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Wikipedia: The Missing Manual
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Description
Learn how to contribute to Wikipedia, the popular user-generated online reference that serves 9 million entries and 2.5 billion requests per day. Wikipedia: The Missing Manual gives you practical advice on how to create articles and collaborate with fellow editors, how to improve existing articles, and how to work with the Wikipedia community to review new articles, mediate disputes, and maintain the site. Up to the challenge?
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Table of Contents
  1. Editing, Creating, and Maintaining Articles

    1. Chapter 1 Editing for the First Time

      1. The Wikipedia Way of Editing
      2. Practicing in the Sandbox
      3. Starting, Previewing, and Saving Your Edit
      4. Dealing with an Edit Conflict
      5. Wiki Markup: From Edit Box to Screen
      6. Editing Article Sections
      7. Editing the Lead Section
      8. Editing for Real
    2. Chapter 2 Documenting Your Sources

      1. Documentation Guidelines
      2. Adding an External Link
      3. Citing Sources
      4. Creating Footnotes
      5. Advanced Citation Techniques
    3. Chapter 3 Setting Up Your Account and Personal Workspace

      1. Why Register?
      2. Picking a User Name
      3. Registering
      4. Setting Up Your User Page
      5. Personal Subpages
    4. Chapter 4 Creating a New Article

      1. What Makes a Good Article
      2. What Articles Don’t Belong on Wikipedia
      3. Tutorial: Creating a New Article
      4. Ideas for New Articles
      5. Resources for Writing Articles
    5. Chapter 5 Who Did What: Page Histories and Reverting

      1. Understanding Page Histories
      2. Reverting Edits
      3. Advanced Techniques
    6. Chapter 6 Monitoring Changes

      1. The User Contributions Page
      2. Wikipedia’s Standard Watchlist
      3. Multiple Watchlists
      4. Real-Time Monitoring Alternatives
    7. Chapter 7 Dealing with Vandalism and Spam

      1. Lines of Defense
      2. Reverting Vandalism and Spam
      3. Issuing Warnings
      4. Requesting Assistance of Administrators
      5. Don’t Get into a Revert War
  2. Collaborating with Other Editors

    1. Chapter 8 Communicating with Your Fellow Editors

      1. Identifying Yourself
      2. Article Talk (Discussion) Pages
      3. User Talk Page Postings
      4. Communicating via Email and IRC
    2. Chapter 9 WikiProjects and Other Group Efforts

      1. WikiProjects
      2. Collaborations
      3. Less Formal Working Groups
    3. Chapter 10 Resolving Content Disputes

      1. Why Editors Disagree
      2. Avoiding Content Disputes
      3. Reviewing Content Changes: A General Plan of Action
      4. Resolving Content Disputes Informally
      5. Resolving Disputes with Assistance
    4. Chapter 11 Handling Incivility and Personal Attacks

      1. Enforcing Norms of Conduct
      2. Dealing with Incivility and Personal Attacks
      3. When You Get Irritated (or Worse)
    5. Chapter 12 Lending Other Editors a Hand

      1. Answering Questions
      2. Showing Appreciation for Other Editors
      3. Reviewing Articles and Images
      4. Coaching Other Editors
      5. Helping Resolve Disputes
      6. For Experienced Editors
      7. Choosing Where You Want to Help
  3. Formatting and Illustrating Articles

    1. Chapter 13 Article Sections and Tables of Contents

      1. Getting Sections Right
      2. Getting Headings Right
      3. Improving the Table of Contents
    2. Chapter 14 Creating Lists and Tables

      1. Creating and Editing Lists
      2. Editing and Creating Tables
    3. Chapter 15 Adding Images

      1. Uploading Images
      2. Finding Images
      3. Placing an Image in an Article
      4. Questions or Problems with Images
      5. Uploading a Non-free Image
  4. Building a Stronger Encyclopedia

    1. Chapter 16 Getting Readers to the Right Article: Naming, Redirects, and Disambiguation

      1. Naming and Renaming
      2. For Old Names and Bad Spellers: Redirects
      3. For Multiple Meanings: Disambiguation
    2. Chapter 17 Categorizing Articles

      1. Fundamentals of Categorization
      2. Category Links in Articles
      3. Category Pages
      4. Building Out Categories
      5. Discussing Categories
      6. Categories, Lists, and Navigation Templates
    3. Chapter 18 Better Articles: A Systematic Approach

      1. Avoid Surprises
      2. Don’t Suppress or Separate Controversy
      3. Reorganize and Edit Existing Content
      4. Don’t Take Article Scope as a Given
      5. Improve the Citation of Sources
      6. Build the Web
      7. Look for Guidance and Examples
      8. Add Sourced Content
      9. Remove Cruft and Duplication
      10. Get the Wording Right
      11. Make the Article Look Appealing
    4. Chapter 19 Deleting Existing Articles

      1. Responding to Problem Articles
      2. Alternatives to Deletion
      3. Three Ways to Delete an Article
      4. After an Article is Deleted
  5. Customizing Wikipedia

    1. Chapter 20 Customizing with Preferences

      1. User Profile
      2. Skin
      3. Math
      4. Files
      5. Date and Time
      6. Editing
      7. Recent Changes
      8. Watchlist
      9. Search
      10. Misc
      11. Gadgets
    2. Chapter 21 Easier Editing with JavaScript

      1. Setting Up Your Browser
      2. Adding and Deleting Scripts
      3. Fixing Problems
      4. Resources
  6. Appendixes

    1. Appendix A Tour of the Wikipedia Page

      1. The Six Upper-Right Links
      2. The Top Tabs
      3. Left Boxes and Links
      4. Links in the Body of the Page
      5. Bottom Links
      6. Additional Features in Edit Mode
      7. Additional Options on User Pages
      8. Keyboard Shortcuts
    2. Appendix Reader’s Guide to Wikipedia

      1. Some Basics
      2. What Wikipedia is Not
      3. How Good is Wikipedia?
      4. Navigating Within Wikipedia
      5. Images
      6. You Can Help
    3. Appendix Learning More

      1. Information Pages
      2. Directories and Indexes
      3. Places to Ask Questions
      4. Coaching and Classes
      5. Wikipedia News and Gossip
  1. Colophon

View Full Table of Contents
Product Details
Title:
Wikipedia: The Missing Manual
By:
John Broughton
Publisher:
O'Reilly Media / Pogue Press
Formats:
  • Print
  • Ebook
  • Safari Books Online
Print Release:
January 2008
Ebook Release:
July 2008
Pages:
512
Print ISBN:
978-0-596-51516-4
| ISBN 10:
0-596-51516-2
Ebook ISBN:
978-0-596-15288-8
| ISBN 10:
0-596-15288-4
Customer Reviews
About the Author
  1. John Broughton

    John Broughton has been a registered editor at Wikipedia since August 2005, with more than 15,000 edits by the time he wrote this book. His biggest Wikipedia endeavor was to build the Editor's index to Wikipedia (just type that in the "search" box at the left of any Wikipedia page). This index lists every important reference page on Wikipedia, as well as hundreds of off-Wikipedia Web pages with useful information and tools for Wikipedia editors. John's first experience with programming computers was in a 1969 National Science Foundation program. Since then, he's held various computer-related management positions in the headquarters of a U.S. Army Reserve division, worked in internal audit departments as a Certified Information Systems Auditor, and was the Campus Y2K Coordinator at U.C. Berkeley. A Certified Management Accountant, John has B.S. in Mathematical Sciences from Johns Hopkins University; an M.B.A. from Golden Gate University; an M.S. in Education from the University of Southern California; and a Masters in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley.

    View John Broughton's full profile page.

Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects.

The cover design of this book is based on a series design originally created by David Freedman and modified by Mike Kohnke, Karen Montgomery, and Fitch (http:// www.fitch.com). Back cover design, dog illustration, and color selection by Fitch.

The illustrations that appear in Wikipedia: The Missing Manual were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand MX and Adobe Photoshop CS.

  • Book cover of Wikipedia: The Missing Manual