Wikibase/FAQ

'''This is a collection of frequently asked questions about the Wikibase project. If you think something is missing feel free to contact Lydia for clarification.

What is the goal of Wikidata?
The goal of Wikidata is to create a common data repository. This will make it possible to collect and curate data, to be used within all Wikimedia projects and by third parties. One example: Wikidata contains the birth date of a person of public interest associated with the person’s name. This will only need to be maintained in one place, but can then be used in all Wikipedias and other parties. This is similar to how Wikimedia Commons works – but here, data will be the enabling factor rather than multimedia.

How can I get involved?
There is lots to do so help is very welcome. The best way to get involved is to either send an email to the Wikidata mailing list to introduce yourself or come to our IRC channel on freenode. We’ll then figure out together how you can help.

Some of the ways you could contribute are by:


 * taking part in discussions about technical issues (like data models and so on);
 * writing code;
 * helping with the integration of Wikidata in the Wikipedias (technically and non-technically);
 * Taking part in the project itself once it is online, by adding and editing data for example.

Where are the latest updates about the project?
Check the Status Updates page to stay abreast of developments.

I have a lot of data to contribute. How can I do that?
It's great to hear you want to contribute a lot of data to Wikidata. Bulk-uploads of large data sets will be technically possible, but if and how these will be allowed will be up to the Wikidata community to decide. At this early stage, the development team is hesitant to allow this, because large amounts of data need a large community to maintain them. For the benefit of the project we'll focus on the community first and then on the amount of data. This will ensure that the Wikidata community can support the collected data long-term. In the meantime you can add yourself to this page and help everyone get an overview of the available data.

Note that we will integrate your data into the wikidata structure, using it to add statements to our items where relevant. Any data which does not fit this model will not be stored here.