Thread:Talk:New Page Triage/Status?/reply (7)

So I think I might be able to clarify some stuff here, because I think there may be a misconception about how the Foundation has been spending its time.

First, WikiLove is by no means a "frivolity". I'm aware that there is a significant percentage of the experienced editor community who believe that, but they may or may not be looking at the numbers in return without bias. WikiLove has proven to be a tool that helps with editor retention: we've always known that expressions of gratitude help to promote newbie health, and that the Wikipedia community as a whole is generally perceived as hostile, so working to combat that status quo is a no-brainer. WikiLove is not and has never really been focused at "elite editors."

That said, the amount of time and resources spent on WikiLove was about 2 weeks of developer time, all told, spread over a month. It was a negligible, easy win, and we took it.

The most recent (and continuing) thrust of our work in new editor engagement has been Moodbar and the Feedback Dashboard, which have proven to be both a) effective (possibly more than predicted) and b) community supported (I've heard exactly zero negative comments about it). I've been told a number of times that Feedback Dashboard is "addictive" to patrol. It's extremely satisfying and easy to do, and with the current work we're doing, will provide 360 degree feedback. The Dashboard is a Big Deal, even if it's not been advertised heavily.

As to why we are focusing on Moodbar and the Dashboard now, the answers are simple:
 * The effects of the work will take a couple of months to measure, so better to do it now than later; and
 * The comments that come in from Moodbar help to inform us about the weak points we should focus on

From the inside (e.g., inside the community), it may appear that the "obvious" solution is, say, the editor, or messaging. But that may or may not be what new users actually think. They may think the problem lies with help documentation, or warning template language, or anything else within a whole spectrum of elements.

What we're doing now is testing waters. We're introducing concepts like Mark as Helpful slowly, in an attempt to get them right, before we go full bore into deeper waters, where not having these things right from the beginning can sink the ship.

I definitely feel your frustration. Believe me: I have done two iterations of an LQT design pass and I know how important it is. And sure: we could throw everything and everyone at it, and probably have a pretty solid tool that we can ship in two months. But what would happen then? Could we just roll out a massive change without an overwhelmingly negative response? No. These things take time - a lot of time.

Because of this we are doing work in areas that do less to upset status quo than not. Believe me: I want to upset the status quo. I'm a pit bull that way. But it's not practical at this time.