User:Charles Matthews/20 Things

=Twenty Things to Know and Do when editing Wikipedia=


 * 1) Know how to add bold, italic and other format from the editing bar
 * 2) Use the cite button and autofill, and reflist in a footer, to create footnotes
 * 3) Start new sections with the Talk page button, indent with colons, sign with ~
 * 4) Use your Sandbox for drafting, graduating to the Draft: namespace
 * 5) Currently, new accounts cannot create new articles
 * 6) You become autoconfirmed by doing a number of edits and waiting 72 hours
 * 7) Copy-paste moves are deprecated: use the move button
 * 8) Articles need a topic sentence, and at least one reference
 * 9) Notability of the topic needs to be established, for example with three decent references
 * 10) Give context in the lead section
 * 11) Build up drafts with referenced sentences, then rewrite for flow
 * 12) Use understated and neutral language, avoiding editorial comment
 * 13) Expect to: re-order (moving refs); divide sentences; sort into sections
 * 14) Establish a good "logical flow" and then tweak wording
 * 15) Add incoming and outgoing wikilinks to articles
 * 16) Carry out major edits in a series of smaller steps with good edit summaries
 * 17) Add categories and images: you can see how this done in the sources of articles
 * 18) Use repositories: Google Books, Internet Archive, Wikimedia Commons
 * 19) Be civil, and concentrate on content rather than debating points (not Twitter)
 * 20) Beware conflict of interest, and back off if you are too close to the topic