The idea of the Wikipedia is great... it's a collection of social knowledge. A similar concept is demonstrated at
Everything2.com, although Everything2 seems a lot more open about what constitutes a topic, for better or worse.
Of course there are inherent flaws... an article's data may be innaccurate in whole or in part, incomplete, theories may be presented as facts, rumors and urban legends might creep in... but what it
does do well is find a "general consesnsus" on just about any topic you might want info on. Just consider each article to be about as factual and trustworthy as any other legitimate-looking web page, and you should be fine.