User:WikiWes77/Wikipedia Editor's Reference and Tools

(What I wish I knew when I began editing)

Now that I've been on Wikipedia for a little while (See my Contributions), I will attempt to compile a list of tools, tips, and helpful articles for my use and for others, if they wish. I want to be concise, but go beyond what is included in user welcome templates and provide organization.

Reference
Introduction

Where to get Help

 * New contributors' help page
 * Help:Contents
 * Frequently Asked Questions
 * Leave messages at the Village pump to discuss Wikipedia policies, issues, etc. with editors.


 * Category:Wikipedia help for more help pages.

What Editors Should Know

 * Five pillars (Summary of official policies and guidelines)

More:
 * Policies and guidelines
 * List of policies
 * List of guidelines

Policy Abbreviations
(Often used on talk pages)
 * NPOV: Neutral Point of View
 * POV: Point of View
 * NOR: No Original Research
 * 3RR: 3 Revert Rule

Editing

 * Tutorial (Good place to start)
 * How to write a great article
 * Avoiding common mistakes
 * How to edit a page
 * Wiki Markup (Formatting: Bold, Italics, Headings, etc. Adding links, images, special symbols, etc.)
 * Tip: Use the Edit toolbar (included by using preferences) to do many of these things with a click of a button.

Article quality

 * Manual of Style -an extensive guide on article organization, punctuation, grammar, etc.


 * Article rating system

Templates: Quick and Fancy Messages for Articles and Talk Pages

 * Template messages


 * Template messages/User talk namespace