Wikipedia:Da Rulez

You may have heard Wiki editing is complicated and bureaucratic, with thousands of pages of rules. That's not true; there are just three rules to know before you start editing.

Wikipedia has a veritable "alphabet soup" of policies and guidelines. But all these policies and guidelines are elaborations on three key points.

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia created through collaboration by the community of editors. These three characteristics lead to three guiding principles:

1. Cite reliable sources. Everything on Wikipedia needs to come from a reliable source with a citation to back it up. That means you can't add stuff you just came up with or your own personal opinions and biases. (Don't worry about formatting those references—our built-in reference tool handles that for you.)
2. If in doubt, talk it out. Wikipedia is ruled by consensus. If another editor disagrees with you, you should discuss it (calmly) and come to an agreement on the talk page. Be prepared to justify your edits if someone else reverts them. Don't repeatedly try to make the same change to an article without discussing it first. Ask other editors for their opinions (at the Teahouse, on WP:WikiProjects, or at our WP:dispute resolution noticeboard). For small disagreements, you can look for a third opinion.
3. Be kind to others. Wikipedia is a community, and editors should treat each other with respect. Yes, things go wrong sometimes; and yes, the system is crocked up sometimes. But don't be a jerk and don't call others jerks. Remember, we're all doing our best.

In addition to the above, there is a super secret bonus rule:

0. Ignore all rules. If the rules keep you from editing Wikipedia, ignore them. You'll figure them out as you go along. Be bold. If you make an honest mistake, an experienced user will politely let you know so you can fix it. The only real rule to follow is to use common sense. If you need help, ask at the Teahouse or Help desk.

See also

• Contributing to Wikipedia – a page that provides information and resources on the basics needed to use, comment on, and contribute to Wikipedia.
• Community standards and advice – a quick directory of community norms and related guidance essays.
• WP:Teahouse – help for new users.
• WP:Trifecta – Seth Ilys's original version inspiring this essay.