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 So
much has been written and said about the website known as
Wikipedia that many people may start to wonder what exactly
Wikipedia is. Wikipedia is simply a Wiki Encyclopedia (a wiki being
defined as "a Web site that allows visitors to make changes,
contributions, or corrections" [Webster.com]). If the
Encyclopedia Britannica is a chauffer-driven limousine,
then Wikipedia is the bus loaded with passengers with each
having a turn at the steering wheel.
In this Tech Tip, we’re going to take a look at this
Wikipedia bus and check out what exactly
it is.
Who's Driving This Thing?! YOU ARE!
 Started
in 2001, Wikipedia now offers over 2,847,000+ articles in the
English language (and many more in other languages). Wikipedia is
different from other encyclopedias. Instead of an advisory body of
experts and a review process, Wikipedia is a free for all. Anyone
can make, add to, and edit an article – all for free and even
anonymously (though you can sign up with a user name as well, and
would need to if you wanted to create a new article). Since 2003,
Wikipedia (and its cousins such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikinews,
etc.) have been overseen by the
Wikimedia Foundation . Within Wikipedia, there are
different levels of users, just straight editors (you, me, the man
down the street) and Administrators (think of them as über editors).
Because Wikipedia is set up the way it is, there are several
positive characteristics of this informational forum. One is that
you can have a comprehensive, well-written collaborative article up
in no time - even on topics not covered by traditional
encyclopedias. For instance, with the sensation that occurred when
Susan Boyle sang on Britain’s Got Talent television
program on April 11, 2009, we find that a Wikipedia article was
started about her on April 12, 2009 and has since been revised over
2100 times to date (May 5, 2009). The end result is a very
comprehensive, very informative encyclopedic article. Another big
positive with this approach is that if you happen to be browsing an
article and see something as small as a misspelling or as big as
starting an article that you think should be included, you can
quickly and easily edit or add the article on the fly. Note
that if you don’t like to see your work added to by strangers,
edited mercilessly or even removed altogether, then contributing to
Wikipedia may not be for you.
A Look Under The Hood
Looking for an article is very straightforward and easy. After
navigating to the website (www.wikipedia.org),
you are introduced to a search box. Simply type in your search, and
you are brought to the article if one exists. For words with many
entries (such as "Ringo"), you are brought to what is commonly
called a
disambiguation page where you find various entries for the word
are listed (for example, with Ringo, you find a number of “ringos”
listed – everything from musician Ringo Starr to author
John Ringo). Now, if we click through to an article (we’ll use
the author listed above), we find that there is a simple, straight
forward article giving a
brief biography and a list of published works .
 You’ll
also notice at the top of the page four tabs labeled article,
discussion, edit this page, and
history. Edit this page is self -explanatory. Here
you can actually edit the article if you think something can be
phrased better; if you want to add information or if you simply want
to fine tune the article. If you’d like to see the current thoughts
on the article, simply click “discussion” – note that this page is
editable as well as allowing you to weigh in on discussing the
article along with others (this page has an “edit this page” button
separate from the main article). History is simply every SINGLE
revision of the page from its creation to the time you are looking
at the article (including the editor (IP address if anonymous) -
person who did the edit) - very helpful if you’d like to see earlier
versions of the article. Of course, there are numerous tools and
extensive help sections if you’d like to become more than just a
casual editor (found of the left hand side navigation bar).
Cracks in The Chassis
 Of
course, with its obvious strength also lies Wikipedia’s inherent
weakness. Sometimes, articles by committee – especially a committee
of everyone – may not necessarily produce the best possible work.
Biases, personal opinion, not being scrupulous about the accuracy of
the information provided, deliberate defacement, unfavorable
information as well as false and misleading information can all
cloud the integrity of an article as well as the website as a whole
(as
demonstrated by the 2005 incident on the John F. Kennedy Wikipedia
article). Because of the free-for all nature of the site,
another side effect can be varying quality of articles (less popular
articles may not receive the attention that they need) as well as
“edit wars” erupting from time to time on sensitive subjects. Also,
with the imbalance of power between administrators and editors, some
have accused the administrators of “bullying” others to have their
edits “win out” over others. Yes, Wikipedia depends on users
(editors and administrators) to help monitor and clean up articles –
but mistakes do slip through. Because of this, sometimes it may be
best to take some articles “with a grain of salt.”
The Bus Came By and I Got On, That's When It All Began!
Wikipedia, the massive, hugely successful, popular collaborative
encyclopedia website is a prime example of what the power of the
internet can bring to the average user. Here we not only have
volumes of information (so to speak), but the ability to add to and
improve this information. Even with its shortcomings, Wikipedia has
much to offer. Why not try your hand at the wheel of the bus
and see where Wikipedia steers you and where you can steer Wikipedia. |
