I mean, I could post anything as fact on Wikipedia and they would accept it; sure, others would edit it, but it would be accepted!Doesn't Encyclopedia Britannica, or one of the others, have an online presence?
2007-02-13 03:33:50 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Other - Education
and to Crystal, if it's a good idea to check other websites anyway, why not just use them to start with?
2007-02-13 03:46:10 · update #1
It's preferred because it's free, and it has the basics of just about everything. Also, it's easy to search through. One does not need to sign up to use it, and the pages are well detailed, and if something is false, there are usually enough people looking to correct it, and if not, that is a risk people are willing to take. It is a good idea to use if you make sure you check other sites to confirm the information you gather from the site.
2007-02-13 03:38:39 · answer #1 · answered by Crystal 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I remember reading about a study they did on how correct wikipedia is. Sorry I can't point you to it, but they selected like, 4 topics at random from Wikipedia and 4 random topics from an established Encyclopedia. Turns out both had the same amount of mistakes when checked by experts.
So, I guess it comes down to which one's easier and faster. I say it's Wikipedia.
2007-02-13 11:49:00 · answer #2 · answered by Meor H 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Did you know that when you edit a wiki, it's put in a list of others waiting for approval. They sometimes appear right away, but bogus edits are refused or revoked. The other idea of wiki is that it should be very up to date because it can be so freely edited.
It's not something a person would use for facts on a college report, but there are reference links on the bottom, and for technology it's a god send.
2007-02-13 11:47:25 · answer #3 · answered by mtecknology 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
is the encyclopedia britanica free? :P.... and also since wikipedia is user based, there are tons and tons of topics that the encyclodpedia would never discuss (such as game facts or such) but wiki os free to do so... and another thing, the encyclopedia is made by people too isnt it? there is never an absolute surity that something is completely truthfull, so wiki really shouldnt be affected by that hype the media is playing off at them right now.
2007-02-13 11:39:48 · answer #4 · answered by Mark F 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Its free and usually the facts are referenced so you can check the original source. Ive been using it for a few years and the references have always checked out. Only a few times I've noticed opinion pieces though they tend to weed them out pretty fast. So all in all its a very useful source.
2007-02-13 11:44:01 · answer #5 · answered by tivaj 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Britannica online.com. It's free for the first two weeks and then it's $70.00 a year to use.
2007-02-13 11:54:39 · answer #6 · answered by golden rider 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I use Wikipedia because it is the first thing that pops up when I type a topic into my search engine.
2007-02-13 11:37:22 · answer #7 · answered by peeps 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
wikipedia is easy use and so forth.....most online encyclopedias require you to logon and some charge for the usage...so its not worth it.
and i love wikipedia
2007-02-13 11:37:10 · answer #8 · answered by Stick 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its an urban encyclopedia, its what most of us beleive as fact, so if some knowitall is stating stuff he "knows" he full o crap too, so what does it matter, noone reads facts in this country anymore, of they did , Bush would be hanging right next to saddam.
2007-02-13 11:37:38 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
it's free and easy to use and has lots of information
2007-02-13 11:47:16 · answer #10 · answered by sunshine 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋