WikiPedia:About
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ThispageisanintroductionforvisitorstotheWikipediaproject.Thereisalsoanencyclopediaarticleaboutthetopic:Wikipedia.
TheWikipedia.orgWebsite,Wikipedia'shomepageforalllanguages.Wikipedia(pronounced/ˌwiːkiˈpiːdiə/or/ˌwɪkəˈpiːdiə/)isamultilingual,Web-based,freecontentencyclopediaproject.ThenameWikipediaisaportmanteau(combinationofwordsandtheirmeanings)ofthewordswiki(atypeofcollaborativeWebsite)andencyclopedia.Wikipedia'sarticlesprovidelinkstoguidetheusertorelatedpageswithadditionalinformation.
Wikipediaiswrittencollaborativelybyvolunteersfromallaroundtheworld.Sinceitscreationin2001,WikipediahasgrownrapidlyintooneofthelargestreferenceWebsites,attractingatleast684millionvisitorsyearlyby2008.Therearemorethan75,000activecontributorsworkingonmorethan10,000,000articlesinmorethan250languages.Asoftoday,thereare2,608,289articlesinEnglish;everydayhundredsofthousandsofvisitorsfromaroundtheworldmaketensofthousandsofeditsandcreatethousandsofnewarticlestoenhancetheknowledgeheldbytheWikipediaencyclopedia.(Seealso:Wikipedia:Statistics).
Visitorsdonotneedspecializedqualificationstocontribute,sincetheirprimaryroleistowritearticlesthatcoverexistingknowledge;thismeansthatpeopleofallagesandculturalandsocialbackgroundscanwriteWikipediaarticles.MostofthearticlescanbeeditedbyanyonewithaccesstotheInternet,simplybyclickingtheeditthispagelink.Anyoneiswelcometoaddinformation,cross-referencesorcitations,aslongastheydosowithinWikipedia'seditingpoliciesandtoanappropriatestandard.Substandardordisputedinformationissubjecttoremoval.UsersneednotworryaboutaccidentallydamagingWikipediawhenaddingorimprovinginformation,asothereditorsarealwaysaroundtoadviseorcorrectobviouserrors,andWikipedia'ssoftwareiscarefullydesignedtoalloweasyreversalofeditorialmistakes.
BecauseWikipediaisanongoingworktowhich,inprinciple,anybodycancontribute,itdiffersfromapaper-basedreferencesourceinimportantways.Inparticular,olderarticlestendtobemorecomprehensiveandbalanced,whilenewerarticlesmorefrequentlycontainsignificantmisinformation,unencyclopediccontent,orvandalism.Usersneedtobeawareofthistoobtainvalidinformationandavoidmisinformationthathasbeenrecentlyaddedandnotyetremoved(seeResearchingwithWikipediaformoredetails).However,unlikeapaperreferencesource,Wikipediaiscontinuallyupdated,withthecreationorupdatingofarticlesontopicaleventswithinseconds,minutesorhours,ratherthanmonthsoryearsforprintedencyclopedias.
Ifyouhavenotdoneso,weinviteyoutotakeafewmomentstoreadWhatWikipediais(andisnot),sothatyouhaveanunderstandingofhowtoconsultorcontributetoWikipedia.Furtherinformationonkeytopicsappearsbelow.Ifyoucannotfindwhatyouarelookingfor,trytheFrequentlyaskedquestions,adviceforparents,orseeWheretoaskquestions.Forhelpwitheditingandotherissues,seeHelp:contents.
Contents[hide]
1AboutWikipedia
1.1Wikipediahistory
1.2Trademarksandcopyrights
1.3Wikipediacontributors
1.4TheWikimediaFoundation
1.4.1Employees
1.4.1.12008
2MakingthebestuseofWikipedia
2.1ExploringWikipedia
2.2BasicnavigationinWikipedia
2.3UsingWikipediaasaresearchtool
2.4Wikipediavs.paperencyclopedias
2.5Strengths,weaknesses,andarticlequalityinWikipedia
2.6Disclaimers
3ContributingtoWikipedia
3.1EditingWikipediapages
3.2Wikipediacontentcriteria
3.3Editorialadministration,oversightandmanagement
3.4Handlingdisputesandabuse
3.5Editorialqualityreview
4Technicalattributes
5Feedbackandquestions
5.1Frequentlyaskedquestions(FAQ)
5.2Givingfeedback
5.3Researchhelpandsimilarquestions
5.4Communitydiscussion
5.5ContactingindividualWikipediaeditors
6Relatedversionsandprojects
7Sisterprojects
8Seealso
9References
10Furtherreading
AboutWikipedia
Wikipediahistory
Formoredetailsonthistopic,seeHistoryofWikipedia.
WikipediawasfoundedasanoffshootofNupedia,anow-abandonedprojecttoproduceafreeencyclopedia.Nupediahadanelaboratesystemofpeerreviewandrequiredhighlyqualifiedcontributors,butthewritingofarticleswasslow.During2000,JimmyWales,founderofNupedia,andLarrySanger,whomWaleshademployedtoworkontheproject,discussedwaysofsupplementingNupediawithamoreopen,complementaryproject.Multiplesourcesaresuggestedfortheideathatawikimightallowmembersofthepublictocontributematerial,andNupedia'sfirstwikiwentonlineonJanuary10.
TherewasconsiderableresistanceonthepartofNupedia'seditorsandreviewerstotheideaofassociatingNupediawithaWebsiteinthewikiformat,sothenewprojectwasgiventhename"Wikipedia"andlaunchedonitsowndomain,wikipedia.com,onJanuary15(nowcalled"WikipediaDay"bysomeusers).Thebandwidthandserver(inSanDiego)weredonatedbyWales.OthercurrentandpastBomisemployeeswhohaveworkedontheprojectincludeTimShell,oneofthecofoundersofBomisanditscurrentCEO,andprogrammerJasonRichey.Thedomainwaseventuallychangedtothepresentwikipedia.orgwhenthenonprofitWikimediaFoundationwaslaunchedasitsnewparentorganization,promptingtheuseofa.orgdomaintodenoteitsnon-commercialnature.InMarch2007,thewordwikibecameanewlyrecognizedEnglishword.[1]
InMay2001,awaveofnon-EnglishWikipediaswaslaunched—inCatalan,Chinese,Dutch,Esperanto,French,German,Hebrew,Italian,Japanese,Portuguese,Russian,Spanish,andSwedish;theseweresoonjoinedbyArabicandHungarian.[2]InSeptember,[3]PolishwasaddedandfurthercommitmenttothemultilingualprovisionofWikipediawasmade.Attheendoftheyear,Afrikaans,Norwegian,andSerbocroatianversionswereannounced.
Trademarksandcopyrights
WikipediaisaregisteredtrademarkofthenonprofitWikimediaFoundation,whichhascreatedanentirefamilyoffree-contentprojects.Onalloftheseprojects,youarewelcometobeboldandeditarticlesyourself,contributingknowledgeasyouseefitinacollaborativeway.
AllofthetextinWikipedia,andmostoftheimagesandothercontent,iscoveredbytheGNUFreeDocumentationLicense(GFDL).Contributionsremainthepropertyoftheircreators,whiletheGFDLlicenseensuresthecontentisfreelydistributableandreproducible.(Seethecopyrightnoticeandthecontentdisclaimerformoreinformation.)
Wikipediacontributors
Mainarticles:Wikipedia:WhowritesWikipediaandWikipedia:Wikipedians
AnyonewithwebaccesscaneditWikipedia,andthisopennessencouragesinclusionofatremendousamountofcontent.About75,000editors—fromexpertscholarstocasualreaders—regularlyeditWikipedia,andtheseexperiencededitorsoftenhelptocreateaconsistentstylethroughouttheencyclopedia,followingourManualofStyle.
SeveralmechanismsareinplacetohelpWikipediamemberscarryouttheimportantworkofcraftingahigh-qualityresourcewhilemaintainingcivility.Editorsareabletowatchpagesandtechiescanwriteeditingprogramstokeeptrackoforrectifybadedits.Over1,500administratorswithspecialpowersensurethatbehaviourconformstoWikipediaguidelinesandpolicies.Wheretherearedisagreementsonhowtopresentfactseditorsworktogethertoarriveatanarticlewhichfairlyrepresentscurrentexpertopiniononthesubject.EditorswhofailtoworkwithothersinacivilmannercanbetemporarilyorpermanentlybannedfromeditingWikipediabytheadministrators.
AlthoughtheWikimediaFoundationownsthesite,itislargelyuninvolvedinwritinganddailyoperations.
TheWikimediaFoundation
Mainarticles:WikimediaFoundationandm:MainPage
TheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.isanon-profitcharitableorganizationfoundedinSt.Petersburg,Florida,UnitedStatesin2002andheadquarteredinSanFrancisco,California.ThefoundationactsasthelegalumbrellabodyforWikipediaandallrelatedsisterprojects,andistheownerofalltrademarksandintellectualpropertyrightsrelatedtoWikipedia.AlmostallofitsfunctionsareundertakenbyvolunteerswithintheWikipediacommunity,supplementedbyaverysmallpaidstaff,anAdvisoryBoardofaround15expertindividuals,andaBoardofTrustees.Branchesofthefoundationexistandarebeingaddedtoinanongoingmanner,inanumberofcountries,focussinguponreferenceinformation,publication,funding,andotherprojectsspecifictothelocation.
Ataprojectlevelthefoundationalsoco-ordinatestheglobalpolicies,practicesandfacilitiesofWikipediainalllanguagesanditssisterprojects,provideslegalandintellectualpropertyinputasrequired,andisformallyresponsibleforthedevelopmentoftheopensourceWikipediasoftware(Mediawiki)asrequirementschange.
Inlinewithitsgoalofproducingreferencematerialfreetoallpeople,thefoundationalsooperatesaMetawikiwheremattersimpinginguponallprojects,globaldiscussionscantakeplace,andglobalpoliciescanbeformallydocumentedanddeveloped,andanincubatorforproposednewprojectsandnewlanguages,tofacilitatetheirlaunchandearlystagedevelopment.AsofAugust2007therearearound100newreferenceprojectsinvariousstagesofdevelopmentinitiatedbymembersoftheWikipediaandrelatedcommunities.
Employees
January2008WikimediaOrganizationemployeechart
January2008WikimediaOrganizationemployeedescriptions
ThefunctionsoftheWikimediaFoundationwere,forthefirstfewyears,executedalmostentirelybyvolunteers.Inthespringof2005,thefoundationonlyhadtwoemployees,DannyWoolandBrionVibber.Thoughthenumberofemployeeshasgrown,thebulkoffoundationworkcontinuestobedonebyvolunteers,withthefoundationhavingveryfewemployees.
OnJune16,2006,BradPatrick,previouslyapracticingattorneywhohaddonesomeprobonoworkwiththefoundationstartinginfall2005,wasnamedgeneralcounselandinterimexecutivedirector;inthelattercapacity,Patrickwasdesignatedtoassisttheboardinitssearchforapermanentexecutivedirector.[4]
AsofOctober4,2006,theWikimediaFoundationhadfivepaidemployees:twoprogrammers(softwaremanagerBrionVibberinCaliforniaandserveradministratorChadPerrininTampa);"toanswerthephones",administrativeassistantBarbaraBrown;tohandlefundraisingandgrants,DannyWool;andtomanage,interimexecutivedirectorBradPatrick.[5]
AsofDecember8,2006,theWikimediaFoundation'slistofcurrentstaffnamedthreeothertechnicalindependentcontractors(part-timehardwaremanagerKyleAndersoninTampa,full-timeMediaWikisoftwaredeveloperTimStarling,andpart-timenetworkingcoordinatorMarkBergsma).
BradPatrickceasedhisactivityasinterimdirectorinJanuary2007andthenresignedfromhispositionaslegalcounselinApril2007.
InJanuary2007,CarolynDoranwasnamedChiefOperatingOfficerandSandyOrdonezcameonboardasCommunicationManager.[6]Doranhadbegunworkingasapart-timebookkeeperforthefoundationin2006afterbeingsentbyatemporaryagency.
DannyWool,officiallythegrantcoordinatorbutalsolargelyinvolvedinfundraisingandbusinessdevelopment,resignedinMarch2007.InApril2007,thefoundationaddedanewposition,ChapterCoordinator,andappointedDelphineMénard,theninthepositionofVolunteerCoordinator,tofillit.CaryBasswasappointedtoreplaceMénard.
InMay2007,VishalPatelwashiredtoassistinbusinessdevelopment.[7]
InJuly2007,MikeGodwinwashiredasgeneralcounselandlegalcoordinator.[8]Thatsamemonth,CarolynDoranleftasCOO[9]andSueGardnerwashiredasconsultantandspecialadvisor.Thenumberoffull-timestaffmembers,afterthesehires,wasstillfewerthanten.[10]
InDecember2007,itwasrevealedbyTheRegister[11]thatformerCOOCarolynDoranwasaconvictedfelon,withaDUIarrestduringhertenureattheFoundationandasubstantialcriminalhistory,includingshootingherboyfriendandchargesofcomplicityincreditcardforgery.[
