[Air-l] Wikipedia warning -- Wikipedia is not a reliable information source

[Ken Friedman]

Dear Elijah,

I am trying to stir up some action that may lead to a solution.

You are mistaken in the idea that these issues are evident to most
Wikipedia users. These problems are evident to people on this list --
but far too few students recognize the need to use multiple sources.
No matter how much I encourage people to use multiple sources
for ALL facts, something like 40% of my students use only one
source for most facts, and that source is increasingly Wikipedia.

My larger point is that if students are satisfied with only one source,
I want that source to be Encyclopedia Britannica or a similar
excellent reference source.

I'd prefer that more students checked issues and facts against
many sources. Until this becomes a common habit of mind, I am
no longer willing to accept Wikipedia. My second large point is
that if enough of us take the same stand, Wikipedia will necessarily
find a way to do better fact-checking and to prevent egregious
cases of libel, defamation, hoax information, and fraud.

Yours,

Ken



>What's your larger point?  Or are you just trying to stir things up?
>
>These are issues that have been widely discussed.  And largely 
>things that are very evident to users of wikipedia... and often to 
>students.
>
>--elijah

-- 

Ken Friedman
Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design
Institute for Communication, Culture, and Language
Norwegian School of Management

Design Research Center
Denmark's Design School

email: ken.friedman at bi.no