User:Chaotic Enby/Plain and simple guide to Wikipedia

A quick guide to avoid (most) beginner mistakes and understand how to Wikipedia.

Conflict of interest

• If you have a conflict of interest (connection to the article subject), you must declare it.
• If you are editing in exchange for payment or compensation, you must declare it.
• You shouldn't directly write articles on which you have a conflict of interest.
• Instead, you should make requests through Wikipedia:Articles for Creation and Wikipedia:Edit requests.
• User accounts are individual, they shouldn't have the name of a company or a company position.
• Writing an article about yourself is highly discouraged.

Style

• Our titles are written in sentence case, not in title case.
• Bolding is only used for the topic name (and alternate names), in the first paragraph of the article.
• The lead should be a summary of the article.
• Wikipedia should be neutral: articles can't be written in a promotional tone.
• Avoid puffery and contentious labels.
• Don't add external links in the body of the article.
• Articles don't have conclusions.
• All the more detailed stuff is at Wikipedia:Manual of Style.

Sourcing and notability

• To have a standalone article, a topic must be considered notable enough.
• Notability, as defined on Wikipedia, is not about being famous. It's about having quality sources that allow a neutral article to be written.
• This can be done by having three sources independent from the topic (no interviews, paid promotion, or press releases) discussing it at-length.
• Members of the executive or legislature of a sovereign state are automatically considered notable.
• Sources must be reliable. The most frequent sources are assessed at WP:RSP.
• Non-independent sources (such as company websites or press releases) are highly discouraged.
• Don't cite other articles: Wikipedia is not a source. Instead, look at the sources these other articles are using.
• You should only write what the sources say, not add your own opinions or conjectures without sources.
• If you need help finding sources, you can use the reference desk to ask for help!

Civility and behavior

• Don't be a jerk, calling someone else "idiot" is never productive.
• If you have several accounts, they should be explicitly declared.
• If someone reverts your edit, don't revert it back, discuss it with them.
• Talk about content, not about another editor and always assume good faith when dealing with other users.
• When in doubt, always discuss the issue and try to get consensus for the changes you want to make.
• When discussing with other editors, sign your name by adding four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature icon in the edit toolbar.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help at the Teahouse!

Copyright

• Anything you find on the Internet is copyrighted unless noted otherwise. Except in very limited circumstances, it cannot be copy-pasted or uploaded on Wikipedia.
• Close paraphrasing (replacing individual words in a text) isn't enough to avoid copyright issues. Instead, rewrite the ideas in your own words.
• Don't upload stuff you or your company owns the copyright to, even if you say it's okay for us to use it.
• Don't upload stuff licensed under CC BY-NC. If you release the rights to Wikipedia, you also release them to anyone who might want to use them for commercial purposes.