I recently noticed that there's a new article in Wikipedia on the Royal Wedding, but it contains many errors. Who is responsible for these errors?
-- Sonam P., MoE
Dear Sonam,
In the last column I talked about Wikipedia and explained how errors find their way into articles. As promised, this week I describe how to update Wikipedia articles. But first, a refresher: Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.com) is one of the Internet's most popular websites. It is a fantastic, free, online encyclopedia with millions of articles. Wikipedia articles can be created, edited and updated by anyone with an Internet connection.
How to earn Wikipedia karma points
Articles related to Bhutan in Wikipedia are still scarce. Here's how you can help. Go to en.wikipedia.org, and look for the search bar near the top-right. Search for a topic on which you are knowledgeable. It can be your gewog's name, favourite Bhutanese film, local flora and fauna, your high school, your favorite member of parliament, etc. If an article about the topic does not exist, you can start one. If an article already exists, read it. There is a good chance that you can improve the article. Log into your account (or create an account if one does not exist), edit the article, preview and save. That's it! You have selflessly contributed to world knowledge.
Many visitors to Wikipedia are just "readers", that is, people who read articles. However, you can also write, edit and update articles. Suppose that you read a Wikipedia article and spot an error. You can easily fix it! Here's how: look for the "Edit" tab near the top-right area of the screen. Click on it, and you'll be taken to an online editor which contains the text of the article. Find the error, correct it, then click "Show preview", and if you like what you see - click "Save page". That's it. The entire world will now see the improved article! Once you edited an article, you officially become a "Wikipedian" - someone who writes and edits Wikipedia articles. There are almost 16 million Wikipedians around the world, including some in Bhutan. Articles related to Bhutan in Wikipedia are still scarce. Here's how you can help. Go to en.wikipedia.org, and look for the search bar near the top-right. Search for a topic on which you are knowledgeable. It can be your gewog's name, favourite Bhutanese film, local flora and fauna, your high school, your favorite member of parliament, etc. If an article about the topic does not exist, you can start one. If an article already exists, read it. There is a good chance that you can improve the article. Log into your account (or create an account if one does not exist), edit the article, preview and save. That's it! You have selflessly contributed to world knowledge.
Tip 1: I recommend opening a (free) account in Wikipedia before editing articles. To create an account, go to en.wikipedia.org and click on "Log in / create account" at the top-right of the page. Using a Wikipedia account improves your online privacy. If you edit an article without logging in, your IP address will be publicly displayed in the page's revision history. This means that you can be traced back. If you edit an article while logged in, only the username that you chose for your account will be displayed.
Tip 2: To learn more about editing articles, go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing. For creating new articles, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creating_new_pages
Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com
Nice to Know that you are back with the posts Mr. Boaz. Reading your post always enlighten me with knowledge. Here is two topics of which i added to Wikipedia; One is my Middle school where i studied and one; my own Gewog..
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsenkharla_Middle_Secondary_School
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khamdang
Great pages Tsehwang! The photos add a lot. I see that you got the attention of another editor from the US (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:JFHJr) who is helping with revisions. Am looking forward to more pages by you :)
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