Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/News/September 2011/Op-ed


 * By Buggie111



Not too long ago, I experienced a death in my family. I was, and am still, very sad. But I then looked forward into the future. The person I lost will be replaced by someone else down the road. My ancestors before me died, and their children carried on their legacy beyond their parents' tombstones. This philosophy can be applied also to Wikipedia, which has, according to many people, entered a so-called drought of new editors and new administrators.

Every once in a while, an experienced editor decides that Wikipedia is no longer the place for him and leaves. There is always lots of mourning on their page, since their time on Wikipedia will be dearly remembered. The MilHist project itself has been hit by this in the past few years, along with a real-life instance not too long ago (see post-script). People didn't know how the project would survive as former administrators were replaced by clueless newbies. However, as you can still see today, the project is still running.

Their thoughts can't be blamed, of course. Just like a sports team replacing their star player with a kid just out of college, a newbie replacing an administrator, or any experienced editor, may seem like a big loss at first. But it's not. These newbies, one day, will grow into the same admins that were leaving just as these newbies joined Wikipedia. However, it is important that the newbies are not bumped off of this path along the way.

When you first see a new, inexperienced editor around MilHist, send a friendly to their talkpage, along with an offer to adopt them, if you aren't extremely busy. This will help put the newbies on the right track and will provide for an easy advance into independent editing. Whenever a discussion appears on a project or article talkpage, ask for input from more "younger" editors. When someone new sends an article to WP:GAN, or WP:FAC, explain a little about the process before reviewing the article, always in a positive and friendly demeanor. Treat others the way you would like to be treated, follow The Golden Rule. Before you know it, the once-newcomer will be just like those who left Wikipedia long ago. And probably, their experience will help them do the same thing when they encounter such a situation.

Treat others the way you want to be treated. Anywhere, all the time. Cheers.

Postscript: At time of writing, it was unknown that Bahamut0013, a member of our project, had passed away. He was a maintainer of the United States Marine Corps and Battleship portals, and always had a happy attitude and a joke to tell. In real life, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a United States Marine. Condolences may be left here.