Very Frequently Asked Questions (VFAQs)
This is a list of very frequently asked questions by new contributors to Wikipedia, at the Help desk and Village pump, by using {{helpme}}, and elsewhere.
If your question is not answered on this page, please see Wikipedia:FAQ for a more extensive set of FAQs.
[edit] An article doesn't show up in the search
- The search index is maintained on a dedicated server, and is updated completely approximately every thirty hours. Recent changes are not reflected until the next time the search index is updated. Also, article names are case sensitive. The "go" button usually masks this, but if an article name includes a mixture of capitalized and uncapitalized words or any words in camelCase a redirect is necessary.
[edit] All links suddenly became underlined
- If all the links in the articles suddenly become underlined (or the opposite), it's probably because your browser failed to load one of the stylesheets. Do a forced reload or bypass your cache.
[edit] How do I create a new article?
- See: Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article.
[edit] How do I cite Wikipedia?
- See Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia.
[edit] When was Wikipedia last published?
- Wikipedia is not a printed encyclopedia. If you are asking this question because you wanted to cite a certain revision of Wikipedia articles, you can see Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia.
[edit] Who wrote article X on Wikipedia?
- Almost all articles on Wikipedia are written by multiple editors, not just one. If you click on the "history" tab on the top of the article, there is a list of all contributors to the particular article. If your purpose is to cite Wikipedia, see the question above.
[edit] How do I change my username?
- See Wikipedia:Changing username.
[edit] Who owns Wikipedia?
- See who owns Wikipedia.
[edit] Why has my article been deleted?
- The best way to find out is to look on the corresponding Articles for Deletion page. If it isn't there, look at the deletion log for reasons (type the name of the article in the Title box).
[edit] Why have I been blocked?
- There may be several reasons for this — if you feel you've been blocked wrongly, then put the text {{unblock|reason}} tag on your talk page, putting the reason you think you have been wrongly blocked in for "reason". An administrator will come and take a look. It may be due to an automatic block by the software. Please be sure to include your IP address, which you can find in the block message.
[edit] Why am I having trouble logging in?
- See Help:Logging in.
[edit] Are page hit counters available?
- No. The feature to count how many times a page has been visited has been turned off for performance reasons. For more details please see Wikipedia:Technical FAQ#Can I add a page hit counter to a Wikipedia page?.
[edit] How do I change the name of an article?
- You move the article using the "move" button (to the right of the "edit this page" button). You must have an account, and it must be at least 4 days old in order to move pages. If the move is controversial or impossible, visit Wikipedia:Requested moves.
[edit] What do the colored numbers mean on the Watchlist or Recent Changes?
- For each article, the numbers represent the number of bytes that have been added or removed from a page in that particular edit. On the English Wikipedia, this is normally the same as how many characters have been added or removed from a page. For more details, including how to customize it, please see Wikipedia:Added or removed characters
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