User talk:Mary divalerio/Adoption

Basic Policies and Background of Wikipedia

Alright, Mary divalerio! Let the fun begin!

We'll start with the basics. The most fundamental and important policies of Wikipedia are its Five Pillars. They are as follows:

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia.

This means that Wikipedia strives to provide accurate information on all areas of knowledge. You must be able to back up everything you say with reliable sources and you cannot just make things up. Wikipedia is not a list of facts, a place for your own opinions or advertising, or a dictionary.

See also: What Wikipedia is not

Wikipedia has a neutral point of view

This simply means that Wikipedia does not advocate any particular view. It equally represents every major point of view, without giving any "undue weight" or presenting it as the best or correct view. Points of view should be verifiable as well.

See also: The Neutral Point of View policy

Wikipedia has free content

This means that Wikipedia can contain absolutely no Copyright Violations. All its text is licensed accordingly. You also need to remember that anyone can edit any article, so no one person can take ownership of a single article; rather, it is the community's article.

See also: GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL), which all Wikipedia's text is licensed under

Wikipedia has a code of conduct

This means that all editors have to behave accordingly. In order to avoid edit wars and Three-revert-rule violations (making more than 3 reverts to an article in under 24 hours), try to reach consensus instead. Also, don't mess with Wikipedia to make a point and assume that others are doing what they think is right for the encylopedia.

See also: WikiLove: An essay

Wikipedia does not have firm rules (besides these five pillars)

If a rule gets in the way of you improving the encyclopedia, ignore it! Be Bold when you update a page. Even if you think you made a mistake, or if you're unsure how helpful your edits are, perfection is not required! Sure, it should be aimed for, but any good-faith contribution to the encyclopedia is helpful! Once again, BE BOLD!

See also: Ignore all rules

Remember, there is no such thing as a stupid question! If you have one, don't be afraid to ask it; I enjoy discussion :) Also, when you are finished reading, don't forget to tell me, but remember, no rush. Happy editing, ( arky ) 02:54, 12 October 2007 (UTC)