half of people including my self believe that it is a great source of information for most topics. Now I do indeed believe that Wikipedia has it's inaccuracies, but in the end, almost all of it's information is perfectly true. So why do so many people believe it isn't a good source of info?

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Vent
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 00:03 Edited at: 6th Jan 2012 00:04
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I don't know... Ever try editing a Wikipedia page? If it's not perfect somebody I'll jump on it right away. Usually anyway.

I also find it to be the best place to find information. If I'm doing a project or something and we're not allowed to use Wikipedia as a source I'll use it to find the subject, then find the same info somewhere else.



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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 00:08 Edited at: 6th Jan 2012 00:09
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Exactly! For the same reason that it may be innacurate, it's very accurate! Once I edited a strange thing into the laptop article and within 5 minutes it was gone and fixed. There are way more people that know their facts than people that don't and way more people against vandalism than there are people that are for it...

Haha yah, I gave some teachers that tell us we are forbidden from going to Wikipedia, others that recommend it, and some that require it!

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Thraxas
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 00:11
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Quote: "So why do so many people believe it isn't a good source of info?"


I always thought it was because anyone could edit it. Before it was removed, the FPS Creator wiki page was full of inaccuracies about the program either put there by disgruntled users or by the guys who walk silently with their fps creator.

I edited it a few times so that the information was correct but whenever I would go back it had been 'fixed' by the aforementioned people...

Also I have seen information on Wikipedia which is just flat out incorrect... Now again that might just be because someone had edited it for fun and it was later fixed, but that's why I don't like it as a reliable source of information.

I'll stick to my encyclopedias from the 1920s, thanks. They're real books, with up to date information on everything (except anything after the 1920s)...

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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 00:16
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Interesting.... I definitely see your points and they are quite valid, but yah, likely that was vandalism that was causing that. Also, if a page gets vandalized enough, it becomes locked and only registered users can edit it. Still it isn't foolproof but I think for the most part wikiepedia is reliable...

Yes, 1920's information is sure to be useful in these days!

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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 00:27
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Wikipedia can be inaccurate, which is why you should verify what you find on there. It's great for finding sources and explaining information in a clear way. But I would never use it as my only source.

It can be inaccurate for different reasons, but the two that probably stand out are:

1) Trolls. Generally they tend to be easy to spot. We know James Hetfield of Metallica fame isn't a table.
2) Misinformaiton/Unreliable sources. Not every source is reliable, for instant, ones claiming America has declared Pizza as a vegetable. People may get dates wrong, misquote sources or misunderstand them too. There's a lot of misinformation on the net.

So obviously in an educational setting you will want to make sure what you've got is reliable and 99% of the time, it is. In an internet discussion I quoted Wikipedia when bringing up some very specifics about a topic, but was refuted by a quote from the Cambridge University Press. So it can happen.

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BiggAdd
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 00:29
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Wikipedia should only be used as a starting point. Most of the articles are pretty basic and if you want to at least understand the source material you are researching, you should buy a book or read a journal.

If you were to base your entire knowledge on wikipedia articles, you will soon find large gaps between your knowledge, as a lot of the stuff isn't in depth or very well structured.

Should be used as a reference (like an encyclopaedia), not a way to learn about something.

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bruce3371
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 00:56 Edited at: 6th Jan 2012 01:02
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I've read a good summary of wikipedia (sorry can't remember where);

"Wikipedia is a good place to start your research, but not a good place to finish it".

Wikipedia themselves also have a disclaimer page which is worth a read;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer

This line in particular should be noted;

"Please be advised that nothing found here has necessarily been reviewed by people with the expertise required to provide you with complete, accurate or reliable information."

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Neuro Fuzzy
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 02:49
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Quote: "I edited it a few times so that the information was correct but whenever I would go back it had been 'fixed' by the aforementioned people...
"

same... I even had sources and it got "fixed"...

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Quik
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 03:08
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Quote: "I'll stick to my encyclopedias from the 1920s, thanks. They're real books, with up to date information on everything (except anything after the 1920s)..."


while books are great, wikipedia is amazing for finding a quick piece of information with the help of just typing in a few words on the computer


I personally love wikipedia and use it daily to check information


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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 03:09 Edited at: 6th Jan 2012 03:10
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Ahh you guys make valid points i say!!!

I guess it depends on the article itself. But like mentioned before, it's a great reference rather than learning source.

Haha quik couldnt have said it better!

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Vent
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 03:19
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Quote: "Haha quik couldnt have said it better!"


Agreed.



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Wolf
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 06:27 Edited at: 6th Jan 2012 06:27
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What bothers me is the E-Mails they send nowadays begging for donations and these "hanging out in sunshine" photos of their members they use to convince us they are good and reliable guys.

I understand that they are in need of the money for such a great project but the way they approach this is just wrong.

I believe that wikipedia is a great website, especially if you do research of some far-out stuff...somebody has written a wikipage about it.

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes, art is knowing which ones to keep.
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MrValentine
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 06:57
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What troubles me is that MS killed off Encarta god the memories of all that nicely laid out sata and material...

And the indirect fact Wikipedia killed off Encarta

I did learn one thing here... I will lock some pages on my wiki site. its for you guys...

I am confused... what if I placed data on wikipedia and it was of my product or company and well who knows your business or product better than you?

That is a good reason to sometimes ignore some data on their site ^^ as a disgruntled chimp is not good at typing accurately

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lazerus
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 13:23
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Quote: "Wikipedia should only be used as a starting point. Most of the articles are pretty basic and if you want to at least understand the source material you are researching, you should buy a book or read a journal.

If you were to base your entire knowledge on wikipedia articles, you will soon find large gaps between your knowledge, as a lot of the stuff isn't in depth or very well structured.

Should be used as a reference (like an encyclopaedia), not a way to learn about something."


My lecturer said the exact same thing to us. Then told us to buy £40 resource books haha. / we did 8( /


http://lazerus-reborn.deviantart.com/
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bitJericho
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 13:59
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Quote: "My lecturer said the exact same thing to us. Then told us to buy £40 resource books haha. / we did 8( /"


He probably wrote it.


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Zotoaster
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 14:15
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Quote: "He probably wrote it."


So typical.

Wikipedia is supposedly about 95% accurate. One advantage however is that it requires citations for most information, so you can always follow these links to check out how legit they are. Of course, when you're not an expert, how can you judge someone else's expertise?


On the whole, I love Wikipedia. I believe in it's philosophy - knowledge belongs to everyone, not just "experts", and I believe given enough time and work, it will eventually turn into the best source of knowledge on the internet. It's half way there already (95% I should say)!

"everyone forgets a semi-colon sometimes." - Phaelax
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 6th Jan 2012 14:44 Edited at: 6th Jan 2012 14:45
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Quote: "Quote: "My lecturer said the exact same thing to us. Then told us to buy £40 resource books haha. / we did 8( /"

He probably wrote it."


Funny you should say that, we had to use our lecturer's book for one of our final year modules, however, he told us there were plenty of copies in the library. His book was £20 in Waterstones, for a student that's a lot of money. But I think most of us bought the book anyway.

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old_School
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Posted: 11th Jan 2012 20:13 Edited at: 11th Jan 2012 20:15
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Quote: "I always thought it was because anyone could edit it. Before it was removed, the FPS Creator wiki page was full of inaccuracies about the program either put there by disgruntled users or by the guys who walk silently with their fps creator. "


Likely the reason the TGC Wiki was "trolled" was because peoples perception about the product. You need to be realistic when reviewing TGC products. The biggest product is FPS Creator which is currently still buggy. Also people are not allowed to voice their thoughts about TGC products on these forums. Honestly if you know u have a good product, I'd welcome to insults so you could correct them and turn a negative into a positive. Also note their is about 80% truth to every insult. So some of the insults might have carried some weight to them. Its a good idea to review both good and bad reviews about your products.

I don't know what was said on the TGC wiki but Im sure it was more then just some angery users. If that was the case, it was a missed oppertunity for you guys (TGC) to kindly correctly them and help them. I'm just as guilty as the next person though. I sometimes have a hard time seeing how to turn a negative review into something positive. But thats just apart of being a software dev and business owner. You have to listen to both sides of the argument. Just my thoughts on wiki's and TGC Wiki.
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Insert Name Here
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Posted: 12th Jan 2012 01:26
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Quote: "The biggest product is FPS Creator which is currently still buggy. Also people are not allowed to voice their thoughts about TGC products on these forums."

I thought DarkBasic was the biggest product? Anyway, if this were true, the DBP bug reports, FPSC bug reports, and FPSC feature creep forum would not exist. They do.

It's a bit weird that you think people should 'welcome insults'. I think what you mean is they should welcome constructive criticism. An insult is just negative feeling, with no substance or evidence.

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Le Shorte
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Posted: 12th Jan 2012 01:36
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Here's an interesting read.


Quote: "the guys who walk silently with their fps creator. "

Glad to see I'm not the only guy who's been confused by "Silent Walk FPS Creator."

Cheesehead for life.
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 12th Jan 2012 06:36
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Quote: "Also people are not allowed to voice their thoughts about TGC products on these forums."
Doesnt say that anywhere in the AUP... So if i wanted to say that DBPro's sprite handling system is crap then i can!! actually, the sprite handling is ok

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Thraxas
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Posted: 12th Jan 2012 09:59
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Quote: "Also people are not allowed to voice their thoughts about TGC products on these forums. "


Anybody is allowed to voice their opinion about the products. There are many threads doing just that, it's just the well thought out, respectfully written ones that get to stay though.

I assume that comment is because you were banned for putting down TGC products, I didn't read your comments so I don't know what you wrote. But it must have been particularly non-constructive to earn you a ban.

http://thraxocorp.webs.com/ Visit my totally awesome website: Thraxocorp. It's my own company and I'm totes the CEO.
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Quel
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Posted: 12th Jan 2012 10:25
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Nobody can edit Wikipedia, they always change it back to the previous state, no matter what and how you edit.

And this stinks like hell.

You may have a chance with a one letter typo though, good for you...

When it comes to politics, or anything the least bit controversial, there are always lies all over it, so you should only trust it for technology and stuff.

Putting there the source as a link doesn't help either, who said "a source" is like God's writing or whatever?..

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Quik
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Posted: 12th Jan 2012 10:53
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Quote: "Putting there the source as a link doesn't help either, who said "a source" is like God's writing or whatever?.."


A source means its a supported thought, and not somemthing you made up (most of the time)
and it becomes more believable since its written SOMEWHERE ELSE aswell


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Veron
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Posted: 15th Jan 2012 11:48
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Quote: "When it comes to politics, or anything the least bit controversial, there are always lies all over it"


Hardly, most political event pages stay right away from taking sides, and instead only present the facts. It's clearly shown if anything is speculation or otherwise unreliable.

Quote: "Putting there the source as a link doesn't help either, who said "a source" is like God's writing or whatever?.."


Umm... well a source means that the information in the article can be verified. Without sources Wikipedia would be a load of junk.

Quote: "Nobody can edit Wikipedia, they always change it back to the previous state, no matter what and how you edit."


If there is actually something you can contribute to the article, then it will be let through. The only things that i've seen get knocked back are by a bunch of people who feel like they want to contribute their one sided, loosely constructed opinions or 'facts'.

Wikipedia is great, just not for anything academic, i.e it's great for background research, but when you cite a Wikipedia page in an essay, be prepared to be laughed at.

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Zotoaster
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Posted: 15th Jan 2012 12:18
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Quote: "Putting there the source as a link doesn't help either, who said "a source" is like God's writing or whatever?.."


I can't believe my eyes. Maybe you mis-typed or something. Are you seriously saying that evidence doesn't help? Seriously?

"everyone forgets a semi-colon sometimes." - Phaelax
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old_School
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Posted: 15th Jan 2012 18:12
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Quote: "I assume that comment is because you were banned for putting down TGC products, I didn't read your comments so I don't know what you wrote. But it must have been particularly non-constructive to earn you a ban."


Nope but it was in the rules once upon a time and I've seen other get in trouble for pointing out things in the past. I've also seen many post edits for people "voicing" their thoughts. This of course was years ago and its not common any more but it has happend. Most of it I remember was posted in FPSC forums.
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 15th Jan 2012 18:56 Edited at: 15th Jan 2012 18:57
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I've been here since 2004 (coming up to 8 years in August), I've never seen TGC or the Mods do anything like that. They've always welcomed feedback, positive or negative, it helps them make improvements with their updates.

The only circumstances I can think action would be taken are:
If the thread isn't relevant to the board
If the topic is flooding the board and pushing other threads down
If it is non-constructive
If the posts aren't relevant to the thread
If the posts are flooding any threads

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bitJericho
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Posted: 16th Jan 2012 10:29
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Quote: "If there is actually something you can contribute to the article, then it will be let through. The only things that i've seen get knocked back are by a bunch of people who feel like they want to contribute their one sided, loosely constructed opinions or 'facts'."


I've contributed a handful of corrections to articles and they've always gone through.


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