Task 15 & 16: Wikipedia and Wikis

I'm a fan of Wikipedia for entertainment purposes and it's my go-to place for random information. I would never dream of referencing it for academic purposes, given that it doesn't fit the criteria of a scholarly peer-reviewed source. Its reputation is still not great in academic fields - maybe that will change over time and it'll become more respected.

Wikis are great for those who haven't had experience with html and need a low tech way to communicate, especially for team-based project work. I would be hesitant to convert a library catalogue to a wiki as I would hate to be faced with a malicious poster who was eager for some wiki wars, but they look great for subject guides. I love the idea of Library Success too: http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Main_Page.

I use the UQ wiki, LibNet (Confluence), on a daily basis and it does make life easier than our former intranet, being more user friendly and more searchable. Still not as searchable as I would like though. I had a terrible time trying to figure it out when I first needed to add content, including new pages, and it can be a bit buggy with formatting.

It would be great if more staff used it to collaborate on daily activities as a discussion board, rather than just being a big source for formal procedures.