On Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 6:22 AM, edward edward@logicmuseum.com wrote:
Could I ask if there are any plans by WMF to address some of the content problems in Wikipedia? Pretty much any article in my specialist area (which is actually not all that specialist) has serious problems - gross factual errors, omissions, bias and so on. I know from other specialists that this is not just restricted to my area: economics, sociology, many areas of the arts and humanities have similar problems.
This is not just a Wikimedia issue, it's a public interest issue. Wikipedia is now the go-to place for knowledge for pretty much everyone in the world. I don't see how WMF is fulfilling its mission (empowering people to collect and develop and disseminate educational content under a free license) when the content isn't actually educational.
Hi Ed,
The Wikimedia Foundation does not write nor edit content on Wikipedia, nor does it dictate editorial policy. All of the content is written, edited, and controlled by whomever would like to volunteer their time to improve it.
As such, this is often why the response to a statement like "Pretty much any article in my specialist area (which is actually not all that specialist) has serious problems" is to invite you to edit it.[1] :-) If you need help, there are forums like the Teahouse,[2] where you can get answers from friendly, experienced Wikipedia editors. If you simply don't have the time to volunteer on improving any content, you can of course always leave suggestions on the Talk page associated with any article.
Steven
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Be_bold_in_updating_pages 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse