To reiterated what I posted above, I've found Wikipedia to be a valuable and very convenient resource. A couple of clicks and I'm there. I also use the Merriam-Webster online dictionary a lot for the same reason. I do, however, verify what I read in Wikipedia if anything about the article I'm checking strikes me as at all dubious. Googling makes this pretty easy. If everything I find on-line about whatever I'm working on makes me wonder a bit, I get up from the desk and go to the bookshelves—or make a trip to the library. But even that, it seems, can be caveat emptor.

I heard a radio interview about Wikipedia a couple of days ago. For those who consider Wikipedia to be "Wackypedia," you might want to take a look at THIS. It contains the same information I heard on the radio interview. If you own a copy of the Encyclopedia Britannica and consider it to be the ultimate source of accurate information, superior to Wikipedia, you might want to think again. A thorough check demonstrates that EB and Wikipedia are about even-up. Except that Wikipedia has an immediate self-correcting feature. With EB, for corrections you have to wait for the next edition, and it's pretty pricey.

Also, pull up google, type in "Wikipedia accuracy," and you'll see an example of what Wikipedia does when it has an article that contains disputable information and what you can do about it.

Much too valuable a resource to be ignored or abandoned. But with any reference, you have to use your head as well.

Don Firth