We all use Wikipedia, but what do we really know about it?

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia

• Freely licensed without restrictions• All content created & maintained by

volunteers• Non-profit educational project,

supported by Wikimedia Foundation• All edits/versions are recorded

indefinitely• Software: MediaWiki

Biggest. Encyclopedia. Ever.

5,377,555+ articles in English alone

44 million+ articles in 295 different languages

“A Wikipedia article is a process, not a product.” -Clay Shirky

Global community site:https://meta.wikimedia.org

A Hybrid of Tool & Community

CC BY-SA 4.0 Jason Krüger for Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.

Serves Libraries’ & Archives’ Outreach and Access Mission

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More web visits = Meeting our outreachmission

6th most visited website in the USA & globally60+ million unique devices per day!

Who or what merits an article in Wikipedia?

If a person or topic has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject, then it is deemed “notable.”

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability Or type in search shortcut WP:N

Wikipedia Content Standards

• Neutral Point of View• Verifiability

reliable sources, cited correctly• No “original research”

i.e. unpublished data, opinions, speculation

• Assume good faith towards other editors

• Avoid conflict of interest (i.e. creating a page about yourself) See Wikipedia: Policies and guidelines

Do I have to register an account?

No, but there are lots of advantages to doing so.

• A record of your work builds credibility & signals membership in the community

• More privacy, since anonymous contributors’ IP address is recorded

• More editing privileges: ability to create/rename articles, upload images, edit preferences

NOTE: There should be a 1:1 ratio between editors and accounts on Wikipedia. Shared accounts are not allowed.

Can I edit the Wikipedia article about my workplace? My boss? My grandma?

Possibly, but ONLY under the right conditions.

“When advancing outside interests is more important to an editor than advancing the aims of Wikipedia, that editor stands in a conflict of interest (CoI).”

Your #1 priority must be: making a better, more useful encyclopedia article.

Avoid Conflict of Interest Editing

• Register a unique user account • Disclose your affiliations (see

sample CoI Statement)

• Cite authoritative sources • Don’t remove “controversies”• Recognize that no one person can

“own” a Wikipedia article or control its content

ANATOMY OF AN ARTICLE

Infob

ox

Title

Main use of boldface

Related articles

Footnotes – inserted in body but display here

Headings

Pro search tip: search within specific “namespaces” to find your answers quicker!

ExamplesHelp:IntroductionWP:COI

LETS START EDITING!

Step 1 - Register a user account

1. Go to en.wikipedia.org, click “Create Account”

2. Choose a username and password

Step 2 – Check for Visual Editor1.Go to Preferences (top) and the Editing tab 2.Scroll down to Editor section3.Uncheck Temporarily disable the visual editor4.Change Editing mode to Show me both editor tabs5.Hit the SAVE button

Step 3 - Create a user page, and/or a user sandbox

1. Click the red link at the top with your Username on it, OR the “Sandbox”

2. Write something on the new page (Hello world!) and click Show Preview.

3. Leave a comment about what you did in the “Edit Summary” box, and then click Save changes.

Citing Sources

Images: Wikimedia Commons vs. “Non-free Use” rationale

Wikimedia Commons imagecommons.wikimedia.orgExample: Teton Range

Non-free imageen.wikipedia.orgExample: Look Mickey