What is Wikipedia?
Since my early years in high school, many of my teachers warned my classmates and I about the false information that littered Wikipedia. They would simply state, “DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA.” If asked why they replied with “Because anyone can put information on there.” My high school teachers warnings about Wikipedia influenced my limited experience with the site and caused me to doubt the reliability of its content. This influence followed me through college, where I rarely visited the site, at least for educational purposes. However, this semester I took a class entitled, ENG 495: Introduction to Digital Humanities. In this course, we look at the structure of the digital world and how it relates to society. One of the main projects for this class was called the Wikipedia Project.
Throughout this project, my class and I witnessed the inner workings of Wikipedia. We learned about the platform and became more aware of the expectations and standards Wikipedia requires from their users and content. To see the strict guidelines Wikipedia sets, and the multiple training modules they offer made me rethink my stance about Wikipedia as a resource. Although it is fair to say not every article on Wikipedia is at its full potential-- which is one reason why these Wikipedia Projects exist, so that students can help edit articles-- but by doing this project I have a better understanding of how much work and effort is put into ensuring Wikipedia is at its best. As a user, I now recognize what an accomplished Wikipedia article looks like, and the type of sources it should contain to achieve maximum credibility.
Doing this project opened my understanding to not only Wikipedia but the internet as a whole. Many people see the internet as a space for entertainment or current events, but underneath those basic functions, there is a host of complex structures that involves both technical and social aspects. One common element both aspects value is the idea of collaboration. Even though browsing the internet is a solitary action, it leads to a virtual world that is accessible by millions of people. Communities form through these interactions which lead to endless possibilities of creation and innovation.
