Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Level one user warnings/Proposed changes

The following is a description of the templates under discussion.

Overview
The main differences overall are that, based on the test results, the templates:


 * 1) Use first person, active voice. This makes sure that the editor who is warned knows who reverted them, and that their edits are being seen by other people. Current warnings use a passive, third person voice.
 * 2) Are shorter in length overall. This increases the likelihood they will be read and acted upon.
 * 3) Have fewer unnecessary links. Not including links to items such as the Sandbox or Introduction to editing unless absolutely necessary means that the main message of the warning is more likely to be heard.
 * 4) Include instructions on where to discuss things. Testing showed that new editors will use an invitation to your talk page to discuss things, and that doing so does not increase retaliatory vandalism (which is below 1% for those reverted by Huggle). However, the new templates point to the discussion space most appropriate for each use case.

If you're interested in the data behind these tests and other details, please feel free to review the full report of findings.

uw-vandalism1
uw-vandalism1

Current version:

Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia. Although everyone is invited to contribute, at least one of your recent edits, such as the one you made to Science, did not appear to be constructive and has been reverted or removed. Please use the sandbox for any test edits you would like to make, and read the welcome page to learn more about contributing constructively to this encyclopedia. Jimbo

Example of proposed version:

Hello, I'm Jimbo. I wanted to let you know that I undid one of your recent contributions, such as the one you made to Science with this edit, because it didn’t appear constructive to me. If you think I made a mistake, or if you have any questions, you can leave me a message on my talk page. Thanks, Jimbo

uw-delete1
uw-delete1

Current version:

Welcome to Wikipedia. It might not have been your intention, but your recent edit removed content from. When removing content, please specify a reason in the edit summary and discuss edits that are likely to be controversial on the article's talk page. If this was a mistake, don't worry; the content has been restored, as you can see from the. Take a look at the welcome page to learn more about contributing to this encyclopedia, and if you would like to experiment, please use the sandbox. Jimbo

Example of proposed version:

Hello, I'm Jimbo. It might not have been your intention, but I noticed that you recently removed some content without explaining why. In the future, it would be helpful to others if you described your changes to Wikipedia with an edit summary. If you have any questions, please ask me on my talk page. Thanks, Jimbo

uw-unsourced1
uw-unsourced1

Current version:

Welcome to Wikipedia. Everyone is welcome to contribute to the encyclopedia, but when you add or change, please cite a reliable source for your addition. This helps maintain our policy of verifiability. See Citing sources for how to cite sources, and the welcome page to learn more about contributing to this encyclopedia. Jimbo

Example of proposed version:

Hello, I'm Jimbo. I noticed that you made a change to an article, but you didn't provide a source. I’ve removed it for now, but if you’d like to include a citation to a reliable source and re-add it, please do so! If you have any questions, please ask me on my talk page. Thanks, Jimbo

uw-test1
uw-test1

Current version:

Thank you for your interest in editing Wikipedia. Your edit was successful, but because it was not considered beneficial to the page, the edit has been reverted or removed. If you would like to experiment with editing, please use the sandbox instead. Please take a look at the welcome page to learn more about contributing to this encyclopedia. Jimbo

Example of proposed version:

Hello, I'm Jimbo. I noticed that you recently made an edit that seemed to be a test. Your test worked! If you want more practice editing, the sandbox is the best place to do so. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me on my talk page. Thanks, Jimbo

uw-spam1
uw-spam1

Current version:

Welcome to Wikipedia. Although everyone is welcome to contribute to the encyclopedia, one or more of the external links you added do not comply with our guidelines for external links and have been removed. Wikipedia is not a collection of links; nor should it be used as a platform for advertising or promotion, and doing so is contrary to the goals of this project. Because Wikipedia uses nofollow tags, external links do not alter search engine rankings. If you feel the link should be added to the article, please discuss it on the before reinserting it. Please take a look at the welcome page to learn more about contributing constructively to this encyclopedia. Jimbo

Example of proposed version:

Hello, I'm Jimbo. I wanted to let you know that I removed an external link you added, because to me it seemed inappropriate for an encyclopedia. If you have any questions, please ask me on my talk page, or take a look at the guidelines about links. Thanks, Jimbo

uw-npov1
uw-npov1

Current version:

Welcome to Wikipedia, and thank you for your contributions. One of the core policies of Wikipedia is that articles should always be written from a neutral point of view. Please remember to observe this. Jimbo

Example of proposed version:

Hello, I'm Jimbo. Wikipedia is written by people who have a wide diversity of opinions, but we try hard to make sure articles have a neutral point of view. Your recent edit seemed to be less than neutral to me, so I removed it for now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me on my talk page. Thanks, Jimbo

uw-error1
uw-error1

Current version:

Welcome to Wikipedia. Your recent edit appears to have added incorrect information and has been reverted or removed. All information in this encyclopedia must be verifiable in a reliable, published source. If you believe the information that you added was correct, please cite the references or sources or before making the changes, discuss them on the article's talk page. Please use the sandbox for any tests that you wish to make. Do take a look at the welcome page if you would like to learn more about contributing to our encyclopedia. Jimbo

Example of proposed version:

Hello, I'm Jimbo. Your recent edit appears to have added incorrect information, so I removed it for now. If you believe the information that you added was correct, please cite a reliable source or discuss your change on the article's talk page. Thanks, Jimbo

uw-biog1
uw-biog1

Current version:

Welcome to Wikipedia. Please be aware of Wikipedia's policy that biographical information about living persons must not include unsupported or inaccurate statements. Whenever you add possibly controversial statements about a living person to an article or any other Wikipedia page, you must include proper sources. If you don't know how to cite a source, you may want to read Referencing for beginners for guidelines. Jimbo

Example of proposed version:

Hello, I'm Jimbo. I noticed that you made an edit to a biography of a living person, but that you didn’t support your changes with a citation to a reliable source. Wikipedia has a strict policy concerning how we write about living people, so please help us keep such articles accurate. If you have any questions, please ask me on my talk page. Thanks, Jimbo

uw-npa1
uw-npa1

Current version:

Welcome to Wikipedia. Although everyone is welcome to contribute constructively to the encyclopedia, we would like to remind you not to attack other editors. Please comment on the content and not the contributors. Take a look at the welcome page to learn more about contributing to this encyclopedia. You are welcome to rephrase your comment as a civil criticism of the article. Jimbo

Example of proposed version:

Hello, I'm Jimbo. I noticed that you made a comment that seemed less than civil, so I removed it. Wikipedia needs people like you and me to collaborate, so it’s one of our core principles to interact with one another in a polite and respectful manner. If you have any questions, please ask me on my talk page. Thanks, Jimbo