The World and Wikipedia ( Second Blog )

     Many of us enjoy Wikipedia because of its hassle free way to create an article in an online encyclopedia. There are many reasons why we love it, one of the reasons is because it creates a virtual nation. Knowledge is everywhere but some times people do not like to share their wealth on knowledge face to face. Thus Wikipedia serves as a virtual nation where "people can be as shy or anonymous as we like, and yet our work, good and bad is listed and others can explore." ( pg 120 ) Wikipedia lets us write about whatever we like. It is true that some work may become deleted because of its incorrectness or vandalism, but it creates an editing war that many enjoy. Many of us enjoy finding these old arguments on the talk pages, because even though pages may get deleted, "their shadows-the deletion discussions live on." ( pg 125 )
     Wikipedia is a place where everyone is equal! No encyclopedia on paper would allow just anybody to create an article. Lord Emsworth for example, a Wikipedian wrote about the British peerage system. Many people followed his work, but what many people didn't know was that he was a 16 year old from New Jersey. As a society we enjoy talking about ourselves and Wikipedia allows just that! A debate however arises, that people should not edit their own biog because in many instances people stretch or just simple lie about who they really are. This discredits Wikipedia as a legit encyclopedia. If their is an error or vandalism on your page, then correct it but any that is a matter of interpretation should be left untouched.There are good reasons why not to trust wikipedia, among these reasons are we don't know why or on what grounds people make the edits they do.
     "You can't trust Wikipedia when its facts are footnoted because the source is usually Wikipedia." ( pg 180 ) We will all use Wikipedia one day or another and that's because the internet in a way is throwing it in our faces. Google search engines bring up Wikipedia sites tops on its list. Well known editors and respected people are starting to cite Wikipedia and contribute to it to create a circle of knowledge.