Readers' FAQ
This FAQ page addresses some concerns and questions readers may have about Wikipedia.
[edit] How do I search Wikipedia?
- There should be a small search box at the side of the screen, marked search, followed by Go and Search. Just type what you are looking for into the search box and press the Enter key. Or, click Go / Search. See Wikipedia:Searching for more details.
- You can also use Google to search Wikipedia by following this link. The Google index will be somewhat outdated, however, as their bots only search on a periodic basis, and may not yet have caught up with our latest edits.
- Some browsers allow searching Wikipedia via their URL/Location bar, for example Konqueror and Firefox. This is commonly accessed by typing "wp Main Page", but may change according to the browser settings, please check the documentation on whether this feature is in your browser and how to configure it.
- User:AxelBoldt has created some bookmarklets for Wikipedia searching. You can get them here. That page also explains how to set up a shortcut in Firefox to have Google search all Wikipedias at once.
- Finally, if you would like to search for Wikipedia articles in multiple languages, you can try the little-known but very cool multi-lingual Wikipedia search tool (currently disabled).
[edit] How do I do research with Wikipedia?
- You can see information about researching with Wikipedia here.
[edit] What is the license agreement on the contents of Wikipedia?
- Wikipedia articles are all open content and are covered by the GNU Free Documentation License. See Wikipedia:Copyrights.
[edit] May I mirror entire sections of the Wikipedia to my site? How much may I quote?
- You may mirror or quote as much as you wish, as long as you maintain the text under the GNU Free Documentation License. See Wikipedia:Copyrights.
[edit] If I link a word from my site to Wikipedia, am I required to use the GNU FDL for my site? What if I use a small quote (three or four sentences)? What if I quote entire articles?
- The answer to the first question is "no". Linking is not an act regulated by copyright, so the GNU FDL does not apply. The answer to the second is also "no," since it is covered by the fair use doctrine. For the third question, check with your lawyer, or just put the site under the GNU FDL. However, Wikipedians try to assume good faith, so minor copyright violations are unlikely to result in a lawsuit.
[edit] Can I get Wikipedia on CD, or download it for offline use?
- SOS Children have published a 2006 Wikipedia CD Selection for schools which may be viewed at Wikipedia CD Selection and is downloadable for free off the charity website at wikipedia cd download page.
- The database can be downloaded here, but you will need to set up a web server, PHP, MySQL and our wiki software, MediaWiki, to make use of it. A paper or CD version of Wikipedia is currently under discussion at Wikipedia:Pushing To 1.0.
- However, several Wikipedians have made various Wikipedia databases available in TomeRaider format for offline reading. See Wikipedia:TomeRaider database for more details.
[edit] How do I cite a Wikipedia article in a paper?
- Cite it as you would any other web page in accordance with the normal citation practice the publication you are submitting the paper to follows. Citing the individual authors is not necessary, but you should at least include the date on which you retrieved the article (and ideally the full timestamp from the history).
- Automatically generated citations in several standard styles are available through the "Cite this article" link in the toolbox.
- See Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia
[edit] Why are the backgrounds of some pages light blue and others white?
- Encyclopedia article pages have white backgrounds, while dynamically generated special pages, talk pages, user pages, and about-wikipedia pages have light blue backgrounds. This is intended as a visual cue that you're not in the encyclopedia per se.
- (Note: This answer is dependent on which skin you are currently using. For more information, see Help:Preferences on MetaWiki.)
[edit] When I use the random page link, I get generic articles about obscure U.S. cities a lot more often than I would like. What can I do about it?
- Yes, there are a lot of these pages, and they are going to come up fairly often on random. If they just do not interest you, hit the random button another time or two until something that does interest you comes up.
- However, if you would like to help flesh out these census-based stubs and build Wikipedia membership, please consider spending a few minutes researching: look up the town on Google and see if there is a city web page or local historical society. You can E-mail them and ask for "real information" about their town's history.
- See User talk:Rambot/Random page for further discussion.
[edit] What should I do if I find a factual error in Wikipedia?
- You should correct it. See Wikipedia:Contributing FAQ. Volunteer contributions from those who believe knowledge should be free for everyone make up Wikipedia, and the community is always ready to welcome whomever would like to join.
- Because Wikipedia is an all-volunteer project that anyone can edit, errors or omissions can and do creep in. This should be kept in mind when reading; the very nature of Wikipedia means it should not be trusted completely. Articles frequently contain citations of authoritative works where a reader can verify the information found.
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