Wikihow

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Sometimes-iffy wiki teaches collaboration -- and skepticism.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this wiki is easier for kids to contribute to than Wikipedia or eHow, but can be just as error-prone. It also contains some mildly objectionable material and sexually explicit Google ads. However, the ads can be turned off and kids can find lots of fun projects to undertake, even writing their own how-tos. Parents might want to supervise, though.

  • This site promotes respectful collaboration and can give kids a sense of accomplishment. It's to be commended for fostering teamwork and banning sexually explicit how-tos and any that promote hate, violence, illegal activities or profanity. However, the quality bar could be set a little higher. Though they are
    in the minority, the articles Wikihow allows that do glorify irresponsible, immature or negative behavior keep it from the highest rating here.
  • No murder or mayhem, but some of the how-to fight articles teach mild vigilantism, such as “How to beat up a bully.”  How to kill characters in popular video games is also covered. 
  • Sexually explicit and sexually “charged” how-tos are prohibited, but this still leaves plenty of room for some dicey stuff; for instance, numerous variations on “How to be a hot girl.”  Videos are not overtly sexual but can have adult content including one in which a young woman uses a cucumber to demonstrate the correct way to put on a condom. In another, a nude female with strategically placed long hair teaches “girls” how to “look good naked” when sitting and walking.
  • The site seems pretty clean, in keeping with the no-profanity policy, but some strong language slips through in how-tos that contain modern song lyrics (e.g. “F--k me on the dance floor”) and in the forums and article discussion pages where user exchanges can get heated. Discussion pages that contain swear words such as asshole carry reader warnings but there is no profanity filter option. Ironically, the site features how-tos on circumventing profanity filters by inserting punctuation or running words together.
  • Advertising is not intrusive but the Google listings can be X-rated. For instance, clicking on an article about blocking Internet porn generates a gaggle of Google links leading to porn sites. We don’t normally recommend that kids register with a site if they don’t have to, but registering here is a no-brainer. It doesn’t require sharing any personal information and it hides all ads except the 30-second spots that play before some of the how-to videos. These all seem to be G-rated mainstream commercials for yogurt and the like.
  • How-to articles on recreational drug use are banned but drinking and smoking entries are not. The majority of the these are of the admirable "how to quit" variety, but some promote dangerous behavior ("How to chug beer") or spoof bad habits (“How to drink beer while running a marathon.”)
  • Kids can remain anonymous, even if they submit entries, and block emails from other users. If they write a how-to they would later like to remove, they can do so if it's within a day or so of posting. If the entry has already been edited by others it can't be deleted, but authors can remove their bylines at any time. Though kids as young as 13 are allowed, this site provides no controls for parents.

Is it any good?

 

Despite iffy content here and there, Wikihow is actually a pretty good choice for kids interested in collaborative writing because it's so accessible and relatively safe. Kids can post articles anonymously and do not even have to submit an email address to participate. There's valuable experience to be gained here in learning how to research, write and edit coherently. There are also lots of great how-tos here for kids, too, like making a yo-yo. The most objectionable aspect of the site are the adult-oriented Google ads that can pop up from time to time.These are easy to turn off, though.

Online interaction: The site’s goal of producing high-quality how-to articles encourages contributors to support and treat one another respectfully as they trade edits. Peaceful collaboration seems to be the case for the most part, but kid contributors might have to deal with the occasional dustup including rough or angry language.  


Explore, discuss, enjoy

  • Families can talk about how wikis are by their nature not completely reliable sources of
    information. How can kids know when information is trustworthy and when
    it is wrong? Where can they doublecheck their research? (See our tips for using Wikipedia.)

  • Families can also talk about respecting others' opinions even if we do not always agree.

  • Discuss why some entries that do not promote a healthy lifestyle or
    attitude are allowed to stay on Wikihow. How can kids respect free speech
    while using their own common sense?

     


This review of Wikihow was written by
Parent of 2, 4, 4, 6, and 7 year old
January 9, 2010
 
15 or 16+ but definetely not 13!
I use this website often, but my children, I have decided, are not allowed on until the age of 15 if they decide to join and if of course, the site is still active. When contributing, mant users get upset when they are corrected and start using innapropriate language. However, I will print out articles for my kids that are age appropriate and well cleaned up. This website should be for ages 15 or 16+ because this stuff could be innapropriate for 13 year olds.
What other families should know:

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Kid, 12 years old
June 28, 2010
 
There is a lot of good and a little bad. Very educational. Kids can learn a lot. GREAT WEBSITE.
What other families should know:

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Parent
May 20, 2010
 

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Teen, 13 years old
May 20, 2010
 

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Kid, 11 years old
August 8, 2010
 
Brilliant Idea =]
Great Site, Really Good. It Tells You Everything You Need (Or May Need) To Know How To Do. Like If You've Fallen Out With A Friend, Just Search "How To Make Up With A Friend". It Tells You How To Keep Diaries Secret, How To Do CPR, Things That Might One Day Be VERY Useful To You. Even Extreme Situations Are All Covered. I Signed Up And I've Never Had Any Issues With The Site. I Love Contributing To Articles, It's Brilliant Fun If You Like Giving Advice.
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Teen, 16 years old
January 2, 2012
 
I write articles for wikihow!
I write wikihow articles and I can tell you, all the writers I came across are all friendly and we all try are best to make the website good.
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Kid, 10 years old
November 4, 2012
 
Learning3
Great!
Nice How To's
What other families should know:

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Educator and Parent
November 2, 2012
 
Learning2
Good place to learn writing skills.
wikiHow is a How To site which encourages collaborative writing and editing with the goal of creating accurate instructions. The community is relatively friendly, the users tend to help each other, and the interface is fairly easy to use. Note that the GOAL is creating accurate instructions. If a user sees a problem with a set of instructions, they are encouraged to fix the problem. Thus, the information is continuously evolving, usually for the better. The wikiHow community has chosen to ban certain types of articles, including Dangerous, Hate or Racist, Illegal, Sexually Explicit and Political. While the above categories do not weed out all objectionable content, they do tend to make the site a lot more family friendly than most. Profanity is generally limited forums rather than articles, and tends toward descriptive rather than pejorative use. Kids over 13 should be fine here. Younger children should be more closely supervised.
What other families should know:

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Adult
November 1, 2012
 
Learning3
The Truth About wikiHow
It's a great place to find anything. Be warned though, some users will cuss in the forums.

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Teen, 17 years old
November 1, 2012
 
Learning2
wikiHow as seen by Genius_knight
wikiHow is a very unique site where anyone can edit while having an option whether they want to create an account or not. The articles on wikiHow are always changing as a result the quality keeps on increasing as daily new and awesome stuff is added to the article.New users get so glued to the site that they go on a writing spree but those who read the wiki tour succeed tremendously while those who neglect suffer as their article gets compromised. The amazing thing about wikiHow is that even a badly written article gets so much improved by the users that the author feels surprised as whether they are reading their own article or some professional article so one need not worry about quality and vandalism as both are taken care by wikiHowians. People who join the site get rid of many sufferings and become en-lighted by the knowledge. wikiHow is a platform to learn, write and the best to share with the whole world.
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Genre:Creating

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