A look at Wikipedia
Wikipedia is one of the first websites that pop up whenever you search anything. Considering it is a website that has information on almost anything you can think of. Growing up and through my school, we were taught that Wikipedia is not a reliable source and should be avoided when researching for school. It does make sense since anything can write anything about it and possibly include misinformation on the said topics. However, Wikipedia includes a community within it, with expert writers that will constantly correct and update pages if need be, or correct any parts that are not relevant to the searched topic. Wikipedia itself includes several includes several wikis that go into detail about specific topics that can have its own encyclopedia of different terminologies pertaining to the specific topic. Some popular wikis with their own communities of dedicated writers of the topics come from Fandom. Fandom includes wikis from popular video games, movies, and series which all have their own specific terminologies that are related to the topic. Much of these communities form from the general interest of the topic at hand. The interest then grows into know more about it. In essence, a typical wikipedia page will explain the general basics of the searched topic and it will be divided into sections that can talk about the origins or beginnings of the topic. It will go in order of the topic up until the latest information that is given, or that there is no more important information that can be given. If applicable, maybe lesser important topics that are still related to the said topic, such as trivia of the topic. Wikipedia also includes a page for those who write the pages on Wikipedia. Wikipedia sociology will add corrections or changes to a page, other writers of the related topic will discuss wether or not the change is good to add or not. As part of their community they know if the related topics are justifiable based on their knowledge of the said topic. The communities of these different topics follow much of the ideal way on how an online community should act. Starting from participation, to cooperation, then to collaboration if there is something more to give within the community. Something that I wasn't aware of that Wikipedia includes is a talk page. After searching for your language, you go to the main page of Wikipedia. At the top of the page next to main page, clicking next to it is talk. In the talk section, it includes a page where those who write the pages on Wikipedia, can talk about ways to improve the pages with selected topics to make sure they are at their best. When you first go on to the talk page, it will always bring up Main Page Error Reports when you keep scrolling downwards. The main page includes all of the information included if you have any issues with a specific page. It will include a set of common questions and answers. Scrolling a little lower will also include a report of todays pages that were published. The report includes corrections from published articles which may contain any errors. The reports are displayed by the community members from Wikipedia including their user names and the mistakes that are found. Much of Wikipedia's community stems from people with a common interest and find a way to communicate and collaborate with each other to help others who need information on almost anything they want to research.


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