Wikipedia:Ten things you may not know about Wikipedia: Difference between revisions

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'''Ten things you may not know about Wikipedia''' is a list of insights about [[Wikipedia]] specifically targeted at people who have limited or no prior experience with the project (such as journalists, new editors, and new readers). These explanations should not surprise experienced editors but will hopefully help the rest of the world to shape an informed opinion of our work.

{{further|Wikipedia:About}}

== We're not for sale ==

If you're waiting for Wikipedia to be bought by your friendly neighborhood Internet giant, don't hold your breath. Wikipedia is a non-commercial website run by the [[Wikimedia Foundation]], a [[501(c)#501(c)(3)|501(c)(3)]] non-profit organization based in [[San Francisco]]. We are supported by donations and grants, and our mission is to bring free knowledge to everyone.

{{further|wmf:Main Page}}

== Everyone can use our work with a few conditions ==

Wikipedia has taken a cue from the [[free software]] community (which includes projects like [[GNU]], [[Linux]] and [[Mozilla Firefox]]) and has done away with traditional copyright restrictions on our content. Instead, we've adopted what is known as a "[[Free content|free content license]]" (specifically, a choice between the [[CC-BY-SA]] and the [[GFDL]]): all text and composition created by our users is and will always remain free for anyone to copy, modify, and redistribute. We only insist that you credit the contributors and that you do not impose new restrictions on the work or on any improvements you make to it. Many of the images, videos, and other media on the site are also under free licenses, or in the [[public domain]]. Just check a file's [[Help:Image page|description page]] to see its licensing terms.

{{further|Wikipedia:Copyrights}}

== We speak [[Banyumasan language|Banyumasan]]… ==

…and about [[m:List of Wikipedias|290 other languages]]. Granted, only about 100 of those Wikipedia language editions currently have [[m:List of Wikipedias#10 000+ articles|more than 10,000 articles]]—but that is not because we're not trying. Articles in each language are generally started and developed independently from their equivalents in other languages, although some are direct translations. The Wikimedia Foundation is supported by a growing network of [[foundation:Local chapters|independent chapter organizations]], already in over twenty countries, which help us to raise awareness on the local level. In many countries, including the United States, Wikipedia is [http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?q=&url=wikipedia.org among the ten most popular websites].

{{further|meta:List of Wikipedias}}

== We care deeply about the quality of our work ==

Wikipedia has a set of policies and quality control processes. Editors can [[Wikipedia:Recent changes patrol|patrol changes]] as they happen, [[Help:Watching pages|monitor]] specific [[:Category:Wikipedians by interest|topics of interest]], follow a user's [[Wikipedia:User contributions|track of contributions]], [[Wikipedia:Maintenance|tag problematic articles]] for further review, [[Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism|report vandals]], [[Wikipedia:Talk page|discuss]] the merits of each article with other users, and much more. What are felt to be our best articles are awarded "[[Wikipedia:Featured_articles|featured article]]" status, and problem pages are [[Wikipedia:Deletion debates|nominated for deletion]]. "[[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProjects]]" focus on improvements to particular topic areas. Really good articles may go into other media and be distributed to schools through [[Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team|Wikipedia 1.0]]. We care about getting things right, and we never stop thinking about new ways to do so.

{{further|Wikipedia:Community portal|Wikipedia:Why Wikipedia is so great|Wikipedia:Attribution|Wikipedia:Verifiability}}

== We do not expect you to trust us ==

It is in the nature of an ever-changing work like Wikipedia that, while some articles are of the highest quality of scholarship, others are admittedly complete rubbish. We are fully aware of what it is and [[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not|what it isn't]]. Also, because some articles may contain errors, please do not use Wikipedia to make critical decisions.

{{further|Wikipedia:General disclaimer}}

== We are not alone ==

Wikipedia is part of a growing movement for free knowledge that is beginning to permeate science and education. The Wikimedia Foundation directly operates eight sister projects to the encyclopedia: [[wikt:Main Page|Wiktionary]] (a dictionary and thesaurus), [[s:Main Page|Wikisource]] (a library of source documents), [[commons:Main Page|Wikimedia Commons]] (a media repository of more than ten million images, videos, and sound files), [[b:Main Page|Wikibooks]] (a collection of textbooks and manuals), [[v:Main Page|Wikiversity]] (an interactive learning resource), [[n:Main Page|Wikinews]] (a citizen journalism news site), [[q:Main Page|Wikiquote]] (a collection of quotations), and [[wikispecies:Main Page|Wikispecies]] (a directory of all forms of life). Like Wikipedia itself, all these projects are freely licensed and open to contributions.

{{further|wmf:Our projects}}

== We are only collectors ==

Articles in Wikipedia are not signed, and [[Wikipedia:Contributors|contributors]] are unpaid volunteers. Whether you claim to be a tenured professor, use your real name, prefer to remain pseudonymous, or contribute [[Wikipedia:IPs are human too|without registering]], your edits and arguments will be judged on their merits. We require that [[Wikipedia:Verifiability|verifiable sources]] be [[Wikipedia:Citing sources|cited]] for all [[Wikipedia:Notability|significant claims]], and we do not permit editors to publicize their [[Wikipedia:No original research|personal conclusions]] when writing articles. All editors must follow a [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view|neutral point of view]]; they must only collect relevant opinions which can be traced to [[Wikipedia:Reliable sources|reliable sources]].

{{further|Wikipedia:Five pillars|Wikipedia:Verifiability}}

== We're neither a dictatorship nor any other political system ==

The Wikimedia Foundation is controlled by its [[foundation:Board of Trustees|Board of Trustees]], which is required according to its Bylaws to have several members chosen from the Wikimedia community. The Board and Wikimedia Foundation staff do not usually take a role in editorial issues, and projects are self-governing and consensus-driven. Wikipedia co-founder [[Jimmy Wales]] occasionally acts as a final arbiter on the English Wikipedia. Wikipedia is transparent and self-critical; controversies are debated openly and even documented within Wikipedia itself when they cross a threshold of significance.

{{further|Criticism of Wikipedia|Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not}}

== We're in it for the long haul ==

We want Wikipedia to be around at least a hundred years from now, if it does not turn into something even more significant. Everything about Wikipedia is engineered towards that end: our content licensing, our organization and governance, our international focus, our [[foundation:Fundraising|fundraising]] strategy, our use of [[open source|open-source]] software, and our never-ending effort to achieve our vision. We want you to imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That is our commitment—and we need your help.

{{further|wmf:Main Page}}

== See also ==

* [[Wikipedia:Ten things you may not know about images on Wikipedia]]

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