Wikipedia:Editing policy: Difference between revisions

{{redirects here|WPWikipedia:Editing|basic information about how to edit Wikipedia|Help:Editing}}

{{policy|WP:E|WP:EP|WP:EDIT|WP:EDITING}}

{{policy in a nutshell|Improve pages wherever you can, and do not worry about leaving them imperfect. Preserve the value that others add, even if they "did it wrong" (try to fix it rather than [[WP:Deletion policy|deleteremove it]]).}}

[[Wikipedia:About|Wikipedia]] is the product of millions of '''[[WP:Wikipedians|editors' contributions]]''', each one bringing something different to the table, whether it be: researching skills, technical expertise, writing prowess or tidbits of information, but most importantly, a willingness to help. Even the [[Wikipedia:Featured articles|best]] articles]] should not be considered complete, as each new editor can offer new insights on how to enhance and improve the content in it at any time.

Wikipedia ''[[WP:NOTEVERYTHINGWhat Wikipedia is not#Encyclopedic content|summarizes]]'' accepted knowledge. As a rule, the more accepted knowledge it can encapsulatecontains, the better it is. Please [[WP:BOLDBe bold|boldlybe bold]] and add content summarizing accepted knowledge, andbut be particularly cautious about removing [[WP:RS|sourced]] content. It is Wikipedia policy that informationInformation in Wikipedia shouldmust be [[WP:VVerifiability|verifiable]] and must notcannot be [[WP:NORNo original research|original research]]. Show that content is verifiable by referencingciting [[WP:Reliable sources|reliable sources]]. Because a lack of content is better than misleading or false content, unsourced content may be challenged and [[WP:BURDEN|removed]]. To avoid such challenges, the best practice is to provide an "[[WP:ICinline citation|inline citation]]" when adding content (see: [[WP:Citing sources]] for instructions on how to do this, or ask for help onat the article[[WP:Help talkdesk|Help pagedesk]]).

Wikipedia respects others' copyright. Although content must be backed by reliable sources, [[WP:COPYPASTECopying text from other sources|avoid copying]] or [[WP:PARAPHRASEClose paraphrasing|closely paraphrasing]] a copyrighted source. You should read the source, understand it, and then express what it says [[WP:Verifiability#Copyright and plagiarism|in your own words]]. An exception exists for the often necessary use of short quotations; they must be enclosed in quotations marks, accompanied by an inline reference to the source, and usually attributed to the author. (See the [[FairWikipedia:Non-free content|fair use]] doctrine]] which allows limited quoting without permission.)

''Perfection is not required'': [[WP:WIPWikipedia is a work in progress|Wikipedia is a work in progress]]. Collaborative editing means that incomplete or poorly written first drafts can evolve over time into [[WP:Featured articles|excellent articles]]. Even poor articles, if they can be improved, are welcome. For instance, one person may start an article with an overview of a subject or a few random facts. Another may help standardize the article's formatting or have additional facts and figures or a graphic to add. Yet another may bring better [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view#Due and undue weight|balance]] to the views represented in the article and perform fact-checking and [[WP:CITECiting sources|sourcing]] to existing content. At any point during this process, the article may become disorganized or contain substandard writing.

Although ''perfection is not required'', extra care should be taken on articles that mention living persons. Contentious material about living persons (or, in some cases, recently deceased) persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced—whether the material is negative, positive, neutral, or just questionable—should either be verified immediately, with one or more reliable sources and presented in a [[WP:NPOVNeutral point of view|neutral manner]] without [[WP:UNDUE|undue weight]], or be removed immediately, without waiting for discussion.

<!-- This Anchor tag serves to provideprovides a permanent target for incoming section links. Please do not move it out of the section heading, even though it disrupts edit summary generation (you can manually fix the edit summary before saving your changes). Please do not modify it, even if you modify the section title. It is always best to anchor an old section header that has been changed so that links to it won't be broken. See [[Template:Anchor]] for details. (This text: [[Template:Anchor comment]]) -->

{{redirect|WP:PRESERVE|the Manual of Style section on preserving formatting|WPMOS:RETAIN}}

''Great Wikipedia articles come from a succession of editors' efforts. Rather than remove imperfect content outright, '''fix problems if you can, [[WP:CLEANUPTAGTemplate index/Cleanup|tag]] or excise them if you can't.'''.

As explained [[#Wikipedia is a work in progress: perfection is not required|above]], Wikipedia is a work in progress and perfection is not required. As long as any of theAny facts or ideas added to an articlethat [[WP:ONUS|would belong]] in the "finished" article, they [[Wikipedia:Overzealous_deletion#Don't_throw_the_baby_out_with_the_bathwater!Five pillars|should be retained]] if they meet the three article[[Wikipedia:core content retentionpolicies|core content policies]]: [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view|Neutral point of view]] (which does not mean [[WP:YESPOV|no point of view]]), [[Wikipedia:Verifiability|Verifiability]], and [[Wikipedia:No original research|No original research]].

If you think an article needs to be rewritten or changed substantially, [[WP:BOLDBe bold|go ahead and do so]], but it is best to [[Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines#How to use article talk pages|leave a comment]] about why you made the changes on the [[Help:Talk pages|article's talk page]].

Instead of removing content from an article or reverting a new contribution, consider:

* [[Wikipedia:Template messagesindex/Cleanup|Tagging]] it as necessary

* [[WP:MERGEMerging|Merging]] or moving the content to a more relevant existing article, or [[WP:SSSplitting|splitting]] the content to [[HHelp:YFAYour first article|an entirely new article]]

* [[WPWikipedia:YESPOVNeutral point of view|Adding another point of view]] to the existing points of view to make the article more balanced

* Requesting a citation by adding the {{tl|citation needed}} tag, or adding any other [[Template:Inlineinline cleanup tags|appropriate cleanup tags]] asto appropriatecontent you cannot fix yourself

* Fixing errors in [[Help:wikitext|wikitext]] or formatting

Otherwise, if you think the content could provide the seed of a new sub-article, or if you are just unsure about removing it from [[WP:5P|the project]]English Wikipedia entirely, consider copying the information to the article's talk page for further discussion. If you think the content might find a better home elsewhere, consider moving the content to a talk page of any article you think might be more relevant, so that editors there can decide how it might be properly included in our encyclopedia.

{{Anchor|REMOVE}}Several of our core policies discuss situations when it ''might'' be more appropriate to remove information from an article rather than preserve it.
*[[Wikipedia:Verifiability|Verifiability]] discusses handling unsourced and contentious material;
*[[Wikipedia:No original research|No original research]] discusses the need to remove original research;
*[[WPWikipedia:NOTWhat Wikipedia is not|What Wikipedia is not]] describes material that is fundamentally inappropriate for Wikipedia; and
*[[WPWikipedia:UNDUEUndue weight|Undue weight]] discusses how to balance material that gives undue weight to a particular viewpoint, which might include removal of trivia, tiny minority viewpoints, or material that cannot be supported with high-quality sources.
Also, redundancy within an article should be kept to a minimum (exceptingexcept in the [[WPWikipedia:LEADManual of Style/Lead section|lead]], which is meant to be a summary of the entire article, and so is intentionally duplicative).

[[WP:Libel|Libel]], [[WP:Patent nonsense|nonsense]], and [[WP:vandalism|vandalism]] should be completely removed, as should material that [[Wikipedia:Copyright violations|violates copyright]] and material for which no reliable source that supports it has ever been [[Wikipedia:Published|published]].

Special care needs to be taken with [[Wikipedia:biographies of living people|biographies of living people]], especially when it comes to handling unsourced or poorly sourced claims about the subject. EditorsSuch workingclaims onshould suchgenerally articlesbe needremoved to know and understand the extra restrictions that are laid out at [[Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons]]immediately.

''[[Wikipedia:Be bold in updating pages|Be bold in updating articles]], especially for [[Help:Minor edit|minor changes]], fixing problems, and changes that you believe are [[wikipedia:Likely to be challenged|unlikely]] to be controversial]].'' Previous authors do not need to be consulted before making changes. [[WP:OWNOwnership of content|Nobody owns articles]], so if you see an improvement you can make, make it.

If you think the edit might be controversial, then a better course of action may be to first [[Help:Introduction to talk pages/1|make a proposal on the talk page]]. Bold editing does not excuse edits against [[WP:CONSENSUSConsensus|existing consensus]], edits in violation of core policies, such as [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view|Neutral point of view]] and [[Wikipedia:Verifiability|Verifiability]], or edits designed to create a [[Wikipedia:Fait accompli|''fait accompli'']], where actions are justified by the fact they have already been carried out.

If someone indicates disagreement with your bold edit by reverting it or contesting it in a talk page discussion, [[wpWP:BRB|consider your options]] and respond appropriately. The [[Wikipedia:BOLD, revert, discuss cycle|"BOLD, revert, discuss cycle" (BRD)]] is often used when a contentious edit has been reverted.

''Be helpful: explain your changes''. When you edit an article, the more radical or controversial the change, the greater the need to explain it. Be sure to leave a comment about ''why'' you made the change. Try to use an appropriate [[Help:Edit summary|edit summary]]. For larger or more significant changes, the edit summary may not give you enough space to fully explain the edit; in this case, you may leave a note on the [[WikipediaHelp:Talk pagepages|article's talk page]] as well. Remember too that notes on the talk page are more visible, make misunderstandings less likely, and encourage discussion rather than [[WP:EWEdit warring|edit warring]].

''Be cautious about making a major change to an article.'' Prevent [[WP:EWEdit warring|edit warring]] by discussing such edits first on the [[Help:Talk pages|article's talk page]]. OneAn edit that one editor's ideathinks ofis anminor improvementor mayclearly warranted might be anotherseen editor'sas ideamajor ofor aunwarranted desecrationby others. If you choose to be [[WP:BOLDbe bold|be bold]], tryprovide tothe justifyrationale yourfor any change in detailthe edit summary or on the article talk page,. soIf asyour tochange avoidis anlengthy editor war. Before making a major changecomplex, consider first creating a new draft on a [[Wikipedia:User_pages#SUB|subpage of your own user page]] and thenstart a discussion that includes a link to it on the article's talk page so as to facilitate a new discussion.