Is Wikipedia a good source? When to use the online encyclopedia – and when to avoid it

When I was a kid I could only have dreamed of Wikipedia. It's my first port of call for any information.

Makes me laugh the way some people disparage Wikipedia as if people would lie about, say, whether American orioles are related to old world orioles or the equations involved in the Carnot cycle or whether Krakow is situated on the Vistula River. 99% of what I want to know is not related to politics.

I tell my students

a) don't copy from wikipedia,

b) when you copy, at least change the blue words to black,

c) it's a good spring board to more detailed information if you click on the references section (not that any students do),

d) when you copy, rest assured that I need only type in one of your sentences to find out where you copied and therefore can easily give you a failing grade.

This is all going to be moot once students discover Chatgpt.

People should not solely rely on Wikipedia as their only source of information as it can be edited by anyone, which can lead to inaccuracies, bias, and unreliable information. It's essential to use multiple sources and verify the information obtained from Wikipedia.

The above was written by Chatgpt.

When u surf wiki from Japan it always ask for 300¥ donations which is bt wikipidish

Better with than without but serious articles need fact-checking. They are short on money, requesting ¥300. Not even a cup of coffee.