Wikipedia:Bots/Requests for approval/RagesossBot 3


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RagesossBot 3
Operator:

Time filed: 17:05, Tuesday, April 18, 2017 (UTC)

Automatic, Supervised, or Manual: Automatic (supervised during initial trial period)

Programming language(s): Ruby

Source code available: https://github.com/ragesoss/ruby-ragesossbot

Function overview: Posts a welcome message on new users' talk pages that includes links to introductory training modules on Programs & Events Dashboard, like this. Here's the template: Welcome training modules.

Links to relevant discussions (where appropriate):

Edit period(s): Continuous

Estimated number of pages affected: 5000

Exclusion compliant (Yes/No): Yes

Already has a bot flag (Yes/No): Yes

Function details: The main purpose of this bot is to run a controlled experiment inviting new users to use the Programs & Events Dashboard training modules to learn the basics of Wikipedia. It finds recently registered accounts that have made between one and five edits, and sorts half of them into an experimental group and half into a control group. For the experimental group, it posts a welcome message (similar to what HostBot does with Teahouse invitations) that invites users to try the training modules, which are forked from the Wiki Ed classroom program training modules that we've been using and refining over the last few years and get very positive feedback from student editors.

I've configured it to invite users up to a maximum experiment size, and I'd like to get a sample of about 5000 so that we can see if it makes a difference in terms of new users being more likely to stick around and keep editing. The last major experiment along these lines that I know of was The Wikipedia Adventure; in contrast to TWA, these trainings are more practical and wide-ranging, and have also been refined over time to try to head off the most common errors and confusing aspects of Wikipedia that new users run into.

I'd like to start with a supervised trial run (of 50, or 100, or whatever people think is appropriate), and then run it on an ongoing basis to invite new editors a few at a time until the sample size is reached.

Discussion

 * This smells awfully like a frequently denied, Welcome Bot. In order to launch this you would need to demonstrate community support first. WP:VPR would be a good place to start a conversation. —  xaosflux  Talk 17:30, 18 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Concur. Welcoming users automatically has been long-established as undesirable. We need a much wider discussion to form a consensus first. — HELL KNOWZ  ▎TALK 17:49, 18 April 2017 (UTC)
 * I opened up a discussion at the village pump: Village_pump_(proposals).--ragesoss (talk) 17:54, 18 April 2017 (UTC)

The discussion linked above demonstrates support for the experiment. Instead of doing it with my own bot, though, I'm now working with Jonathan Morgan to do it via User:HostBot, which will make the analysis easier. I'll open up a new request for that shortly; we can close this one.--ragesoss (talk) 18:13, 2 May 2017 (UTC)
 * HostBot version of this request is now up at Bots/Requests for approval/HostBot 8.--ragesoss (talk) 18:35, 2 May 2017 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. To request review of this BRFA, please start a new section at WT:BRFA.