Wikinfo:Contributing to Wikinfo

From Wikinfo

Contents 1 Create an account 2 Fix or point out problems 3 Create new articles 4 Merge pages 5 Make a donation 6 Publicize Wikinfo 7 Help other users 8 Where do I start? 8.1 Start with what you know 8.2 Start with outside research 9 Class assignments wanted 10 Thank you very much

Create an account

You do not have to log in to read Wikinfo. You do need to create an account and log in to edit articles on Wikinfo — just about anyone can edit almost any article at any given time. Creating an account is quick, free and non-intrusive. We apologize for requiring an account, but have found it necessary due to vandalism.

Fix or point out problems

You may get started on Wikinfo because you are reading an article and notice an omission, a factual error, or a typo. If you know how to make edits and changes, go ahead, and if you add or change information to an article, please include references, because unreferenced material may be removed. But if you are not sure what to do, see Wikinfo:How to edit a page; or, go to the talk/discussion page associated with the article, hit the "+" tab, and make a comment on what you think needs changing. Remember to please end your comment with four tildes like this ~~~~, which will sign and timestamp your comment.

Create new articles

Wikinfo articles contain lots of links to other articles. Blue (or purple, if you have already visited them) links represent pages that do exist. Red links (or tan, if you have already visited them) point to pages that do not yet exist, or have been deleted. Whoever created these links thought that an article on the topic should exist. If this was not a popular idea, the link may have been removed. It is also possible that a spelling error was made, or that they did not know the correct name for an existing page on the same (or a more general) topic. In this case, you could fix the link, and/or create a redirect. If you decide there should be an article at the other end of the link, by all means start writing it!

In addition to looking for red links, you can look at a list of requested articles, and pick one you know something about. (See the section "Where do I start?" below.)

Please read Wikinfo:Your first article for additional advice about how, why, and when not to create a new article.

For technical help getting started, see Help:Starting a new page.

Merge pages

As said above, many people start editing on Wikinfo because they find an inaccuracy or typo while reading an article. Generally, it is better to have several duplicate articles then to attempt to jam everything into one article. If you see a suggestion to merge articles which originated on Wikipedia, it is best to ignore it. Having several articles on the same subject does no harm and makes information easier to find and search for. Please link articles on the same or similar subjects together.

Note: Please use the sandbox if you want to experiment (or just to mess around). Only edit articles where needed.

Make a donation

Ibibilo is in constant need of more server capacity, bandwidth and other technical services to keep it running and fast enough to be useful. Financial contributions to our host, ibiblio, are greatly appreciated. Please see https://secure.ibiblio.org/gift/

Publicize Wikinfo

When an appropriate opportunities arise mention Wikinfo and how useful it is and how easy and fun it is to contribute to it.

Help other users

Even new users can help answer factual questions on the Wikinfo:Reference desk, which serves the same purpose as a reference desk you might find in your local library. (You might also think of it as the Wikinfo version of Yahoo Answers or Windows Live QnA.) You do not have to be an expert on Wikinfo because:

• You can help people find answers in existing Wikinfo articles.
• If you know the answer to a question not answered by Wikinfo, you can assist the questioner and at the same time, add that information to Wikinfo for the benefit of future readers.
• If you do not know the answer to an interesting question, you can research it in non-Wikinfo sources, and then improve Wikinfo for the benefit of the questioner and future readers.

If you already have some experience, your assistance in one of the many Wikinfo help forums, including Wikinfo:Help desk, would be a valuable contribution. You can help Wikinfo grow by helping other people share what they know.

Where do I start?

Start with what you know

Visit Wikinfo:Pages needing attention to find a list of articles by topic. These often need contributions from people who know something about the subject!

Make a list of everything you know, then, find the proper places to write about the items on the list. Use the go button, the search, or just navigate by following links. Click the "What links here" link on pages you visit.

Things you might know about...

• Things you have already done research on. Have you written a thesis, essay, or school paper? Consider contributing the fruits of your efforts to related Wikinfo articles. There may be an existing article which you will want to merge your content into. If there isn't, you might consider importing the latest version from Wikipedia, see Wikinfo:Importing articles from Wikipedia. [[Wikinfo:Original research|Original research] is welcome on Wikinfo. If you make a new discovery or come up with a new theory, you are welcome to post it here. Researching and summarizing ideas and information that have already been publicized elsewhere is also welcome. Most papers written up to the undergraduate level do exactly this.
• Current events. Wikinfo articles constantly need to be updated to reflect recent developments. Wikinfo also has an important role to serve in publishing background information that helps people understand current events and issues. If you hear a news story on your favorite news source (check out Google News if you don't have one), check Wikinfo's coverage on the topic!
• Do you know a foreign language? Add articles in that language. Translate an article or two! Or check out one of the many translation tasks listed under the "Start with a list of things that need doing" section, above.
• Your college or university. Find its article on the list of colleges and universities.
• Specific countries, provinces, counties, cities, and towns. Maybe one you have lived in, maybe one you like to visit. Start with the list of countries to find a place of interest.
• What are your favorite subjects in history, entertainment, or sports?
• What are your favorite books (especially non-fiction)?
• Do you know anything about your local political or religious leaders? Find them on one of the lists of office-holders.
• Are you a fan of anyone who should have an encyclopedia article? Find them on one of the lists of people. Are they properly indexed according to birth and death date?

Start with outside research

Feed your appetite for knowledge. Pick a subject about which you know relatively little but have always been curious or want to remedy a guilty ignorance. If you already know a lot about something, the best references in the field might know more, or might be a helpful reference for other readers or helpful to you in your writing.

Try to find good online and print resources, both books and magazines. Using good references is a way of improving Wikinfo, which will be increasingly important as Wikinfo grows and becomes more and more relevant. Then cite your sources. By citing sources you avoid plagiarism. It is also important to avoid copyright violations, copy only highly relevant material such as direct quotations of a public figures exact words. Doing research makes it easier to think of material to add and allows you to improve any article, even one you did not know much about.

Write about something you do not know about. Use this as an excuse to research a new topic. As you learn about it, write what you are learning here on Wikinfo. This is a good study aid because it forces you to take notes, to organize information, and to put what you have learned into your own words. You can take how to write a great article as a guide.

Find something from a public domain resource, update it, add links to it, and put it here (but make sure it really is not copyrighted — see Wikinfo:Copyrights).

Things you might want to learn about:

• What interesting things happened today in history? What interesting things have happened on your birthday? Search on http://www.google.com/search?q=this+day+in+history and then visit the list of historical anniversaries

Class assignments wanted

If you are a professor or teacher at a school or university, we encourage you to use Wikinfo in your class to demonstrate how an open content website works. An advantage of this over regular homework is that students are dealing with real world situations, which is not only educational but also is motivational ("the world gets to see my work"), probably resulting in increased dedication. Besides, it will give students a chance to collaborate on course notes and papers, and their effort might remain online for reference, instead of being discarded and forgotten as is usual with paper coursework, or classroom systems which are routinely reinitialized.

Thank you very much

Your positive contributions are what make Wikinfo possible.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Wikipedia:Contributing_to_Wikipedia" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contributing_to_Wikipedia, used under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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