Q: How Reliable are the Wikipedia Articles about Tolkien and Middle-earth?
ANSWER: The Wikipedia articles about J.R.R. Tolkien and Middle-earth usually contain numerous errors, egregious mis-statements of fact, and often poorly written rambling sentences that barely make sense. I recently reviewed the primary biographical article on Tolkien and saw several errors immediately.
However, experts in various topic matters have learned not to interfere with the nonsense written at Wikipedia because their edits will simply be changed by less knowledgeable people (or, worse, people who deliberately post false and misleading information as has happened several times in the Tolkien articles). The Internet is filled with thousands of anecdotes where subject-matter experts have given up on trying to fix the flaws in Wikipedia’s low-quality content because the admins there usually force them to stop reverting inexpert edits.
There are better Wiki sites which are maintained by dedicated Tolkien fans who, while not necessarily elite experts in the topics, at least make an effort to check their facts against the books and other reliable sources of information. Three pretty decent fan-run Tolkien wikis include:
There are other sites you may enjoy but I have used these resources for quick references from time to time and have found them to be reasonably accurate, if somewhat incomplete or sparse in detail. If you want to participate in a Wiki community, you may find it easier to join one of the fan-run communities rather than deal with the legalistic nit-wits that comprise Wikipedia’s admin community.
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Have you read our other Tolkien and Middle-earth Questions and Answers articles?
