US college bans use of Wikipedia

Middlebury College in the US has taken a stand against use of Wikipedia by students for their work.

This isn't a high brow, anti-Internet stand. This is one that balances the convenience of the great site that is Wikipedia with its wiki-ness having the inherent tendency to record information that is not necessarily reliable.

"As educators, we are in the business of reducing the dissemination of misinformation," said Don Wyatt, chair of the department. "Even though Wikipedia may have some value, particularly from the value of leading students to citable sources, it is not itself an appropriate source for citation," he said.

This is something that Wikipedia themselves realise and are open about, in their Wikipedia entry about Wikipedia - confused yet?

"There has been controversy over Wikipedia's reliability and accuracy, with the site receiving criticism for its susceptibility to vandalism, uneven quality and consistency, systemic bias, and preference for consensus or popularity over credentials. Information is sometimes unconfirmed and questionable, lacking the reliable sources that, in the eyes of most regular contributors, are necessary for an article to be considered of high quality."