[WikiEN-l] "Gift of knowledge:" having it both ways

Fri Dec 30 17:05:25 UTC 2005

On 12/30/05, wikipedia2006 at dpbsmith.com <wikipedia2006 at dpbsmith.com> wrote:
> When people complain about inaccuracies in Wikipedia, the stock answers
> are that such complaints are invalid, or involve a misunderstanding of
> Wikipedia, because:
>
> --It's a work in progress
>
> --It's not an encyclopedia yet
>
> --Every page has a wee little "disclaimers" link that potentially would
> display a huge bold all-caps "WIKIPEDIA MAKES NO GUARANTEE OF VALIDITY"
> if you clicked on it.
>
> But when we ask for money, do we say:
>
> --"Give the gift of an open wiki-community?"
>
> --"Give the gift of process, not product?"
>
> --"Give the gift of a whipped-up blend of tasty knowledge spiced with a
> few foul nuggets of misinformation?"
>
> We do not. We say "give the gift of knowledge."
>
> Small wonder that we're starting to see some hostility from the outside.
> We're trying to have it both ways. We set expectations ("give the gift
> of knowledge") and then are surprised when people have the expections
> we set.
>
>
We should teach people to be critical.
Far too often people take what they read for granted without any
thought or double-checking. We should work to keep featured articles
accurate (because they're supposed to be the best). To get rid of
other inaccuracies we should look for sources. If we don't have any,
people should be naturally untrusting and try to verify the info
another way.

NO ONE can guarantee absolutely correct info. Look at Britannica.

Mgm