Wikipedia:Editing policy: Difference between revisions

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

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:Be bold|boldlybe bold]] and add content summarizing accepted knowledge, andbut be particularly cautious about removing sourced content. It is Wikipedia policy that informationInformation in Wikipedia shouldmust be [[WP:Verifiability|verifiable]] and mustcannot be [[WP:No original research|not be original research]]. Show that content is verifiable by referencingciting [[WP:reliableReliable 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:inline citation|inline citation]] when adding content (see: [[WP:Citing sources]] for instructions on how to do this, or ask for help at the [[WP:Help desk|Help desk]]).

Wikipedia respects others' copyright. Although content must be backed by reliable sources, [[WP:Copying text from other sources|avoid copying]] or [[WP:Close 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 [[Wikipedia:Non-free content|fair use doctrine]] which allows limited quoting without permission.)

''Perfection is not required'': [[WP:Wikipedia 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:Citing sources|sourcing]] to existing content. At any point during this process, the article may become disorganized or contain substandard writing.

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{{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:Template 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:Five pillars|should be retained]] if they meet the three [[Wikipedia:core content policies|core content policies]]: [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view|Neutral point of view]] (which does not mean no point of view), [[Wikipedia:Verifiability|Verifiability]], and [[Wikipedia:No original research|No original research]].

{{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;
*[[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not|What Wikipedia is not]] describes material that is fundamentally inappropriate for Wikipedia; and
*[[Wikipedia:Undue 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 (except in the [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section|lead]], which is meant to be a summary of the entire article, and so is intentionally duplicative).

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.

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 cautious about making a major change to an article.'' Prevent [[WP:Edit 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 by desecrationothers. If you choose to [[WP:be 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.