Anonymous Wikipedia entries the most accurate
Mitch Davis
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: Technology
The study has been met with considerable interest in the academic community, due in part to Wikipedia's status as a scholarly cause celebre. A preliminary version of the paper was presented during an Economic Sociology and Technology Conference at Cornell University in 2005.
Anthony said it is important to note that the study does not make claims about the overall quality of Wikipedia compared to other encyclopedias, only the relative quality of user groups.
"We didn't evaluate content," she said, adding that Wikipedia is most valuable when used as a "first source" rather than a definitive authority.
Anthony pointed to the potential strengths of user-controlled communities. As the study points out, such communities allow for easier contributions and reduce participants' barriers to entry, improving the collective good.
Interest in the nature of contributors to Wikipedia has led Anthony and her colleagues to consider conducting new studies and writing further papers on the topic. One such possibility would be a review of Good Samaritans' IP addresses to gather their demographics, including whether they belong to particular businesses or colleges.
"To me it is still interesting to think about anonymous users, who they are and why they contribute," said Anthony.
Anthony said it is important to note that the study does not make claims about the overall quality of Wikipedia compared to other encyclopedias, only the relative quality of user groups.
"We didn't evaluate content," she said, adding that Wikipedia is most valuable when used as a "first source" rather than a definitive authority.
Anthony pointed to the potential strengths of user-controlled communities. As the study points out, such communities allow for easier contributions and reduce participants' barriers to entry, improving the collective good.
Interest in the nature of contributors to Wikipedia has led Anthony and her colleagues to consider conducting new studies and writing further papers on the topic. One such possibility would be a review of Good Samaritans' IP addresses to gather their demographics, including whether they belong to particular businesses or colleges.
"To me it is still interesting to think about anonymous users, who they are and why they contribute," said Anthony.
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david hill
posted 11/24/07 @ 2:23 PM EST
WIKIPEDIA and all its constituent satellites should be totally banned from major research institutions throughout the world for it provides the means for distortions and untruths to be put in print across the whole globe. (Continued…)
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