[WikiEN-l] Edit Wikipedia Week is coming. How not to bite the n00bs?

[David Gerard]

http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Edit_Wikipedia_Week

This is happening.

A perennial press story is "I was bitten as a n00b on Wikipedia" -
every random interaction with a random en:wp editor is taken as
representative and officially sanctioned.

So we need people to be on extra special good behaviour.

(For those about to point out to Mr Pot that he is of similar
blackness to Messrs Kettle, Jimbo emailed me directly asking me to
please be much nicer on wikien-l in particular. And I can't say it
wasn't deserved. *cough*)

Main sticking point I can see is notoriously prickly individuals who
are also notoriously good encyclopedia writers. I won't go so far as
to name any of those who spring to my mind, but I'm sure you have your
own list. If they can be convinced this is a good idea then they
should provide a suitably shocking example of niceness.

Also, have to hit the village pump, the admin boards etc. Those who do
lots of janitorial work cleaning out the sewers of en:wp
(vandal-chasing, newpages patrolling, RC patrolling, etc) and
basically see the bad side of people all the time need to be brought
on board as well. This is somewhere n00bs can really be bitten.

Ideas please? I suspect not doing this is not an option.


- d.