User:Scarian/Changes

Read through the Slashdot article on Sighted Revisions comments (or 1/3 at least); very few defenders of Wikipedia and lots of criticism. I took it a bit to heart as I've invested a lot of time in this project, and, as such, have written a small check list of things I think should be completed ASAP.

New users

 * Make it easier for new users to integrate and contribute
 * Problems include (but are not limited to); reading policies and/or welcome messages, signing signature (lots of people don't even know what tildes are), knowing how to communicate effectively with other contributors/users, knowing the need for references etc. etc.

Change ideas

 * 1) Short, condensed form of the five pillars, written and directed "slyly" towards the new users' attention (i.e. short, sharp, and snappy sentences summing up Wikipedia). This can also be combined with a standardised welcome message that explains everything (and gives a rainbow of links, too, for good measure) briefly
 * 2) Automatic signing (excluding that annoying bot) for new users without them having to deal with a whole string of confusing looking buttons up top or being shouted at to use the tildes
 * 3) Immediate guidance on how to use talk pages to communicate
 * 4) Simplification and education of citations and why they're important (in a condensed and compact non-"bullying" format)
 * 5) Widely available video tutorial (Has this already been done and placed in an accessible area?)
 * 6) "Edit this page" screen with the edit text box could have an audio file playing at the top of the page, advising the key things that new users and anons should know (Now that I think of it, this idea would have the widest audience. Also, if implented, to stop it from being irritating, it could randomly play a variety of important messages to new contributors [And, also, the speaker should have an English accent, for obvious reasons])

Citation needed

 * Remove the backlog before it crushes us
 * Among the comments on the Slashdot articles were the attacks for not being a reliable source. Wikipedia has scope, but no depth. We're usually working on one article at a time (maybe a handful at most), paying little attention to the new stubs being created, and we're too lazy to source an entire article that we have no interest (We're volunteers...).

Change ideas

 * 1) Kick WP:WCC up the arse (they have only 23 members at time of writing[!]) and get new members to join
 * 2) Have coordinated efforts at specific times (for a set specific time-limit) to be repeated regularly. Perhaps using WP:IRC as a collaborative stronghold to keep efforts together (Please excuse me if this already takes place)
 * 3) Remove anything that cannot be logically sourced (this is often half the fight)