Wikipedia:Five pillars

All of Wikipedia's official policies and guidelines can be summarised as five pillars that define Wikipedia's character:

	Wikipedia is an encyclopedia written for the benefit of its readers. It incorporates elements of general encyclopedias, specialized encyclopedias, and almanacs. Wikipedia's three principal content policies are neutral point of view, verifiability, and no original research. Since they complement each other, they should not be interpreted in isolation from one another, and editors should familiarize themselves with all three. Cite references from a reliable source, especially on controversial topics. Wikipedia is not a soapbox, a vanity publisher, a web directory, or an indiscriminate collection of information. Content that would be appropriate in a dictionary, a newspaper, or a collection of source documents, should instead be contributed to an appropriate Wikimedia sister project.
	Wikipedia is free content that anyone may edit. Articles can be changed by anyone, and no individual owns any specific article. If you don't want your writing to be edited mercilessly, do not submit it. All text is available under the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) and may be distributed or linked accordingly. Do not submit anything that infringes copyright, or that is licensed incompatibly with the GFDL.
	Wikipedia works by building consensus. Consensus decision-making is an inherent part of the wiki process. Wikipedia is a living encyclopedia, so consensus can change. The primary method of determining consensus is discussion, not voting. Wikipedia is not an experiment in democracy, anarchy or any other political system. Although editors occasionally use straw polls in testing for consensus, polls or surveys may actually impede rather than assist discussion, and should be used with caution, if at all.
	Wikipedia has a code of conduct. Act in good faith, and assume others are acting in good faith too. Be open and welcoming. Be civil. Respect your fellow Wikipedians even if you disagree with them. Avoid making personal attacks or sweeping generalizations. Never disrupt Wikipedia to illustrate a point. Avoid edit wars. Follow the three-revert rule. When a conflict arises, follow dispute resolution. And remember that there are 6,882,374 articles on the English Wikipedia to work on and discuss.
	Wikipedia does not have firm rules besides the five principles outlined here. Be bold in editing, moving, and modifying articles, because perfection is a goal and not a requirement. As all previous versions of articles are kept, content won't be irrevocably destroyed by an editor's mistake. So don't worry about messing up.

Note

This page describes Wikipedia's fundamental principles. These principles pre-date the creation of this page.