Tips to create, monitor and update Wikipedia pages

Wikipedia articles are typically written from a neutral point of view, citing reliable sources to support each fact or claim. The site has strict policies on conflict of interest, advertising and promotional content.

Consider the following while creating or updating pages about living persons:

• Notability: The topic of an article must already be covered in reliable sources that are independent of the subject. These include academic journals, books, newspapers, magazines, and websites with a reputation for fact checking. Social media, press releases or corporate/professional profiles do not qualify.
• Obvious advertising: Avoid saying only good things about a person, company, item, group or service. Instead, describe in encyclopedic language.
• Copyright: Do not copy-paste or closely paraphrase material from sources. Rather, summarize what the source says in your own words.
• Referencing:
• Independent sources (see above) are generally acceptable and should be used before other sources.
• Non-independent sources (like company websites or press releases) can be used to verify basic facts only.
• Blogs, social media, and tabloid journalism are generally not acceptable.

Typically, new pages that successfully pass the initial review by Wikipedia editors are retained on the platform, but no one can give assurance for the future.

A Wikipedia article stands a greater chance of being retained and avoiding rejection during updates when it is collaboratively contributed to by multiple users, as opposed to being solely authored by its creator.

Anyone can register for free to create, monitor or edit a Wikipedia article, or seek support from an existing contributor.

It is important to adhere to Wikipedia's guidelines to avoid being blocked or banned for violating policies such as vandalism, harassment, or copyright infringement. Blocks and bans can be temporary or permanent and are enforced by administrators to maintain the integrity of the site. However, users have the right to appeal and can request a review of the decision.

Before creating the page, research the subject thoroughly and gather reliable sources to cite each fact in the article.

Mostly, titles like Dr. and Mr. are avoided on Wikipedia.

Select relevant categories, e.g., categories for a faculty member:

• [Year] births
• [Country] [speciality]
• Academic staff of [organization]
• [Alma mater] alumni
• Living people

Consider the following random updates after the initial review pass:

1. Link your page with relevant pages to avoid an orphan tag.
2. Monitor the page for any edits made by others. Keep an eye out for vandalism or biased edits.
3. Keep the page up to date with the latest information, e.g. new articles, using reliable sources to support any changes made. An article that is too short and incomplete to provide more than rudimentary information about a subject can be marked as a stub.
4. Once the page is stable, talk about the topic/person on other pages [e.g., notable personalities, faculty or alumni] and link it with your page for details.
5. To avoid a promotion strike, it's recommended to add a photo later, after the initial review pass. Wikipedia requires that all uploaded photos are either your own work or in the public domain. A new photo needs to be uploaded by the photographer or the photograph owner following these guidelines.

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