No Wikipedia today...

[JavaBrewer]

And of course my son has a school project due in a couple days and Wikipedia is one of the a few allowable internet sources...LOL. Poor timing for us.



So thoughts on the two piracy bills in the house and senate? Frankly I have not given much thought to the issue but do think copyrights should be enforced somehow...just don't know the answer to the "how".

Edit - adding link to story.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/technology/web-wide-protest-over-two-antipiracy-bills.html?hp

[Tervuren]

I don't have much to say, other than that if wikipedia is one of the few credible sources in your school, you might want to change schools.

[BReif61]

I agree with Tervuren; Wikipedia is typically the LAST site that schools allow. I know that when I was in HS/College if I had cited wiki for a source I had some 'splainin to do.

[Gooch1971]

I saw this posted elsewhere online and it seems to work.

If you absolutely MUST search Wikipedia today, here is how you do it.

As the site starts loading, hit the ESC key – the good old home page will appear.

When you type your search data into the form and hit the enter key, you must also hit the ESC key again.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by NotaBRG

CraigsList is putting up a blackout screen as well.

Yes --- but at the bottom there's a link to continue as normal....that's how ours in Daytona Beach is anyway....

[porsche4life]

Wiki still works on mobile devices, or you can view the cached pages on Google...

And you guys better get against SOPA. If this thing passes all it would take is one major company complaining about an infringement on here, and Wayne would be FORCED to shut the site down....

[uncle_scott]

Another way to get credible sources is to search online databases at your local University's webpage. The teacher might be impressed with the fact that the sources would be actual journals, or other academic sources. Things must be different now, because I was always told Wikipedia was an ok reference for a base level knowledge on a topic, but could never be cited in anything academic.

Good luck!

[widgeon13]

Let's hope Pelican doesn't do this, I'd get the DT's.

[Zeke]

I help do research for a college student. Wiki is a good place for a rounded off picture of the subject at hand and produces some good search terms. One doesn't need to cite Wiki as the source if one can click through their sources. Internet articles come in all forms, some being actual excerpts from a larger body.

I almost always compare facts and dates from Wiki to the textbook and other sources.

Anyone who says a school should not be attended because they allow Wiki to be used is in a narrow world. It's not a crutch if used well.

But, to those that do think Wiki is bunk, you should not read PPOT for opinion. Wiki is a consensus, just as is PPOT.

[masraum]

Weird, I'd read about this, but if I try to go to wikipedia via either FF or IE, it pulls up completely normally. My wife said she noticed that it was blacked out for her last night after midnight. Also, if you go to google, there is a black bar over the Google logo.

[enzo1]

from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

[intakexhaust]

So according to that info vid, it seems Hollywood is the crybaby. If the people want to make a statement against them, simply don't go to the movies, don't by DVD's, don't download any music, movies, etc. and watch how fast they change their mind.

The bigger problem is coming for taxation of all goods and possibly services done thru the net. Even if you sell something used on craigslist, you might have to collect taxes from the buyer or it might be automatically collected and flowed into the fed.

[john70t]

reddit
4chan
boingboing
wikipedia
wired
craigslist
ars technica
wordpress
google(mention)
firefox(mention)
more.

[masraum]

Ah, I figured it out. The way I have firefox setup blocks wikipedia from locking me out, and when I pulled it up on IE, I wasn't going to the "English" area which is where it's blocked.

[nota]

the CORPrats want you to pay for everything

but regularly screw the artist out of their rights

it is wrong to give rights to machines
and CORPrats are just money machines
only people have rights

CORPrat are the new world order
not any liberal UN BS
why do the neo-cons worry so much about the little guys stealing
and completely miss the huge scale stealing by the CORPrats ?

[nostatic]

The issue of online information as source material in academia has been debated for the past 15+ years at least (I was having those discussions at faculty meetings in '96). There is a broader issue of vetting that will no doubt be resurfacing after Apple has their show-and-tell tomorrow on their edu platform/product.

I have argued for years that wikipedia can actually be a far better resource than some books and other "proper" sources. Many "authoratative" texts have very limited input - an author, perhaps as few as one reviewer, and an editor. That provides a pretty good opportunity for errors and bias. While the wikipedia model of "a thousand eyes" is far from perfect, in some ways it is superior to the traditional author/editor/reviewer process. The reality is that any of these still require the student to execute some degree of critical thinking and analysis in order to come up with a point and properly support it. That aspect of education is invariant.

Brick and mortar education is in dire straits. Back in '06 I predicted that by '20 over 50% of colleges would be bankrupt. Not sure the number will be that high by then but if/when the last parameter of the "perfect storm" falls into place the educational landscape will change rapidly. All of the other elements are there now - content, network connectivity, cost benefits, etc. What is currently lacking are truly exceptional tools enabling content generation and knowledge sharing, and more importantly, acceptable vetting systems that will enable the workplace to embrace alternatives to brick and mortar schools. While I don't think Apple's announcement tomorrow will be the final nail, it likely will bring the storm closer to reality. Whoever does finally crack the vetting nut will release the sea change and depending on their position, make a lot of money.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by nostatic

The issue of online information as source material in academia has been debated for the past 15+ years at least (I was having those discussions at faculty meetings in '96). There is a broader issue of vetting that will no doubt be resurfacing after Apple has their show-and-tell tomorrow on their edu platform/product.

I have argued for years that wikipedia can actually be a far better resource than some books and other "proper" sources. Many "authoratative" texts have very limited input - an author, perhaps as few as one reviewer, and an editor. That provides a pretty good opportunity for errors and bias. While the wikipedia model of "a thousand eyes" is far from perfect, in some ways it is superior to the traditional author/editor/reviewer process. The reality is that any of these still require the student to execute some degree of critical thinking and analysis in order to come up with a point and properly support it. That aspect of education is invariant.

Brick and mortar education is in dire straits. Back in '06 I predicted that by '20 over 50% of colleges would be bankrupt. Not sure the number will be that high by then but if/when the last parameter of the "perfect storm" falls into place the educational landscape will change rapidly. All of the other elements are there now - content, network connectivity, cost benefits, etc. What is currently lacking are truly exceptional tools enabling content generation and knowledge sharing, and more importantly, acceptable vetting systems that will enable the workplace to embrace alternatives to brick and mortar schools. While I don't think Apple's announcement tomorrow will be the final nail, it likely will bring the storm closer to reality. Whoever does finally crack the vetting nut will release the sea change and depending on their position, make a lot of money.

Jeez, after reading that I should have kept my hands off the keyboard.

Thanks for agreeing with me, though. (I think )

[enzo1]

There’s a point where, if you make it convenient enough and price it right, piracy isn’t worth the effort....

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by intakexhaust

So according to that info vid, it seems Hollywood is the crybaby. If the people want to make a statement against them, simply don't go to the movies, don't by DVD's, don't download any music, movies, etc. and watch how fast they change their mind.

The bigger problem is coming for taxation of all goods and possibly services done thru the net. Even if you sell something used on craigslist, you might have to collect taxes from the buyer or it might be automatically collected and flowed into the fed.

Yes, hollywood is the crybaby, but its beyond hollywood now. Its about to be written into AMERICAN LAW.

[JavaBrewer]

My son (9th grade) will use Wiki as one source - from a required 10 sources for the final hand-in. Relax folks

FWIW - I have found Wiki to be a great launch pad for general research - namely embedded links to outside resources - both supporting and contradicting.