| Author | Message | ||
| Mariah Wilson
Intermediate Member Username: mariahwilson43 Post Number: 663 Registered: 11-2007 |
I offer a warning about wikipedia. Anyone can edit it, some colleges in the states have banned students from using wikipedia for research in their studies even. This is because anyone can edit it. Boy could Fred ever have a lot of fun LOL. I just want to warn people of that fact. I also offer an alternative. www.encarta.msn.com They have extensive articles on any subject you could imagine, maps, pictures, homework helper, quizzes and oh so much more. The best part is, you can rest assured that the information you find there will be accurate, or at least it darn well better be. Maybe you'd drive better if that cell phone was up your A--! | ||
| Judy Thompson
Intermediate Member Username: judyt54 Post Number: 795 Registered: 11-2007 |
the only good thing about Wikipedia is that you CAN edit it (and one can always cross check your facts, which you should anyway). I found a really good listing for T. S. Eliot in there, which stated "the British poet". yikes. When I decide to register, I'll probably slide in and change that, unless someone else already has. I don't dare look at the Frost entry. They probably have him born in Vermont with an alternate birthplace in New Hampshire. and maine. | ||
| Christopher T George
Senior Member Username: chrisgeorge Post Number: 6141 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hi Mariah Thank you so much for this information. Yes indeed the great weakness of Wikipedia is that anyone with a computer connection can edit it or make mischief on it. In fact the volunteer editors at Wiki spend considerable time looking out for vandalism and mending what has been done by troublemakers. I suppose Wiki's owner Jimmy Wales and the Wiki admin believe in keeping the site open to anyone to edit because of the vaunted "freedom of the internet." However, it appears to me that it defeats the object of it as a resource if any Joe Schmoe can change things or mess things up. They really need to tighten up on who should be allowed to edit or alter the entries in Wiki, IMHO. I will keep encarta in mind, Mariah, so thanks for the tip. Chris Editor, Desert Moon Review http://www.desertmoonreview.com Co-Editor, Loch Raven Review http://www.lochravenreview.net http://chrisgeorge.netpublish.net/ | ||
| Christopher T George
Senior Member Username: chrisgeorge Post Number: 6142 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hi Judy Although American born, in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1888, Eliot became a British subject in 1927 and probably viewed himself as British despite his birthplace. He has been counted as a "British poet" by people in the British literary community as well. By the way, on the Wiki page for "The Waste Land" check out, at the bottom of the page, the link to a satire on the poem.  Chris Editor, Desert Moon Review http://www.desertmoonreview.com Co-Editor, Loch Raven Review http://www.lochravenreview.net http://chrisgeorge.netpublish.net/ | ||
| Judy Thompson
Intermediate Member Username: judyt54 Post Number: 796 Registered: 11-2007 |
thanks for the heads up, Chris, but to me, no matter where you end up, and what you call yourself, where you started counts a great deal. it's a lot like moving to france and getting french citizenship, and calling yourself a french poet, even if you were born in Canarsie. In this part of the country Frost is called a native son, and worked, apparently for years, to sound like one, and act the part. It is, however, hard to be the native son of three states with birthplaces in four... *g* and thanks for the link to the satire. *g* Its also good to know that the wikipedia guys don't run a totally unmanaged board. | ||
| Tina Hoffman
Advanced Member Username: tina_hoffman Post Number: 1278 Registered: 05-2007 |
I love Wikipedia.... It's free. And yes, content is editable and subject to hackers (my daughter and her bf actually went in and edited something as a joke but there are folks who are watching and correcting and not big brother, either... There are people taking ownership of it, but it is still up to the reader/user of info. to cross-reference the info. to verify it's accuracy. When I write historical fiction or lookup info. for authenticity, I don't stop with one reference. It means that much to me...  Thanks for sharing this Mariah - keeping informed is the key, and passing it on keeps the information flowing. Word of mouth, tantamount! Just ask Grandma. But don't believe everything she tells ya...she's a CNN junkie. LOL :-) Best, Tina "One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is love." ~Sophocles | ||
| Gary Blankenship
Moderator Username: garydawg Post Number: 22396 Registered: 07-2001 |
I use it also and like Tina, do verification. The biggest problem is not inaccurate data but bad data - look for the note - no citations included - and for posts that read mostly like opinion than fact. I use for the more arcane items, and would not for something regarding current news etc where the hackers are really likely to show up... I read one yesterday on pike, the fish, that was so poorly written I thought a grade schooler had posted it. But there was a great link to a good pike site and info. As always as said on Hill Street Blues - Be careful out there... Smiles. Gary | ||
| Mariah Wilson
Intermediate Member Username: mariahwilson43 Post Number: 666 Registered: 11-2007 |
Maybe I'm just lazy but... I hardly see the point of using a site to get information if you KNOW that you are going to have to re-check and cross reference it. Maybe I'm just lazy but I'd much rather go to a site I know that I can trust to provide me with accurate and up to date information. Maybe you'd drive better if that cell phone was up your A--! | ||
| Fred Longworth
Senior Member Username: sandiegopoet Post Number: 3308 Registered: 05-2006 |
Fred's edit of Mariah's comment (just a few words removed): I offer wikipedia. Anyone can . . . use wikipedia for research in their studies. This is . . . fact. They have extensive articles on any subject you could imagine, maps, pictures, homework helper, quizzes and oh so much more. The best part is, you can rest assured that the information you find there will be accurate, or at least it darn well better be. Unofficial Forum Pariah recent victim of alien abduction | ||
| Lazarus
Senior Member Username: lazarus Post Number: 3040 Registered: 10-2005 |
Mariah- If you look at the wiki world as a crossection of the current beliefs it serves very well as an indicator of reality "as we know it." I count on the wiki police to take out anything that is pure idiocy, they also lock controversial subjects, a pointer in itself of the subjects volititlity. As to going to MSN for all your encyclopedic needs, I would caution against it. There is something sinister about the hold the Microsoft people want to have on everything computer. Chris! I read your Waste Land satire. I had not realized you had one too! (Maybe you told me when I posted mine here, and I missed it) I thought about linking mine too, but I think I'll wait until I have the recorded version up at Soundzine. -Laz | ||
| LJ Cohen
Moderator Username: ljc Post Number: 8898 Registered: 07-2002 |
Mariah, I think there is danger in assuming any one source of information to be complete and unbiased. Not only is fact checking and cross checking vital, it is also important to look at where specific information is coming from, eg a .edu or a .gov source versus a .com source. And while the net is a convenient place to find information, for me, it is a starting place, rather than an ending place in any research. Once in a Blue Muse Blog LJCohen | ||
| Kathy Paupore
Moderator Username: kathy Post Number: 7706 Registered: 12-2003 |
My daughter's highschool doesn't allow them to use Wikipedia as a source for research papers and projects.  KYou're invited to: Wild Flowers This above all, ask yourself in the stillest hour of the night: Must I write?--Rilke | ||
| Fred Longworth
Senior Member Username: sandiegopoet Post Number: 3315 Registered: 05-2006 |
www.theultimatetruthfreeoferrorbiasprejudiceandyechycorporateinfluence.edu Unofficial Forum Pariah recent victim of alien abduction | ||
| S. Thomas Summers
Intermediate Member Username: s_thomas_summers Post Number: 888 Registered: 10-2006 |
I don't let my students use it. visit me at http://www.freewebs.com/sthomassummers/ author of "Death settled well" and "Rather, It Should Shine" | ||
| Gary Blankenship
Moderator Username: garydawg Post Number: 22432 Registered: 07-2001 |
I find it works as a quick way to find out something. For example, for a coming Song, I need to know where the Altamahaw River is. Wiki will give me location, quick info and probably links to other pages. Smiles. Gary | ||
| Judy Thompson
Intermediate Member Username: judyt54 Post Number: 814 Registered: 11-2007 |
google will usually link to almost anything out there, and gives multiple sources to do so. Wikipedia is often a quick way to find something, and while for the most part it works well for basic stuff (math, scientific principles, 'hard' facts), I tend usually cross link with another source to see what someone else has to say. however, I think the same can be said for using any outside source for information, always double check your sources, online or off. |
