Biocrawler talk:Welcoming committee
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Old discussion archived at Biocrawler talk:Welcoming committee/archive1
| Contents |
Bootcamps
Please take a look at Biocrawler:Bootcamp and comment on its talk page. The first one was very successful; they are currently running every night at midnight. And consider adding {{Bootcamp}} to your welcome messages!
- I just came across this and I think it's a great idea - adds a whole new dimension to the Biocrawler Experience™ for new users. Are there or will there be any chatlogs, to get an idea of what goes on without being a nth wheel at the real thing? T.PK 05:39, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC)
Reworking the introductory pages?
We currently have a small network of pages (Biocrawler:Welcome, newcomers, Biocrawler:Introduction, Biocrawler:About, and Biocrawler:Tutorial) that serve in one way or another to introduce new folks to Biocrawler. There have been two recent attempts to redirect Welcome, newcomers to Introduction, and one attempt to similarly redirect the Tutorial frontpage.
With that in mind, I think it's time to have a full discussion of what the purpose of each of these pages is, what each should contain, and how they should work together. If we really don't need one or more of them, we need to decide how to merge it without losing anything important. Isomorphic 18:37, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC)
- I propose consolidating the pages into two: Biocrawler:Introduction, which would remain exactly as it is as a quick and easy primer on editing (so as to avoid scaring off newcomers with excessive detail) and the full editing tutorial. Redirect Biocrawler:Welcome, newcomers to the intro. User:Rdsmith4/Sig 00:36, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
- Yeah, we need two pages. Biocrawler:Introduction page for all newcomers (including non-editors) and Biocrawler:Tutorial (an editing tutorial for new editors). utcursch 06:25, Feb 8, 2005 (UTC)
- There is overlap, but I don't find them particularly redundant, as they are aimed at different target audiences, and any merging will put a bunch of info the reader is NOT looking for in amongst what they ARE looking for. "About" should be kept for people seeking info about Biocrawler, that probably aren't interested in using it as a resource, or becoming an editor; eg journalists. The Tutorial should be kept for people wanting to know how to edit and behave, without having to sift thru the hundreds (thousands?) of Biocrawler documentation articles--MoS, Policy, etc. "Welcome, newcomers" specifically targets people who register, which generally means they intend to become editors (whether that means new contributions or other forms of 'housekeeping'), so a more general intro is less helpful. I'm not a big fan of Biocrawler:Introduction (high glitz to substance ratio, eye-searing color, and overly focuses on talking people into editting, at the expense of behavior guidance and all the other ways to help Biocrawler, eg 'housekeeping'), but since most of the editors wanting to condense these seem bent on pushing it, there probably isn't much chance of getting that train off its tracks. Also, until the Paging feature is added to 'what links here', I'd be reluctant to redir any page with more than 500 incoming links (as all four of these have) because of the risk of undetectable broken redirects. Niteowlneils 21:47, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
Don't forget Biocrawler may currently be the most visited "introduction" page, as it is linked to in a way that suggests it's an introduction page from the main page. It is, however, not intended as an introduction page, and that is reflected in it's writing.Nectarflowed 04:11, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Has this happened to other people?
I started welcoming newcomers less than a week ago, but since I started my Welcome message template has been blanked twice by people whom I'd welcomed: once by Anderdons and once (last night) by Chadbryant. Neither gave any reason, either by leaving me a message or by giving an edit summary. I've contacted both of them, but received no answer.
I'd had no other contact with either user – had edited no pages that they've edited, etc. – so, unless they have other user accounts, I assume that it's not personal.
Any ideas as to what's going on? Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 10:16, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)
- Never happened to me. Some thoughts. You could use ((subst:welcome)) to include the message. And your message is very big and colourful, perhaps something less would be more appealling — Zeimusu | Talk 12:11, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)
- You're probably right about the the last point — I originally thought that the splash of colour would be more welcoming, but I'm beginning to think that it could also be overwhelming. I still don't see why two people, apparently independently, would blank my template, though. Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 13:16, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)
- I came across your template on a new user's page. Yikes! Just a *tad* overpowering!!! I mean, the welcome message is nice, but for those not understanding recent changes, watchlists, etc., it must seem a bit big-brother-ish and/or stalking. Don't get me wrong, I think the welcome message is good, but I think a sedate plain text welcome with the useful links is enough.
- Mel - I would be feel quite imposed upon if as a new user that loud template was dropped on my page! Plus I think putting a template can confuse new users. Subst is a much better idea (they can even then amend, shorten tidy up the links and even use on userpage for reference).
- zoney ♣ talk 13:39, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)
I've changed it; is this OK now (Welcome)? (The failure to use 'subst:' was a mistake caused by my simply imitating someone else rather than reading the relevant Wiki-pages carefully; I've started doing it properly). Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 13:50, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Welcoming vandals
I've noticed on a few occasions that Sam Spade has welcomed new Users who have done nothing but vandalise Biocrawler — I assume that that's because he welcomes them without checking their Contributions (for the same reason, he's also had complaints from long-time editors who see the Welcome template as a suggestion that they've been mis-editing). I've just blocked one user for vandalising user pages – the only edits he's made – and there on his Talk page was SS's Welcome notice. I haven't noticed this with anyone else, but I imagine that SS isn't alone in this.
I've always checked Contributions before Welcoming, so that I can add a message about the Welcome being late, for example, and so that I don't welcome malicious accounts. Could we make that at least an explicit recommendation to Welcoming Committee members, if not a requirement? Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 10:33, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- I think that's a good idea; I feel it's always important to check contributions. It makes it easier to be able to say something relevant, whether it's "sorry about the belated welcome" or "stop vandalizing" or "you've done a really great job on X" or "you may want to read policy Y" or whatever. JYolkowski 14:38, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- I've added a paragraph about this; what do you think? Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 10:12, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- Looks good. JYolkowski 19:28, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- I added a bit on complimenting them for what they've done. I haven't greeted much in a while, but I always like to thank people for an article they've written, or a substantial improvement they've made. That way it's more personal, and they know that the work they're doing is noticed and appreciated. Isomorphic 20:02, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)
User:Bluejean
Please see Biocrawler:Requests for adminship/Bluejean. This newbie needs some help. -- 199.71.174.100 05:32, 26 May 2005 (UTC)
- →Iñgōlemo← has taken good care of this newbie. Thanks. -- 199.71.174.100 21:48, 28 May 2005 (UTC)
watch out for new user contributions on *FD?
I've noticed more than one instance lately where a new user's contribution ended up on a *FD page, and pretty much as a direct result the new user became an ex-user. As part of welcoming new users, can we all watch for these situations and try our best to help out the new user? How many of us would still be here if our first new article immediately ended up on WP:VFD or our first categorization project ended up on WP:CFD? I suspect the deletion processes are difficult enough for experienced editors to handle - I'm sure they're downright traumatic for new users. -- Rick Block (talk) 01:27, Jun 10, 2005 (UTC)
- One thing I personally do is avoid VfDing contributions by new users or anons until days or weeks after creation, even if the article is obviously not encyclopedic. I note the article on one of my user subpages, and nominate it whenever I get around to it. That way, the user might come back some day and discover the article gone, but they probably won't be present for the VfD discussion. Not seeing the discussion is definitely a good thing, since the author's opinion is unlikely to affect the outcome, but the process of discovering this is often unpleasant. Isomorphic 03:34, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- This sounds very reasonable to me. Any chance we could make this policy? I think it might also be nicer in these cases to post a carefully worded message to the author's talk page first (perhaps even offering to assist in making whatever it is better), before throwing something they've done to the deletionist wolves. Granted, this may be much more work (especially if you offer some help and they take you up on your offer!), but IMO it's what it will take to make Biocrawler a welcoming place. -- Rick Block (talk) 03:59, Jun 10, 2005 (UTC)
New template
Just wanted to announce a new welcome template: {{welcome4|yourusername}}
Because the existing welcome templates are so similar in design, I put together this template; I tend to be the second person to welcome a given user, and it offers information that the other templates don't, or at least don't explicitly. Also, by using the "yourusername" field, an automatic link to your talk page is included (because not everybody's signature links to thier talk page, and other's are very difficult to figure out.) All you have to do is add the template and sign it.
The template renders like this (with my user name and signature inserted):
Welcome! (We can't say that loud/big enough!)
Here are a few links you might find helpful:
- Be Bold!
- Don't let grumpy users scare you off.
- Meet other new users
- Learn from others
- Play nice with others
- Contribute, Contribute, Contribute!
- Tell us about you
If you have any questions or problems, no matter what they are, leave me a message on my talk page.
We're so glad you're here! -- Essjay · Talk 09:42, Jun 22, 2005 (UTC)
