 | This user is online or has forgotten to update this message after he left wikipedia.(If there have been no edits from this user in the last 60 minutes, it is safe to assume that this user either forgot or is lurking.) | |
Wikipedia is not a soapbox or a promotional tool. Do not edit for the purpose of advocacy, advertising, promotion or to reveal THE TRUTH! All articles should be written from a neutral point of view and free from bias. Resist the urge to add material about yourself, your friends or your family: doing so will result in an inherent conflict of interest and could backfire. Wikipedia is not a publisher of original thought or a crystal ball. Do not use Wikipedia to espouse your latest experimental results, theory, opinions or gossip. Nor is it a venue for speculating on future events. Everything you add must be verifiable and referenced to a reliable source. This is particularly important when writing about living people. Defamatory material contributed to Wikipedia is not immune from libel. Wikipedia is not a scientific journal, a textbook, or an instruction manual. The purpose of Wikipedia is to present facts, not to teach subject matter. Inform, don't instruct. Describe, don't proscribe. Articles should be written for intelligent laypeople, not for academics. Avoid jargon and use apposition to describe technical concepts in simple terms. Wikipedia is not a social networking site. Joining Wikipedia's thriving community can be socially rewarding, but remember that discussion pages are for promoting effective collaboration, not dating or blogging. Wikipedia is not a political experiment in democracy, bureaucracy, anarchy or any other system. Its primary (but not exclusive) method of determining consensus is through discussion, not voting. Wikipedia has key policies and guidelines that editors are expected to respect, but rules are not the purpose of the community. If a rule prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia, ignore it..... but breaking rules simply to prove a point is bad form.
