WIKIS eh?

So... after looking at some of the recommended websites, I have discovered a wealth of information about wikis. I know what they are, why they exist and also, how dull some of them can be!

The idea of wikis seems pretty intrinsic to the whole ethos behind the internet itself: people can publish information on whatever subject they desire for either everyone (or selected people) to be able to see. It's about sharing information, personal experience, opinions... whatever you like! The fact that some wikis are relatively unregulated scares me a little and the thought that some people may use them as a source of fact is disquieting. I've often seen many students using Wikipedia as the first port of call when researching a subject and they assume everything that they read on there is fact.

Speaking of wikipedia: the thing that bothers me is that etymologically speaking, "wikipedia" is obviously derived  from the word encyclopaedia but this can be broken down in "cycle of learning for children". Wiki, meaning "open-community" or "user submitted" added to the suffic "paedia" means "user submitted children".

I wish people would look into things a little better before naming them incorrectly...