Interesting point Srikanth, we can address part of the issue. I propose something like "Don't bite the newcomers" page, pref. located on Meta where new Wikimedians especially the ones from India can ask question to more experienced editors. It would be along the lines of Admin noticeboard, RfC page in terms of structure but any experienced editor would be able to answer a newcomers question. They can watch their edit history and even promote our "adopt a user" feature by experienced editors. We can announce this page on the India Mailing list, newcomers at wiki-meetups, regularly for any new comers. For a centralized location I would suggest locating it on Meta considering the experienced user base and the multilingual community there. Any thoughts?

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On Sun, Nov 21, 2010 at 1:34 AM, Anirudh Bhati <anirudhsbh(a)gmail.com>wrote;wrote:

On Sun, Nov 21, 2010 at 2:03 AM, theo10011 <de10011(a)gmail.com> wrote: WP:HD Finding out about the help desk or simply asking for help is much easier for a new user than looking for ideas cross-wiki. A simple welcome template contains instructions to ask for help without even having to move from one's talk page.[1] look and Newbies aren't expected to know each and every rule from the day they join Wikipedia, you have more experienced users asking them to IAR. IAR doesn't mean a free license to do whatever you want, but to learn as you go.[2] What would make the entire process redundant are administrators who would be willing to give appropriate amount of attention to each and every contentious issue (esp. those which involve using the blocking tool). Many new users complain of over-zealousness on the part of long-term contributors, I can empathize with their position but cannot completely shift the blame on to the janitors. As the encyclopedia continues to grow so does the amount of data that is churned on the project. Administrators continually end up deleting pages within moments of their creation, and get defensive when questioned. They block vandals without appropriate warnings and most of the time such blocks go unchallenged because of the nature of the edits (overt vandalism). But sometimes, as it happens with the huge amount of backlog, an administrator may perceive tenacious editing as disruption and vandalism, and when this happens our problems begin. Please go through the archives of the administrators' noticeboard and you will find such issues have been discussed over and over again with no conclusive solution to the problem. Conflicts have been escalated to the point where the Arbitration Committee has had to issue sanctions on old hands resulting in burn out and retirement from the project. And you know what... I'd rather stand by a trusty old admin in the lieu of hundreds of whiny newbies who didn't have anything constructive to contribute anyway. I understand that this may not be the optimal solution, but it's the one that has worked for us for years. helpful since there be Please follow through with your project but I don't see much use for it from an English Wikipedia standpoint. English Wikipedia had and still has the best available resources to assist new users and help them cope with conflicts. different questions adopt comers. I am all for courteous dealings with new users, but no amount of cajoling usually placates someone who has decided to game the system.[3] Please explain to me how cultural differences result in a breakdown of communication to the extent that a user gets blocked for disruption? In the immediate case, it appears to me that Yogesh Khandke handled himself quite well (and has sufficiently proven that the blocks were made out of process, except that he didn't' challenge the block earlier). I don't see how an Indian community-run service for new users would have helped resolve the manner more equitably than a single old-hand noticing an unjustified block. I have no issues with community building exercises, but most of them turn into cliques that outgrow their intended use.[4] [1] {{helpme}} on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Welcome ([[Template:Welcome]]) [2] #5 on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Five_pillars ([[Wikipedia:Five pillars]] - IAR. [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GAME ([[WP:GAME]]) [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Esperanza anirudh wrote: located I base _______________________________________________ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l