Wikipedia:IPs are human too

This essay contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia users on attitudes to unregistered users. Essays may represent common ideas, or ideas that many users would not support. They are not rules. Think carefully about what they say before following them.

Shortcuts: WP:HUMAN WP:IPHUMAN

This page in a nutshell: Unregistered users can edit articles and participate on talk pages in the same way as registered users. Their input is just as important in building consensus.

Some people think that when people who are not signed up on Wikipedia make changes to articles, they often do things to cause trouble. They believe that these people have fewer privileges compared to those who are registered users. However, studies conducted in 2004 and 2007 found that even though a large percentage (80%) of the harmful changes to articles were made by people who were not registered, the majority (over 80%) of the changes made by unregistered users were not harmful. According to the current rules, both registered and unregistered users have the same rights to contribute to Wikipedia and write articles.

Sometimes, people have wrong ideas about things. Because of these wrong ideas, changes made by people who haven't created an account on Wikipedia might be rejected by mistake, and their comments on discussion pages might not be taken seriously. This goes against what Wikipedia believes in and the basic ideas behind all Wikimedia projects. When dealing with people who haven't created an account, it's important to remember that IP editors are human too.