User:Gryllida/t
Input file
Wikipedia:Training/Newcomers Wikipedia:Training/Newcomers/Editing_basics Wikipedia:Training/Newcomers/Citing_sources Wikipedia:Training/Newcomers/Talk_pages Wikipedia:Training/Newcomers/Where_to_get_help Wikipedia:Training/Newcomers/Training_complete For students Wikipedia:Training/Menu students Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Welcome Wikipedia:Training/For_students/About Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Navigation_1 Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Let's_begin Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Core_topics Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Five_pillars Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Verifiability Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Notability Wikipedia:Training/For_students/No_original_research Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Copyright_and_plagiarism Wikipedia:Training/For_students/More_policies_and_guidelines Editing Wikipedia:Training/For_students/valuable_contribution Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Getting_started_1 Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Visual_Editor Wikipedia:Training/For_students/My_sandbox Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Text_editing Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Citing_sources Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Talk_pages Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Sandbox_edits_for_existing_articles Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Sandbox_edits_for_stubs Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Sandbox_edits_for_new_articles Wikipedia:Training/For_students/My_watchlist_1 Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Wikipedia_community_intro Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Consensus Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Bold,_revert,_discuss Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Discussion Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Where_to_get_help Advanced Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Advanced_topics Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Choosing_articles_1 Wikipedia:Training/For_students/DYK_basics Wikipedia:Training/For_students/The_perfect_article Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Article_development Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Adding_images Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Barnstars Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Specialized_help_pages Background Wikipedia:Training/For_students/How_a_ragtag_band_created_Wikipedia_video Wikipedia:Training/For_students/Why_Wikipedians_are_Weird_video
Source
use strict;
use warnings;
use MediaWiki::API;
use Data::Dumper;
my $mw = MediaWiki::API->new();
$mw->{config}->{api_url} = 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php';
open (my $fh, '<', 'input');
while (<$fh>){
my $line = $_; # XXX there are better ways to do that
chomp $line;
my $num =()= $line =~ /\//gi;
$num = $num + 2;
print '='x$num;
print "<font size='5' color='red'>";
my @parts = split('/',$line);
my $title = $parts[-1];
# Title and main edit link
$title =~ s/_/ /gi;
print "$title";
if($num > 2){
print " [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/$line?action=edit Edit] ";
# # Core edit link
# my $core_title= join("/", @parts[0 .. $num-3])."/core/".$parts[$num-2];
my $data = $mw->api( {
action => 'query',
prop => 'templates',
titles => $line,
});
if(exists $data->{query} and exists $data->{query}->{pages}){
$data = $data->{query}->{pages};
# print Dumper (values(%{$data}))->{templates};
# print Dumper (values %{$data})[0]{templates};
# print Dumper (values %{$data})[0]{templates};
if((values %{$data})[0]{templates}){
for my $template (@{(values %{$data})[0]{templates}}){
# print Dumper $template->{title};
my $title = $template->{title};
$title =~ s/ /_/gi;
if ($title =~ m/core/){
# print "ok!";
print " [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/$title?action=edit Edit Core]";
}
# print "\n";
}
}
}
# print "\n--\n";
# print exists $data->{query}->{pages}->{(values(%{$data->{query}->{pages}}))[0]}->{missing};
# print "\n--\n";
# if(!values($data->{query}->{pages})->{'missing'}){
# if (!(exists (values($data->{query}->{pages}))[0]->{missing}){
# if(!{$data->{query}->{pages}->{*}->{missing}}){
# print "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/$core_title Core edit]";
# }
}
print "</font>";
print '='x$num;
print "\n";
# Content
if ($num>2) {
print "{{$line}}\n";
}
}
Newcomers Edit
Welcome to Wikipedia
We are ecstatic that you're here!
The next few pages will show you the basics of editing Wikipedia, and show you where you can get help if you need it.
Editing basics
Now it's time to get started editing! You can navigate to your own sandbox page in another browser window to try it out for yourself.
The wiki code for bold text is like this:
'''bold''' = bold
Creating a wikilink to another article looks like this:
[[bold]] = bold
That link to the article bold will redirect you to Emphasis (typography). To link to an article with a different name than the text, use a piped link, like this:
Citing your sources
This is how to create citations manually on Wikipedia in order to cite appropriate sources.
Any editor can challenge unreferenced material by adding a {{fact}} tag which adds the famous [citation needed] tag. Editors are encouraged to remove unreferenced contentious material on sight. Wikipedia no longer accepts new articles on living people unless they are referenced, and other unsubstantiated articles often end up getting deleted. So when you add information to an article, be sure to include your references, preferably in the form of inline citations. Citations allow other editors and readers to verify the information.
To add an inline citation to an article, follow these steps:
- Check that the bottom of the page has a "References" section. If not, type:
==References== - Check that the References section either has the text
{{reflist}}or<references />. If not, type:{{reflist}}. This determines where your references will appear on the page. - Now click after the text you would like to create a reference for.
- Now type in
<ref>tag before your reference and type</ref>after your reference. Wiki software will automatically add your inline reference number.
You can also use the Cite gadget, described on the next page, to insert the <ref> tags and citation details.
Talk pages
Watch this video if you'd like an overview of how to use talk pages.
Good editing on Wikipedia is more than coding edits, it's collaborating on content.
That happens on Talk pages, where edits are discussed, praised, or debated.
Making an edit is often just the start of your editing! You'll be able to make suggestions, comment on edits, even help decide what Wikipedia should be.
Most pages on Wikipedia have a Talk page behind it: articles, user pages, even sandbox pages. Click on the "Talk" or "Discussion" tab in the upper left corner of any page to access its talk page.
Wikipedians assume you'll be reading messages left in user and article Talk pages, and you can use them to leave messages for others.
You can leave an indented reply to someone else's message by beginning a line with one or more colons. Be sure to sign your messages with four tildes (~~~~) to mark it with your username and a timestamp.
:Leave an indented reply like this.--~~~~
Where to get help Edit
Where to get help
Now you have a basic overview of how to contribute to Wikipedia. But there is a lot more you'll learn along the way as you get started. If you need help, here are some places you can go:
- Static help
- For a more comprehensive article on how and where you can help, see contributing to Wikipedia.
- Help:Contents is the main help page that will guide you in the right direction. The help page may be reached at any time by clicking help displayed under the ► Interaction tab on the left side of all pages.
- Wikipedia: The Missing Manual is a converted book that covers most subjects, split into 21 chapters.
- Interactive help
- The Teahouse, a place for new editors to introduce themselves, ask questions, and find support from other editors
- The Help desk, where you can ask questions about how to use and edit Wikipedia
- If you place
{{Help me}}(including the curly brackets) "then your question" on your talk page, a volunteer will visit you there! - The help channel for live chat help from other Wikipedians
Training complete Edit
You've completed basic Wikipedia training. Congratulations!
Thanks for taking the time to learn about Wikipedia! If you have ideas for how we can make this training better, we'd love to hear from you. Click the feedback button below to leave your comments.
For students
Menu students students?action=edit Edit
Wikipedia:Training/Menu students
 | This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Welcome to Wikipedia
We can't wait to see what you'll share.
If you are part of a course that involves contributing to Wikipedia, you've come to the right place. After completing this orientation, you'll be ready to help build the world's knowledge by contributing your own expertise to Wikipedia.
Please press the forward arrow below to go on to the next page.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
About this Orientation…
1 Core: The core policies and guidelines that govern content development on Wikipedia.
2 Editing: The technical skills you'll need to edit Wikipedia. You will also be introduced to the Wikipedia Community: a vital part of your editing experience.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Navigating this orientation
Here's how this orientation works.
Menu Tab
Click on "Menu" at the top of the page, and you'll see links to all of the pages in this training. You can click "back" on your browser to return to where you were.
Forward and Backward
The arrows at the bottom of the page will allow you to move forward and backward through your module, and will take you to the next step in the sequence.
Links
We've intentionally limited the number of links that will take you out of the modules, just to keep things simple. Most of these links will be found under the Resources tab.
NOTE: If you click on a link you will be taken away from the orientation. If possible, open all links in new browser tabs so you can return to the training when you're ready! Otherwise, you will need to use the back button on your web browser.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Let's begin…
We hope the material found in this orientation will provide you with practical information to help you get started on Wikipedia. We also hope that this will help you find your own place in the Wikipedia community. This is the encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and the way it gets better is from people like you editing to improve it.
Important!
When you complete all modules of the training, we'll ask you to push a few buttons and (optionally) leave some brief feedback for us, using your Wikipedia username. Make sure you finish the steps at the end to receive credit from your instructor for completing the training!
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
An introduction to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines
This module will provide a basic overview of Wikipedia’s core policies and guidelines.
When you finish, you should be able to answer:
- What are Wikipedia's core policies and guidelines?
- What are copyright and plagiarism on Wikipedia?
- How are copyright and plagiarism handled?
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Wikipedia's Five Pillars
These five guiding principles are key to how Wikipedia works.
Wikipedia's Five Pillars:
- Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia
- Wikipedia has a neutral point of view
- Wikipedia is free content
- Wikipedians should interact in a respectful and civil manner
- Wikipedia does not have firm rules
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Beyond the Five Pillars…
Beyond the five pillars, there are a few more important policies and guidelines to keep in mind. First:
Verifiability
Since Wikipedia is the online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, for content to remain in Wikipedia it must be verifiable, which means that people reading and editing the encyclopedia can check that information comes from a reliable source.
- Although all content must be verifiable, not all content must be actually verified by citation to a reliable source. You do not normally need to cite a source, for example, to corroborate that the sky is blue. Nevertheless, citing reliable sources for all significant facts in an article is the recommended practice and Wikipedia's best articles, its featured content, must do so to meet the criteria for achieving that status.
- There are four types of material that must be cited to a reliable source, using an inline citation, in order to be included:
- All quotations;
- Any statement that has been challenged (e.g., by being removed, questioned on the talk page, or tagged with
{{citation needed}}, or any similar tag); - Any statement that you believe is likely to be challenged; and
- Contentious material, whether negative, positive, or neutral, about living persons.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Beyond the Five Pillars…
Notability
Is the subject of the article you want to work on notable enough for an encyclopedia? This guideline helps to clarify the notability question. In some cases, you may need to justify to other Wikipedians why the article topic is notable and should remain in Wikipedia. Coverage in published, reliable, secondary sources that are entirely independent of the subject, and which treat the subject in substantive detail is the key to notability.
Thousands of new Wikipedia articles are started every day. Volunteer Wikipedia editors work hard to review each of these pages to determine whether they are appropriate for an encyclopedia. Notability is one of the key criteria for their decisions.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Beyond the Five Pillars…
No original research
Typical academic writing requires students to do original research, have a point of view, and argue it. Wikipedia, however, is a tertiary source of information—based on a collection of secondary sources writing about a primary source.
Simply put, Wikipedia is not a place to publish original research, but rather is a summary of what has been written in reliable sources about the original topic or research.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Copyright and plagiarism
You might think you know what plagiarism is, and how to avoid it. But Wikipedia is a little bit different. The rules cover not only copy-and-paste plagiarism, but also close paraphrasing and copyright violations. And the stakes are high: the consequences of committing plagiarism in a Wikipedia class assignment are the same as handing in a paper you didn't write.
Whether direct copying or close paraphrasing, plagiarism and copyright violation are disruptive and time-consuming for volunteers to clean up. Except for brief quotations—which must be clearly disclosed as such through the use of quote marks (or by set off), and cited to the source of copying using an inline citation—copying content from copyrighted sources into Wikipedia is not only against Wikipedia policy but is illegal.
It can also result in real life implications for those involved, such as academic demotion or expulsion at some universities, and users editing under their real names may leave behind a permanent Internet record of their plagiarism and infringement.
This video lays out what you need to know to avoid these pitfalls! Make sure you watch it before you move on to the next slide.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Want to know more about Wikipedia's policies and guidelines?
Check out Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines.
In the next module you’ll learn how to edit Wikipedia.
Editing
valuable contribution Edit
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
— Joseph Lapka, San Francisco State University
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Getting started
The best way to learn how to edit Wikipedia is just to jump in and get started.
If your class has a major Wikipedia component, the instructor may have set aside time in class for a hands-on introduction to wiki mark-up. Alternatively, you can open Wikipedia in another browser window and follow along with the example exercises as you continue this orientation.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
[edit source] vs. [edit]
Once you enable it, you can edit with VisualEditor by clicking any [edit] link within an article. You can edit using wikicode by clicking any [edit source] link.
You can edit using wikicode by clicking an [edit source] link.
If your browser is not compatible, you will not be able to use VisualEditor.
Wikipedia offers an editing interface, called VisualEditor, that provides the option to skip Wikicode and make edits directly to the page.
You can enable (or disable) VisualEditor by toggling the VisualEditor entry through the 'Beta' tab to the right of your Username.
You may want to try out both VisualEditor and wikicode editing. While VisualEditor makes it easy to add text, cite sources, create links, and do basic formatting, it is only available for articles. You still need to use wikicode on Talk pages, and not all browsers are compatible with VisualEditor.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Working in a sandbox
A user sandbox is a personal wiki page(s) where you can experiment, practice editing, plan out articles, or begin drafting articles before moving them into the article "mainspace” on Wikipedia—where live articles are read and edited.
To go to your default sandbox page, simply click the Sandbox link, which can be found at the top right whenever you are logged in.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Text editing: '''boldness''' and [[links]]
Now it's time to get started editing! You can navigate to your own sandbox page in another browser window to try it out for yourself.
The wiki code for bold text is like this:
'''bold''' = bold
Creating a wikilink to another article looks like this:
[[bold]] = bold
That link to the article bold will redirect you to Emphasis (typography). To link to an article with a different name than the text, use a piped link, like this:
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Citing your sources
This is how to create citations manually on Wikipedia in order to cite appropriate sources.
Any editor can challenge unreferenced material by adding a {{fact}} tag which adds the famous [citation needed] tag. Editors are encouraged to remove unreferenced contentious material on sight. Wikipedia no longer accepts new articles on living people unless they are referenced, and other unsubstantiated articles often end up getting deleted. So when you add information to an article, be sure to include your references, preferably in the form of inline citations. Citations allow other editors and readers to verify the information.
To add an inline citation to an article, follow these steps:
- Check that the bottom of the page has a "References" section. If not, type:
==References== - Check that the References section either has the text
{{reflist}}or<references />. If not, type:{{reflist}}. This determines where your references will appear on the page. - Now click after the text you would like to create a reference for.
- Now type in
<ref>tag before your reference and type</ref>after your reference. Wiki software will automatically add your inline reference number.
You can also use the Cite gadget, described on the next page, to insert the <ref> tags and citation details.
Talk pages Edit
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
How are talk pages used?
Watch this video if you'd like an overview of how to use talk pages.
Good editing on Wikipedia is more than coding edits, it's collaborating on content.
That happens on Talk pages, where edits are discussed, praised, or debated.
Making an edit is often just the start of your editing! You'll be able to make suggestions, comment on edits, even help decide what Wikipedia should be.
Most pages on Wikipedia have a Talk page behind it: articles, user pages, even sandbox pages. Click on the "Talk" or "Discussion" tab in the upper left corner of any page to access its talk page.
Wikipedians assume you'll be reading messages left in user and article Talk pages, and you can use them to leave messages for others.
You can leave an indented reply to someone else's message by beginning a line with one or more colons. Be sure to sign your messages with four tildes (~~~~) to mark it with your username and a timestamp.
:Leave an indented reply like this.--~~~~
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
How to use a sandbox for existing articles
When you start to revise larger chunks of an existing article, it's a good idea to draft your first significant edits into a sandbox. Don't copy the whole article, just choose the small piece you want to work with. Note though, that when you do so you must provide copyright attribution in your edit summary, by stating the copying taking place and wikilinking the source of the copying. A model edit summary: "Copied content from [[page name]]; see that page's history for attribution."
Trying to rewrite an entire article in a sandbox can be annoying to editors who work on that article. Other editors will keep making good edits or expansions to that article while you are revising an old version in parallel in your sandbox; if you just copy and paste the whole article from your sandbox sometime later, you will undo all of those edits! Focus on small chunks of the text you want to edit instead.
It's polite to use the talk page of the article to link to your sandbox when you are ready to copy things over. That way editors can see what you're up to, and post suggestions to the talk page before you start. Once you are happy with your sandbox draft, you can place another notice on the talk page of the article with a link to the sandbox, explaining what you've done and asking for comments on it once you've added it to the main page.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
How to use a sandbox for stub articles
For expanding a short article that doesn't provide encyclopedic coverage (known as a stub), beginning from a sandbox can be helpful. Here you can write and rewrite before going "live."
Small articles that are expanded by a factor of five within a short period (and are well-referenced) are also eligible as "Did You Know" entries (a section on the Main page); working in a sandbox until reaching that threshold may be a good idea.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
How to use a sandbox for new articles
For starting a new article, you may first want to draft the article in a user sandbox named after the topic, such as
User:Stan Lee/Project X,just as you would when expanding an existing article. Work on it until it meets the basics requirements for new articles: it should be based on significant coverage of the topic, in reliable sources that are independent of the topic.
When you are ready to make it live on Wikipedia, try asking an experienced editor you've encountered to look it over and see if it meets the basic requirements for new articles. One way is to submit the article to the Articles for creation project. To do this, copy, paste and save this code at the top of the draft article: {{subst:submit}}
Articles can however, be moved directly to the article mainspace. Click the Move tab, then move it out of your sandbox to its final title. Note that if the page has problems from the perspective of experienced users, it is far more likely that the page will be nominated for deletion if you move it yourself, without having it checked first.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
My watchlist and how to use it
So, you've drafted something in a sandbox and moved it into the mainspace. How do you know when other editors have a suggestion?
A personal watchlist is an easy way to keep track of all the pages to which you are contributing. You can use your watchlist to monitor article changes, conversations and editor collaboration.
When you add an article to your watchlist, you also watch the corresponding Talk page, so if someone responds to your article edits on the Talk page, it will show up on your watchlist.
You'll want to know when someone has offered advice on your article or edits, or you may see your work disappear! You can set your email preferences to receive email whenever pages on your watchlist are changed.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
The Wikipedia Community
The English Wikipedia has about 30,000 active editors (as of 2013). We range from niche editors who build articles in a particular subject area, to "WikiGnomes" who work quietly formatting pages and tying up loose ends, to vandal fighters who monitor recent changes and revert bad edits, to reviewers who help run Wikipedia's peer review processes, to administrators who clean up messes and block disruptive editors, to policy wonks who analyze how Wikipedia works and discuss ways to improve it—and many more roles.
What we have in common is that we care—often very deeply—about Wikipedia. Although we come from different perspectives (and often disagree!) we're all here to try to make Wikipedia better.
Don't be shy! The great thing about Wikipedia is that you can make friends by asking questions and inviting other editors to help and collaborate!
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Decision-making by consensus
Consensus is the main way decisions are made on Wikipedia, both in terms of article content and how Wikipedia itself is run. It's not a matter of voting, and nobody is in charge over a final say.
Instead, the consensus view on Wikipedia represents the facts that even opposing sides agree are relevant. Wikipedia's concept of consensus doesn't necessarily mean that everyone agrees, but it involves an effort to incorporate all editors' legitimate concerns, while respecting Wikipedia's policies and guidelines.
When disagreements occur, we resolve them through discussion—usually on the relevant Talk page. Since Wikipedia articles should be written from a neutral point of view—fairly describing significant viewpoints on a subject without endorsing any of them—it is almost always possible to reach consensus about article content, even if editors themselves have fundamentally different points of view on the subject.
The ideal Wikipedia article on a controversial topic is one where partisans on both sides would read it and say, "my viewpoint is described accurately".
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
The Bold, Revert, Discuss cycle
The Bold, Revert, Discuss cycle is one good way to think about the consensus editing process.
1 Be Bold: If you think you can make an article better, but you aren't sure whether others will disagree with the changes you want to make, you should start by boldly editing as you think best, making sure to cite source that verify any information additions.
2 Revert: If your edit gets reverted by another editor, that's okay! You've simply met an editor with a different view about the article. This is your chance to see Wikipedia's consensus model in action. Check the edit summaries and the Talk page to see why the other editor reverted your edit. (Do not simply make your edit again; that's not building consensus, that's the beginning of an edit war: It's actually seen as very aggressive, and could get you temporarily blocked!)
3 Discuss: Start a discussion on the Talk page (if the other editor has not done so already) — politely! After all, you both want to improve Wikipedia. Explain why you made the edit. Work with the other editor(s) to develop a consensus. Be confident, but listen and consider all objections. When you've found some common ground, you can make more edits.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Tips for effective discussion
For productive discussions, remember to:
- Assume good faith: Wikipedia, being on the internet, is often a place for misunderstanding tone. Always assume other editors are trying to improve the project, mean well, and aren't being deliberately rude.
- Likewise, try to be your best self in responding to feedback: don't get defensive or angry. Whenever an edit is challenged, it has nothing to do with you as a person, and everything to do with improving Wikipedia. Be polite, and discuss article content rather than editors. Never make personal attacks, even in retaliation.
- Read messages people have left on the talk pages of articles you are editing. There may be a concern that will change the way you see your own plan to edit. Try to respond quickly, ideally within a few hours.
- Remember to keep an eye on the Watchlist for the pages you edit. (Did you set up email notifications in your preferences? You should!)
- Always sign your posts on talk pages using four tildes so that others can follow who is saying what. Put
~~~~at the end of your message (not in the edit summary box). - When you intend comments for a specific editor, make sure they get notified. You can either:
- a.) start your comment on any Talk page with a reply template, like
{{reply to|SomeUsername}}. That way, User:SomeUsername automatically gets a notification about your message; or - b.) leave a message on their User Talk page (with a link to the comments, if the discussion is happening on a different page).
- a.) start your comment on any Talk page with a reply template, like
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Where to get help
This training has prepared you to contribute to Wikipedia. But you'll keep learning as you keep editing and mastering the skills you need to build up a history of top-quality contributions to Wikipedia. You can find a variety of written help materials and additional videos in the Resources tab above.
If you need help, here are some resources you can bookmark or download:
Materials for self-study
- Help:Contents is the main help page that will guide you in the right direction. The help page may be reached at any time by clicking help displayed under the ► Interaction tab on the left side of all pages.
- Help:Contents/Directory is a descriptive listing of all Wikipedia's informative, instructional and consultation pages.
- Editing Wikipedia is a guide to editing basics.
- Evaluating Wikipedia can help you learn what makes a good or bad Wikipedia article.
- There are handy reference sheets on using talk pages and avoiding plagiarism.
- You may wish to bookmark or print out a copy of the editing cheatsheet for a quick reference on wiki syntax.
Community help
- The Teahouse, a place for new editors to introduce themselves, asks questions, and find support from other editors.
- The Help desk, where you can ask questions about how to use and edit Wikipedia.
- If you place {{Help me}} (including the curly brackets) then your question on your talk page, a volunteer will visit you there!
- The help channel for live chat help from other Wikipedians.
Advanced
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Editing articles: advanced topics
This module goes into more detail on some of the trickier aspects of writing for Wikipedia and some common pitfalls for students doing Wikipedia assignments
By the end of this section, you should be able to answer:
- How do I choose the right article to work on?
- What is expected from a good Wikipedia article?
- How can I get an article on Wikipedia's Main Page?
- How can I get feedback on my article?
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Choosing articles
Choosing the right first article to work on—and finding the right title for it, if it's a new article—can make a big difference.
Here are a few guidelines for the kinds of articles that may be appropriate to start out on, and what kinds of articles to avoid. These guidelines were created based on feedback and experiences of professors, students and Wikipedians.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
The "Did you know" process
Getting your new article to appear on the Main Page of Wikipedia as a "Did you know" entry is a great first goal, as soon as you move out of a sandbox. To be eligible, an article must:
- conform to Wikipedia's core policies regarding verifiability, neutral point of view, and copyright;
- have been created (or expanded five-fold) within the last seven days;
- be about 3 or 4 paragraphs long, at the least;
- be supported with citations to reliable sources.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
The perfect article
The checklist for a perfect article starts out simply enough:
- Fills a gap
- Has a great title
- Starts with a clear description of the subject
...
But it's a long list. And the last thing on it is...
...
- May not be attainable.
So don't worry about making your article perfect. Take it one step at a time.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
From stub to Featured article
Wikipedia articles usually start humbly, developing and improving gradually over time — even when they are largely written by just one or a few contributors.
Typically, you start by making a stub, just a paragraph or two that serves to identify the topic, with enough sourcing to assure readers that it ought to have its own article. As you expand the article — perhaps nominating it for DYK along the way — you divide it into sections on different aspects of the topic.
Once the article is relatively comprehensive — at least touching on the major aspects of the topic — you should get some advice from other editors. After incorporating that feedback, if you think it meets the Good article criteria, you can nominate it for Good article status, working with the reviewer(s) to fix any major shortcomings.
After more polish and more research to cover every significant aspect of the topic, you can attempt the Featured article process. If, by the end, the article meets the more stringent Featured article criteria, then the article will be eligible to have its day on Wikipedia's Main Page, where it draws the attention of tens of thousands of readers.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Adding images and other media
Most articles on Wikipedia can benefit from an appropriate illustration. To find an image (or a video or sound file), try browsing related Wikipedia articles as well as doing some searches on Wikimedia Commons. If you have an original image you created, you can upload that to Wikimedia Commons and then add it to Wikipedia articles.
The basic code for adding an image to a Wikipedia article is like this:
[[File:Example.jpg | thumb | This is the caption. ]]
This video walks through the process of uploading a photo and adding it to an article. For more advanced image syntax, check out the picture tutorial.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Barnstars and other WikiLove
If you want to recognize another editor for doing good work, or you want to say "thank you" for their help, or you just want to be friendly, you can share WikiLove with another editor. Just go to the person's userpage and click the heart icon to bring up the WikiLove tool. You can select what kind of award to give them, add a personal message, and automatically add it to their talk page.
This video gives a little bit of background on barnstars, the traditional symbol of appreciation for good work on Wikipedia, and shows how to award them with WikiLove.
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Specialized help pages
There is much more help material available on Wikipedia, much of it specialized for very specific types of articles or specific editing tasks. Here are a few help pages that are particularly relevant to students working on Wikipedia:
- How to edit medical topics — Medical topics have particularly stringent rules for the proper use of sources, so if you're going to work on medicine-related articles (including psychology), this is a helpful primer. You can also read a pdf primer on editing medical topics, or for editing in psychology or sociology.
- Citing books — If you're working primarily from books as your sources, citing different pages at different points in the article, this guide shows how you can format the citations. We also have a .pdf you can use as a reference.
- Here are some helpful do's and don't's for choosing an article.
- Module 5: Background — If you want to learn more about Wikipedia and its history, you can check out the optional fifth module of this orientation.
Background
How a ragtag band created Wikipedia video Edit
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
How a ragtag band created Wikipedia
Click the image to go to the video on YouTube. You will need to press 'back' on your browser to return to this module.
Why Wikipedians are Weird video Edit
| This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Why Wikipedians are Weird
Click the image to go to the video on YouTube. You will need to press 'back' on your browser to return to this module.