EuropeWiki:User questions

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This article has been taken in large part from the Wikipedia Overview FAQ.

Contents 1 What is a Wiki? 2 What is EuropeWiki? 3 Why is it called EuropeWiki? 4 What are the aims of EuropeWiki? 5 Who owns EuropeWiki? 6 Who is responsible for the articles on EuropeWiki? 7 How can I contact the project by email? 8 Should I create an account? Can't I just edit articles anonymously? 9 How do you know if the information is correct?

[edit] What is a Wiki?

A Wiki is a collection of interlinked web pages, any of which can be visited and edited by anyone at any time. You could even edit this page by clicking the "edit" link on the second tab above, or edit a section by clicking on "[edit]" to the right, editing only that section. If you don't have anything to add or correct on this page and you just want to see that it works, try out the EuropeWiki:Sandbox! See also EuropeWiki:Page editing.

[edit] What is EuropeWiki?

EuropeWiki is a project to produce a NationStates encyclopedia that is comprehensive and open-content. See EuropeWiki:About and the mission statement article for more information.

[edit] Why is it called EuropeWiki?

It's a simple contraction of NS, the abbreviation for NationStates, and wiki. Blame Myrth, he sucks.

[edit] What are the aims of EuropeWiki?

EuropeWiki's goal is to create a free NationStates-related encyclopedia -- a reliable resource for NationStates players to learn about history, strategies, and more. It's an ambitious goal, and, by nature, can never be finished in the traditional sense of the word. New information is continually being added, and old information is being improved.

[edit] Who owns EuropeWiki?

The articles hosted on this site are released by their authors under the GNU Free Documentation License, so the articles are open content and may be reproduced freely under the same license. See EuropeWiki:Copyrights for information on how you can use EuropeWiki content.

[edit] Who is responsible for the articles on EuropeWiki?

You. This is a collaborative endeavor. Many people have contributed to different parts of this project, and anyone can do so, including you. All you need is to know how to edit a page, and have some idea of what to contribute.

You can learn who is responsible for the most recent versions of any given page by clicking on the "Page history" link. But if you spot an error in the latest revision of an article, you are highly encouraged to be bold and correct it. This practice is one of the basic review mechanisms that maintains the reliability of the encyclopedia.

If you are uncertain or find the wording confusing, quote the material on the associated talk page and leave a question for the next person. This helps eliminate errors, inaccuracies or misleading wording more quickly and is highly appreciated by the community.

[edit] How can I contact the project by email?

Given the collaborative nature of the project, there's no official email address. Your best bet is to check the EuropeWiki:Administrators user pages, or pm Greater DCU on the forums.

[edit] Should I create an account? Can't I just edit articles anonymously?

Users with account names enjoy several benefits, among them is the positive reputation that goes with quality work. Users with an established history are respected especially with regard to neutralising article disputes. This is not to say there is a EuropeWiki hierarchy per se - though there are editors with administrative abilities (see EuropeWiki:Administrators), these are approved by the community. Also, users with user names are in a sense more anonymous than contributors that are not logged in: while anyone can see the IP address of a user who did not log in when he/she edited, only server administrators can find the IP of a logged-in user. So if you're concerned about privacy and anonymity, you may prefer to create a username for yourself in order to hide your IP.

However, if you'd like to stay on the fringes, it's fine to edit without a login. Many valuable contributors have made this choice.

[edit] How do you know if the information is correct?

As anyone can edit any article, it is of course possible for biased, out of date or incorrect information to be posted. However, because there are so many other people reading the articles and monitoring contributions using the Recent Changes page, incorrect information is usually corrected quickly. Thus the overall accuracy of the encyclopedia is improving all the time as it attracts more and more contributors. You are encouraged to help by correcting articles and passing on your own knowledge.