Sunday 22 February 2009

Wicked-Pedia: Volume II

"Wicked"

Wicked Ver 1

Perhaps an attempt at reaching out to the Urban-aware* audience. Of course, those who are, will tell me that "wicked" is "good" and not "evil" in the world of Urban-speak. That said, I am quite happy to play on both senses of the word, because it serves to illustrate a point. Wikipedia is the most popular and the largest encyclopaedic reference out there - open-source and free - it is open to all - to contribute articles, to edit and to refine. Wikipedia is growing as people add topics of interest or contribute to articles already posted. I'm a front-end user and remain loyal to its potential. That's the first sense in which I use the word "wicked".

Wicked Ver 2

However, in Volume I of this topic, I explored how Wikipedia is not without flaw. There are poorly written, poorly referenced articles and contributions to this body of knowledge from people who whose point of view does not necessarily conform to the NPOV (neutral point of view) standards that are key to Wikipedia. Worse, there is abuse, deliberate attempts to hijack, push agendas and malicious vandalism; "wicked" in the commonly used sense of the word.

... The Places In-Between ...

But the spirit of open contribution is at the heart of Wikipedia; a repository of information that is bias-free and up-to-date with quality citations and links to other referenced works. Editing is continual and occurs through a process that is behind the scenes - some modifications are not checked because of vastness of scale and the principle of "good intent", others are subject to automated bot checks, and others are edited by teams of volunteers to ensure that the rules are followed; neutrality, reliable citations, academic style of writing, spelling and grammar. Disagreements can be reported through processes that includes teams checks and adjudicators. (... to be continued ...)

*Personal Opinion: Urban-speak is not always for the faint of heart

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