[Web4lib] Wikipedia Is Failing and Is Not Failing

[Chris Tinney]

Leah Krevit <leah.krevit at exch.library.tmc.edu> wrote:
  Well, yes, but don't forget this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_is_not_failing
Interesting essays, both.
. . . 
On Behalf Of Micah Stevens
Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 1:00 PM
To: (web4lib at webjunction.org)
Subject: [Web4lib] Is Wikipedia Failing?
You might find this article interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_is_failing

Wikipedia Is Failing and Is Not Failing:

Wikipedia is Failing by not restricting direct links to
pornography and adult / illegal web sites within the
internal format of the structure of the encyclopedia,
as a whole.  Wikipedia must have an internal mechanism
that will automatically restrict searches that have questionable
content, to an enclosed sub set.

Wikipedia is not Failing in the tremendous good is it
doing, in the dissemination of knowledge, worldwide.
I note at Web Pages for Scholarly Societies:
http://www.academic-genealogy.com/archives.htm#Scholarly
the Scholarly Societies Project lists "4117 Scholarly Societies
with 3787 Websites".  Self interest in the scholarly community
will require evaluation of Wikipedia over time, that will of
necessity maintain the continued use and value of Wikipedia.

I predict that it will be a requirement, over time, for college classes,
under the direction of specialized educators, to review, evaluate,
and submit corrected web pages and resources to Wikipedia,
within the self interest concerns of particular disciplines.  I predict
that within the self interest of nationalism, that many articles will
be reviewed and made "politically correct", as time goes on.
Change this to religious interests, social group interests, etc.

There are many ways to overcome limitations.  Example:
Regional Genealogy and Local History Research has
http://www.academic-genealogy.com/regionalgenealogy.htm#amercenso
worldwide research connections, with many Wikipedia articles placed
first in "BOLD" typing.  These are regularly followed by
resources reviewed and suggested by the Library of Congress
Portals to the World resources, as well as other pertinent
local and regional interests.

As Educational Publications and Online Digital Libraries 
http://www.academic-genealogy.com/bookspublicationsgenealogical.htm#Edpub
expand and increase worldwide, the means will be made available,
to cross reference all articles with scholarly works of similar
interest, or other primary source documents.  Wikipedia should
become therefore, the backbone of the scholarly community; an
excellent resource research tool for the popular researching of
genealogy and family history online; also, the worldwide
extension of general and advanced education resources to the
less fortunate, under educated members of our worldwide community.

Respectfully yours, 

Tom Tinney, Sr. 
Who's Who in America, 
Millennium Edition [54th] through 2004 
Who's Who In Genealogy and Heraldry, [both editions] 
Family Genealogy & History Internet Education Directory 
http://www.academic-genealogy.com/