[Web4lib] Wikipedia Founder Discourages Academic Use ofHisCreation

[Richard Wiggins]

I think the point is a bit more subtle: the disclaimer associates Wikipedia
with "tertiary" sources and therefore puts itself in the same category as
encyclopedias in general, and in particular, Encyclopedia Britannica,
subject of the recent and flawed comparison in the journal Nature.

It's a clever PR stunt: "We aspire to distill the wisdom of the hive -- but
the hive may be wrong."  It inoculates Wikipedia against reports of
inaccuracy.

Imagine if the Britannica had a disclaimer that said "This is a tertiary
source and we often may get things wrong."

/rich


On 6/13/06, K.G. Schneider <kgs at bluehighways.com> wrote:
>
>
> Oh, I see; it's because it's an encyclopedia; blame the format!
>
> > Oh, and good point, Karen. What if your false knowledge from wikipedia
> > caused you to lose at Trivial Pursuit!
> >
> > Joshua Ellsworth
>
> Your comment is funny, but it did hit a chord. Aren't we all entitled to
> the
> best information possible, whether we are making a life decision, playing
> a
> board game, planning a family move, cooking dinner, or deciding whether
> it's
> right for our country to go to war?
>
> Karen G. Schneider
> kgs at bluehighways.com
>
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