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#1 2011-02-12 09:41:05
What's so bad about Wikipedia?
I've noticed an argument recently over Wikipedia's reliability. So, is it reliable? Yes. Why? Because you have moderators on Wikipedia who check every article almost all the time (I call them Wikinerds). Plus, your edit on Wikipedia will be deleted if you don't use a citation which links to a reliable source of imformation, to prove that it's true. DON'T LISTEN TO TEACHERS. They lie! Wikipedia is awesome.
If you don't agree, discuss.
I might return for a little while.
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#2 2011-02-12 09:48:39
- mathematics
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2009-03-01
- Posts: 1000+
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
Your teachers tell you that Wikipedia is not reliable?
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#3 2011-02-12 09:54:53
- agscratcher
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2009-07-09
- Posts: 1000+
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is reliable. It's just that your teachers want you to find the info the hard way. 
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#4 2011-02-12 09:57:54
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is reliable if you go to the history and look for the last mod edit. Also go the the references.
My teachers told me not to use Wikipedia else face marks reduction. They held off on their threat. There was nothing else on the net that really talked about the subject of matter in an understandable way which was to the point.
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#5 2011-02-12 10:14:18
- bananaman114
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2010-03-15
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Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
mathematics wrote:
Your teachers tell you that Wikipedia is not reliable?
Yes, they do.
the sun still shines
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#6 2011-02-12 10:18:08
- demosthenes
- Retired Community Moderator
- Registered: 2008-02-19
- Posts: 1000+
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is actually very reliable. Some people assume that because anyone can edit it every article must contain falsehoods, when in reality this acts as a safeguard to prevent any mistakes. True there are some vandals, but their changes are reverted within a matter of seconds.
I do not, however, recommend you use Wikipedia as a source for a paper. This is not because I fear for its reliability, but because it is an encyclopedia. You should never use an encyclopedia as a source for a paper. Instead, go to the citations in an article and find the sources the article used.
I've taken a long hiatus, but I still visit sometimes. Give me some time to answer any messages you post on my projects!
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#8 2011-02-12 11:17:54
- Kileymeister
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2008-04-17
- Posts: 1000+
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
I read on it that Michael J. Fox died 20 years ago of a heart attack.
'Course that disappeared the next time I refreshed.
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#9 2011-02-12 11:23:18
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
Kileymeister wrote:
I read on it that Michael J. Fox died 20 years ago of a heart attack.
'Course that disappeared the next time I refreshed.
That was because of the Wikinerds
I might return for a little while.
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#10 2011-02-12 14:11:04
- MiffinTheMuffin
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2010-12-11
- Posts: 1000+
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
i like wikipedia
they need more information on muffins though
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#11 2011-02-12 14:22:27
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
My teachers don't like us using Wikipedia for school papers for whatever reason, but if we don't have to site our sources then I usually do because I don't feel like using the databases the school provides
They all have too many words
Too many words confuses me
But we usually do have to site our sources so I'm forced to read through the boring too-long articles
Also on a somewhat related note,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruffle
They need more information on ruffles apparently
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#12 2011-02-12 14:23:30
- MiffinTheMuffin
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2010-12-11
- Posts: 1000+
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
rufflebee wrote:
Also on a somewhat related note,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruffle
They need more information on ruffles apparently
wow
they do
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#13 2011-02-12 14:24:36
- veggieman001
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2010-02-20
- Posts: 1000+
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
One good thing to do w/ writing papers &c. is to use the page's references and external links as sources.
I agree that Wikipedia is good, but the admins/mods can't catch everything. I've reverted several pages that had been spammed for over a month.
Posts: 20000 - Show all posts
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#14 2011-02-12 16:44:00
- littletonkslover
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2008-12-12
- Posts: 1000+
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
Sometimes I use Wikipedia for reports and then for my bibliography I type in "Britannia Premier Encyclopedia" or something like that
That's the dark nature of capitalism. ~ Wonder Showzen
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#15 2011-02-12 16:57:47
- EmperorEvil
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2009-02-13
- Posts: 1000+
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
Yeah! The teachers hate wikipedia for no reason! Wikinerds help!
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#18 2011-02-17 22:55:41
- illusionist
- Retired Community Moderator
- Registered: 2008-07-02
- Posts: 1000+
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
Zelda123 wrote:
Some of my teachers warmly welcome Wikipedia as long as the particular article is not flagged. Makes sense.
My English teacher has a siezure whenever you mention Wiki-
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
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#19 2011-02-18 03:51:09
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
littletonkslover wrote:
Sometimes I use Wikipedia for reports and then for my bibliography I type in "Britannia Premier Encyclopedia" or something like that
I used to do that, until I accidently copied a vandalized page from Wikipedia and listed it as from the Britannica Encyclopedia.
"Whales are big, flappy animals which eat fish which eat other fish. Nuke the whales.
From:Britannica Encyclopedia."
Error:Signature could not load. Please wait for an indefinite amount of time, until you realize you're gullible and go off to look for another potentially interesting signature to stare at.
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#20 2011-02-18 04:15:12
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
helltank wrote:
littletonkslover wrote:
Sometimes I use Wikipedia for reports and then for my bibliography I type in "Britannia Premier Encyclopedia" or something like that
I used to do that, until I accidently copied a vandalized page from Wikipedia and listed it as from the Britannica Encyclopedia.
"Whales are big, flappy animals which eat fish which eat other fish. Nuke the whales.
From:Britannica Encyclopedia."
Good job. The best stuff happens when you don't read what you submit.
My site Find someone post count. Click posts under username. Find number of pages. Times that by 40 for min and 60 for max and you have a rough estimate of post count.
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#21 2011-02-18 04:50:30
- cheddargirl
- Scratch Team
- Registered: 2008-09-15
- Posts: 1000+
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
tomicool wrote:
agscratcher wrote:
Wikipedia is reliable. It's just that your teachers want you to find the info the hard way.
Darn it teachers! You make our lives hard! XD
Some make our lives harder. I remember one time that a teacher of mine edited a Wikipedia page with false things (he messed around with the dates) to prove his point about Wikipedia not being completely reliable and that we always have to look up other references when doing research.
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Last time I heard, most encyclopedias has about 4 things wrong for every page, and Wikipedia has 8 (not sure if this holds true today, however. Things could have changed since then). In either case, it's always best to go for exact sources instead of using an encyclopedia for reference as demosthenes suggested earlier - you never know when someone misinterprets a reference incorrectly. Just go straight for the reference list at the bottom of the article and look up those instead. ^^
Everything is better when you add a little cheddar, because when you have cheese your life is at ease
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#22 2011-02-18 06:58:35
Re: What's so bad about Wikipedia?
cheddargirl wrote:
tomicool wrote:
agscratcher wrote:
Wikipedia is reliable. It's just that your teachers want you to find the info the hard way.
Darn it teachers! You make our lives hard! XD
Some make our lives harder. I remember one time that a teacher of mine edited a Wikipedia page with false things (he messed around with the dates) to prove his point about Wikipedia not being completely reliable and that we always have to look up other references when doing research.
Vandal alert! 
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