 | This help page is a how-to guide. It explains concepts or processes used by the Wikipedia community. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, and may reflect varying levels of consensus. |
 | This page in a nutshell: An edit-a-thon is a special type of meetup to improve the encyclopedia. It is usually focused on a specific encyclopedic topic, and is a great way to attract new Wikipedians. |
This is a guide for how (and why) to run a Wikipedia "edit-a-thon". An edit-a-thon can be:
- a scheduled time where people edit Wikipedia together, offline and/or online;
- typically focused on a specific topic, such as science or women's history;
- a way to give newcomers an insight into how Wikipedia works.
Edit-a-thons improve the encyclopedia and can be a great way to help new Wikipedians learn to edit. This is quite different from large conferences such as Wikimania, which often have multiple speakers or panels about a huge variety of topics. An edit-a-thon is also unlike a regular meetup, which tends to be without a single goal and/or for socializing. In other words: an edit-a-thon is like a hackathon for Wikipedians (and definitely not like a telethon).
- A training session on how to develop editathons and other editing events can be taken on the Programs and Events Dashboard.