How to Contribute to Wikipedia

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Last Updated: October 27, 2024 Tested

Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia project, written collaboratively by volunteers. Many people view Wikipedia articles every day, but don't contribute. This how-to will show you what you can do to constructively edit Wikipedia.

Steps

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Create a Wikipedia account. Account creation is not required; however, if you register for an account,^{[1]
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Get familiar with Wikipedia's core policies. Wikipedia has zillions of guidelines and policy pages. These are the most crucial: Neutral Point of View (NPOV), No Original Research (NOR/OR), and Verifiability.

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An article that is not complete, or written in full detail, may be marked with a {{Stub}} tag.^{[3]
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An encyclopedia is not complete without pictures. You can upload as many pictures as you wish; however, you must provide detailed information on the source and the license of the file. If you cannot provide that information, do not upload any photos. If you still choose to upload photos, they will be deleted.^{[4]
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Write a new article. The English version of Wikipedia currently has over six million articles! You can help continue this growth by writing an article of your own. You should write an article about something you are very knowledgeable about so that you can write a complete and informative article. Articles created as test pages, pure vandalism, attack pages, etc. will be deleted on the spot, without any further debate.^{[5]
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Wikipedia is accessed by millions of people every day, thus, there tends to be a lot of vandalism or spamming. People who vandalize or spam a page may have added inappropriate links, blanked the page, added nonsense, etc. You can help out by removing, or reverting, this vandalism. Removing vandalism will make Wikipedia a better place for people to gather information and resources.^{[6]
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Even though Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, it is also a community. You can help out newcomers to make it a bigger and better community for the encyclopedia.^{[7]
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You can help Wikipedia run optimally by doing maintenance tasks like removing copyright violations, fixing up articles, participating in deletion processes, and all sorts of other things.^{[8]
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Use tools if you like. If you're getting good at it you'll get a tool called 'rollback' that lets you revert vandalism faster.^{[9]
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Community Q&A

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Can I add my own photos to an existing Wikipedia page?

Community Answer

Yes, you can add photos as long as it has a licence and it is considered helpful. There may be guidelines and requirements that the photo has to meet.

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I wish to add my family tree. How do I do that?

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Community Answer

Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia, you can't add your personal information to it. Wikipedia articles should be notable enough (meaning that they are widely-covered by independent sources) to get into an encyclopedia. Only if you come from a family notable enough to get into an encyclopedia (or there already exists a Wikipedia article on your family) will your family tree be allowed. Please read the Wikipedia Five Pillars before you contribute.

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How can I give Wikipedia suggestions?

Community Answer

To give Wikipedia suggestions, click on the discussion page and type in your opinion.

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Tips

It takes less than a minute to create an account, and you receive some benefits for account creation, including the ability to move pages. There is no confirmation email process, and the account creation is immediate.

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Remember, in order for your account to edit semi-protected articles, it must have at least 10 edits and be four days old.

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If you have a problem with something or someone, discuss it. Always remember to be calm and reasonable, and you'll tend to have a better time in disputes.

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Warnings

Do not vandalize Wikipedia. It just makes a headache for everyone when people vandalize Wikipedia, and your edits will not be appreciated. The vandalism must be reverted by someone who could be editing Wikipedia constructively in other ways. Vandalism is usually removed within five minutes, or even within seconds for popular pages. Persistent vandalism could be met with a block by an administrator. If you feel the urge to vandalize with what you consider funny edits, consider editing on Uncyclopedia instead, where your funny edits would be appreciated.

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Do not use multiple accounts to vandalize Wikipedia. Wikipedia's CheckUser can detect abusive multiple accounts and they will be banned indefinitely.

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