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Writing Wikipedia Articles: The Basics and Beyond
a free six week course
How to create an account: 3 minute video
For the policy governing what usernames are or are not appropriate, see Wikipedia:Username policy.

Are you ready to create a Wikipedia account, so you can keep track of articles in a watch list, customize your reading and editing preferences, and communicate with other Wikipedia volunteers about improving articles that interest you? GREAT!

Your first big decision will be choosing a username. And you'll want to consider:

Should you be fully public about your contributions?
Or anonymous? Or somewhere in between?

There are reasons to go in any of these directions. This page is meant as a resource to help you choose. You don't need to read more than you like, of course; if you already know what username you want, you might want to skim through the pros & cons below.

In addition, you may need to consider whether your preferred name would violate Wikipedia's policy on usernames; for instance, if it might be considered deceptive, promotional, offensive, etc. Please reference the Username policy if relevant.

But whenever you're ready…

…go create your account!

Personae

Each of the following fictional people has an interest in flowers and horticulture, and participates in several online blogging and social media communities relating to that interest. Each one works on Wikipedia articles related to flowers, and various other topics as well. But they have chosen varying levels of anonymity on Wikipedia. In order from most public to most anonymous:

  • Pamela Bunster is building a reputation as an expert in horticulture and biology. On Wikipedia, she calls herself Pamela Bunster; and on her user page, she lists various personal and professional accomplishments, and links various online profiles.
  • Jim Mickles is building a career and an online presence as a tax attorney. He doesn't mind anybody knowing who he is, but prefers not to emphasize his name. On Wikipedia, he calls himself FlowerPower9999; he puts his name on his user page along with some info about himself.
  • Heather Bronson is private by nature. She doesn't like getting in arguments, and when they happen, she likes to be able to walk away from them easily. She has been online for a long time; her Twitter account, and her username in many online forums, is "OrchidNut1234." She chooses the Wikipedia username OrchidNut1234; her name doesn't appear anywhere on her user page, but she does link to her Twitter account.
  • Anthony Robson is a very private person. He likes to keep his options open, and doesn't want to get in "trouble" in real life for controversial choices about what or how he edits Wikipedia. For instance, maybe in the future he will work on articles that are culturally taboo or politically unpopular. He wants to be very confident that co-workers or family members won't connect those things to him. He chooses Shadowy Figury 9876 as his username. His user page has little or no information about himself or his interests; he just uses it to keep links to interesting Wikipedia pages for future reference.
  • Bob Dobbs is just like Anthony, but chooses a different approach: he doesn't create a Wikipedia account at all, and edits without logging in. In the edit history, instead of a username, you will see his IP address, which looks like: 555.555.555.555

Pros & cons

Persona description Username is real name Real name used on user page Username is online handle Username is unconnected to identity No user account created
avatar
Wikipedians sometimes share an image of themselves on their user pages. The images above are meant to suggest the kind of image each of these personae might choose. (Since these are fictional people, we have used existing photos of famous people to represent their photos.
government name Pamela Bunster Jim Mickles Heather Bronson Anthony Robson Bob Dobbs
username Pamela Bunster FlowerPower9999 OrchidNut1234 Shadowy Figury 9876 none; IP address appears, e.g. 555.555.555.555
user page A pretty complete bio listing interests, professional accomplishments, etc. A pretty complete bio, including his name "Jim Mickles" Some comments about her interest in flowers and various topics; perhaps some personal information, but none that makes her personally identifiable. Perhaps empty (creating a red link), or perhaps minimal, broad information (such as "This user lives on Planet Earth" or "This user cares about good grammar") Not applicable; there is no user page if a user does not create an account.
benefits
  • Can get full credit in the "real world" for her work.[1]
  • "Outing" is not an issue.[2]
  • Those searching the web for her name may find her Wikipedia user page.[3]
  • If diligent, she can manage any conflicts of interest (COI) responsibly.[4]
  • Can get full credit in the "real world" for his work.[1]
  • "Outing" is not an issue.[2]
  • Those searching the web for his username may find his Wikipedia user page.[3]
  • If diligent, he can manage any COI responsibly.[4]
  • She can get credit (as her online handle) for her work.[1]
  • She can share as much or as little as she likes[5]
  • Shadowy Figury 9876 can compartmentalize his work on Wikipedia separate from the rest of his life.[6]
  • 555.555.555.555 can keep his work on Wikipedia entirely compartmentalized.[6]
  • Edits he makes from different locations (like home vs. a coffee shop with WiFi) will not be visibly related to each other
  • He may choose this approach for philosophical reasons, and find satisfaction in helping keep Wikipedia truly open to everyone to edit.
drawbacks
  • It's hard for her to compartmentalize her Wikipedia work.[6]
  • It's hard for him to compartmentalize his Wikipedia work.[6]
  • It may be difficult for OrchidNut1234 to take credit for her work.[1]
  • Could be difficult for others to get in touch.[7]
  • Risk of being "outed."[2]
  • Hard to avoid ethical problems with COI.[4]
  • In some rare cases, may need to prove identity to Wikimedia Foundation.[8]
  • It may be difficult for Shadowy Figury to take credit for his work.[1]
  • Could be difficult for others to get in touch.[7]
  • Risk of being "outed."[2]
  • Very hard to avoid ethical problems with COI.[4]
  • In some rare cases, may need to prove identity to Wikimedia Foundation.[8]
  • 555.555.555.555 is less anonymous than Shadowy Figury.[9]
  • It is pretty much impossible for Bob to take credit for his work.[1]
  • Almost impossible for others to get in touch.[7]
  • 555.555.555.555 can't use several useful software features.[10]
  • Risk of being "outed."[2]
  • Impossible to avoid ethical problems with COI.[4]
  • Various aspects of the Wikipedia social order are unavailable.[8]
second thoughts?
  • Easy to add real name & info to user page in the future if desired
  • Possible to adopt real name as username if desired
  • Revision deletion & suppression might be used to mitigate if you are "outed"
  • Easy to add real name & info to user page in the future if desired
  • Possible to adopt real name as username if desired
  • Revision deletion & suppression might be used to mitigate if you are "outed"
  • Possible to create user account at any time
  • 555.555.555.555's past edits will not be linked to new account

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f How easy is it for colleagues, bosses, friends, and Internet followers to associate your "real life" identity with your Wikipedia work?
  2. ^ a b c d e Wikipedians who have tried to keep their identities hidden have, from time to time, been "outed" -- either accidentally, or maliciously.
  3. ^ a b Wikipedia articles are very heavily indexed by web search engines. If you are active on Wikipedia, when people search for your username, your Wikipedia user page will tend to come up as a result, making your Wikipedia accomplishments highly visible.
  4. ^ a b c d e When a Wikipedian works on content that relates strongly to his or her personal or professional life, he or she stands in a conflict of interest (COI). Dealing with a COI responsibly includes clearly disclosing one's connection to the subject. The more anonymous you choose to be, the less likely you will be able to manage the COI responsibly.
  5. ^ If you don't use your real name, you have a good deal of choice about how much personal information you do disclose. Some Wikipedians share a fair amount of information, stopping just short of revealing their names: personal & professional interests, career, city or state, etc. Of course, if you claim authoritative status (for instance, that you hold an advanced degree, have played professional sports, or have traveled to Antarctica), others may be skeptical in the absence of proof.
  6. ^ a b c d If your Wikipedia username is sufficiently disconnected from your name or your other online persona, it can be easier to leave any big, long-term projects on Wikipedia aside during busy times, or walk away from frustrating disputes. On occasion, your Wikipedia work might attract unwanted attention. Wikipedia attracts all kinds of people; unkind or insensitive behavior is not uncommon. An editor might be angry about your edits, and seek you out by email, Twitter, or any other means to continue the argument. Or somebody might become interested in pursuing a relationship beyond Wikipedia editing, and approach you in ways you don't consider appropriate. Your personal level of comfort and sense of safety is an important consideration.
  7. ^ a b c If a Wikipedian chooses to enter their email address when registering, it becomes possible for others to email him or her through a form. Even if a Wikipedian has not entered an email address, it's possible to leave them a public message on their user talk page; they will be notified upon logging back in. The only way to get in touch with an IP user like Bob, though, is to leave a note on that IP address's talk page, and hope that (1) he or she doesn't share that IP address with lots of other people (e.g., at a public library or a large company), and (2) that he or she comes back to Wikipedia and notices the message before his or IP address changes (which can happen for any number of reasons; in some cases IP's change automatically every few days).
  8. ^ a b c An account is required if you want to serve in a position of trust (such as ambassador, administrator, etc.); or vote (in some elections; not required in others). If you don't use an account, some users may give your comments or opinions less weight. For (a very few) positions of trust, it is necessary to prove your identity to the Wikimedia Foundation, though they will not keep a permanent record. Using your real name is almost never required or preferred in Wikimedia's organizational dynamics; but having an account frequently is.
  9. ^ Bob's IP address (which can probably be linked to his home address, work address, his Internet Service Provider, etc.) is displayed next to every edit he makes. Shadowy Figury's IP address is visible only to a small group of elected or appointed Wikipedians, trusted to handle that information responsibly.
  10. ^ Benefits of using an account include: building your own watchlist; setting preferences for how you view or edit articles; getting notifications about local Wikipedia events. The "user contributions" feature enables you to keep track of your own work, as well as being visible to others.

See also

  Writing Wikipedia Articles: The Basics and Beyond (WIKISOO)  
Past courses: March • May • August 2013
February 2014 • February 2017
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