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Tip of the day...
![]() How reliable is Wikipedia?
It is pretty good, and getting better. But... ...it is inappropriate to cite Wikipedia as a source, because it is updated in real time. So from the time you cite a Wikipedia page to the time another person looks up your citation, the page may have changed. Citations are usually only applicable to static publications that do not change once they are published. Wikipedia is not a static publication, it is dynamic!—it changes every minute. In this sense, Wikipedia is not a reliable citable source. How reliable is Wikipedia as a general resource? Very reliable. Most of the content on Wikipedia is accurate, and many subjects are updated faster than the news. But, Wikipedia is subject to being edited by almost anyone and any time, and the edits may be biased, out of date, incorrect, or malicious (vandalism). Therefore, it is advisable to double-check what you learn in Wikipedia against other sources. Keep in mind that many volunteers monitor Wikipedia for errors. Since there are so many people reading the articles and monitoring contributions using the Recent Changes page, and using watchlists, incorrect information is usually spotted and corrected quickly. Some argue that new errors are also introduced all the time, so that the overall accuracy rate is not really improving. Nevertheless, by encouraging people to help with correcting articles, validating content, and providing useful references, errors will eventually be greatly reduced. The more accurate Wikipedia becomes, the more it attracts additional contributors. It is a self-reinforcing cycle! – – Read more: To add this auto-updating template to your user page, use
{{tip of the day}} |
Tip of the moment...
![]() How to provide a Google search in a link
Here is an example of a link which activates a Google search: Tip of the day, on Wikipedia It was built using this wikilink: Sometimes it is useful to place a link to a Google search directly in a discussion. You can also use links to predefine an entire search session, and then use a tool like WP:LINKY to open the searches all at once into separate web browser tabs. – – Read more: To add this auto-randomizing template to your user page, use {{totd-random}}
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