Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not Google™
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This is an essay. It is not a policy or guideline. Please update the page as needed, or discuss it on the talk page. |
Wikipedia is self-described as a Web-based free-content multilingual encyclopædia project; the operative term being encyclopædia. The purpose of Wikipedia is to serve as a resource of verified and notable knowledge, not as a general dumping-ground for any tidbit of dross. Wikipedia does not need to reflect everything ever thought by every individual; its purpose is “…an effort to create and distribute a multilingual free encyclopædia of the highest possible quality to every single person on the planet in their own language.” Chances are, whatever you want to find can be found through Google™ search; Wikipedia is neither a search engine optimization tool nor a free webhost. There are plenty of webhosts that will be glad, for free or a fee, to host whatever information you want. There are plenty of services that will optimize a page to be picked up by the various search engines. That is not Wikipedia's function. We wish to collect, verify, and display encyclopædic information for the world's use; no more, no less.
This is specifically directed at linkspammers. If you are considering adding your website, shop or business to Wikipedia in order to improve your standing with potential consumers or to boost your Google PageRank, please consider the downsides to this plan: you will be alienating a large proportion of your potential visitors - those that edit here and care about the encyclopædia; this is a Wiki, so anyone can - and will - edit your entry, turning that glowing advertisement into a magnet for disaffected customers and your rivals, all complaining about your bad service, low quality and slip-shod standards. Further, Wikipedia is powerful—our PageRank for the page on your website is liable to be higher than yours, so your potential customers don't get you, they get a neutral encyclopedia that intends to subvert them into reading and editing, and they will hit on a page that will soon include links to your rivals, better solutions or different things.
Most of the editors of Wikipedia take pride in their work, and do not wish to see Wikipedia bogged down by the weight of unsourced, unverified, non-notable, or other borderline worthless information; we do not need to collect everything. Please read the various notability criteria, look at some featured articles, and see what type of project we are creating. Remember, Wikipedia is not Google™.
