Re:Using Wikipedia in the classroom: a cautionary tale
by esbranson on Wednesday May 07, 2014 @05:58AM
(#7709375)
> Wikipedia doesn't work.
> Yes, I use Wikipedia every day.
Re:Using Wikipedia in the classroom: a cautionary tale
by DanBC on Wednesday May 07, 2014 @06:22AM
(#7709432)
You can use the parts that work and ignore totally the parts that don't work.
When I spot an error in an article I do not ever bother to correct it, even if it is a trivial uncontroversial spelling error. I certainly would not attempt to change something that needs references, even if I have excellent references and even if the current error is unsourced.
That's not how WP is supposed to work and any wikipedian reading that should say that WP is broken, but plenty of them don't and are happy with the status quo.
If that's the case, my statements are not intended for you. I'm not trying to convince happy people that they're actually sad. I don't want to convince anyone that something needs to be done. I tried to reach out to people who already believe that it's time to start experimenting with alternatives. For everone else, absolutely nothing needs to change.
Yes, I use Wikipedia every day. But that doesn't mean I believe we can't do much better (at least for a deeply subjective value of "better").