This page documents an English Wikipedia
behavioral guideline. Editors should generally follow it, though
exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect
consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on
this guideline's talk page. |
This page in a nutshell: Do not be hostile toward fellow editors; newcomers in particular. Remember to assume good faith and respond to problematic edits in a clear and polite manner. |
Wikipedia articles are improved through the hard work of regular editors, but also through numerous contributions made by newcomers. Remember: all of us were new editors at Wikipedia once, and in some ways (such as when editing an article on a topic outside our usual scope) even the most experienced among us are still newcomers.
New members are prospective contributors and are therefore Wikipedia's most valuable resource. We must treat newcomers with kindness and patience—nothing scares potentially valuable contributors away faster than hostility. It is very unlikely for a newcomer to be completely familiar with all of the policies, guidelines, and community standards of Wikipedia when they start editing. Even the most experienced editors may need a gentle reminder from time to time.
This template is used on
225,000+ pages. To avoid major disruption and server load, any changes should be tested in the template's /sandbox or /testcases subpages, or in your own user subpage. The tested changes can be added to this page in a single edit. Consider discussing changes on the talk page before implementing them. |
This is the
Category:Autobiography template.
-- Metlifebee ( talk) 09:29, 27 August 2013 (UTC)
Newcomers' ideas of how things should be handled within Wikipedia will largely be out of context. It's a jungle out there, and it may take some time before a newcomer becomes accustomed to how things work here. Keeping that in mind may help you avoid becoming a "biter". To avoid being accused of biting, try to:
Standard welcome/warning messages are both cordial and correcting. Consider using these templates for welcoming, or the first two here for warning.
Strive to be a responsible Wikipedian. By fostering goodwill, you will neither provoke nor be provoked easily, and will allow new Wikipedians to devote their time and resources towards building a truly collaborative encyclopedia.
If you have bitten someone, or feel that you have been bitten, considering the following points could help ensure that it doesn't happen again.
One common error among newcomers is to create an article in mainspace about themselves, their garage band, or about their original theories on a certain topic. One way to deal gently with this is to userfy the article, and leave a note saying why. {{ nn-userfy}} is designed for userfying autobiographical articles. The remaining redirect can be flagged for deletion using {{ Db-rediruser}}. Userfied articles on bands could be tagged with {{ PROD}}, since they tend to hang around. New articles about a person's original research and theories could have a note appended explaining WP:OR. It is sometimes helpful to direct new users to alternative outlets.
Another common newbie error is to violate the three revert rule. There is no reason to expect that a newcomer would know about this rule, so it is a good idea to inform them of the rule on their talkpage after their second revert.
The principle [ Ignorantia juris non excusat] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup ( help) ( Latin for: "ignorance of the law does not excuse") is incompatible with the guidelines of "do not bite" and " assume good faith". In this case, ignorance of Wikipedia's guidelines can excuse the mistakes of a newcomer. Furthermore, you yourself violate Wikipedia's guidelines and policies when you attack a new user for ignorance of them.
Try instead to follow the points set forth in this article to relieve new editors of their ignorance. Keep in mind that this is not the way many other things work, and even seasoned editors fail to follow—or are simply unaware of—our guidelines from time to time.
To a newcomer, the large number of Wikipedia policies and guidelines is overwhelming. Ignorance of the rules can often be expected, but willfully disregarding them and disrupting the editorial process of constructing our online encyclopedia is quite another. If you exclude editors without barnstars and the like from your circle you probably diminish the final product.
In all cases though, we ought to interact with our fellow editors with gentleness and respect.
{{
this is a new user}}
{{
cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors=
(
help)
-- Metlifebee ( talk) 09:33, 27 August 2013 (UTC)
This page documents an English Wikipedia
behavioral guideline. Editors should generally follow it, though
exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect
consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on
this guideline's talk page. |
This page in a nutshell: Do not be hostile toward fellow editors; newcomers in particular. Remember to assume good faith and respond to problematic edits in a clear and polite manner. |
Wikipedia articles are improved through the hard work of regular editors, but also through numerous contributions made by newcomers. Remember: all of us were new editors at Wikipedia once, and in some ways (such as when editing an article on a topic outside our usual scope) even the most experienced among us are still newcomers.
New members are prospective contributors and are therefore Wikipedia's most valuable resource. We must treat newcomers with kindness and patience—nothing scares potentially valuable contributors away faster than hostility. It is very unlikely for a newcomer to be completely familiar with all of the policies, guidelines, and community standards of Wikipedia when they start editing. Even the most experienced editors may need a gentle reminder from time to time.
This template is used on
225,000+ pages. To avoid major disruption and server load, any changes should be tested in the template's /sandbox or /testcases subpages, or in your own user subpage. The tested changes can be added to this page in a single edit. Consider discussing changes on the talk page before implementing them. |
This is the
Category:Autobiography template.
-- Metlifebee ( talk) 09:29, 27 August 2013 (UTC)
Newcomers' ideas of how things should be handled within Wikipedia will largely be out of context. It's a jungle out there, and it may take some time before a newcomer becomes accustomed to how things work here. Keeping that in mind may help you avoid becoming a "biter". To avoid being accused of biting, try to:
Standard welcome/warning messages are both cordial and correcting. Consider using these templates for welcoming, or the first two here for warning.
Strive to be a responsible Wikipedian. By fostering goodwill, you will neither provoke nor be provoked easily, and will allow new Wikipedians to devote their time and resources towards building a truly collaborative encyclopedia.
If you have bitten someone, or feel that you have been bitten, considering the following points could help ensure that it doesn't happen again.
One common error among newcomers is to create an article in mainspace about themselves, their garage band, or about their original theories on a certain topic. One way to deal gently with this is to userfy the article, and leave a note saying why. {{ nn-userfy}} is designed for userfying autobiographical articles. The remaining redirect can be flagged for deletion using {{ Db-rediruser}}. Userfied articles on bands could be tagged with {{ PROD}}, since they tend to hang around. New articles about a person's original research and theories could have a note appended explaining WP:OR. It is sometimes helpful to direct new users to alternative outlets.
Another common newbie error is to violate the three revert rule. There is no reason to expect that a newcomer would know about this rule, so it is a good idea to inform them of the rule on their talkpage after their second revert.
The principle [ Ignorantia juris non excusat] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup ( help) ( Latin for: "ignorance of the law does not excuse") is incompatible with the guidelines of "do not bite" and " assume good faith". In this case, ignorance of Wikipedia's guidelines can excuse the mistakes of a newcomer. Furthermore, you yourself violate Wikipedia's guidelines and policies when you attack a new user for ignorance of them.
Try instead to follow the points set forth in this article to relieve new editors of their ignorance. Keep in mind that this is not the way many other things work, and even seasoned editors fail to follow—or are simply unaware of—our guidelines from time to time.
To a newcomer, the large number of Wikipedia policies and guidelines is overwhelming. Ignorance of the rules can often be expected, but willfully disregarding them and disrupting the editorial process of constructing our online encyclopedia is quite another. If you exclude editors without barnstars and the like from your circle you probably diminish the final product.
In all cases though, we ought to interact with our fellow editors with gentleness and respect.
{{
this is a new user}}
{{
cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors=
(
help)
-- Metlifebee ( talk) 09:33, 27 August 2013 (UTC)