Wikipedia

People love freedom. People want everything free. People like to read anything without paying money. Where they can find that? People can find that in the Internet, especially in the Wikipedia website. There are good websites that are Wikipedia and Wikimapia. In the first one people find a lot of information while in the second people can see the map of the world or any place they want to see in the map. People can write anything in Wikipedia, but this has some risks. Therefore, using Wikipedia should be controlled by the government because it is free, easy, and new information.
The first reason that Wikipedia should be controlled is the freedom of Wikipedia. People need the Internet, and they want to find good information when they open the net world. But some information may be wrong, so for academic research, professors do not advise using Wikipedia. According to Bilodeau (2008), “academics who ban students from using the web, Google, Wikipedia, or similar resources are doing those students a grave disservice. Students need to learn how to assess the relevance and authority of information sources independent of their media. They need to learn what constitutes an authoritative source, in academic and especially in their field of study. They need to learn how to navigate the complexities and ambiguities of the information at their disposal” (para.11). People can change any information in Wikipedia. People need something to protect their writing.
The second reason for government should control the Wikipedia is using Wikipedia is easy. Since using the Internet is extended in the world, anyone can enter his or her computer and open any page in the Internet. If anyone writes wikipedia.com, he or she will see the Wikipedia website. Then writing any subject in the research place, this person can find many things about that. According to Parry (2008), “literacy in modern society means not only being able to read a variety of informational formats; it means being able to participate in their creation, with Wikipedia serving as the marquee example” (para.9). Also, Wikipedia is very easy to use. The new generation can use it very quickly.
Finally, Wikipedia has new information. This information may be wrong, or may be put in this website for some bad goals. Therefore, some people do not use Wikipedia, especially for important information. According to Martin (2008), “under the current system, anyone can edit an entry at any time, which means that people often post inaccurate and sometimes malicious information” (para.5). Any person can edit any new information in the Wikipedia, and this is not good in the information field.
In conclusion, Wikipedia as a part of the Internet is very important if the people use it as a good website; it is good and useful. But some people in the world, alas, use the Internet to destroy everything. Some people look at the world as a farm that their parents own it, but in fact is not that. In fact is that life is for everyone who likes to live, not for whoever likes to damage the life. Therefore, government should put control not only on the Wikipedia website, but also on all free websites in the Internet.
References:
Bildeau, E. (2008, January 14). Academic banning of Google and Wikipedia misguided. Weblog Of Edward Bilodeau. Retrieved on April 23, 2008, from http://www.coolweblog.com/bilodeau/archives/oo3743.html
Martin, N. (2008, Jan 21). Wikipedia clamps down on ‘unreliable’ editors. Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved on April 23, 2008, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/20/wiki120.xml
Parry, D. (2008, Feb 11). Wikipedia and the new curriculum. Science Progress. Retrieved on April 23, 2008, from http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/02/wikipedia-and-the-new-curriculum/