Using Wikipedia: from the basics of sources and editing to more advanced manipulations
Editor's corner: an overview of U of T Libraries' or affiliated open digital resources available for use by editors
What's happening: events and programming for students and the community at large
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Using Wikipedia
Wikipedia is home to many collaboratively edited help pages and tutorials. This section is an annotatedindex to help you decide what information to look for and where.
Using Wikipedia in a nutshell: Concise summary of this section
Wikipedia is the sum of what is known about various topics. Anyone is allowed to add or edit text, references, images, and other media here, including yourself. As such, there is no single point of contact, and decisions are made through reason-giving and discussion. As long as we show and assume good faith, everyone's input is equally valuable (Wikipedia:Assume good faith). No one's input is more valid than anyone else's by default, regardless of who they are, how much recognition they have within or outside of Wikipedia, and how long they have been editing. What is contributed is more important than who contributes it.
At first, the sheer size and scope of Wikipedia can seem a bit overwhelming. There is no need to understand everything from the start. We all learn as we go.
Keep in mind:
Show good faith. While you don't need to be registered to edit most pages, you can personalise your editing experience and help show good faith by creating an account. Rule of thumb: one editor, one account. This helps us all stay accountable as anonymous editors on Wikipedia and increase community trust. If you need to use multiple accounts (some possible reasons are listed here), disclose your alternative account(s) on your userpage to show good faith.
Wikipedia:IPs are human too - If you are not registered or logged in, your edits will show up under your IP address. Although account creation is encouraged for responsible editing, unregistered edits (also called "IP editing") are not less valuable than registered edits.
Wikipedia:Sockpuppetry - The misuse of multiple accounts (often called "sockpuppetry") is the opposite of showing good faith.
Wikipedia is a work in progress. Wikipedia is never "finished". An article can start off a stub (the "ugly ducklings" of Wikipedia, in their rougher and less complete stages) and, through contributions over time, grow into a good article (the "swans" of Wikipedia). But even good articles that many people have contributed to are not "finished". As time goes on and the world continues to change, the sum of what we know about the world in writing also changes. Wikipedia articles will ideally grow to reflect up-to-date information.
Wikipedia:Article development describes the journey of an article as it goes from an idea in the contributor's mind to creation and growth. This is often not a linear journey, and articles only grow insofar as editors make the time and effort to contribute.
Be bold. You can't break Wikipedia. Wikipedia saves every edit ever made, so mistakes and errors can be reverted or overwritten. This is not an invite to be boldly destructive. This is an invite not to be excessively timid. Be bold, but also always willing to learn.
Help:Page_history - You can view the edit history of a Wikipedia page by clicking View history to the left of the search bar.
as it is acceptable to use common sense as you go about editing. Wikipedia not only allows you to create, revise, and edit articles, but it wants you to do so. You just need to remember that you can't break Wikipedia and although there are many protocols, perfection is not required, as Wikipedia is a work in progress. Collaborative editing means that incomplete or poorly written first drafts can evolve over time into excellent articles.
See the user menu in the top right corner to access helpful editing features, like the sandbox and watchlist. Sandbox is a scratchpad for any drafts and practice edits. Watchlist tracks edits to articles you contributed to or are otherwise interested in. To add an article to your watchlist, toggle the star icon to the left of the search bar.
Wikipedia:Recentism is a phenomenon on Wikipedia where an article has an inflated or imbalanced focus on recent events. While this allows for up-to-date information, edits should not lack a long-term, historical view.
Wikipedia:Presentism should be avoided. This happens when we describe and interpret past events using today's ideas and perspectives.
nonetheless, we contribute what we have time for and are interested in
To remain, the content must be free of copyright restrictions and contentious material about living people. It must fit within Wikipedia's policies, including being verifiable against a published reliable source.
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