Wikipedia:Reference desk/purpose

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The purpose of the reference desk is, very broadly speaking, to provide an educational resource. Specificially, it gives readers a place to get answers to questions. When possible, replies given on the desk should direct the questioner to a Wikipedia article or articles which fully or partially answer their query. Though most questions may not be immediately answerable with a simple wiki-link, it's the rare reply that can not direct the asker to at least some article content. Giving personal opinions in answers should be avoided.

The reference desk should also encourage article contributions. A question may bring to light areas in which Wikipedia lacks coverage, where article names and redirects could better serve those seeking information, or where article quality needs improvement.

The desk is comparable to a library reference desk. Readers are advised to first try to find the answer by searching. Questioners seeking medical and legal advise are advised to consult a doctor or lawyer instead. Answers should be kept within the scope of the question asked and should link to articles which may have relevant information.

Although the reference desk is in project space, due to its nature it needs to be more accessable and friendly than many project pages. Many of the questioners are either new editors or the general public, who will not know much about how Wikipedia works. Wikipedia-specific jargon is discouraged for this reason.

While all editors agree that the reference desk's primary purpose is to be informative, there are differences of opinion regarding whether the reference desk should focus solely on encyclopedic information, or whether any and all information is fair game. One could argue that WP:V and WP:NOR are less important here, since the reference desk is not in article space.

The reference desk involves communication between questioners and answerers from different backgrounds and cultures. This communication does not need to be completely formal. Humour is allowed in reference desk answers, provided it is relevant to the question, is not at the expense of other editors, and is not likely to offend a typical reference desk reader.