Wikipedia:Principles

External videos
External videos
	Jimmy Wales: The birth of Wikipedia, 2005 TED (conference), 20 mins.

The English Wikipedia does not have a single, definitive statement of the community's values and principles. Over the years, several editors have written summaries of these values and principles as well as essays expressing their ideas about what is important. The following is a list of some of the more popular pages:

Shortcuts

Wikipedia:Five pillars: Perhaps the most popular, this was written as a simple summary for new editors.
User:Jimbo Wales/Statement of principles: One of the oldest, this statement of principles was written by Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales.
Wikipedia:Trifecta: This three-point simplified ruleset was the precursor to the Five Pillars page.
Wikipedia:Core content policies: Brief summary and a bit of background on our core content policies.
Wikipedia:Wikipedia is an encyclopedia: Blunt and to the point laying out of what Wikipedia is
Wikipedia:Wikipedia in brief: Focuses on the encyclopedic nature of the project.
Wikipedia:Simplified ruleset: A longer page with more detail.
Wikipedia:Ethics: A list of various ethical codes
Wikipedia:Ethical Code for Wikipedians
Wikipedia:Purpose: Wikipedia's purpose
User:Andrewa/creed: What Wikipedians believe
Wikipedia:Pledges: Specific principles individual Wikipedians pledge to uphold
Wikipedia:Product, process, policy: The three Ps
Wikipedia:Here to build an encyclopedia: Behaviors that build, or destroy, the project.
Wikipedia:Eight simple rules for editing our encyclopedia
Wikipedia:Ten simple rules for editing Wikipedia
Wikipedia:Historical archive/Rules to consider
Wikipedia:Arbitration/Index/Principles: a compilation of principles stated by the Arbitration Committee in previous cases

All of these pages are intended to be informative and helpful to editors. None of these pages themselves are official policies or guidelines of the English Wikipedia community (see WP:Local consensus for details).

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Wikipedia:Principles

See also

Further reading (external links)