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I would not, for example, cite Wikipedia (at least without a qualifying disclaimer), as a footnote resource in a nonfiction book or academic paper, but that not what it's for. Rather, I refer to Wikipedia as an extremely convenient source of quick background information that has the massive advantage of being continuously updated, in some cases in near real time, and I find that more often than not I can find out what I need to know there, for instance for second-source fact checking of other resources, and in that capacity it's also a wonderful time-saver.
And of course, one of the cool things about Wikipedia is that most anyone acting in good faith can become a participant and contributor to the massive project. Wikipedia has thousands of articles in English and the mind-boggling 250-plus other language versions. Wikipedia does more than a quarter-million edits and more than 7000 user accounts signing on every day. More than 1000 articles are deleted daily. Wikipedia is a perpetual work- in-progress, and will remain so.
If this all appeals to you, and you think you might like to pitch in with the Wikipedia project, you might still be feeling that a bit of a loss as to how to proceed. Enter John Broughton's Wikipedia: The Missing Manual, a new addition to Pogue Press/O'Reilly's formidable Missing Manuals series. In this book, Broughton, a registered editor at Wikipedia since 2005, with more than 15,000 edits under his belt, as it were, provides readers with straightforward, fun-to-read, and clear to follow instructions and tips about how to join the mosaic of authors, citizen journalists, and scholars from around the planet who have helped make Wikipedia the success that it is.The author notes that "Wikipedia his immensely popular as a source of information, but it needs many more active editors than it has now, because it is so incomplete. Wikipedia also needs many more editors who are experts in a particular subject matter." Perhaps that sounds like you. If so, you will find this book very helpful.
"Wikipedia: The Missing Manual" contains a great deal of practical advice for creating articles and collaborating with fellow editors, improving existing articles, and working with the Wikipedia community to review new articles, mediate disputes, and maintain the site. It offers structured guidance for people who want to learn the "core curriculum" of what you need to know to avoid running afoul of the rules.
The author notes that: "tens of thousands of Wikipedians have gotten off to rough starts, yet persevered, going on to become solid contributors. This book helps you learn from those mistakes without having to personally go through them." The book is designed to accommodate editors at every level of experience.
Wikipedia: The Missing Manual is divided into six parts consisting of several chapters or appendixes each.
Part I, "Editing, Creating, and Maintaining Articles," covers the basics - editing for the first time, practicing in the Sandbox, markups, dealing with other editors, editing modes, guidelines for creating your articles, copyright issues, adding external links, footnotes, user names, registering, creating new articles, what doesn't belong on Wikipedia, page histories, making changes, watchlists, and and dealing with vandalism and spam.
Part II is on Collaborating With Other Editors, and discusses the rules of engagement, how normal corrections occur, provisions for dealing with disagreement on content, and dealing with incivility and personal attacks. The section also covers what Wikpedia calls "Wiki Projects" - groups of editors working on articles of common interest, collaborations, and resolving and avoiding content disputes, general etiquette, giving other editors a hand, and coaching other editors.
Part III is on the Formatting And Illustrating Articles, with a chapter on article sections and tables of contents, creating lists and tables, and adding images.
Part IV is Building A Stronger Encyclopedia, covering topics like getting readers to be right article, "disambiguation,"categorizing articles, creating better articles, and deleting existing articles.
Part V, is on Customizing Wikipedia, and discusses every option you can employ to tailor Wikipedia your needs and tastes using choices you will find when you click "My Preferences." There is also a section on how to implement a JavaScript user scripts.
Part VI, Appendixes, contains more resources that can help you get more out of Wikipedia, including a tutorial on links and tabs found on Wikipedia pages, a Reader's Guide To Wikipedia and a guide for editors to help them find exactly the referral pages sought and where to get help. There is also a 20 - page Index.
Stylistically, Wikipedia: The Missing Manual uses the new Missing Manuals green, black, and white to cover theme, as well as the series' familiar page design, with a comfortable amount of white space, and lots of screen shot illustrations in grayscale, as well as sidebars under headings like "Word To The Wise," and "Power Users Clinic," all of which will make you feel right at home if you're familiar with other Missing Manuals titles.
The book is priced at $29.99 for both the US and Canada, and includes 45 days free access to the Safari Books Online edition of Wikipedia: The Missing Manual. There is also a $20.99 PDF version. If you're even casually interested in becoming a Wikipedia contributor, and definitely if you're serious about it, this book is a must-have they should provide plenty of value for the money.
Wikipedia: The Missing Manual
By John Broughton
First Edition January 2008
Pages: 502
Series: The Missing Manuals
ISBN 10: 0-596-51516-2 | ISBN 13:9780596515164
Price $29.99
PDF $20.99
U.K.price Ł18.50
For more information, visit:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596515164/#top
Charles W. Moore
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