View source for Wiki143:Maintenance

{{short description|Wikipedia project page}}
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{shortcut|WP:MAINT|WP:WM}}{{Redirects here|WP:WM|Wikimania|Wikipedia:Wikimania}}{{Maintenance departments}}
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Maintenance work is a vital part of keeping [[Wikipedia]] running optimally. Most of these tasks can be done by any user. Below are [[WP:ADMINP| administrative pages]] used for the [[WP:MAINTPAGES|maintenance]] of the English Wikipedia project, including; cleanup pages, maintenance reports, to–do lists, information pages, and related collaboration groups. For a list of jobs and tasks to be completed that is easy to understand, there is the [[WP:Task Center|Task Center]]. Maintenance tasks of the most pressing importance can be found at the [[Wikipedia:Backlog|Backlog]] page. (See '''[[#Open tasks and backlog|open–tasks and backlog]]''' below.) New to Wikipedia? See the [[ Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia|contributing to Wikipedia]] page for everything you need to know to get started.

==Things to watch out for==
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*[https://copypatrol.wmcloud.org/en Copyvios]
*[[Special:NewPagesFeed |New pages]]
*[[Special:NewFiles|New files]]
*[[Special:RecentChanges|Recent edits]]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions&contribs=newbie New editors]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&userExpLevel=unregistered  IP edits]
*[[Wikipedia:Dashboard|Discussions]]
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Editors are entrusted with the responsibility of upholding the integrity of Wikipedia while adhering to [[WP:COPYOTHERS|intellectual property]] rights, such as [[Wikipedia:Plagiarism|avoiding plagiarism]], respecting [[Wikipedia:Copyright violations|copyright laws]], and presenting [[Wikipedia:Citing sources|appropriate citations]] for article content. Particular care should be observed when [[Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons|adding information about living persons to any Wikipedia page]]. Wikipedia [[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not|should not be used as a platform for activism, recruitment, promotion, advertising, announcements]], or other [[Wikipedia:Advocacy|forms of advocacy]].

===Copyright violations===
{{main|Wikipedia:Copyright problems}}
Editors interested in identifying and resolving copyright violations may enjoy [[:m:CopyPatrol|CopyPatrol]], a tool from [[meta:Community Tech|Community Tech]]. Handling of suspected violations of copyright policy depends on the particulars of a given case. If you suspect a copyright violation but are uncertain if the content is copyrighted or whether the external site is copying from Wikipedia, you should ''at least'' bring up the issue on that page's [[Wikipedia:Talk page|discussion page]]. In that case, please tag the page {{tlx|copypaste|url{{=}}insert URL here, if known}}, unless your concerns are swiftly resolved. Others can then examine the situation and take action if needed. The most helpful piece of information you can provide is a URL or other reference to what you believe may be the source of the text. You may also make a note of your concerns at [[Wikipedia talk:Copyright problems]].

If you have strong reason to suspect a violation of copyright policy and some, but not all, of the content of a page appears to be a copyright infringement, then the infringing content should be removed, and a note to that effect should be made on the discussion page, along with the original source, if known. {{tlsx|Cclean|url{{=}}insert URL or description of source here (optional)}} has been created for this.

''See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Copyright Cleanup]] for details.''

===Vandalism===
{{main|Wikipedia:Cleaning up vandalism}}
Upon discovering vandalism, [[Help:Reverting|revert]] such edits, using the undo function or an [[Wikipedia:Cleaning up vandalism/Tools|anti-vandalism tool]]. Once the vandalism is undone, you should [[Wikipedia:Vandalism#Warnings|warn]] the vandalizing editor. Notify [[Wikipedia:Administrators|administrators]] at the [[Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism|vandalism noticeboard]] of editors who continue to vandalize despite warnings. Users whose [[WP:VOA|main or sole purpose]] is clearly vandalism may be blocked indefinitely without warning. See [[Wikipedia:Counter-Vandalism Unit]] and [[Wikipedia:Recent changes patrol]].

To make vandalism reverts easier you can ask for the [[Wikipedia:Rollback|rollback feature]] to be enabled for your registered Wikipedia account. This feature is only for reverting vandalism and other obvious disruption, and lets you revert several recent edits with a single click. See [[Wikipedia:Requests for permissions]].

===New pages===
{{main|Wikipedia:New pages patrol}}
Identify [[Special:NewPagesFeed|new articles]] which do not meet [[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not|the criteria for inclusion]] and/or to tag them for any glaring issues that need attention. Most critical are [[Wikipedia:Copyright violations|copyright violations]] and [[Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion#G10|defamatory material]] about [[Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons|living persons]], followed closely by pages whose creators seek to exploit our voluntary work for [[Wikipedia:Paid-contribution disclosure|financial gain]]. Reviewing new pages needs a thorough knowledge of deletion and [[WP:Notability|notability guidelines]]. See [[Wikipedia:Page Curation/Help]] for details.

For pages listed on [[Wikipedia:Pages needing translation into English]], the [[Wikipedia:Embassy]] member of the Wikipedia that relates to the language the article is in should be contacted and invited to move the page to their own Wikipedia or to help translate it. There is also a list of translators at [[Wikipedia:Translation]]. If a page remains untranslated after two weeks, or if someone who speaks the language it is written in states that it is not worth translating, then article should be moved from [[Wikipedia:pages needing translation|pages needing translation]] to [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion|articles for deletion]]. The boilerplate text on the article should be changed from <nowiki>{{notenglish}} to {{subst:afd}}</nowiki>.

===Discussions ===
{{main|Wikipedia:Dashboard}}
Contribute your opinions to [[WP:Noticeboards]] in order to have a say in decisions and help come to consensus on certain issues. Posting a message to a noticeboard can also be an appropriate early step in [[WP:DR|resolving disputes on Wikipedia]]. Noticeboards are best used for simple and urgent matters. There are many pages in [[:Category:Wikipedia dispute resolution]] which could use help in resolving various kinds of disputes. If an editor needs a more complex response, and is willing to wait for it, the [[WP:Requests for comment]] process may be more suitable.

The [[Wikipedia:Dashboard|Dashboard]] provides an overview of the various discussions and requests taking place throughout English Wikipedia.

===People seeking help===
{{main|Wikipedia:Dashboard|Wikipedia:Reference desk}}
Even new users can help answer factual questions on the [[Wikipedia:Reference desk]], which serves the same purpose as a [[reference desk]] you might find in your local library. (You might also think of it as the Wikipedia version of [[Quora]] or [[Answers.com]].) You do not have to be an expert on Wikipedia because:
* You can help people find answers in existing Wikipedia articles.
* If you know the answer to a question not answered by Wikipedia, you can assist the questioner and at the same time, add that information to Wikipedia for the benefit of future readers.
* If you do not know the answer to an interesting question, you can research it in non-Wikipedia sources, and then improve Wikipedia for the benefit of the questioner and future readers.

If you already have some experience, your assistance in one of the many [[Wikipedia:Requests |Wikipedia help forums]], including [[Wikipedia:Help desk]] and [[Wikipedia:Teahouse]], would be a valuable contribution. See also, [[:Category:Wikipedians looking for help]].

===New editors ===
{{main|Wikipedia:Welcoming committee}}
Welcoming people using one of the [[Wikipedia:standard user greeting| standard user greetings]] is a great way to send a positive vibe. New users can be found by looking for red talk page links on recent changes or by querying the database or check [[Special:Log/newusers|Wikipedia's account creation log]]. You can go to [[Wikipedia:Welcoming committee/Welcome templates]] for a full list of welcome templates, or to [[Wikipedia:Welcoming committee/Welcome templates/Table]] for a visual gallery of welcome messages. The two most commonly used are {{tls|Welcome}} and {{tls|W-graphical}}. See also [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Editor Retention]].

===Programming errors===
{{main|Wikipedia:Developers|Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)}}
The [[Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)|technical]] section of the village pump is used to discuss technical issues ''about'' Wikipedia. Bug reports and feature requests should be made in [[mw:Phabricator|Phabricator]] (see [[mw:How to report a bug|how to report a bug]]). Bugs with [[web application security|security implications]] should be reported differently (see [[mw:Reporting security bugs|how to report security bugs]]). For the technical workings of Wikipedia, including software and hardware, see [[Wikipedia:FAQ/Technical]] for details.
*[[Wikipedia:Bot requests]]
*[[Wikipedia:Bug reports and feature requests|Reporting software bugs]]
*[[meta:Toolserver/Reports]]

==Things to do==
Helpful editorial maintenance tasks include: [[Special:NewPagesFeed|reviewing new pages]], [[Wikipedia:Requested articles|creating requested articles]], [[:Category:Wikipedia edit requests|responding to edit requests]], [[:Category:Wikipedia articles needing copy edit|fixing spelling and grammar errors]], and assisting with [[Wikipedia:Pages needing translation into English|translation requests]]. Other essential maintenance tasks include: [https://tools.wmflabs.org/citationhunt fixing unreferenced statements], [[:Category:Articles that may contain original research|fixing original research]], [[Wikipedia:Vandalism|fixing vandalism]], [[WP:Orphan|integrating articles into the encyclopedia]], [[Wikipedia:Welcoming committee|welcoming newcomers]], [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Red Link Recovery|link recovery]], [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Categories/uncategorized|categorization]], and numerous behind the scenes tasks like [[Wikipedia:Moving files to Commons|moving free images to Wikimedia Commons]] and [[Wikipedia:Dashboard|helping others]].
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!style="background:#cef2e0; padding:0.3em;"|[[Special:Specialpages|Special pages]] ([[Help:Special page#Maintenance|maintenance]])
!style="background:#cef2e0; padding:0.3em;"|Information
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|[[Wikipedia:New page patrol|New page patrol]]
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|[[Special:NewPagesFeed|New pages feed]]
|[[Wikipedia:Page curation|Page curation]]
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|[[Wikipedia:Protection policy|Protection policy]]
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|[[Wikipedia:Categorization|Categorization]]
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|[[Special:UncategorizedTemplates|Uncategorized templates]]
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| style="text-align:center;" |<small>''See also:'' '''[[Wikipedia:Maintenance#Reports|''Maintenance departments'']]'''</small>
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'''Overviews'''
*[[WP:Task Center|Task Center]] – the place to find out how and where. 
*[[Wikipedia:Community portal/Opentask]] – simple list of article maintenance tasks.
*[[Wikipedia:Dashboard]] – for a listing of ongoing discussions and current requests.
*[[Wikipedia:Backlog]] – all articles needing cleanup. 

'''Lists'''
*[[Wikipedia:Database reports]] – various maintenance tasks.
*[https://bambots.brucemyers.com/cwb/index.html Cleanup listings by WikiProject] - pick a topic, then pick an article with a specific type of problem.
* [[Template:Category tracker]] – various maintenance backlogs.
*[[Special:Specialpages]] – various maintenance reports.
*[[Special:Recentchanges]] – patrol for vandals and other bad edits, and for welcoming newcomers.
*[[Special:Newpages|New pages]] – patrol for vandals and redundancy with existing articles.
**[[Special:NewPagesFeed|New Pages Feed]] – an improved way to review new pages. See [[Wikipedia:Page Curation/Help|Page Curation Help]].
*[[toollabs:copypatrol|CopyPatrol]] –  for identifying and resolving copyright violations.
*[[Wikipedia:Requested articles]] – all articles waiting to be created.
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Directory/Wikipedia]] – directory of WikiProjects that deal with maintenance systems.
*[[:Category:Wikipedia maintenance]] – the parent category.
*[[WP:ACCG|Account Creation]] - to help with new account requests.

==Resources==
See '''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Directory/Wikipedia|Maintenance WikiProjects]]'''  for a complete list of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProjects]] that deal with Wikipedia's maintenance systems.
{{Flex columns|<nowiki/>
=== Cleanup ===
* [[Wikipedia:Cleanup]]
* [[Wikipedia:Cleaning up vandalism]]
* [[Wikipedia:Typo Team]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors]]
* [[Wikipedia:Counter-Vandalism Unit]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Trivia Cleanup]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Countering systemic bias]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Grammar]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Notability]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Spam]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Fix common mistakes]]
* [[Wikipedia:Dusty articles]]
* [[Wikipedia:Database reports#Articles]]
* [[Template:Category tracker/Cleanup]]
* [[:Category:Articles needing attention]]
* [[:Category:Articles needing cleanup]]
* [[:Category:Articles containing potentially dated statements]]

=== Referencing ===
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Citation cleanup]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Reliability]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Resource Exchange]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Unreferenced articles]]
*[[Help:Citation tools]]
**[[Wikipedia:Database reports/Recently created unreferenced biographies of living people|Recently created unreferenced bios of living people]]
**[[Wikipedia:Database reports/Biographies of living people containing unsourced statements|Bios of living people containing unsourced statements]]
** [[:Category:Articles lacking sources]]
** [[:Category:Articles needing additional references]]
** [[:Category:Articles that may contain original research]]
**[[:Category:Articles with unsourced quotes]]
**[[:Category:All Wikipedia files with unknown source]]
*[[Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard]]
*[[Wikipedia:Fringe theories/Noticeboard]]
*[[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view/Noticeboard]]
*[[Wikipedia:No original research/Noticeboard]]

=== Article creation ===
*[[Wikipedia:Starting an article]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Articles for creation]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Requested articles]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Missing encyclopedic articles]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Abandoned Articles]]
* [[Wikipedia:Most wanted articles]]
* [[Wikipedia:Requested articles]]
*[[Wikipedia:Images with missing articles]] 
* [[Wikipedia:Articles for creation|Review anonymous article submissions]]
* [[:Category:Stale userspace drafts]]
* [[:Category:Articles to be split]]

=== Article expansion ===
* [[Wikipedia:Stub|Stubs]] and shortest articles
** [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting]]
** [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Stubsensor]]
** [[Wikipedia:Database reports/Long stubs]]
** [[Wikipedia:Database reports/Shortest biographies of living people|Shortest bios of living people]]
** [[Special:Shortpages]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Lists]]
* [[User:DataflowBot/output/Popular low quality articles (id-2)|Bot/output/Popular low quality articles]]
* [[:Category:All articles to be expanded]]
* [[:Category:Wikipedia pages with to-do lists]]

=== Article refinement ===
*[[Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team]]
*[[Wikipedia:Today's articles for improvement]]
*[[Wikipedia:Featured articles]]
*[[Wikipedia:Good articles]]
* [[Wikipedia:Peer review]]
*[[Wikipedia:Vital articles]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Lead Improvement Team]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Merge]]
** [[Wikipedia:Proposed mergers]]

=== Categorization ===
*[[Wikipedia:Categorization]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Categories]]
** [[:Category:Uncategorized pages]]
** [[:Category:Wikipedia categories in need of attention]]
** [[Special:UncategorizedCategories]]
**[[Special:MostCategories]]
**[[Special:TrackingCategories]]
** [[Wikipedia:Database reports#Categories]]

|<nowiki/>
=== Copyright ===
*[[Wikipedia:Copyright]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Copyright Cleanup]]
*[[Wikipedia:Copyright violations]]
*[[Wikipedia:Copyright problems]]
*[[Wikipedia:Contributor copyright investigations]]
**[[Wikipedia:Text copyright violations 101]]
**[[:Category:Wikipedia pages tagged for copyright problems]]
**[[:Category:Possible copyright violations]]
**[[:Category:Copied and pasted articles and sections]]
**[[Template:Category tracker/Images]]

=== Deletion ===
*[[Wikipedia:Deletion]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting]]
*[[Wikipedia:Article Rescue Squadron]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Unsourced Article Rescue]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Abandoned Drafts]]
*[[Wikipedia:Unreferenced BLP Rescue]]
* [[Wikipedia:Deletion review]]
** [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion]]
** [[Wikipedia:Categories for discussion]]
** [[Wikipedia:Files for discussion]]
** [[Special:Log/delete]]
** [[Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion]]
** [[Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion]]
** [[:Category:Candidates for speedy deletion]]
**[[Wikipedia:Templates for discussion]]
**[[Wikipedia:Database reports/Biographies of living people possibly eligible for deletion|Bios of living people possibly eligible for deletion]]
**[[Template:Category tracker/Deletion]]

=== Translation === 
*[[Wikipedia:Translation]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Intertranswiki]] 
* [[Wikipedia:Pages needing translation into English]]
** [[Wikipedia:Articles in many other languages but not on English Wikipedia|Wikipedia:Articles in many other language]]

=== Images ===
*[[Wikipedia:Graphics Lab]]
* [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Captions|Caption review]]
* [[Wikipedia:Graphics Lab/Maintenance/Images for cleanup]]
** [[Wikipedia:Images with missing articles]]
** [[Wikipedia:Database reports#Files]]
** [[Wikipedia:Requested pictures]]
**[[Wikipedia:Database reports/Non-free files missing a rationale]]
**[[:Category:Image files for cleanup]]
**[[:Category:Wikipedia requested images]]
**[[:Category:Copy to Wikimedia Commons]]

=== Integration ===
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Orphanage]]
**[[Special:LonelyPages]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Wikify]]
**[[Special:WithoutInterwiki]]
*[[Wikipedia:Dead-end pages]]
**[[Special:DeadendPages]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Red Link Recovery]]
**[[Wikipedia:Database reports/Articles containing red-linked files|Articles containing red-linked files]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Redirect]]
**[[Wikipedia:Database reports#Redirects]]
**[[Special:DoubleRedirects]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Disambiguation]]
*[[Wikipedia:Disambiguation pages with links]]
**[[:Category:Disambiguation pages in need of cleanup]]

=== Content navigation ===
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Outlines]]
**[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Outlines/Open tasks]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Portals]]
**[[:Category:Portals needing attention]]

=== Miscellaneous ===
*[[Wikipedia:Patrols]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Accessibility]]
*[[Wikipedia:Help Project]]
*[[Template:Active Wiki Fixup Projects]]
*[[Template:MiniAWFP]]
*[[Template:Resources for collaboration]]
*[[Template:Category tracker/Miscellaneous]]
*[[Template:Editor tools]]
*[[Help:Special page#Maintenance]]
}}

==Open tasks and backlog==
{{Opentasks}}
{{Today's articles for improvement}}<br>
<center><div style="text-align:center; width:50%; border:2px solid #000080; border-radius: 1em;padding:1em; margin:0 0 1em 0;background:#E2E7FF;">[[Wikipedia:Backlog|BACKLOG]] OF THE WEEK<br>  {{User:AnomieBOT/RandomPage
 | frequency  = 1 week
 | categories = {{AND NOT
|Category:Wikipedia backlog
|Category:Wikipedia maintenance
}}
 | namespaces = 2,4,14
 | summary    = Automatically updating backlog of the week
 | minor      = no
 | botflag    = no
 | template   = 
 | this page  = Wikipedia:Maintenance
 | page       = Category:Wikipedia-related user templates
 | date       = 2025-06-28 13:06:54 +0000
 | minimum frequency = 1 hour
}}</div></center>
{{Backlog status}}

==Category tree==

{{category tree all|Wikipedia maintenance |depth=0}}

==See also==
* [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2011-10-31/Opinion essay|The monster under the rug]] – a Wikipedia Signpost opinion piece on the ever-increasing backlogs (2011).
*[[Wikipedia:Tools]]– various tools and tutorials intended to simplify, make more efficient, or provide additional functionality to Wikipedians.
*[[Wikipedia:Statistics]] – analysis of wiki metrics like edits, page creation, visits and links. In the form of lists, tables and rankings.
*[[Wikipedia:Awards]] – reward Wikipedia contributors for their hard work and due diligence with a fitting barnstar, or other award. 

{{Navigation things to do}}
{{Wikipedia directories}}
{{Wikipedia editor navigation}}

[[Category:Wikipedia maintenance|*]]