Wikipedia: Beneath the Surface

What is a wiki? How does information get into Wikipedia in the first place? Who creates it? This short animation introduces viewers to what goes on behind-the-scenes so they can make the best use of what's on the surface. Watch a higher quality version with captioning here: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/wik...

This video was created by North Carolina State University Libraries: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/wik...

Reproduction of the Wikipedia logo and trademark by specific permission of the Wikimedia Foundation granted to NC State University.

• Category

  Education

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

One problem i have with Wikipedia is that as has allready been said in the video, everyone can edit a wikipedia page and an expert on the subject might easily get kicked out of wikipedia simply because his views are not the same as that of the everyday Joe who are mostly editng Wikipdia. Also what motiviates people to edit Wikipedia is to push their own biased POV - because that is the only reward there is as there is otherwise little motivation for editing.

[Alfred Esbjörnson]

The problem with "experts" is that they're not always right, which some people seem to think. Most of my teachers point out that the information on Wikipedia usually isn't written by experts and therefore can't be trusted. The problem with this mentality is that even though I may not be an expert, my knowledge is worth just as much as an experts.

[therealbuba]

@transworId I highly doubt that look at 99% of whats on the internet.

[shickashame]

good balanced take on wikipedia, but the expert argument is unnecessary because no original research is allowed anyways. Everyone is pointing back to sources that are then evaluated for their expertise.

[CrypticC62]

Very interesting and comprehensive video. It seemed to put a (perhaps unnecessary) emphasis on the dynamics of contentious articles. In some articles, especially those in the realm of natural science, maintaining a neutral point of view is extremely easy because so much of the content is based on data and facts rather than conflicting viewpoints.

Also, slight inaccuracy: Anyone can add a content banner, not just admins.

[avery q. Poners]

I love Wikipedia and use it all the time. So far, I've found the articles very accurate. I was impressed that Wikipedia had an article detailing the history of coupons.

[poopsinger]

i gonna make a wikipedia page

jubi

[cormaggio]

Nicely done video! I've added it to a resource I developed on Wikiversity, called 'Inside Wikipedia' (can't seem to post links here in comments).

[garycalgary]

very balanced....i didn't trust it at first but now that i understand the concept i use it a lot more

[FatherElectric]

Why do they keep saying "quality and accuracy", when they really mean regurgitation of the party line?

[nerosine9]

wikipedia is good but GREEDY stop demanding donations