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Old 12-18-2005, 09:09 PM
maryfield48 maryfield48 is offline
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Kingston, Jamaica
Posts: 144
Default Re: Wikipedia is as accurate as Britannica.

[ QUOTE ]
Wikipedia can never be a reliable source because its information can be edited at any moment.

Plus, the science articles don't give a good estimate of the reliability of the encyclopedia. That's because they're mostly fact based articles with detailed content and many reliable references, as compared to other topics which can be contentious, indeterminate, or a target for vandals.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmmm. I think I'd question both of those positions. The whole open source concept is built on the theory that making the subject accessible for correction & improvement by all and sundry results in superior quality than a more centralized approach. By that theory, errors in wikipedia are likely to have a shorter lifespan than those in the Britannica.

And fact-based articles are IMO the best test of accuracy, since it is harder to find any consensus on what an 'error' is when the topic is more subjective.
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