Wikipedia:Tutorial (historical)/Keep in mind
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Over time,
Core content policies
Neutral point of view
Maintaining a neutral point of view (NPOV) is one of the five pillars and founding principles of Wikipedia. This policy says that we accept all the significant viewpoints on an issue. Instead of simply stating one perspective, we try to present all relevant viewpoints without judging them. Our aim is to be informative, not persuasive. Our policy does NOT mean that our articles are expected to be 100% objective, since in any dispute all sides believe their view to be true.
Wikipedia does not achieve balance by giving all opposing points of view equal space or treating them as equally valid. Views should be represented in proportion to their representation in reliable sources. When the subject of the article is a
Verifiability
Wikipedia requires verifiable content, which means that you may only write what reliable sources have said about topics. If you cannot find reliable sources to back up your information, it cannot be included even if you think it is "true". You must cite sources for any information you contribute that is controversial or likely to be challenged, preferably by adding a footnote, as discussed in the "Citing Sources" page of this tutorial. Citations help our readers to verify what you have written and to find more information.
No original research
Wikipedia is not the place for
To prevent adding original research, avoid directly using primary sources if possible; instead, use secondary or tertiary sources that interpret and synthesize primary sources. Do not interpret, infer from, summarize, or synthesize primary sources yourself.
Routine calculations, translations from other languages, and faithful transcriptions of published audio and video are generally not considered original research.
Style manual
The Manual of Style documents Wikipedia's house style. Its goal is to make using Wikipedia easier and more intuitive by promoting clarity and cohesion while helping editors write articles with consistent and precise language, layout, and formatting. Style and formatting should be consistent within an article, though not necessarily throughout Wikipedia. Where more than one style is acceptable, editors should not change an article from one of those styles to another without a good reason.
Conduct
Wikipedia encourages an atmosphere of friendliness and openness. Of course, in practice there are sometimes disagreements and even an occasional heated argument, but members of the community are expected to behave in a generally civil manner.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that you should always assume good faith on the part of other editors. Do not assume that someone is acting out of spite or malice. If someone does something that upsets you, leave a polite message on the relevant article's talk page or on the user's talk page, and ask why. You may find that you have avoided a misunderstanding and saved yourself some embarrassment.
Subject matter
Wikipedia is an editable encyclopedia (along with some topics that would typically be found in an almanac). Hence, articles should consist of encyclopedic information about "notable" subjects. What exactly constitutes notability is the subject of constant debate on Wikipedia, but in no case should there be (per Wikipedia rules) an article for every person on the planet, or for every company that sells anything, or for each street in every town in the world. However, there are sister projects for certain types of non-encyclopedic content.
Encyclopedia articles are primarily about the subject, not the words for the subject, so any article that simply defines and explains the usages of a word, or short phrase, as you would find in a typical dictionary, should be contributed to the Wiktionary sister project instead.
Copyrights
As a general rule, do not copy and paste text from other sources. Doing so usually constitutes both a
Note: To view this information in an article style format, see contributing to Wikipedia. Wikipedia also has "topic specific tutorials"; and The Wikipedia Adventure a comprehensive and fun 7-mission interactive guided tour, which covers all the essentials about editing and the expectations and norms of the Wikipedia community.