Blog Entry #5

Wikipedia Part 2

The second half of “the World and Wikipedia: How we are editing reality,” by Andrew Dalby, continues the ideas that were developed in the first half about why people love wikipedia.  Throughout the second half Dalby goes into more detail and gives many reasons why we do love wikipedia but also portrays reasons we can’t trust the website but continue to use it. 

As Dalby gives many examples of why wikipedia has become so appealing he points out the feeling of achievement and satisfaction that people get when contributing reliable information to a topic.  During chapter 5, the interview of one wikipedian is provided and the topic is based on why he does so much for the website.  “Partly it’s that I’m proud of making knowledge freely available to the greatest possible number; partly that I’m encouraging the survival of the French language, and enriching it, too, because one day the French Wikipedia is going to be a great resource.  Wikipedia is a little of my time that I give to other people – and to myself as well, because, above all, contributing to it is a pleasure” (Eyone 119).  While this is only one of the many examples Dalby provides, he also goes into another area of being able to write and edit any topic you want.  Another reason people are so interested in using wikipedia is because it lets us write about whatever we want.  Although this does bring about a negative attribute, it also justifies another reason people are so tempted to use it.

Wikipedia applies equality among all people using it; no matter how long they’ve used it or how much information they know about the topic.  Whether it is because it is free and accessible information, or because people use it as a hobby to relay information on certain subjects, wikipedia is a popular source of information.

While Dalby describes why wikipedia is loved by so many, he also goes into why the website cant be trusted.  On top of the examples given in chapter 5 regarding the equality among people to contribute information he touches on the fact that, “you cant know why, or on what grounds, people make the edits that they do” (pg 174).  While elaborating on this particular issue, Dalby explains the idea of ‘info boxes’ and the reliability of them.  Info boxes are not intended to provide full and correct information and they are also known to make some uncertain information seem completely clear and understand.  Another example that is given throughout chapter 7, “Why you don’t trust wikipedia,” has to do with the amount of information that is edited and why it is contributed in the first place.  A question that arises in my head when looking at Dalby’s example of Sarah Palin’s page is ‘Are people adding information purely based on their personal opinions?!’  I think this question is asked by many simply based on how often popular articles became huge continued articles that are so frequently added to.  While people see wikipedia as a means to release information, some take it as an opportunity to make their opinions public; providing why the website cannot be trusted.

Throughout the second half of the book written by Dalby, I believe his writings take a more personal view on the website, wikipedia.  By going into detailed examples of why people appreciate wikipedia to such a great extent.  I have a more realistic opinion of how much I can trust it and how reliable the information is.  As he continues to give examples of why it cannot be trusted, after reading Dalby’s book, The World and Wikipedia, I begin to understand why most scholarly researchers do not accept it.