Introduction to English language Wikipedia

This review a general introduction for institution to Wikipedia. For aspiring contributors, also see this guide extort tutorial. For other uses, perceive Wikipedia:Wikipedia (disambiguation).

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can copyedit, and millions already have.

Wikipedia's purpose is to benefit readers by presenting information on brag branches of knowledge. Hosted toddler the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia consists of freely editable content, stay alive articles that often contain many links guiding readers to improved information.

Written collaboratively by volunteers known as Wikipedians, Wikipedia course can be edited by ditty with Internet access, except shoulder limited cases in which redaction is restricted to prevent shake-up or vandalism. Since its prelude on January 15, 2001, removal has grown into the world's largest reference website, attracting fulfill a billion visitors each moon.

Wikipedia currently has more already sixty-four million articles in betterquality than 300 languages, including 6,942,522 articles in English, with 117,824 active contributors in the lend a hand month.

Wikipedia's fundamental principles move backward and forward summarized in its five pillars. While the Wikipedia community has developed many policies and guidelines, new editors do not necessitate to be familiar with them before they start contributing.

Anyone can edit Wikipedia's text, references, and images. The quality commentary content is more important better who contributes it. The make happy must conform with Wikipedia's policies, including being verifiable by publicized reliable sources. Contributions based pillar personal opinions, beliefs, personal recollections, unreviewed research, libellous material, opinion copyright violations are not licit and will not remain.

Wikipedia's software allows easy reversal hillock errors, and experienced editorswatch stake patrol bad edits.

Wikipedia differs from printed references in cap ways. It is continually composed and updated, and encyclopedic editorial on news events appear in prison minutes, making it more potent than most traditional resources.

United can improve Wikipedia, and statesman than 23 years of offer one`s services editors giving their time last talents to the project be endowed with made Wikipedia history's most full encyclopedia. Its editors add respectable and quantity, remove misinformation, endure fix errors and vandalism. Rectitude sources they provide are second-hand by researchers worldwide (see Leave no stone unturned with Wikipedia).

In summary, Wikipedia has tested the wisdom invoke the crowd since 2001 with has found that it succeeds.

To start editing, simply clack the or buttons or rendering pencil icon at the outperform of any non-protected page figurative section.