Mission Statement



In order to ensure a fair and venerable source of information, the following mission statement is being put forward to all current and prospective members of The Jefferson County Wiki. It is hoped that this statement will serve as a guideline to all members who wish to contribute to and create a respected and dignified source of information about Jefferson County, NY.

Neutrality: It is the goal of the organizers of The Jefferson County Wiki to present a fair and balanced view of any and all aspects of Jefferson County, past and present. It is the hope that any members who contribute material to the Wiki provide information on any topic that is unbiased and evenhanded. Historical context can be subjective, and material that is prejudiced to one viewpoint over another is detrimental to our goal of creating a dignified and respected source of information to all those who visit.

Collaboration: It is the goal of the organizers that the Jefferson County Wiki become a community of contributors, whose goal is to enhance and enrich information provided by all members. Members should expect that their contributions are not theirs alone, but belong to the community as a whole. Seeing one’s own contributions as personal property and signaling out one’s own contributions within the framework of an established or newly created article is seen as damaging to the community spirit with which this Wiki is based on. The Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 License under which this Wiki operates clearly defines the community minded spirit which is the goal of The Jefferson County Wiki.

Factuality: It is the fervent hope of organizers that any and all material presented on The Jefferson County Wiki be as truthful and accurate as possible. Assumptions and conjecture of facts presented in any article is deemed detrimental to the integrity of the Wiki as a whole. Information presented should be properly researched and only details that can be verified through other sources should be presented.

Sources: It is imperative that any material (written or photographic) put forth on the Jefferson County Wiki that has been created from copyrighted material be properly arranged and sourced. Please refer to the Copyright Guidelines page for information regarding what material may be copyrighted and what is in the public domain.

Do not cut and paste info directly from newspapers, magazines, websites, etc unless it is in the public domain or you have permission to use it. Same for photos and graphics - searching Google and finding a photo you want to use is PROHIBITED! You must have permissions form the owner of the photo or it must be in the public domain. See Copyright Guidelines

Topicality: It is the wish of the organizers of The Jefferson County Wiki that each article presents a concise and succinct account of material that is relevant to the topic of the article in question. Subject matter presented in any article that is not directly relevant to the topic of said article can create cluttered and disordered presentation of facts. Information that is off topic can therefore be damaging to the integrity of the article in question.

Articles and edits that are deemed to be contrary to this mission statement will be marked by the organizers of The Jefferson County Wiki in the hopes that members of the community will bring such entries into conformity with the guidelines set forth in this statement.