The document outlines the fundamentals of Wikipedia, including its nature as a collaboratively edited encyclopedia and the importance of maintaining a neutral point of view and verifiability in its content. It details the five pillars of Wikipedia, emphasizing the need for respect among editors and the absence of rigid rules. Additionally, the document presents best practice guidelines for contributing to Wikipedia, focusing on integrity, conflict of interest, and the necessity of using reliable sources.

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CIPR Social Summer #ciprsm, 21 June 2012
Wikipedia 101: The basics
by Paul Wilkinson (@EEPaul)
BA PhD, DipPR, FCIPR
CIPR Approved Trainer

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Welcome and introductions
Wikis and Wikimedia projects
What is Wikipedia?
The Five Pillars of Wikipedia
The Core Content Policies
The CIPR Wikipedia best practice
guidelines
Editing Wikipedia
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Introductions
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Wiki

… a website which allows its users to
add, modify, or delete its content via a
web browser using a simplified markup
language or a rich-text editor

First Wiki created in 1994 by Ward
Cunningham

Wiki = Hawaiian for "fast" or "quick"
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Wikiprojects
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What is Wikipedia?

a free, collaboratively edited and
multilingual Internet encyclopedia

supported by the Wikimedia Foundation
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22 million articles

c. 100,000 regularly active contributors

launched in January 2001 by Jimmy
Wales and Larry Sanger
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runs on free, open source software © pwcom.co.uk 2012

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Wikipedia in numbers
How many Wikipedias? 285
Global ranking on internet? 6th
Estimated number of readers? 365m
Total pageviews per month? 12bn
Articles in English edition 3.98m
Pageviews in USA per month? 2.8bn
Pageviews in UK per month? 632m
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Wikipedia in numbers
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The Five Pillars of Wikipedia
1. Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia
It is not a soapbox, an advertising
platform, a vanity press, an experiment in
anarchy or democracy, an indiscriminate
collection of information, or a web
directory.
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The Five Pillars of Wikipedia
2. Wikipedia is written from a neutral
point of view
… explain the major points in a balanced
and impartial manner... strive for
verifiable accuracy... cite verifiable,
authoritative sources ...
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The Five Pillars of Wikipedia
3. Wikipedia is free content that anyone
can edit, use, modify, and distribute
Respect copyright laws ... do not
plagiarize sources … no editor owns any
article ... all contributions can and will be
mercilessly edited and redistributed.
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The Five Pillars of Wikipedia
4. Editors should interact with each other
in a respectful and civil manner
Respect and be polite ... Apply Wikipedia
etiquette, avoid personal attacks and edit
wars... Be open and welcoming, and
assume good faith on the part of others.
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The Five Pillars of Wikipedia
5. Wikipedia does not have firm rules
Rules … are not carved in stone ...
wording and interpretation are likely to
change over time. Be bold (but not
reckless) in updating articles ... do not
worry about making mistakes.
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The Core Content Policies
Three principal core policies:

neutral point of view

verifiability
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no original research
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The Core Content Policies
1. neutral point of view
All Wikipedia articles and other
encyclopedic content must be written from
a neutral point of view, representing
significant views fairly, proportionately and
without bias.
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The Core Content Policies
2. verifiability
Material challenged or likely to be
challenged, and all quotations, must be
attributed to a reliable, published source.
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The Core Content Policies
3. no original research
Wikipedia does not publish original
thought: all material in Wikipedia must be
attributable to a reliable, published
source.
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Another important guideline
Notability
… a test used by editors to decide
whether a topic can have its own article.
Information on Wikipedia must be
verifiable; if no reliable third-party sources
can be found on a topic, then it should not
have a separate article.
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The CIPR Wikipedia best practice guidelines
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The CIPR Wikipedia best practice guidelines
Augment:

FSA, ABPI, etc
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CIPR code of conduct
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CIPR social media
guidance
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The CIPR Wikipedia best practice guidelines

Material in Wikipedia articles should be
reference-quality information. Nothing else.

Besides the skills needed to write in that
fashion, what is needed to participate
successfully in the site is a set of social
and collaborative talents.
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The CIPR Wikipedia best practice guidelines
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Ask for help
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Operate within the system
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Be honest and open at all times.
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Understand the complaints system
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Be patient and reasonable
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Use good judgement
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Handle conflict of interest
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Guide to Conflict of Interest on Wikipedia
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Subjects require significant coverage in independent reliable
sources.

Your role is to inform and reference, not promote or sell.
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Write without bias, as if you don't work for the company or personally
know the subject.

State facts and statistics, don't be vague or general.

Take time to get sources and policy right and your content will last.

Be transparent about your conflict of interest

Get neutral, uninvolved, disinterested editors to review your content

Work with the community and we'll work with you.

Communicate, communicate, communicate.
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The CIPR Wikipedia best practice guidelines
Includes:

A Step-by-Step Guide: How to improve
articles

Dos

Don'ts
To be published c. 27 June 2012
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Editing Wikipedia
Create user account (username policy)
Add some detail to your user page
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Editing Wikipedia
Create user account (username policy)
Add some detail to your user page
Each user also has a talk page
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Editing Wikipedia
Create user account (username policy)
Add some detail to your user page
Each user also has ...
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Practice drafting, editing here
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Set how you want
Wikipedia interface
to work
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Editing Wikipedia
Even a long watchlist
doesn't always
highlight lots of edits
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Your user contributions
are all viewable by other
Wikipedia users
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Example article
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Editing example article
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Summarise
your edits
before saving
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Revision history
also gives access
to other useful data
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Contributors,
User edits,
No. of watchers
- all helpful in identifying editors
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Number of views of
recently created
example article
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Editing
CIPR guide
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User
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Edit/save
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Discuss
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CIPR Social Summer #ciprsm, 21 June 2012
Thank you
Contact: Paul Wilkinson
Website: www.pwcom.co.uk
Blog: www.blog.pwcom.co.uk
Email: paul.wilkinson@pwcom.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 8858 1104
mob: 07788 445920
Twitter: @EEPaul
Wikipedia: Paul W