What kind of site is wikipedia

Remember that any encyclopedia is a starting point for research, not an ending point. An encyclopedia is great for getting a general understanding of a subject before you dive into it.

But then you do have to dive into your subject, using books and articles and other appropriate sources. What you find in your other sources will be more detailed, more precise, and more carefully reasoned than the summary you found in an encyclopedia.

The sources you cite in your paper will be the more detailed sources you have used. All you need to do with Wikipedia, then, is thank it in your heart. An encyclopedia is great for checking little details. Little details may be: General knowledge that you have forgotten, like the starting date of the First World War or the boiling point of mercury.

This is because your public contributions must be associated with their author you! In some circumstances, the Wikimedia communities can assist users with removing additional information related to their account from the projects. To gain a better understanding of the demographics of our users, to localize our services and to learn how we can improve our services, we may ask you for more demographic information, such as gender or age, about yourself.

We will tell you if such information is intended to be public or private, so that you can make an informed decision about whether you want to provide us with that information.

Providing such information is always completely optional. If you don't want to, you don't have to—it's as simple as that. If you consent, we can use GPS and other technologies commonly used to determine location to show you more relevant content. We keep information obtained by these technologies confidential, except as provided in this Policy. You can learn more by checking out the list of examples of how we use these technologies in our FAQ. Sometimes, we automatically receive location data from your device.

For example, if you want to upload a photo on the Wikimedia Commons mobile app, we may receive metadata , such as the place and time you took the photo, automatically from your device. Please be aware that, unlike location information collected using GPS signals described above, the default setting on your mobile device typically includes the metadata in your photo or video upload to the Wikimedia Sites.

If you do not want metadata sent to us and made public at the time of your upload, please change your settings on your device. Finally, when you visit any Wikimedia Site, we automatically receive the IP address of the device or your proxy server you are using to access the Internet, which could be used to infer your geographical location.

Like other websites, we receive some information about you automatically when you visit the Wikimedia Sites. We also use a variety of commonly-used technologies, like cookies, to collect information regarding how you use the Wikimedia Sites, make our services safer and easier to use, and to help create a better and more customizable experience for you. We want to make the Wikimedia Sites better for you by learning more about how you use them.

Examples of this might include how often you visit the Wikimedia Sites, what you like, what you find helpful, how you get to the Wikimedia Sites, and whether you would use a helpful feature more if we explained it differently.

We also want this Policy and our practices to reflect our community's values. For this reason, we keep information related to your use of the Wikimedia Sites confidential, except as provided in this Policy.

Because of how browsers work, we receive some information automatically when you visit the Wikimedia Sites. This includes when you use an online tool on a third-party site that loads information coming from the Wikimedia Sites.

This information includes the type of device you are using possibly including unique device identification numbers, for some beta versions of our mobile applications , the type and version of your browser , your browser's language preference, the type and version of your device's operating system , in some cases the name of your internet service provider or mobile carrier, the website that referred you to the Wikimedia Sites, which pages you request and visit, and the date and time of each request you make to the Wikimedia Sites.

Put simply, we use this information to enhance your experience with Wikimedia Sites. For example, we use this information to administer the sites, provide greater security, and fight vandalism; optimize mobile applications, customize content and set language preferences, test features to see what works, and improve performance; understand how users interact with the Wikimedia Sites, track and study use of various features, gain understanding about the demographics of the different Wikimedia Sites, and analyze trends.

We use a variety of commonly-used technologies, like cookies, to understand how you use the Wikimedia Sites, make our services safer and easier to use, and to help create a better and more customizable experience for you.

We actively collect some types of information with a variety of commonly-used technologies. These generally include tracking pixels , JavaScript , and a variety of "locally stored data" technologies, such as cookies and local storage. These types of technologies may also be used in online tools on a third-party site that loads information from the Wikimedia Sites.

We realize that some of these technologies do not have the best reputation in town and can be used for less-than-noble purposes. So we want to be as clear as we can about why we use these methods and the type of information we collect with them. Depending on which technology we use, locally stored data may include text, Personal Information like your IP address , and information about your use of the Wikimedia Sites like your username or the time of your visit.

See below for more information. We use this information to make your experience with the Wikimedia Sites safer and better, to gain a greater understanding of user preferences and their interaction with the Wikimedia Sites, and to generally improve our services. We will never use third-party cookies, unless we get your permission to do so.

If you ever come across a third-party data collection tool that has not been authorized by you such as one that may have been mistakenly placed by another user or administrator , please report it to us at privacy wikimedia. Want to know even more? You can read more about some of the specific cookies we use, when they expire, and what we use them for in our FAQ. We believe this data collection helps improve your user experience, but you may remove or disable some or all locally stored data through your browser settings, depending on your browser.

You can learn more about some options you have in our FAQ. While locally stored data may not be necessary to use our sites, some features will not function properly if you disable locally stored data. While the examples above concerning information about you collected through the use of data collection tools are kept confidential in accordance with this Policy, please note that some information about the actions taken by your username is made publicly available through public logs alongside actions taken by other users.

For example, a public log may include the date your account was created on a Wikimedia Site along with the dates that other accounts were created on a Wikimedia Site.

We and our service providers use your information for the legitimate purpose of pursuing our charitable mission, including:. We will customize the Services, in some instances, with your consent; or in keeping with our legitimate interest. We will send these types of emails to you only with your consent except as otherwise permitted by applicable law. We do not sell, rent, or use your email address to advertise third-party products or services to you.

You can manage what kinds of notifications you receive and how often you receive them by going to your Notifications Preferences and User profile. You can learn more about email and notifications and how to change your preferences in our FAQ.

We will always tell you, at the time we give you an opportunity to share your thoughts, how we plan on using your answers and any Personal Information you provide. Your responses to our surveys and feedback requests are always optional.

We will email these types of requests to you only with your consent except as otherwise permitted by applicable law. As stated above, we can use commonly-used location technologies to show you more relevant content. For example, our mobile apps can identify articles from the Wikimedia sites about points of interest near your location. As stated above, we may automatically receive location data from your device.

For example, if you upload a photo using the Wikimedia Commons mobile app, please be aware that the default setting on your mobile device typically results in the metadata associated with your photo being included in the upload. As a reminder, if you do not want metadata sent to us and made public at the time of your upload, please change your settings on your device. When you visit any Wikimedia Site, we automatically receive the IP address of the device or your proxy server you are using to access the Internet, which could be used to infer your geographical location.

We keep IP addresses confidential, except as provided in this Policy. If you are visiting Wikimedia Sites with your mobile device, we may use your IP address to provide anonymized or aggregated information to service providers regarding the volume of usage in certain areas.

We use this location information to make your experience with the Wikimedia Sites safer and better, to gain a greater understanding of user preferences and their interaction with the Wikimedia Sites, and to generally improve our services.

For example, we use this information to provide greater security, optimize mobile applications, and learn how to expand and better support Wikimedia communities. We use and share your Personal Information when you give us specific permission to do so, for legal reasons, and in the other circumstances described below. We share your Personal Information for a particular purpose, if you agree.

For example, if you receive a scholarship and we ask permission to share your Personal Information with a local chapter. You can find more information in the list of examples in our FAQ. We will disclose your Personal Information to public authorities or other persons in response to an official legal process only if we believe it to be legally valid. See also our Requests for user information procedures and guidelines. We will notify you of such requests when possible. However, if we believe that a particular request for disclosure of a user's information is legally invalid or an abuse of the legal system and the affected user does not intend to oppose the disclosure themselves, we will try our best to fight it.

We are committed to notifying you via email at least ten 10 calendar days, when possible, before we disclose your Personal Information in response to a legal demand. However, we may only provide notice if we are not legally restrained from contacting you, there is no credible threat to life or limb that is created or increased by disclosing the request, and you have provided us with an email address.

Nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to limit any legal objections or defenses you may have to a third-party's request whether it be civil, criminal, or governmental to disclose your Personal Information. We recommend seeking the advice of legal counsel immediately if such a request is made involving you. For more information, see our Subpoena FAQ. In the unlikely event that the ownership of the Foundation changes, we will provide you 30 days' notice before any Personal Information is transferred to the new owners or becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

In the extremely unlikely event that ownership of all or substantially all of the Foundation changes, or we go through a reorganization such as a merger, consolidation, or acquisition , consistent with our legitimate interest, we will continue to keep your Personal Information confidential, except as provided in this Policy, and provide notice to you via the Wikimedia Sites and a notification on WikimediaAnnounce-L or similar mailing list at least thirty 30 calendar days before any Personal Information is transferred or becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

We, or users with certain administrative rights, use and disclose Personal Information that is reasonably necessary to:. We, or particular users with certain administrative rights as described below, need to use and share your Personal Information if it is reasonably believed to be necessary to enforce or investigate potential violations of our Terms of Use , this Privacy Policy, or any Wikimedia Foundation or user community-based policies.

We may also need to access and share Personal Information to investigate and defend ourselves against legal threats or actions. Wikimedia Sites are collaborative, with users writing most of the policies and selecting from amongst themselves people to hold certain administrative rights. These rights may include access to limited amounts of otherwise nonpublic information about recent contributions and activity by other users. They use this access to help protect against vandalism and abuse, fight harassment of other users, and generally try to minimize disruptive behavior on the Wikimedia Sites.

MediaWiki is a collaboration and documentation platform brought to you by a vibrant community. Photo of participants of the Wikimedia Hackathon Edit and use MediaWiki Learn how to navigate Learn how to edit a page Learn more about reading, editing, and personal customization. Develop and extend code New to development? Get help and contribute Cannot find the answer to a problem with MediaWiki?

The opt-in product, operated by Wikimedia, LLC, is designed for companies and organizations who want to more easily…. Nonprofit organizations across the world are vibrant and diverse with wide ranging missions and objectives. One thing that ties them together is the goal of fundraising and awareness — something each organization approaches differently. At the Wikimedia Foundation, your generous donations help us maintain our independence, serve our diverse and global community, and——unlike many other….

Annual plans. View what we plan to accomplish this year and next. Each annual plan begins on 1 July and concludes on 30 June of the following year. Fundraising reports. Annual fundraising reports offer a transparent view of our fundraising operations, successes, and future plans. Grants support impact-driven individuals, groups, and organizations whose efforts support our free knowledge mission.

Movement affiliates. Wikimedia movement affiliates support work focused on a specific theme, topic, or subject within or across countries and regions.

Past annual reports.