'''Anyone can edit''' is a principle of collaborative websites and wikis in which members of the public are allowed to modify existing pages and contribute new information. The phrase emphasizes that participation is generally open to anyone who wishes to help improve the content.

== Meaning ==

The idea that '''anyone can edit''' means that users are not necessarily required to be administrators, professional writers, or members of a particular organization before they can contribute. Depending on the rules of a website, an editor may be able to correct mistakes, add information, improve formatting, create links, or expand an existing article.

This principle is commonly associated with [[wiki]] websites and other collaborative projects.

== Editing ==

An editor can improve a page by making changes to its text and formatting. Small changes may include correcting spelling, fixing punctuation, or improving a sentence. Larger edits may involve adding an entire section or reorganizing an article.

Editors are generally encouraged to make useful and constructive changes rather than changes that reduce the quality of an article.

== Collaboration ==

Open editing allows many people to work on the same collection of articles. One person may create an article while another adds references, another corrects errors, and another improves its organization.

Because different contributors may have different opinions, collaborative projects often establish editing guidelines to help contributors work together.

== Vandalism ==

Allowing anyone to edit can also create opportunities for vandalism. Vandalism is the deliberate modification of a page in a way that damages, disrupts, or replaces useful content.

Wikis can use various methods to respond to vandalism, including reviewing edits, reverting unwanted changes, protecting pages, and restricting accounts that repeatedly make harmful edits.

== Accuracy ==

The ability for anyone to edit does not automatically mean that every contribution is correct. Readers and editors should evaluate information carefully and use reliable sources when appropriate.

References can help readers verify important claims and can make an article more useful and trustworthy.

== Benefits ==

The open-editing model can provide several benefits:

* More people can contribute knowledge.
* Errors can be corrected by readers who notice them.
* Articles can be updated as information changes.
* Contributors can specialize in subjects they understand well.
* New articles can be created without requiring approval from a central editorial team.
* Collaboration can allow articles to improve over time.

== Responsibilities ==

Editors have a responsibility to make constructive contributions. They should avoid deliberately misleading information, unnecessary disruption, personal attacks, and unauthorized copying of copyrighted material.

When adding factual information, editors should consider whether the information is accurate and whether a reliable source should be provided.

== See also ==

* [[Wiki]]
* [[Editing]]
* [[Wikitext]]
* [[Collaboration]]
* [[Vandalism]]
* [[References]]

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Wikis]]
[[Category:Editing]]
[[Category:Collaboration]]