Someone recently commented that they don't trust citations of websites other than government sites as authoritative information. I was fairly surprised at this, first of all, because I see no reason to trust the government more than anyone else who provides information online. Here are my comments:
The government, like any other organization, is biased and the information it presents is skewed. The value of government websites is not so much the data they provide but what they reveal about the government's perspective on issues and on what they want you to think. If a stance like this is taken regarding every source, online or otherwise, interpretation of information becomes more effective. There's a reason behind every portrayal and opinion, and searching for that reason can be more important than the actual content sometimes.
The internet is, of course, an extremely effective tool for finding a variety of perspectives. Even for raw data, though, it's also very powerful. By double checking data with other sources and by paying attention to the credibility of the argument and the organization behind it, one can cite online sources with confidence and certainty.
And an understanding of methods like these as well as of bias and perspective is far more important to finding information than an ability to look at the extension at the end of the web address.
yeah, i generally agree with you about the government not being the most reliable source of information for many issues.
i generally try to go with peer-reviewed sources (at least for science).