Wikipedia:Logging in

It is not necessary to log in before viewing or editing pages. It does provide additional features, and is generally recommended. If you do not wish to have your IP address known then you should log in. It is quick and simple to create a personal user account.

Creating a user account means that you supply a username (your real name or a nickname) and a password. The system will reject a username that is already in use. A user account is created only once. You are then "logged in". The next time you log in, you supply your username again and demonstrate with the password that you are the same person. (Do not share your password with other people; this can allow them to misuse your account, which could lead to it being blocked.)

Edits you make are recorded under your username. If you are not logged in your edits are labelled in page history with your IP address.

However, it's still a good idea to log in, for these reasons:

To create an account, click on the link at the top right of the page. You will need to provide a username and password, as well as answer a visual "" test. Users with text, speech, or legacy browsers will be unable to create an account if they cannot view this captcha image. If you are unable to view captchas, you can request for an account to be created for you at .

You may also be unable to create an account if it contains certain symbols (particularly the '@' symbol, as well as certain non-Latin characters) or words, or if it is too similar to that of an existing user. In that case, you will also have to request an account. If your IP address has account creation blocked, you can either request to be unblocked or request an account.

Click on the link at the top right of the page. You will then be prompted to enter your username and password. If you have not logged in before, you will need to use the link provided to create an account.

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