User:Coinmanj/Why I Wiki
For the first few years after Wikipedia began I ignored it. When its popularity it rose I even made fun of it. But now, over 4 years since I first joined, I spend hours every week on it, keep my friends abreast of my activities (much to their horror I'm sure) and I must admit that I am proud to call myself a Wikipedian.
In 2008 I joined Wikipedia and in my first year I made less than 10 edits, all were simple typo corrections. Even then, I was still of the opinion that Wikipedia was flawed, its data untrustworthy and its only use was that of novelty. I have an insatiable appetite for knowledge and my curiosity is rather boundless, so I constantly Google things and as the site began to grow I saw Wikipedia showing up as one of the top search results.
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From a Facebook conversation I had:
Why do I Wiki? Because what I contribute is read by millions. Because what I add is taken as fact and is spread around the globe. Because I have an obligation to share and disseminate reputable information. Case in point, Slim Goodbody. He was recently featured on the TV show Oddities and I happen to be one the largest editors to his Wiki article. Since his appearance on the show (2 nights ago) his article has been read over 1,000 times. That's 1,000 times my work has been seen & hopefully helped prolong that feeling of curiosity mixed with nostalgia.
To paraphrase Ron Paul: "Once you learn something you have an obligation to do something about it."
Wikipedia is a wonderful vehicle for having your actions seen by millions. No, it is not a soapbox, it is not a place to promote yourself or your opinions, it isn't even a place to write about your own discoveries. But it is a place where by your actions (editing) you can contribute to the on-going and ever increasing global information conversation. Something as simple as correcting a typo is then seen by countless people who now can read through an article without distraction. Or by doing the leg work and being bold you can actually make learning about a topic easier for entire segments of the global population. Wikipedia offers us the ability to compile information from vastly separated sources (books, magazines, online news, television etc) and pool it into a single source, the main article.
By taking a few minutes out of your day and adding a reference to an un-cited fact, or more importantly by adding one to a questionable statement, or adding one to help resolve a serious problem, you have now contributed to the quality of the site; but also enhanced a person's confidence in what they are reading.
Realizing the lasting effect a single person can have also comes with a large amount of responsibility. When I edit I do all I can to ensure the accuracy of the information I've added. I also take great pains to not change the fundamental meaning of a text I'm copy editing. Most of my edits are small, most don't require a great deal of planning or thought, but they still require care. And for those edits that are large (such as creating a new article) I need make sure that what I'm adding will add to the overall value of accessible knowledge online. I use Wikipedia as a source of information, to satiate curiosity and learn something new, and because I use it for these things I have a vested interest in making the site better, for everyone.
For these reasons (and more) I Wiki.