Wikipedia:About

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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This is a general introduction for visitors to Wikipedia. For aspiring contributors, also
see this guide and tutorial. For other uses, see Wikipedia:Wikipedia (disambiguation).

"Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given

free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're
doing." —Jimmy Wales

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and millions already
have.

Wikipedia's purpose is to benefit readers by presenting information on all branches

of knowledge. Hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia consists of freely
editable content, with articles that usually contain numerous links guiding readers to
more information.

Written collaboratively by volunteers known as Wikipedians, Wikipedia articles can be

edited by anyone with Internet access, except in limited cases in which editing is
restricted to prevent disruption or vandalism. Since its creation on January 15, 2001,
it has grown into the world's largest reference website, attracting over a billion visitors
each month. Wikipedia currently has more than sixty-five million articles in more than
300 languages, including 7,043,579 articles in English, with 107,864 active
contributors in the past month.

Wikipedia's fundamental principles are summarized in its five pillars. While

the Wikipedia community has developed many policies and guidelines, new editors
do not need to be familiar with them before they start contributing.

Anyone can edit Wikipedia's text, data, references, and images. The quality of
content is more important than the expertise of who contributes it. Wikipedia's
content must conform with its policies, including being verifiable by published reliable
sources. Contributions based on personal opinions, beliefs, or personal
experiences, unreviewed research, libellous material, and copyright violations are not
 allowed, and will not remain. Wikipedia's software makes it easy to reverse errors,
and experienced editors watch and patrol bad edits.

Wikipedia differs from printed references in important ways. Anyone can instantly
improve it, add quality information, remove misinformation, and fix errors
and vandalism. Since Wikipedia is continually updated, encyclopedic articles on
major news events appear within minutes.

For over 24 years, editors have volunteered their time and talents to create history's
most comprehensive encyclopedia while providing references and other resources to
researchers worldwide (see Researching with Wikipedia). In summary, Wikipedia has
tested the wisdom of the crowd since 2001 and has found that it succeeds.

To start editing simply click the Edit or Edit source button, or the pencil icon , at the
top of any non-protected Wikipedia page or section.

Basic information on Wikipedia - (Search)

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 This page was last edited on 8 July 2025, at 11:52 (UTC).