Kirby
1
Okay…so I was just curious, but what do you think of wikiHow and Wikipedia? I mean, what are the good and bad things about them? I think the good things about wikiHow are that the people here are more welcoming and they collaborate more with their fellow wikiHowians (I guess that’s what you call it :P), and that of course, there are lots of articles. That’s what I don’t really like about Wikipedia. I mean, maybe I didn’t read their policy and mission (the reason for Wikipedia even existing in the first place), but at least they could be more welcoming towards newcomers. If you see the user creation log on Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=newusers&user=&page=&year=&month=-1&tagfilter=&hide_review_log=1
), you’d see it a lot more differently than the user creation log here ( http://www.wikihow.com/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=newusers&user=&page=
). I’m not surprised that Wikipedia has 1,000,000+ articles (a LOT more than us!!! XD), but that’s because Wikipedia started a couple years before us (I need to clarify that…I’m not sure). Feel free to mention some other good and bad things that I didn’t mention below.
- Kirby *_*
I think a bad thing about wikiPedia is that from the get-go it’s hard to get around or find your way around. (Speaking from my point of view). From the get-go on wikiHow, I knew my way around, because everything was on the right side of me.
system
3
Too confusing, too many templates, too precise on what belongs on the site on ANY page.
wikiHow ftw ^_- It gives off a “community” vibe
system
5
I like wikiHow.Wikipedia is very very strict, as it should be, but too strict for me. WikiAnswers is the total opposite, which I don’t like either… But, wikiHow is just right!Plus, Wikipedia is quite confusing, whereas wikiHow and WikiAnswers aren’t confusing.
Wikipedia is cool, and has some really good information on it, but I prefer wikiHow. For starters, Wikipedia is really confusing! They have all these rules and regulations and you can’t edit certain articles but can others . . . *shudder* Secondly, they only have information ABOUT stuff instead how to DO stuff, and thirdly they often have bad articles that are difficult to fix.
I like wikiHow!
Wikipedia currently hosts 3,500,000+ articles and you can’t survive there without understanding their policies. If you are quite poor in arguments (based on the policy) you can expect to get your edits reverted and also getting scolded for not discussing it in the discussion page. Its a complex world of policies, but wikiHow would probably sound similar if it ranked 7th in terms of traffic. Its difficult to maintain a website which anyone can edit without rules and regulations or if wikipedia hadn’t been policy driven, it would simply be junk like wikiAnswers.
I like wikiHow as it is more of a “family” kind of community.
KommaH
10
Wikipedia’s community is very elitist. From my experience there, I’d have to say that their policy “assume good faith” is the least observed policy they have. Although that might not be a bad thing, because it keeps the articles in decent quality.
I’m intimidated when I edit Wikipedia and always leave a generally lengthy edit summary for each and every edit, including fixing typos, to avoid getting reverted. However, I did grow a pair recently
without much of any notice, and am now less intimidated. Wikipedia is also my go-to for information. For example, I was at dinner the other night discussing a wrestler’s age. I searched Wikipedia from my phone to get a direct answer. On wikiHow, however, since our community is geared a lot more towards encouraging new editors and coaching politely, I’ve never felt intimidated to the point of leaving 3-line edit summarys for a “ploite” to “polite” typo fix. wikiHow is also a site I go to just build knowledge (i.e., the “Random” button or digging around categories), rather than having a direct such discussion and needing information.
system
12
The thing I don’t like about wikiPedia vs. WikiHow is that wikiHow feels so much more like a community. We collaborate and communicate more, whereas wikiPedia seems like strictly a website.
Kirby
14
I guess I can say that joining Wikipedia is like entering the wilderness, whereas wikiHow is like going into a mall (or some other place where you see a lot of people there).
Btw, thanks for your opinions guys!!! Feel free to add more. =)
system
15
can anyone say why Bokehmon’s “grow a pair recently” is blue, like a link, but not a link? ty
Kirby
16
Actually, that was what I was thinking too. I should ask Bokehmon.
I’ll let you know what she says.
PS: Its Wikipedia and not wikiPedia
Ttrimm
18
Fixed it. It is now a link.
Wikihow Its Way Better Than Wikipedia.
system
20
As a former Wikipedian, I must say that there is an overwhelming sense of “you are out on your own.” Nobody is there to guide you; there are just too many editors. When I first came to wikiHow, I was shocked to be welcomed, and I was also shocked at some of the help that was offered to me. Wikipedia is still, for an internet encyclopedia, unbeatable. For an online source, their reliability rate is fairly high, even in complex fields such as those about the sciences. Still, the community here is better.
