# How has wikipedia changed the board? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 8, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-wikipedia-changed-the-board/573958 "2011-03-08T19:34:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-wikipedia-changed-the-board/573958/1 "2011-03-08T19:34:13Z")
In my original go around here at the Dope (2002-04) wiki didn’t exist yet (at least I’m pretty sure it didn’t). I’ve been back about a year, and obviously, wiki is here. So how did the Dope change in between? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-wikipedia-changed-the-board/573958/2 "2011-03-08T19:39:57Z")
It made answers to questions like “[when was Wikipedia founded?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Wikipedia)” easier to look up on Google. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-wikipedia-changed-the-board/573958/3 "2011-03-09T16:16:47Z")
I can’t think of any major changes. I mean, it provides an easily accessed answer for a lot of questions, which can be useful for familiarizations or overviews. Of course wiki isn’t a primary source and isn’t the definitive word on anything, but it is very useful for a lot of topics. It has increased the number of blow off responses like “You should have checked wikipedia first”. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-wikipedia-changed-the-board/573958/4 "2011-03-09T16:26:22Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > It made answers to questions like “[when was Wikipedia founded?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Wikipedia)” easier to look up on Google. I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-wikipedia-changed-the-board/573958/5 "2011-03-10T00:02:54Z")
Probably hasn’t had a huge impact on the SDMBs, but has made for some difficulties in Cecil’s columns. Some of the questions that come in the mail are answered by Wikipedia (sometimes imperfectly, and rarely with humor, but still…) so Cecil’s process for selecting what to answer has become stickier. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-wikipedia-changed-the-board/573958/6 "2011-03-10T02:19:00Z")
The first mention of Wikipedia on the board is [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=2171817&highlight=wikipedia#post2171817) on June 9th, 2002. It’s just on a list of stuff that **matt\_mcl** thought was cool. The first time it was used as a cite was [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=2199347&highlight=wikipedia#post2199347) on June 18th, 2002. That one was by **erislover**.