Wiki Wiki Wiki What?

Being a person who is a complete Internet addict, I immediately fell in love with Wikipedia.  Like any new relationship, the possibilities seemed endless.  I could type in a subject and instantly have nearly all the information I could ask for.  Oh how I loved typing in Frank Lloyd Wright being able to read about his life and work.  I could view pictures of his famous buildings and click on links to Wikipedia pages to learn more about specific Wright buildings.  Sometimes I would type in random words just to see what it would return.  This seemed to be my endless fountain of information.  Like any relationship, after a while, the cracks began to show.  I'd type in a subject and the information would seem a little off.  Not so much that it caused a major concern, but I would read something and think to myself, "I don't think that's true."  Then one day it happened.  I typed in the name of my high school.  The page quickly loaded and I began to peruse the information.  History, yes, yes, that all seems correct.  Freedom Writers Controversy, yep, I remember reading about that in the newspaper.  As I scrolled down the page everything seemed to check out until I got to the section labeled Notable Alumni.  There were just a few names listed, but one stuck in my head.  The last one on the list was my co-worker Matthew.  I thought, "Matthew is a notable alum?  What for?"  Oh, it says he's a "Former Sweeper for Rotherham United (UK)"  Now I'm thinking this must be a joke.  I clicked on the link and it took me to a listing for Matthaus Lang von Wallenburg.  I turned to Matthew and said, "Why are you listed as a notable alum?"  He started laughing and said, "I wanted to prove that you can't believe everything you read on Wikipedia."  That was it for me.  Relationship over.  Like the ending of any relationship there is always a lesson to be learned.  The lesson here is to take Wikipedia and all Wikis for what they are...USER CREATED CONTENT.  While much of the information is verified, much of it isn't; making it important to check your facts.  While I still flirt with Wikipedia, we'll never have the love affair we did in the beginning.