Growth/Communities/How to interact with newcomers/cs

Tato stránka byla vytvořena, aby pomohla zkušeným wikipedistům lépe komunikovat s nováčky, zejména na stránkách typu Potřebuji pomoc.

V tomto dokumentu byly sesbírány příklady dobré praxe z různých webových stránek (projekty Wikimedia a webové stránky specializující se na zodpovídání otázek) a myšlenek zkušených wikipedistů, kteří s nováčky komunikují. O těchto poznatcích se můžete dozvědět více na Phabricatoru.

Jak úspěšně s nováčky komunikovat?

 * Vždycky buďte přátelští, slušní a trpěliví, i tehdy, když na to nováček sám zapomíná.


 * Na začátek své odpovědi napište "Dobrý den, vítejte!"


 * Ujistěte se, že rozumíte položené otázce. Nepokoušejte se hádat, o jaký problém jde. Může být vhodné požádat o upřesnění, které vám může pomoci poskytnout přesnější odpověď.


 * Zjistěte, který z editorů nováček používá (wikitext 2010, vizuální, mobilní, 2017 wikitext) a poskytněte odpověď pro tento daný typ editoru. Žádost o použití editoru, který neznají by pro ně byla velká zátěž.


 * Znejte své limity: někdy nebudete vědět, jak odpovědět, zejména v technických otázkách nebo v otázkách, které nejsou jedním z vašich oblíbených témat. Neváhejte požádat ostatní uživatele o pomoc, pokud jsou na danou oblast větší experti.


 * Buďte upřímní: Pokud není požadavek realistický, a nebo ho na vaší wiki není možné provést, nebo je mimo téma, řekněte to, a vysvětlete proč. Není vhodné, pokud nováček bude pracovat na obsahu, který bude během několika dnů vymazán. Vysvětlení, proč může být obsah smazán pomůže nováčkovi vyvarovat se budoucím problémům. Navrhněte nováčkovi, aby se věnoval něčemu jinému.


 * Newcomers may be angry or frustrated at your wiki because of a variety of reasons. Their complaints are most likely not against you personally. Keep calm and try to understand their situation.


 * If it becomes clear that the discussion is going nowhere, close it politely.


 * Have fun! Don't approach helping newcomers as a burden. If you don't have time to follow through with a request, or just aren't in the mood, then let another helper handle the request instead.

How to build good replies

 * Leave replies that tell the person what to do next. Don't just say hello.


 * Don't point to documentation first, explain the process instead. An answer is better than linking to the answer. Quote important information from other pages you link. It avoids forcing people to read many long pages.


 * Reply to questions asked, because they are specific; avoid general replies. Provide examples.


 * Keep things simple: avoid jargon and acronyms. You can introduce them progressively by linking them. Avoid overloading the newcomer with information not related to their question.


 * Be a guide. For instance, if someone asks how to add an image on a new article, but the action that person should take first is to add sources, tell them to add sources first (and how to) and promise that you will explain how to add an image later.


 * Pay attention to how you reply; check your spelling.


 * Make sure the newcomer is aware of the reply, by any method. For instance, on wikitext talk pages, mention the user when you reply.


 * If possible, follow up on the request by checking back later: the newcomer may ask about something else, or need further clarification. Newcomers may reply in an unexpected way: they may not understand how to reply, how to add their signature or how to ping a user.


 * If possible, respond in a reasonable time. Newcomers many not log in often or may not have email notifications enabled. They may not be accustomed to a community like Wikimedia, where discussions can sometimes involve users from many time zones. Check back in the forum occasionally for any questions that have gone unanswered for 24 hours.


 * When you explain something, ask the newcomer if your answer has helped them. The newcomer will feel more welcomed and you will get some information to improve your experience. If the conversation ends, remind to the newcomer that you're still available if needed.

Explain, or do the change myself?
One of the goals is to help newcomers who struggle with the interface or markup. It may sometimes be easier to make very complicated edits yourself instead of explaining how to do so. That's the case for multi-step processes and complex wiki-syntax. Be honest and tell the newcomer that it is a complicated edit "even for an experienced user". But explain the steps you've been through so they can learn and reproduce them afterwards.

Make your choice based on your own experience and your discussions with other helpers. But it is often more rewarding for a newcomer to understand what to do and apply it themselves, rather than having it done for them. Teaching is less efficient in the short term, but increases editor-retention in the long term.

Rely on other community members
Operating a dedicated help forum is a collective project. It depends on a wide range of helpers. All have individual strengths and weaknesses, as well as a finite amount of available time and energy.

Coordinate with other helpers to share your experience and best practices. Be open to advice from other helpers when they offer it.

Take care of the other people who reply with you. Thank and guide people who try to help. Thank people who help a lot.

Don't forget to keep the community informed of your efforts; it will help to recruit new helpers.

Examples
Here are some hypothetical examples based on common replies found on several Wikipedias.

How can I add an image I have on my computer to an article?


 * ❌ Check on the help page where you will be guided.
 * ✅ Hello! Wikipedia can be reused by anyone. We respect copyright laws, so we can't accept every image on Wikipedia. It depends on the topic, and also on who has created that image. Which article do you want to illustrate? Are you the author of the image you want to use? If not, does someone else have the copyright to that image?

My article has been deleted and that's scandalous!


 * ❌ That's your fault: you should have read the help pages first. Now you know that you can't do everything you want on Wikipedia, especially trying to promote the topic you've chosen.
 * ✅ Hello and sorry for the bad experience you had. Based on the information available, it seems that your article didn't include any sources. Wikipedia articles are based on published sources, so that readers can verify the information. That's the most important issue with your article. I've searched for published sources about your topic, but I haven't found any. Do you have sources we can use? If there are no such sources available, then it may be too soon for Wikipedia to have an article on this subject.