Wikipedia Editathon Resources

Basically, there's no risk and there are lots of benefits. You'll be creating a shared resource that millions of people can use to expand their knowledge of the world we live in. Editors are encouraged to be bold!  and Wikipedia is allowed to be imperfect. So don't worry too much about not being an expert or the best writer. You can't break Wikipedia; all edits can be reversed, fixed or improved later. So go ahead, edit an article and help make Wikipedia the best information source on the Internet! If you're skittish about editing live entries, you can always suggest changes on the article's discussion page and let the community decide.

Creating an account is easy. (If you can do this on your phone, it will prevent Wikipedia from thinking we are trying to spam new accounts from one IP address.)

• Visit http://en.wikipedia.org.
• Click the "Create account" link in the upper right corner.
• Choose a Username and Password, and enter your email address.
• Type the captcha.
• Click the "Create your account" button.

There are a host of ways to learn how to edit Wikipedia. Here are some possible starting places:

• Play in your sandbox. Once you create an account, you will have a "sandbox" in which to draft or test out different features. No one can wander into your sandbox by searching the Internet or Wikipedia itself.
• Complete "The Wikipedia Adventure." This is an interactive game hosted within Wikipedia itself. If you login to your account and then play the game, badges will appear in your profile after you complete each mission.
• Read "Editing Wikipedia: A Guide to Improving Content on the Online Encyclopedia," by the Wikimedia Foundation. Twenty pages of solid information about how and why to be a Wikipedia editor.
• Check out the "Wikipedia Tutorial" Page on Wikipedia
• Explore Wikipedia's "Contributing to Wikipedia" Page. This page has links to more information about Wikipedia's editorial philosophy, community guidelines, and other best practices. 
• Watch some online videos. There are many people willing to share their experience and expertise:
  • “How to Edit a Wikipedia Article”
  • “Wikipedia Editing Basics (Visual Editor)"

Also, Wikimedia Commons serves as a repository of media files online that are often integrated into Wikipedia articles.

• Introduction to Wikimedia Commons
• Adding Images to Wikipedia: Do's and Don'ts

Just learning about how to edit Wikipedia is a great start, but finding a place where you can contribute can seem daunting. Some Wikipedia editors focus on monitoring new submissions, copyediting other's writing, correcting vandalism, and a host of other specific tasks. Here are a few ways to identify a place to start adding or revising content:

• Search for and read articles on topics you have some background or expertise in. Read through and see what can be improved.
• Seek out articles in need of copyediting (articles on this page are organized by when they were tagged as needing copyediting).
• Seek out existing stubs (short, incomplete Wikipedia articles) on a topic of your choice. Find additional information to add to the article.
• Use tools like Citation Hunter to locate spots in Wikipedia articles where citation is needed. Identify a reliable source for the information mentioned and add it to that entry. You may find the "Introduction to Referencing" helpful for this task.
• Interested in contributing media such as images? Check out Wikimedia Commons and items on their Requested Photographs Page.
• Interested in translating Wikipedia articles? Check out the Wikipedia "Translate Us" Page (for translating from English to other languages) or the Wikipedia Translation Page (for translating from other languages into English, or between other languages).

Remember, you can cite references that are available online or in print. You can use Shark Search to search for sources of information available through the NSU Alvin Sherman library archives.

Last semester's "Wiki Loves Pride" Wikipedia Edit-a-thon (see the flyer) tried to inspire individuals to improve LGBTQ+-related content on Wikipedia. Here are some resources for participating in this project:

• Join the LGBT Studies Wikiproject. This is a community of Wikipedians committed to improving coverage of LGBTQ+ content on Wikipedia.
  • Check out their LGBT Studies "How to Get Involved" Page.
  • Add your name to the LGBT Studies Members List and add a LGBT Studies userbox to your profile. 
• Browse the LGBT Portal Wikipedia Page - A portal for current content and projects tagged as "LGBT."
• Browse articles already categorized as LGBT content.
• Browse the list of stubs (incomplete articles) focused on LGBT-related content. (Categories are alphabetized; look under "LGBT . . . ")
• Check out online resources from the "Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Roundtable of the American Library Association.

Below are links to pages within Wikipedia that give you  more insight into the policies and procedures that govern this community:

• The Five Pillars - The five fundamental principles of Wikipedia.
• Wikipedia Policies and Guidelines
• Wikitext - Specialized language for formatting Wikipedia articles.