Nephele Posted May 8, 2010 Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 I know that, over the years here, I've expressed nothing but scorn for Wikipedia, but I think I'm going to have to change my opinion... There's a Wiki contributor going by the name of P. Aculeius who has lately been contributing a number of admirable articles on Roman onomastics. He's even corrected errors I'd found in Wiki articles and which I'd posted about here (such as the old Wiki article on Roman praenomina which stated that the praenomen "Appius" was used only by the Claudia gens). I don't know who this guy is, but if he were around here I'd crown him with a wreath of laurel. His Wiki articles on Roman gentes are outstanding. -- Nephele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion-Macro Posted May 9, 2010 Report Share Posted May 9, 2010 I enjoy Wikipedia articles, although I know better than to take everything written there too seriously. But it is a nice place to go for some quick information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursus Posted May 9, 2010 Report Share Posted May 9, 2010 I enjoy Wikipedia articles, although I know better than to take everything written there too seriously. But it is a nice place to go for some quick information. Ditto. I've found it is especially good for non-academic areas of research, such as pop culture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docoflove1974 Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 I will admit something...I recently had students use Wikipedia for phonetic information on a project. *gasp* *shock* To be honest, while I found a couple of inconsistencies, the point of an intro to linguistics class is to have a general knowledge of linguistics. And most sites which details of a given language's phonetic inventory is too complex and detailed for an intro class. But not true of the Wikipedia site...I was amazed. Now, for anything else they do for me in class, they cannot use Wikipedia as a source, but I've taught them how to use Wikipedia as a starting point for a list of links and/or references, and to go from there. (Let's see if they follow instructions!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil61 Posted May 11, 2010 Report Share Posted May 11, 2010 I think Wikipedia has improved immensely in the last few years. The 'overwatch' of articles and constant review of changes from the long-time admins/editors has improved the quality quite a bit. I now find it my 'go to' source for quick info. I agree, it is especially good on pop culture and not too shabby on history if you need a quick refresher on a subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion-Macro Posted May 11, 2010 Report Share Posted May 11, 2010 I enjoy Wikipedia articles, although I know better than to take everything written there too seriously. But it is a nice place to go for some quick information. Ditto. I've found it is especially good for non-academic areas of research, such as pop culture. Indeed. it is a grand source if you are looking for quick answers, but if you use it as a formal source for information (such as history facts etc) it can be incorrect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Porcius Cato Posted September 16, 2010 Report Share Posted September 16, 2010 Personally, I'm forever indebted to Wikipedia for giving me my favorite complaint about almost everything I read-- citation needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostOfClayton Posted September 16, 2010 Report Share Posted September 16, 2010 I think you'll find the series of articles on Hadrian's Wall Milecastles particularly good, (even if they do only go up to #24 so far). The main contributor to these is clearly well-read, inteligent and ruggedly handsome. (He wishes!) Seriously though, I've often heard inteligent people moan about inaccuracies on Wikipedia, and thought "why don't you just correct it? That's the idea of the thing". . . and to be honest it's very rewarding and a little addictive. Give it a go. Maybe you could start with an article on a milecastle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docoflove1974 Posted September 17, 2010 Report Share Posted September 17, 2010 Personally, I'm forever indebted to Wikipedia for giving me my favorite complaint about almost everything I read-- citation needed. Particularly in student term papers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldrail Posted September 28, 2010 Report Share Posted September 28, 2010 Nephele, no, don't do it, don't fall into the conspiracy of the evil wiki's. You who opened my eyes and made me see what a threat to sincere and accurate history the high priests of the Wikipedia can be. Do not fall under their spell and surrender to the hordes of public information gatherers. Or does this mean I can quote from Wikipedia again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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