I think you were half right? I mean, I think it's a case people wanted something for free instead of paying, rather than a quality issue. I've come across a lot of really poor wiki articles, and in general to this day prefer the old encyclopedias or even something like Encarta to Wiki. Add to that the recent 'scandals' if you call them that, eroding trust by some.

Still, it's awesome how Wiki evolves and moves so fast. And most of the articles are pretty great. My wish is that the foundation would spend money on academics and researchers to enhance contributions, rather than a lot of the junk they spend money on today.