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  3. It will never stop being funny to me that the whole "you can't trust Wikipedia because anyone can edit it" scare happened and now Wikipedia is the only trustworthy website because it turns out profit motive is the reason things turn to shit.

It will never stop being funny to me that the whole "you can't trust Wikipedia because anyone can edit it" scare happened and now Wikipedia is the only trustworthy website because it turns out profit motive is the reason things turn to shit.

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  • Al SweigartA Al Sweigart

    It will never stop being funny to me that the whole "you can't trust Wikipedia because anyone can edit it" scare happened and now Wikipedia is the only trustworthy website because it turns out profit motive is the reason things turn to shit.

    W6KMEW This user is from outside of this forum
    W6KMEW This user is from outside of this forum
    W6KME
    wrote last edited by
    #7

    @AlSweigart For all it's flaws, Wiki still is and always has been the best source of information. No textbook ever written has footnotes that update in real time where a statement can be challenged, or a source or other evidence be demanded. That alone is priceless. The real value is at the bottom of the page-all the references that DO back up everything in the article.

    1 Reply Last reply
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    • jmjmJ jmjm

      @AlSweigart PR forms routinely whitewash their clients' articles. But still, pretty good for articles about poor or dead people.

      Alban OsmaniA This user is from outside of this forum
      Alban OsmaniA This user is from outside of this forum
      Alban Osmani
      wrote last edited by
      #8

      @jmjm @AlSweigart hi

      AaronH 1 Reply Last reply
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      • Al SweigartA Al Sweigart

        It will never stop being funny to me that the whole "you can't trust Wikipedia because anyone can edit it" scare happened and now Wikipedia is the only trustworthy website because it turns out profit motive is the reason things turn to shit.

        Doug Baker - Elbows Up!S This user is from outside of this forum
        Doug Baker - Elbows Up!S This user is from outside of this forum
        Doug Baker - Elbows Up!
        wrote last edited by
        #9

        @AlSweigart Jimmy Wales is an interesting guy- lives a very ordinary, humble, even, life. Somewhere in the UK, I think.

        1 Reply Last reply
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        • Al SweigartA Al Sweigart

          It will never stop being funny to me that the whole "you can't trust Wikipedia because anyone can edit it" scare happened and now Wikipedia is the only trustworthy website because it turns out profit motive is the reason things turn to shit.

          James ๐Ÿฆ‰ #FBPE ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บF This user is from outside of this forum
          James ๐Ÿฆ‰ #FBPE ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บF This user is from outside of this forum
          James ๐Ÿฆ‰ #FBPE ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ
          wrote last edited by
          #10

          @AlSweigart And "You can't trust Wikipedia but we have to steal it in its entirety for our slop machines."

          1 Reply Last reply
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          • Al SweigartA Al Sweigart

            It will never stop being funny to me that the whole "you can't trust Wikipedia because anyone can edit it" scare happened and now Wikipedia is the only trustworthy website because it turns out profit motive is the reason things turn to shit.

            Rachel ParkerH This user is from outside of this forum
            Rachel ParkerH This user is from outside of this forum
            Rachel Parker
            wrote last edited by
            #11

            @AlSweigart Fair, but if you still can't use a Wikipedia citation as a valid source as a freelancer. At least, no respectable freelancer would do it, least of all me.

            It still exists as a fascinating open-source experiment, even if it's not exactly what anyone would describe as 100% reliable.

            Turns out newspapers having a monopoly on classified ads was actually a very, very good thing for society.

            Harlequin BastardH Magnus AhltorpA 2 Replies Last reply
            0
            • Al SweigartA Al Sweigart

              It will never stop being funny to me that the whole "you can't trust Wikipedia because anyone can edit it" scare happened and now Wikipedia is the only trustworthy website because it turns out profit motive is the reason things turn to shit.

              pancakes๐Ÿ”œBedS This user is from outside of this forum
              pancakes๐Ÿ”œBedS This user is from outside of this forum
              pancakes๐Ÿ”œBed
              wrote last edited by
              #12

              @AlSweigart i will never trust wikipedia with anything related to social issues given how bigoted it is but things measurements are fine.

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              • Al SweigartA Al Sweigart

                It will never stop being funny to me that the whole "you can't trust Wikipedia because anyone can edit it" scare happened and now Wikipedia is the only trustworthy website because it turns out profit motive is the reason things turn to shit.

                George BG This user is from outside of this forum
                George BG This user is from outside of this forum
                George B
                wrote last edited by
                #13

                @AlSweigart

                Also my response to that in school when we were told not to use it for research was just to click through to the references and cite them directly making it a fantastic index and summary

                The DoctorD 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • Rachel ParkerH Rachel Parker

                  @AlSweigart Fair, but if you still can't use a Wikipedia citation as a valid source as a freelancer. At least, no respectable freelancer would do it, least of all me.

                  It still exists as a fascinating open-source experiment, even if it's not exactly what anyone would describe as 100% reliable.

                  Turns out newspapers having a monopoly on classified ads was actually a very, very good thing for society.

                  Harlequin BastardH This user is from outside of this forum
                  Harlequin BastardH This user is from outside of this forum
                  Harlequin Bastard
                  wrote last edited by
                  #14

                  @haunted_refrigerator @AlSweigart professors in college back in the day would rule out wikipedia for citation. This was hilarious to me as an IT professional.

                  What is at the bottom of every wikipedia page?

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                  • George BG George B

                    @AlSweigart

                    Also my response to that in school when we were told not to use it for research was just to click through to the references and cite them directly making it a fantastic index and summary

                    The DoctorD This user is from outside of this forum
                    The DoctorD This user is from outside of this forum
                    The Doctor
                    wrote last edited by
                    #15

                    @AlSweigart @gbargoud That's what I do. It's also good for finding links to papers nobody seems to have handy.

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                    • Rachel ParkerH Rachel Parker

                      @AlSweigart Fair, but if you still can't use a Wikipedia citation as a valid source as a freelancer. At least, no respectable freelancer would do it, least of all me.

                      It still exists as a fascinating open-source experiment, even if it's not exactly what anyone would describe as 100% reliable.

                      Turns out newspapers having a monopoly on classified ads was actually a very, very good thing for society.

                      Magnus AhltorpA This user is from outside of this forum
                      Magnus AhltorpA This user is from outside of this forum
                      Magnus Ahltorp
                      wrote last edited by
                      #16

                      @haunted_refrigerator @AlSweigart The reason Wikipedia should not be cited is because itโ€™s an encyclopedia, not because itโ€™s not accurate.

                      1 Reply Last reply
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                      • Alban OsmaniA Alban Osmani

                        @jmjm @AlSweigart hi

                        AaronH This user is from outside of this forum
                        AaronH This user is from outside of this forum
                        Aaron
                        wrote last edited by
                        #17

                        @AlbanOsmani@mastodon.social

                        bye

                        @AlSweigart
                        @jmjm

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                        • Al SweigartA Al Sweigart

                          It will never stop being funny to me that the whole "you can't trust Wikipedia because anyone can edit it" scare happened and now Wikipedia is the only trustworthy website because it turns out profit motive is the reason things turn to shit.

                          Chinga la migra!  ๐Ÿ‰๐ŸŒˆF This user is from outside of this forum
                          Chinga la migra!  ๐Ÿ‰๐ŸŒˆF This user is from outside of this forum
                          Chinga la migra! ๐Ÿ‰๐ŸŒˆ
                          wrote last edited by
                          #18

                          @AlSweigart I remember researching John Wesley and the wikipedia page started out "For a good time call ###-####, also John Wesley (/หˆwษ›sli/ WESS-lee;[1] 28 June [O.S. 17 June] 1703 โ€“ 2 March 1791) was an Engl..." Still more useful than AI slop.

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                          • Al SweigartA Al Sweigart

                            It will never stop being funny to me that the whole "you can't trust Wikipedia because anyone can edit it" scare happened and now Wikipedia is the only trustworthy website because it turns out profit motive is the reason things turn to shit.

                            himayH This user is from outside of this forum
                            himayH This user is from outside of this forum
                            himay
                            wrote last edited by
                            #19

                            @AlSweigart

                            1 Reply Last reply
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                            • Al SweigartA Al Sweigart

                              It will never stop being funny to me that the whole "you can't trust Wikipedia because anyone can edit it" scare happened and now Wikipedia is the only trustworthy website because it turns out profit motive is the reason things turn to shit.

                              Danny Boling โ˜ฎ๏ธI This user is from outside of this forum
                              Danny Boling โ˜ฎ๏ธI This user is from outside of this forum
                              Danny Boling โ˜ฎ๏ธ
                              wrote last edited by
                              #20

                              @AlSweigart

                              I was once mocked by my cousin and his redneck friends for using Wikipedia to get... a list of US Presidents.

                              I didn't know how to respond to that so I just kept quiet and removed myself from the thread. I *still* don't know how I should have responded to it.

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                              • Al SweigartA Al Sweigart

                                It will never stop being funny to me that the whole "you can't trust Wikipedia because anyone can edit it" scare happened and now Wikipedia is the only trustworthy website because it turns out profit motive is the reason things turn to shit.

                                Bob K Mertz :distressedUS:B This user is from outside of this forum
                                Bob K Mertz :distressedUS:B This user is from outside of this forum
                                Bob K Mertz :distressedUS:
                                wrote last edited by
                                #21

                                @AlSweigart
                                Wikipedia didn't change, the world around it did. Just because everything around it got worse doesn't mean that it got better even if it's now one of the more reliable sources. Checking references on Wikipedia is still an important thing.

                                To be clear, I'm not saying Wikipedia is bad and I agree capitalism is the problem but "trust, but verify" is important to follow.

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