Welcome to Wikipedia! The purpose of Wikipedia is to build an encyclopedia through the means of collaboration. Every major change to an article is based on consensus, which means that everyone (or mostly everyone) agrees to the changes. Consensus is important, and if you're not sure if an action needs it, ask for it anyway.
I know how much you would like to edit starting out, but before we start, you need to be introduced to the main policies of Wikipedia. Don't worry, though, I'll keep it brief, though you are encouraged to read these policies yourself. These policies are mostly based on common sense. Note that this page is not a comprehensive list of policies.
Do
edit- Discuss changes on the article's talk page. This can be done by clicking the "talk" link at the top of the page. Don't discuss changes in the article itself.
- Sign your posts in talk pages with four tildes (~~~~). This produces your signature and the time you left the comment. It looks something like this: Mseingth2133444 (talk/contribs) 00:53, 22 March 2024 (UTC)
- But if you forget, don't worry, a bot will usually mark the comment as unsigned and indicate that you left it.
- Use a descriptive edit summary. An edit summary tells other editors the changes you made.
- Use common sense. Using common sense on Wikipedia can go a long way.
- Be bold. See something that needs to be changed in an article? Be bold and fix it! And don't worry, if you make a mistake, another edit will most likely fix it by making another edit or reverting your edit.
- Cite reliable sources. Without reliable sources, Wikipedia can't confirm what is in an article. As such, reliable sources are basically mandatory on Wikipedia.
Don't
edit- Be uncivil and assume bad faith. Yelling, screaming, and being uncivil doesn't help in discussions. Same goes with assuming bad faith. You should be civil in ALL discussions, and if someone made a minor mistake, assume good faith. Well, unless it's vandalism. And speaking of vandalism...
- Don't vandalize. Vandalism hurts the purpose of Wikipedia and can get you blocked, even indefinitely if your account is being used only for vandalism.
- If someone reverts your edits, discuss on the talk page. Repeatedly reverting one's edits, even if it's correct, is called edit warring and can get you blocked.
- Make sure the topic of your draft/article is notable. If it's not, your draft will most likely be declined or your article deleted. And speaking of deletions...
- If your article gets deleted, DON'T recreate it without consensus. This can be considered as disruptive editing or vandalism.
Assignment
editYour assignment is to tell me, in 1 paragraph, what you have learned from this chapter on my talk page. Don't restate this article or the policy pages, and no copy pasting. I want your own work.
This concludes the first chapter.