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Here's a list of frequently asked questions about wikiHow. For further questions, feel free to contact our Help Team, an Administrator, post in the Forum, IRC Chat Room or send us an Email. Everyone is happy to help you!
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edit Questions about wikiHow
If anyone can edit, how do you stop people from making bad edits?
On any wiki, there's a list of Recent Changes (RC) that show every change or addition that's been made to the site. Anyone is invited to use the tools we have on the site to review RC and decide which edits stay, and which ones don't. Most of the edits made on any given day are helpful, and any bad edits (vandalism) are usually quickly reverted by an RC patroller. Would you like to help out? Check out how it is done in this article: How to Patrol Recent Changes on wikiHow.
What are unpatrolled edits? What does the little weather icon mean?
Unpatrolled edits are changes made to the site that haven't been reviewed by someone yet. That reviewing process is called patrolling. Anyone can patrol by following these steps: How to Patrol Recent Changes on wikiHow. The number next to the weather symbol tells you how many unpatrolled edits there are on the site right now. If the symbol is cloudy or rainy, that means we really need your help!
Who runs wikiHow?
We all do. Most of the work on the site is done by us volunteers, and most of the decisions made on wikiHow are made by consensus. There's a small team of employees, whose job it is to make sure the site runs smoothly and the volunteers are happy, but contributors like you are the lifeblood of this project.
Why are there ads on your site?
wikiHow is a hybrid organization, which means that even though it's a for-profit company, it's run as a community service first and a business second. Instead of asking for donations or charging people to view content, wikiHow uses ads as its primary source of income. However, we don't think that ads should be shoved down your throat. If you don't like advertising, you can register for an account and you'll never see them again. And even if you don't want to register, you can still turn off the ads. Just click "Hide Ads" and you won't see them again for 24 hours!
Is this the same as Wikipedia?
No. We share some of the same wiki software and goals as Wikipedia, but we're separate projects run by separate organizations.
Is wikiHow the same as eHow?
No. The founder of wikiHow, Jack Herrick used to run eHow, but long ago separated himself from eHow to focus on wikiHow. While eHow and wikiHow are both how-to manuals, wikiHow is the only site that is open for editing, freely available by Creative Commons license, written on open source software, and run largely by volunteers.
Does wikiHow have a blog like other websites?
wikiHow doesn't have a blog, but anything that would be posted on a blog gets posted on the forums instead, in the Village Pump.
edit Questions about contributing
How can I link to my website?
There are a few ways you can do that:
- If you publish an article on wikiHow that's already published on your site, you can add a link to the "Sources and Citations" section. Just remember to write "Original source, shared with permission" right after the URL.
- If you write an article on how to use your particular website and you include the name in the title (e.g. How to Register for an Account at XYZ.com) you can link to your website, since it's a crucial part of the instructions.
- You can always link to your website from your own user page.
How do I add a picture to an article?
Click on an Add Image button in a particular section.
You can then upload an image from your computer or select an image that wikiHow already has permission to use. Read more in How to Put a Photo in a wikiHow Article.
How do I get my article featured?
Make sure the page is detailed, comprehensive, and insightful. Try to add information that might make someone say "Wow, I didn't know that!" If you're knowledgeable about the topic, you probably have plenty of "insider" tips; but even if you're not an expert, you can find them elsewhere on the Internet and add them to the article if you reference them properly.
When you think your article is ready, go to the discussion page and write {{fac}} at the very top. Also, when you interact with other people on wikiHow, tell them you're trying to get your page featured and would appreciate their help.
What's an admin? How do I become one?
Admins are regular users like the rest of us, who have volunteered to take on extra responsibility in the form of being able to delete articles, rename articles, and block vandals. They generally have a large number of edits, edit nearly every day, and have earned the trust of the community with their level headedness, their ability to calm argumentative editors, etc. Admin elections are held 3 times a year, and the announcements are made in the Forums. Current admins vote on the candidates based on the candidate's editing history on the site and personal interactions with that person. See How to Become a wikiHow Admin for more details.
What's "NAB"? How do I become a "NABer?"
"NAB" or New Article Boost is a system on wikiHow, where editors fix or "boost" articles that have just been submitted. This method allows them to fix spelling corrections, revise articles into wikiHow format, or add freely licensed images to make articles better. More importantly, it encourages new authors to stick around and keep writing. To become a New Article Booster, you need to pass a written test via e-mail. See Become a New Article Booster on wikiHow.
How can I get started?
Look at our list of requested topics. Type in a keyword for something you're interested in and hit "Search". Does a topic come up that you think you can write? Give it a shot!
If writing isn't your thing, browse our category list for a topic you're knowledgeable and check out the articles we have. Odds are, there are a few in there that needs your help. Maybe you can add a tip, correct a fact, fix a typo, etc.
And, if you don't have any topic in particular you're interested in, you can always keep hitting the random link on the upper right hand corner of any page and editing as you see fit!
What's wiki markup and how do I use it?
Wiki markup is a shortened version of HTML. It does the same thing as HTML, but without the tags. Example: Embolden a word with three quotation marks, such as '''embolden'''. Click here for a quick reference to our editing basics.
edit Why is this happening?
Why is my page getting deleted?
As you can imagine, wikiHow receives many new articles each day. To help maintain the quality of articles on wikiHow, we do have a deletion policy. If an article seems to violate the deletion policy, it gets nominated for deletion, which means that the community is invited to discuss whether the page should be deleted. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't! If you don't want your article to get deleted, try following the steps in How to Prevent Your wikiHow Article from Getting Deleted.
If you have more questions about how the deletion policy works or why your article was deleted, feel free to email [email protected].
Why is my page getting merged?
Since this is a collaborative project, we want people to work together to build one high-quality page on a particular topic, rather than each person making their own page. Plus, it gives our readers a single place where they can find all the advice we have on a single topic.
If your page got tagged for merging, it means someone thinks it's on the same topic as a page we already have on the site. If you think your page is different, however, read our merge policy and explain on the discussion page why your topic is distinct.
Why does it say my IP address is blocked?
When most people log into their Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to get internet access, the ISP assigns a random (or shared) IP address to them for that particular internet session. This means that if you edit anonymously, you may be sharing an IP address with several other people, one of whom may be vandalizing even while you are making good faithed edits.
Since folks at wikiHow have no way to know which of those multiple people is doing the vandalizing, we may simply block the IP address they are vandalizing from. You can avoid having your edits lumped in with a bunch of other anonymous users by registering a username (it's free, and we won't spam you or sell your information to anyone) and always signing in with that username whenever you edit on the site. This will allow you to edit, even if the IP that has been assigned to you has previously been used by a vandal.
Why isn't anyone talking to me on the chat page?
What you're probably referring to is your talk page, which many people mistake for a chat page. It's intended to be used as a means of communicating with other editors primarily about wikiHow, but we discourage people using it just for chatting back and forth. That's because every edit you make, even to someone's talk page, gets reviewed by an editor in Recent Changes. Chatting can easily make that job much harder for our editors! (And besides, who wants a third person reading all your conversations?)
As for why you may not be getting a quick response to questions or greetings on your talk page... While we have thousands of registered users, there are probably only 100 or so of them actively editing at any given point. Also, the username you are leaving a message for may not have edited here in some time, and may not be seeing your message at all. Your best bet to get in touch with someone is to post in the forums, Log In to the wikiHow IRC Room, or send an e-mail to community support.
Why can't I edit certain pages?
Rarely, some articles are protected, usually because of high traffic or recent vandalism. Registered editors can edit semi-protected pages. Contact an Admin if you need help to edit fully-protected pages.
Why are the date and time inaccurate?
You may be in a different time zone. To change settings, click on My Preferences in the column to the right of any page. Then click on "Date and time" to make adjustments.
edit Miscellaneous
How do I report a bug?
Post a message in the Tech Feedback section of the forums.
How do I report an error or a bad edit on an article?
wikiHow is a wiki, which means anyone can edit any page. If an article has an error, misleading statement, or vandalism, feel free to simply edit the page; you don't even have to register. You can also e-mail us.
I keep seeing abbreviations. What do they mean?
Just click here for help in understanding all of our abbreviations.
Who do I talk to about possible vandalism?
Leave a message on the Administrator Notice Board or on an Admin's Talk page.
How do I report something that needs immediate attention?
Feel free to leave a note on the Administrator Notice Board. It is monitored daily by Admins.
How do I delete my account?
Deleting your account is not possible on MediaWiki software. If you do not wish to use your account, simply log out and never log back in. If you wish to remove your name and username from wikiHow, email [email protected] and ask for assistance.
Article Info
Last edited:
July 20, 2010 by BR
Categories:
Help | About wikiHow | WikiHow User's Manual
