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Line 1: {{pp-semi-indef}} ~~ok....that's gr8 concept~~ {{~~WikipediaFAQ~~pp-move-indef}} {{Wikipedia:FAQ/framework ~~'''Overview FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)''':~~ \|shorttitle = Overview ~~== What is '''Wiki'''? ==~~ \|title = Overview FAQ }} {{Shortcut\|WP:OFAQ}}<br> __TOC__ ==<span id="WHAT"></span>What is Wikipedia?== {{See\|Wikipedia:Purpose}} {{Shortcut\|WP:OFAQ#WHAT}} :Wikipedia is an online free-content encyclopedia that you can edit and contribute to. Wikipedia co-founder [[Jimmy Wales]] has described Wikipedia as "an effort to create and distribute a free encyclopedia of the highest possible quality to every single person on the planet in their own language." Wikipedia exists to bring knowledge to everyone who seeks it. ==<span id="WHO"></span>Who owns Wikipedia?== : A ''[[wiki]]'' is a '''Collection''' of interlinked web pages and '''photos''', all of which can be visited and edited by anyone at any time ([[collaborative software]]). [[Ward Cunningham]] invented the concept and software. You could even edit this page by clicking the '''"edit"''' link on the third tab above, or edit only a section by clicking on "[edit]" to its right! If you don't have anything to add or correct on this page and you just want to see how it works, try out the [[Wikipedia:Sandbox]]. See also: [[Wikipedia:Editing FAQ]]. {{Shortcut\|WP:OFAQ#WHO}} :Wikipedia's tech framework is supported by the [[Wikipedia:Wikimedia Foundation\|Wikimedia Foundation]], which also supports Wikipedia's sister projects, including [[Wiktionary]], [[Wikibooks]], and others, and owns all of their ___domain names. Previously, the site was hosted on the servers of [[Bomis]], a company mostly owned by [[Jimmy Wales]]. With the announcement of the Wikimedia Foundation on June 20, 2003, the ownership of all ___domain names was transferred to the Foundation. The site is run by the community of [[Wikipedia:Wikipedians\|Wikipedians]] guided by the [[Wikipedia:Five pillars\|five pillars]]. :The articles hosted on this site have been edited by many people, each of whom has (by editing the article) agreed to release their contributions under the [[WP:CC-BY-SA\|Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike]] license. As such, the articles are [[free content]] and may be reproduced freely under this license. See [[Wikipedia:Copyrights]] and [[Wikipedia:Readers' FAQ]] for information on how you can use Wikipedia content. ~~== What is Wikipedia? ==~~ :Wikipedia is a project to produce a new kind of encyclopedia that is comprehensive and [[free content\|free]]. See [[Wikipedia:About]] and the [[Wikipedia]] article for even more enlightening information. :By law, contributions are still owned by the people who donated them. These people are not bound by the license and can use their property in the way they like. However, media with multiple authors require permission from every contributor to use them differently from the terms of the Wikipedia license. ~~== Why is it called Wikipedia? ==~~ ~~:The name 'Wikipedia' is a [[portmanteau]] (a word formed by combining two or more words) of "[[wikiwiki]]" and "[[encyclopedia]]".~~ ==~~What~~<span id="RESP"></span>Who is responsible for the ~~goal~~articles ofon Wikipedia?== {{see\|Wikipedia:Administration}} :Wikipedia's goal is to create a free, reliable [[encyclopedia]]—indeed, the largest encyclopedia in history, in terms of both breadth and depth. This is an '''ambitious''' goal, and will probably take many years to achieve! {{Shortcut\|WP:OFAQ#RESP}} :You are! Editing is a collaborative effort. Millions of people have contributed information to this project, and anyone can do so, including you. All you need is to know [[Wikipedia:How to edit a page\|how to edit a page]], and have some encyclopedic knowledge that you would like to share. The encyclopedia provides users with a certain amount of freedom. :You can learn who is responsible for the most recent versions of any given page by clicking on the "View history" link. If you spot an error in the latest revision of an article, you are highly encouraged to [[Wikipedia:be bold in updating pages\|be bold]] and correct it. This practice is one of the basic review mechanisms that maintains the reliability of the encyclopedia. As a result, Wikipedia has become one of the most extensive information libraries available on the Internet. ~~==Who owns Wikipedia?==~~ : Wikipedia is managed by a non profit parent organization, [[Wikimedia Foundation\|The Wikimedia Foundation]], which also manages the operation of Wikipedia's sister projects, including [[Wiktionary]] (a wiki dictionary), [[Wikibooks]] (free textbooks), and others, and owns all of their ___domain names. Previously, the site was hosted on the servers of [[Bomis]], Inc, a company mostly owned by [[Jimmy Wales]], who is currently the funder of part of the site's operational costs. With the announcement of the Wikimedia Foundation on [[June 20]], [[2003]] the ownership of all ___domain names as well as the technical equipment was transferred to the Foundation. The site is run by the community of [[Wikipedia:Wikipedians\|Wikipedians]] guided by the principles [[User:Jimbo Wales/Statement of principles\|articulated]] by Jimmy Wales, including, for example, an adherence to a [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view\|neutral point of view]]. :If you are uncertain, or find the wording confusing, quote the material on the associated [[Wikipedia:Talk page\|talk page]] and leave a question for the next person. This helps reduce errors, inaccuracies, or misleading wording more quickly and is highly appreciated by the community. :The articles hosted on this site are released by their authors under the [[GNU Free Documentation License]], so the articles are [[free content]] and may be reproduced freely under the same license. See [[Wikipedia:Copyrights]] and [[Wikipedia:Readers' FAQ]] for information on how you can use Wikipedia content. ==<span id="CONT"></span>How can I contact the project?== ~~==Who is responsible for the articles on Wikipedia?==~~ {{Shortcut\|WP:OFAQ#CONT}} :You are! As are more than a quarter million other [[Wikipedia:Wikipedians\|Wikipedians]]. This is a [[collaborative]] endeavor. Thousands of people have contributed to different parts of this project, and anyone can do so, including you. All you need is to know [[Wikipedia:How to edit a page\|how to edit a page]], and have some [[Wikipedia:contribute what you know or are willing to learn more about\|encyclopedic knowledge]] you want to share. The encyclopedia provides users with a certain amount of freedom. :See [[Wikipedia:Contact us]] for important links and e-mail addresses. :Given the massively collaborative nature of the project, there is no single point of contact. If you send an e-mail to an individual board or staff member, they will likely just forward it to the group of Wikipedia volunteers who answer reader inquiries. You can reach those volunteers yourself, by e-mailing info-en{{@}}wikimedia.org. :Alternatively, if you wish to suggest improvements to a specific article, you can do so via its [[Wikipedia:Talk page\|talk page]]. Use the ''talk'' tab at the top of each article to get to its talk page. ==<span id="ACC"></span>Should I create an account? Can't I just edit articles anonymously?== :You can learn who is responsible for the most recent versions of any given page by clicking on the "Page history" link. But if you spot an error in the latest revision of an article, you are highly encouraged to [[Wikipedia:be bold in updating pages\|be bold]] and correct it. This practice is one of the basic review mechanisms that maintains the reliability of the encyclopedia. {{Shortcut\|WP:OFAQ#ACC}} :Editors with user names enjoy several benefits. Among them is the positive reputation that goes with quality work. Wikipedians with an established history are respected especially with regard to neutralizing article disputes. In addition, Wikipedians sometimes find collaborating with unregistered users frustrating, because it is more difficult to contact them with questions, concerns, or suggestions. This is not to say there is a Wikipedia hierarchy ''per se''. Although there are editors with administrative abilities (see [[Wikipedia:Administrators]]), these are approved by the community. :Wikipedians with user names are ''more'' anonymous than contributors that do not log in. While anyone can see the [[IP address]] of a user who did not log in when they edited, only a few especially trusted people, [[Wikipedia:Checkusers\|checkusers]], are able to view the IP address of a logged-in user, and this is rarely done. If you are concerned about privacy and anonymity, you may prefer to create a user name for yourself in order to hide your IP address. :If you are uncertain or find the wording confusing, quote the material on the associated [[Wikipedia:Talk page\|talk page]] and leave a question for the next person. This helps eliminate errors, inaccuracies or misleading wording more quickly and is highly appreciated by the community. :But editing as an unregistered user is acceptable. Many valuable contributors have made this choice. That said, you will not be able to create or rename pages without a user name. Some pages are also protected from editing by unregistered users in order to prevent [[Wikipedia:Vandalism\|vandalism]]. ~~==How can I contact the project?==~~ :Given the massively collaborative nature of the project, there's no single point of contact. There are many mailing lists which you can contact for project-specific questions. See the list at [[meta:mailing lists]]. There is also a [http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l Wikimedia Foundation mailing list]and our [http://meta.wikipedia.com/ Meta]wiki for cross-project matters. If you do not want to communicate publicly, you can contact the directors of the Foundation at [mailto:board@wikimedia.org board@wikimedia.org]. If you want to communicate with a specific user, leave a message on his or her personal talk page; you can find a list of personal pages (and link to your own) at the [[Wikipedia:Wikipedians\|Wikipedian list]]. Many Wikipedians have also registered their email addresses, which you can use by clicking the "Email this user" link from the personal pages. Also, each user and each article has a [[Wikipedia:Talk page\|talk page]]. This gives you the opportunity to leave that user a message or to make comments about a particular article. Use the ''discussion'' link in any article to get to the talk page. ==<span id="CORR"></span>How do you know if information is correct?== ~~==What is Nupedia?==~~ {{Shortcut\|WP:OFAQ#CORR}} ~~: Nupedia was a more formal encyclopedia project that spawned Wikipedia. It is now defunct; see [[Wikipedia:Nupedia and Wikipedia]].~~ {{see\|Wikipedia:Replies to common objections}} :Given that anyone can edit any article, it is, of course, possible for biased, out-of-date, or incorrect information to be posted. However, because there are so many people reading the articles and monitoring contributions, incorrect information is usually corrected quickly. The overall accuracy of the encyclopedia is improving all the time. You are encouraged to help by correcting articles, validating content, and providing useful references. ==~~Should~~<span Iid="RUIN"></span>How ~~create~~do anyou ~~account?~~prevent ~~Can't~~people Ifrom ~~just edit~~ruining articles ~~anonymously~~?== {{Shortcut\|WP:OFAQ#RUIN}} :''All'' changes to a page are registered in a "[[Help:Page history\|page history]]", so any defacement can be replaced by an older version of the page by [[Help:Reverting\|reverting]] it. And, in general, recent changes to [[Wikipedia]] are automatically listed on a [[Special:Recentchanges\|special page for that purpose]]. :Some [[Wikipedia:Bots\|bots]] automatically reverse obvious defacement immediately. Moreover, there are hundreds of people who spend a little time each day watching the list of recent changes on Wikipedia (see [[Wikipedia:Recent changes patrol]]). Any user interested in a particular page can add it to a personal [[Help:Watchlist\|watchlist]], which shows when a page is updated and gives the user a chance to check that update. Readers who pass by can correct vandalism or erroneous information. :See [[Wikipedia:Accountability]]. [[Editors]] with account names enjoy several benefits, among them is the positive reputation that goes with quality work. Wikipedians with an established history are respected especially with regard to neutralizing article disputes. Also, Wikipedians sometimes find collaborating with anonymous users frustrating, because it is more difficult to contact them with questions, concerns, or suggestions. This is not to say there is a Wikipedia hierarchy ''per se'' - though there are editors with administrative abilities (see [[Wikipedia:Administrators]]), these are approved by the community, and the goal of most Wikipedians is to ensure that [[democracy]], albeit with a little [[anarchy]], remains the supreme power on Wikipedia. :The popular pages, which are the most likely to be defaced, are also those that receive the most attention from editors and readers. :Wikipedians with user names are in a sense ''more'' anonymous than contributors that are not logged in: while anyone can see the [[IP address]] of a user who did not log in when he/she edited, only server administrators can find the IP of a logged-in user. So if you're concerned about privacy and anonymity, you may prefer to create a username for yourself in order to hide your IP. :To stem a recurrent problem, an article can be [[Wikipedia:Protection policy\|temporarily protected]] from editing and/or user names and IP addresses can be [[Wikipedia:Blocking policy\|blocked]] from editing. ~~:However, if you'd like to stay in the dark, it's fine to edit without a login. Many valuable contributors have made this choice.~~ ==<span id="VIO"></span>This website seems to be violating Wikipedia's copyright. Do you guys know about this?== ~~==How do you know if the information is correct?==~~ {{Shortcut\|WP:OFAQ#VIO}} :All text on Wikipedia is licensed under the [[WP:CC-BY-SA\|Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License]] (CC-BY-SA), and in most cases, also the [[GNU Free Documentation License]] (GFDL). Over 100 sites using Wikipedia for content have been identified, and categorized by their degree of compliance, at [[Wikipedia:CC-BY-SA Compliance]] and [[Wikipedia:GFDL Compliance]]. [[Wikipedia:Mirrors and forks]] has more information, including what to do if someone is violating the CC-BY-SA license or the GFDL. ==<span id="SOFT"></span>Which wiki software does Wikipedia run on?== :As anyone can edit any article, it is of course possible for biased, out of date or incorrect information to be posted. However, because there are so many other people reading the articles and monitoring contributions using the [[Special:Recentchanges\|Recent Changes]] page, incorrect information is usually corrected quickly. Thus, the overall accuracy of the encyclopedia is improving all the time as it attracts more and more contributors. You are encouraged to help by correcting articles and passing on your own knowledge. {{Shortcut\|WP:OFAQ#SOFT}} :Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects use the [[MediaWiki]] software to facilitate collaborative editing and storage of page histories. :For more information on MediaWiki, see: :* the [[MediaWiki]] article, and ~~:See [[Wikipedia:Replies to common objections]] for a longer discussion of this point.~~ :* the [[mw:\|MediaWiki web site]]. ==<span id="EDIT"></span>What if two people edit the same article at the same time?== ~~==Site X seems to be violating Wikipedia's copyright. Do you guys know about this?==~~ {{Shortcut\|WP:OFAQ#EDIT}} :That will cause an [[Help:Edit conflict\|edit conflict]]. ==<span id="BIG"></span>How big is Wikipedia?== :It's reasonably likely they're within their rights. Anybody may mirror or fork Wikipedia as long as they comply with the [[GNU Free Documentation License]]. Over 100 sites using Wikipedia for content have been identified and categorised by their degree of compliance, at [[Wikipedia:Mirrors and forks]]. {{Shortcut\|WP:OFAQ#BIG}} {{see\|Wikipedia:Size comparisons}} :Wikipedia currently has {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}}<!-- DO NOT CHANGE THIS TO A NUMBER --> articles in total in the English version alone. :In a past comparison of encyclopedias, Wikipedia had about 1,400,000 articles with 340 million words in total, the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] had about 85,000 articles with 55 million words in total, and Microsoft's [[Encarta]] had about 63,000 articles and 40 million words in total. ~~== Which wiki software does Wikipedia run on? ==~~ ==<span id="LIBEL"></span>What can I do about libelous content or an invasion of privacy?== ~~:See: [[Wikipedia:MediaWiki]]~~ {{Shortcut\|WP:OFAQ#LIBEL}} ~~----~~ :You can simply delete wrong or hurtful information yourself. However, because every revision is logged, special steps are required to remove this information from the historical record. Please see [[Wikipedia:Oversight]] and [[Wikipedia:Libel]] for Wikipedia's policy on removing historical revisions, and how to request such a change. ~~{{WikipediaFAQBottom}}~~ {{-}} ~~[[Category:~~{{Wikipedia :FAQ~~\|Overview]]~~/footer}} {{Help navigation}} ~~[[ar:ويكيبيديا:أسئلة عامة]]~~ </div> ~~[[de:Wikipedia:Allgemeine FAQ]]~~ ~~[[et:Vikipeedia:Korduma kippuvad küsimused]]~~ ~~[[ga:Vicipéid:Ceisteanna Ginearálta]]~~ ~~[[ko:위키백과:위키백과에서 하는 흔한 질문]]~~ ~~[[he:ויקיפדיה:שאלות ותשובות - כללי]]~~ ~~[[ja:Wikipedia:プロジェクトFAQ]]~~ ~~[[zh:Wikipedia:常见问题解答/项目]]~~

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