Wikipedia:Copying within Wikipedia

This page is a guideline on the Simple English Wikipedia. Many editors agree with the ideas on this page. It is a good idea to follow it, but it is not policy. You can change the page as needed, but please use the talk page to make sure that other editors agree with any big changes.

Shortcut: WP:CWW

Wikipedia's licensing means that the person who wrote the content must always be credited for their work. This is called "attribution". For most pages, attribution is done through the page history. This cannot be done if the page includes things that have been copied from another Wikipedia page, or if some parts have been deleted. In these cases, crediting the authors will need extra steps. This can be done with a link back to the source page, if available, or a list of authors. An edit summary that explains and links to the source of the content is the least that should be done. It is good practice, especially if a lot is copied, to make a note in an edit summary at the source page as well. People who are reusing content should also consider leaving a note at the talk pages of both the page copied from, and the one copied to.