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.

I've found entries for very interesting aspects of local history in Britain, events which may not be considered quite so important to make it into the Britannica.

The fact it's created by ordinary people means that of course there are limits, especially when it comes to business and academic use. The information has to be taken with a pinch of salt.

The key is never to take Wikipedia alone as a source, and take a slightly cautious approach to what you find. If you read something on the site, go and check it somewhere else, even it's just another quick search using Google.

But despite the mistakes and instances where people are clearly joking around with entries, it's a really useful tool for most people.

Personally, I use Wikipedia more than once a day on average, that's how important it's become. What I find striking about its anniversary is that ten years ago, Wikipedia didn't exist.

When I was doing my degree, I remember going through libraries looking for little tit-bits of information that these days I could look up in seconds.

• Tom Royal is deputy editor of Computer Active magazine