Wikipedia talk:Adopt-a-user/Archive 6

src: upload.wikimedia.org

Video Wikipedia talk:Adopt-a-user/Archive 6

Project is failing

Not too long ago, a backlog of ten was pretty high. Now, there's a backlog of 45 that's constantly rising. Just a couple months ago, I cleared a backlog of (I believe) 20-30, and it's been steadily rising since. Several things are evident. One, our adopters are declining, either reaching their limit of adoptees and closing themselves or simply withdrawing from the program. Two, we're not getting that many new adopters to compensate. A quick look at the adopter's list (the last 50 edits) showed a couple users removing themselves, a few more "closing", and I believe only two adding themselves. Still, this alone shouldn't effect the program too much. A larger problem is probably the lack of involvement of self-proclaimed adopters that don't actually do anything. In a few individual backlog-relief efforts, I've left messages asking active, "open to adoption" users to help. The vast majority of them, if not all of them did nothing at all to help. If you're not going to assist those who need adoption, remove yourself from the list. An obvious problem is the explosiveness in which users are requesting adoption. It's very common for new users to place the template on their talk page, never to return.

So, the question is, can the project be salvaged, and if so, how? Is there support to try and do this? If there is, we essentially need to advertise for more adopters, as we already do for adoptees in welcome templates. Otherwise, the backlog is going to increase to an unmanageable level, and the project page will probably end up being marked as inactive (as many other good projects do). -- Preceding unsigned comment added by Swarm (talk o contribs)

Whoa. Well, the last time I tried to change the project into a "adoptee action project", I was brutally murdered. See here. Since most of the adopters are inactive and not really willing to help, I say we remove the ones that have no adopted in a while. Another change is to require adoptees to seek out adopter's first, instead of the other way around. We could direct them to the list of adopters and ask them to choose one. (I believe the explosion was caused by my new button on the main page >.> Click, fill in, save, done) I think we need to change the button to direct to the list of adopters now. But what good does that do when the adopters aren't willing to help? Netalarm^talk 06:17, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

I just checked the actual requests. It appears that the expansion is from Purdue University's project. Students are requesting to be adopted in large numbers, which is straining an already strained system. IMO, very few of them (if any) will be adopted within a month or two. There simply are just not enough resources. I guess the only way to salvage this is to dramatically increase the number of adopters, but that attempt won't work too well, since everyone is already busy and adoption takes up a lot of time. Netalarm^talk 04:45, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

Well, you (and your bot) were doing what needed to be done. I hope you didn't let the complaints get to you. I send similar requests to help manually and at random (from the list, obviously), and it's a huge hassle. I agree that we should simply remove inactive adopters from the list (regardless of whether they're "closed" and "open". I also agree that we should place more emphasis on adoptees seeking out adopters, although many of these new users may not want to or be able to do this, for whatever reason, plus we would already have to have filtered out the inactive ones and the ones who aren't helping. To clear the backlog immediately, I will pick up another 4-6 (or more) adoptees (I already have nine but none have consulted with me in several months) offers many may not respond), but this will still leave a large gap. I'll also remove any old adoption seekers from the category who have been long inactive and haven't contributed anything.

I was completely unaware of the Purdue project, but this definitely explains a lot. I do believe we need to increase the number of adopters, though. I'll go see what I can do with the backlog. Swarm ^X 06:10, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

• Ugh. Individually evaluating each request is useful in clearing the backlog, as there are several instances where offers have already been made and the tag just hasn't been changed. There are also instances with adoptees who have made only (for example) two edits, none in over a month. These can probably be removed. However, individually evaluating the requests is tedious, time consuming, and overwhelming with such a large backlog. The messages you're sending are also very helpful. I'll work some more on it later, but it's not going to be an easy task. Swarm ^X 06:24, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

We need to remove the one's that don't respond to adoption offers... and one's that don't respond to the "wan to find your own?" messages. Inactive, drain on resources. I think the current limit is set at 2 months, but I think it's reasonable to cut it down to 1. Netalarm^talk 06:34, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

I agree, I'd say that's more than fair. Swarm ^X 19:19, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

I know I'm late to the party, but I just thought I'd throw out that I'm having moderate success with my adoption school. I've set myself a limit at 4 adoptees at a time, just for my own peace of mind, and although I've had one mishap, I've got 2 users who are on course to graduate with flying colours. I have just taken on User:Porchcrop as a mentee, and will be using a similar process there, but I just though I'd say that adoption is still working - we could just do with some more adopters. Hopefully the below bot will help, and I'm now watching this page so I'll be able to help out more Worm^TT 16:11, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

Other issues

1. Some users that are requesting adoption ignore messages about adopt-a-user and do not respond to adoption offers, yet continue to edit. This seems a bit odd, since they've indicated an interest in the program, yet do not respond to offers. Should we just remove their adoptme template with a message on their talk page? Netalarm^talk 21:36, 6 November 2010 (UTC)
2. Should IP editors be allowed to participate? While I agree they should be helped, adopt-a-user wasn't geared toward IP users, so it'll be more difficult for us. Also, if the IP is dynamic, adoption will be too complicated. Most IP users aren't here to stay too, which will be addressed in the next point. Netalarm^talk 21:36, 6 November 2010 (UTC)
3. Adopt-a-user uses up a lot of time and resources of many users. We expect the users that we adopt to stick around and use what they've learned to improve their editing, not simply leave once they're done with what they want to do. Should we remove adoptme templates from users that don't seem to want to stick around? We'll need to discuss specifics though. Netalarm^talk 21:36, 6 November 2010 (UTC)
4. Meet Me Halfway concept. (flagship proposal) Adoption depends on two people, the adopter and the adoptee. Both of them should put in effort. Both of them should be actively engaged in the process. Both should do their part. An adoptee shouldn't really just place the adoptme template on his user page and expect users to come and ask to adopt them. Adoptees should also look at the list of adopters and actively seek an adopter. This lessens the load on the adopters and ensures an active project. We need both parties to be actively engaged for this to work; thus, we should encourage active participation in the process from adoptees among other things. What else should be done? Netalarm^talk 21:36, 6 November 2010 (UTC)
5. Adopters that do not want to adopt or actively take part. There are some adopters that do not want to actively seek out adoptees or adopt them even when they ask. While it is fine to not adopt someone because of personal schedule's and reasons, saying no to multiple adoptees over a long duration of time defeats the purpose of the project. If someone is just going to say no, they need to be removed. No, users that don't adopt for say, two months, don't need to be removed. I'm talking about those that have not adopted in forever. Netalarm^talk 21:36, 6 November 2010 (UTC)
6. Ideally, adopters would be actively engaged and look for users that need adopting. How can we make that happen? Netalarm^talk 21:36, 6 November 2010 (UTC)
7. There are currently 805 users that have been offered adoption, but have not responded. The list dates back to 2007. Should we do anything about that to make the project more concise? Netalarm^talk 22:20, 7 November 2010 (UTC)

1. Remove the adoptme template if they don't respond, it shows an obvious lack (or loss) of interest.
2. Well it would be unfair to adopt only static IPs so I think just no to IPs altogether.
3. If they've indicated that they don't intend to stick around for say 6 months - 1 year after adoption they shouldn't be requesting adoption at all, adoption is for giving users a headstart to their learning experience on Wikipedia. It's unfair for the adopter to have spent a lot of time work with their adoptee only to see them leave. I don't think we should refuse anyone, but frankly if they aren't here to stay then Adoption really isn't for them.
4. Agree wholeheartedly.
5. If you're not going to adopt ANYONE at all then you may as well NOT bother with adoption...
6. Well the adoptee-adopter pairing system didn't really work that well, it showed who the keen users were and it showed who the inactive users were. Furthermore, I believe we should pair adopters with users who share the same interests? I know that's a fairly obvious statement but it's really not happening. We've got adopters that can't cater to the interests of their adoptees and as a result of this, they cannot appropriately assist them and subsequently both will, at one point, lose interest. This is not an ideal situation for the adoptee as they are pretty much left in the dark and potentially learning something they don't want to learn.
7. How would we achieve that?

These are just my $0.02. Regards, --????a?'§?øø? o Champagne? o 4:43pm o 05:43, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

I pretty much agree with all of the above completely. I have another issue: How long should inactive 'adoptme's be given to return? For example, should an adopter make an offer to someone with three edits and a month of inactivity? Swarm ^X 09:06, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

Maybe, since they may not have been editing because no one adopted them? I'd say now that we've cut down on the backlog, we should be able to respond to adoptmes within a few days, primarily asking them to also look for their own. After we ask that, we should see them send a few messages seeking their own adopter. That's the only sure way to know if they're active and interested. Of course, we could also offer to adopt them, but the adoptee really needs to actively participate too. Netalarm^talk 09:11, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, it probably won't be a problem with the backlog cut down. A question, though: where are they getting these "Adoptee information" templates? I'm assuming it's your work, but I don't understand where they're getting the template from. Swarm ^X 09:55, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

Also, down to 10 from 45! This is great! Now we can focus on the greater issues with the project. Swarm ^X 10:08, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

The adoptee information template is at the bottom of the list of adopters, which is the only way to access the easy request system right now. This is so adoptees will be forced to ask adopters first before asking adopters to find them (meet me halfway). One category also cut down from 807 to around 50 =P. A few categories left to clean up, as these categories should reflect the current state of the project, not the history and such. Netalarm^talk 22:54, 12 November 2010 (UTC)

Excellent. Swarm ^X 23:31, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

Categories clogged

Standard adoption status

Users adopted category

Category:Wikipedians adopted in Adopt-a-user shows that 1182 users have been adopted and are actively involved in the adoption process. That doesn't seem to be the case though, as a lot of those pairs seem to be inactive. I think we should clean up the category the same way we did the other categories so that we can get a more accurate picture on the status of the pairs and how the program is going. One problem, there's no easy way to determine which pairs to remove, we'd have to check one by one. Netalarm^talk 21:06, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, I'm sure many of these adoptees are inactive. It's going to be tedious, but I'm all for starting the practice of going through the category alphabetically. We'd have to have it so someone would be totally responsible for a section, such as 'A-Al', and someone else 'Am-B' etc. That way, no one will review a part of the category that someone else already did. I just reviewed the first several in the category (symbols, 0-9) and six out of eight were inactive! Swarm ^X 03:36, 8 December 2010 (UTC)

I think the bot would solve this problem by providing us with a list of users that are active, no? Netalarm^talk 03:52, 8 December 2010 (UTC)

Bot to track progress and pairs

Bot update

I went an asked Giftpflanze on the German wikipedia how she was doing with this bot, and she hasn't made progress as yet (though he is still willing to do it, she cannot give a timescale)[1]. Do we want to put in a fresh request or sit patiently? Worm^TT · (talk) 14:25, 10 June 2011 (UTC)

Well ... I have made some progress now. I can compile something that is of some use within one day (but right now I will go to a Wikipedia meetup). A new bot request would mean bumping my work (if you find one working on it). And finally, I would prefer to be referred to as she, thx. - Giftpflanze 15:14, 10 June 2011 (UTC)

My apologies! I was stereotyping coders as male, how terribly rude of me. (At my work the ratio of male to female coders is 12:1, so that's my excuse and I will stick to it.) I've rectified my above comment, and will sit tight. Enjoy your Wikipedia meetup. Worm^TT · (talk) 15:53, 10 June 2011 (UTC)

Thank you! After some further delay (those categories and templates are really messy) for a start I made a table from Category:Wikipedians adopted in Adopt-a-user here: User:GiftBot/Adopt-a-user. - Giftpflanze 19:11, 12 June 2011 (UTC)

Maps Wikipedia talk:Adopt-a-user/Archive 6

How do I start?

Hi, I have been active in WikiPedia for several months now, and I am also active in the Account Creation Interface. I would like to know how I can help. My main contributions are copyediting (over 100,000 words as part of the GoCE's backlog elimination drive), general fixes to articles, and vandalism reversion. I know most WikiPedia policies (I read a number of them before I started actively editing). I have reviewer and rollback privileges on WikiPedia, so I can accept new editors' changes to articles undergoing pending changes protection. How can I join/help? Reaper Eternal (talk) 17:12, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

Hi! To begin, you'll want to add yourself to the list of adopters and take a look at the adopter's area for information on what to do. Basically, you'll be mentoring a new user and teaching them the ropes of editing and interaction with other users. There are currently 8 users that want to be adopted, so you can visit their user talk pages and offer to adopt them. The list is available here. If you have any questions about the program or need any help, feel free to message me or post here. Thank you! Netalarm^talk 05:57, 3 December 2010 (UTC)

src: quod.lib.umich.edu

Wiki Guides study/project

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to let you know about a study that we are getting together to start next month. As I'm sure many of you are aware we have had a decrease in new editors over the past couple years.

As a community we have a lot of ideas but We've been stymied by a lot of options and little data.

We want to conduct a study over the next couple months (with some resources from the Wikimedia Foundation) to help craft strategies to develop new users, to get data on exactly how our new users are finding their first, and later, experiences on Wikipedia and of course to help share the experiences of the experienced users who are here to find out what works, what doesn't and what resources they need to make their work easier.

The plan at the moment is to have several groups of users, 1 group that is just followed (the control) and several other groups with guides who actively reach out and try to help them edit and join the community. I hope that you can help us as we get ready for the study start next month and help the new users once we start! You can find out more information and sign up on the project page and if you can think of anyone who might be interested please please PLEASE point them this way or let me know so I can reach out to them personally!

The project pages were just created and I'm starting the outreach tonight a bit slowly, posting on a couple pages now and then outreaching more over the next couple days to both projects and individuals I know are interested in helping users out. I'm really interested in hearing any thoughts or suggestions! In many ways this is a bit of a mass Adopt-a-user type idea for very new users. Jalexander--WMF 05:36, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

see here strategy proposal made by User:Asinthior. ~~EBE123~~ ^talk_Contribs 19:24, 30 May 2011 (UTC)

src: upload.wikimedia.org

DarkfireII2 (talk) 22:29, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

--DarkfireII2 (talk) 22:29, 4 February 2011 (UTC) someone adopt me

src: wikibulz.com

Automated and Proposal

Sorry for the spam but there is a proposal on strategy that has to do about adoption (link here). Also, there is a little wizard for that that I concocted. Adopters could help. (link here) ~~EBE123~~ ^talk_Contribs 19:11, 30 May 2011 (UTC)

src: wikibulz.com

Most of those listed to be adopted are already offered adoption

A HUGE problem here is that when I click on the list of users seeking adoption, most of them have already (on their Talk pages) been offered adoption or are adopted! The list of potential adoptees is filled with falsehoods, and it needs serious cleanup ASAP so that the backlog is cut back to reality and adopters can actually find the adoptees who really need them. --NickDupree (talk) 03:45, 2 June 2011 (UTC)

I've cleared the list of anyone who's not edited in over 2 months (with a note), anyone who's currently under adoption and any blocked users. We're down from 49 to 18. If people are active with only one offer, I've left them in. Worm^TT · (talk) 09:40, 2 June 2011 (UTC)

Wow, thank you! Your work clearing the list is an invaluable step forward for the project. Very impressive, you have my gratitude, sir. NickDupree (talk) 17:14, 2 June 2011 (UTC)

Glad I could help Worm^TT · (talk) 18:31, 2 June 2011 (UTC)

src: upload.wikimedia.org

Can I adopt?

I was blocked a little over a month ago, but my editing has changed drastically since then. The edits in question were clearly out of character. The unblock discussion is here. Ryan Vesey (talk) 22:32, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

Hi Ryan. If you feel that you are an experienced user who could help a new user, you can adopt. Adopt-a-user is not a heavily regulated process. However, I wouldn't recommend it for you, as part of the unblock discussion suggested that you find a mentor, which implies to me that you may not quite be ready to be an adopter. Perhaps if you spend a few more months editing wikipedia, you will be able to gain sufficient experience and be able to put the out-of-character edits behind you. By the way if you need a mentor still, give me a shout - we could do my adoption course as part of it ;) Worm^TT · (talk) 10:13, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

I have a really great mentor in JamesBWatson but certainly wouldn't mind another. Thanks, I requested adoption on your talk page; although, not in the formal style. Ryan Vesey (talk) 21:28, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

src: 2.bp.blogspot.com

Adoptee Userboxes help!

I recently joined the Adopt-a-user program and looked through the list of potential Adoptees. I have had a very successful experience. This was how my adoptee's user page looked when I asked to adopt him. From that page it was already obvious we shared some interests and that has proven to be a common ground for a successful adopter-adoptee relationship. One thing that was also valuable was he had a table listing his interests, it wasn't filled in quite right, so I went looking to find the original template here, but he seems to have found it elsewhere? I'll ask him, but that was helpful too and ought to be required of all adoptees in my opinion. The fact that he had done these things on his user page showed a certain level of commitment and interest. I'm glad Wikipedia has this program, it has been a very positive experience for me and I think it should be more widely advertised throughout Wikipedia, if not perhaps improved upon first if it can be (re: problems mentioned above). --TimL (talk) 15:29, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

src: upload.wikimedia.org

Adoption school?

I'm currently running an adoption school for quite a few users at a time, where I give lessons and tests, to help ease people into the basics of the encylcopedia. User:Ctjf83 spotted it and asked if there was a reason it wasn't here. Well, I thought I'd ask for a few thoughts, should I list it as a resource? any thoughts on ways to improve it? It's pinched from User:Hersfold, and seems to have a moderate success rate at the moment... Worm^TT · (talk) 12:24, 16 May 2011 (UTC)

Soppurt i agree Ethanate1 20:45, 6 August 2011 (UTC) -- Preceding unsigned comment added by TheBestGuyHi (talk o contribs)

src: blogs.nature.com

removing inactive users

At what point should a user be considered inactive and be removed? I'm thinking a month is quite enough time to show that a Wikipedian is not all that interested in editing Wikipedia. Perhaps we could have a bot remove the template after one month of inactivity? If a user really is interested, they could always add the template back. This may sound a bit aggressive, but from what I've seen so far would be a big step in the right direction. --TimL (talk) 16:32, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

I agree completely. Swarm ^{u | t} 20:58, 8 September 2011 (UTC)

src: upload.wikimedia.org

New ad

Hello...? Anyone around? Eh, anyway, just thought I'd note here that there's a new Wikipedia ad for this project. It's clear that we're a bit short on adopters ATM, so I invite anyone to advertise this project by placing {{wikipedia ads|ad=232}} on their user page. Regards, Swarm ^{u | t} 21:06, 12 September 2011 (UTC)

Eh up Swarm. You can't get away from me ;) An ad is a great idea - the project needs a bit of a kick start. Worm^TT · (talk) 10:30, 14 September 2011 (UTC)

Heh, you would be the one other person watching this page. :P Yes, it definitely needs a kick start of some sort. An ad was the best short-term idea I could think of. Every once in awhile a user will come along and push the project forward a bit, but in between those rare occasions, it seems like it just languishes, wallowing its own staleness. Maybe it needs some leadership, or coordination, or some concrete plan to get it on track. Or something. I really don't know. :| Swarm ^{u / t} 12:21, 14 September 2011 (UTC)

Indeed. I'm not sure how much time I'd be able to devote to pushing it forward since I'm already trying to push two projects and mentees and other bits and bobs. It really needs someone to take control. Worm^TT · (talk) 12:56, 14 September 2011 (UTC)

src: www.latimes.com

Userbox

{{adopts}}

I have made the above userbox for editors that wish to show that they are adopting without needing to put all of their adoptions on their userpage. I would like to add it to the userboxes in the Adopter's area. To use this userbox, place the text

   {{Template:Adopts}}  

I would put the userbox on that page myself, but I thought this needed consensus. Happy editing! pluma Ø 16:58, 9 October 2011 (UTC).

Nah, something like that doesn't need a discussion. Just go ahead and add it. :) Swarm 21:49, 9 October 2011 (UTC)

I wouldn't think it would need discussion, but you never know what people won't like, especially with userboxes. pluma Ø 23:10, 9 October 2011 (UTC)

I should point out though that {{adopting}} allows a parameter to be passed in to change the text, as it is on my page, so it's not strictly necessary but I have no problem with the template being added. Worm^TT · (talk) 11:58, 10 October 2011 (UTC)

I feel that {{adopting}} implies that the user is looking for users to adopt, but doesn't currently have any adoptees. I made {{Adopts}} for users that are adopting now. pluma Ø 04:05, 11 October 2011 (UTC)

What Worm means is that a separate userbox isn't necessary. You can simply type, {{adopting|This user occasionally adopts newcomers at adopt-a-user!}} and you'll get:

{{adopting|This user occasionally adopts newcomers at [[WP:AAU|adopt-a-user]]!}}

So it's not necessary-- but so what? Doesn't mean it can't be used. :) It's really up to you. Swarm 04:19, 11 October 2011 (UTC)

I agree. It's always nice to have an alternative. Besides {{adopts}} is much simpler to use. pluma Ø 04:36, 11 October 2011 (UTC)

src: static1.bigstockphoto.com

Question

How do I "graduate" from the adoption program? Baseball Watcher 00:57, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

There's no set guidelines, but typically, when your adopter feels that you're at the point where you no longer need them, they can deem you "graduated". If you feel you're no longer in need of an adopter, just let them know and they'll do the same. Based on how things have been done in the past, if your adopter is inactive, any other adopter can deem you graduated as well. Swarm 02:45, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

Would you mind "graduating" me because my adopter Addihockey10 is on an wikibreak. Baseball Watcher 22:55, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Apologies for the horrible delay in getting to this. I'd be happy to, if it still needs to be taken care of. Swarm ^X 18:14, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

Sure I would be more than happy to. Baseball Watcher

src: upload.wikimedia.org

Reboot

Well, it looks like this project needs a reboot, especially with dwindling numbers of editors. I'm willing to do a bit of pushing here - at least get it to a state where it's workable. I've got a few plans of things to do and I'd appreciate any thoughts.

1. Archive old information that is no longer as relevant  Done
2. Clear down the backlog of users awaiting adoption.  Done
3. Clear down the list of editors who say they are willing to adopt
4. Review the project pages, ensure they're all up to date
5. Write a set of "nutshell guides" for new users. (Been tempted to do this for a while, but need to think about it seriously before attempting)
6. Perhaps a signpost piece to get people interested again.

Basically the project is in the doldrums and it should be a very useful one. Worm^TT · (talk) 10:22, 22 December 2011 (UTC)

I wish you would, Worm. You are an absolutely great mentor and handle everything well. I credit you with immense knowledge and want you to write it all up in the Signpost. Please! MathewTownsend (talk) 03:31, 27 February 2012 (UTC)

3) What are your ideas for that? Sometimes the easiest thing is just to MessDelivBot a notice out saying that everyone is being removed from the list, and re-add yourself if you wish. Some standards are probably also needed for that; there are quite a few less-then-active editors, as well as one or two that I really don't think should be adopters just yet...purely competence issues, not disagreements.

5 (and my biggest question) According to the main page, if "you are looking to contribute to Wikipedia but do not intend to remain as an active user well after adoption, then this program is not for you. Adoption is for users who intend to be long-term contributors and members of the community..." How strongly is that held? I'll venture a guess and say that by far, most of the editors who want to be adopted have little interest in being here in six months, or even less then that. For those users the "nutshell guides" could be great. We give them a condensed version, and hope that they actually read it. Obviously, that point is moot if we want adoption to be for everyone.

6) Are you thinking interview? Perhaps you, Swarm (the two more active users respective to this project, as I can see), and an adoptee who the project can consider a real "success story". Nolelover ^{Talk·Contribs} 15:57, 22 December 2011 (UTC)

Everything sounds good to me... Nolelover, if I'm not mistaken, you did a "reconfirmation" of sorts at WP Wikify, right? I'm in support of something like that, though it's not the only option. As for number 5, what exactly did you have in mind for that? Swarm ^X 23:32, 22 December 2011 (UTC)

Yes indeed. Out of curiosity, which project were you referring to? Ours went pretty smoothly as most, if not all, active editors re-added themselves. Simple, but gets the job done. And I assume your second question is directed towards Worm, as I have absolutely no experience in adoptions. Nolelover ^{Talk·Contribs} 04:13, 23 December 2011 (UTC)

Long story short, it was in the works for RfA reform's task force, though I had a change of heart and it never happened. This is different though; we could use a realistic way of dropping the ridiculous mass of inactive users who are even now listed as active adopters. Swarm ^X 11:33, 23 December 2011 (UTC)

One month and it was already showing signs, ehh? Oh well, it happens. Anyway, what other options (regarding trimming the list of adopters) were you thinking of? Nolelover ^{Talk·Contribs} 19:03, 23 December 2011 (UTC)

Yes, sorry folks. I appear to have decided to reboot the project, then just walk away for a week :D Where was I...

3) Yes, I was planning to MsgDeliveryBot a message that everyone is being removed, and if you are intent on being part of ADOPT, then please readd. That should also get people back here to look at ways for future improvements.

5) My idea, which is still swimming around my brain at the moment, is a set of pages you can click on - similar to the help pages, but instead they walk you through different roles a new editor can play in wikipedia, be it content creator, vandal fighter or ... The idea is to get more people interested in an area they might actually be able to help in.

6) I'm not 100% sure what to do on the signpost. I was just planning to write an opinion piece on mentoring and adoption and submit it to the signpost, but an interview would likely be more helpful. I think we should see if we can get the project up and running again and then worry about it. Worm^TT · (talk) 21:35, 30 December 2011 (UTC)

Followed users

Hi all,

Following a village pump proposal discussion I implemented a new tool Followed users which lets you view the most recent edit by a selected list of users that you follow. One important application of this is to allow adopters to follow their adoptees and review their work in a timely manner. I'd like to get more people to try it out and let me know at my talk page if you find it useful or have suggestions/problems. Thanks! Dcoetzee 02:58, 27 February 2012 (UTC)

Criteria for adopters

Hallo, An inexperienced user has recently caused a lot of discussion on their user talk page by offering to adopt other users. She meets the criteria shown at Wikipedia:Adopt-a-user/Adopter's_Area, but:

• Her 500+ edits are largely to user talk pages, mostly her own, and her own user page: only about 25% are to articles
• She has only been an editor since 29 December 2011.

So she meets the requirements of "over 500 edits" and "has not been blocked in the last 3 months", but she shows a lack of knowledge and understanding of Wikipedia. The consensus on her talk page is that it would not be a good idea for her to adopt any user, and she has finally, reluctantly, removed the adoption template userbox from her talk user page.

There does not seem to have been any recent discussion of the criteria for adoptership.

Could I suggest that the criteria be amended to:

• "Adopters should have a minimum of 500 edits in article space"
• "Adopters should have been an editor for at least 3 months and not have had blocks/caused vandalism in the last 3 months."

(My suggested additions bolded)

Those two changes would have made clear that the level of experience required to be an adopter cannot be gained in a few weeks by editing talk pages. This would have saved a lot of user talk page angst and wasted time of experienced and concerned editors. PamD 10:06, 15 February 2012 (UTC) (mention of user page added: PamD 10:26, 15 February 2012 (UTC) Two corrections: PamD 10:51, 15 February 2012 (UTC))

I wouldn't object to this, certainly in the shorter term. The project still needs a bit of work at the moment though, so it may change in the future. Worm^TT · (talk) 10:11, 15 February 2012 (UTC)

I'm good with the provision that the edits be in article space, but my concern (largely because of the example you cited), is that there's no mention of the quality of the editing. An adopter should be someone that exhibits an understanding of practices, policies, rules, and guidelines, no? I don't know how that would be made part of the requirements, unless there was a "Request to Adopt" process that was reviewed by an experienced editor (not unlike the request for permissions). Wikipelli ^Talk 10:48, 15 February 2012 (UTC)

I suppose I'm hoping that the feedback from other editors on 500 article edits, and the period of 3 months editing, would in most cases either provide enough genuine experience and learning for an editor to be a useful adopter, or lead them to have been dealt with appropriately if they won't learn. Not watertight, certainly, but a step in the right direction. PamD 10:56, 15 February 2012 (UTC)

Actually thinking about it, 3 months doesn't feel enough to me. I would expect actual active editing for at least 3 months, but more likely 6 months. If we're saying "not blocked in the last 3 months" it implies that you've been editing for at least that, if not more. Worm^TT · (talk) 11:56, 15 February 2012 (UTC)

Sure, 6 months would be good. I suppose I was proposing a minimal (with luck non-controversial) tightening up. Although 3 months is implied in the existing criteria it isn't explicit and no-one used this point to dissuade the newby editor involved.PamD 12:38, 15 February 2012 (UTC)

Look, if this is just to stop me from being an adopter then there's no need. I have already removed myself (unwillingly) from being an adopter and am currently not wanting to have anything to do with the adoption process. I did not cause any problems and all disputes were not started by me. I on the whole agree with the whole idea of tightening up the criteria so that no other poor user has to go through the whole troublesome experience that I did.--Androzaniamy (talk) 13:29, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

It's alright Androzaniamy (Amy, right?), it's alright. No need to react to this. By the way, I'm Nolelover, and I don't think we've met. First, I just want to say that no wikipedian was perfect in the beginning. We all made some pretty stupid mistakes when we were new - looking back, I can't believe some the the stuff I said over at WP:Articles for deletion. Anyway, just take this as a learning experience. Later on, I think you'll be able to appreciate all the help you were given. Most of us just floundered around for the first few months, and you've got admins by the bucket loads willing to help you out...I'm completely jealous. :) Just ignore this discussion, and keep on trucking. That shouldn't be too hard for you if you really want to contribute here. Cheers, Nolelover ^{Talk·Contribs} 14:14, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

I wouldn't be jealous if I were you, it's actually scary how every single thing I do is read by loads of people who seem to enjoy telling me I'm inexperienced, challenging, strange, defensive and antagonistic :'(. Androzaniamy (talk) 20:41, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

No, Androzaniamy, this is not aimed at stopping you from adopting - I'd already noted above that you had removed the userbox from your user page. This is aimed at letting Wikipedia learn, and profit, from the considerable waste of your and other editors' energy over the last few days, by making it clearer that both a reasonably long period of experience (3 or 6 months, perhaps) and a substantial amount of article-editing experience are needed before someone should offer to be an adopter. If that had been in place before, you would have read it, noted it, and got on with other activities, rather than offering to be an adopter at this stage. My proposal here is to prevent this same sort of discussion having to happen for some other future enthusiastic but too-inexperienced would-be adopter. PamD 14:40, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

Would you be experienced enough? Androzaniamy (talk) 21:58, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

I'm not sure that was a serious question, but at 5 years and 52k edits, yes, I would. But I'm not volunteering to adopt anyone. PamD 17:14, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

It was a serious question. I will wait a couple of years and more edits until I will consider adopting again. Androzaniamy (talk) 16:35, 27 February 2012 (UTC)

OK, I've gone ahead and made the amendments to the adoptors' criteria as proposed above, as no-one objected and two editors supported (or wanted it to go further). PamD 17:14, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

Criteria for adoptees

I think I mentioned this before, but is this project really going to focus on only accepting editors who really plan on long-term activity? If this was emphasized - that adoption is a months-long process for people who really want to learn - then I think this project might lose some of its shiny luster for newbies who go around to three or four editors creating sections with the headers "adoptmeadoptmeadoptmeadoptmeadoptmeadoptme!!!" It might be harsh to just say no, but I think there are better places for the one-article or two-day discussions many come here looking for. Thoughts? Nolelover ^{Talk·Contribs} 20:38, 15 February 2012 (UTC)

Apply for adoption?

I have now added the template to my user page, trying to apply for adoption as per this brief discussion. Feel like a total newcomer tonight. Very disillusioned. SergeWoodzing (talk) 23:35, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

I must agree with Serge, here. Category:Wikipedians seeking to be adopted in Adopt-a-user shows 21 users. Either this project is defunct, or you aren't doing it right. Viriditas (talk) 22:12, 30 April 2012 (UTC)

Question about my eligibility as an adopter

Despite having a clean block log, I did admittedly make a couple of April Fools' AfD nominations. I know that some editors consider this to be vandalism, and I want to know if it's still okay for me to become an adopter. If not, I can come back in July. Thanks. Chris the Paleontologist (talk o contribs) 15:31, 5 May 2012 (UTC)

I don't approve of April Fool nominations of mainspace articles, and I particularly strongly disapprove of them if the article in question was a BLP. However, if your nominations were egregious enough to be widely considered vandalism then I would've heard about them, and I haven't, so I would say you would be fine to go ahead and adopt-a-user, especially since you've obviously thought about it carefully and also made yourself aware of the community's views on excess April Foolery. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 15:50, 5 May 2012 (UTC)

Sounds good to me. Why don't you see pick yourself a protege? Worm^TT · (talk) 17:22, 5 May 2012 (UTC)

Inactivity

On the page where it listed all the editors currently willing to adopt, I think we should do a big scourge and move down to inactive all the people who haven't made an edit in the last six months, because I found quite a few of those. Anybody want to help? Rcsprinter (talkin' to me?) 11:58, 12 May 2012 (UTC)

Suggest a move

Should this be called a sock parade ? why is it so full of socks, If someone wants to help out newbies, this is no place for it. Penyulap ? 15:00, 22 Jul 2012 (UTC)

If you have allegations to make, SPI is the place. Not here. Adopt-a-user is an excellent program, I've personal helped many users on it. Comments like that here are unhelpful and problematic. Worm^TT(talk) 19:03, 22 July 2012 (UTC)

Two questions, one about eligibility

I have two questions.

1. I was adopted by a user when I was new, and the lessons sort of dropped off. I never officially graduated, but he has not commented since January 2008. Am I eligible to adopt? I meet all other requirements.
2. If I were eligible, would it be possible that I could borrow the code for the Adopt-A-User homepage to create a sort of "lobby" for my adoptees.

Thank you in advance! ^{Brambleberry of RiverClan}_meow 23:07, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

Absolutely to both -- I see no problems. :) Swarm ^X 03:39, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Just as Swarm said, yes and yes. If you'd like one, I'd be quite happy to double check your adoption and issue you with a graduation certificate. Also, if it's of any help, feel free to look at my adoption HQ. Worm^TT(talk) 07:46, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Thanks to both of you! No need for the certificate, I'm just happy knowing I'm eligible. And, WormTT, I think that the Adopt-A-User homepage suits my coding needs better, as I planned for my "lobby" to have three sections, and I really like the Adopt-A-User homepage. ^{Brambleberry of RiverClan}_meow 21:40, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Re-boot

I've been meaning to sort out Adopt-a-user all year, and with thanks to Yunshui, a start has now been made. I'm going through and updating all the pages at the moment, Yunshui has contacted all the adopters who currently listed as active to see if they still consider themselves such. I've also had a run through those editors seeking adoption, removing anyone who has not been active for over 2 months, or who has been adopted.

I'll be moving my adoption course over to WP:ADOPT soon, as an optional resource for adopters. If anyone has any other ideas for ways to improve the improve the project, please do post them below, I'd be happy to chat about any. Worm^TT(talk) 11:29, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

What are people's thoughts on the Experiences pages (Adopter's, Adoptee's)? They haven't been added to in years, and to my eye, don't seem to have provided any functions that wouldn't have been covered equally well by this talkpage. In the interests of slimming the project down, I'd be inclined to archive the content and remove them; any objections? Yunshui ??? 12:56, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

Sounds sensible to me. Worm^TT(talk) 13:05, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

I've always felt that there were too many pages here that were subject to change but unlikely to be changed. I think it would be worthwhile to redirect all of the talk pages to this talk page. Ryan Vesey 13:09, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

I believe they do that already - but feel free to correct any that do not. Worm^TT(talk) 13:13, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

You are correct sir; although, this means somewhere out there on Wikipedia there is a project with multiple talk pages that I have thought for a while needed to be fixed. Ryan Vesey 14:56, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

• Taking a (tea)leaf out of the teahouse's book, I've created an Adopter Profile - to make for a much more aesthetically pleasing list of adopters. Would appreciate any thoughts on it. Worm^TT(talk) 13:26, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

Like Very nice. Also, amusing pun. I'm definitely in favour of using this rather than the rather inconveniently large table we currently have. Yunshui ??? 13:46, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

• Colour scheme. I was very surprised to find how much benefit the TEAHOUSE received from having a pleasant colour scheme and graphics. I'm planning on changing the colours of adoption, though keeping the general layout as I think that's positive. Any objections/suggestions? Worm^TT(talk) 08:11, 20 September 2012 (UTC)

Soothing pastel shades, perhaps? Probably nothing quite as eyeball-mashing as the current cyan bulldozer. There's an interesting article on colour theory here, which might provide some inspiration... Yunshui ??? 09:23, 20 September 2012 (UTC)

Have gone for olive and gold... still working on it though :) Worm^TT(talk) 11:39, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

I like it - maybe something brighter, like goldenrod, for the text? I've changed a few of the templates over to this colour scheme for you as well. Yunshui ??? 12:44, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

Can do, why not give it a go? I'm currently repopulating the list of adopters at the moment. Worm^TT(talk) 12:50, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

Stands out a bit more, not sure about it, though... Yunshui ??? 13:01, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

I've switched back to the lighter gold, so which provides sufficient contrast with the olive to be readable AND sufficient contrast with the text on the list of adopters page. I tried to switch the profile templates to use goldenrod, but it looked quite terrible. Worm^TT(talk) 13:48, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

I'm loving the revamp at Wikipedia:Adopt-a-user/Adoptee's Area/Adopters, expecially the useful "Request an adopter" button at the bottom! Yunshui ??? 13:15, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

That's always been there, just so hard to find before! Worm^TT(talk) 13:30, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

New adoptee

Is there a tool somewhere that adoptees can use to leave requests on adoptors pages without actually visiting those talk pages? I ask because I received a request for assistance on my talk page which seems rather strange. The person who left the message hasn't responded to my advice, leaving me unsure if he's even read it.

It also seems strange that the user, who professes to not understand how to navigate editing functions here left the message using a "trophy box". I wondered if the message was deposited on my talk page from somewhere else. I don't e-mail other users directly, so it would be unfortunate if this "adoptee" is still wandering around in a dark room because he doesn't know where I responded to him. Thanks. --Airborne84 (talk) 17:50, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

Anyone know a good PR firm?

So: thanks to Worm's efforts, we now have a shinier, updated, revamped and re-booted Adopt-a-user project, and much applause is due. However, to truly make it a success, I think the Adopt-a-user programme needs to have a substantially higher profile within Wikipedia; particularly among new editors. To that end, I suggest liaising with the Welcoming committee and the Teahouse with the intention of promoting adoption as a way for new users to learn the ropes. Many adopters are also active in these projects as well, so doing so shouldn't be an issue.

Some ideas:

• Add adoption to the standard {{Welcome}} template.
• Ask the Teahouse to post a prominent link to Adopt-a-user.
• Set up an adopter invitation (if we don't have one already) to send to experienced users who aren't adopters but might be good at it.
• Link in somehow with the Moodbar feedback project, perhaps providing a template message for use there?

More ideas (and criticism of those above) welcomed. In my view, this project has gained a bit of momentum as a result of the recent changes; let's see if we can run with that and make more of it. Yunshui ??? 07:58, 24 September 2012 (UTC)

Well, in the short term, I do think we should mention the revamp at the Teahouse host lounge, see if we can get buy-in (ugh, did I just say buy-in?) from them. I wonder if we get them to suggest our program for those editors who ask multiple questions at the teahouse - say after 3 questions? I often see half a dozen of teahouse talkbacks on a page, I think those editors would be excellent candidates for adoption. Worm^TT(talk) 08:13, 24 September 2012 (UTC)

I'll drop Sarah a line and let he know about the changes here. Yunshui ??? 08:41, 24 September 2012 (UTC)

Two new template messages created to attract new users: User:Yunshui/Overhaul/Adopter invite and User:Yunshui/Overhaul/Adoptee invite. Feedback appreciated... Yunshui ??? 13:31, 27 September 2012 (UTC)

I like them. Go Phightins! 22:09, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

Request

Hey friends. Can I please be an adopter? Thanks - CURTAINTOAD! ^TALK! 10:45, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

Certainly you can, why not add yourself to the list of available adopters and perhaps ask someone from the category if they'd like to be adopted. Worm^TT(talk) 10:53, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

Thanks! :) CURTAINTOAD! ^TALK! 10:55, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

To Worm That Turned: But user Gwickwire reverted my edit. CURTAINTOAD! ^TALK! 23:12, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

Ah, sorry, I didn't realise you were still under adoption. Perhaps have a chat with your adopter, see if you're ready to graduate. I generally believe that you can learn an awful lot from adopting others, but my opinion's not the be all and end all. Worm^TT(talk) 08:43, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

I am now an adopter :) CURTAINTOAD! ^TALK! 10:15, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

Now what do I do? What lessons can I set up? Thanks CURTAINTOAD! ^TALK! 10:40, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

Adoption is a personal thing, you do it how you want to. Have a look at the category I mentioned and see if there's anyone who you think you'd be a good fit with, and have a chat with them. If you want to set up a lesson book, I'd recommend my adoption course User:Worm That Turned/Adopt which has helped many users over the years and quite a few people have adapted. Worm^TT(talk) 11:20, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

Someone adopt User:Yield3

Hi guys,

Need help at WP:AFC. Someone please adopt User:Yield3. 80 year old that needs help with Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Compliant bonding and other technical matters. See his message left at my talk page: User talk:Ahnoneemoos#Compliant bonding

--Ahnoneemoos (talk) 18:24, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

I've moved the article to article space, and am helping to whip it into shape. There's a construction tag on it now, so it should be fine. I'll hang around to work on the article and assist the creator until the piece has been fully wikified. The Transhumanist 23:22, 20 January 2013 (UTC)

Cleaning out

User:An M G, User:C Coligniero, User:Cavepiggy, User talk:Jgfisher, User:Joeytheii, User:Lopezjaylo98, User:Mcgpopup, User talk:Razorfish721, User:Vhinczefied, User:Vidhyapati, and User:XphnX haven't had a single edit this year. We should probably clean out their requests for adoption so that adopters can get a clearer idea of who is actively trying to get adopted. öBrambleberry of RiverClan 00:34, 31 January 2013 (UTC)

WMF grant proposal

I have submitted a proposal for one of WMF's new Individual Engagement Grants. It is a pilot project to determine whether coaching new editors on their writing for the English Wikipedia improves editor retention, focusing on women and Global Southerners. If you would like to endorse this project, you can do so here. I would also appreciate any other feedback, pro or con, which can be posted here. Thanks! Libcub (talk) 03:00, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

IEngagement grant proposal for editor engagement

Likewise, I have submitted a Meta:Grants:IEG/Studying_content_interest_and_editor_engagement_factors_with_new_editors for the [Meta:Grants:IEG|Individual Engagement Grants]]. I aim to understand how engagement is produced in new editors and see if it is possible to achieve retention with suggestions and courses. In a way, I will be adopting users but at the same time studying them with methods such as interviews and metrics. I have conducted other studies with data processing in Wikipedia and surveys to understand communities. If you would like to endorse this project you can do it here. I would so appreciate any kind of feedback! Thank you very much. --Marcmiquel (talk) 14:14, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

The mysterious case of the vanishing adoptees

I've taken on a few users through this project now. However, I'm finding that my adoptees have a fairly high dropout rate - many vanish after making only a few edits, never to reappear. I remove them from adoption after three months (leaving them a polite note explaining why), which is hardly a major problem, but I have two questions for fellow adopters:
Firstly, do others have the same experience with adoptees packing up and vanishing? I'm guessing many do, since we have a very high rate of editor attrition generally, but it would be nice to know that I'm not alone (and if I am, suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong would be appreciated!)
Secondly, has anyone had any particular success or any good ideas for retaining adoptees once they're on board? If you've found something that works, that motivates poeple to stick around, do share! Yunshui ??? 08:59, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

Since I started adopting about 2 months ago, I have had one person finish the course, four are in progress, and five have gone MIA or been blocked. Go Phightins! 11:14, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

If there are no edits in a month, I label them "inactive" but keep them up as a current adoptee in case they choose to come back. I've only been an adopter a short period of time and have only ever taken on five adoptees, two in the past week. Two of them have gone inactive; one has let me know that (s)he intends to become active, and the other let me know that some circumstances can prevent activity. öBrambleberry of RiverClan 22:19, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

I personally have a massive drop out rate, about 1 in 8 ever finished adoption, so I don't think you're doing anything wrong. I wish I had some magical suggestion to keep people going, but the best I can offer is to give them more carrot than stick. If you praise people's successes, they are more likely to stick around for more. For example, I used to use my Worm That Turned Adoption Course Barnstar, which had 9 mini barnstars. Add them bit by bit, and the adoptee feels the benefit of multiple barnstars, but you aren't devaluing them by giving out too many. The code's at User:Worm That Turned/Adopt/Barnstar if you want it. Worm^TT(talk) 08:49, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

Mini barnstars, eh? That's a good idea - kind of like mini cupcakes; the first one's nice, but not sufficiently satisfying that you won't carry on and eat the entire boxful. Or is that just me? Anyway, thanks for the idea; I'll knock up something similar. Nice also to know that the dropout issue doesn't just stem from me being a dick to my adoptees (my longest-serving charge gave up on the course yesterday, so the reassurance is timely!). Yunshui ??? 09:06, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

Done; they're all listed here. Free for anyone else to copy and adapt, if you want something similar. Yunshui ??? 14:36, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

I'm in the process of creating my own, which will probably drastically expand with the new adoptees I take on. öBrambleberry of RiverClan 15:08, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

Was that appropriate?

Was the revert I made on the main adopter's list page appropriate? I suppose he could be a clean start, but when your first four edits are all dedicated to adoption, it left me pretty suspicious. Thoughts? Go Phightins! 03:14, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

I'm not generally keen on stopping people from being adopters, for example, this could be a long term IP editor or just someone who feels they have a lot of knowledge. Adoption is about learning for both parties. I'm not going to say you're reversion was inappropriate, but I don't believe I would have done it. Worm^TT(talk) 08:43, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

I don't think that it was suspicious, but rather that he didn't fully know what he was doing. Did you see his adoption school page? He said he was a Wikipedian since 2013, and he didn't capitalize Wikipedian. His goals were to make you an adopter or admin yourself. I'm not quite sure he knew what he was talking about. öBrambleberry of RiverClan 14:27, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

New template

I think that there should be a new template for the gentle notes left on peoples' talk pages when we remove their want-to-be-adopted userbox because of inactivity. öBrambleberry of RiverClan 17:54, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Suggestions for improvement

Hello all. I am new here but want to add some suggestions.

• The main page Wikipedia:Adopt-a-user could be simpler.
• There could be links to here from the main help page - Help:Contents of from the community page - Wikipedia:Community portal
• Some things are without updates/responses for a long time, see e.g.: Category:Wikipedians_seeking_to_be_adopted_in_Adopt-a-user

Thanks, Anand ^{(talk page)} 14:27, 10 May 2013 (UTC)

Requesting an adopter that is...

... experienced with BLP articles (preferably also somewhat aware of Armenia related content) that might be willing to step up and mentor an editor that has had issues with identifying reliable sources for use on the biographies of living persons that have some verifiability that has resulted in a current topic ban from creating or editing such articles. It has been suggested in my request for a partial lifting of this topic ban on AN that if someone could be found that is willing to do this, than the ban could be relaxed a little. If you are interested and or willing to do this, please state so on Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Archive249#Request for re-visitation of the topic ban of User:TheShadowCrow. Thank you. Technical 13 (talk) 13:36, 29 May 2013 (UTC)

Wiki-mentors, I made you a tool. IRC discussion Wed. July 17th @ 1600 UTC

Snuggle users and the Teahouse are co-hosting an IRC office hours session (Wed. July 17th @ 1600 UTC - #wikimedia-office^connect) to discuss the state of new editor support in Wikipedia and introduce you to WP:Snuggle, a web-based tool designed to make finding good-faith newcomers who need help fast and easy. Give it a try by pointing your browser to http://snuggle.grouplens.org.

See the agenda for more info. --EpochFail (talk), Technical 13 (talk), TheOriginalSoni (talk) 17:07, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

Individual Engagement Grant proposal around mentorship

Hi there. Myself and Jackson Peebles have written up an IEG proposal, with the idea being to approach adoption/mentorship in a more light-weight way to the way it is often done now. You can view our proposal at meta:Grants:IEG/Reimagining Mentorship on Wikipedia, your feedback and ideas would be appreciated. Regards, Steven Zhang (talk) 17:24, 30 September 2013 (UTC)

The Wikipedia Adventure, alpha-testers needed

Hi folks, I've been working for the past 7 months on an interactive guided tour for new editors called The Wikipedia Adventure, as part of a WMF Individual Engagement Grant. The game is an experiment in teaching our aspiring future editors in an educational but playful way.

• This week I need some alpha-testers to kick the tires and basically try to break it. I'm interested in general impressions and suggestions of course, but I'm really looking for gnarly, unexpected browser issues, layout problems, workflow bugs, and other sundry errors that would prevent people from playing through and having a positive experience.

• If you're able to spend 1-3 hours doing some quality assurance work this week, you would have: a) my sincere gratitude b), a sparkly TWA barnstar, c) special thanks in the game credits, and d) left your mark on Wikipedia's outreach puzzle and new editor engagement efforts

• Please note that the game automatically sends edits to your own userspace and it lets you know when that will happen. If you want, you can register a new testing account just for the game, but it won't work properly unless you're logged-in by step 8 of mission 1 when it lets you register on the fly.

If you're interested, please add your name below and have at it. You can post feedback to WP:TWA/Feedback. Thanks and cheers! Ocaasi ^{t | c} 20:51, 16 October 2013 (UTC)

Try out The Wikipedia Adventure

I'm interested and on the bug-hunt. Will report back this week

1. Add your name here

Generation Wikipedia: Wikimeda Youth Conference Proposal

Hi folks! For the next round of Individual Engagement Grants from the WMF, Keilana and myself have proposed Generation Wikipedia, a pilot, week-long summer conference for young Wikipedians and Wikimedians from around the globe, to develop skills, leadership, and community in a safe environment. Please come and check it out: Generaton Wikipedia Cheers, Ocaasi ^{t | c} 02:44, 24 October 2013 (UTC)

Jackson Peebles

I wonder is he should still be listed on Wikipedia:Adopt-a-user/Adoptee's Area/Adopters, or if we should at least attach a note that he has passed away. What do others think?- MrX 14:20, 2 January 2014 (UTC)

My alleged mistake

Okay, I was adopted by MrScorch6200 back in January, and at first things went really smoothly. However, he eventually stopped answering my questions. I think that he did that because I wanted to use the help me program to get answers more quickly. I truly did not know that was either unethical and/or against policy, so I apologize on my part. Or if it was something else I did, I apologize for that too. Can someone please help me out?Wackyike (talk) 00:23, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

Wackyike, have you asked MrScorch6200 why he stopped answering your questions? It's quite possible he's just become busy or he's not feeling that adoption is right for you. Talking to him would be the best option. If all you're after is a fast place to get answers for questions, Adoption isn't really the best option - I'd recommend the teahouse, which is staffed by very friendly volunteers who answer questions really quickly. Worm^TT(talk) 07:16, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

@Wackyike: I stopped editing around late February due to being constantly busy (I'm developing an RPG game :) among other things) and just to take a break. I'm sorry that you feel I've abandoned you. If you want, you can continue to be in the Adopt-a-User Program (and you'll find a new user in my HQ!) or you can withdrawal and use some other form of a question-answer system like {{help me}}. I hope you've been doing well, MrScorch6200 (talk | ctrb) 10:56, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

P.S. If you need anything just ask me.

List of Adoptees

Hey, is there any way of viewing some kind of list of users seeking adoption or something of the sort? Thanks, --Joseph Yanchar (talk) 00:39, 27 May 2014 (UTC)

@Joseph Yanchar: - this is a late response, but you can view editors seeking to be adopted at Category:Wikipedians seeking to be adopted in Adopt-a-user. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 04:59, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Individual Engagement Grant for Reimagining Mentorship

Hi adopters. A small team of editors, including myself, have completed a proposal for an Individual Engagement Grant aimed at developing a more lightweight approach to mentorship / adoption to complement the program here. The proposal is located at meta:Grants:IEG/Reimagining Wikipedia Mentorship, and we are open to any feedback or ideas you may have. Please check it out if you are able. Take care, I, JethroBT ^{drop me a line} 07:19, 26 March 2014 (UTC)

P.S. Some of you might notice Steven Zhang's note above from almost 6 months ago for a similar proposal. That proposal was not approved in large part because of a loss in great leadership through Jackson Peebles' passing. With our current team, the proposal is different in some respects than it was before, but it is still focused on creating another more accessible option for mentorship. I, JethroBT ^{drop me a line} 07:19, 26 March 2014 (UTC)

Just as an update, our grant was funded! Our space will be called the Co-op, and we have started a makeshift space here on en.wiki at WP:Co-op. I have also posted an update on our first month's progress. Check it out if you are interested. We are looking for mentors for this space, so if you want to be involved in mentoring later this year as a part of our pilot, please let us know there. Thanks! I, JethroBT ^{drop me a line} 20:45, 20 July 2014 (UTC)

Not currently accepting

Would it be possible to program the bot to put the not-currently-accepting users at the end of the list? Oiyarbepsy (talk) 14:40, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

Request an account process needs help

Hello all. I'm DocTree, a member of the English Wikipedia Account Creation Team (ACC). As of April 2015 our project has a persistent backlog in creating accounts for new users. Over 100 people are waiting up to a week for an account on the English Wikipedia. If you can spare some time to do a few requests a day, you can help us clear the current backlog and then keep the wait for an account to a day or less.

ACC helps people who are unable to self-create a user account. Some may be sight impaired, others are collateral damage caused by blocks of shared IPs. We use the Account Creation Interface, usually just called the Tool, to screen out attempts to create inappropriate accounts. If this interests you and you're willing to help, and you match the following description, then please do apply per the procedure at Registering. Ideal candidates:

• Are Identified to the Wikimedia Foundation
• Are experienced, knowledgeable and in good standing with no recent blocks
• Know and are able to apply the username policy
• Have worked with new contributors
• Have a good record of civil behavior even while in a dispute

The full list of requirements is here.

We have a very friendly team to help you get started and we have an IRC channel. If you have any questions for us or about the process, feel free to ask at the talkpage. If you can help, we would greatly appreciate it. For the ACC Team, DocTree (?l??·?uo?) WER 15:22, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Is there a discussion forum for presenting users for adoption?

Is this a discussion forum for matching mentors to people requesting mentorship?

I looked at the adoption template, and it seems that many users are requesting adoption. When looking at templates there is no obvious forum for discussion of users, so I thought I would post here.

I came to this forum to see if I could find someone interested in mentoring a new user who wishes to develop articles on business theory. BronHiggs made a set of uncommonly insightful and useful suggestions at Talk:Marketing_research#History_of_Marketing_Research:_Much_Older_Heritage_than_Nielsen. This user is not promoting any business, but rather, has a history of posting and proposing excellent content to some Wikipedia articles about business.

There have long been complaints about Wikipedia's business content and from what I have seen, this user has identified interesting gaps and content to fill those gaps. However, this user has had their content challenged. I am not sure of what happened where or with whom, but in the link I shared above, it seems immediately apparent to me that this contributor has a Wikipedia mindset that I wish could be encouraged. Is there anyone here available to give this user some feedback on their editing suggestions? Blue Rasberry (talk) 15:38, 27 October 2016 (UTC)

Update - we lost this one! He asked me to remove this mentorship request. Blue Rasberry (talk) 13:16, 10 November 2016 (UTC)

Find an adopter

Hello! Short time ago I published an article on the German Wikipedia site - also with help from an adopter and that was very helpful and efficient. I know the policies are very different in the different 'Wikipedia-countries'. That's why I contact you: I would like to publish the German article also on your site - translated of course. So now I would like to know if that is possible and how it is possible? I would create a subpage of my userpage and one of your adopters redacts it? Thank you for a short feedback and kind regards --Samothrake (talk) 15:53, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

Hi there! I'd be happy to help you out. There are two possible ways of going about this. You can either build the article in your user space (for example, at User:Samothrake/Article) and hold off on officially "creating" it until it's well developed. Or, you can just go ahead and start by creating a stub article (just a few sentences) in the article space. We have a page on German to English translation advice that might be helpful to you. Check it out. Otherwise, please feel free to ask me any questions on my talk page. Swarm ^{we ? our hive} 23:19, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Hello :-) Thanks a lot for your response and sorry for my delate!!! I did not have seen your answer, because I am new in the english Wikipedia... So, I just have translated the article by a professional and would like to create (like you also recommended) a Subpage on my Userspace... If I finished, I would link it here? Thanks a lot and best regards --Samothrake (talk) 16:27, 3 June 2015 (UTC) I just began with creating the page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Samothrake/Monika_Kropshofer. Thanks a lot again and kind regards --Samothrake (talk) 17:06, 3 June 2015 (UTC)

Hello I would like to be adopted. Do you know if that could work? -- Preceding unsigned comment added by RandomNerdGuy (talk o contribs) 18:10, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

Hello! My name is Anastacia and I have got a home assignment to post an English article at Wikipedia which is brand new. I've decided to write about Jeremy Meeks. It is not an ordinary home work, but an admission to my university exam. It will be tomorrow and I need my article to exist at least for the whole day tomorrow. I ask you so much not to delete it. I have no idea why it appears in the section about another person (a member of a music band) but I wanted to write about a prisoner. I have never done something like that before but it is of vital impotance for me. Hope for your understanding, Anastasia19msc Anastasia19msc (talk) 08:04, 15 December 2016 (UTC)

Thinking about being a mentor

I dont think of myself as a great user, i dont have much technical knowledge, but i am very well aware of wiki policies; and i have enough experience.
I already have a particular user in my mind.
I think, by adopting a user, both of us will learn a lot. This guy is a native English speaker but i had to tell him about signing. He is good with creating content, but lacks technical knowledge, and wiki policies. What do you think @Swarm:? --usernamekiran (talk) 02:37, 16 March 2017 (UTC)

• do you think it will be a good idea @NeilN:? --usernamekiran (talk) 21:17, 16 March 2017 (UTC)

• I think you'd be better off focusing on your own editing for a while. Forget about getting more permissions, forget about mentoring, just edit. --NeilN ^{talk to me} 21:22, 16 March 2017 (UTC)

• @NeilN: I never thought about getting permissions. On that fateful day, I somehow came across the page of request for permissions. The permission for confirmed users seemed funny to me, so I requested it, as I already knew that there are only ~300 confirmed users. I read about PCR, and though I'm eligible, so I requested for it as well. It was surprising to me that my request was denied. So I stuck to it. My curiosity was piqued. So I kept enquiring. You know the rest :) --usernamekiran (talk) 22:06, 16 March 2017 (UTC)

Adopt-a-user Bot in BRFA

Hi! My name is Jamesjpk (talk) 12:53, 13 April 2017 (UTC). I have requested a bot for maintaining the category Category:Wikipedians seeking to be adopted in Adopt-a-user. The BRFA is linked here. Please leave your input!

Mentor needed for new editor

Good morning. I am in need of an experienced editor (you don't need to be an admin) who is willing to mentor a new editor. The editor in question has gotten into a bit of trouble and is currently blocked. However they have expressed what sounds like sincere regret and a desire to become a constructive member of the community. Alas there are WP:CIR issues here and a condition for unblocking is that they agree to mentoring. Interested editors can contact me on my talk page for details.

This post will be deleted as soon as a mentor has been found. Thank you. -Ad Orientem (talk) 14:25, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

@Ad Orientem: Seems to be an awfully long time to wait for a mentor. I just stumbled across the mentorship program today for the first time and wondered if there was still any activity - so looked at this talk page. So, is it time to take down this notice or are you still looking for a volunteer? -- jmcgnh^{(talk) (contribs)} 15:38, 12 October 2017 (UTC)

How do I start a new page for a Poet?

How do I start a new page for a poet? Leaf van Amsterdam (talk) 18:45, 16 June 2017 (UTC)

See WP:YFA. -Ad Orientem (talk) 03:18, 17 June 2017 (UTC)

I want to create a new Wikipedia page. Can u tell me how. Thnx Suleiman031 (talk) 18:03, 20 September 2017 (UTC)

Source of the article : Wikipedia