Forum:Our new and younger editors

New Vegas is coming like a freight train, which means that soon there will be much more work to do. Who is going to do all this work? Simple: a lot of new people. I'd like to draw attention to some things:


 * Many of our newer editors (Wesleyeye, Tommygunner, Ghouly, Nukey -these guys and others) may have gotten off to a shaky start (bad edits, ignorance, some social missteps...), but they have stuck around, learned a lot, and are now valuable and prolific contributors. I suspect that we can expect many more like them in the wake of New Vegas (and even before, as the hype machine increases its output).
 * These same guys not only learn directly from admins and other veteran editors, they also learn
 * from each other.
 * by following the more veteran of us around.
 * by making mistakes.

I suggest that we admins and more veteran editors begin a more deliberate approach to new registered users (there still is a big difference between those who take the time to create an account and those that don't):
 * Encourage first, if at all possible. A little encouragement and acknowledgement goes a long way.
 * Assume good faith (the first time). It's not a bad idea to give a guy the benefit of the doubt. It's a gamble, for sure. But, when it pays off, we stand to gain a long-time contributing editor. When it doesn't pay off, it just means the ban-hammer came down a little slower than it could have.
 * Be friendly. It takes a deliberate choice, but adopting a calm and kind and friendly tone, in edit summary boxes as well as on user talk pages, goes a long way toward keeping the potentially helpful here.

Younger
 * We should also keep in mind the likely ages of the editors we interact with (Nitty, I'm counting you among the older crowd :) ). 13-17 year-olds typically
 * do not yet have a thick skin.
 * are less-experienced not only in wikis but in social skills.
 * are more prone to temporary temper flare-ups.
 * (They are also less prone to hold a grudge. So we should get over things as fast as they do.)

Communication
 * Communicating well and often (and with more people) is very likely going to become very important with the dawn of New Vegas. Let's just all mentally prepare for the coming need for spending more time on user talk pages - providing help, links, encouragement, advice.
 * It wouldn't be a bad thing if all us admins (and other constant contributors, too) began keeping a list of helpful links on our own talk pages for handy copy/pasting.

None of the above has been meant as criticism of anybody. It's just stuff I think should be on our minds. Cheers. --Gothemasticator 03:51, March 21, 2010 (UTC)


 * "Don't bite the newbies" :) Very good points. Keep in mind that we were all newbies at some point - I know it's a cheesy saying, but nonetheless it's true. If Ausir hadn't put up with us all, the wiki wouldn't have gone anywhere near where it is now. Especially being polite doesn't hurt anyone and it stands to save you a lot of hassle in the long run. -- Porter21 (talk) 10:34, March 23, 2010 (UTC)