Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not about YOU

While we're happy that you have chosen to contribute to Wikipedia, you need to remember... Wikipedia is not about you.

Sure, you see Wikipedia articles on all sorts of individuals, films, companies, projects, etc., but it is strongly urged that those articles not be written by involved persons. Yes, it can be tempting to write about yourself or projects in which you have a strong personal involvement, and perhaps you might feel your personal knowledge uniquely qualifies you on the subject, but that involvement and that personal knowledge reflect a conflict of interest. That you might "know" something is fine, but for inclusion in Wikipedia, we require confirmation that the world at large already knows about it too.

Cautions
Don't write about yourself, your friends, your website, your company, your business, your family, a band you're in, your teacher, a word you made up, a story you wrote, your hamster, or anything else you're closely affiliated with. If the subject is too close to you, it falls under scrutiny as a conflict of interest. If your username is Big Blast and you write about Big Blast, the musician, or Big Blast the Demolition Company, or Big Blast Pancakes, you'll catch the immediate eye of editors whose chosen task is to investigate and curtail conflict of interest or blatant advertising, which is contrary to the purpose of Wikipedia.

If "Big Blast", the musician, or "Big Blast Pancakes" are worth writing about, you should wait until someone else writes it. If Big Blast is actually not you, then perhaps starting with a different username will prevent the appearance that it is. Conflict of interest is a big deal on Wikipedia, as Wikipedia strongly discourages any attempt at self-promotion. So choose something else that interests you and that will itself be of interest to others.

The best encyclopedic articles are written by those editors who can maintain perspective and a neutral point of view, which is difficult when writing about yourself or about projects close to you. Creating overly abundant links and references to autobiographical sources is unacceptable. See Autobiography, Notability and Conflict of interest.

What is found at "What Wikipedia is not" outlines many of the types of content which are considered inappropriate for this encyclopedia.

If you DO want to write an article, you might consider visiting Most wanted articles. Each of the redlinks listed there is an article just waiting to be written. YOU could write it!

Wikipedia is not a means of promotion

 * From What Wikipedia is not:

Wikipedia is not a soapbox, a battleground, or a vehicle for propaganda, advertising and showcasing. This applies to articles, categories, templates, talk page discussions, and user pages. Therefore, content hosted in Wikipedia is not for:


 * 1) Advocacy, propaganda, or recruitment of any kind: commercial, political, religious, sports-related, or otherwise. Of course, an article can report objectively about such things, as long as an attempt is made to describe the topic from a neutral point of view. You might wish to start a blog or visit a forum if you want to convince people of the merits of your favorite views. See Advocacy.
 * 2) Opinion pieces. Although some topics, particularly those concerning current affairs and politics, may stir passions and tempt people to "climb soapboxes" (for example, passionately advocate their pet point of view), Wikipedia is not the medium for this. Articles must be balanced to put entries, especially for current events, in a reasonable perspective, and represent a neutral point of view. Furthermore, Wikipedia authors should strive to write articles that will not quickly become obsolete. However, Wikipedia's sister project Wikinews allows commentaries on its articles.
 * 3) Scandal mongering, something "heard through the grapevine" or gossip. Articles and content about living people are required to meet an especially high standard, as they may otherwise be libellous or infringe the subjects' right to privacy. Articles should not be written purely to attack the reputation of another person.
 * 4) Self-promotion. It can be tempting to write about yourself or projects in which you have a strong personal involvement. However, do remember that the standards for encyclopedic articles apply to such pages just like any other. This includes the requirement to maintain a neutral point of view, which is difficult when writing about yourself or about projects close to you. Creating overly abundant links and references to autobiographical sources is unacceptable. See Autobiography, Notability and Conflict of interest.
 * 5) Advertising. All information about companies and products are written in an objective and unbiased style. All article topics must be verifiable with independent, third-party sources, so articles about very small "garage" or local companies are typically unacceptable. External links to commercial organizations are acceptable if they identify major organizations which are the topic of the article. Wikipedia neither endorses organizations nor runs affiliate programs. See also Notability (organizations and companies) for guidelines on corporate notability. Those promoting causes or events, or issuing public service announcements, even if noncommercial, should use a forum other than Wikipedia to do so. Contributors must disclose any payments they receive for editing Wikipedia.

Non-disruptive statements of opinion on internal Wikipedia policies and guidelines may be made on user pages, as they are relevant to the current and future operation of the project.