Wikipedia and Distributed Knowledge

I've noticed an interesting "flaw" on the Wikipedia today on my editing of the National Industrial Basketball League (NIBL) article. When I found the article today there was barely any information on the page. After using the "What Links Here" feature I was able to run-down a few articles that just happened to have more information about the league. So the Wikipedia, while not having much information about the league on the specific article, was storing information elsewhere on the NIBL. Fulfilling my civic duty, I went on to try and form that information into a coherent article on the NIBL page.

So the flaw in the system is the fact that the Wikipedia is unable to say to users "this page doesn't have much, but there is information elsewhere on the wiki". This problem of course will be marginalized with time and careful editing.

As of today on the Wikipedia it is essential if you're trying to learn about a topic and stumble upon a stub that you check out the "What links here" page, you'll find a lot more information.

Tags: Wikipedia