Wikipedia:General reading list

This is a list of pages one might consider essential reading for becoming a well-grounded Wikipedian:

Beginner

 * Contents - know your way around the encyclopedia!
 * Department directory - know your way around the community!
 * Introduction - Hi! The very basics.
 * Tutorial - quick lessons to get you started.
 * Simplified Ruleset - the basics on what to do and not to do in working on Wikipedia and working with other Wikipedians.
 * Glossary of Wikipedia jargon - understand what others are talking about.


 * Contributing to Wikipedia - where to jump in and help.
 * How to copy-edit - Proofreading and copyediting
 * Links - how it all hangs together.
 * Cheatsheet - simplified wiki-markup code set. (Formatting text, headings, etc.)
 * Deletion debates - the procedure for removing pages from Wikipedia.
 * Vandalism - join the perpetual battle against those who would do Wikipedia harm.

Intermediate

 * How to edit a page - comprehensive wiki-markup instructions.
 * Community Portal - keep up with current events on Wikipedia.
 * Templates & Transclusion - what those mysterious double curly brackets are for!
 * Patrol - Wikipedia's various patrols, for monitoring various page types for maintenance and general administration.
 * Portal - what portals are and how to build them.


 * Wikiphilosophy - the various guiding principles behind editors' actions.
 * Keyboard shortcuts - the fast way to operate.
 * Policies and guidelines, List of policies, and List of guidelines - the complete rules.
 * Tools & Tools by function - how to do things faster, including searching, editing, etc.
 * Watch - public watch list: keep track of essential areas.

Advanced

 * Administrators - What they are, what they do, and how to become one.
 * Administrators' reading list


 * Bots - Automated maintenance of Wikipedia.

Beginner

 * Help:Contents/Getting started - Another good place to begin.
 * Help:Contents

Intermediate

 * Virtual classroom - discussions and assignments for learning Wikipedia's operations better.
 * Editor review (now defunct) - check out the archive, which is loaded with feedback given to other editors. Learn from the mistakes of others and thereby avoid making the same mistakes yourself.

Advanced

 * Requests for adminship - when you are ready to become an admin, this is the place to apply (though it is better to have someone nominate you)