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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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<q>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.</q> {{nobreak|— [[Jimmy Wales]]}}}}}}

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

[[Wikipedia:Purpose|Wikipedia's purpose]] is to benefit readers by presenting information on all branches of [[knowledge]]. Hosted by the [[WP:Wikimedia Foundation|Wikimedia Foundation]], Wikipedia consists of [[Help:Editing|freely editable]] content, with articles that usually contain numerous links guiding readers to more information.

[[Collaborative writing|Written collaboratively]] by volunteers known as [[Wikipedia community|Wikipedians]], Wikipedia articles can be edited by anyone with [[Internet access]], except in [[Wikipedia:Protection policy|limited cases]] in which [[editing]] is 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 currently has more than [[m:List of Wikipedias#All Wikipedias ordered by number of articles|{{Number to word|{{rounddown|{{NUMBEROF|ARTICLES|totalactive}}|-6}}}} articles]] in [[Special:SiteMatrix|more than 300 languages]], including {{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.

[[Wikipedia:Who writes Wikipedia?|Anyone]] can [[Help:Editing|edit]] Wikipedia's text, data, references, and images. 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, editors 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, Wikipedia has tested the [[wisdom of the crowd]] since 2001 and has found that it succeeds.

{{block indent|To start editing, simply click the {{button|Edit|bgcolor=var(--background-color-base, #fff)|bgcolor2=var(--background-color-base, #fff)}} or {{button|Edit&nbsp;source|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]], at the top of any [[Wikipedia:Protection policy|non-protected]] Wikipedia page or section.}}

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[[Category:Wikipedia basic information|About]]