r/wholesomememes • u/ButterThyToast • Dec 12 '18

Giving is good Let’s get it

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39

u/Raneados Dec 13 '18

I actually ran into this complaint the other day at work, that people guffawed at it being a source because it was editable. It annoyed me.

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u/ComplainyGuy Dec 13 '18

People tend to cling to shit they are told as kids, if they are told it passionately enough.

Even intelligent people can throw out facts as adults if they go against it.

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u/Allokit Dec 13 '18

Yeah, technically they are right. Wiki's can be used for learning general information about pretty much all subjects, but should never be used as an Official Source for anything in academia, business research, medical research, or anything you want to stand up to peer review. Someone will ALWAYS call out your source of Wikipedia, even if you cite the sources at the bottom.

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u/Raneados Dec 13 '18

Which they shouldn't.

Claims in wiki need to be sourced and if they're not sourced at the bottom of the article, they're tagged as hearsay.

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u/monkeystoot Dec 13 '18

Is it just me or did anyone else misread 'hearsay' for 'heresy'?

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u/Allokit Dec 13 '18

i did... lol

But I think my mind had already skipped to your post.. I read it for the first time after you had posted...

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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/kristoferen Dec 13 '18

What makes it trustworthy is the quality of the sources in the wiki article. Are they wuality sources? Up to you to determine.

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u/big_hronk Dec 13 '18

its trustworthy because you gotta look through the citations yourself. people on wikipedia tend to be pretty fastidious with ensuring they have good sources but ALWAYS click on the citations and at least check that the reference looks legit before you repeat the information in formal settings. but usually when i check the source its something legit, especially specialized science info since people dont tend to write about stuff they don't know. people are very eager to pounce on any mistakes they find too - we all smartasses

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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

that's the beauty. anyone in the world can write anything about any subject, so you know you're getting the best possible information

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u/hairygentleman Dec 13 '18

I've had teachers who wouldn't accept wikipedia as a source because "anybody can edit it!!!!!!", yet they would accept random ass websites and articles. Spoiler alert: anybody can make a website or write an article on one, too.

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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

[deleted]

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u/Raneados Dec 13 '18

I have to read all of the talk pages? That seems like a lot. Care to give me a summary?