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Chinese Ban on Wikipedia Prevents Research
An anonymous reader writes "China has banned access to Wikipedia for the third time, outraging students and intellectuals." From the article: "The latest blocking of the website, the third shutdown of the site in China in the past two years, has now continued for more than 10 weeks without any explanation and without any indication whether the ban is temporary or permanent ... Others said the blocking of Wikipedia has been a major blow to their research projects and even to their prospects of passing civil-service exams. 'How can I do my thesis now?' a university student asked on another Chinese website."
...are they using Wikipedia for thesis work in the first place? Not that I agree with it being banned, but Wikipedia isn't exactly a "trusted" source anyway.
I'll form my OWN solar system! With blackjack! And hookers!
While banning Wikipedia is certainly a significant inconvenience, it shouldn't impact anyone's actual research... it's not the kind of source one would use in even an undergraduate thesis.
Use a paper encyclopedia.
//Sorry, the quote made me laugh.
Are the Chinese really so starved for research material that Wikipedia would be an appropriate source for writing a thesis? Unless the thesis is about websites or the way information is processed online, or something similar (so that they are using Wikipedia as a paradigm), it just seems bizarre that Wikipedia would actually be used in this way. Maybe it is much worse over there than I had thought.