editing-wikipedias

Here is a short introduction to adding text, links, media, and references to Wikipedia in its various languages. See also "how to edit wikipedia" search string for Youtube and for Web search on DuckDuckGo, the google alternative. Of course there are also instructions on Wikipedia's help pages, too.

synopsis

STEPS: (1) login (option to remain logged in for 1 year), (2) click edit and then use Switch to Visual Editor unless you know the simple markdown codes used in wikis, (3) make corrections, additions, or hotlinks to other wikipedia pages or to external locations, (4) press preview or press publish immediately, (5) dialog box asks for summary of your changes, including checkbox for "this was a minor change" in order to help the volunteer administrators as they review pages from time to time.

Inserting an external reference book, article, online or broadcast reference in this way can take perhaps 2 minutes. So the process of contributing simple edits is not hard.

details

(1) Login so that a record of each editor can be kept. Make username, give email, choose password.

(2) Make your edits

(3) Press "publish" to complete the procedure, launching the dialog box to summarize your edits.

conclusion

Whether you are improving the readability and punctuation, adding clarification (adjectives, quantifiers, cited reference, hotlink), these steps are similar. The habit of actively reading and editing Wikipedia in English or the many other languages with existing articles online is helpful to users today and in the future.

As for the Wikipedias in languages other than English, each article gives the direct link to that other language's article about this same subject matter entry. Sometimes the content corresponds more or less to the English one, as if it translates a derivative article with supplemental detail. But other times the foreign language article has its own authorship and may show little overlap to the English language one. No matter the origin story for the article found each of the Wikipedias, it is worth looking at as many languages as you can read as a useful exercise in comparison and as an opportunity to edit perhaps there, too.