There are only so many encyclopedias online. And even less are encyclopedia wikis. This digital age we live in has defeated the standard that anyone who is over 25 remembers using for research projects in high school, the Encyclopedia Britannica. In 2012 the Britannica finally went completely digital. As the digital edition is considerably cheaper and less bulky, they finally made the right decision.

But the Encyclopedia Britannica in not a free encyclopedia online. Going back to the topic of encyclopedic wikis, what better example to use than the friend of every high schooler, Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia online.

I know, a lot of the professional community poo-poos Wikipedia. The complaints vary. It is not professional. Anyone can add content and edit. There is no fact checking. It is nothing but a Socialist ploy to under-educate our youth.

None of those things are true, however. The teams working on Wikipedia are very dedicated to keeping it professionally up to date with the most accurate information. While anyone can add or edit information, it must follow specific criteria in order to stay on there. The content on Wikipedia, no matter the language or the topic, must be presented in an encyclopedic format, must be neutral in tone and delivery, and must have verifiable sources tied to them.

And while there are contributors to Wikipedia, there are also editors. It is a lot of work, but they make sure that all of the info can be traced back to a reliable source. They make sure things are written properly, and that the content meets all of the requirements. They even fact check and edit for spelling and grammar.

But the best part of all, anyone can go in to edit the content if they find an error. That is the whole point. It is a collective base of knowledge. It cannot help you to write an essay or pass a test, but it is pretty valuable when you need a decent amount of information in a little amount of time.