NationStates Jolt Archive

Yes people, once again we have a "which is better" topic. But this time it is not about star trek, or religion - no ! It is about the wonderful world of the online encyclopedias - those huge repositories of knowledge.

Which of the above do you consider to be "the best" ? Feel free to use your own criteria, varying from accuracy to size - from underlying philosophy to wackiness.

Linkies for those who need them:

http://www.wikipedia.org
http://www.citizendium.org/
http://www.scholarpedia.org/
http://knol.google.com/
http://www.conservapedia.com/
http://encarta.msn.com/
http://www.britannica.com/

What the hell is Knol?

Edit: The polll is up, thanks.

used to be Encartaaaaaaaaaaaaa (like, years ago) but now i use wiki most. largely cos Opera allows me to just type "wiki searchterm" to search on wikipedia straight away (or "img searchterm" for google image search, or "vid searchterm" for youtube, etc)

i hadn't heard about this Knol thing... will take a look. bit of a shit name.

Wikipedia, everyone else are just knock offs.

Wikipedia, everyone else are just knock offs.

Encarta and Brittanica somewhat predate wikipedia ;)
Quite a few from the list however are indeed responses to the success of wiki.

porn.

porn.

Pornopedia?

used to be Encartaaaaaaaaaaaaa (like, years ago) but now i use wiki most. largely cos Opera allows me to just type "wiki searchterm" to search on wikipedia straight away (or "img searchterm" for google image search, or "vid searchterm" for youtube, etc)

i hadn't heard about this Knol thing... will take a look. bit of a shit name.

Firefox does this, and you can pick your own keyword for the search. I use wi for wiki, yt for youtube, gim for google images, dict for dictionary.com


Promoting FF aside, I use wiki largely cos I can easily and I'm used to it.

Firefox does this, and you can pick your own keyword for the search. I use wi for wiki, yt for youtube, gim for google images, dict for dictionary.com


you can choose your own in Opera, too. and you can create a custom search like this out of any search/input box on any website. i like to pimp Opera ;)

I want to take back my vote. Uncyclopedia is my favourite. Just take a look at their policy about accuracy: http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Uncyclopedia:Accuracy#Cite_Your_Sources_or_Die

Britanica's really detailed but complicated and you have to pay - why not just give you an unlimited free trial? Conservapedia is massivley inacurate. I can't be bothered to come up with reaons why the otherds are crap, so as Wikepedia's nice and simple it's the one for me.

Wikipedia, by far. It has a breadth of information that is often useful and you don't use encyclopedias as primary sources unless you're asking to fail, anyway, so such things are just used to find more credible sources from the references.

Citizendium has better written articles than Wikipedia, but much fewer. It's more fun to waste time reading, Wikipedia's better for looking up a name or when Rhode Island was founded.

I think its gotta go to Wikipedia, its always there, free, and when its inaccurate it usually gives you a friendly [citation needed] sign...Something Brittanica cant say for its faults...

I looked up "homosexual" on conservapedia. Now my brain hurts.

I looked up "homosexual" on conservapedia. Now my brain hurts.

Yesh. Join the conservative side !

I must say that many people here do not seem to think editors are important :o

I looked up "homosexual" on conservapedia. Now my brain hurts.

I hear you.

I looked up Atheism and found they used an article written by Chuck Norris as a source (http://www.conservapedia.com/Atheism#Targeting_of_Young_People_by_Atheists_on_the_Internet).

I hear you.

I looked up Atheism and found they used an article written by Chuck Norris as a source (http://www.conservapedia.com/Atheism#Targeting_of_Young_People_by_Atheists_on_the_Internet).

I have a feeling there is a Chuck Norris joke somewhere in this post. Something like: "Chuck Norris didn't do research for his dissertation. He just bent the laws of the universe to correlate with what he already knew."

Wow... Conservapedia fails epicly. I need upload it up on a flash drive and use the flash drive to wipe my ass. What's up with their insanely Right-wing biased articles. Though, some of their claims are so outrageous they make me laugh.

Wow... Conservapedia fails epicly. I need upload it up on a flash drive and use the flash drive to wipe my ass. What's up with their insanely Right-wing biased articles. Though, some of their claims are so outrageous they make me laugh.

Right before it makes you cry when you realize people actually believe it.

I get all my information from Uncyclopedia. Go ahead, ask me anything!

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

Britanica's really detailed but complicated and you have to pay - why not just give you an unlimited free trial? Conservapedia is massivley inacurate. I can't be bothered to come up with reaons why the otherds are crap, so as Wikipedia's nice and simple it's the one for me.

A quick work-around if you're itching for another source and trying to use Britannica, search the article on Google (with Britannica as a keyword), load the page, and then go to View>Source (universal in browsers I think) and you get the full article, albeit with coding.

I get all my information from Uncyclopedia. Go ahead, ask me anything!

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

Oscar Wilde was jailed where and for what?

Oscar Wilde was jailed where and for what?

well, while it doesn't say directly, it does say the following:

Playwright, novelist, musician, poet, philanthropist, historian, short story writer - these are just a few of the professions of individuals that Oscar Wilde has corrupted with his rampant sexuality and Rabelaisian appetites.

A man whose wisdom touches on nearly every conceivable topic, often without consent, which in turn has led to several lawsuits. Renown'd for his beautiful diction and his skilled oratory, Oscar is without doubt one of the leading literary figures of the first few days of March in 1895.

For those with comedic tastes, here's the rest of the article: http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Oscar_Wilde