I have used Wikipedia so many times throughout my life and I am quite surprised that is had taken me this long to start a Wikipedia account. I had always used Wikipedia to clear something up for class, I would refer to it as as starting point for my research. I was aware that anyone could edit these Wikipedia articles, thus why so many teachers disapprove Wikipedia as a good source. I believe this notion to be false because after going through the process of actually editing a Wikipedia article, I now realize that it takes a lot more to edit an article. It's almost like working on a research paper. You have to gather legitimate sources and bring them together to create an academic article.
These constructs that the Wikipedia community fallows is what makes Wikipedia so useful. The constructs would include writing in third person and keeping any personal bias out of the article. In James Porter's article he argues "The approved channels (referring to how a group of people in a discourse community communicate) we can call them "forums". Each forum has a distinct history and rules governing appropriateness to which members are obliged to adhere." This meaning that a discourse community such as a Wikipedia article there are certain rules that a person should fallow in order to create a proper article. These rules are what set Wikipedia apart from all other encyclopedic websites. The rules help to create uniformity across all of the articles Wikipedia has. Meaning that all the articles will be roughly the same format even though different people write the articles. This also helps prevent people who are not qualified to make an edit that does not make sense, therefore the articles will be more academic. Thus making Wikipedia a better and more legitimate source.
When writing my Wikipedia article I had to think to myself who would be reading this and how would they expect to see this article written. This effected how I worded my article and one example would be at one point I had to write about how the Vortex (a ride at Kings Island) is celebrating it's 25th anniversary during the 2012 season; but I had to word this in the past tense because it this type of information would be apart of the history of the ride. History therefore meaning the past. When writing a Wikipedia edit you have to think to yourself if I where on Wikipedia reading this article what would it sounds like. This will help make adjustments to stay within those constraints of Wikipedia.
Wikipedia can help us understand more about the professional constraints put on writing. While writing my Wikipedia article I found myself learning a lot about how to write in a more professional manner. At the start it was rather difficult to start my article. In order to understand the constraints Wikipedia puts on their articles I had to read through many articles. Just reading the articles helped me understand the way your suppose to write on Wikipedia. This would include writing in a third person and to leave the self out. Understanding the constraints in a discourse community will help young people become a better writer in their chosen fields.
My experience with making a Wikipedia edit was great. It was kind of fun to learn how to make a Wikipedia edit. As I said earlier this was my first time making an edit and I would say that would like to do it again in my free time. Especially if you pick an article that you are interested in, you will be able to enjoy the edit thus making it a useful experience. I am so glad that I did this edit because not only was a fun and useful exercise it is also a great way to understand Wikipedia. Before I only had a dogmatic view of Wikipedia after doing the edit I understand how much effort it takes to create a proper/professional article. This makes me realize that Wikipedia still can be used as good reference.
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