The greatest thing the internet created, wikipedia

Seriously some of the wiki's are just awesome.

For example I am astounded at how comprehensive the Historicity of Jesus wiki is.
Have a look if anyone is interested. The is so much it need to go through it in a few days my brain cannot handle that much information at once without being unobjective.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus


Any other wikis that are as good or better than this one?

Indeed, it's very good. My problem is that Wikipedia does not have professional editors and fact checkers, so we're not sure if the information is accurate.

Originally Posted by Monk
Indeed, it's very good. My problem is that Wikipedia does not have professional editors and fact checkers, so we're not sure if the information is accurate.

Yeah that is true. But they always have the references at the bottom so it is reasonably accurate.

I have examined several articles about medicine (I'm a physician). And in general I find the information on that subject is of sufficient quality.

pibbur

Might aswell throw in this link that came across my way.

I find the potential hiring of professional editors more interesting that the controversy of donations but it's a good read nonetheless.

I'm not a physician like pibbur, but am a nitpicker. And wikipedia is incorrect on many things. However… If you really search for something specific, you won't search details in an encyclopedia, right?
As a general read, wikipedia is a pure gold stuff. Unluckily for everyone, it's not the greatest thing on internet. Sadly, the greatest thing on internet currently are social networks. Although I don't use any of them and never will, I can't skip the fact that probably 90% of internet users are registered on a social network.

I did Wikipedia for many years; close to a decade. Had lots of GA'd and FA'd articles. Then I finally had enough of a few particularly dickish editors, so I called it quits. Never been back. These days I prefer Project Gutenberg (and Distributed Proofreaders). It's much more structured and your contributions last just about forever, unlike Wikipedia where any fool can insert random, useless information on even the best edited page. Wikipedia is just a big time sink; my advice is not to bother.

Originally Posted by rjshae
These days I prefer Project Gutenberg

I had the impression that Project Gutenberg was just about copyright-free ebooks, is there more to it?

Originally Posted by Kostaz
I had the impression that Project Gutenberg was just about copyright-free ebooks, is there more to it?

I would like the answer to this too.

Originally Posted by Kostaz
Might aswell throw in this link that came across my way.

I find the potential hiring of professional editors more interesting that the controversy of donations but it's a good read nonetheless.

thank you for this

Someone at work said they noted a drop in new articles being published. The tongue in cheek implication being all the world's knowledge (worth knowing) is about to be finished documenting.

My big issue with Wikipedia for the past few years though is the self appointed guardians who feel its their right to control certain pages. I've had this happen on at least four occasions where the contribution I made was quickly removed and the page reverted back, even after citing credible sources.

But..its good. Its a good place to find references but one must be careful and do you own research on anything. At least libraries don't have to put up with their Encyclopedias being stolen.

It also brings to mind the interest and excitement the French caused after the revolution when they took up the original Encyclopdie.

Originally Posted by Damian
Yeah that is true. But they always have the references at the bottom so it is reasonably accurate.

We're not sure if the sources are accurate or even true.

Ultimately, it's better if there is at least a group of scholars, experts, and professional editors and fact checkers to verify the information given.

Originally Posted by Kostaz
I had the impression that Project Gutenberg was just about copyright-free ebooks, is there more to it?

Yes, it's primarily about copyright-free ebooks. They partner with Distributed Proofreaders, who now provide most of PG's proofed and formatted content via crowdsourcing. There is also LibriVox, which is a project to record audio books from the public domain.