User talk:Aallen253

Welcome
Welcome!

Hello, Aallen253, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful: I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your messages on discussion pages using four tildes ( ~ ); this will automatically insert your username and the date. If you need help, check out Questions, ask me on my talk page, or ask your question on this page and then place  before the question. Again, welcome! CrossTempleJay (talk) 21:02, 23 April 2011 (UTC)  . Crosstemplejay  talk.
 * The five pillars of Wikipedia
 * Tutorial
 * How to edit a page and How to develop articles
 * How to create your first article (using the Article Wizard if you wish)
 * Manual of Style

Developing your user page
Wikipedia is a megalopolis and like in any city, interactions are very important. I recommend that you develop your user page so that people who visit your page may know your interests and share in them. It could be a single line telling others of not only your name but what you like or a complex page with every single thing that interests you on it. This is a great way of building up work groups that facilitate the sharing of expert knowledge on articles, talks etc. Happy building!!!  . Crosstemplejay  talk.21:05, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Become a great editor in no time
Being a member of the welcoming committee on Wikipedia I encourage you to help Wikipedia in any way you can to increase human knowledge. If you have credible information about a topic with verifiable references please feel free to add to that topic. If there is no article on that topic, why not start it, with time others will add to it and it may even make the featured articles list. By doing this, I have been able to make over 3500 page edits in both new articles, article improvement etc. Furthermore, I encourage you to aim to be a member of the autoconfirmed users[|autocomfirmed] group as this will greatly improve your Wikipedia experience. You can do this by making at least 10 credible edits on Wikipedia and remaining on Wikipedia for four (4) days. Check out this page for tips. . Crosstemplejay  talk. 21:05, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Adding media files to articles
Media files, be it images, drawings or sound files are an integral part of Wikipedia's articles. They apart from enriching articles, make them more credible too. You can add media files to both your new articles as well as once you are editing. To do so you can search for it on commons or you can either upload the image if you have it using this file uploader or [| commons uploader]. Please be informed that you must provide accurate information about the file being uploaded since they are reviewed and if if is found that the license given to the file is false, it will promptly be deleted.  . Crosstemplejay  talk. 21:05, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Spotting bad edits and vandalism
As you age on Wikipedia, one thing you will come across and probably address will the issue of bad edits or vandalism. There are several ways of spotting them: If you happen to come across a bad edit you may: Whatever you do, please be very careful about the changes you make, for a rule of thumb, discuss issues you are not sure of first before making changes.  . Crosstemplejay  talk. 21:05, 23 April 2011 (UTC)
 * by reviewing articles on your watchlist regularly and looking for bad edits
 * verifying new changes to pages and articles
 * ask an editor you trust to review the work for his/her inputs
 * you can rollback the change if you have credible information that the edit is indeed bad
 * request that the necessary change be made on the article's talk page.