Wiki-What?
- Kari Thomas
- Nov 24, 2023
- 2 min read
The worst thing about Wikipedia is also its highest point - anyone can edit a page as long as they have valid and credible information to do so. Though I do not like to use Wikipedia as a primary source of information for exactly this reason, it is a great tool that I utilize often when in the brainstorming portion of my research. I will find an article about the topic I am on, search it on Wikipedia, and get a basic summary of said event. I then use the links provided (both internal and external) to find more information on my subject. From that point, I usually have a collection of key terms and important moments to look closer into on a slightly more reputable (and less publicly edited,) website or online journal.
In rare cases though, Wikipedia does not have a page for the exact topic I am looking into - specifically, I am noticing, that the once Highly Classified government UFO incidents are slim to none in these mass edits. (I smell a conspiracy…) Naturally, when given an assignment to edit a Wikipedia page - this is where I am going to lend my expertise. Now, did I create an entirely new page for this event - no, but I maybe should have. The amount of material I have on this event is absolutely enough for an entire page, but when I used the “talk” tab to discuss the lack of this event I never received any kind of response.
But that won’t stop me. I decided to go ahead with my edit - but simply as an edit on the Malmstrom Air Force Base page as opposed to a whole page of its own. I gave a quite brief, but adequate and accurate couple-sentence summary of this event - and linked my resources as required by Wikipedia. I included the dates of the incident, and the names of the two men whose watch these events happened, (First Lieutenant Walt Figel, and Robert Salas (DMCCC)).
I am really curious to see though how long they allow this post to stay live. As I noted above, most of the Government UFO Incidents do not have a page - and I refuse to believe that is because there is no interest in the matter. I specifically left my post short and sweet in hopes that it will have more luck staying active.
Did this assignment change my opinion on the way I will use Wikipedia - not really. I think I use it pretty much the way it is meant to be used. I use it as inspiration for more research, not as research in its own right. I use it as supplemental material - not the meat of the dish, but maybe the carrots. While I do truly believe that “the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit” is one of the greatest ideas of our time, I also truly believe that most of the world is not ready for the power that “anyone” entails.
Knowledge on this topic gained from the following resources :
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