Can we talk about that $40 guide to foraging that just links to Wikipedia?

I dropped $40 on a digital foraging guide from some influencer's site thinking it would have solid info for my area. Every single mushroom ID just sent me to a Wikipedia page that was already free. The book was 47 pages long and most of it was ads for her paid courses. I could have just used iNaturalist and a library book for nothing. Has anyone else fallen for those 'expert guides' that are just rehashed public info?

2 comments

2 Comments

casey9434d ago

Thing is, "rehashed public info" is giving her too much credit. Wikipedia articles are actually written by people who know what they're talking about, with sources and everything. Your girl just copied the links and added her own affiliate course ads on top. At least Wikipedia editors are trying to help people, not fleece them for $40. What does that say about the "expert" community when a free resource is more reliable than a paid one?

mason2094d ago

Fleece them for $40" is generous, I've seen people pay way more for way less from these "experts." @casey943 hit it on the head, Wikipedia editors work for free and still put out a better product. Guess the expert community is just built on a business model where you trust the free stuff over the paid stuff.