Wikipedia was different from the traditional encyclopedias, it aroused many discussion on the topic whether Wikipedia can replace the traditional encyclopedias. In my opinion, Wikipedia has it value and benefits over the traditional encyclopedias.
Encyclopedias is a kinds of knowledge that reflecting the path of real society, the issues and the knowkedge should catch the path of real society, so it should not be fixed or controlled under a single organization. It should be engage by a healthy society. The more active participation of the people of the issue, the more comprehensive knowledge and opinion we get. However, the issues or knowledge of the traditional encyclopedias may not be updated, the news or issues may not reflect the status of the real society.
Besides, the quality of knowledge of Wikipedia is also been ensured or checked. There are more than 40 supervisor which help to check the accuracy of the source of the knowledge. That ensured the net citizen to get or receive a correct answer and knowledge. So there are no worry about the accuracy of the source.
Furthermore, Wikipedia can be accessed by the people all around the world. It provide a great convenience for the people to get and learn what they want. As the internet has become more popular, online encyclopedias such as Wiki will become more convenience for the people to use without any time and locational constrain. However, Traditional Encyclopedias may not have the functioon of "user friendly", it was presented as a printed version, it will only be accessed by the person who got the Encyclopedias book. So the availability of the Traditional Encyclopedias is much lower. As compare to the Wiki, people can easily get the information and knowledge once they got a computer !
Apart from the accessibility. Wiki also act as a free goods for the user. Wiki is a kinds of free tools for us as a user, it was much cheaper as compare to the traditional encyclopedias. According to Commercial Press 's information, the average price of one printed encyclopedia was about $300-$400 dollars. This price may not be afforded by the poor students. If they can use a free tools which act as a professional encyclopedia, I think it would be a great gift for those poor and the general consumer.
All in all, the present of Wikipedia wiil not means the end of traditional encyclopedias, they both have their value, but as the internet become more and more popular, online encyclopedias (Wiki) will replace the Traditional Encyclopedias gradually.
I feel the same with you,Carin!
回覆刪除I think Wikipedia is more all rounded than Encyclopedias,as the freedom and flexibility of Wikipedia is higher.We can keep recording information of different aspects from the whole world.Also,it is much more convinient to keep the information being updated and used.
And Wikipedia is used via the Internet,we can easily use it so it can keep the information new and flowing.