Week 7 - Review about the readings for the next week.(Book Chapter 7) - Lee Jaehyun (이재현)

 1. Summarize in my your own words of materials that I read

Chapter 7, good Faith Collaboration explores the cultural and philosophical tensions around Wikipedia as a new kind of encyclopedia. Reagle discusses how traditional encyclopedias were seen as authoritative, normative sources, while Wikipedia challenges this with its open, collaborative model. He highlights criticism from figures like Michael Gorman, who labeled Wikipedia as intellectually lazy. Despite its flaws, Wikipedia reflects a shift in how knowledge is produced and consumed. With infinite digital space, it embraces inclusion but still faces debates between inclusionists and deletionists. The chapter also examines concerns about age-appropriateness and whether Wikipedia should be considered suitable for children, reflecting broader anxieties about trust and legitimacy in online knowledge platforms.

2. Mention of any new, interesting, or unusual items that I learned through lecture.

I found it fascinating that even the concept of an encyclopedia is not just informational but also normative. it decides what knowledge is worth preserving. Learning about past attempts, like Samuel Johnson’s dictionary or the Académie Française’s linguistic purism, helped me understand that debates about inclusion and authority are not new. What surprised me was OpenToppedBus’s First Law, which states that as Wikipedia improves, expectations rise even faster, leading to perpetual dissatisfaction. I also found it unusual that despite Wikipedia's openness, there are still serious debates about censorship, age-appropriate content, and cultural authority, showing that the platform’s democratic nature doesn’t eliminate traditional anxieties about control, reliability, and educational value.

3. Identify at least one question, concern, or discussion angle that is either problematic in some respect or could have been elaborated more.

One area that could have been explored more deeply is how Wikipedia balances its open, inclusionist philosophy with the need for credibility and trust. While the chapter highlights the tension between inclusionists and deletionists, it doesn’t fully address how these editorial decisions impact public perception, especially in academic or educational settings. Can a fully open platform ever be seen as authoritative without some centralized quality control? Additionally, the article briefly mentions age-appropriate content, but it could have further examined how Wikipedia moderates sensitive or controversial topics for younger users while still maintaining informational integrity. As Wikipedia evolves, how it manages these competing values remains a complex and essential issue for its future legitimacy.