User:PBurns3711

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[edit] Some Core Wiki Concepts That All Editors Should Know

A few of the more common Wikipedia rules and concepts are appended below, with links. If you think you "own" an article, or that documented facts with multiple links to reliable sources are violations of "Neutral Point of View," or that a link to a "spam bot" web site or a blog is a good citation to back up your point, then you should make yourself aware of what Wikipedia actually has to say on these concepts:

• Ownership of Articles:

"Some contributors feel very possessive about material ... they have donated to this project. Some go so far as to defend them against all intruders. Believing that an article has an owner of this sort is a common mistake people make on Wikipedia."[1]

• Revert:

"Do not simply revert changes in a dispute. When someone makes an edit you consider biased or inaccurate, improve the edit, rather than reverting it."[2]

• Citing Sources:

"Any material that is challenged and for which no source is provided may be removed by any editor. ... All items used to verify information in the article must be listed in the "References" or "Notes" section, and are generally not included in "Further reading" or "External links". However, if an item used as a reference covers the topic beyond the scope of the article, and has significant usefulness beyond verification of the article, you may want to include it here as well. This also makes it easier for users to identify all the major recommended resources on a topic."[3]

• Reliable Sources:

"Using reliable sources assures the reader that what is being presented meets the Wikipedia standards for verifiability, originality, and neutrality. Accurate citation allows the reader to go to those sources and gives appropriate credit to the author of the work.... If all the sources for a given statement or topic are of low reliability, this suggests to the reader that the content be treated with a degree of skepticism, and to the editor that the material may not be suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia.... Wikipedia relies heavily upon the established literature created by scientists, scholars and researchers around the world. Items that fit this criterion can always be considered reliable." [4]

• Neutral Point of View:

"All Wikipedia articles must be written from a neutral point of view (NPOV), representing fairly and without bias all significant views that have been published by a reliable source ... As the name suggests, the neutral point of view is a point of view, not the absence or elimination of viewpoints.... NPOV says that the article should fairly represent all significant viewpoints that have been published by a verifiable source ... Assert facts ... A good way to build a neutral point of view is to find a reputable source for the piece of information you want to add to Wikipedia, and then cite that source."[5]