Wikipedia:Contribute what you know or are willing to learn more about

Two of Wikipedia's rules to consider

Both of these guidelines are controversial.

Contribute what you know or are willing to learn more about

Contribute what you know or are willing to learn about, but create stubs responsibly. One of the things that makes the Wikipedia great is that anybody can contribute. Another thing that makes it great is that it encourages Wikipedians to stretch their interests and learn about new things, so that they can add to the 'pedia. A third great thing is that it's so easy to create new articles and to learn to wikify articles. The ease with which new articles can be created, however, can be seen as problematic when users get into "creation mode" and create more stubs than coherent articles. This can even be irritating, if the stub is accompanied by a "I don't know much about this--would someone who does please write the article?" message. So, if you can't create a stub that's accurate and helpful, maybe you should leave that topic for someone else to do by choice, rather than because they feel obligated to edit.

Always make articles as complete as possible

(an alternative phrasing)

Whenever you create a new page, always try to make it as complete and comprehensive as possible. However, even if you feel that your article is seriously incomplete but a useful start it is welcome too. Don't create a new article that has less than two sentences, or people viewing the article may be disappointed. If you are a newcomer to Wikipedia concentrate on adding good content, do not worry too much about formatting. If you have only one sentence to contribute, consider adding it to a relevant existing article instead of creating a new one.

---

See also: Make omissions explicit -- the two suggestions complement each other