I’ll say it: I miss Wikipedia.

And I’m not ashamed to admit it.

I miss using it as frequently as I once did. I miss my go-to website. I miss the days when I could visit the site without apprehension and trust issues.

Simply put, I miss what we used to be. Wikipedia at one point was the number one result and my first click on any Google search.

Things are different between us now. It may still consistently be the number one search result, but now I scroll past it, looking for more reputable sources instead.

I think most of all I miss the convenience of the online encyclopedia. All the information I could possibly want to know centralized in a Wikipedia entry, organized under subheadings and hyperlinked pages to related information? Who would want to pass up on that?

Certainly not me.

But that’s what I’m conditioned to do.

As schoolwork started to get research intensive, and teachers started to inform us about integrity in our papers and good academic discipline, Wikipedia became a forbidden fruit.

The website that once held it down for me for very preliminary research and familiarity with a subject was banished from my search results.

Don’t use Wikipedia.

Don’t use Wikipedia.

Don’t you dare use Wikipedia.

It was drilled into us that Wikipedia simply could and should not be used by us students due to the fact that it runs on a collaborative consumption platform. “Anyone could go on and edit information that may not be true at all” is what we we were constantly reminded of.

While it’s doubtful most people spend their free time messing around on Wikipedia (if they do I suggest perhaps a new hobby), there is definitely a chance for it to happen considering the structure of the website, seen by the editing of comedian Ray Romano’s page.

Though my teachers were only looking out for my peers and me in terms of sharpening our research sensibility skills, their warnings evolved into frequent ranty Wikipedia bashings, totally demolishing any worth and merit the site had.

It had been so ingrained in me to associate Wikipedia as a site rampant with false information and festering with internet trolls and contributors of malicious intent that, as mentioned earlier, I totally ignored it when it pulled up in my search results.

To this day, in fact, I automatically filter out Wikipedia as I scan search results. Tragic, really.

It shouldn’t be this way, though.

Surely, there’s a more nuanced understanding of Wikipedia besides it being denigrated as inherently factually inaccurate.

And there is. It all depends on context.

If you’re writing an academic paper, doing deeper research, or planning on citing something, obviously Wikipedia isn’t an appropriate substitute for an actual scholarly source. That’s just a nonnegotiable.

Where I do think it’s okay to access the source, and something which some might disagree with me on, is when you’re doing basic canvassing of a subject or wanting to just informally learn about something you’re curious about.

There’s a high probability that in that case you’re accessing credible information.

Anyhow, Wikipedia does safeguard against inaccuracies with volunteer editors policing pages. Furthermore, administrators prohibit direct editing of pages that are consistently victims to internet vandalism. Not only that, but sources are cited to verify information on Wikipedia pages.

Ultimately, those caught not obeying Wikipedia’s policies do face consequences with suspension of accounts and tracking of IP addresses.

All in all, though, be smart about your content consumption and use your internet smarts to identify when it’s appropriate to pull from a source that depends on the collaboration from an online community.

In my eyes, there’s no need to vilify Wikipedia. It serves its own unique niche on the web. For a 21st century society, it’s ideal in offering quick and to an extent reliable information. Take advantage of this free source that was during its formative years way ahead of its time, but be cautious.

As with anything, there is a time and place. For that I say, no more Wikipedia bashing. Enough is enough. It deserves better.