Editing Incubator escapee wiki:FAQ/Contributing (section)

==<span id="TERM"></span> What does that word mean? ==
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#TERM}}
:On talk pages and in the edit summaries of a page history, you will often see editors using terminology and abbreviations which are unique to Wikipedia.
:*'''rv''' or '''revert''', usually in an [[WP:EDITSUMMARY|edit summary]], indicates that the page has been reverted to a previous version, often because of vandalism.
:*'''NPOV''' means working towards a [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view|Neutral point of view]], whilst its opposite, '''POV''', is used to suggest that an edit was biased.
:*To '''Wikify''' means to add internal links and other formatting to an article which was mostly plain text.
:*'''dab''' means a small touch, and can also be short for [[WP:DISAMBIG|disambiguation]], or improving a link so that it goes straight to the relevant article.
:For a more comprehensive list see [[Wikipedia:Glossary]].

===What is the difference between a page and an article?===
: The term "page" encompasses all the material on Wikipedia, including encyclopedia topics, talk pages, documentation, and [[Wikipedia:Special pages|special pages]] such as [[Special:Recentchanges|Recent Changes]]. "Article" is a narrower term referring to a page containing an encyclopedia entry. Thus, all articles are pages, but not all pages are articles. See [[Wikipedia:What is an article]] for more.

===<span id="ORPHAN"></span>What is an "orphan"?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#ORPHAN}}
: An [[WP:ORPHAN|orphan]] is an article that no other article links to. Such articles can be found on Wikipedia, but it is preferable that another article should link to each article. You can find a list of orphans at [[:Category:Orphaned articles]].

===<span id="STUB"></span>What is a stub?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#STUB}}
: A stub on Wikipedia is a very short article, usually of one paragraph or less. For a more comprehensive explanation, please refer to [[Wikipedia:Stub]].

===<span id="DISAMB"></span>What is disambiguation?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#DISAMB}}
: See [[Wikipedia:Disambiguation]]. 

===<span id="MINOR"></span>What is a minor edit? When should I use it?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#MINOR}}
:When editing a page, a logged-in user has the option to flag an edit as "minor." You should flag an edit as minor '''only''' when you believe it is an edit that no one would object to, such as fixing spelling or grammar.

:This feature is important because users can choose to ''hide'' minor edits in their view of the [[Special:Recentchanges|Recent Changes]] page, to keep the volume of edits down to a manageable level.

:See also: [[Wikipedia:Minor edit]].

===<span id="RULES"></span>Are there any rules or guidelines I should be aware of?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#RULES}}
:Yes. See [[Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines]]. There are a lot, but you'll get the hang of it!

===<span id="RCENTCHNGS"></span>What is "Recent Changes", and what do the abbreviations used there mean?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#RCENTCHNGS}}
: Recent Changes lists all the edits that have been made over a given time period. See [[Wikipedia:Recent Changes]].

===<span id="FORMAT"></span>Are there any standard formats, for things like dates for example?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#FORMAT}}
:Yes. We have a [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style|Manual of Style]] that articles should follow.

===<span id="TWO"></span>What do I do if I find two articles on the same subjects?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#TWO}}
:You could [[Wikipedia:Merging|merge]] them yourself if you are feeling [[Wikipedia:Be bold in updating pages|bold]]. Pick the [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions|most suitable page name]] (which may not necessarily be one of the existing ones!). If you're not sure which name to use, or whether the two articles should really be merged, use the procedure at [[Help:Merging]]. You can also make a mention of the problem on the list of [[Wikipedia:Proposed mergers]].

===<span id="SIZE"></span>What is the ideal/maximum length of an article? When should an article be split into smaller pieces?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#SIZE}}
:See [[Wikipedia:Article size]].

===<span id="TALK"></span>Can we debate or talk about the subjects here?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#TALK}}
:No. [[WP:NOTFORUM|Wikipedia is not a forum]]. Talk pages are for discussing improvements to the article.

===I've found vandalism, or I've damaged a page by mistake! How can I restore it?===
: See [[Help:Reverting]].

===<span id="LANGUAGE"></span>Which languages can I use?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#LANGUAGE}}
:On the English Wikipedia, use English, unless you're mentioning a name or a quotation that has no known English translation.

:If you want to write articles in other languages, you need to do it in an edition of Wikipedia in that language. As of 2024, there are editions of Wikipedia in more than 300 languages, and their full list can be found at [[:m:List of Wikipedias]] on the Meta site. If your language is not in the list, see the next section.

==== <span id="NEWLANGUAGE"></span>Can I create a new Wikipedia in my language? ====
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#NEWLANGUAGE}}
:Yes! If there is no edition of Wikipedia in your language yet, and you would like to change that, read the page [[m:Help:How to start a new Wikipedia|How to start a new Wikipedia]] on the Meta site to find out how to create a new language edition of Wikipedia. This will require some work from you, but it's a great thing to do for the people who speak your language.

===<span id="ENGLISH"></span>Should I use [[American English]] or [[British English]]?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#ENGLISH}}
:The official policy is to use British spelling when writing about British topics, and American English for topics relating to the [[United States]]. General topics can use any one of the variants, but should generally strive to be consistent within an article. See Wikipedia's [[Wikipedia:MoS#National varieties of English|Manual of Style]] for a more detailed explanation.

:Use of one English variety in article titles can cause a ''Search'' in another variant to fail. In this case, it is recommended that you create a new article using the alternative spelling that [[wikipedia:redirect|redirect]]s to the main article.

===<span id="SPELL"></span>How do I check spelling on a page?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#SPELL}}
:A spelling checker has been requested for Wikipedia, but has not been implemented yet, except as a [http://code.google.com/p/wikimediaspellchecker/ third-party extension]. Some common web browsers have a built-in simple spell checker for forms such as Wikipedia editing forms. You may also install a browser addon for more advanced spelling and grammar checking, such as [[LanguageTool]], or use another online spelling checker. When editing a larger article, it may be more convenient to paste the text into your [[text editor]] or [[word processor]] first, to edit and check the spelling there, and then paste your corrected text back into Wikipedia editor to complete your contribution.
:There is a [[Wikipedia:List of common misspellings|list of common misspellings]], which you can use to check if a listed misspelling is on any page in the database, although this process fails to identify any misspelled words not on that list.

===<span id="LINKS"></span>Why are some links red?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#LINKS}}
: A page with that name has not yet been created. You can click on that link and start a page with that name. But be careful: there may already be articles on similar topics, or an article on the same topic under a different name. It's pretty important to hunt around for similar topics first. See [[Wikipedia:Article titles]] for information on naming pages, and [[Wikipedia:Red link]] for more guidance on red links.
:If you just registered, your username is probably shown as linking to a page that doesn't exist. Don't worry! This just means you haven't filled out your user page yet. Click on the link and tell the world all about yourself! See [[Wikipedia:User page]] for more information.

===<span id="BLUELINK"></span>What about the pale blue links?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#BLUELINK}}
:Those are external links; i.e. those that link to pages outside Wikipedia. They look [http://www.example.org like this].

===<span id="CONFLICT"></span>What happens when two users edit a page at the same time?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#CONFLICT}}
: This is called an [[Help:Edit conflict|edit conflict]]. You'll get a conflict screen that displays both versions in separate windows, along with a summary highlighting the differences, and instructions on how you should proceed. It's virtually impossible to lose any data.

===<span id="CRASH"></span>What happens if my computer or browser crashes mid-edit, or if the server does not respond?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#CRASH}}
: You may lose your edit. Some modern web browsers, as well as the MediaWiki software, may be able to recover your edits when you restart your browser, but it's not certain that it will succeed. To some extent, you can guard against this by editing in a text editor for major work (but note that with regard to a system crash this does not help, unless you save frequently to disk, use a cloud-based editor such as [[Etherpad]] or [[Google Docs]], or an editor with automatic saving such as [[Atom (text editor)|Atom]]).

: When you get a time-out when you try to save, you might or might not lose your edit depending on your [[web browser]]. Some browsers (e.g. [[Opera (Internet suite)|Opera]] and [[Mozilla Firefox]]) will recover the text you have tried to save if you use the back-button. In other browsers, you will lose your edit. You can protect against this by copying the text (at least to the clipboard of your system).

===<span id="WATCH"></span>How do I learn about changes to certain topics without having to go there from time to time?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#WATCH}}
:If you are a logged-in user, on every page you will see either a link that says "Watch this article", or a small five-pointed star next to "View history". If you click on it, the article will be added to your [[special:Watchlist|personal watchlist]]. Your watchlist will show you the latest changes on your watched articles.

===<span id="FORMAT"></span>What file formats should I use for pictures/videos?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#FORMAT}}
:For images, use [[JPEG]] for photographs, and [[Scalable Vector Graphics|SVG]] for drawings and logos. [[Portable Network Graphics|PNG]] can also be used. Use [[GIF]] for inline animations.

:For video, [[Ogg Theora]] is currently the only recommended format. See [[Wikipedia:Image use policy]] for more.

===<span id="SFORMAT"></span>What file format should I use for sound?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#SFORMAT}}
:Multiple encodings are encouraged. [[WAV]] and [[Ogg Vorbis]] are allowed, but [[MP3]] is not.

===<span id="BAD"></span>One of the contributors is being unreasonable. Help!===
: See [[Wikipedia:Etiquette]] and [[Wikipedia:Dispute resolution]].

===<span id="WAIT"></span>I've made a suggestion on an article's talk page, but have not gotten any responses. How long should I wait before implementing my suggested change?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#WAIT}}
: Per [[Wikipedia:Be bold]], there's no need to wait at all. Simply make your change. If someone else disagrees with it, they can always revert the change, and then you can talk the issue out with that person.

===<span id="DEFAULTCONTRIB"></span>Can I change the default number of contributions displayed in the "My contributions" list?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#DEFAULTCONTRIB}}
: No. You can, however, change the setting ''on the page'' and bookmark the resulting page.

===<span id="DELETE"></span>Why was the article I created deleted?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#DELETE}}
: New articles are deleted for not following Wikipedia [[Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines|policies and guidelines]]. See [[Wikipedia:Why was my article deleted?]]

===<span id="REMOVE"></span>Why was the edit I made removed?===
{{Shortcut compact|WP:COFAQ#REMOVE}}
: There are a variety of reasons (some [[Wikipedia:Avoiding common mistakes|common reasons]]). The first thing you should do is look at the history page for the article you edited. This will tell you who changed it, when they changed it, and hopefully a short reason why they changed it. If it says something like '''see talk''', then you should look at the [[Help:Talk pages|talk page]] for the article. Also, you should look at your [[WP:USERTALK|own talk page]] to see if you have a message there. If you don't find a reason that is satisfactory, politely ask in the article's talk page about your proposed change, and maybe you will get suggestions about changes that you can make so that your change will go in, or you may get reasons why your change should not happen.