Internet- Editing and collaborating in Wikipedia

Editing and collaborating in Wikipedia

Once an article is published in Wikipedia, it is open to the public to edit on it and 

collaborate for the improvement of the article. Anybody, who has an account on 

Wikipedia can edit and collaborate any of the Wiki pages. 

Editing an existing information in Wikipedia

An article that was previously created in Wikipedia can be edited also. The pages in wikipedia are either semi-protected or unprotected. To edit semi-protected pages, the edit request has to be sent and only after the permission to edit is granted the editing can be done. On the other hand,the unprotected pages can be edited directly without asking permissions.

Editing Semi protected pages

To edit semi-protected pages, follow the steps given below.

1. Visit Wikipedia Main page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page) and
   Click Login.

Fig: Log in option

2. Enter Username and Password and Click Login button.

Fig: Log in process

3. Suppose a previously created article of solar system has to be edited. 
   So type Solar System in Search box and click Search icon. 

4. Locate the Option View Source in the page that is displayed and click on it.

Fig: View Source button.

5. Since it is a semi-protected article, only registered users can edit it. To edit 
   this page, send an edit request by clicking Submit an edit request button.

Fig: Submit an edit request button

Once the request is submitted, the permission will be given to edit the page after 4 daysand 10 edits.

Editing an unprotected page

To edit a page, which is not protected, follow the steps given below:

1. Open the Wikipedia main page type the keyword for the article that has to be 
   edited. For example, if an article on Parliament of India has to be edited, type  Parliament of India in the search box and click Search icon.

Fig: Search Box

2. Once the page is displayed, click Edit source tab in the page displayed.

Fig: Edit Source tab

3. Click Edit icon and select Switch to visual editing option.

Fig: Edit Icon

 The page will be switched to Visual editing as shown below. Make the necessary changes in the article and click Save changes button. Before editing, it is always better to go-through the webpage Rules for Editing Wikipedia before actually making changes in the article.

Fig: Editing an article

Fig: Editing an article

4. While editing, also write a short description on the changes being done. Once the 
   editing is complete, click Save Changes button. If editing process has to be continued,
   click Resume Editing. The changes can be reviewed by clicking Review your changes
   button.

Fig: Save Changes button

The changes will be validated by wikipedia and will be published in next 24 hours.

Commenting an article in Wikipedia

Once an article is published in Wikipedia, it is open to the public to  
comment or give any suggestion for the improvement of the article.
This can be done using Talk pages. These pages are used to discuss
 the improvements to the articles or other wiki pages. Anybody from
 anywhere around the world can participate to give their suggestions
 or comments using talk pages. Follow the steps given below:

1. Visit Wikipedia Main page ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page )
    and Click Login.

Fig: Wikipedia Main Page

2. Enter Username and Password and Click Login button.

Fig: Login Details

3. After logging in, search for the desired page. For example, to comment or 
   suggest to solar system wiki page, type keyword solar system in the search
   box.

Fig: Searching for Solar System

4. The Solar system page will be displayed in the Article tab. Click on this tab on
    top right of the page to switch to the Talk page.

Fig: Talk tab

5. The Talk Page will display the talk page of the solar system as shown
    below.Click on the link New section to create or suggest a comment.

Fig: New Section option

6. It will display the screen as shown below.

Enter the Subject/headline and your suggestion or comment in the
 respective textboxes. Always read the Talk Page guidelines to know
 about the rules and regulations for using Talk page.

Fig: New Section of Talk Page

7. Once the suggestions or comments have been entered, click on
    Show Preview to see how the comment / suggestion appears on
   the Wiki page. Click on Show Changes button to see the recent 
   changes made. Finally when the changes / comments / suggestions 
   are finalized click on Save Changes button to save them.

A wiki is a collaborative web site that collects and organises content,
created and revised by its users. The most well-known example is Wikipedia.