Having seen the complaints in the Stonehaven derailment thread (https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/stonehaven-derailment.207648/) and the invitation by an Admin here to raise the issue in this forum, I thought I'd post my thoughts.
I've been an editor on Wikipedia for almost 15 years, and an Admin for almost 11. I've written about 2,200 articles and contributed to about 5,900 others, mostly on the English language Wikipedia , but also on other language Wikipedias.
When a major event happens, Wikipedians are usually pretty quick off the mark in creating an article. It is usual to have a "current events" template at the top of the article, which includes a disclaimer that info may not be up to date or accurate. These articles tend to have a lot of editors working on them, and speculation, original research and vandalism are usually quickly removed. As time goes on, and more information comes to light, the article gets better and becomes more reliable. Examples of this are the recent plane crash in India (Air India Express Flight 3144) and the massive explosion in Beirut (2020 Beirut explosions).
It was said in the Stonehaven derailment thread that the article was written by enthusiasts. Most of the editors contributing will not be enthusiasts. Another complaint raised was that the article should not have been written so soon. From experience, it is far easier to write an article "live" as it were, rather than say, a month after it has happened. You are not going to stop Wikipedians from doing this.
Almost anyone can edit Wikipedia, you don't even have to register an account. The most important thing to remember when adding material is to say where it came from. If it is a website, and you are unable correctly format a reference, then a bare url is fine. Other editors can sort out the reference formatting at a later time. Once you get into it and learn the coding, it soon becomes second nature to use the templates to reference material.
I've been an editor on Wikipedia for almost 15 years, and an Admin for almost 11. I've written about 2,200 articles and contributed to about 5,900 others, mostly on the English language Wikipedia , but also on other language Wikipedias.
When a major event happens, Wikipedians are usually pretty quick off the mark in creating an article. It is usual to have a "current events" template at the top of the article, which includes a disclaimer that info may not be up to date or accurate. These articles tend to have a lot of editors working on them, and speculation, original research and vandalism are usually quickly removed. As time goes on, and more information comes to light, the article gets better and becomes more reliable. Examples of this are the recent plane crash in India (Air India Express Flight 3144) and the massive explosion in Beirut (2020 Beirut explosions).
It was said in the Stonehaven derailment thread that the article was written by enthusiasts. Most of the editors contributing will not be enthusiasts. Another complaint raised was that the article should not have been written so soon. From experience, it is far easier to write an article "live" as it were, rather than say, a month after it has happened. You are not going to stop Wikipedians from doing this.
Almost anyone can edit Wikipedia, you don't even have to register an account. The most important thing to remember when adding material is to say where it came from. If it is a website, and you are unable correctly format a reference, then a bare url is fine. Other editors can sort out the reference formatting at a later time. Once you get into it and learn the coding, it soon becomes second nature to use the templates to reference material.