From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Introduction to English language Wikipedia
"Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge.
That's what we're doing."
?
Jimmy Wales
Wikipedia
is a
free online encyclopedia
that anyone can edit, and
millions already have
.
Wikipedia's purpose
is to benefit readers by presenting information on all branches of
knowledge
. Hosted by the
Wikimedia Foundation
, it consists of
freely editable
content, whose articles also have numerous links to guide readers towards more information.
Written collaboratively
by largely anonymous volunteers known as
Wikipedians
, Wikipedia articles can be edited by anyone with
Internet access
, except in
limited cases
where
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 monthly
. Wikipedia currently has more than
sixty-two million articles
in
more than 300 languages
, including 6,818,600 articles in
English
, with 122,676 active contributors in the past month.
Wikipedia's fundamental principles are summarized in its
five pillars
. The
Wikipedia community
has developed many
policies and guidelines
, although editors do not need to be familiar with them before contributing.
Anyone
can
edit
Wikipedia's text, references, and images. What is written is more important than who writes it. The content must conform with Wikipedia's
policies
, including being
verifiable
by published
sources
. Editors'
opinions
, beliefs, personal experiences,
unreviewed research
, libelous material, and
copyright violations
will not remain. Wikipedia's software allows easy reversal of errors, and experienced
editors
watch
and
patrol
bad edits.
Wikipedia differs from printed references in important ways
. It is continually created and updated, and encyclopedic articles on new events appear within minutes rather than months or years. Because anyone can improve Wikipedia, it has become more comprehensive than any other encyclopedia. Its contributors enhance its articles' quality and quantity, and remove misinformation, errors and
vandalism
. Any reader can fix a mistake or add more information to what has already been written (see
Researching with Wikipedia
).
Begin by simply clicking the
Edit
or
Edit?source
buttons or the pencil icon
at the top of any non-protected page or section.
Wikipedia has tested the
wisdom of the crowd
since 2001 and found that it succeeds.