Getting started-wikipedia-october2013
- 1. A Beginners Guide to Editing Wikipedia “Wikipedia Loves Libraries” Editathon Smithsonian Libraries October 24, 2013
- 2. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia • Free as in beer & free as in speech; also, ad-free • All content created and maintained by volunteers • Non-profit supported by Wikimedia Foundation • All edits/versions are recorded indefinitely • 4,359,241+ articles, 287 languages (see size of Wikipedia)
- 3. 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
- 4. 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Content Standards Neutral Point of View Verifiability reliable sources, cited correctly No “original research” i.e. unpublished data, opinions, speculation Assume good faith towards other editors Avoid conflict of interest (i.e. editing page about self, boss) See Wikipedia: Policies and guidelines
- 8. Step 1 - Register a user account 1. Go to en.wikipedia.org, click “Create Account” 2. Choose a username and password There should be a 1:1 ratio between editors and accounts on Wikipedia. Sharing an account is not allowed, so you should not create an account in the name of your organization. Advantages of registering an account: – – – – A record of your work builds credibility More privacy, since anonymous contributors’ IP address is recorded Ability to create/rename articles, upload images, edit preferences Signals membership in the community
- 9. Step 2 – Turn on “Visual Editor” 1. Click the Preferences link at the top of the page 2. Visit the Editing tab, scroll down to Usability Features, and check the box “Enable Visual Editor”
- 10. Step 3 - Create a user page 1. Click the link at the top with your username on it. 2. “Hello world” and click SAVE. Leave a comment explaining what you did. Now you have a user page! This page can be personalized—or not—as you want. GLAM employees may wish to post a conflict of interest statement. See example: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sarasays/COI
- 11. Edit Source MediaWiki software markup language Type WP:CHEAT in the search box for more information Edit beta a.k.a. “Visual Editor,” what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) Type WP:VE/UG in the search box for more information Relatively simple to learn, especially if you have any experience with HTML Familiar symbols for formatting, similar to word processing programs Best for ultimate control and ability to customize the page; working with wiki “templates” {{ }} Best for making straightforward textual edits, adding links, headings, etc. Not very good for people who dislike or get confused by markup languages! Also it is easy to lose your place, or make a typo. Always click “Show Preview” before saving! Not very good for the more complex wiki markup, such as “templates” {{ }}, still a work in progress, so it can be buggy and/or confusing at times.
- 12. Citing Sources Editbeta 1. Click on More > Reference 2. Type or paste in a new citation, or click the Existing reference button to cite the same source again Edit Source • Paste in reference (inside <ref></ref> tags) directly Check out reference generators: reftag.appspot.com • Or, use Cite > Templates or Cite > Named references in the editing toolbar
- 13. Creating a new article 1. Do some searching around to confirm the article doesn’t exist under a different name. 2. Draft the article stub in your user Sandbox. 3. Search (unsuccessfully) for the exact name of the article you want to create. 4. Click on the resulting redlink to create the page, paste in code from your Sandbox, Save. NOTE: “Submit for review” is not required for registered editors. Be bold!
- 14. Images: Wikimedia Commons vs. “Non-free Use” rationale • Wikimedia Commons image – commons.wikimedia.org – Example: Teton Range (Ansel Adams photo) • Non-free image – en.wikipedia.org – Example: Look Mickey
- 15. Ways to bring a positive & collaborative spirit to the community Thank others for their work!