Obviously I love the straight dope, and I am very familiar with www.howstuffworks.com - what are other sites on the internet similar to these, where I can go and learn more about how the world works. Specifically though, I want sites that are all purpose, not a specific site about penquins or something…
Sorry I have no sites for you but I am just posting to say that I thought about asking this exact question (including the mention of ‘howstuffworks.com’) a few months ago. I would have had it not escaped my mind.
I figured if I am going to be spending all day on the internet I may as well take advantage of it.
http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/index.html
Soyouwanna.com has interesting information on a lot of different subjects, but they haven’t updated their site in a looong time.
I’m becoming quite fond of Wikipedia, where you can look up just about anything and follow internal and external links to your hearts content. And you’re invited to participate in the writing, editing, and discussion as the project develops.
I’ve also taken a liking to KnowledgeNews, which however is not free, and I’m still on the 30-day trial period. They promise to “[f]ill the holes in your education, one step at a time”. Mostly, it’s background on current events, given with a breezy yet pithy style.
I’ve never quite warmed up to h2g2, but you should probably give it a look-see anyhow. It’s got articles on life, the universe, and everything.
Gotta give a shout out to Everything2.
I, on the other hand, love h2g2. OK, I’m probably biased, since I’ve written a few articles and stories for them, and edited quite a few more. But I find their information nice and accessible, and really, really wide-ranging.
Thanks for the help! Not to answer my own question, but I found another site:
I remember reading somewhere that there was once and perhaps still is, a big initiative to set up a “people helping people” site where you could give and receive expert information. So if you were an expert gardener you could give others advice on how to keep the perwhickety bugs off your radish plants. And if you needed advice about real estate, you could get that from a real-estate member.
Unfortunately, that is all I remember about the site. Not its name or URL or anything useful like that.
You might be thinking of allexperts.com, which has been useful to me when I’ve used it.
While I’m a big fan of Wikipedia ('cos it harnesses the unstoppable power of Being People’s Hobby), it’s important to remember that any page can be altered by anyone at any time. Now, there is a pretty effective system in place to prevent abuse - I think essentially lots of people have the stuff cached, so if you delete everything in the frankly vast article on “The Matrix” and replace it with the words “BIG DIDDIES”, someone will change it back pretty sharpish. But smaller changes are harder to spot. Also, lots of articles are noted for their disputed impartiality, not least that on the BNP.
This is what makes it such a fascinating resource, though. Just don’t take any of it as gospel without checking elsewhere. Most people just want to build the thing usefully, so most changes are constructive.