Quote:It's a pet peeve of mine when people question Wikipedia's integrity, because usually these people don't truly understand how it works.
Indeed
Nor understand the purpose of an encyclopedia; it's meant to be a broad reference source for the layman,not as a prime source for scholars.
I think Kyu is right. Wiki a good place to begin. I think it's perfectly OK for most of the discussions found on internet forums,which are rarely scholarly debate between peers.
If I say "Wiki says X Y or Z",in effect I'm saying "this seems reasonable and I have no reason to doubt it" However,I would not cite Wiki if writing a paper on any subject.Besides, no university teacher worth his salt would accept Wiki as a prime source. However,I understand some high school teachers accept Wiki as a source.
