Wikipedia:How to copy from another Wikipedia

How to properly copy a page from another Wikipedia

This page explains the required steps needed to properly and legally copy a page from another version of Wikipedia to Simple English Wikipedia including how to reword it for Simpler English and how to stay within copyright law using the GFDL license and proper attribution of source.

Steps required

(This applies to all articles regardless of language. Pages copied from other language Wikipedias follow the same instructions but must be translated into English first)

1. Open the page on the other Wikipedia that you want to create here at Simple Wikipedia.
2. Type in the name of the new page you want to create in the search box and press "Go".
3. Now press the create link on the top of the page that comes next. (This will open an editing box).
4. Copy and paste the information you want to bring over (you don't have to copy the whole page if it's very complex, just copy what is important)
5. Don't save the new page yet, but go through the text and change words not in the combined wordlist to words that are in that list.
6. Check that the new page is in keeping with both the Simple Wikipedia Manual of Style and How to write Simple English articles.
7. Provide either links to other articles on Simple English Wikipedia that explain the meaning of words not able to be changed to words in the combined wordlist or provide links to Simple English Wiktionary for them.
8. Add meanings inline if needed; eg: "the engine can now be disassembled (taken apart) ..."
9. Reword complex phrases to simple phrases.
10. Remove anything that you can't rephrase as long as it doesn't alter the meaning of the article.
11. Fix any broken images, templates etc., (ie: remove them if they don't exist here)
12. It is not required to remove all the redlinks (pages that don't exist here) because it may encourage creation of these pages later.
13. Keep using preview to check that it looks like you want it to and that it reads well.
14. Select correct categories, create them if required but make sure they make sense. We don't want more categories than articles so it might make sense to join some into one (eg: small green plants, small blue plants, small red plants can be joined into just small plants).
15. Save it with a change summary that includes where and when you got the information from on the other Wikipedia (eg: "started article using information at exact revision of the article used at the other Wikipedia)

    This should be done by clicking on the "Permanent link" link in the toolbox of the article on the other Wikipedia and copying the exact URL of the revision used into the change summary of the new article here before you save it.

16. Recheck all is as you want it to be and you should be done.

All this satisfies the GFDL and CC-BY-SA requirements and keeps us legal and provides a simplified version for the Simple English Wikipedia. This prevents it from being deleted because it is too complex or because it is just a direct "cut & paste" which is not allowed under copyright law. You might think that as we're both Wikipedia we have the right to just copy things without crediting the source, but that is not the case. We also do this so that readers here can see the history of the article over at the other Wikipedia.

Consider reading these: WP:How to write Simple English articles, Wikipedia:Basic English combined wordlist, WP:Manual of Style and consider using these tools Online utility for checking Basic English text and How to use Microsoft Word to check a document for Basic English

All of these instructions are important because the Manuals of Style over at other Wikipedias are not the same as the Manual of Style here at Simple English Wikipedia!

See also

• Wikipedia:Copyright
• Help:Contents
• Wikipedia:How to write Simple English articles
• Wikipedia:Examples of simpler English

Other websites

• Online utility for checking Basic English text - supports Basic English and various other dictionaries
• WriteIdea: writers' tool for writing simple text. Both java and web-based versions.
• Wordcount, a very rough, but easy to use, guide on how often words are used.