It is important to note that there are three different sections of Wikipedia: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; Wikicities, the collection of Wiki communities; and the individual Wiki communities themselves. You have to sign into Wikipedia, Wikicities or each Wiki community separately.

For Wikipedia, Wikicities and each Wiki community, you have the following pages: Your "user page" (link has your user ID), "my talk," "my preferences," "my watchlist" and "my contributions." Your "UserID" has the following tabs: "UserID," "discussion," "edit this page" and "watch." Clicking on your User ID will take you to your "user page." Clicking on "my talk" will take you to the "discussion" tab of your "user page." If you ask other users questions, they will post answers you can read under the "discussion" tab. If you are logged into the wrong Wiki though, you won't see their answers!


Each Wiki will have a "Help" link on the far left, and while there is a lot of great information there, there is so much information that it can be overwhelming for a brand new Wiki user. Feel free to read through the sections of it that interest you, but there is no reason to get bogged down in the Help section before jumping into using the Wikis.


One of the first places you may want to visit is "Wikipedia:New user log." To find this page, just search for "Wikipedia:New user log" and click on the "Go" button. Don't use the "Search" button, or you will get "No results found."


Be sure to copy the phrase just as written, or you will end up at a page that doesn't exist! The "Wikipedia:New user log" is a great place to yelp for help if you are having problems or just can't figure Wikipedia out. Within minutes of my post there, I had three very helpful answers and welcomes. (Thank you Heah, AlMac and Akamad! And thank you Malkin for deleting my first error.)  

Another place you may want to visit is "Wikipedia:Clueless newbies." Search for it just like you searched for "Wikipedia:New user log." (For now just click on the "Add names below" link, and ignore the "Nominate others" link. ;) ) You will also find a links to "Wikipedia:New user log," "Wikipedia:Help Desk" and "Wikipedia:Reference Desk."

When you are ready to try your hand at editing, head over to the "Sandbox." Each Wiki has a "Sandbox" where you can learn and practice "Wikitext language," also called "wiki markup editing" language. To find the main "Sandbox," just search for "Wikipedia:Sandbox." When you arrive at the "Sandbox," read through the "Sandbox" introduction. To start practicing, click on the "Edit this page" tab and start typing.


You will see a bar at the top where you can select various editing options like types of text, types of links, etc. At the bottom of the page, you will see a link to "Editing help." Click on that at anytime, it opens in a new window. And don't worry about breaking the "Sandbox," it resets every 12 hours. :) Or if you want to reset the "Sandbox," you can click on the "Project page" tab to go back to the main "Sandbox" page, then click where it says "Click here to reset the sandbox."


Can't figure out how to add an article? It's actually dead easy, but the link that explains it is pretty effectively buried. Here is how to add an article: Type the name of your desired article in the "Search" box and click on the "Go" button. You will either get a list that includes your desired title or you will see "No page with that title exists." Under "No page with that title exists," you will see "You can create this article or request it." Click on "You can create this article" to create that page and start writing your article. Easy, isn't it?

When you are ready to take a look at your work, click on the "Preview" button. Remember, until you click on the "Save" button, no one can see your work. So go ahead and practice and preview until you get it just the way you want it.