Wikiphilia

I love Wikipedia.

I usually get to students after professors have warned that they will flunk if they cite Wikipedia. I take a less drastic perspective and often use Wikipedia as an example: Wikipedia can serve as a starting place to gather terms, just like Britannica or WorldBook, I note. You know that anyone can write a Wikipedia article, but do you have any better of an idea of who is publishing this website? I ask. Remember that some Wikipedia articles are footnoted, and it's perfectly acceptable to use the links, I remind. When professors give students bad assignments (as new reference supervisor person, I've created a folder called "Bad Ass."), I go to Wikipedia to check for pseudonyms, wrong dates, and suggested sources.

Wikipedia serves to give me prurient background information on celebrities, and gives a quick summary of recent events or television series that I've not bothered to keep up with. It even helps me remember my Latin heritage. I found a (grammatically flawed) article about the infamous Puerto Rican criminal Tony Bicicleta, about whom mother used to warn us. Wikipedia also confirms that the chupacabra was originally a PUERTO RICAN creature, and that other Latin countries stole him (this is confirmed by the Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology - a fascinating read if you ever get the chance). There's even a somewhat-inaccurate article about my tiny hometown, Naguabo. I think I even know Elsa "La Loca."

Wikipedia is my friend, professionally and personally. It's ill-repute allows me to use it as an example for questioning the trust we should place in any source, and its ability to record everything authenticates and satisfies my most trivial interests.