Wikipedia

1. Did this video change your opinion or reinforce your opinion about Wikipedia? Why or why not?

Yes. I knew that Wikipedia was a non-profit foundation, but I didn't know that there was only one system engineer and all other people were volunteers. I used to not like Wikipedia because sometimes the information was prejudiced, yet many people believed in the information.

I changed my opinion because I realized that Wikipedia was founded to have equal access to information to anyone for free. I think it is a wonderful mission and I really like that it is run by volunteers. It is sad that many people believe the information without searching other things though Wikipedia is only a tool to give information so that people can make their own decisions.

2. What do you think of Wales’ comment that an encyclopedia should be radical rather than safe and stodgy? Should the same philosophy apply to libraries?

I think it is fine that Wikipedia is being radical rather than safe and stodgy because it is a free tool and anyone can edit it. I believe as long as it is free and run by volunteers, it can’t be safe and stodgy because it would become boring and loose volunteers.

I do not think the same philosophy apply to libraries. People trust libraries and come to libraries to find reliable information. There are so much data in this world, and I think libraries have to be a place where people can freely access reliable resources for free with ease.

3. What do you think about the Wikipedia policies on neutrality, truth, and objectivity?

I like the idea of the Wikipedia policies on neutrality, truth, and objectivity. I think the policies are achievable for English pages, but it would be hard for minor languages. For English, many people from different countries with various backgrounds can edit pages, but for minor languages such as Japanese, the only people who read Japanese can edit pages. As you know, Japanese is only used in Japan where not much divorce, and toughed things in school certain ways. So when it comes to sensitive topics such as history, it sometimes wouldn't be with neutrality, truth, or objectivity, rather I see intentions of controlling information.