Wikipedia:How articles are usually written
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How creating an article on Wikipedia is supposed to go[edit]
1) Summarize at least three professional sources that are completely independent of the subject but still specifically and primarily about that subject.
2) Expand using other professional sources (that may not be independent or may only discuss the subject in some larger context)
3) Maybe formatting? Meh, someone else will handle it.
No, really, that's it. If you really did a proper job of that, you could skip WP:AFC entirely. If you need more detailed instructions, here are some.
The usual process for creating drafts[edit]
If you are creating an article about your business or the company you work for, follow the instructions in B. If you are creating an article about yourself, follow the instructions in C. Otherwise, proceed to A.
A: Writing in general[edit]
a1) Copy the company website or the person's social media profile and submit the draft. Immediately receive a message explaining that the page was deleted because of copyright violations and plagiarism. Read the message explaining why the page was deleted and then still go ask the admin who deleted the page why it was deleted. Also ask to have the draft back because you "worked really hard on it" by copying and pasting from another website. Accuse the admin of censorship when they explain that they're not allowed to post copyrighted material on the site either and that you can just go and re-visit the website you plagiarized anyway.
a2) Write one original sentence (...fragment) about the subject but do not submit the draft for review. Wait several months and come back to find a message saying the draft was deleted for being inactive for six months.
a3) Without logging in, leave a message at Talk:Main page asking why your "article" was deleted. Be absolutely certain to not mention what article that was or explain your account name. In fact, you might want to create a second account and say that you don't remember your old one, just to make it even harder to figure out what page you're talking about.
a4) Ask the deleting admin why the draft was deleted, then beg to have it restored so you can work on it.
a5) Submit the single sentence draft for review. Receive a message explaining that the draft was rejected because it did not cite any sources.
a6) Expand the article by paraphrasing the source you plagiarized in step 1 without citing any sources. Receive a message explaining that the draft was rejected because it did not cite any sources, let alone ones that were independent, relevant, and reliable.
a7) Reformat the page to fit the aesthetic style of approved articles (still without citing any sources), then resubmit the draft.
a8) When you receive yet another message explaining that you need to cite sources, go to the WP:Help Desk or WP:Teahouse and argue that your draft should have been accepted because you fixed all the formatting issues and no one gave you any reason why it's rejected. Someone there should you detailed instructions on how to find, summarize, and cite the right sources. Thank that person and then do nothing for three months.
a9) After the three month wait, add five billion citations to the draft, none of which mention the subject. For example, if you're writing about an addiction recovery center, after mentioning that they have an opiod addiction program, cite a WebMD article on headaches, a Livestrong article on the benefits of Turmeric, and some cult's Wikipedia rip-off's article on Bayer AG. Do NOT resubmit the draft for review yet.
a10) Remember: do NOT resubmit the draft for review yet. Instead, head to the Teahouse or Help Desk (preferably whichever you did not go to last time) and say that you fixed the problem ages ago and yet no one has approved your article after three months (nevermind that anyone can see that the order of events was the other way around). When someone at there points out that you never resubmitted the draft for review, say that you didn't know how to do that (nevermind that you've already done it twice!). When they point out problems with your sources, only fix sources that they specifically highlight. For example, if they say "nothing from notasource.com, such as their page on butts, is reliable," only remove the link to notasource.com/butts but not the twenty other instances where you cited notasource.com
a11) When someone gives you instructions that hold your hand every step of the way, thank them, say that you'll try those instructions, and then repeat steps a9-a11 a few more times before giving up and never editing again... Then maybe repeat from step a2 onward just one more time for good measure.
Bonus: a12) Get a time machine and go back to before 2006, when you can create a page and maybe no one will notice that the subject is not notable for over a decade.
B: Writing about your business or the company you work for[edit]
b1) Create an account named after your company, then copy and paste the company's website onto your user page. Watch your user page get deleted for copyright violations and advertising, and your account get blocked for promotional editing and having a corporate username.
b2) Appeal the block by saying that your company is "just trying to create a presence on the web" and explain that they own the copyright to the material that was posted. The admin will explain that we don't allow shared accounts, Wikipedia doesn't own the copyright to the material posted, and we know that "creating a presence" is just marketing jargon for "promoting," which we don't like.
b3) Argue that you weren't advertising because prices weren't listed and that sharing an account should be fine because it will only be shared by people in the company. Ask why other companies get to write their own pages and refuse to believe any explanation to the contrary. Finally, you might want to threaten to sue the blocking admin for censorship.
b4) Read WP:Conflict of Interest just enough to know that maybe you should have created an account with the username "(your name) at (company name)." Do not read any other part of WP:COI, and if you accidentally do so, forget it and assume the opposite is true.
b5) Attempt to follow the steps in A. If you are blocked before you can get through all of them, create a new account with the username "(someone else's name) at (company name)." Totally admit to being the same person, and then wonder why you get blocked for block evasion because it's really your co-worker's account and argue it's not a shared account because your friend isn't using it. (Bonus: Argue that that's not identity theft).
b6) Hire a shady freelancer from whatever website comes up first on a Google search for "how much does it cost to make a Wikipedia article?" When the article gets deleted and they get blocked but you don't get a refund, come to us explaining that you spent a lot of money on this (as if that's our fault and not yours) and demand a refund from us.
b7) Hire a legitimate PR company that has no experience with Wikipedia whatsoever, so they can go through the steps in this section.
b8) Lose your job because your boss is too fucking stupid to understand that we're not in this for money.
C: Writing about yourself[edit]
c1) Create an account with your real name as your user name, then copy and paste your resume and your social media profile to your user page.
c2) Go to the Teahouse or Helpdesk asking why your article doesn't show up on Google, because all of the internet is totally just one company. When a user explains that Wikipedia is not a resume hosting site nor a place to promote yourself, that you shouldn't write about yourself, and that even if there was an article about yourself you shouldn't edit because of your conflict of interest, explain that you've formatted the page just like everyone else's and they get an article (even though it's totally not). When a user finally bludgeons you with an explanation of WP:COI that you can't ignore, ask "then how am I supposed to create my article?" Respond to anything further with "but i want my own article" (as if that's a valid reason) or maybe threaten to never donate to the site again (nevermind that you probably never did anyway).
c3) Attempt the steps in section A. If you are blocked before then, ask to have your account deleted, then create another account with as close to the same username as possible. Try adding your birthyear at the end of your name! Then repeat as much as you can from C1 again before you're blocked for block evasion.
c4) Accuse the website of censorship, citing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution especially if neither you nor the users you're dealing with are American. Nevermind that we're not part of the US government.
c5) Create an account with a completely different user name and attempt the steps in A again. If you are blocked, repeat this step until you have completed all of the steps in section A. Remember to claim ownership of your article even though you're pretending to be a "just a fan," but still claim to be "just a fan" when blocked for sockpuppetry. If a Checkuser confirms your sockpuppetry, become extra vocal about how there's no evidence whatsoever.
c6) Ask friends and family members to create accounts and follow the steps in section A. Make sure they deny having a conflict of interest because they're only your friends and family, not you. If your friends and family don't speak to you (gee, I wonder why?), just create sockpuppet accounts pretending to be them.
c7) Attempts steps b6 and then b7. Then b6 a few more times for good measure.