Wikipedia Reader's Guide: The Missing Manual - by John Broughton (Paperback)

About the Book

A brief guide to Wikipedia, which includes a basic reader's handbook on navigating Wikipedia, and a second section on editing. Adapted from the larger book Wikipedia: The Missing Manual.

Book Synopsis

You don't have to understand how to edit Wikipedia in order to find the information you need and join the conversation. This booklet gives you just what you need to know in friendly, concise form so you can research any subject without getting lost in Wikipedia's labyrinth. With it, you'll be able to unlock the mysteries of the many links on every Wikipedia page and the sometimes cryptic buzzwords you see on Talk pages.

And, while this booklet focuses on Wikipedia readers, it also includes a tutorial for first-time editors and explains Wikipedia's editing tools. You'll find valuable advice on how to alert editors to flaws in articles and how to contribute to Talk pages without getting caught up in pointless disputes.

The author of Wikipedia Reader's Guide: The Missing Manual has edited more than 15,000 Wikipedia articles, and has written a comprehensive index to Wikipedia for editors to use in their daily work. His knowledge of Wikipedia is limitless and his passion is contagious. With this guide, you'll catch on quickly.

About the Author

John Broughton has been a registered editor at Wikipedia since August 2005, with more than 15,000 edits by the time he wrote this book. His biggest Wikipedia endeavor was to build the Editor's index to Wikipedia (just type that in the "search" box at the left of any Wikipedia page). This index lists every important reference page on Wikipedia, as well as hundreds of off-Wikipedia Web pages with useful information and tools for Wikipedia editors. John's first experience with programming computers was in a 1969 National Science Foundation program. Since then, he's held various computer-related management positions in the headquarters of a U.S. Army Reserve division, worked in internal audit departments as a Certified Information Systems Auditor, and was the Campus Y2K Coordinator at U.C. Berkeley. A Certified Management Accountant, John has B.S. in Mathematical Sciences from Johns Hopkins University; an M.B.A. from Golden Gate University; an M.S. in Education from the University of Southern California; and a Masters in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley.