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Wikipedia Editathon Resources

This page has resources to help you get started editing Wikipedia. Thanks for participating and learning how to make Wikipedia more equitable and informative. Our winter 2021 editathon will be held from April 21 in the WCC, Alvin Sherman Library Rm. 430, and we are focusing on increasing the diversity of who edits Wikipedia. Come by and we can help you create a Wikipedia account and show you how to edit entries.

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:

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

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:

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

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