If I have time, I've been known to post in a friendly way to their own talk page (or email if they have it enabled) , making some custom-fitted suggestions about how they can do better edits, in addition to taking care of the immediate problem on the article page. it's sort of an informal WP Adoption. I think it's as important for the growth of WP as anything else we do. Similarly, for good faith pages of newbie autobio, I sometimes modify the template, or write a message instead, and so do quite a number of other people. (after deleting the article, of course). The wording of many of the templates is quite friendly, but the effect can still be off-putting. On 5/17/07, MacGyverMagic/Mgm <macgyvermagic(a)gmail.com> wrote: -- David Goodman, Ph.D, M.L.S.

On 5/17/07, MacGyverMagic/Mgm <macgyvermagic(a)gmail.com> wrote: My way of working on this problem: Revert to the existing consensus. Post an article and user talk page comment discussing why I did so and what info or edit changes they might make to bring new content or improvements in language in and have them accepted. "Talk towards consensus" doesn't mean "leave it broken until...". It's reasonable to assume that consensus starts with "Where experienced editors have left it", not the last change by a random newbie. It's not hostile to fix it back to good condition; it's hostile to do that and not explain to the newbie why you did that and how they can discuss and contribute positively. -- -george william herbert george.herbert(a)gmail.com