Wikipedia:FAQ/Main Page

This is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the Main Page of Wikipedia.

Why can't I edit the Main Page?

The Main Page, and its templates, are permanently protected and may only be edited by administrators. Images are protected for the period of time that they are on the Main Page. This protection was implemented as a result of repeated vandalism of the Main Page and keeps our welcome mat clean. If you see a problem, please mention it at Talk:Main Page so an administrator can fix it.

How do I get something fixed on the Main Page?

Post a notice to Talk:Main Page and an administrator will fix it. Alternately, you can direct your comment to a specific section of the Main Page as described below.

How are templates used on the Main Page?

Almost all of the text seen on the Main page is from transcluded templates, which are also protected. The sections that are regularly updated are: Today's featured article, Selected anniversaries, In the news, Today's second feature, and Wikipedia in other languages. There is normally little reason for administrators to edit the Main Page directly.

When is the Main Page updated? Why do you have the wrong date in Selected anniversaries?

As an international community, Wikipedia is organized along Coordinated Universal Time, which roughly corresponds to Western European Time. Users in New Zealand thus have their "Wikipedia midnight" at noon.

Why is the Main Page not updating?

Most probably, your web browser has cached an older version of the page and is not checking to see if there is update. Try purging the cache to force your browser to get an update. If that doesn't seem to work, find out more about browser caching.

What happened to the Did you know and Picture of the day sections?

These two are referred to collectively as Wikipedia:Today's second feature. On weekdays it highlights Did you know (DYK), a section with a sample of our newest articles. On weekend, it showcases the Wikipedia:Picture of the day (POTD), chosen by the community as the best images on Wikipedia. If you are a fan of of POTD, you can check it everyday as it is updated even during weekdays.

I think that today's featured article is awful. What can be done about it?

Various featured articles that have appeared on the Main Page have been criticized for being too trivial, too geeky, too obscure, too commercial or too political. Wikipedia:What is a featured article states that the criteria to achieve featured article status as "well written, comprehensive, factually accurate, neutral, and stable". It is possible for an article to meet these standards without appealing to many, or even most, readers. The most effective way to get more featured articles that you find interesting is to help write them. Constructive comments and editing assistance at Wikipedia:Peer review and Wikipedia:Featured article candidates are always appreciated.

Why aren't the languages of the other Wikipedia language editions in alphabetical order?

The languages listed at {{wikipedialang}} are alphabetized according to their Wikipedia domain name. Simple English Wikipedia (simple:) therefore goes before Shqip/Albanian (sq:). Some editions have domain names after the English name for the language, such as Japanese Wikipedia, which is at ja: rather than at a domain named after "Nihongo". Attempts to standardize the order around either the English language name for the language or the "real" name for the language have inevitably resulted in fierce arguments over if English speakers are language imperialists or if foreign language speakers should have a say on the ordering on English Wikipedia. The ordering has thus defaulted to domain names, which sidesteps the argument.

Is there some way to make the Main Page look better?

There are periodic attempts to revamp the look of the Main Page. An community effort in December 2004 to redesign the Main Page and key pages linked from it may be found at here. The Usability WikiProject has been working on a redesign since late 2005 at Wikipedia:WikiProject Usability/Main Page/Draft.

According to the Wikipedia:Manual of Style, shouldn't the title be at "Main page"

It would be if this was an article about main pages. However, as this is the Main Page of Wikipedia, it is treated as a proper noun with a capitalized "P".

Why doesn't the cursor appear in the search box, like with Google?

This feature allowing users to start typing a search without clicking on the search box was previously requested at BugZilla: and the decision was against implementation. See Bug 1864: Cursor should be placed in the search box for the report and discussion. The issue basically is that readers expect to be able to scroll through the Main Page using arrow keys. However, if the cursor is in the search box, using the arrow keys will instead pop-up autotext. This is not an issue with the famous Google search screen because there is no need to scroll.

Why is the word "free" is mistranslated in the names of other language editions?

The Free Encylopedia slogan is sometimes the cause of confusion because there are two distinct meanings to the word "free". One relates to "no cost" and the other is to "freedom". See Gratis versus Libre for more. Wikipedia is free to use without cost, but it is also free in the sense of having few restrictions to modify and replicate. The latter is considered more fundamental to the character of Wikipedia, so the Spanish-language Wikipedia has the slogan La enciclopedia libre, rather than La enciclopedia gratis.