Dear High School or College Student,
As you are aware, Wikipedia was down on Wednesday. I know that you thought it was gone forever.
Let me clear something up for you. Wikipedia was not down because of a sofa.
Also, Wikipedia was not shut down because of soap.
Wikipedia was down in an effort to raise awareness over how damaging a bill called SOPA could be to the internet.
Apparently, Wikipedia is important to you. And I am sorry that Congress get in the way of you looking information up.
In fact, I’m a bit worried that you and your friends have a codependent relationship with Wikipedia.
By the way, you should not wait until the last minute to do your course assignments.
Wikipedia, and SOPA, and Congress, were not trying to hurt you or eff up your day on purpose. There was no nefarious plot to come between you and your essay that was due.
And I understand that you feel like if Wikipedia were to go away forever, that it would mean certain disaster for your educational career. Wikipedia is your trusted friend.
But I have something to share with you. There is another way for you to finish your project, pass your midterm, complete your homework and get your diploma.
I know this is going to sound absolutely barbaric, but once upon a time, there was no such thing as Wikipedia.
I know, I know. It’s okay. Don’t cry.
It’s going to be pretty rough. Those of us who lived in the the period we now call B.W. (Before Wikipedia) had a tough road. We struggled. We struggled mightily. But we managed. And we finished our homework. It took a long time. We had to leave the HOUSE, even, to do it. Can you IMAGINE?
You can still roll this way, you know. It’s not pretty. You’ve probably not heard of it. So I want to share it with you. You know, in case an emergency like this EVER happens again.
It’s called:
The library.
Don’t be scared of it. It’s okay! I know it’ll be hard for you to leave the house. I know you’ll have to figure out how to use this totally bizarro thing called a card catalog. There’s this other language called the Dewey Decimal system that you’ll need a translator for in order to find what you need. I know that you’ll have to open up an actual book. With like, paper in it. Which might give you a paper cut, also, so beware.
I have to go take care of the sofa now. And the soap.
Love,
An Old Person
Popularity: 25% [?]
{ 64 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this post! I’m 23. And when I was in highschool, wikipedia was non-existent. I lived in a province that was not pretty much wired at that time. But we managed. Kids these days have to learn and complete coursework the hard way too.
Love your blog. I’m a new follower.
Nica
http://nicajoice.blogspot.com
Nica Gonzales´s last [type] ..Jogakbo: Korean Traditional Patchwork
LMBO! We tell our students in elementary school NOT to use Wikipedia… so maybe this next generation will be less codependent!
This is hilarious! Honestly had no idea students were using Wiki as a credible source. That’s about as scary as SOPA….I mean, sofa.
Barbara´s last [type] ..Getting Back On Track
Yes, the sofa is indeed very scary. apparently Wikipedia is much more relied upon than I ever thought.
Ahhh….the library. I used to love the library. I had forgotten it even existed!
Andrea @ The Penny-Roach’s´s last [type] ..Memories Captured – January
My two older boys swear by Wikipedia. I try and tell them it’s no good as a source, but they don’t believe me. Their schools also forbid Wiki as a usable source for research papers and any other websites they may want to use as a source must be pre-approved.
It’s scary how dependent the younger generation has become on the internet.
Eric Storch´s last [type] ..Autism, As I See It.
Very scary. I just think that they don’t know any other way, so why would anyone question the reliability of Wikipedia? They have no idea!!! It’s not scholarly!
Hilarious! Those tweets had me giggling. I remember well spending HOURS in the library. I was also too cheap to pay for 10 cent photocopies of the pages I wanted in the research section…of course you couldn’t check out those books. So there I sat for hours taking down notes on index cards of information that I *might* use. The HORROR of then having to go home and compile my thoughts then write it all out again…
Katrina @ In Katrina’s Kitchen´s last [type] ..White Chocolate Infused Cookies and Cream Filling
OMG, yes…never wanted to pay for photocopies on a student budget!!!
GREAT post! Ha! And yes…I remember many days spent in the libraray doing term papers and essays. I also remember desperately needing specific books that were eternally checked out and having to BS my way through the paper (I got pretty darned good at that). I also remember having to get up at dawn to feed the horses, walking 5 miles to school uphill both ways in the snow, working on my sampler next to the fireplace, and having to darn socks and do my homework by candlelight….alll BW. Thanks for the laugh this morning!
Diane – It’s All Good Until You Burn Dinner´s last [type] ..You Whooo? Calling All Bloggers!
OMG, I had the walking uphill both ways in the snow to the library thing in there, and then I took it out
You should have left it in because everyone knows that a few decades ago we ALL had to walk it. It wasn’t until about 10 or 15 years ago all of these hills were removed from the American landscape. Kids have it made these days…
Diane – It’s All Good Until You Burn Dinner´s last [type] ..You Whooo? Calling All Bloggers!
Oh, my. Sofa? Soap? These people are our future? We’re in trouble.
My husband is back in college working on a second degree, and almost all his professors state in their syllabi that Wikipedia isn’t an acceptable source for research papers.
He also worked on group project last year with several young students. Almost all of them turned in papers that were just copied and pasted from online articles. He had to explain to them what plagiarism is.
Mommie Daze´s last [type] ..For Hire: Two Year Old
Apparently, not every educational institution is putting the kabosh on wikipedia as a source. I wonder if we are just raising a generation of helpless kids who can’t draw conclusions for themselves and really know how to put a research paper together. I also know that makes me sound incredibly old.
Students using WIKI for info?
That is soooooooo funny!
Symdaddy´s last [type] ..Weight Gain
I know. Truly, I was taken aback.
Man, your twitter stream was way funnier than mine on Wednesday. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to laugh at the younger generation’s stupidity. As a former librarian, I really got a kick out of this.
Lea Ann´s last [type] ..Puma shoes & apparel 70% off + free shipping.
Is that not crazy????? and sad?
you know, I actually enjoyed digging stuff up at the library for the big research projects. Wikipedia makes everything easy, but there’s nothing like searching for the right book, opening it, turning the pages, and then reading exactly what you need.
Plus, librarians are sexy.
John´s last [type] ..Where I cook with tater tots, sausage, and cheese
I love research and writing, so I agree with you!
But I never saw a librarian that was sexy.
Please don’t take away my SOFA. Or my SOAP. This is hilarious. And sad. How did I ever graduate high school without Wikipedia? Or Google, or even the internet? It boggles one’s mind.
C @ Kid Things´s last [type] ..Sleeping Super
Agreed – hilarious and sad all at the same time.
Best. Blog. Ever.
Hilarious, but very serious.
I don’t think teachers discussed this stuff at all in school.
Most people don’t understand it themselves.
We bloggers, we get it like the Dewey got that whole Decimal System thing.
Renee Schuls-Jacobson´s last [type] ..Dear Mr Reichert by KD Sullivan
I know..there is a serious element to this that many commenters have already raised. These kids seem downright helpless, and that is frightening. I had wanted to spend more time delving into that aspect in a humorous way, but…time.
Working on my masters I have had the chance to review classmates’ projects. One class required that we submit a mock proposal to get a government grant. At least three students used only wikipedia references, half used wikipedia without any mention of “for image only” or for “definition only”. I have to admit, I have used wikipedia for information before, but usually as a link database for where the information was cited from.
Doing my Masters while working full time has really reduced my respect for other students unfortunately. If I was a prof, any mention of wikipedia (without a quantifier as above) would get an automatic deduction of 10% of the grade.
Miriam @ Sometimes I Veg´s last [type] ..What I would feed a Vegan… (A call for Guest Bloggers)
I agree. I’m an ex-lawyer, and you’re drilled in law school about sources and how to use them correctly and make sure they are accurate (and you’re quoting them accurately). This was a wakeup call for me as my kids get older!
Gigi, I love it. I forwarded this to my faculty advisor as for the last 3 years, every prof has said to never, ever, ever use wikipedia as a source for our work. LIKE NEVER. Your post made it to my 5 friday favorites today.
Jacki´s last [type] ..5 Friday Favorites
I am horrified that people use Wikipedia as a reliable source for research papers. Scary.
Amusing, but while you were was sketching out a snarkily self-deprecating variation of the cane—shaking old man telling stories about walking to school/uphill/snow, etc, you missed a good opportunity for educating the people who read your blog. Not a single link to anywhere that explains SOPA/PIPA in easy-to-understand language.
Point well taken. I was tired when I wrote it. Do you think I should link to Wikipedia?
The twitterfeed which gathered together the wails of “All the Morons Confused by Wikipedia’s Blackout” (as Gizmodo called it) was truly hilarious in a Schadenfreudian way. Many were clearly, legitimately 140 character chunks of panic & outrage, glued together by ignorance. But many more were sarcastic posts made by people who were led to the feed by Gizmodo’s (and others’) articles about the feed. I don’t mean to pop in and get all serious, but the SOPA & PIPA bills ***are*** serious business which could have a devastating effect on the landscape of the web as we’ve all come to know & depend upon it. As a 50-something sharp—eyed tech—watcher, I’m dumbfounded at how so many people (even the usually savvy youngsters) are—even still—completely unaware of the bills, by their names, but more importantly, by what they propose to do. Any opportunity to educate the masses about what (and I loathe waxing on politics) paid—for politicians and the big media corporations who buy them are trying to do is important. I’d drop some good links in your feedback form, but there’s no indication about any restrictions your site may have on them. I’ll let you take over from here, and format a blog entry in the style you’re used to, tailored to your readers.
Oh, you are welcome to add some links – it sounds like you have some great specific sources you’d like to share. Most of my readers are, in fact, bloggers, so they’re pretty aware of SOPA, but I agree that I shouldn’t have overlooked an opportunity to link off.
I’m curious how you found my blog?
One of my longtime imaginary pals (who might have you bookmarked, and may have posted comments here previously) linked to this article on Facebook. Her sole comment about it:
)—had to go see just what a kludgy mom (and teacher or professor? I couldn’t tell) had to say to students. Truth be told, I only saw the blog entry’s title, and was expecting to read something educational. It’s OK that it wasn’t. 
“Love it!”
I—ever the skeptic (and doing post-doctorate work in snarkiness
BTW, here’s a [i]great[/i] article on TechDirt regarding the reactions to this week’s site blackouts (My apologies if my attempts at markup/formatting result in an ugly mess):
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120118/22275617465/mocking-blackout-reactions-is-too-easy-lets-learn-them-instead.shtml
[quote]“Unsurprisingly, yesterday’s Wikipedia blackout caused a lot of reaction on Twitter. The whole point of a move like this is to shock people, get their attention, and make them start asking questions—and the primary target is those who don’t already know about the issue at hand. So it’s also unsurprising that some of the reactions were pretty damn stupid. And since there’s nothing the internet likes more than making fun of stupid people, it’s once again unsurprising that a few different sources decided to catalogue and mock them. …”[/quote]
I’m definitely not an educator. I’m a humor writer and a mom. The goal of this blog is to entertain. I had hoped you were going to post a link explaining SOPA, not one about why we shouldn’t mock those who don’t understand the legislation.
But upon reflection on this thread, I’m not adding any links. My audience doesn’t need links about SOPA because as I’ve stated, they are educated.
And those who aren’t educated? Well, if they’re social media-savvy enough to go on Twitter and freak out about Wikipedia being down, then they are savvy enough to go to Google, enter SOPA, and read a host of excellent articles explaining all facets of the controversy. They’re not helpless!
“Kids these days” would fall over if they had to look something up via the old CARD CATALOG! Lord!
Katie @ An Authentic Life´s last [type] ..Welcome to An Authentic Life
Best. Post. Ever.
As a fellow ‘old person’, I STILL frequent the library to do that thing the younguns do on electronic devices…read a freakin’ book! Geez! I’ve turned into my grandpa…”Back in my day, we used books to do homework! We didn’t have your fancy iPads. We used the library and didn’t expect the Internet to do our homework for us! Why? Because there was no freakin’ Internet! Read a book!”
Wow. That felt good. Thank you.
Mrs. One Day´s last [type] ..Pain, Weight Loss and Me
Oh my word hilarious. Remember when our parents bought full sets of encyclopedias from the door to door salesman. Oh to be old…
tracy@sellabitmum´s last [type] ..Only Pinterest can Justify My Time On The Internet..
May I introduce you to our future doctors, lawyers, govenrors, sentators, and perhaps our next president of the USA!
I guess this is painting a target on my back, but I haven’t used a library since I started college. I also haven’t used Wikipedia for real research ever.
Remarkably, there are scholarly sources on the internet, and my school pays for EBSCOHost, which is an amazing scholarly resource that puts Wikipedia to shame for useful information.
Patrick Thunstrom´s last [type] ..Unpub2 Trip Report
Wow. If kids don’t learn to use the library when they’re younger, where will they ever be able to nap in college? Amateurs.
ChiMomWriter´s last [type] ..Nursing, Milestones and Hindsight
Sooooooo Funny! Loved it! I had to forward this to one of the writers on my blog he is a degree’d librarian…he writes for our “man cave” section.
I am still laughing.
Remember the days of card catalogs in the library?
I think I just aged myself.
Carolyn´s last [type] ..Blogging Tips, Kid Reading, and Thank-You Notes
One of your best! Tweeting, stumbling and doing all I can to ensure this makes quite a trip round the world. xoxo
Amy ~ Eat. Live. Laugh. Shop.´s last [type] ..Belly up to the bar!
I am absolutely cracking up at, “I heard Wikipedia is down because of some sofa.” Cracking up… and also weeping a little.
Another thing I’d like to tell these kids? Psssst… Wikipedia isn’t always reliable.
Kristin @ What She Said´s last [type] ..To Be a Dad
I think you were reading my mind yesterday. Or at least my twitter stream. I was asking some parents of high schoolers if their kids were even taught how to find stuff in the library and how to reference things OTHER than websites in papers. Do teachers really allow kids to use Wikipedia as a reference?
MainlineMom aka Sarah´s last [type] ..Fashion Friday: Winter Color
I don’t know if I should laugh or cry.
I used to teach middle school. I would get things cut and pasted from the internet all of the time, including things with the source information website still at the bottom of the page. Once, it was a literal cut and paste. Different printed information, cut out and then pasted onto one sheet of paper.
So I’m not completely shocked but still saddened.
Off to sit on my sofa.
Wow. I truly had no idea the young generation actually consulted Wikipedia for FACTS and RESEARCH and CREDIBILITY.
The whole “sofa” and “soap” thing makes me wonder who will take care of me in my old age. Holy CARP.
San Diego Momma´s last [type] ..The Dimwitted Adventures of a Dope
Those people are NOT real, they can’t be!!!
And you can use Wikipedia as a source if you’re smart about it, there are usually several citations at the bottom of most Wiki entries that you can then go to in order to track down information…at least that’s what I used to do
This is truly why I’m a quiet person. Too afraid to say something I”ll regret later in life
But this was hilarious!
I tell kids at school that Wikipedia is not necessarily a good source. There are more reliable resources for research.
Grams´s last [type] ..Grams Made Filled Peanut Butter Cups
What a great post! SO glad you wrote this! LOL!!
Vanessa
Vanessa Jubis´s last [type] ..Crawling
Oh that’s hilarious and so true, even my 8 year old was concerned!
SoberJulie´s last [type] ..Funky Helmet Covers Help Save Lives
lol! Kids these days have it so easy. And now I feel old.
Motherhood on the Rocks´s last [type] ..PAPA DON’T PREACH: IS PARENTING THE MOST DANGEROUS JOB IN THE WORLD?
Ahhhh, Wikipedia, made for the “Gotta have it right now! now! now!” generation, the same generation that does not seem to understand the concept of proper etiquette whole eating out in restaurants. I am so tired of young people who should know better acting like boors in public.
Having said that, I had trouble writing my blog post on Stop Sopa day, because I couldn’t reference Wikipedia, the source of all things unsubstantiated.
I gotta run, Geeg. I’ve got some damn young people I have to chase off my lawn.
joann mannix´s last [type] ..At Least They Didn’t Name Her Auto Trader
Hot Damn that was funny! Your sarcasm is superb. But really, it shouldn’t be surprising that someone who relies on Wikipedia for a term paper wouldn’t know what SOPA is.
And as another “old person” who loves both the Internet and the library, I weep for these “kids” today who will never really come to appreciate all their local (or school) library has to offer them. (Though I do often blame the creases around my eyes on all that time spent in college squinting at microfiche!)
Wow. Those students are almost scary!
Ally´s last [type] ..Five Question Friday – LATE on Saturday
Ha! Love this!
I think that perhaps, instead of banning the use of Wikipedia altogether, schools might do better to teach students how to use Wikipedia; that is, how to evaluate whether the information is valid (based on whether there are sources attached), how to evaluate the sources used to draw the conclusions, how to spot biased language, etc. Wikipedia editors actually do a decent job (depending on the article) of flagging biased language, missing sources, etc., which is something you don’t see in newspapers and books, even though those are also prone to errors and bias.
Just my two cents
Jessica @ Faith Permeating Life´s last [type] ..How Many Heaven Points Do You Have?
Oh, this is hilarious!!!
I remember when I was in college, we were told we weren’t allowed to use the internet for our papers b/c it was too unreliable. We had to search the stacks and find as many primary sources as we could instead.
And before that- I remember when we had to look at actual card catalogs- pull out the big long drawers and know what we were trying to find, none of this electronic stuff.
I feel old.
Shell´s last [type] ..Erie Drive: Unique Style
we never had internet access when we were in college. computers were only for word processing.
you should feel young now, you’re welcome
the youth of today scare me!!
If there had been internet when I was in college, there is no way I would have graduated. As it is now, I’m in grad school and I’m having a hard enough time with everything being online. I miss my paper syllabus and articles I could physically highlight.
Jessica, The Debt Princess´s last [type] ..Save My Generation
Absolute right. Too much relying on the internet for school work now-a-days. Takes the fun right out of researching and reading. They have it so easy now.
Sela Toki´s last [type] ..Something Funny
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