User talk:DoesPHalt

Welcome to the Wikipedia
Welcome, newcomer!

Here are some useful tips to ease you into the Wikipedia experience:


 * First, take a look at the Wikipedia Tutorial, and perhaps dabble a bit in the test area.
 * When you have some free time, take a look at the Manual of Style and Policies and Guidelines. They can come in very handy!
 * Remember to use a neutral point of view!
 * If you need any help, feel free to post a question at the Help Desk
 * Explore, be bold in editing pages, and, most importantly, have fun!

Also, here are some odds and ends that I find useful from time to time:


 * Policy Library
 * Utilities
 * Cite your sources
 * Verifiability
 * Wikiquette
 * Civility
 * Conflict resolution
 * Brilliant prose
 * Pages needing attention
 * Peer review
 * Bad jokes and other deleted nonsense
 * Village pump
 * Boilerplate text

Feel free to ask me anything the links and talk pages don't answer. You can most easily reach me by posting on my talk page.

You can sign your name on any page by typing 4 tildes, likes this: &#x7e;&#x7e;&#x7e;&#x7e;.

Best of luck, and have fun!

ClockworkTroll 04:02, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)

A human face to all these articles.
Posted on User:ClockworkTroll

Funny, that even though I was wading through a mass landscape of articles penned by humans, I felt a little alone in this new society because I knew no one and it seemed nobody could agree on anything in the hot/controversial articles. But I got this message from you. At first, I thought it was an automated bot that tracked down newcomers, but I find that you are a person! What a surprise! I appreciate that you do this. Out of curiosity, how do you track down newcomers? Is it automated? Given the time necessary to do it manually, I expect that it is. I briefly looked at your bio and noticed you had a computer related job. I'm a CS undergrad at CMU, if that's at all relevant. Anyways, thanks for the electronic welcome mat. It was nice. DoesPHalt 05:23, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * Hello, DoesPHalt! - I'm very glad that I could help make your experience here seem a little more human. I know that things here can seem very overwhelming at first -- even hostile -- but you'll find very quickly that there are patterns in the chaos. After all, like many communities, Wikipedia is just made up of human beings with their own thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Honestly, all you need to do is find some activities that interest you, and get out there and work on them! If you run into some people that disagree with you, just try to be as respectful and unbiased as you can be. If you are dedicated to those ideals, you'll find your niche, and your time here will be a pleasure. As for finding new people: all I do is poll Recent Changes looking for people with red (i.e., unedited) user talk pages. No black magic necessary. ;)  Feel free to drop me a message if you have any questions at all, even if you just need a sounding board for something. I'm on often, and enjoy lending a helping hand when I can. ClockworkTroll 05:39, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)