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# Wikipedia footsoldiers
- URL: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/19338/
- Published: 2005-03-07T23:03:00.000Z
- Updated: 2019-02-14T22:32:59.000Z
- Author: openDemocracy Supporters
- Tags: #en, #Migrated, #Import 2026-04-09 18:15

If you ever click on links in openDemocracy articles, you're bound to have stumbled on the [Wikipedia](http://www.wikipedia.org/?ref=opendemocracy.net) website. It's like an online encyclopedia anyone can edit - even you - and we link to it a lot. In the March issue of Wired Magazine, Daniel H. Pink has written [a great article](http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.03/wiki.html?pg=3&topic=wiki&topic%5Fset=&ref=opendemocracy.net) with interviews with some of the people who write and update wikipedia entries most obsessively by the hundreds. You'll be surprised to hear who they are.

Towards the end of the (very long) article, it's questioned whether Wikipedia is a reliable source. Compared to what? It's honestly imperfect, in a way that encourages you to think for yourself. See something you don't like? Fix it. I was impressed to learn that wikipedia footsoldiers set up watches on more controversial subjects, and can restore entries within minutes when/if there is wiki-vandalism.