Fairfaxpedia:About



Fairfaxpedia is a collaborative encyclopedia for the Fairfax community in Northern Virginia. It seeks to bring the most up-to-date, unbiased information to its readers by allowing peer editing and review. Fairfaxpedia is a, meaning that anyone can edit, correct, or improve the information found on the site by creating an account and clicking the "edit this page" link. Fairfaxpedia strives to provide the most accurate and thorough information on local government and the Fairfax community. All content found on the website is free and written collaboratively by different members of the community. Fairfaxpedia's mission is to create a better understanding of community affairs for the citizens of Fairfax, to help residents make informed decisions, and inspire civic engagement.

About Us
Frank Muraca is a sophomore at George Mason University, getting his B.S. in economics and minoring in mathematics. He created Fairfaxpedia in October of 2011 and serves as managing director. In the summer of 2011, he interned for Charlottesville Tomorrow, a non-profit news organization that covers local politics, transportation, and community design issues. The organization also manages Cvillepedia, a community wiki for the Charlottesville. That's where he was first inspired by the idea of a local encyclopedia for Fairfax. Apart from working on Fairfaxpedia, he enjoys reading, writing, jogging, and playing the banjo (when time allows). Email: [mailto:fmuraca@fairfaxpedia.com fmuraca@fairfaxpedia.com] Twitter: FrankMuraca In the news:
 * George Mason student launches Fairfaxpedia - Washington Post
 * George Mason Student Writing 'Fairfaxpedia' - Fairfax Station Patch

How it works
The genius of Wikipedia comes out of a relatively simple idea: collectively, people know an incredible amount of information. The wiki is simply a place where individuals can share that information. While wikipedia contains information on nearly every subject possible, the same basic principles can be applied to communities. Fairfax citizens often know more about the area than they think, and Fairfaxpedia is a place that contains that collective intelligence. This community wiki holds any information pertaining to Fairfax, whether its local elections, government officials, community events, schools, notable local leaders, and much more.

How to contribute
Anyone with an internet connection can contribute. Simply create an account using your email and you're part of the wiki. If you're interested in creating a new article, type the exact title of the article that you wish to create in the search box on the right-hand corner of the screen (this is to ensure that the article does not already exist). If the article doesn't exist, then you will be asked if you wish to create a new article under that name in bright red letters. After you've created a new article you will be looking at a big blank text box with the article's title on the top. Here is where you can start your new article with however much basic information you know. If you are editing a current article, simply click edit on the top-right corner of the screen. (Please look here for more details.)

Making the best use of Fairfaxpedia
Fairfaxpedia is a resource. It's meant to be a place where people can have access to a vast amount of information about the Fairfax community. It's a good first stop for people looking to learn about local government, elections, and the likes. That being said, there are some limitations to its open access. While we will try to regulate all of the edits to ensure that they are factual and verifiable, we ask that you express some caution in citing Fairfaxpedia while writing articles or other publications.