 | This user is a newbie, so please don't bite. |
A little bit about myself and my perspective
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I am a someone who is relatively new to Wikipedia, but I have been a follower of the website for the better part of 7-10 years. Already, judging from my experience as a "Wikipedian" thus far, I think it would be safe to say that I am somewhat of an inclusionist. Philisophically speaking, I think that as contributors to this great project that shares the knowledge of humanity in one place, we should provide a welcoming environment to people with expertise who want to share their knowledge. However, I do believe that these articles must also maintain the proper neutrality and well-rounded information (properly cited and legitimate, of course) so that Wikipedia itself can maintain its (often-questioned) reliability.
From my university experience, I have noticed that many in the academic world have a propensity to teach their students their worldview only, for better or for worse. Many of these academics have provided some of the greatest thinkers and most prominent educators in modern history, people who created new ways to view their respective fields of study. They encouraged the critical thinking that is necessary for intellectual growth and have often fueled the arguments of mainstream debates. In economics, we have people like the late Milton Friedman and Paul Krugman, for example. On the other hand, many professors and academics want to teach their pupils what to think, and not how to think. To the many who seek exterior knowledge, this Information Age has blessed us with the never-before-experienced opportunity to have knowledge accessible at our fingertips. I think that this is precisely the role of Wikipedia in the Information Age. Maybe Wikipedia was simply an inevitable result of the Information Age, who knows. With this tremendous role that Wikipedia has comes tremendous responsibilities. While I do have some mixed feelings about inclusionism when considering these responsibilities, I do firmly believe that there is an expectation—perhaps even a obligation—to keep all good (and neutral) information easily accessible through Wikipedia and to not keep it in the dark from the public.
