wikiHow:Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of frequently asked questions about wikiHow.
Contents |
[edit] General
What is wikiHow?
wikiHow is a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. With your edits, we can create a free resource that helps millions of people by offering solutions to the problems of everyday life. wikiHow currently contains 47,376 articles - written, edited, and maintained primarily by volunteers.
Who's in charge?
Because this is a wiki and we believe that community rules, no one is in charge! There are administrators only to keep the peace and keep the vandals at bay. If the community as a whole decides something, that's what will happen.
Why aren't the times accurate?
The times displayed may be a different time zone than where you are located. To change your time zone settings, go to My Preferences and select "Date and time." Then, you may change your settings. For detailed information on all of your Preference settings visit Account Settings Help.
I found a bug, how can I report it?
You can post a message in the Tech Feedback section of the forums.
Who owns wikiHow?
Jack Herrick and Josh Hannah are the owners of wikiHow. Without their genius of an idea, wikiHow wouldn't be here!
[edit] Articles and Editing
How do I flag an article for deletion?
Type the following in the article's introduction: {{nfd|reason}}. Replace "reason" with your reason for deletion. Please read the Deletion Policy for more information.
What's wiki markup?
Wiki markup does the same things as HTML, but without the tags. For example, you can boldface a word by using wiki markup instead of HTML: '''bold'''. Wiki markup is simply a shortened version of common HTML tags. If you've edited on Wikipedia, you've probably used wiki markup before. Here's a page in the wikiHow tour on using wiki markup.
Why are the links in my article not displaying correctly?
To add a link in an article, you only need to type in the URL, without any HTML. It will then be automatically converted into a clickable link. Be sure to include "http://" in the link. To link internally (to a wikiHow.com page) you can put [[PAGE NAME]] instead of the full URL.
Why can't I edit this page?
Rarely, some articles are "protected," usually because of recent vandalism. Fully protected articles only allow administrators to edit, while semi-protected articles will only allow registered members and administrators to edit. If you find a bug or typo in fully protected articles, just send a message to an administrator.
Why were my external links removed?
If someone adds an external link to an article without making any other significant changes, it will be removed. External links added in a repetitive manner are considered "link spam" and will also be removed regardless of quality. Please see the External Links Guidelines for more information.
Why was my article deleted?
Your article may have been deleted for several reasons. Most commonly, articles that are deleted contained inappropriate material, dangerous instructions, or plain nonsense. Please read the Deletion Policy for more information.
Who do I talk to about possible vandalism?
If you feel an article has been vandalized, please leave a report on the Administrator Notice Board or leave a message on an administrator's talk page.
[edit] Administrators
Who are the Administrators?
A full list of administrators, commonly known as admins, can be found here.
What do Administrators do?
The wikiHow administrators are just like regular users; they patrol the recent changes, propose new methods for dealing with vandalism, copyedit articles, and generally keep the peace. However, they have a few extra abilities - they can block users, delete, protect and retitle pages, and edit protected pages. They are also the users that create categories.
Can I be an Administrator?
If you really want to commit yourself to all those extra duties, read this article.
