Wikipedia:Welcome, newcomers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia written collaboratively by its readers. The site is a WikiWiki, meaning that anyone, including you, can edit any article right now by clicking on the edit this page link that appears in every Wikipedia article.

Browsing Wikipedia

Wikipedia contains a huge amount of information on all sorts of subjects. To check it out, go to the Main Page, find a subject that looks interesting, and start exploring. There's also a search box at the top of every page.

If you read something, and you like it, why not drop a note on the article's talk page? First select the Discuss this page link (look for it in the sidebar to the left of the page), to get to the talk page, and then select Edit this page on the talk page. We always love to get a bit of positive feedback.

If there's something we don't cover, or you're having difficulty finding what you're after, just ask us at the reference desk, or add the topic to our list of requested articles.

Editing

Everyone can edit pages in Wikipedia (even this page!). Just select the Edit this Page link on the top or bottom of the page if you think it needs improvement. You don't need special credentials; you don't even need to be logged in.

A simple way to start helping is just to use Wikipedia as you would any other encyclopedia, but when you spot a problem—a spelling mistake, perhaps, or an unclear sentence—click "Edit" and fix it. Be bold in editing pages; if you can see a way of improving a page, do it. Don't worry too much about making mistakes; when you do get something slightly wrong, then you, or anyone, can always fix it later. You might find this a bit scary! See replies to common objections for an explanation of why the system still works. Although Wikipedia already has a lot of articles (176338 at the last count), Wikipedia is constantly expanding with new articles written by people like you. You can start a brand new article, or find an existing article and add an entirely new section to it. If you're worried about "messing up" an article, head over to the sandbox where you can practice editing to your heart's content.

We've got a few policies and guidelines you might want to look at. In particular, the neutral point of view policy means that articles should not be biased, and should represent differing views on a subject fairly and sympathetically. All contributions to Wikipedia are released under the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL). The GFDL ensures that Wikipedia will remain freely distributable forever (See Wikipedia:Copyrights for more information).

Have fun!

See also

Here are a few links to more introductory information:

General information, guides and help

• About the project
• Help pages - help on editing, starting new articles, and many other topics.
• Wikipedia FAQs - frequently asked questions about the site.
• Glossary - a glossary of common Wikipedia terms.
• Policies and guidelines for contributors

For participants of similar sites

• Guide for h2g2 Researchers. For visitors from the h2g2 community.
• Guide for Everything2 noders. For visitors from the Everything2 community.
• Guide for Indymedia authors. For visitors from the Indymedia community.

Tips and guidance for starting

• Most common Wikipedia faux pas
• Tips on contributing to Wikipedia
• Staying cool when the editing gets hot

The Wikipedia community

• Wikipedians ? different listing of regular contributors, you may insert yourself if you wish.
• Wikiquette ? the Wikipedia etiquette.