Kurado Classic: Wikipedia vs. YouTube
 

Since returning to the online world these two items have fascinated me, and I'm surprised neither came alone sooner than they did. But which would you guys prefer? One is fucking awesome for finding videos on just about anything, the other a great source for (quickly updating) information on virtually anything. Fucking thing even comes in tons of languages.

I'm a goof for stats and info so in the end Wiki narrowly defeats YouTube. What about you guys? I pretty much expect YouTube to stomp ass on this.

I use Wiki almost every day. The same cannot be said for Youtube. So, I think Wiki is the clear winner here, at least for me.

Whenever I'm looking for information anymore, I add the word "wiki" to most of my Google searches so I can be sure the first result is a wikipedia article if their is one.

It is vastly useful. YouTube is icky.

Tough one. Wikipedia is very useful, especially for random facts, but it's also fairly inaccurate, and there's not much warning when it is. YouTube, on the other hand, is just what it purports to be - entertainment. There's a lot more hit-and-miss on YouTube, but it's also been the easiest way, in some cases, to go back and find nostalgic clips of TV shows, old commercials, and the like, and is a great source of finding current commercials that are raucously funny.

I'm going to go YouTube for entertainment purposes. Wiki is often more useful, but googling gets part of the same effect, whereas YouTube is mostly unrivaled in its field of interest.

LOL wow, everyone's saying Wikipedia so far. And I guess I'll have to agree. :3

I use Wiki very often, usually when I'm looking up a new video game or something. Youtube is entertaining, but with many good things being blocked/deleted, it's no match for the 'pedia.

Definitely Wikipedia. YouTube is mostly just stupid preteens, parents proud of their kids, and other random clutter. It's funny in small doses, but I rarely go there unless linked by someone else.

Wikipedia, on the other hand, is a great source if you need to look something up quickly. I'm always amazed by how fast things on there are updated. For example, there was an episode of Doctor Who last year that featured Madame de Pompadour. Only a few hours after the episode aired, I looked her up on Wikipedia, and someone had already added in that she was featured on Doctor Who.

Wikipedia is mostly useful ... and youTube is *mostly* lame. Sometimes it has entertaining videos, but they are nearly all low-res with terrible sound. Not that I expect any better from a free service, but it doesn't give me much. Wikipedia makes information so easy to find ... gotta love that.

YouTube. While most of the content there is completely innocuous, I get a great deal of my news from a handful of vloggers trying to put something serious out there. But also cats http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIqhUCZgwXQ

It's not really a competition since each offers something different. I use Wikipedia a lot to look up stuff, but I'll use youtube when I'm bored.

But, I suppose if one had to go, Wikipedia would be the winner.

I do love Wikipedia. It's never an authoritative source, but it's always a good fun basic treatment of a subject. YouTube is fun, but rarely actually useful.

Wikipedia is so important to me that I'm trying to shove a new acronym down everyone's throats: ATW (according to Wikipedia). One day, it will take hold and I will be an Internet GOD for having started it.

True. I was going throughmassive nostalgia last month when I finally found the Link's Awakening commercial that had been in my memory so long.

DADADOWN WITH ZELDA

considering the fact the wiki is pretty much purely words and explainations, and youtube is just silly videos of teenage girls dancing to nuba nuba and the occasional gem of the internet video, its impossible to compare them.

._.

Yes! I've been watching old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cartoons that aired back in the 80s. Those were the days. Also THUNDER CAT!

Wikipedia's very accurate, but they both serve completely different purposes so I don't know how to compare them.

o_O Are we talking about the same Wikipedia? I suppose it depends on what you're looking up. It's accurate for pop culture and such, but I only use it as a starting point to find more reliable sources for anything that matters. While it's sometimes accurate, it's hard to discern when it isn't.

All the teachers at my school seem to have a biast agianst Wiki becuase everyone could edit it, but I use all the time agianst their judgement. I think that it has so many people that use it, if you vandalize it thier will be always be someone to correct it.

I like both. Wiki is interesting to read, especially about the different types of torture techniques that have been used in the past.

But I would have to choose Youtube. YT has given me some movies to see online which I am too lazy to buy or rent. Most of my time on youtube is watching movies, some anime, movie trailers, watching video game scenes, music videos and funny/weird vids. Seriously, I'm addicted to youtube. Jeez if it's not youtube I'm on, it's livejournal communities.

Yeah same wiki. It represents a microcosm of the internet itself. It's very useful but often highly inaccurate or subjective depending on where you're looking. It's benefits come from the fact that it's open to be edited, but at the same time this also represents it's weakness. Over time I believe it'll become more organized, and the only people who contribute to certain articles will be those confident enough in the subject matter to genuinely add value. It most likely will only be marginally different to a normal encyclopedia.

I've seen some theoretical claims be passed off as fact because the only person 'confident enough' to write about it was the one who posed the theory (which has been debunked by multiple studies). There will always be incongruence in Wikipedia unless they lock it down from general editing, which would kill the purpose. This is not to say that it isn't a good resource or that I don't like it, I'm just playing devil's advocate. My avatar made me do it. =D

Also, if I could prop your post, Lix, I would. You made some good points.

I love Wiki. Especially after I made my own article. Its a lot interesting to read and although it may not be always the most accurate, its actually pretty good. Its especially great for Television shows and Movies. Lots of neat trivia, behind the scenes, etc., It stuff you wouldn't normally find so elaborate in other places.

Definitely Wikipedia. I look stuff up there all the time to start to get an understanding of whatever. As for GooTube, I don't even use it for entertainment that much other than links I get from friends, though I understand it's the more popular of those video services. I like another similar service much better: Revver, or even my NazTube, which I just have since the other services reject my concert videos, among other supposedly copyrighted stuff.

I use Wiki quite often for information on various bits and pieces. I only use Youtube to look at stupid videos, other than that I don't have any use for it. Wiki gets my vote for being the most useful of the two.

YouTube is okay, but holy shit, the average poster on that site is a fifteen year old barely literate racist. I wish I could just turn the comments off.

Wiki for the win. I consult it almost every day and learn new things and facts that are brought up on the forums - and wiki it instead of posting for someone to explain a particular concept, whereas Youtube is mainly curiosity and cheap entertainment.

Education > Entertainment (this coming from me, har har)