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wIKIPEDIA FAQS
Wikipedia was created on January 15, 2001, by two core founders, Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger.
Wikipedia addresses conflicts of interest by establishing clear guidelines. Editing Wikipedia in one’s own interests or on behalf of external relationships is discouraged. Conflict of interest (COI) editing includes contributing information about oneself, family members, friends, clients, employers, or any financial and personal relationships. This ensures that articles remain impartial and unbiased, free from any potential influence that may compromise the integrity of the content.
Yes, there are restrictions on what can be written on Wikipedia. One such restriction pertains to non-copyright limitations and is governed by the non-free content criteria. These criteria are established based on the Definition of Free Cultural Works, ensuring that the use of non-free content is within defined boundaries. It’s important to note that restrictions unrelated to copyright status can also hinder the utilization of work for “any purpose.” These restrictions exist to maintain content integrity and adhere to legal and ethical guidelines governing using various works on Wikipedia.
Wikipedia employs various measures to address vandalism and false information. These measures restrict access to certain user groups, such as autoconfirmed and extended confirmed users, who have demonstrated a trustworthy editing history. As a result, regular vandals typically do not fall within these privileged user categories.
Unfortunately, this temporary restriction may also impact innocent users, temporarily limiting their ability to edit. Nonetheless, these measures are implemented to safeguard the integrity of Wikipedia’s content and mitigate the impact of vandalism.
As of June 2023, Wikipedia encompasses 333 language editions. These language editions are also referred to as the Wikipedia’s or simply language versions. The five largest Wikipedias, ranked by the number of articles, are:
- English
- Cebuano
- German
- Swedish
- French
Verifiability in English Wikipedia refers to the ability of readers to verify that the information provided originates from trustworthy sources. However, it is essential to note that original research is not published on Wikipedia. This is simply because its content relies on pre-existing information that has been previously published rather than being influenced by the editors’ beliefs, opinions, or personal experiences.
Wikipedia operates as a wiki, allowing anyone to edit almost any page and enhance articles promptly.
Additionally, no registration is required to contribute, and individuals who have made edits are recognized as Wikipedians or editors. Even small modifications accumulate, and every editor can take pride in their contribution to enhancing Wikipedia for the benefit of all.
However, for best results, it is advisable to Hire Wikipedia editors to help you with this task.
As of June 2023, the article about “George W. Bush” tends to be the most frequently edited article on Wikipedia, accumulating an impressive number of over 45,862 edits.
As of June 2023, the English Wikipedia contains an impressive number of articles, totalling over 6,661,653 articles of various lengths. However, when considering all the other language versions of Wikipedia, their combined size surpasses English Wikipedia’s by a significant margin.
In fact, the collective Wikipedias in 309 languages boasts a staggering 55 million articles, encompassing an astounding 29 billion words.
Wikipedia is moderated, and a community of volunteer contributors ensures the quality of its content. These contributors, known as Wikipedians, collectively edit and maintain all Wikipedia pages and articles. It’s important to note that no individual can assume ownership over a specific article or any portion of it, regardless of their role. The collaborative nature of editing ensures that multiple perspectives are considered, fostering a collective effort to maintain the accuracy and reliability of Wikipedia’s content.
The Wikimedia Foundation plays a crucial role in moderating Wikipedia and ensuring the quality of its content, and it also owns the domain wikipedia.org. The Foundation is responsible for various tasks such as raising funds, distributing grants, managing servers, developing and deploying software, and conducting outreach efforts.
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To create a new article on Wikipedia, follow these steps:
- Research the topic and ensure it meets notability guidelines.
- Register an account for easier collaboration.
- Check if the article already exists before you start drafting the article on a sandbox page.
- Familiarize yourself with Wikipedia’s guidelines.
- Write the article using reliable sources and maintaining neutrality.
- Add proper citations and references.
- Submit the article for review.
- Address any feedback received.
- Once approved, the article will be published on Wikipedia.
Remember to be patient and open to collaboration from other editors.
Adding images to Wikipedia articles reguires you to follow specific guidelines which include:
- Uploading: To upload an image, click on the “Upload file” link under the “Contribute” heading on the left side of the main page (or use the link Special: Upload).
- User-created images: Wikipedia advices users to upload their own images to contribute to the content. However, there are certain requirements for these images.
- Licensing: All user-generated images must either be given a public domain or free permission, like a Creative Commons license. This guarantees that others can use the images without restriction and prevents copyright infringement.
By adhering to these guidelines, users can contribute images to Wikipedia while respecting copyright and licensing restrictions.
Yes. Some of the best alternatives include Wikitia, Matterwiki, WikiBot, Britannica.com and encyclopedia.com.
Wikipedia employs a process called mediation to address disputes between editors. When a content dispute arises between two or more editors, an uninvolved third party, known as the mediator, is involved.
The mediator’s role is to facilitate and guide discussions among the involved parties, with the aim of reaching a resolution or agreement regarding the disputed elements of content. Mediation serves as a means to promote constructive dialogue and find common ground to resolve conflicts among editors on Wikipedia.
YES! Wikipedia provides a translation tool that allows you to translate content from any language. To access this tool, simply visit this page. Note that in order to exploit this feature, you must be logged in to your Wikipedia account and have autoconfirmed status.
On Wikipedia, sources are cited by including detailed information in the citation. The article’s title, “Wikipedia” and/or “Wikimedia Foundation,” the date of the latest change, and the URL are typically included in a Wikipedia citation. To guarantee that readers may access the precise version you cited, it is advised in APA Style to include the URL of the most recent modification of the article. The whole article URL must be included in the citation for the majority of citation formats.
The Neutral Point of View (NPOV) policy on Wikipedia requires that all encyclopedic content be written from a neutral standpoint. This means presenting information in a fair, proportionate, and unbiased manner. The goal is to represent all significant views on a given topic that reliable sources have published.
The “Did You Know” (DYK) section on Wikipedia’s main page serves a specific purpose and is not a general trivia section. It highlights newly created or expanded articles that have gone through an informal review process. The articles for the DYK section are selected based on their quality, significance, and interesting content.
Wikipedia employs various measures to address controversial figures or frequently vandalized topics. Vandals, whether they are guest editors (IP addresses) or registered users, are blocked from editing and may face further banning according to the terms of use. In order to combat inappropriate edits, Wikipedia has implemented a protection policy that serves as a merit system based on user privileges. This policy helps safeguard articles and limit vandalism by granting editing access to trusted users.
The “Edit-a-thon” event on Wikipedia is a public gathering where participants come together to collaborate and learn how to edit Wikipedia. These events typically provide training sessions to guide individuals in the process of editing Wikipedia articles. Edit-a-thons’ focus can vary, but they often revolve around specific topics related to the Smithsonian museums.
There are several ways to contribute to Wikipedia without directly editing articles. For example, you can improve existing articles, provide sources and references, Fact-check and report issues, translate articles, participate in discussions and provide feedback and suggestions.
Remember that contributing to Wikipedia is a collaborative effort, and your contributions can make a difference even without directly editing articles.
No, this is prohibited by Wikipedia’s neutral point of view (NPOV) rule. It encourages editors to consider various perspectives, avoid favouring certain viewpoints, and rely on reliable sources to support statements. Editors are urged to be mindful of cultural, political, and personal biases that can impact the content and strive to represent a balanced view.
To report errors on Wikipedia, head over to the Main Page and then visit Wikipedia: Main Page/Errors for reporting purposes.
