Wikipedia:Give newbies time for their new articles

There are three main things that deter newbies. A bad editing environment is one. Incivility and biting is another. The final one is the most overlooked. It is that new page patrollers do not give newbies time for their new articles.

Many new page patrollers forget that instant deletion or tagging cause newbies to be rightfully confused or even angered. They may lose interest in contributing in good faith and turn to vandalism. They might just leave the project altogether, thinking that their contributions are not welcome here.

Often, urgent problems with articles can be potentially fixed, sometimes in hours or even minutes. Every time a legitimate article on a notable topic is deleted, it harms the encyclopedia. It could have been improved on by the newbie given enough feedback and advice. It could have been improved by you. It could have been improved by others. Deletion deters legitimate contributions to a topic, so we shouldn't delete immediately. Instead, give newbies a chance to improve their article, educate them on how to write a proper article and on Wikipedia in general, inform them of drafts and the articles for creation process, and let improvements occur. The more hospitable you are to a newcomer, the more likely they are to remain faithful contributors.

Even if you stumble across an A7 candidate or a topic that you think lacks notability, basic decency teaches you to give the newcomer a chance to find sources and inform them about the possibility of merging or redirecting. They might just prove you wrong, be satisfied with a merger or redirect, or if the newbie cannot find sources, be fully informed about why their article was deleted, when to recreate it again, and how notability on Wikipedia works. If you immediately tag the article, they might leave Wikipedia forever, be confused over why their article was deleted, or turn to a career of vandalism or disruptive editing.

Additionally, when an article was deleted, explain why, provide advice on how to create proper articles, educate them, and offer to help. Also, consider moving their article to their userpage or draft space. If everyone followed even one of these basic steps of decency, it will make a huge difference to editor retention.

Of course, advertisements, copyvios, and vandalism/hoaxes should be tagged or deleted without waiting. But still follow basic decency when doing so.

So remember, afford newcomers a chance to improve their "botchy" article, and you'll be surprised on what they can come up with.