User:NoobThreePointOh/Beginner's guide

Hello, beginners! If you are new to editing Wikipedia and wanted a guide, well look no further, because you've come to the right place: my user page! Read the tips below and soon you will become a veteran at editing.

For all IP users

 * First, I would heavily, and I mean heavily, recommend creating an account on this site. Doing so will grant you more privileges to editing rather than being limited compared to an IP (no offense to all IPs reading this). Otherwise, if you want to keep using your IP, go ahead. I don't care as long as you're careful to not cause any collateral damage.

To create your account...


 * 1) Choose a satisfying username that will fit you, but be careful of using usernames that are promotional, disruptive, or libelous since these violate Wikipedia's username policy and may get you blocked.
 * 2) Figure out if the username is acceptable. Examples of usernames that are okay include: BobDude53, NorthStar, ClaireIsCool, etc. Others that are not allowed are UrAnIdiot, Dumbass46, Yamlaisawful, IhateNinjaRobotPirate (sorry guys, it's just an example), usernames that have personal attacks in them, and ones that have your real name in it. Avoid these at all costs.
 * 3) Note that not all usernames that contain promotional companies are prohibited. A username that will not violate this is "GordonfromAmazon." While it does have the company Amazon in it, unlike most other promotional usernames, this one contains the name of the individual in it to prevent confusion.

For all users (Getting started)

 * Once you've created your account, start by looking at every page you prefer to read about and see if you can check for any errors that might be in it. For instances, let's say you like to read about traffic lights. Open the page and look for any typos, grammar errors, and inconsistencies in the wording. Don't worry if it takes a long time to check. Once you do, it will be all worth it.
 * If you have an account that's four days old and has at least 10 edits, it will become autoconfirmed. This will allow you to upload files, edit semi-protected pages, move pages, and create articles. Beware however, as making any dummy or null edit is considered gaming the system.
 * Once you have made at least 500 edits and have an account that's over a month old, then the account becomes extended confirmed. At this point, you can also edit articles that are under extended-confirmed protection.
 * If you are more of a vandalism fighter like me, go to Special:RecentChanges and set the filter settings there to customize what edits come out to your liking (such as constructive or destructive edits, good or bad faith, minor or major edits, the possibilities are endless). Things to consider are:


 * 1) Some edits that have such a simple summary for a massive edit (they will not have the letter "m" next to their edit), like "Fixed typo" will have a 50-80% chance of being vandalism.
 * 2) If you do spot vandalism or any unconstructive edits once in a while, go to the edit, inspect it, and then once you know it is vandalism revert it. The best way to revert vandalism is with Twinkle, a tool that can help you, although it requires autoconfirmed permissions to use.
 * 3) Also, when reverting, be sure to leave a talk page message in that user's talk page, either through a welcome or warning message. If the user continues to vandalize the page, revert it and warn them again, increasing in warning steps. Again, if you are going to revert vandalism, I would recommend getting autoconfirmed permissions and then install Twinkle. It also helps greatly in placing warnings on the user's talk page.
 * 4) Finally, if the user still vandalizes despite all warnings, report them to AIV. If the user themself makes any attacks on you, then report them to Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents. Be sure to give a reason as to why they are being disruptive and then ask if they can get blocked. The administrators will deal with the rest.


 * If you have a consistent track record of reverting vandalism, then you can request the pending changes reviewer or rollback permissions, which both make it even easier to revert vandalism.
 * You can also review new pages at Special:NewPagesFeed. There, lots of pages that have been recently created will appear. Check each one of them to see if they all have at least some valuable information. If they don't, then you can ask for it to be deleted, but read Criteria for speedy deletion first.
 * And when you are good with this, then you can request the new page reviewer or autopatrolled permissions.
 * When adding info to a page, always cite a reliable source to verify your information.
 * Remember how I said that you should look for vandalism? Well, I have another tip for you: Don't vandalize any page yourself. Vandalism is disallowed on Wikipedia, and admins are always watching.
 * Never edit war. Edit warring is repeatedly reverting someone else's edits. It is not advised to edit war, even if you believe that the edits you made were in good faith. Instead, take issues you may have to a page's talk section and discuss them there.
 * Don't use sockpuppets. Sockpuppeting is using accounts that you create after getting blocked on your original account. Seriously. I don't want you to do it. Some administrators have access to a CheckUser permission, which allows them to find out if you are using any other accounts. I'm not responsible for any accidents you may have had using sockpuppets.
 * And finally, have fun!

Do you think you're ready now?
So, now that you've read all of this information in one go, are you ready to start? Great! Now get out of here and begin your reign of editing on Wikipedia. Good luck!