What did people use to do when they needed to find out about some historical fact or a person? They used to go to the library or reach for an Encyclopedia if they happened to be in possession of one at home. Generations of kids now would never even think about something like that.
The phrase “google it” is heard more often than “look it up” now (’google’ is now a verb, I suppose). And what could be easier than opening the search engine on your computer, typing in whatever you’re wondering about and dive into the sea of information provided for you on various sites. And one of the sites which is considered a dangerous one by some people and the next greatest thing since sliced bread by the others is Wikipedia.
I personally have used it for basic information, but never limit my search by it. My little sister and I sometimes refer to us as ‘wicked pedia’. It was this little 6th grader that came cautioned me against using it having come from school one day and saying her regular “did you know??” If wikipedia can be added to and changed by anybody, how can you be sure that the facts in it are true and accurate? This post about WikiAnswers presents another interesting source of information.
How popular will WikiAnswers get? Will you trust them?
2 responses so far ↓
1
Erika Bolos (onarollcarpet, wikianswers supervisor)
// Jul 15, 2008 at 7:26 am
Thanks for linking to my little article! I love WikiAnswers although I agree all of the answers are not always accurate. I believe though as more people use it and edit it as time goes on it will become more and more accurate. Hope to see you there!
Erika (Onarollcarpet a wikianswers supervisor.)
2
Muhammad Khas
// Jul 20, 2008 at 4:34 am
Thanks for the comment. I value your concern.
However, as a supervisor on WikiAnswers let me assure you that all of the content is accurate. The reason that I can claim this and claim to be different from WikiPedia is that WikiAnswers has a dedicated team of supervisors. About 350 supervisors like me constantly patrol the answers to search for any wrong or misleading information.
If any information seems inaccurate, we flag the question as one needing improvement and then some other trusted contributor reviews that answer and brings that to standard. If anyone is caught adding misleading ( Vandal, as we call him ), that user is banned from site permanently and that IP is banned for a week. That teaches a lesson to vandals who usually don’t attack again after being blocked once.
Also, we have a trust point system. When people find the answer useful, they give the answerer a point. That point is a measure of the trust level of contributor. So, if a question has been answered by a contributor with a good number of trust points, you can be sure that the answer is accurate.
These features are absent from WikiPedia and hence my claim that WikiAnswers is superior and more accurate than WikiPedia.
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