Wikipedia Knows Standards

Knowledge is whatever is known.  Whether it is true or not, if it is presented as information, it is stored as knowledge.  Gates references a stanza of a Jowett piece: “What I know not, is not knowledge.”  Information that is not shared or interpreted remains unknown.

The internet has become one of the fastest and most accessible ways to acquire knowledge.  Question after question is typed into toolbars on various media devices, and one of the first sources to pop up is Wikipedia.   Information presented on Wikipedia pages may or may not always be the most accurate or truthful, but if that is the only information one is presented with, that becomes their knowledge.  Because of Wikipedia’s popularity, accessibility, and immediacy, it is important that as much factual information is published and that the inaccuracy is kept to a minimum.

Wikipedia accepts information from non-staff members, making the site itself a public platform to share and access knowledge.  Though Wikipedia urges submitters to publish factual truths and knowledge, it goes without saying that not all people tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  For this reason, Wikipedia’s administration and editors have access to every page and are able to edit or change any published submissions.  Wikipedia is often not considered a reliable source for research and knowledge; however, many of us use it as a “jumping off point.”  For example, if there is a term, person, or event I am unfamiliar with, I may use Wikipedia to get a general and shallow understanding in order to familiarize myself.  After gaining a certain level of familiarity, I look to more specialized sources written by experts of the subject.

In Zittrain’s article, Wikipedia etiquette is discussed as standards and rules, holding separate meanings, are explained.  “Standards allow people to tailor their actions to a particular situation" (Zittrain 128) while "rules are less subject to ambiguity, and if crafted well, inform people exactly what they can do, even if individual situations render the rule impractical, or worse, dangerous " (Zittrain 128).  Breaking rules and ignoring standards both come with consequences: while rule breaking is usually followed by punishment, not meeting standards usually leads to some sort of improvement or correction.

Hood’s contrasting screenshots are examples Wikipedia’s standards.  The ‘before’ shot included foul language, misuse of words, and offensive inaccuracies.  The ‘after’ shot was taken after Wikipedia’s editors refined the language and included factual information.