Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

512 wikis and WikipediaWiki software such as the extensive and ever-growing Wikipedia, allows users to collaborate to create and update knowledge bases. Entriescan include images such as the astronomical photo shown here. There is also a place for ongoing discussion of changes to the page.of a controversial topic (or even politicians) would changearticles back and forth to reflect their views.Defenders of Wikipedia believe that the same “bottomup” writing and editing process cited by critics can alsobe one of the project’s strengths. Each article has a recordof changes, and many articles have attached discussionpages where writers can critique the page or discuss theirrationales for edits. Finally, they cite a study by the journalNature that found that in the science articles analyzed,Wikipedia averaged four errors while the Encyclopaedia Britannicawas only slightly more accurate, averaging three.Defenders of Britannica, however, point out that theirpublication has the kind of consistency that can only comethrough rigorous application of editorial standards. Wikipediadoes have standards that writers and editors areurged to apply, such as providing a citation for every significantstatement, maintaining a “neutral point of view,” andrefraining from including original research. Nevertheless,the quality of organization and writing does vary considerablyfrom one article to the next.Meanwhile innovators in Wikipedia and its communityare developing new tools that may improve the reliability of