WikiPaintball:Using AI to write articles

Artificial intelligence can assist contributors with researching, drafting and improving articles for WikiPaintball. Tools such as ChatGPT can help identify historical sources, organise information and produce consistent MediaWiki formatting.

However, AI-generated material must meet the same accuracy and referencing requirements as manually written contributions.

All contributors should first read WikiPaintball:Editorial standards.

Appropriate uses of AI

AI tools can assist with:

• Discovering potential historical sources.
• Researching defunct paintball teams, businesses and organisations.
• Finding archived websites, tournament records and historical publications.
• Organising verified information chronologically.
• Drafting neutral, encyclopedic articles.
• Converting research into MediaWiki wikitext.
• Creating factual tables and organising tournament results.
• Identifying missing information requiring further research.
• Checking formatting, internal links and citation consistency.

AI should assist historical research rather than replace source verification.

Understanding AI limitations

AI systems can generate convincing but incorrect information.

Common problems include:

• Invented dates, names, tournament results and team rosters.
• Incorrectly identifying similarly named teams or companies.
• Fabricating references or providing URLs that do not support claims.
• Combining information from unrelated historical events.
• Treating personal recollections or forum discussions as established facts.
• Assuming businesses closed or teams disbanded when historical records disappear.
• Adding unsupported descriptions of historical importance.

An AI-generated citation is not proof that the source exists or supports the statement.

Never publish information solely because an AI tool presents it confidently.

Recommended research workflow

1. Choose a specific subject

Select a player, team, tournament, manufacturer, field or another subject directly connected to paintball.

Search WikiPaintball before creating a new page to avoid duplicating existing articles.

2. Research before drafting

Ask the AI to locate relevant sources, prioritising contemporary documentation.

Useful resources include official tournament records, archived websites, historical magazines, manufacturer documentation and community archives.

Request direct source links and distinguish confirmed information from unverified claims.

3. Verify the research

Check that sources exist, are accessible and support the information attributed to them.

Verify important details such as dates, names, competition results and organisational relationships.

Remove claims that cannot be substantiated.

4. Generate the article

Once sufficient evidence has been gathered, instruct the AI to write a concise article using WikiPaintball's formatting and referencing standards.

Avoid requesting unnecessary length or encouraging the AI to fill gaps.

5. Review before publication

Read the completed article and confirm:

• The subject is directly relevant to paintball.
• All factual claims are supported by credible sources.
• No names, dates, results or relationships have been invented.
• The writing is neutral and uses British English.
• Citation numbers correspond to the correct sources.
• Internal links and categories are appropriate.
• Unrelated personal information has been excluded.
• The article does not repeat material better covered elsewhere.

Suggested AI instructions

Contributors can copy the following instructions into ChatGPT or another AI writing tool and provide their intended article subject.

Write an article for WikiPaintball.com about [ARTICLE SUBJECT].

WikiPaintball is an encyclopedia documenting paintball history, players, teams, tournaments, organisations, equipment, businesses and culture worldwide.

Research the subject thoroughly before writing, prioritising credible contemporary sources, archived websites, official tournament results and paintball publications.

Include only information that can be verified. Never invent facts, names, dates, rosters, tournament results, sponsorships, historical relationships or references.

Distinguish confirmed facts from unverified recollections. Do not assume a team disbanded or a business closed simply because records are unavailable.

Keep the article strictly focused on its paintball subject. Do not mention the contributor, their personal experiences or their involvement unless directly relevant and supported by sources.

Write in neutral, concise, encyclopedic British English. Do not pad the article with generic background or unsupported claims.

Deliver complete, copy-and-paste-ready MediaWiki wikitext inside a code block.

Use appropriate section headings, [[Internal links]], established categories and factual tables only when necessary.

Use manually numbered citations [1], [2], etc., with matching sources under == References == formatted as:
# [URL Source title]

Reuse citation numbers for repeated sources. Never use citation templates or ref tags.

Check WikiPaintball for existing articles and naming conventions where possible.

If reliable information is limited, produce a short article using only the verified facts available.

Publish what can be verified, not what can be assumed.

Replace [ARTICLE SUBJECT] with the name of the intended article.

Contributors can improve research results by providing original source material, archived URLs, historical magazine scans, tournament databases or existing WikiPaintball pages.

Updating existing articles

AI can also help revise existing WikiPaintball pages.

When requesting revisions, provide the existing article and the new information or sources.

The AI should preserve previously verified content, correct documented errors and avoid introducing unsupported additions.

Updated articles should be returned as complete MediaWiki wikitext, accompanied by a separate short edit summary describing the changes.

Responsibility for publication

Contributors are responsible for reviewing material before submitting it to WikiPaintball.

AI-generated content does not automatically qualify as verified information, and AI-generated references must be checked against their original sources.

The objective is not to generate the greatest number of articles, but to create an accurate and lasting historical record of paintball.

For the full editorial requirements, see WikiPaintball:Editorial standards.

Core principle: AI can assist with research and writing, but evidence determines what gets published.