Wikipedia:Nothing is in stone
This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
This page in a nutshell: Wikipedia is always bound to change. |
An article. A featured article. A bunch of articles. A category. A template. A project page. A guideline. A policy. An editable source. As you see, they are all a certain way when you take a look at them. But are they really meant to stay that way forever?
Fact is, on Wikipedia, nothing is in stone. Not once. Not ever.
On Wikipedia, so many changes occur every second, that if you take a look at the recent changes log (a special page that is uneditable to most), and then check back a few seconds later, you may not recognize anything on the list from your earlier visit.
"Wiki" is the Hawaiian word for quick. In other words, Wikipedia is called the "quick encyclopedia," a reference to the ability it has to change so quickly.
Content on Wikipedia generally improves over time, but it can decay if proper measures are not taken.
How easy is it for Wikipedia to change?
[edit]If you look at the top of each page, there is a tab with the word "edit." This one little thing tells it all. Any pages can be edited. Of course, some pages may lack this when they can only be edited by certain groups that you do not belong to. Even so, there is someone out there who does have the ability to make changes to that page.
I can make changes. Now what?
[edit]You are an editor. Everyone who has a computer with internet access is an editor. Being an editor is not a special title. It is what belongs to all users, registered or not. Even those without a username can make changes to most existing articles and start discussions. And once you become an autoconfirmed user, which you can be in just a few short days, you are able to edit all but a minute number of pages.
So go ahead. Edit. But edit wisely. Think very carefully about what you do. You can edit. But so can everyone else out there. And your edits are subject to scrutiny from others. Pages can be watched. Most existing pages are watched by at least a few editors. And when a change is made, those watching that page will review the change to see whether or not it is a good one. Is this a good change.
It is a good idea that before you go crazy editing for the first time that you get familiar with at least the most basic of Wikipedia's guidelines so your edits are good ones, and you become a well-respected editor.
If you are a veteran editor, this information applies to you too. It is easy to take what you read for granted and accept it as the status quo. But if you disagree with the way it is, you can be the one to change it. The changes you make can range from adding information to an article, adding sources that are needed, reorganizing the information, merging and splitting articles, creating new categories, templates, etc. If you feel something isn't right, you can go ahead and do something about it. No permission is needed.
So, some content is missing
[edit]You come to look up information on something. It is something you feel belongs in an encyclopedia. But it is not here on Wikipedia. So what do you do now? Huh?
Yes, you can add it to Wikipedia. But before you do, first try to determine whether or not the information is notable and if it meets Wikipedia's inclusion guidelines. If it does, then go ahead!
Remember, there's a first for everything. So if no one has included a category of something within Wikipedia before, you can be the one who introduces it. Read Your First Article before you rush into creating articles just because you can.