I am new to Wikipedia. How can it work if any Tom, Dick or Mary can edit?

[henslee]

I read that additions are reviewed but it just seems so weird. How can the reviewers catch everything? And what about nuance, subtext and calculated ommission of facts?

[mcscajun]

1. Having read some entries on Wikipedia, and understanding how it works...

...I cannot accept any entry in it as the definitive answer on anything.

A democratic, universally editable source is never going to be 100% accurate; and in some case, it will be far from it.

[henslee]

2. That was my gut incliniation though I really did not specifically explore.

I bt its good if someone wants to put on record -- like a piece of history or a person that has been overlooked or forgotten.

[mcscajun]

3. That's the one big advantage, certainly...

...folks can cover subjects that might otherwise be neglected.

[qnr]

4. Yeah, you're going to have problems, however, since so many

people can view a particular topic, and have the ability to edit it, you really do have more of a chance of it being substantially accurate - as opposed to, for example, reading about the subject on someones blog, where 'they' are the only source of information.