If, for some reason, I figured out how and chose to add/edit information on Wikipedia, it would probably get shot down right away because of a lack of experience or knowledge pertaining directly to the topic. However, I think it would be interesting to post an opinionated, controversial statement on a page that pertains to a political topic such as abortion or affirmative action. I would venture to guess that it would be deleted and/or counter argued within minutes. It would also be entertaining to write my name on a list of Nobel Peace Prize winners or gold medal Olympians, just to test how quick and thorough the editing and unediting process is.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wikipedia: Is it Legit?
If an instructor asked me to edit a Wikipedia page, I would probably look around to make sure he or she was actually talking to me. In no way am I qualified to post my so-called knowledge about a certain topic to the pages of an online encyclopedia. Then again, neither are most of the people who attempt to edit such pages. It has been said that "qualified" individuals constantly monitor the edits made to Wikipedia pages and make changes if needed. My problem, however, is that I am relatively illiterate when it comes to creating and editing web pages. Even if I thought I possessed legitimate information that should be added, I most likely wouldn't be able to figure out how to do so.
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I agree with what you said about being qualified to edit a wikipedia page. I too feel like I have no qualifications what so ever to actually edit a page. I wouldn't even know where to begin and if I figured it out I'm sure what ever I put would be taken down within 5 seconds. These pages are pretty legit now-a-days and I don't even see a point to trying to edit one.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting thought. That would be an interesting experiment, to see how fast incorrect information would get corrected. I also agree about the qualifications required to edit Wikipedia....how can we rely on information that comes from an unknown source? How can we be sure that the information we'd like to use was written by a scholarly source?
ReplyDeleteEmily, have more confidence in your abilities. I'm sure if you took sometime to research a topic you could post something new about a topic without it getting deleted or counter argued. As far as putting your name down as an Olympic medal winner or a Nobel Peace Prize winner, that would probably get taken down within moments... unless you write an extremely scholarly article on affirmative action that gets a lot of attention.
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