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{{Short description|Introduction to English-language Wikipedia}}
{{Shortcut|WP:ABT|WP:ABOUT|WP:WIKIPEDIA}}
{{Hatnote|This is a [[WP:INFOPAGES|general introduction]] for visitors to Wikipedia. For aspiring contributors, also see this [[Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia|guide]] and [[Help:Introduction|tutorial]]. For other uses, see [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia (disambiguation)]].}}
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"Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge.<wbr> That's what we're doing." {{nobreak|— [[Jimmy Wales]]}}}}}}

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[[Wikipedia]] is a [[Wikipedia:Free encyclopedia|free online encyclopedia]] that [[Help:Introduction_to_Wikipedia|anyone can edit]], and [[Wikipedia:Wikipedians#Number_of_editors|millions already have]].

[[Wikipedia:Purpose|Wikipedia's purpose]] is to present information on all branches of [[knowledge]]. It consists of [[Help:Editing|freely editable]] content, with articles that contain numerous links guiding readers to more information. Wikipedia is one of many [[Wikimedia Foundation#Projects and initiatives|Wikimedia projects]] hosted by the nonprofit [[WP:Wikimedia Foundation|Wikimedia Foundation]].

[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia is written by humans, for humans|Wikipedia is written by human]] volunteers known as [[Wikipedia community|Wikipedians]] who [[Collaborative writing|collaborate]] with [[Wikipedia:Editing policy#Artificial intelligence additions|almost no assistance from artificial intelligence]]. Wikipedia articles can be edited by [[Wikipedia:Who writes Wikipedia?|anyone]] with [[Internet access]], except in [[Wikipedia:Protection policy|limited cases]] in which editing is [[Wikipedia:Protection_policy#Edit_protection|restricted]] to prevent [[Wikipedia:Disruption|disruption]] or [[WP:VAND|vandalism]]. Since its creation on [[Wikipedia Day|January 15, 2001]], it has grown into the world's [[Wikipedia:Size of Wikipedia|largest]] reference [[website]], attracting [[stats:#/all-wikipedia-projects/reading/unique-devices|over a billion visitors each month]]. Wikipedia is a multilingual project, with more than [[m:List of Wikipedias#All Wikipedias ordered by number of articles|{{Number to word|{{rounddown|{{NUMBEROF|ARTICLES|totalactive}}|-6}}}} articles]] in more than [[Special:SiteMatrix|300 separate wikis]] for almost as many languages. This includes {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} articles in [[English language|English]], with {{NUMBEROFACTIVEUSERS}} active contributors in the past month.
[[File:How does Wikipedia work – A WIKI MINUTE 16-9.webm|thumb|A short video explaining how Wikipedia works]]
Wikipedia's fundamental principles are summarized in its [[Wikipedia:Five pillars|five pillars]]. While the [[Wikipedia community]] has developed many [[Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines|policies and guidelines]], new editors do not need to be familiar with them before they start contributing.

The quality of content is more important than the expertise of who contributes it. Wikipedia's content must conform with its [[Wikipedia:Editing policy|policies]], including being [[Wikipedia:Verifiable|verifiable]] by published [[Wikipedia:Reliable sources|reliable sources]]. Contributions based on [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view|personal opinions]], beliefs, or personal experiences, [[Wikipedia:Original research|unreviewed research]], libellous material, and [[Wikipedia:Copyright violations|copyright violations]] are not allowed and will not remain. Wikipedia's software makes it easy to reverse errors, and experienced [[Wikipedia editor|editors]] [[WP:Watchlist|watch]] and [[Wikipedia:Recent changes patrol|patrol]] bad edits.

[[WP:NOTPAPER|Wikipedia differs from printed references in important ways]]. Anyone can instantly improve it, add quality information, remove misinformation, and fix errors and [[Wikipedia:Vandalism|vandalism]]. Since Wikipedia is continually updated, encyclopedic articles on major news events appear within minutes.

For over {{Age in years|2001-01-15}} years, Wikipedians have volunteered their time and talents to create history's most comprehensive encyclopedia while providing references and other resources to researchers worldwide (see [[Wikipedia:Researching with Wikipedia|Researching with Wikipedia]]). In summary, since 2001 Wikipedia has tested the [[wisdom of the crowd]] and has found that it succeeds.

{{block indent|To start editing, simply click the {{button|{{int:Skin-view-edit}}|bgcolor=var(--background-color-base, #fff)|bgcolor2=var(--background-color-base, #fff)}} or {{button|{{int:Visualeditor-ca-editsource}}|bgcolor=var(--background-color-base, #fff)|bgcolor2=var(--background-color-base, #fff)}}{{nbsp}}button, or the pencil icon{{nbsp}}[[File:Pencil edit icon.svg|baseline|22px|class=skin-invert-image|alt=Simple gray pencil icon|link=]], at the top of any [[Wikipedia:Protection policy|non-protected]] Wikipedia page or section.}}

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[[Category:Wikipedia basic information|About]]
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