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| − | {{pp-semi-indef}}{{pp-move|small=yes}}
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| − | {{Wikipedia:FAQ/framework
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| − | |shorttitle = Overview
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| − | |title = Overview FAQ
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| − | }}
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| − | {{Shortcut|WP:OFAQ}}<br>
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| | __TOC__ | | __TOC__ |
| − | ==<span id="WHAT"/>What is Wikipedia?==
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| − | {{Shortcut|WP:OFAQ#WHAT}}
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| − | :Wikipedia is an online free-content encyclopedia that you can edit and contribute to. Wikipedia co-founder [[Jimmy Wales]] has described Wikipedia as "an effort to create and distribute a multilingual free encyclopedia of the highest quality to every single person on the planet in his or her own language." Wikipedia exists to bring knowledge to everyone who seeks it.
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| − | ==<span id="WHO"/>Who owns Wikipedia?== | + | ==General== |
| − | {{Shortcut|WP:OFAQ#WHO}}
| + | ===How do I join the Right to Rebel gaming community?=== |
| − | :''Who owns the Web site?'' Wikipedia's tech framework is supported by a non-profit parent organization, the [[Wikipedia:Wikimedia Foundation|Wikimedia Foundation Inc]], which also supports Wikipedia's sister projects, including [[Wiktionary]] (a wiki dictionary), [[Wikibooks]] (textbooks), and others, and owns all of their domain names. Previously, the site was hosted on the servers of [[Bomis]], Inc., a company mostly owned by [[Jimmy Wales]]. With the announcement of the Wikimedia Foundation on June 20, 2003, the ownership of all domain names was transferred to the Foundation. The site is run by the community of [[Wikipedia:Wikipedians|Wikipedians]] guided by the principles [[User:Jimbo Wales/Statement of principles|articulated]] by Jimmy Wales, including, for example, an adherence to a [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view|neutral point of view]].
| + | We first off want to say thank you for showing interest in joining our community. Everyone interested in joining the community must submit an application to join. You can learn more about the recruitment process by visiting HERE |
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| − | :''Who owns the encyclopedia articles?'' The articles hosted on this site have been edited by many people, each of whom has (by editing the article) agreed to release their contributions under the [[WP:CC-BY-SA|Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike]] license. As such, the articles are [[free content]] and may be reproduced freely under this license. See [[Wikipedia:Copyrights]] and [[Wikipedia:Readers' FAQ]] for information on how you can use Wikipedia content.
| + | ===How do I appeal my ban?=== |
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| − | :By law, the contributions are still owned by the people who donated them. These people are not bound by the license and can use their property in the way they like. However, media with multiple authors require permission from every contributor to use them differently from the terms of the Wikipedia license.
| + | A Right to Rebel we give everyone that is banned an opportunity to file an appeal. You can learn more about appealing your ban HERE |
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| − | ==<span id="RESP"/>Who is responsible for the articles on Wikipedia?== | + | ==Battlefield== |
| − | {{Shortcut|WP:OFAQ#RESP}}
| + | ===Where do I request a reserved/VIP slot?=== |
| − | :You are! Editing is a [[collaboration|collaborative]] effort. Millions of people have contributed information to different parts of this project, and anyone can do so, including you. All you need is to know [[Wikipedia:How to edit a page|how to edit a page]], and have some encyclopedic knowledge that you would like to share. The encyclopedia provides users with a certain amount of freedom.
| + | All active/retired military members and RTR members rank E-2 (Private) or higher qualify for a reserved slot in our battlefield servers. Please follow [SOP#] to request access. |
| − | | + | |
| − | :You can learn who is responsible for the most recent versions of any given page by clicking on the "View history" link. Nevertheless, if you spot an error in the latest revision of an article, you are highly encouraged to [[Wikipedia:be bold in updating pages|be bold]] and correct it. This practice is one of the basic review mechanisms that maintains the reliability of the encyclopedia. As a result, Wikipedia has become one of the most extensive information libraries available on the Internet.
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| − | :If you are uncertain, or find the wording confusing, quote the material on the associated [[Wikipedia:Talk page|talk page]] and leave a question for the next person. This helps reduce errors, inaccuracies, or misleading wording more quickly and is highly appreciated by the community.
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| − | ==<span id="CONT"/>How can I contact the project?== | + | |
| − | {{Shortcut|WP:OFAQ#CONT}}
| + | |
| − | :See [[Wikipedia:Contact us]] for important links and e-mail addresses.
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| − | :Given the massively collaborative nature of the project, there is no single point of contact. If you send an e-mail to an individual board or staff member, they will likely just forward it to the group of Wikipedia volunteers who answer reader inquiries. You can reach those volunteers yourself, by e-mailing info-en{{@}}wikimedia.org.
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| − | :Alternatively, if you wish to suggest improvements to a specific article, you can do so via its [[Wikipedia:Talk page|talk page]]. Use the ''talk'' tab at the top of each article to get to its talk page.
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| − | | + | |
| − | ==<span id="ACC"/>Should I create an account? Can't I just edit articles anonymously?==
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| − | {{Shortcut|WP:OFAQ#ACC}}
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| − | :Editors with user names enjoy several benefits. Among them is the positive reputation that goes with quality work. [[Wikipedians]] with an established history are respected especially with regard to neutralizing article disputes. In addition, Wikipedians sometimes find collaborating with anonymous users frustrating, because it is more difficult to contact them with questions, concerns, or suggestions. This is not to say there is a Wikipedia hierarchy ''per se''. Although there are editors with administrative abilities (see [[Wikipedia:Administrators]]), these are approved by the community.
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| − | :Wikipedians with user names are, in a sense, ''more'' anonymous than contributors that do not log in. That is, while anyone can see the [[IP address]] of a user who did not log in when he/she edited, only a few, especially trusted people are able to view the IP address of a logged-in user (and this is rarely done). Therefore, if you are concerned about privacy and anonymity, you may prefer to create a user name for yourself in order to hide your IP address.
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| − | | + | |
| − | :But editing as an unregistered user is acceptable. Many valuable contributors have made this choice. That said, you will not be able to create or rename pages without a user name. Some pages are also protected from editing by unregistered users in order to prevent [[Wikipedia: Vandalism|vandalism]].
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| − | ==<span id="CORR"/>How do you know if the information is correct?==
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| − | {{Shortcut|WP:OFAQ#CORR}}
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| − | :Given that anyone can ''edit'' any article, it is, of course, possible for biased, out-of-date, or incorrect information to be posted. However, because there are so many other people reading the articles and monitoring contributions using the [[Special:Recentchanges|Recent Changes]] page, incorrect information is usually corrected quickly. Thus, the overall accuracy of the encyclopedia is improving all the time. You are encouraged to help by correcting articles, validating content, and providing useful references.
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| − | ::See [[Wikipedia:Replies to common objections]] for a longer discussion of this point.
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| − | ==<span id="RUIN"/>How do you prevent people from ruining articles? (Defacement or vandalism)==
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| − | {{Shortcut|WP:OFAQ#RUIN}}
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| − | :''All'' changes to a [[page]] are registered in a "[[Help:Page history|page history]]", so any [[defacement]] can be replaced by an older version of the page. And, in general, recent changes to [[Wikipedia]] are automatically listed on a [[Special:Recentchanges|special page for that purpose]].
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| − | :Software robots automatically reverse obvious defacement immediately. Moreover, there are hundreds of people who spend a little time each day watching the list of recent changes on Wikipedia (see [[Wikipedia:Recent changes patrol]]). Any user interested in a particular page can add it to a personal "[[Help:Watchlist|watchlist]]", which shows when a page is updated and gives the user a chance to check whether that update is a joke or a substantial contribution. Furthermore, many readers who pass by can correct vandalism or erroneous information.
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| − | :So, the popular pages, which are the most likely to be defaced, are also those that receive the most attention from editors and readers, any of whom can '[[Help:Reverting|revert]]' [[Wikipedia:Vandalism|vandalism]].
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| − | | + | |
| − | :To stem a recurrent problem, an article can be [[Wikipedia:Protection policy|temporarily protected]] from editing and/or user names and IP addresses can be [[Wikipedia:Blocking policy|blocked]] from editing.
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| − | ==<span id="VIO"/>Site X seems to be violating Wikipedia's copyright. Do you guys know about this?==
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| − | {{Shortcut|WP:OFAQ#VIO}}
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| − | :All text on Wikipedia is licensed under the [[WP:CC-BY-SA|Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License]] (CC-BY-SA), and in most cases, also the [[GNU Free Documentation License]] (GFDL). Over 100 sites using Wikipedia for content have been identified, and categorized by their degree of compliance, at [[Wikipedia:CC-BY-SA Compliance]] and [[Wikipedia:GFDL Compliance]]. [[Wikipedia:Mirrors and forks]] has more information, including what to do if someone is violating the CC-BY-SA license or the GFDL.
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| − | ==<span id="SOFT"/>Which wiki software does Wikipedia run on?==
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| − | {{Shortcut|WP:OFAQ#SOFT}}
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| − | :Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects use the [[MediaWiki]] software to facilitate collaborative editing and storage of page histories.
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| − | | + | |
| − | :For more information on MediaWiki, see:
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| − | | + | |
| − | :* the [[MediaWiki]] article, and
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| − | :* the [http://www.mediawiki.org MediaWiki web site].
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| − | ==<span id="EDIT"/>What if two people edit the same article at the same time?==
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| − | {{Shortcut|WP:OFAQ#EDIT}}
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| − | :See [[Help:Edit conflict]].
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| − | ==<span id="BIG"/>How big is Wikipedia?==
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| − | {{Shortcut|WP:OFAQ#BIG}}
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| − | :Wikipedia currently has {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}}<!-- DO NOT CHANGE THIS TO A NUMBER --> articles in total in the English version alone. (This article count is also available on the main page.)
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| − | | + | |
| − | :In a past comparison of encyclopedias, Wikipedia had about 1,400,000 articles with 340 million words in total, the [[Encyclop%C3%A6dia Britannica]] had about 85,000 articles with 55 million words in total, and Microsoft's [[Encarta]] had about 63,000 articles and 40 million words in total. See: [[Wikipedia:Size comparisons]]. <noinclude>
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| − | | + | |
| − | :Thanks to the mass-collaboration of Wikipedians, the enlargement of Wikipedia continues at a rapid pace, a pace much greater than that of conventional encyclopedias.
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| − | ==<span id="LIBEL"/>What can I do about libelous content or an invasion of privacy?==
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| − | {{Shortcut|WP:OFAQ#LIBEL}}
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| − | :By design, Wikipedia is quite easy to edit so you can simply revert wrong or hurtful information yourself. However, because every revision is logged, special steps are required to remove this information from the historical record. Please see [[Wikipedia:Oversight]] and [[Wikipedia:Libel]] for Wikipedia's policy on removing historical revisions, and how to request such a change.
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| − | {{-}}
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| − | {{Wikipedia:FAQ/footer}}
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| − | {{Help navigation}}
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| − | </div>
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We first off want to say thank you for showing interest in joining our community. Everyone interested in joining the community must submit an application to join. You can learn more about the recruitment process by visiting HERE
A Right to Rebel we give everyone that is banned an opportunity to file an appeal. You can learn more about appealing your ban HERE
All active/retired military members and RTR members rank E-2 (Private) or higher qualify for a reserved slot in our battlefield servers. Please follow [SOP#] to request access.
