I believe Middlebury’s college policy on Wikipedia is fair and very understandable. Although Wikipedia is a source which contains information on practically every topic and the validity of this information is consistently checked, the concept of a source which is open to the public to freely alter can be a little skeptical at times. This is probably the reason behind the discouragement and forbidding of students from using Wikipedia as a reliable source.
Personally, I see no reason to complete disregard Wikipedia as a solid source for information. Wikipedia is a brilliant site which makes finding the information you need quickly and efficiently. There is no “fluff” which you would normally need to sift through on many other sites. The site is completely open to the public, meaning you do not need any form of member ship to peruse the vast collection of knowledge. The information is presented in a very organized and direct fashion.
As for using it as your only source of information for academic purposes, I agree more with the views of Middlebury’s policy. If you use Wikipedia, you do run the slight risk of getting false information but that does not make the site useless. I believe that if you check your information with a source that is considered to be “reliable” and it matches, then Wikipedia is also reliable enough. I use Wikipedia to quickly look up small facts, like the date of an even in history for instance. I do not however use it as a source to be sited for school reports. Wikipedia is like any other source in the internet. It is a handy way to get information quickly. Although it has certain aspects which put it under question, it is still an extensive source of knowledge. Wikipedia should not be considered a reliable source, unless the information can be validated by a noted reliable source. However it is still a useful tool which should not be so easily cast aside.
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