Wikipedia 'not perfect but improving' says founder

We've all been told not to trust Wikipedia for essays, homework and life in general.

But Jimmy Wales, the site's founder, has told Newsbeat it is "comparable to traditional encyclopedias".

"It's not perfect but it's pretty good and improving all the time," he added.

However, like many before him Wales added that it was best for "background research" saying "as long as they're not copying and pasting, they're probably alright".

So can you really trust the site? Newsbeat put listener questions, and a few of our own, to Mr Wales to try to find out.

We asked, 'Why don't you stop the function that allows people to edit?'

Wales said: "Wikipedia gets better through participation [people editing inaccurate information].

"We really benefit from anyone being able to spot an error, coming in and saying, 'Hey this is incorrect'.

"That kind of open dialogue, the democratic debate and discussion, is really what makes Wikipedia work."

How do you feel about people editing articles for comic affect?

"I don't approve of that. I think that most of the time when people do it, in addition to being rude and vandalism, it's actually not very funny, so in general it is something we do try to discourage.

"If you wanna do something for your friends, click at it, make the funny change and just hit the preview button and just take a screenshot of that and you don't have to bother the rest of the world with your joke."

What do you think about a lot of people using Wikipedia for their homework?

"It has become part of the infrastructure of university education as students turn to it to get themselves orientated in the subject or to do background research on a subject.

"One of the things you should look out for is if 'the Wikipedians' have written 'the following section does not cite any sources' or 'the neutrality of this article is disputed'.

"Those kind of warning signs, take really seriously.

"If anything seems fishy or even if it doesn't seem fishy, you should read Wikipedia and then click and follow through and give the references and make sure that Wikipedia reflects what the references say and if it doesn't, you can fix it."

Where does Wikipedia stand on information being 'forgotten'?

"Today we've released our first ever transparency report.

"We have given in to zero content take downs [separate to copyright].

"We wouldn't [give in to law asking for removal of information]. We very strongly defend the editorial integrity of our community."

How about personal data?

"We see very good progress on child abuse images, things that are universally understood to be problematic.

"I think that there is a lot of room for improving things around harassment, in terms of data privacy.

"Also, real personal data, [there should be] really strong penalties if your healthcare provider leaks your personal details."

Will Wikipedia be monetised?

"We don't plan to change our model at all. We are very happy with the way we raise money, we are a non-profit organisation. In fact, over the past few years we've got much better at fundraising.

"We are satisfied with the model, the bulk comes from small donations."

What is the strangest Wikipedia entry you have seen?

"One of my favourite strange entries is called inherently funny words.

"People started putting in random funny sounding words and then it was proposed for deletion.

"Then someone said, 'Wait, there is a concept in professional comedy that a punchline is much better if it has just one word rather than another' so they got a lot of citations of different comedians talking about what makes some words funnier than others... like badger."

References

Wikipedia link hidden by 'right to be forgotten' (4 August 2014) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28640218

Jimmy Wales: What does freedom look like? (24 January 2014) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25846913

Jimmy Wales: Boring university lectures 'are doomed' (1 May 2013) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22160988

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