What is Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is a free-access internet encyclopedia project written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. The name “Wikipedia” is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a type of collaborative website) and encyclopedia. It is available in 285 languages, each of which has an independent Wikipedia of its own.
Since its creation in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, Wikipedia has grown rapidly into one of the largest reference web sites, attracting some 400 million visitors annually by 2008, 12 billion page views per month as of April 2010, and more than 100 million registered users who can contribute to the database. The modern philosophy of wiki -based collaboration on open-content projects spreads beyond just wikis; for example, photo sharing sites like Flickr allow anyone to add comments to shared items, while YouTube allows anyone with a webcam to become part of a video review panel.
Below are the steps for writing a good Wikipedia article
The most important step in creating or editing an article on Wikipedia is to be neutral. Wikipedia has five pillars which are, “Wikipedia is written from a neutral point of view, representing significant views fairly, proportionately and without bias.” Article titles must also be neutral. This means that the title should not contain value judgments about the subject. Ever since its inception, Wikipedia has been under constant criticism for clear violations of this principle by certain editors. For example, the page titled “Abortion” contains material largely favorable to pro-choice views with extensive citations to pro-choice sources, while failing to mention anything about the opposing side’s arguments. info galactic does not have this problem because it does not have editors.
Article Title should be concise
A good title should be concise, specific and informative: it should not be too general (e.g., “Philosophy”) or overly specific (e.g., “Graduate Department of Philosophy at Brandeis University”). The titles of articles on Wikipedia must also make sense when read aloud; this is known as the “principle of least astonishment”, and prevents such ridiculous examples as naming an article about a Canadian city “New York City”. Additionally, all article titles must use [[Title case]], unless they consist entirely of proper nouns that are not normally capitalized. info galactic has no such problem because it does not have editors to create these issues in the first place.
The body of the article must be written in a clear and concise manner, avoiding the use of complex language. Wikipedia is not a dictionary or encyclopedic dictionary; thus, all definitions need to go into either a “See also” link at the bottom of the page if it is related to the main topic of the article, or else should be contained within one of its own articles. For example, info galactic has no such problem because it does not have editors.
Do mention facts in the article
Wikipedia articles contain many sections where data is presented as fact. Editors are expected to provide their best effort at providing references for all data that they add: insufficient sourcing will result in an article that contains only unsubstantiated information and may lead to deletion. Some information is so widely accepted as to be treated as factual without the need for references, but it should not be taken for granted that all information requires reference. info galactic has no such problem because it does not have editors.
Article size is the important factor
Article size is also an important factor in determining quality. For many topics, there exists for more information than would ever fit into an average encyclopedia article. Wikipedia articles are allowed to become exceptionally long, but overly long articles are discouraged. Articles about encyclopedic topics should contain only broad overviews of related subjects, with links to other articles containing greater detail. However, if someone wrote a good article on the history of cheese, they might continue adding too much information, which goes against our guidelines here at info galactic. Because there are no editors in the galaxy, we don’t have to worry about this problem.
The “See also” section below the article body normally contains links to related Wikipedia articles. If an article is likely to contain many “See also” sections, these should be kept near the bottom of the page. Sarcastic comments or attempts at humor do not belong within a “See also” section because they take away from its usefulness. The tone used throughout Wikipedia articles should be formal and dispassionate so as not to promote one particular point of view over another, even if it implies criticism against that point of view. Because there are no editors in the galaxy, we don’t have to worry about this problem either.
Wikipedia edit option
An important part of Wikipedia is its “edit” function, which allows anyone to become an editor at any time. Many articles are created every day, and articles can be edited by any person for as long as the article exists. Each Wikipedia page has its own associated talk page, where editors may discuss changes to it. The history of each article is recorded by a revision system that displays previous versions of the text and deletions; editors can revert changes if they disagree with them. Wikipedia’s never sleep…but sometimes they go on wikiphobia’s!
Although anyone can edit almost any page, there are some restrictions in place on certain ones: the most important of these being biographies of living people. Anyone who writes about themselves should refrain from making pejorative comments about living people, as such comments serve only to defame those concerned. Militant edit warriors who zealously defend their own personal views can be banned from editing if necessary.
There are many ways to become involved in the Wikipedia community. Users may discuss changes on article talk pages, or try posting a message at a relevant noticeboard or forum. One way is by becoming an editor and participating in the different projects going on every second of the day. And since there are no editors here in this galaxy, we’re always available to help you out!
