User:Tristessa de St Ange/Advocate Cabal frontpage v2/Advice for advocates

Introduction
Remember that this page is editable like any other Wikipedia page, and so if you think anything is wrong or could be improved, please do go ahead and change it as your input is greatly welcomed.

This page is intended to provide a training manual on how to work as an advocate at the Advocate Cabal, and most definitely should not be at all mistaken as "policy" of any kind. The Advocate Cabal has no list of members or any similar system, so you can jump in and start advocacy work right away; but please read this page through before taking up your first case. Please do this even if you have former experience in being a Wikipedia advocate, as our approach is rather radically different.

Firstly, thank you so much for your interest in helping people on Wikipedia! We're honoured to have you on board, if you're willing to help out. Remember that you are never alone in this -- and helping out users on Wikipedia can be a trying experience at times -- and if there is anything you are unsure about, please do ask the Coordinator, User:NicholasTurnbull, or indeed any sensible Wikipedian.

Advocate Cabal's case request system

 * Finding a case: When users add the tag to their talk pages, those talk pages are then added to Category:Active Advocate Cabal requests; so, to find a case to work on, simply look at the pages in that category and pick one that someone hasn't already responded to. Answer below the user's request on their talk page. There is quite deliberately no "assignment" system.
 * Finishing a case: Once you have completed the request to the user's satisfaction, replace that tag with, which adds cases to Category:Completed Advocate Cabal requests.
 * Rejecting a case: It should not be necessary to "jump through hoops" in order to get the user to tell you what they want help with. Should it be clear that there is no hope of getting a user to explain this sensibly, or they are combative towards you, simply mark the case as finished with an explanation as to why.
 * Neglected cases: If also you should come across one that has been neglected (unanswered for over a week), please pick it up again and let the original advocate know you are doing so.

The role of an advocate: the Wikipedia assistant
Put simply, an advocate's role is to act as a personal adviser and, less frequently, a representative, of the user making a request to help sort out some kind of argument or difficulty they are currently embroiled within. You would likely wonder at this point how this differs from other initiatives -- or, indeed, how to go about undertaking such a broad task. Unlike mediation, however, you are not required to be impartial in your work as you are working directly on behalf of the user requesting assistance.

Your role will certainly be a varied one, ranging from answering simple questions that users have on how to do things on Wikipedia to more complex tasks, like assisting them with interpersonal disputes and helping them escalate disputes to other dispute resolution initiatives. Knowledge, sensible judgement and rational reasoning are the three essential tools needed to achieve success in advocacy.

How to go about achieving this is explained below; but it is always better to start off knowing what spirit you should be working in before learning the mechanics of any task that involves people. The mission of the Advocate Cabal is a simple one: to create peace on Wikipedia. It sounds rather idealist; but it follows that anything which lessens editing stress and difficulty on Wikipedia will be working towards this goal. So, there are two forms of peace-making that you will be accomplishing: the first is helping the user through difficulties so they, in turn, will be less stressed; and the second is the direct resolution of disputes that take place between multiple users, reducing stress throughout.

As mentioned above, this is not being done in a neutral nor unbiased manner as in mediation -- but nonetheless the interests of Wikipedia will always take precedence over individual whims. In this regard the role of an advocate is somewhere between an arbitrator and a mediator, by combining advice with interpersonal dispute resolution to solve the user's problem, except your work is neither "binding" in terms of authority nor is it impartial.

The one golden rule of advocacy: do no harm
There is only one rule we have here on the Advocate Cabal which must never be broken, along the lines of the Hippocratic oath sworn by doctors: do no harm to anyone or anything on Wikipedia.

This includes such things as rules-lawyering -- arguing over the letter of policies -- and interference with other dispute resolution systems currently in play on Wikipedia, such as the Arbitration Committee. Common sense also dictates that to follow this rule you must never, ever be officious, combative, unpleasant or incivil to any user on Wikipedia for whatever reason. Most importantly, common sense should always take paramount importance over adherence to Wikipedia policies and procedures -- and also of course to ignoring them, as it works in both directions.

Please don't be deterred by this, however. Try not to worry too much about whether you're doing it right, because we don't have a formal process or procedure to follow, and you can just do whatever advocate-like things you think will help the user. The only way you'll become a good advocate is by learning, and trying things out. If a user is asking you to do something beyond your abilities, don't be afraid of passing them onto someone who can help them. You can always leave a note to that effect on the Advocate Cabal talk page saying that you'd like someone with experience in a particular field to help out. Don't feel you're failing the user by passing them on.

The basic principle
Refine concerns up to understanding, expand understanding down to workable strategies

Focusing dialogue
All requests start off with a discussion between yourself and the requesting user; but you may find the dispute is localised somewhere else, and it is more productive to keep the discussion there instead of split across multiple talk pages. For example, in an ongoing dispute on a particular subject, public conversation may be conducted on the talk page of the article. Where it regards a specific user, use that user's talk page. You may wish to use e-mail or Internet chat for private conversations with the user, and this is sometimes helpful, but this should be used with care as when a user asks for confidential conversation you must ensure that you do not abuse their trust.

Ethics and conflict of interest
The only time when it is highly unadvisable to help a particular user is if you are already helping someone else in the dispute, or you're mediating it - that is, don't advocate in a conflict of interest. Although you're an advocate, you aren't a lawyer. It's best not to give legal advice, and you should never ever make legal threats on Wikipedia (see No legal threats). In addition, be careful not to Wikilawyer, as that has proven to be unhelpful in many cases, and is universally frowned upon by Wikipedians. Apart from these issues, just make sure you remain civil, polite and professional at all times and that you don't find yourself getting caught up in the dispute. Should this happen, please politely inform the user of this and ask for help from another advocate on the Advocate Cabal talk page.

Improving your abilities
Take your past cases as experience, no matter how well you did on them. It's fine to make mistakes sometimes, so long as you remember not to repeat them, as nobody is ever perfect. Remember not to allow the case to get to you when you make mistakes -- just treat your errors as a path towards being a better advocate. It is important, however, to apologise if you think you've done something amiss towards someone or on someone's behalf, not only for their sake but also for your own sense of integrity.

In closing
Remember, you're helping the user, not vice versa. You are not obliged to help a particular user, and if you aren't happy with the way they're treating you, say so or even drop the case should they not modify their behaviour. Try and distance yourself from cases, as they may well be very emotional, and remember you are just doing a volunteer job rather than actually having a fixed duty to help the user out. You are doing them a favour, and you should remember that. If you are feeling hurt by what is going on, don't do what is hurting you. If you're feeling stressed, take a break.