Tom Royal: Is it a useful reference, and is it a force for good? Yes

Wikipedia is a fantastic resource and because it is created by normal people its sheer breadth is amazing.

There are articles on everything by a lot of very talented people, including so many topics and areas you wouldn't find in a traditional encyclopedia. For many people, it's the first port of call if you want to check something online.

Whether it's a historical event, or the details of the plot of a favourite television programme you happened to miss last night, if you search for it on Google then the Wikipedia entry will be very close to the top of the results page.