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| {{Short description|Introduction to English language Misplaced Pages}} | |||
| {{Hatnote|For an overview of everything about Misplaced Pages, see ]}} | |||
| {{Shortcut|WP:ABT|WP:ABOUT|WP:WIKIPEDIA}} | |||
| {{Redirect|Misplaced Pages:Misplaced Pages}} | |||
| {{Hatnote|This is a ] for visitors to Misplaced Pages. For aspiring contributors, also see this ] and ]. For other uses, see ].}} | |||
| <noinclude>{{pp-semi-indef}}</noinclude> | |||
| <noinclude>{{pp-semi-indef}}{{pp-move}}</noinclude> | |||
| {{ombox | |||
| | imageright = {{short|WP:ABOUT|WP:WIKIPEDIA}} | |||
| | text = '''This is a ] for visitors to Misplaced Pages'''. The project also has an encyclopedia article about itself, ], and an ]. For information on how to donate to the organization that runs Misplaced Pages, see ].}} | |||
| {{Help pages header}} | |||
| {{About Misplaced Pages}} | |||
| ] ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-uk-Misplaced Pages.ogg|ˌ|w|ɪ|k|ᵻ|ˈ|p|iː|d|i|ə}}, {{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-Misplaced Pages.ogg|ˌ|w|ɪ|k|i|ˈ|p|iː|d|i|ə}} {{respell|WIK|ih|PEE|dee|ə}}) is a ], ], ] ] project supported by the ] and based on a model of ] content. The name "Misplaced Pages" is a ] of the words '']'' (a technology for creating collaborative ]s, from the ] word '']'', meaning "quick") and '']''. Misplaced Pages's articles provide links designed to guide the user to related pages with additional information. | |||
| Misplaced Pages is ] by largely anonymous ] who write without pay. Anyone with ] access can write and make changes to Misplaced Pages articles, except in ] where ] is restricted to prevent disruption or vandalism. Users can ], under a pseudonym, or, if they choose to, with their real identity. | |||
| The fundamental principles by which Misplaced Pages operates are the ]. The ] has developed many ] to improve the encyclopedia; however, it is not a formal requirement to be familiar with them before contributing. | |||
| <div style="width: 75%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto"> | |||
| Since its creation in 2001, ] has grown rapidly into one of the ] reference ]s, attracting 374 million unique visitors monthly {{as of|2015|9|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite document | url = http://reportcard.wmflabs.org/ | publisher = Wikimedia | title = Report card | accessdate = September 3, 2015}}</ref> There are about <span class= "plainlinks"></span> working on more than ] in ]. As of today, there are {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} articles in ]. Every day, hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world collectively make tens of thousands of edits and create thousands of new articles to augment the knowledge held by the ] encyclopedia. (See the ] for more information.) | |||
| {{center|{{large| | |||
| ] of all ages, cultures and backgrounds can add or ] article prose, references, images and other media here. What is contributed is more important than the expertise or qualifications of the contributor. What will remain depends upon whether the content is free of ] and contentious material ], and whether it fits within Misplaced Pages's ], including being ] against a published ], thereby excluding editors' ] and beliefs and ]. Contributions cannot damage Misplaced Pages because the software allows easy reversal of mistakes and many experienced editors are watching to help ensure that edits are cumulative improvements. Begin by simply clicking the ''Edit'' ] at the top of any editable page! | |||
| "Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge.<wbr> That's what we're doing." {{nobreak|— ]}}}}}} | |||
| Misplaced Pages is a live collaboration differing from paper-based reference sources in important ways. Unlike printed encyclopedias, Misplaced Pages is continually created and updated, with articles on historic events appearing within minutes, rather than months or years. Because everybody can help improve it, Misplaced Pages has become more comprehensive than any other encyclopedia. In addition to quantity, its contributors work on improving quality as well. Misplaced Pages is a work-in-progress, with articles in various stages of completion. As articles develop, they tend to become more comprehensive and balanced. Quality also improves over time as misinformation and other errors are removed or repaired. However, because anyone can click "edit" at any time and add stuff in, any article may contain undetected misinformation, errors, or ]. Awareness of this helps the reader to obtain valid information, avoid recently added misinformation (see '']''), and fix the article. | |||
| </div> | |||
| See also: ] and ] | |||
| == About Misplaced Pages == | |||
| {{For|information on the administrative structure of Misplaced Pages|Misplaced Pages:Administration}} | |||
| {{Seealso|Misplaced Pages:Purpose}} | |||
| {{see|Misplaced Pages:Essay directory#About Misplaced Pages}} | |||
| === Misplaced Pages history === | |||
| {{details|History of Misplaced Pages}} | |||
| ] has grown to {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} articles, equivalent to ] of the '']''. Including all language editions, Misplaced Pages has over 38 million articles, equivalent to ].]] | |||
| ''']''' is a ] that anyone can edit, and ]. | |||
| ] was founded as an offshoot of ], a now-abandoned project to produce a 💕, begun by the online media company ]. Nupedia had an elaborate system of ] and required highly qualified contributors, but the writing of articles was slow. During 2000, ] (founder of Nupedia and co-founder of Bomis), and ], whom Wales had employed to work on the encyclopedia project, discussed ways of supplementing Nupedia with a more open, complementary project. Multiple sources suggested that a ] might allow members of the public to contribute material, and Nupedia's first wiki went online on January 10, 2001. | |||
| ] is to benefit readers by presenting information on all branches of ]. Hosted by the ], Misplaced Pages consists of ] content, with articles that often contain numerous links guiding readers to more information. | |||
| There was considerable resistance on the part of Nupedia's editors and reviewers to the idea of associating Nupedia with a website in the wiki format, so the new project was given the name "Misplaced Pages" and launched on its own domain, wikipedia.com, on January 15 (now called ] by some users). The ] and ] (in San Diego) were donated by Wales. Other current and past Bomis employees who have worked on the project include ], one of the cofounders of Bomis and its current CEO, and programmer Jason Richey. | |||
| ] by volunteers known as ], Misplaced Pages articles can be edited by anyone with ], except in ] in which ] is restricted to prevent ] or ]. Since its creation on ], it has grown into the world's ] reference ], attracting ]. Misplaced Pages currently has more than ] in ], including {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} articles in ], with {{NUMBEROFACTIVEUSERS}} active contributors in the past month. | |||
| In May 2001, a large number of non-English Wikipedias were launched—in ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. These were soon joined by ] and ]. In September,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/Wikipedia:Milestones_2001 |title=Milestones 2001}} Misplaced Pages, ''www.wikipedia.org''.</ref> ] was added, and further commitment to the multilingual provision of Misplaced Pages was made. At the end of the year, ], ], and ] versions were announced. | |||
| Misplaced Pages's fundamental principles are summarized in its ]. While the ] has developed many ], new editors do not need to be familiar with them before they start contributing. | |||
| The domain was eventually changed to the present wikipedia.org when the not-for-profit ] was launched, in 2003, as its new parent organization, with the ".org" ] denoting its non-commercial nature. Today, there are Wikipedias in over 250 languages. | |||
| ] can ] Misplaced Pages's text, references, and images. The quality of content is more important than who contributes it. The content must conform with Misplaced Pages's ], including being ] by published ]. Contributions based on ], beliefs, personal experiences, ], libellous material, and ] are not allowed and will not remain. Misplaced Pages's software allows easy reversal of errors, and experienced ] ] and ] bad edits. | |||
| === Misplaced Pages contributors === | |||
| {{main article|Misplaced Pages:Who writes Misplaced Pages?|Misplaced Pages:Wikipedians}} | |||
| {{see|Misplaced Pages:Administration#Editors}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ]. It is continually created and updated, and encyclopedic articles on news events appear within minutes, making it more dynamic than most traditional resources. Anyone can improve Misplaced Pages, and more than 23 years of volunteer editors giving their time and talents to the project have made Misplaced Pages history's most comprehensive encyclopedia. Its editors add quality and quantity, remove misinformation, and fix errors and ]. The sources they provide are used by researchers worldwide (see ]). | |||
| Anyone with Web access can edit Misplaced Pages, and this openness encourages inclusion of a tremendous amount of content. About 70,000 editors—from expert scholars to casual readers—regularly edit Misplaced Pages, and these experienced editors often help to create a consistent style throughout the encyclopedia, following our ]. | |||
| In summary, Misplaced Pages has tested the ] since 2001 and has found that it succeeds. | |||
| Several mechanisms are in place to help Misplaced Pages members carry out the important work of crafting a high-quality resource while maintaining ]. Editors are able to watch pages and technically skilled persons can write editing programs to keep track of or rectify bad edits. Where there are disagreements on how to display facts, editors often work together to compile an article that fairly represents current expert opinion on the subject. | |||
| {{blockquote|quote=To start editing, simply click the {{button|Edit|bgcolor=var(--background-color-base, #fff)|bgcolor2=var(--background-color-base, #fff)}} or {{button|Edit source|bgcolor=var(--background-color-base, #fff)|bgcolor2=var(--background-color-base, #fff)}}{{nbsp}}buttons or the pencil icon{{nbsp}}] at the top of any ] or section.}} | |||
| Although the Wikimedia Foundation owns the site, it is largely uninvolved in writing and daily operations. | |||
| {{Basic information|state=}} | |||
| === Trademarks and copyrights === | |||
| {{main article|Misplaced Pages:Copyrights|wmf:Trademark policy}} | |||
| "]" is a registered ] of the ] ], which has created a family of free-content ] that are built by user contributions. | |||
| ] | |||
| Most of Misplaced Pages's text and many of its images are dual-licensed under the ] (CC-BY-SA) and the ] (GFDL) (unversioned, with no invariant sections, front-cover texts, or back-cover texts). Some text has been imported only under CC-BY-SA and CC-BY-SA-compatible license and cannot be reused under GFDL; such text is identified either on the page footer, in the page history or on the discussion page of the article that utilizes the text. Every image has a description page that indicates the license under which it is released or, if it is non-free, the rationale under which it is used. | |||
| Contributions remain the property of their creators, while the CC-BY-SA and GFDL licenses ensure the content is freely distributable and reproducible. (See ] for more information.) | |||
| === Credits === | |||
| Text on Misplaced Pages is a collaborative work, and the efforts of individual contributors to a page are recorded in that ], which is publicly viewable. Information on the authorship of images and other media, such as sound files, can be found by clicking on the image itself or the nearby information icon to display the ], which includes the author and source, where appropriate, along with other information. | |||
| == Making the best use of Misplaced Pages == | |||
| {{Reader help}} | |||
| {{further information|Misplaced Pages:Reader's index to Misplaced Pages}} | |||
| {{see also|Help:Misplaced Pages: The Missing Manual/Appendixes/Reader's guide to Misplaced Pages|l1=Reader's guide to Misplaced Pages|Misplaced Pages:Research help|l2=the guide to using Misplaced Pages in research}} | |||
| === Exploring Misplaced Pages === | |||
| {{main article|Portal:Contents}} | |||
| Many visitors come to Misplaced Pages to acquire knowledge, while others come to share knowledge. At this very instant, dozens of articles are being improved, and ] are also being created. Changes can be viewed at the ] page and a random page at ]. Over 5,000 articles have been designated by the Misplaced Pages community as ], exemplifying the best articles in the encyclopedia. Another 26,000 articles are designated as ]. Some information on Misplaced Pages is organized into ]; the best of these are designated as ]. Misplaced Pages also has ], which organize content around topic areas; our best portals are selected as ]. Articles can be found using the ] box on the top-right side of the screen. | |||
| Misplaced Pages is available in languages other than English. Misplaced Pages has ], including a ] version, and related projects include a dictionary, quotations, books, manuals, and scientific reference sources, and a news service (see ]). All of these are maintained, updated, and managed by separate communities, and often include information and articles that can be hard to find through other common sources. | |||
| === Basic navigation in Misplaced Pages === | |||
| {{main article|Help:Navigation}} | |||
| Misplaced Pages articles are all ], or cross-referenced. When highlighted text like ] is seen, it means there is a link to some relevant article or Misplaced Pages page with further in-depth information. Holding the mouse over the link will often show to where the link will lead. There are other links towards the ends of most articles, for other articles of interest, relevant external websites and pages, reference material, and ] which can be searched and traversed in a loose ] for more information. Some articles may also have links to dictionary definitions, audio-book readings, quotations, the same article in other languages, and further information available on our ]. Additional links can be easily made if a relevant link is missing—this is one simple way to contribute. | |||
| === Using Misplaced Pages as a research tool === | |||
| {{main article|Misplaced Pages:Researching with Misplaced Pages|Misplaced Pages:Citing Misplaced Pages}} | |||
| As ] documents, articles are never considered complete and may be continually edited and improved. Over time, this generally results in an upward trend of quality and a growing consensus over a neutral representation of information. | |||
| Users should be aware that not all articles are of encyclopedic quality from the start: they may contain false or debatable information. Indeed, many articles start their lives as displaying a single viewpoint; and, after a long process of discussion, debate, and argumentation, they gradually take on a ] reached through ]. Others may, for a while, become caught up in a heavily unbalanced viewpoint which can take some time—months or years perhaps—to achieve a better balanced coverage of their subject. In part, this is because editors often contribute content in which they have a particular interest and do not attempt to make each article that they edit comprehensive. However, eventually, additional editors expand and contribute to articles and strive to achieve balance and comprehensive coverage. In addition, Misplaced Pages operates a number of internal resolution processes that can assist when editors disagree on content and approach. Usually, editors eventually reach a consensus on ways to improve the article. | |||
| The ''ideal'' Misplaced Pages article is well written, balanced, ], and encyclopedic, containing comprehensive, notable, ] knowledge. An increasing number of articles reach this standard over time, and many already have. Our best articles are called ] (and display a small star in the upper right corner of the article), and our second best tier of articles are designated ]. However, this is a process and can take months or years to be achieved through the concerted effort of editors. Some articles contain statements which have not yet been fully ]. Others will later be augmented with new sections. Some information will be considered by later contributors to be insufficiently founded and, therefore, may be removed. | |||
| While the overall trend is toward improvement, it is important to use Misplaced Pages carefully if it is intended to be used as a research source, since individual articles will, by their nature, vary in quality and maturity. ] are available to help users and researchers do this effectively, as is an article that summarizes third-party studies and assessments of the ]. | |||
| === Misplaced Pages vs paper encyclopedias === | |||
| :''Main page: ] (on ]).'' | |||
| Misplaced Pages has advantages over traditional paper encyclopedias. First, is that it is not limited in space: it can keep growing as fast as people add to it. | |||
| Second, there are no qualifications required to be able to author its articles. Therefore, it has a very large pool of contributors: the whole world. This, and the first advantage mentioned above, have enabled Misplaced Pages to become the most comprehensive encyclopedia on Earth. | |||
| Third, a paper encyclopedia remains static (stays the same) and falls out of date until the next edition. But Misplaced Pages is dynamic: you don't have to wait for the next edition to come out (there are no editions), as Misplaced Pages is published on-line as it is written on-line. Articles are made available as is, regardless of what stage of development they are in. ''You'' can update Misplaced Pages at any instant, and people do so continually around the clock, thereby helping each other to keep abreast of the most recent events everywhere and of the latest facts in every subject. | |||
| Fourth, Misplaced Pages has a very low "publishing" cost for adding or expanding entries, as it is on-line, with no need to buy paper or ink for distribution. This has allowed it to be made available for free, making it more accessible to everyone. This has enabled Misplaced Pages to be independently developed and published in many different languages at the same time, by people literate in each language. Of the 290+ different language Wikipedias, 137 of them have 10,000 or more articles. | |||
| Fifth, Misplaced Pages has a low environmental impact ], since it never needs to be printed, although computers have their own ]. | |||
| Sixth, Misplaced Pages is extra-linear (more than linear). Instead of in-line explanations, Misplaced Pages incorporates ] in the form of ]s. Throughout its content is a robust network of links, providing another dimension of knowledge accessibility. The encyclopedia also has correlates to ] and ], with each entry in them hyperlinked to an article on the topic specified. | |||
| Seventh, each Misplaced Pages article provides an introduction summarizing the more extensive detail of its contents. | |||
| Eighth, being open to anyone to edit, articles on Misplaced Pages are subject to additions that might be erroneous or written poorly, which in turn are subject to being corrected or rewritten. It is a community effort, with most people who are involved helping to improve the work, fixing problems they encounter along the way. See more about Misplaced Pages's strengths and weaknesses, below... | |||
| === Strengths, weaknesses, and article quality in Misplaced Pages === | |||
| {{main article|Misplaced Pages:Why Misplaced Pages is so great|Misplaced Pages:Why Misplaced Pages is not so great}} | |||
| {{see also|Reliability of Misplaced Pages|Misplaced Pages:Researching with Misplaced Pages}} | |||
| Misplaced Pages's greatest strengths, weaknesses, and differences all arise because it is open to anyone, it has a large contributor base, and its articles are written by consensus, according to editorial guidelines and policies. | |||
| * Misplaced Pages is '''open to a large contributor base''', drawing a large number of editors from diverse backgrounds. This allows Misplaced Pages to significantly reduce regional and cultural bias found in many other publications, and makes it very difficult for any person or group to ]. A large, diverse editor base also provides access and breadth on subject matter that is otherwise inaccessible or little documented. A large number of editors contributing at any moment also means that Misplaced Pages can produce encyclopedic articles and resources covering newsworthy events within hours or days of their occurrence. It also means that like any publication, Misplaced Pages may reflect the cultural, age, socio-economic, and other biases of its contributors. There is no systematic process to make sure that ] are written about, so Misplaced Pages may contain unexpected oversights and omissions. While ''most'' articles may be altered by anyone, in practice editing will be performed by a certain ] (younger rather than older, male rather than female, rich enough to afford a computer rather than poor, et cetera) and may, therefore, show some bias. Some topics may not be covered well, while others may be covered in great depth. | |||
| * Allowing '''anyone to edit''' Misplaced Pages means that it is more easily vandalized or susceptible to unchecked information, which requires removal. See ]. While blatant vandalism is usually easily spotted and rapidly corrected, Misplaced Pages is more subject to subtle viewpoint promotion than a typical reference work. However, bias that would be unchallenged in a traditional reference work is likely to be ultimately challenged or considered on Misplaced Pages. While Misplaced Pages articles generally attain a good standard after editing, it is important to note that fledgling articles and those monitored less well may be susceptible to vandalism and insertion of false information. Misplaced Pages's radical openness also means that any given article may be, at any given moment, in a bad state, such as in the middle of a large edit, or a controversial rewrite. Many contributors do not yet comply fully with key ], or may add information without ] sources. Misplaced Pages's open approach tremendously increases the chances that any particular factual error or misleading statement will be relatively promptly corrected. Numerous editors at any given time are monitoring ] and edits to articles on their ]. | |||
| * Misplaced Pages is '''written by open and transparent consensus'''—an approach that has its pros and cons. Censorship or imposing "official" points of view is extremely difficult to achieve and usually fails after a time. Eventually for most articles, all notable views become fairly described and a ] reached. In reality, the process of reaching consensus may be long and drawn-out, with articles fluid or changeable for a long time while they find their "neutral approach" that all sides can agree on. Reaching neutrality is occasionally made harder by ]. Misplaced Pages operates a full editorial dispute resolution process, one that allows time for discussion and resolution in depth, but one that also permits disagreements to last for months before poor-quality or biased edits are removed. A common conclusion is that Misplaced Pages is a valuable resource and provides a good reference point on its subjects. | |||
| * That said, articles and subject areas sometimes suffer from significant omissions, and while misinformation and vandalism are usually corrected quickly, this does not always happen. (See for example ] in which a person inserted a fake biography linking a prominent journalist to the Kennedy assassinations and Soviet Russia as a joke on a co-worker which went undetected for four months, saying afterwards he "didn’t know ] was used as a serious reference tool".) | |||
| * Misplaced Pages is '''written largely by amateurs'''. Those with expert credentials are given no additional weight. Misplaced Pages is also not subject to any peer review for scientific, medical or engineering articles. One advantage to having amateurs write in Misplaced Pages is that they have more free time on their hands so that they can make rapid changes in response to current events. The wider the general public interest in a topic, the more likely it is to attract contributions from non-specialists. | |||
| The ] software that runs Misplaced Pages retains a history of all edits and changes, thus information added to Misplaced Pages never "vanishes" irreversibly. Discussion pages are an important resource on contentious topics. Therefore, serious researchers can often find a wide range of vigorously or thoughtfully advocated viewpoints not present in the consensus article. As with any source, information should be checked. A 2005 editorial by a ] ] writer comments that these debates are probably symptomatic of cultural changes that are happening across all sources of information (including search engines and the media), and may lead to "a better sense of how to evaluate information sources".<ref>Bill Thompson, ''BBC'', December 16, 2005.</ref> | |||
| === Disclaimers === | |||
| {{Disclaimers}} | |||
| {{main article|Misplaced Pages:General disclaimer}} | |||
| Misplaced Pages disclaimers apply to all pages on Misplaced Pages. However, the consensus in Misplaced Pages is to put all disclaimers only as links and at the end of each article. Proposals to have a warning box at the beginning have been rejected. Some do not like the way it looks or that it calls attention to possible errors in Misplaced Pages. | |||
| Misplaced Pages, in common with many websites, has a disclaimer that, at times, has led to commentators citing these in order to support a view that Misplaced Pages is unreliable. A selection of similar disclaimers from places which are often regarded as reliable (including sources such as '']'', ], and the '']'') can be read and compared at ]. | |||
| == Contributing to Misplaced Pages == | |||
| {{Contributing to Misplaced Pages}} | |||
| {{main article|Misplaced Pages:Contributing to Misplaced Pages}} | |||
| {{see also|Misplaced Pages:Your first article|Help:Reverting|l2=Guide to fixing vandalism}} | |||
| in PDF form written by the staff at the Wikimedia Foundation]] | |||
| Anyone can contribute to Misplaced Pages by clicking on the ''Edit'' tab in an article. Before beginning to contribute, however, read some handy helping tools such as the ] and the ], as well as ]. {{Querylink|Special:UserLogin|qs=type=signup|Creating an account}} offers ]. It is important to realize that in contributing to Misplaced Pages, users are expected to be ] and ], respecting all points of view, and only add ] and factual information rather than ]. "]" cover this approach and are recommended reading before editing. (Vandals are reported via the ] and may be temporarily ] from editing Misplaced Pages.) | |||
| Most articles start as ], but after many contributions, they can become ]. Once the contributor has decided a topic of interest, they may want to ] be written (or they could research the issue and write it themselves). Misplaced Pages has on-going ], focused on specific topic areas or tasks, which help coordinate editing. | |||
| The ease of editing Misplaced Pages results in many people editing. That makes the updating of the encyclopedia very quick, almost as fast as news websites. | |||
| === Editing Misplaced Pages pages === | |||
| {{main article|Help:Editing|Help:Wiki markup}} | |||
| ] | |||
| Misplaced Pages uses a simple yet powerful page ] to allow editors to concentrate on adding material rather than page design. Page aspects facilitated include: | |||
| * ]—which follow a page's ] and (if specific conditions are met) a ], | |||
| * ], | |||
| * ], | |||
| * ], | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ], | |||
| * ], | |||
| * ], | |||
| * ], | |||
| * formatting elements and most world alphabets and common symbols, most of which have simple formats that are deliberately very easy and intuitive. | |||
| Normally editing is chosen by clicking the <tt>Edit</tt> tab at the top of a Misplaced Pages page (or on a ]). This will take you to a new page with a ] containing the editable text of the page you were viewing. In this box, you can type in the text that you want to add, using wiki markup to format the text and add other elements like images and tables. You should then press the <tt>Show preview</tt> button to review your contributions for any errors. When you have finished editing, you should write a short ] in the small field below the edit-box describing your changes before you press the <tt>Publish changes</tt> button. This will help others to understand the intention of your edit. To avoid accidentally leaving edit summaries blank, you can select "Prompt me when entering a blank edit summary" on the <tt>Edit</tt> tab of your ]. | |||
| Page editing is accessed through tabs that are found along the top edge of the page. These are: | |||
| * ''Article.'' Shows the main Misplaced Pages article. | |||
| * ''Talk.'' Shows a user discussion about the article's topic and possible revisions, controversies, etc. | |||
| * ''Edit.'' This tab allows users to edit the article. Depending on the page’s susceptibility to vandalism, according to its visibility or the degree of controversy surrounding the topic, this tab may not be shown for all users. (For example, any user who is not an ] will not be able to edit the ].) | |||
| * ''View history.'' This tab allows readers to view the editors of the article and the changes that have been made. | |||
| * ''Star.'' ("Watch") If you are logged into your account, clicking on the star icon will cause any changes made to the article to be displayed on the watchlist. (Note: when this icon is clicked, it changes to a filled-in star.) | |||
| Misplaced Pages has robust ]. This means that poor-quality edits or vandalism can quickly and easily be reversed or brought up to an appropriate standard by any other editor, so inexperienced editors cannot accidentally do permanent harm if they make a mistake in their editing. As there are many more editors intent on improving articles than not, error-ridden articles are usually corrected promptly. | |||
| === Misplaced Pages content criteria === | |||
| {{main article|Misplaced Pages:Misplaced Pages in brief|Misplaced Pages:Core content policies}} | |||
| {{Content policy list}} | |||
| Misplaced Pages content is intended to be factual, notable, verifiable with cited external sources, and neutrally presented. | |||
| The appropriate policies and guidelines for these are found at: | |||
| # ], which summarizes what belongs in Misplaced Pages and what does not; | |||
| # ], which describes Misplaced Pages's mandatory core approach to neutral, unbiased article-writing; | |||
| # ], which prohibits the use of Misplaced Pages to publish personal views and original research of editors and defines Misplaced Pages's role as an encyclopedia of existing ''recognized'' knowledge; | |||
| # ], which explains that it must be possible for readers to verify all content against credible external sources (following the guidance in the ] that is linked-to at the end of every article); | |||
| # ], which explains what factors determine whether a source is acceptable; | |||
| # ], which describes the manner of citing sources so that readers can verify content for themselves; | |||
| # And ], which offers a style guide—in general editors tend to acquire knowledge of appropriate writing styles and detailed formatting over time. | |||
| These are often abbreviated to ], ], ], ], ], ], and ] respectively. | |||
| === Editorial administration, oversight, and management === | |||
| {{main article|Misplaced Pages:Administration|Misplaced Pages:Editorial oversight and control}} | |||
| ] | |||
| The Misplaced Pages community is largely self-organising, so that anyone may build a reputation as a competent editor and become involved in any role s/he may choose, subject to peer approval. Individuals often will choose to become involved in specialised tasks, such as reviewing articles at others' request, watching current edits for vandalism, watching newly created articles for quality control purposes, or similar roles. Editors who believe they can serve the community better by taking on additional administrative responsibility may ask their peers for agreement to undertake such responsibilities. This structure enforces meritocracy and communal standards of editorship and conduct. At present a minimum approval of 75–80% from the community is required to take on these additional tools and responsibilities. This standard tends to ensure a high level of experience, trust, and familiarity across a broad front of aspects within Misplaced Pages. | |||
| A variety of ] and ] help editors and administrators to watch for problematic edits and editors. Theoretically all editors and users are treated equally with no "power structure". There is, however, ], some of which are listed hereafter: | |||
| # ''Anyone'' can edit most of the articles here. ] because of vandalism or edit-warring, and can only be edited by certain editors. | |||
| # Anyone with an account that has been registered for four days or longer and has made at least ten edits becomes ''autoconfirmed'', and gains the technical ability to do three things that non-autoconfirmed editors cannot: | |||
| #* Move articles. | |||
| #* Edit semi-protected articles. | |||
| #* Vote in certain elections (minimum edit count to receive suffrage varies depending on the election). | |||
| # Many editors with accounts obtain access to certain tools that make editing easier and faster. Few editors learn about most of those tools, but one common privilege granted to editors in good standing is "]", which is the ability to undo edits more easily. | |||
| # ] ("admins" or "sysops") have been approved by the community, and have access to some significant administrative tools. They can ], block accounts or IP addresses, and edit fully protected articles. | |||
| # ] are chosen in a process similar to that for selecting administrators. There are not very many bureaucrats. They have the technical ability to add or remove admin rights and approve or revoke "]" privileges. | |||
| # The ] is analogous to Misplaced Pages's ]. They deal with disputes that remain unresolved after other attempts at dispute resolution have failed. Members of this Committee are elected by the community and tend to be selected from among the pool of experienced admins. | |||
| # ] hold the top echelon of community permissions. Stewards can do a few technical things, and one almost never hears much about them since they normally only act when a local admin or bureaucrat is not available, and hence almost never on the English Misplaced Pages. There are very few stewards. | |||
| # ], the founder of Misplaced Pages, has several special roles and privileges. In most instances, however, he does not expect to be treated differently than any other editor or administrator. | |||
| === Handling disputes and abuse === | |||
| {{main article|Misplaced Pages:Vandalism|Misplaced Pages:Dispute resolution|Misplaced Pages:Consensus|Misplaced Pages:Sock puppetry|Misplaced Pages:Conflict of interest}} | |||
| Misplaced Pages has a rich set of methods to handle most abuses that commonly arise. These methods are well-tested and should be relied upon. | |||
| * Intentional '']'' can be ] and corrected by anyone. | |||
| * Unresolved ''disputes'' between editors, whether based upon behavior, editorial approach, or validity of content, can be addressed through the ] of an article, through ] or through Misplaced Pages's comprehensive ] process. | |||
| * ''Abuse of user accounts'', such as the creation of "]s" or solicitation of friends and other parties to enforce a non-neutral viewpoint or ] within a discussion, or to disrupt other Misplaced Pages processes in an annoying manner, are addressed through the ]. | |||
| In addition, new users may initially find that their votes are given less weight by editors in some informal ] in order to prevent abuse of ]. | |||
| === Editorial quality review === | |||
| As well as systems to catch and control substandard and vandalistic edits, Misplaced Pages also has a full ] and a variety of positive systems for continual article review and improvement. Examples of the processes include ], ], and ], a rigorous review of articles that are intended to meet the highest standards and showcase Misplaced Pages's capability to produce high-quality work. | |||
| In addition, specific types of article or fields often have their own specialized and comprehensive ], assessment processes (such as ]), and expert reviewers within specific subjects. Nominated articles are also frequently the subject of specific focus on the ] or in ]. | |||
| == Technical attributes == | |||
| Misplaced Pages uses ] software, the ] program used not only on ]s but also on many other third-party websites. The hardware supporting the Wikimedia projects is based on several hundred servers in various hosting centers around the world. ]. For technical information about Misplaced Pages, check ]. Misplaced Pages publishes various types of ]; and, across its pages, are many thousands of ]. | |||
| == Feedback and questions == | |||
| Misplaced Pages is run as a communal effort. It is a community project whose result is an encyclopedia. Feedback about content should, in the first instance, be raised on the discussion pages of those articles. ] and edit the pages to add information or correct mistakes. | |||
| === Frequently asked questions (FAQ) === | |||
| {{main article|Misplaced Pages:FAQ}} | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| === Static help === | |||
| The ] may be accessed by clicking ''help'' displayed under the ''<small>►</small> Interaction'' tab at the top left of all pages. | |||
| * ]—is a menu-style page that will direct you to the right place to find information. | |||
| * ]—is a descriptive listing of all Misplaced Pages's informative, instructional and consultation pages. | |||
| === Giving feedback === | |||
| There is an established escalation-and-dispute process within Misplaced Pages, as well as pages designed for questions, feedback, suggestions, and comments. For a full listing of the services and assistance that can be requested on Misplaced Pages, see ]. | |||
| * ]—the associated discussion page for discussion of an article or policy's contents (usually the first place to go) | |||
| * ]—a facility for reporting vandalism (but fix vandalism as well as report it) | |||
| * ]—the procedure for handling disputes that remain unresolved within an article's talk space | |||
| * ]—the Misplaced Pages discussion area, part of the ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| See also: | |||
| * ]—a facility for reporting problems with the Misplaced Pages website or the ] software that runs it | |||
| * ]—a place for making non-policy suggestions | |||
| * ]—Misplaced Pages's general help desk, if other pages have not answered the query | |||
| === Research help and similar questions === | |||
| Facilities to help users researching specific topics can be found at: | |||
| * ]—to suggest or request articles for the future. | |||
| * ]—to ask for help with any questions, or in finding specific facts. | |||
| * ]—for information on using Misplaced Pages as a research tool. | |||
| Because of the nature of Misplaced Pages, it is encouraged that people looking for information should try to find it themselves in the first instance. If, however, information is found to be missing from Misplaced Pages, ] and ] so others can gain. | |||
| === Community discussion === | |||
| For a listing of ongoing discussions and current requests, see the ]. For specific discussion not related to article content or editor conduct, see the ], which covers such subjects as ], ] and ] discussion, and information on other specialized portals such as the ], ] and ] desks. The ] is a centralized place to find things to do, collaborations, and general editing help information, and find out what is happening. ], a community-edited newspaper, has recent news regarding Misplaced Pages, its sister projects, and the ]. | |||
| === Contacting individual Misplaced Pages editors === | |||
| To contact individual contributors, leave a message on their ]. Standard places to ask policy and project-related questions are the ], online, and the ], over e-mail. Reach other ] via ] and ]. | |||
| In addition, the Wikimedia Foundation ] is a site for coordinating the various Misplaced Pages projects and sister projects (and abstract discussions of policy and direction). Also available are places for submitting ]. | |||
| For a full list of contact options, see ''']'''. | |||
| == Other languages == | |||
| {{Misplaced Pages languages}} | |||
| == Sister projects == | |||
| {{Misplaced Pages's sister projects}} | |||
| ; Please note that while other sites may also use ] software and therefore look similar to Misplaced Pages, or may have a name that includes “Wiki-” or “-pedia”, or a similar ], the only projects which are part of the Wikimedia Foundation are those listed above and Misplaced Pages, even if other projects claim to be part of it. | |||
| == See also == | |||
| {{Help desk}} | |||
| {{portal|Help|Internet}} | |||
| {{Misplaced Pages books|Misplaced Pages}} | |||
| * For useful directories and indexes, see ]. | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ]'' | |||
| * ] | |||
| == References == | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| == Further reading == | |||
| {{main article|Bibliography of Misplaced Pages}} | |||
| {{refbegin}} | |||
| * {{cite book|author1=Phoebe Ayers|author2=Charles Matthews|author3=Ben Yates|title=How Misplaced Pages Works:|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lHdi1CEPLb4C&pg=PP1|year=2008|publisher=No Starch Press. |isbn=978-1-59327-176-3}} | |||
| * {{cite book|author=John Broughton|title=Misplaced Pages Reader's Guide: The Missing Manual|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Wcob2c_eY48C&pg=PP1|year=2008|publisher=O'Reilly Media, Inc. |isbn=978-0-596-55387-6}} | |||
| * {{cite book|author=John Broughton|title=Misplaced Pages: The Missing Manual|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=h37N0BvkVSUC&pg=PP1|year=2008|publisher=O'Reilly Media, Inc.|isbn=978-0-596-55377-7}} | |||
| * {{cite book|author=Dan O'Sullivan|title=Misplaced Pages: A New Community of Practice?|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=htu8A-m_Y4EC&pg=PP1|date=24 September 2009|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4094-8606-0}} | |||
| * {{cite book|author=Andrew Lih|title=The Misplaced Pages revolution: how a bunch of nobodies created the world's greatest encyclopedia|date=17 March 2009|publisher=Hyperion|isbn=978-1-4013-0371-6}} | |||
| * {{cite book|author1=Joseph Michael Reagle, Jr.|author2=Lawrence Lessig|title=Good Faith Collaboration: The Culture of Misplaced Pages|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ml7SlTq8XvIC&pg=PP1|date=30 September 2010|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-01447-2}} | |||
| {{refend}} | |||
| == External links == | |||
| {{external media | width = 210px| float = right | |||
| | video1 =, 2005 TED (conference), 20 mins.}} | |||
| * ] – The ] | |||
| * ] – The six values of the Wikimedia Foundation | |||
| * ] – The Wikimedia Foundation | |||
| * ] – Principles generally supported by all of the Wikimedia communities | |||
| * | |||
| {{Basic information}} | |||
| {{Misplaced Pages community|state=collapsed}} | |||
| {{Misplaced Pages policies and guidelines}} | |||
| {{Misplaced Pages}} | |||
| ] | |||
| {{PartofHelpContents}} | |||
Latest revision as of 00:26, 9 December 2024
Introduction to English language Misplaced Pages Shortcuts This is a general introduction for visitors to Misplaced Pages. For aspiring contributors, also see this guide and tutorial. For other uses, see Misplaced Pages:Misplaced Pages (disambiguation).
Misplaced Pages is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and millions already have.
Misplaced Pages's purpose is to benefit readers by presenting information on all branches of knowledge. Hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, Misplaced Pages consists of freely editable content, with articles that often contain numerous links guiding readers to more information.
Written collaboratively by volunteers known as Wikipedians, Misplaced Pages articles can be edited by anyone with Internet access, except in limited cases in which editing is restricted to prevent disruption or vandalism. Since its creation on January 15, 2001, it has grown into the world's largest reference website, attracting over a billion visitors each month. Misplaced Pages currently has more than sixty-four million articles in more than 300 languages, including 6,928,894 articles in English, with 120,097 active contributors in the past month.
Misplaced Pages's fundamental principles are summarized in its five pillars. While the Misplaced Pages community has developed many policies and guidelines, new editors do not need to be familiar with them before they start contributing.
Anyone can edit Misplaced Pages's text, references, and images. The quality of content is more important than who contributes it. The content must conform with Misplaced Pages's policies, including being verifiable by published reliable sources. Contributions based on personal opinions, beliefs, personal experiences, unreviewed research, libellous material, and copyright violations are not allowed and will not remain. Misplaced Pages's software allows easy reversal of errors, and experienced editors watch and patrol bad edits.
Misplaced Pages differs from printed references in important ways. It is continually created and updated, and encyclopedic articles on news events appear within minutes, making it more dynamic than most traditional resources. Anyone can improve Misplaced Pages, and more than 23 years of volunteer editors giving their time and talents to the project have made Misplaced Pages history's most comprehensive encyclopedia. Its editors add quality and quantity, remove misinformation, and fix errors and vandalism. The sources they provide are used by researchers worldwide (see Researching with Misplaced Pages).
In summary, Misplaced Pages has tested the wisdom of the crowd since 2001 and has found that it succeeds.
To start editing, simply click the Edit or Edit source buttons or the pencil icon
at the top of any non-protected page or section.
| Basic information on Misplaced Pages - (Search) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| About Misplaced Pages | |||||
| Readers' FAQ | |||||
| Introductions to contributing | |||||
| Pillars, policies and guidelines | |||||
| Getting help | |||||
| Misplaced Pages community | |||||
| Sourcing and referencing |
| ||||
| How-to guides | |||||
| Wiki markup | |||||
| Directories and glossaries | |||||