[Web4lib] Wikipedia Founder Discourages Academic Use of HisCreation

Tue Jun 13 09:43:03 EDT 2006

It's interesting that they still offer citation information for each
article (See
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Cite&page=Phil_Collins
&id=58388755 for one example.

They have added the following disclaimer:

IMPORTANT NOTE: Most teachers and professionals do not consider it
appropriate to use tertiary sources such as encyclopedias as a sole
source for any information. Wikipedia articles should be used for
background information, and as a starting point for further research.

As with any community-built reference, there is a possibility for error
in Wikipedia's content - please check your facts against multiple
sources and read our disclaimers for more information. 

Oh, and good point, Karen. What if your false knowledge from wikipedia
caused you to lose at Trivial Pursuit!

Joshua Ellsworth

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of K.G. Schneider
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2006 6:56 PM
To: 'Web4Lib'
Subject: RE: [Web4lib] Wikipedia Founder Discourages Academic Use of
HisCreation

 http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/index.php?id=1328

So, if I'm reading about the Battle of the Bulge on my own and I use
erroneous information from Wikipedia to "learn" more about it, it's
really ok because I'm not being graded?

Karen G. Schneider
kgs at bluehighways.com 

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