#ArchivesInnovHub Wikipedia Editathon on the Supreme Court

December 11, 2015

1. Your name, affiliation2. Have you ever edited Wikipedia

before? 3. What are you hoping to get out

of today’s event?

Introductions

We all use Wikipedia, but what do we really know about it?

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia

• Freely licensed without restrictions• All content created & maintained by

volunteers• Non-profit educational project, supported by

Wikimedia Foundation• All edits/versions are recorded indefinitely• Software: MediaWiki

Biggest. Encyclopedia. Ever.

• 5,029,029+ articles in English (see size of Wikipedia)

• 35 million+ articles in 288 different languages

“A Wikipedia article is a process, not a product.” -Clay Shirky

Global community site:https://meta.wikimedia.org

A Hybrid of Tool & Community

Who or what merits an article in Wikipedia?

If a person or topic has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject, then it is deemed “notable.”

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability Or type in search shortcut WP:N

Wikipedia Content Standards

• Neutral Point of View• Verifiability

reliable sources, cited correctly• No “original research”

i.e. unpublished data, opinions, speculation

• Assume good faith towards other editors

• Avoid conflict of interest (i.e. creating a page about yourself) See Wikipedia: Policies and guidelines

Do I have to register an account?

No, but there are lots of advantages to doing so.

• A record of your work builds credibility & signals membership in the community

• More privacy, since anonymous contributors’ IP address is recorded

• More editing privileges: ability to create/rename articles, upload images, edit preferences

NOTE: There should be a 1:1 ratio between editors and accounts on Wikipedia. Shared accounts are not allowed.

Can I edit the Wikipedia article about my workplace? My boss? My grandma?

Possibly, but ONLY under the right conditions.

“When advancing outside interests is more important to an editor than advancing the aims of Wikipedia, that editor stands in a conflict of interest (CoI).”

Your #1 priority must be: making a better, more useful encyclopedia article.

Avoid Conflict of Interest Editing

• Register a unique user account • Disclose your affiliations (see

sample CoI Statement)

• Cite authoritative sources • Don’t remove “controversies”• Recognize that no one person can

“own” a Wikipedia article or control its content

ANATOMY OF AN ARTICLE

Infob

oxTitle

Table of

contents

Main use of boldface

Red =

no ar

ticleHeading Level 2

Lots of footnotesHeading Level 3

Heading Level 3

For overachievers!

Related articles

Non-Wiki external links

Footnotes – inserted in body but display here

LETS START EDITING!

Step 1 - Register a user account

1. Go to en.wikipedia.org, click “Create Account”

2. Choose a username and password

Step 2 –Turn on “Visual Editor”

1. Click the Preferences link at the top of the page2. Visit the Beta features tab, scroll down and check

the box “VisualEditor”

Edit Source Edit beta

MediaWiki software markup language

Type WP:CHEAT in the search box for more information

a.k.a. “Visual Editor,” what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG)

Type WP:VE/UG in the search box for more information

Relatively simple to learn, especially if you have any experience with HTML

Familiar symbols for formatting, similar to word processing programs

Best for ultimate control and ability to customize the page; working with wiki “templates” {{ }}

Best for making straightforward textual edits, adding links, headings, etc.

Not very good for people who dislike or get confused by markup languages! Also it is easy to lose your place, or make a typo. Always click “Show Preview” before saving!

Not very good for the more complex wiki markup, such as “templates” {{ }}, still a work in progress, so it can be buggy and/or confusing at times.

Step 3 - Create a user page or sandbox

1. Click the red link at the top with your username on it, or “sandbox”

2. Write something and click Show Preview. 3. Save.

It is good to get in the habit of leaving a comment too!

Citing Sources

Images: Wikimedia Commons vs. “Non-free Use” rationale

Wikimedia Commons imagecommons.wikimedia.orgExample: Teton Range

Non-free imageen.wikipedia.orgExample: Look Mickey

Thank others for their work!

Ways to bring a positive & collaborative spirit to the community

WikimediaDC.org

To stay in touch and attend future events in the D.C. area