So, I've been going through wikipedia, reforming articles on my speciality (organismal biomechanics) because so many are just awful, and I got to wondering, how many people here contribute?

 

On one hand, I know a lot of people have disdain for it, due to the ease of vandalism. On the other, it's frequency of use as a reference makes it a potentially valuable educational tool, and I like being able to personally vouch for sections that I've written.

 

So, does anyone else here contribute regularly?

I used contribute quite a bit. A few major edits, even the bulk of a few entire articles, but mostly minor stuff. I was also somewhat involved in the community in itself, where I helped to moderate disputes, tutor new editors, discuss articles for deletion, etc. A few months ago I went through a period where I was way too busy to help, and I haven't yet got back into it. I still think it's a wonderful project, though, and most of the criticisms people have of it are actually false, and the methods of dealing with problems are surprisingly highly effective. Still, though, the more obscure the subject, the less eyes are watching, and there's still opportunity for trouble.

 

(Oh, and I used a name that's nothing like "Sisyphus," so don't bother. I keep all my online identities separate.)

All below applies to de.wikipedia.org, not en.wikipedia.org. To answer the last question first: I used to edit a bit. Started with smaller mistakes, then rewrote paragraphs, then moved on to rewriting whole (but relatively small) articles. Now I almost completely stopped due to not having (read: wanting to take) enough free time for WP (why spend time editing WP when I can instead spend the time on my work?) and due to a dislike for the community there.

 

On one hand, I know a lot of people have disdain for it, due to the ease of vandalism.

My biggest problem is the people who want to be helpful, who simply have no competence but want to contribute. Not those who want to vandalize (barely seen any of those, in fact). And I really lost any interest discussing with those people, particularly the "I attended a [quantum mechanics/electrodynamics/whatever] lecture this semester so I know everything about modern physics"-idiots. My current interest in discussions on WP is so low that I leave such contributions -even when obviously wrong- uncommented. If a physics topic is over the head of a physics student then in the end it probably doesn't matter if the WP article on the topic is correct or not. The majority of people will only read the introduction paragraph, professionals do not get information from WP when accuracy counts.

 

My feeling, also from discussions within WP, is that vandalism is a serious non-existing problem. Do I understand you correctly that people do not edit WP because they are afraid of vandals? I imagined the other way round to be a bigger problem: If I am an expert in a certain field, do I want to correct an error or rewrite a section if a teenager then just resets everything with a single click and the message "no improvement on the existing article"?

 

On the other, it's frequency of use as a reference makes it a potentially valuable educational tool, ...

I am not sure if I understand that statement: The frequent use of WP as a reference certainly is a sign that many people get their online information (I assume by references you talk about an online environment) from it. For me that is a sign that information about a topic is easy to find there. So you think that when you present good information there you can educate many people?

I am not convinced that looking up terms in an encyclopedia really contributes to education.

Edited March 29, 200917 yr by timo

I used to make minor contributions but stopped when I realized that the time needed to improve articles to a decent standard (as compared to the off-hand posts on this forum), should rather be spent on writing paper/grants/lectures/labwork/ etc.

first time i tried to edit it, it says my ip range is blocked

 

i could supposedly get it unblocked but i have to use some special work issued email account... too much of a drag...

I've done the occasional edit, both large and small. I love wikipedia and frequently use it as my first source, especially on things I know nothing about. For a time I would explore entire articles and opening every link containing a word/topic I did not fully understand in a new tab. That was rather fun, and I never ran out of stuff to read. However, I don't edit much. I do appreciate the enormous amount of time and effort that went into making WP and the people who continue to improve on it.

 

I think that the government should contribute to making a free information source, or just donating to it. It is a community resource used by lots of people, just like roads and other things that the government helps with.

I've edited it twice, each time on minor factoidal stuff within a larger article.

 

I have great respect for wikipedia. Particularly for know scientific information it's awesome. I wouldn't use it for looking up anything too controversial, since the chances are the article would change on an hourly basis.

If I see something I know to be wrong, I will edit. This has happened a few times.

When I was teaching a medical cell biology course a few years ago I edited and added much of the content on those topics on Wikipedia, e.g., evolution of cells, stem cells, cancer, senescence, replication. Wikipedia is a great reference within the scientific domain. I edit from time to time if I notice a mistake, but I don't write blocks of content.