Inside Wikipedia: How It Works and How You Can Be an Editor

Wikipedia is one of the most visited websites on the Internet, regularly bringing in millions of readers a day. But how exactly does a huge site like this work? What are its strengths? What are its weaknesses? Who edits the site? And perhaps most importantly how can you, the reader, help make the site better? In this book, Paul A. Thomas—a seasoned Wikipedia contributor who has accrued almost 60,000 edits since he started editing in 2007—breaks down the history of the free encyclopedia and explains the process of becoming an editor. Chapters include: The History of Wikipedia The Wiki-Ethos: What to Know Before You Edit Getting Started: Making Your First Edits Growing as an Editor: To Wikitext and Beyond Concrete Ways to Make Wikipedia a Better Resource Becoming a Critical Editor: Countering Bias A Short Glossary of Wiki-Slang After reading Inside Wikipedia, you will be ready to contribute to the largest, most comprehensive knowledge base the world has ever seen. What will you write about?