User talk:Niteowlneils/tutorial (registration)

Registration is optional

Everyone is welcome to contribute to Wikipedia, regardless of whether they choose to register a user name or not.

There are two main reasons people are encouraged to register:

General benefits

• The free account gives you many benefits, including more editing options and user preferences. One handy feature is the Watchlist, which makes it easier for you to track changes to pages you are interested in.

Also, it increases your privacy by hiding your IP address, which can sometimes be used to find out more about you.

Finally, only registered users are allowed to become Administrators (or sysops).

Perceived benefits

• Many Wikipedians consider registering to indicate a greater willingness by you to stand behind your edits, and your comments on discussion pages. This means your contributions to articles and discussion pages will generally be given more weight, at least when you make the entries while logged in.

Of course, building a solid track record of useful contributions will also enhance people's perception of you, regardless of whether you register.

Registration

To register, or to see more detailed information regarding the benefits of registering, you can click on the "Log in" link in the top right corner of any page.