Wikipedia is just fine. I remember getting annoyed on like 6 different levels by a previous occurrence on Fluther.
I had referenced the Drake Equation in an answer. Someone PMed me and asked me what it was. I answered and included an excerpt from the Wikipedia article. He then wrote back saying, “Ooooh, okay, thanks, but, just to let you know, anybody can edit Wikipedia, so this might not be accurate.”
…....?
1. As if I, a graduate student (which was indicated in the PM), would not know that anyone can edit Wikipedia.
2. As if I, a non-astronomer, would have a better, instantaneous, self-written explanation of the Drake Equation than is available on Wikipedia.
Ugh, these ridiculous concepts just piss me off. Wikipedia is a fantastic tool. I probably read more than 30 Wikipedia articles per day. Whenever I hear of a new geographical location, I enjoy looking at its demographic characteristics and history. Whenever I come across a new term in a research article, I find Wikipedia very useful for looking this up.
I know you mentioned that this wasn’t supposed to be a debate about whether Wikipedia should be used for research papers, but honestly, I think that’s where all this skepticism came from. Sadly, some ‘tards gotta be told that you’re not supposed to use non-primary sources when writing a research paper. Teachers explain this by saying, “Anyone can edit it,” which implies that the information is not reliable. The problem with “anyone can edit it” is not that the information is not reliable, but that it is not a primary source, and the point of writing a research paper is to read primary sources, not encyclopedias. Unfortunately, the idiots that had to be told not to use Wikipedia to write research papers grew up to think that the reason they weren’t supposed to do this was that the information was not accurate. Sad. You’re not supposed to use any encyclopedia in a research article…
Wikipedia is a really helpful tool that should not be dismissed for everything, just because it’s not a primary source to be used in research papers.