Do you really trust Wikpedia?

Question

When answering a question, do you really trust Wikpedia as a resource?

Also, <shrug> if you don't have any knowledge of the subject, do you answer a question at all, or only look up an answer?

Answer 1

I prefer to look up a subject from more than one source.  I can compare, and get better insight about the subject.

Answer 2

Well sometimes depending on the topic I search!

Answer 3

Absolutely not.  There was an article the other day about a history teacher who was grading papers on Japan and all of them contained the same factual errors.  The reason?  The kids got their info from Wikipedia.  Wikipedia has absolutely no standards for accuracy whatsoever and ANYONE can edit it.  Its good for a quick reference or tidbit but for a resource, NO WAY.

Answer 4

i dont. i go on there just to change everything so other peopel get screwed up :D

i change album names, song names and all that stuff..mean huh?

Answer 5

80% of the information is usually accurate my experience.  If something seems false check with another source.

Answer 6

no , it is full of inaccuracies and misinformation...i looked up dolly parton , cause she was on idol and it said she was born in 1923...what a crock...so when i used that info in one of my questions i ended up looking like an a*s*shole . and i dont need any help to do that...

Answer 7

well dependas on what...but not always cause ita people making up and the information could be not always right

Answer 8

ya i do, but we got this crazy librarian that will chop of your reproductive organs if you use it.

Answer 9

No, but I reference it. Use other points of reference and form a balanced judgement.

Wikipedia is amazing though x

Answer 10

no i dont

Answer 11

I try to answer from my own knowledge first. If I know where to go for the answer, I will look it up. Wikepedia seems to be as reliable as other sources. If it&#039;s really important a person should research other sources as well. A lot of topics and just one writers opinion and could include bias.

Answer 12

ya

Answer 13

well, wikipedia is simply the best i guess......i can answer almost  everything and it is really helpful...

Answer 14

yeah, helps wit school!!!

Answer 15

most of it, some articles are unreliable

Answer 16

sometimes

Answer 17

haha no becasue i know for a fact it is alot of fun to change all the words around to m ake it seem real but all muddled up...quite amusing haha

Answer 18

i only answer when i think i can be helpful. as for wiki, since it is user controlled, i don&#039;t rely on it

Answer 19

no because it tells you wrong thing

Answer 20

Wikipedia is a good resource for resourses/links

Answer 21

Yes, although anybody can have an imput on the subject of all the millions and billions of people that look on it will usaly catch the false input that you have contrubuted to.

Answer 22

Wikipedia has a lot of really good information--and a good deal of dreck.  You need to look in more resources than Wikipedia, if say Brittanica online and a couple of introductory textbooks agree with Wikipedia, then you might assume it&#039;s OK.  Or, if you&#039;re an expert in the field, Wiki can give you ready access to some details and you should be able to sort out whether it&#039;s reliable.

In some of my areas of interest, Wikipedia is terrific regarding popular music, economics, and much of history; the stuff they&#039;ve got about communication, including nonverbal communication and &quot;subconscious&quot; communication (no such thing!) was originally written by amateurs and tyros and there&#039;s no way to correct it.

As for answering questions--do you mean here?  I generally only answer ones that I know about (or have an opinion that I think is good) and then only if no one else has voiced the same already--if they have I just click on the &quot;thumbs up&quot; for them.  On occasion I google something for somebody, usually in higher education when they want information about a particular college or university program.

Answer 23

You can&#039;t trust Wiki because it&#039;s free to edit.

--but so are other websites online

I never use it as a resource for things like research papers,

but I&#039;ll go to the websites mentioned in the Wiki article.

Wiki gives me a well-rounded answer that helps me on searches elsewhere.

Everything taken from the internet should be accompanied by a grain of sailt.

I&#039;ll still try to answer the question if it interests me even if I don&#039;t know much about it--I&#039;ll look it up.

That way I&#039;ll learn something new and maybe I can help you in the process.

Answer 24

yup... the information given by it is reliable... if idon&#039;t know the answer i would surely do research...

Answer 25

I see people who copy paste from wiki and it&#039;s annoying when most people are asking the question for a point of view and probably know they could just go to wiki and check on their own. I think it&#039;s ok to put the link in the source to back your answer up but wiki has been know to be inacurate in the past for the most part, it&#039;s pretty reliable but the point is that it&#039;s not your answer.

Answer 26

As a general resource, sure I would for the most part trust wikipedia.  As for using it as a source for school, no.  Teachers dont like or often dont allow you to use it.

Answer 27

haha..sometimes.

i have no knowledge about something that i&#039;m looking it then yes i do..there are some really stupid things in there. i go there to get profiles on bands and actors that i like and normally just go onto wikipedia because it the first link that google appears with

Answer 28

no, the facts are not always straight

Answer 29

No because I make up a lot of them :)

Answer 30

Good question.

On Wikipedia, there must be a good reason why this site exist and the people behind it labored a lot to translate the site to about 41 languages. If one believes that some information they have posted are partly true, then why not edit it with the right  information you know? I once experienced it when they have posted information about my hometown, edited a few things. Of course Wikipedia is editable...besides there&#039;s plenty more sources online not only wikipedia if you are not happy with it...

On the next question, I do not answer questions to show off, man..I have nothing to show off, i am a very ordinary person if there&#039;s anything special about me, it is only my hunger to learn more ...I have answered a few questions because I want to help and learn along with the asker. On the look up link, it is to encourage the reader to read more as plenty of references can help him assess the information he really wants to know and then, he can decide for himself which answer he is happy to go with.

Answer 31

Well, I still use it from time to time but no one can guarantee that it&#039;s 100% true because people answer the questions...so you need to consider that...I usually check out a few sources...