User:Kerfuffler/Wikipedia is not an encyclopedia

To understand how Wikipedia works, one must first understand that Wikipedia is not an encyclopedia.


 * Traditionally, encyclopedias such as Britannica use field experts and professional editors to write articles; in the past this has included highly regarded scientist such as Albert Einstein and Marie Curie. Wikipedia prefers not to have experts write articles, claiming they are biased.  This is alleged to improve the quality of the work.
 * Encyclopedias actually pay their writers and editors. Wikipedia relies entirely on volunteers.  This often shows in the quality of the work.
 * Encyclopedias often rely primarily on the knowledge of the writer and/or editor (for example on math or other technical topics), and are therefore primary sources themselves. Wikipedia policy is to base articles primarily on secondary sources, making Wikipedia a tertiary source.  This is alleged to improve the quality of the work.  Even worse, the fact that peer reviewed articles typically require payment to access, combined with an enormous dose of hubris, causes many Wikipedia articles to be based entirely on less reliable sources.
 * Encyclopedias distill the information down to the major points that people will likely want to know about. Wikipedia often barrages the reader with so much trivia that it's difficult to glean anything useful from it.
 * Encyclopedias mostly contain material that is summarized or written by the editor, and only rarely do they quote other material. Wikipedia uses quotes much more extensively because it is used to add weight to commentary, and references extensively to establish the credibility of random editors.
 * Encyclopedias avoid very timely information, and almost entirely avoid future events. Wikipedia contains a great deal of timely material, much of which is out of date.
 * Encyclopedias do very light tagging, if any. Wikipedia uses tagging (categories) extensively, creating numerous granfalloons, and tags so narrow as to be completely useless.
 * Encyclopedias don't argue about writing style, because they have a consistent one, and editors to do copy editing. Wikipedia… enough said.