The technical side of Wikipedia

According to Alexa, Wikipedia today ranks as the fifth most visited site on the Internet,
trailing behind the likes of Google, YouTube, Facebook and Baidu in that order. As we all
are familiar, Wikipedia article is nothing but a collection of Web pages interconnected with
each other through internal links. The idea is that by using lots of different people's
brainpower and expertise, you can make a far bigger encyclopaedia, and keep it up-to-date
more easily. Also, Wikipedia says it's got over 80,000 people who write for it, and more than
19 million articles.

Operation:
A typical Wikipedia page works on the principle of collecting relevant information and
articles and referencing the same. At the top of the any topic page in Wikipedia, we see a tab
that says, "Edit this page." That is a wide-open invitation to anyone -- any visitor to
Wikipedia (including we) can edit any page. The traffic on Wikipedia mostly comprises of
readers in majority, writers and editors to some extent.
If we have something to say about any topic that we feel should be on the page, or if we have
an external link that we believe would be helpful to other readers who are reading about wing
warping, or if we’re compelled to write something completely unrelated, then we can add
whatever we have to say to the page. Simply click on the "Edit this page" tab and type away.
In other words, your change will be either accepted, altered or rejected by the community. In
that way, pages on Wikipedia are expanding and changing all the time. The changes overtime
can be monitored in the history tab.
 After gaining sufficient experience, the editors are granted special rights like rollback,
pending changes reviewer, autopatrolled etc. which helps them to perform speedy editing as
compared to inexperienced editors who does it the normal (slower) way. Then after obtaining
some more experience they can contest for administrator ship which provides them with the
highest privileges an editor can have and exceptionally trusted editors are made bureaucrats
after contesting elections.

Some editors are also provided with bots (computer program which does the work given to it
automatically just like a robot) which helps in mass editing tasks (maintenance) and makes
editing easier as wikipedia has around 5.2 million articles which makes it almost impossible
for the editors to maintain it.

Bureaucrats are exceptionally trusted users who handle the content, review user groups and
create accounts. As of now, Wikimedia has 28 Bureaucrats in total.
There are tools that make it easy for the community to find and remove vandalism. There are
also other tools available on Wikipedia to help corral users who are persistently destructive.

 It is easy for anyone who sees vandalism to revert pages back to a pre-vandalism
state.
 It is easy for any user to alert the rest of the Wikipedia community to vandalism that
is in progress.
 It is possible for an admin to block or ban users (or IP addresses) who are persistently
destructive.
 It is possible for an admin to protect a page temporarily to keep people from changing
it.
 It is possible for an admin to delete an inappropriate page.
Tools like these make it easy for members of the community to quickly eliminate vandalism
and prevent vandals from coming back.

Besides, we wish to edit the content on a Wiki page, we can refer ‘help:editing’ page on
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing

What Content is Allowed on Wikipedia?

Wikipedia’s content revolves around three core policies;
1.Neutral point of view – Wikipedia requires that all its content present information from a
neutral standpoint. The site insists that all views must be presented fairly and without bias,
irrespective of the subject being covered.
2.Verifiability – Although the site requires attribution for content that is likely to be
challenged, it should be taken in stride that anything you’d like to write about or correct is
able to be substantiated. This ensures the reliability of facts so that people who enjoy reading
the content will not be misinformed.
3.No original research – While original thoughts may be good, this goes back to
Wikipedia’s requirement that all information must be verifiable. As such it states that
“Articles may not contain any new analysis or synthesis of published material that serves to
advance a position not clearly advanced by the sources”.
 How to Create a Wikipedia Article:
 Step 1: Have the right topic 
Wikipedia would like explicit, well-sourced, knowledge on topics which are unique enough
to feature in an article. This will be assured that an suitable topic is selected. The site rejects
articles that promote or publicize a business; advice – legal, medical or otherwise;
instructional material; travel guides; and news items.
TIP: We can get ideas for topics by typing WP:RA in the search box; a list of articles
requested by others will appear.
 Step 2: Source your work 
Making sure the information for our article from a credible, reliable source. Material in books
and newspapers is generally considered reliable; the musings of bloggers are not. Besides,
writing about ones own self is considered a conflict of interest.
TIP: Detailed instructions on the proper way to cite sources can be found by typing WP:CITE
into the search box and hitting "Go."
 Step 3: Conduct an internal search 
Making sure Wikipedia hasn't already published an article on our exact subject by typing it
into the site's internal search engine. Searching as many variations of the topic name can help
us to get a broad idea of the same.
TIP: Click "Search" to find Wikipedia articles that just mention your subject.
 Step 4: Google it 
Searching the topic on Google to ensure if it finds any Wikipedia articles on our subject.
Google sometimes picks up postings that Wikipedia's own search engine misses.
 Step 5: Sign up 
Becoming a registered user to submit an article without first gaining the site's approval.
Having an account also means we can create a user profile, receive messages from other
 users, request notification for changes made to articles, and, of course, get credit for the
articles we write. Click on "create an account" at the top right of any page.
TIP: If you'd prefer not to register, submit a proposal through Wikipedia's Articles for
Creation, an online review process that provides feedback on your idea. Type WP:AFC in a
Search box and hit "Go."
 Step 6: Practice writing 
Practicing writing a post by drafting a sandbox draft in which we can become acquainted
with the editing resources of the web. Tap WP: SB and click "Go" in the Search window.
Select "Support" in a toolbox on the left-hand side of the tab.
 Step 7: Enter the article 
Type your subject in a Search box and hit "Go." You've already determined that no page with
that title exists. Click on your highlighted search entry. You'll be redirected to a blank page
where you can begin writing your article.
TIP: Wikipedia editors may request more sources from you after reviewing your article.
 Step 8: Publish! 
When our article is finished, hit "Show Preview" to proofread your work and see how it will
appear on the site. When you're ready to publish it, hit "Save Page." Congratulations! You're
a Wikipedian!

References:
https://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/wiki1.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wing_warping
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing