Wikipedia started out with the goal of providing quality information to the global community through the collaboration of individual users. Ideally, people from the community would hold themselves to a high standard and provide accurate, up-to-date information for everyone.
There's a reason why the online version of Encyclopedia Britanica can't be edited by any able user. Although Wikipedia's original beauty centered around the use of collaboration, that same open source editing function has turned the user-built database into a trainwreck of credible knowledge and incorrect information.
Ball State University students could have benefitted from the ideal Wikipedia - perhaps more than most in the community. Wikipedia is now a source students think they can rely on but ultimately shouldn't.
If Wikipedia were held to the same standards of any other reputable resource, such as Brittanica Encyclopedia, it would be an amazing and extremely useful source. A wealth of quality information created by the community would be at the fingertips of anyone with an Internet connection and curiosity. Wikipedia was meant to be a quality resource for users, made by users.
When taken as a whole, society has proven it can be misinformed and untrustworthy. Wikipedia is made and edited by members of the same ill-informed society, and as a result any value it could have as a reputable source is lost.
The greatness Wikipedia could have attained has been replaced with mistakes and outright vandalism. Inappropriate and inaccurate facts litter the articles Wikipedia has to offer, and the limited number of responsible users can't clean up everything. Because of the irresponsible actions of a few bad apples, the entire community suffers.
The same users who were supposed to benefit from cooperation with each other have ensured Wikipedia is a source no one can depend on. Ball State University students could have had access to a revolutionary new source of information, but now have to rely on alternative means of finding the facts.
When Wikipedia was made open to the public for editing and use, it could have marked the beginning of a new golden age of information. Instead, the day Wikipedia opened to the community is the day it died.
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