User:Jbredahl/sandbox

Pokémon Go: A Wikipedia Page Analysis

Jane Bredahl

Honors 232: The Games We Play

Mika LaVaque-Manty

September 19, 2016

Many people have debated the validity of Wikipedia ever since its creation. The fact that anyone can contribute to its content and write an article is very exciting to some people but also concerning to a large population as well. Some Wikipedia pages are better than others, and all have their strengths and weakness. Although Pokémon Go has been a continually controversial topic in society, the Pokémon Go Wikipedia page is very valid and draws its strength mainly from remaining impressively neutral, in addition to providing correct, factual information.

Contrary to the popular belief that Wikipedia is one big free for all, the website does indeed hold all of its articles to certain standards. Articles are expected to be true and informative, and most of the time information that is incorrect or improperly cited will be taken down. The Pokémon Go article provided a sufficient amount of valuable details, all of which were truthful. The article cited a grand total of 257 sources, and although I did not personally go through all 257 of them, the large number that I did happen to click on were all valid and reputable sources. Almost every sentence throughout the article had a corresponding citation right after it, suggesting that there was no original research included in the article. This is further proof of the article’s validity as it means that the author has not created any interpretations but rather has just summarized the facts. Additionally, sometimes an active “Talk page” can be a sign of a questionable article if people are debating the facts within it. When I examined the Talk page of the Pokémon Go article, however, the conversations were mostly debating the game itself rather than raising contentions about the facts provided in the article.

Considering that all articles on Wikipedia are supposed to be truthful, the factor that sets this article apart and makes it a very strong one is its surprising neutrality. After looking through the sources cited, I discovered that the author had drawn information from articles on opposite sides of the spectrum when compiling information. Article title names range from “Pokémon Go has won the praise of gender fluid gamers”, which has positive things to say about the game, to “Holocaust museum pleads: stop playing Pokémon Go here”, which clearly takes a definite negative stance on the effects of the game on society. By reading articles that both support and oppose the game, the author was able to write about the game in a very impartial tone that neither helps nor supports either side.

The author managed to maintain an admirably equitable tone throughout the entire piece, and in the end I was unable to tell what the author’s actual position on the game even is. The article was well written and ultimately successful due not only to the amount of correct information provided but primarily because of the true neutrality that characterized the writing. The bulk of the content was the facts, just the facts, leaving the reader informed enough to develop their own analysis and interpretation of Pokémon Go.

References

Denham, Jess. “Pokémon Go praised by gamers for introducing gender fluid avatars.” Independent. July 12 2016. Accessed September 19 2016. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/pokemon-go-praised-by-gamers-for-introducing-gender-fluid-avatars-characters-players-lgbt-style-a7132536.html

"Go Pokemon Go..." Money Life, August 8, 2016. General OneFile (accessed September 19, 2016). http://go.galegroup.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/ ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=lom_umichanna&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA460297681&sid=summon&asid=9812a4511682d29a3728327e87478615.

Petri, A. (2016). Pokemon go, an honest review. Washington: WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://proxy.lib.umich.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/docview/1804461823?accountid=14667

Phillips, Tom. "Holocaust museum pleads: stop playing Pokémon Go here". Eurogamer. July 13 2016. Accessed September 19 2016. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-07-12-holocaust-museum-pleads-stop-playing-pokemon-go-here

Wikipedia contributors, "Pokémon Go," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/ index.php?title=Pok%C3%A9mon_Go&oldid=740188923 (accessed September 20, 2016).