The Importance of Trust

Starting this fall (meaning now) Wikipedia will become an even trustworthier source. I mean, I’ve never had a teacher who didn’t say “wikipedia is not a legitimate source” but lets be honest, it’s usually the first stop for anyone who just wants a quick answer.

The University of California has created a system (wikitrust) that will color code newly added information on wikipedia pages. Basically the longer a piece of information has remained on the page, the more truthful it’s likely to be (as no one has taken the time to edit it).

Registered wikipedia users are able to click the “trust info” tab and see color coding on whatever page they have chosen to view. How successful this will be in appeasing a teachers mind is questionable, but it certainly can’t hurt.