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A WIKIPEDIA hoax by a 22-year-old Dublin student resulted in a fake quote being published in newspaper obituaries around the world. - Christopher Chung

WOW. - Mona Nomura

Wikipedia is not a source; if you treat it like one, you deserve public ridicule :) - Tudor Bosman

BBC and Daily Mail are using it such. Remember how much crap I got from all of you because I said Wikip is making us lazy and stupid? Well, this is an example. We (our generation) should know better but what about our kids? - Mona Nomura

Mona: I think that's an overarching generalization. Wikipedia is a very powerful tool, but you need to know its limits and use it accordingly. I'd rather have more information easily available, even if there's a risk that it may be tainted. - Tudor Bosman

but then, Mona, you do enjoy making overarching generalizations in order to spark debate :) - Tudor Bosman

It's a powerful quote, and in it a deep entrenched idea, a hoax or not it was a remarkable way to truly see how far such things can travel. I wonder if we as people in the here and now made it viral because it seemed so appropriate, to the times and the challenges that life always provides, it's a rollercoaster for sure but nonetheless, it does show the power of a community based journalistic approach. - Ray Marr aka Knatchwa

I never denied Wikip being a powerful tool. I am more concerned by the bigger picture. Unless it is reiterated Wikip is a supplement, not the solution, our future generations are at risk of picking up lazy habits. - Mona Nomura

my 13year old is allowed to use wikipedia as a source in his school projects as long as he properly references the information... so teachers are teaching that wikipedia is ok... I freaked when I found out.. told him to triple check any source, even wikipedia before using anything.. what would you do? - Kim

Wikipedia is broad, but not deep. I use it to find out what I want to learn more about, then go to authoritative sources for the depth (if I care). - Tudor Bosman

Wiki is not as reliable as many authoritative sources, but no source is 100% reliable. There are many mistakes in the Encyclopedia Britannica, as there would be in anything created and curated by people. Despite its imperfections, Wiki's power and breadth make it an invaluable and unprecedented tool. - Christopher Chung

Kim - that is exactly what I am worried about. I would've done the same exact thing you did and told my child to triple check sources. Your 13yo is very lucky to have you, but what about the children whose parents aren't or can't be involved for whatever reason? With our educational system such CRAP, it's unfair to the children that doesn't have anyone to be left behind. :( - Mona Nomura

Mona: here's the flip side: Wikipedia can easily satisfy a child's thirst for knowledge in an environment where neither parents nor teachers give a damn. Sure, the information is incomplete and sometimes incorrect, but it's better than nothing. - Tudor Bosman

I see Wikipedia primarily as a jumping-off point - use it to get the lay of the land before you spend your time jumping down rabbit holes that don't lead anywhere, but always verify what you see on Wikipedia with a different, more reliable source. I use Wikipedia and Google searches at work as springboards when I first start doing legal research so that I don't end up billing the client... more... - Brian Chang

I guess I really disagree with your statement that Wikipedia is making us stupid; among the things that are "making us stupid", Wikipedia is really far down on the list. Wikipedia allows you to easily fulfill a desire for knowledge; there are many factors that attempt to suppress that desire for knowledge, and those are really dangerous. To name a few: religious, "do not ask questions" attitudes towards authority; dumbed-down news; reality TV. - Tudor Bosman

I'm sure it's just as accurate as many other famous quotes. - Paul Buchheit

Nono, I see your stance and where you are coming from. I too, think it's great there is a LOAD of information right in front of our faces, accessible to any and all (...w/ Internet or a library card). Technically, my word choice should've been "lazy" instead of "stupid", but people pay attention more when they are being called stupid. ;) - Mona Nomura

Paul, I'm going to add a quote to your wikipedia page and hope it becomes famous. :) - Dan Hsiao

Good idea Dan. Make it a good one though. - Paul Buchheit

"Batman should have just killed the joker when he had the chance" - Private Sanjeev

Yes, it would have prevent the whole second half of the movie, but that's an actual quote, so it doesn't count. - Paul Buchheit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki... According to Wikipedia's own guidelines, it's quite specifically meant to *not* be a source. If you find something on it that you want to cite in any way that matters (to me that includes school papers and the like), you should use it to find the original source, and in its absence give up and go elsewhere. I would encourage my own kids (or students if I were a teacher) to use Wikipedia like the card catalog. - Joel Webber

Right. Guidelines aside, who is going to teach those to use it as a catalog/starting point/what say you. In theory, Wikip should be used like an encyclopedia. We, who've had the luxury to use book and digital forms know this. What about our children? That is my greatest concern. - Mona Nomura

Completely agreed, Mona. I also cringed when I read "so teachers are teaching that wikipedia is ok". If teachers and parents don't clarify exactly what Wikipedia *is*, and how to use it, then it will be to everyone's detriment. But I'd also cringe if a teacher told my child not to use it at all -- it clearly has its place, but the difference between "index" and "source" is important. - Joel Webber

I don't think using an encyclopedia instead of primary sources is a new phenomenon. When I was in school it was the textbook or an encyclopedia in the library. Now it's the computer and wikipedia. The first time I had a history course that was entirely based on primary sources was in college. - invariant - farewell FF

I work on education stuff, and the whole "is Wikipedia reliable" is a big deal. I'm pretty sure someone could build a tool to suggest how reliable a given page is. HistoryFlow (http://www.research.ibm.com/visual...) is a good start for this, but also see the discussion about the statistical model for predicting conflict in... more... - Nick Lothian

I work at a college and we grade down when students cite Wikipedia because anyone can edit it and it is not considered a reliable source of information. Not to discount it though... It is a great jumping off point and frequently links to great sources of primary research. - Brad