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@gmail.com wrote:
On 5/17/07, doc doc.wikipedia@ntlworld.com wrote:
I could go on. Obviously new contributors to articles are welcome - WP:OWN is no good. But, at the same time, fly-bys who know nothing about the subject and are not willing even to stop and think 'what would benefit this particular article? How can it be improved?' - need hit with a cluestick.
Doc makes an excellent point here. We should obviously be welcome to newbies, but if they hit an article they know nothing about with an edit, policy says you should talk towards a concensus, which, with clueless people can be hard to impossible. How are you welcome to people while keeping quality of articles up at the same time?
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