When I was in college, one of the taunts frequently leveled by Harvard students against those of us from their sworn rival, Yale, was "Yale Cites Wikipedia." It was a charge that was scrawled upon homemade signs that were rolled out for "the Game," the annual football contest between the two universities that takes place each November. It was in reference, of course, to professors' frequent admonition to avoid citing Wikipedia. Wikipedia, the Internet encyclopedia that boastsa global Alexa rank of 13, can be edited by anyone, even though a small circle of editors oversees said edits and actually makes the majority themselves. Given that anyone can contribute to articles regardless of their actual expertise, teachers and professors generally cautioned students against citing the encyclopedia, given concerns about vandalism or, more prosaically, that content there simply underwent a less rigorous editing and fact-checking process than points in books, academic papers, or even news articles.
Wikipedia Wars
