In Wiki We Trust....

[Agent]

...NOT. Just be careful when using user-edited sites such as Wikipedia as a trusted source.

Wikiscandal

[little_bill]

too true i never use it as a quoted source for anything, too risky with it being dependant on peoples honesty and integrity.

[Doug]

As a trusted source or a credible reference, no.  But as a general source of knowledge, I think it's outstanding.  Everyday I wonder about things, and for a overview of some subject it's an easy way to read up on things that otherwise I would never bother to look up. 

If you met someone who knew nothing about Clint Eastwood except that he was involved in films, and you told him twenty things that were true about Eastwood and one little thing that might not exactly be true or came from a questionable source, would you still not have enlightened this person?  Of course, you would have.  But certainly, if the person were writing a paper or book on Eastwood, then it would be prudent to use a slightly better source, right?  That's how I look at it. 

[KC]

I agree with Doug. I frequently use Wikipedia in work I do for the New York Public Library. It's a wonderful shortcut to all sorts of information that might be hard to dig up any other way. But before I rely on what I find there ... I always check the sources.

[Americanbeauty]

I have to agree with Agent, too. It is an outstanding source of knowledge, unfortunately it's a little too risky to quote Wikipedia in school papers, and teachers are not particularly fond of it 

I use it quite often, but then I always try to find other sources.

[Agent]

I've use it at times as a handy reference tool to get a quick intro on a certain subject or topic (as it seems to be one of the first links that pops up on a typical Google search) - especially if it concerns an odd topic that might not be found elsewhere. But again, I wouldn't put a whole lot of money down on how valid the info is. It's certainly understandable why the college & uni profs will not accept it as a trusted reference.

On the other hand, if I had a choice between Wiki and the NY Times as which source was more trustworthy.....I'm afraid I'd lean more towards Wiki. 

[paul muni]

Wikipedia is fine for browsing when I'm bored, but otherwise it just isn't dependable. Besides false information, there's frequent vandalism on the site (and a lot recorded in the history of the Eastwood article which nauseated me).