Wikipedia talk:Welcoming committee/Archive 3

welcome laws
I primarily used template:welcomelaws and was shocked to find that it was redirected to a corney image of a plate of cookies with the use of redundant double exclamation marks ("Welcome!!"). I ask, can this template not be restored? At the very least, could it redirect to something that isn't so corney?-Andrew c 01:26, 16 February 2007 (UTC) Another reason to change the redirect (or restore) is there is additional syntax in the cookie version, so someone using the welcomelaws template without the new syntax will result in a message with broken links.--Andrew c 01:34, 16 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Done. Transhumanist, thanks for all your hard work, but perhaps in a few cases you are being too bold? In this case, I reverted, since Wikipedia is not a paper encyclopedia, so we don't have limitations on space. If only a few people are using a template, it's still useful.
 * In terms of the cookies, I'm not sure if they need to be added to preexisting templates like . I would prefer if you instead promoted, rather than making changes to templates that are already used. Thanks,  Λυδ α cιτγ  03:07, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
 * , that is, not welcome3.  Λυδ α cιτγ  03:17, 16 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Thank you for doing that, and I agree with everything you say (about space limitations, and about not adding the cookie image to established templates). Some people, while enjoying welcoming newcomers, may not like doing so with a plate a cookies, so there should be some discussion about making such a drastic, graphical change to older templates. However, for those who love cookies, promote away.-Andrew c 03:31, 16 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Speaking of established templates... I put up the numbered set on the same pate tonight, trying to greet a stale user Belatedly, and there is too much similarity... not enough variety. Why does one mention Wikipedia tutorial, and then two or three others mention other tutorials, but not that same one. Why not have a few of them present a table of links, vice the same old bland list with almost identical wording? And how did it come to pass that there is nothing for a follow-up 'Just dropped by to say Hi! again, and see how you're doing' note, nor the Belated greetings? I can't but concur that greeting as soon as possible is the ideal, but unless someone's somehow tracking that, and striking off a checklist, it's going to happen... probably more often than not! Now least I get another quintuple edit conflict--I'm outta here! Cheers! // Fra nkB  04:28, 16 February 2007 (UTC)


 * re:
 * At the risk of wearing out my welcome... suggest we at least change lines like "Wikipedians try to follow a strict policy of never biting new users. If you are unsure of how to do something, you are welcome to ask a more experienced user such as an administrator." to "as an administrator or someone on the welcoming committee", with links to the list. I dare assume the rest of you are as willing to lend an informational digital hand to those in the state of clueless newbieness, so why not make that an overt resource? ttfn! // Fra nkB 04:40, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

I changed welcome4 per your suggestions, although I didn't add a link to this page, since the new users' help page seems more efficient. I agree that the templates could use more variety. Perhaps the user warnings project will be willing to lend a hand when it finishes redoing the warning templates. Meanwhile, I'll start organizing and reworking them.  Λυδ α cιτγ  05:03, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Check out the contributions on Wikipedia:Introduction
I just changed Introduction so that people can add new sections, rather than just text, and all of a sudden people's contributions become much more personal. There are several people each hour who write something that's either about themselves or about one of their teachers. ;-) This could be a good resource for people who want to welcome new users. Of course, you can never be sure if the people really describe themselves. Some examples from the last few hours include:, , , , , , , , , ,. Some of it may also be a good source for WP:BJAODN. &mdash; Sebastian 06:59, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Hey
Hi everyone, I would like to myself here! I would also like to know if anyone would be interested in running a bot from their account to welcome new users from their account (for instance, one in 250 new users so you don't get inundated with requests for help) - I'm currently requesting this at the minute. It must be run from a user account to not seam impersonal Ryan Postlethwaite See the mess I've created or let's have banter 01:29, 26 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Have you read over the previous conversations regarding a welcome bot, such as the antepenultimate one?  Λυδ α cιτγ  03:44, 26 February 2007 (UTC)

New welcome templates
User:The Transhumanist and I have developed a new set of welcome templates. They are substantially different from the current ones in that they make use of ParserFunctions to offer a high level of customization. For example, the basic template allows you to use parameters to add an additional message, a picture of a plate of cookies, or a colored border, to change the opening text and whether it displays as a heading, and to replace the bulleted list of links with icons.

We have created six templates:
 * Template:W-basic is the standard template, similar in its uncustomized form to Template:Welcome (though with updated links)
 * Template:W-shout is especially bold
 * Template:W-short is concise
 * Template:W-link, rather than going into detail, links to the WC's welcome page
 * Template:W-graphical is in a menu format to ease transition from the graphic-heavy web
 * Template:W-screen is also graphical, and is designed to fit the size of the user's screen

We hope that the use of optional parameters will allow us to keep the new welcome templates down to this small number.

If the community agrees, we plan on replacing the WC's welcome template list and table with the new templates. We will also announce the templates to the wider community.

Suggestions, criticism, and help are appreciated.  Λυδ α cιτγ  01:12, 15 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Implemented new set.  Λυδ α cιτγ  01:02, 6 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I would like to see a "W-anon" template in the same style (with ~, without border) appear, is a lot of typing to do everytime I welcome an anonymous user (a few each day, from different computers). I'd be happy to make one, if there is sufficient interest. -- oKto siTe   talk  10:09, 7 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Hmmm. I'm reluctant because the point of the new set was to reduce the number of templates as much as possible, although one more would not be terrible. Have you thought of using a script such as this one to welcome users, or of adding the code to your userpage and copying-and-pasting it to welcome users?  Λυδ α cιτγ  17:50, 7 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Where can we find the old ones, for those who like and so on? Mermaid from the Baltic Sea 01:58, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Category:Welcome templates?  Λυδ α cιτγ  23:24, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
 * No, I had not thought of doing that, I'll look into modifying that script for this purpose, using it with greasemonkey. Thanks! -- oKto siTe  talk  10:09, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Could an anonymous switch be added to the W-short template? -- oKto siTe  talk  10:02, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Done.  Λυδ α cιτγ  23:24, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Apologies for unnecessarily double-posting that; thanks! -- oKto siTe  talk  08:38, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

To make the job much easier...
The message is useful. It should just be sent (automatically) to a user's talk page whenever they start a new account. Use the force 19:53, 17 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Read above conversations.  Λυδ α cιτγ  20:24, 17 March 2007 (UTC) the conversations about this in the archives.  Λυδ α cιτγ  20:25, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Reorganisation
Good afternoon (GMT time) all; this comment is especially for the attention of Audacity. I believe that the recent reorganisation of Audacity has harmed the page rather than help it - the idea was an at-a-glance guide to welcoming, rather than links to further pages. These made use of the  tags, for a quick copy+paste welcome.

These have been largely removed, and the page is now rather unhelpful. I'd appreciate the feedback of my fellow Wikipedians; my ultimate aim is to combine by edits with Audacity's useful ones.

anthony cfc [ talk] 16:44, 18 March 2007 (UTC)


 * I didn't remove any of the copy+paste info, just added some further information above it. But I've now moved the copy+paste welcomes further up the page.  Λυδ α cιτγ  17:10, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

I just think that my revision was much more informative, and I'd prefer to see it at WP:WC that the current one. anthony cfc [ talk] 18:01, 18 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Well, going back to your reversion would basically mean deleting the suggestion to type one's own message and adding back in the suggestion to add one's template to the list. I think both of these are bad ideas, so I have to disagree with you.  Λυδ α cιτγ  21:03, 18 March 2007 (UTC)


 * What about a merge? anthony [ cfc ] 20:02, 24 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Of what?  Λυδ α cιτγ  23:00, 24 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Of our edits; anthony [ cfc ] 00:39, 25 March 2007 (UTC)


 * I thought I had already done one. If you mean a further shift towards your version, that will (again) mean deleting the suggestion to type one's own message and adding back in the suggestion to add one's template to the list, and I think that is a bad idea.  Λυδ α cιτγ  02:24, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

(reduce indent) I submit to your side; this is to tedious to be worth disputing over. Hopefully this is to your satisfaction; thanks for your opinions! &mdash; anthony [ cfc ] 04:15, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

FearBot
I am currently working on coding a bot called FearBot, see User:FearBot for information. One of the things I found myself doing today is greeting the new users, which gets tiring and you easily get a backlog. It is simple for me to add on to my existing codes for reading the newpages etc lists, but would it be acceptable to add Welcoming functionality to my bot? I am coding this anyway, but whether or not I have it enabled in the final release is yet to be seen. I am making the bot to be able to be cmade compatible with any MediaWiki wiki, and plan to offer bot services on any wiki. So, I thought i'd check with other people involved in the Welcoming committee. Please discuss this issue on this page. Thanks, TheFearow 00:21, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

Opinions?
I know one shouldn't worry too much about performance, and I certainly don't doubt the good that welcoming users does, but I have noticed while patrolling the user creation log that many/most newly registered users do not end up making any edits. Thus, I most often welcome users only after they have made a few edits and shown interest in the project so as not to clog the system. Yet some users systematically welcome every single newly registered user. What do other people think about this practice? If most people think this is for the best, has any sort of automated welcoming been considered? Dar-Ape 02:37, 8 April 2007 (UTC)


 * See the archives. For my part, I completely agree that welcoming everyone who registers a username is a waste of time.  Λυδ α cιτγ  03:22, 8 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I just joined this group, but have been welcoming people for some time. I welcome everyone who edits a page on my watchlist with a red talk link.  Either that, or a user warning. ;^)  IMHO, having something in common helps the welcome to be more sincere, and if they will either be already familiar with me, or might remember I was the one who welcomed them the next time they see one of my edits to the article.  In many cases, I have gotten a "thank you" back from them. wrp103 (Bill Pringle) 08:38, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

Customizing templates
If you like to customize welcome templates: rather than doing so by subst'ing the template into a sandbox and modifying the code (or worse, subst'ing it onto the user's page and making a second edit to it there), use Special:ExpandTemplates with the user's name as the context title, and simply copy-and-paste the code.  Λυδ α cιτγ  01:29, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

massive, unconventional welcoming campaign
To the committee: You may want to check in with User:Deathgleaner. He/she has been welcoming a truly extraordinary number of new users, and has earned a barnstar for his/her efforts.

However, he/she is using a new template to do the welcoming, developed almost entirely without input from other Wikipedians. The template generally looks OK, except that it closes with instructions for using Wikipedia to develop a social network, which seems like a potential violation of WP:NOT.

Although he/she has done some vandalism elsewhere, it is not meanspirited, and I believe his/her intentions are generally good. I think a little contact with the committee devoted to his/her activity of choice would be helpful.

-Pete 20:35, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

Welcoming
Are we allowed to welcome new users as soon as they pop up, or is that to generic, so we shouldn't do it? Does it really matter?-- Kk rou  ni  23:57, 6 May 2007 (UTC)
 * There's no guideline, and you're certainly allowed to welcome anyone you wish. I would say that most users believe that it is better to wait until the user has made useful edits before welcoming.  Λυδ α cιτγ  03:26, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
 * The criteria that I use is to welcome anyone who edits a page on my watchlist that has a red link to their talk page, even if it is their first edit. I will often add a personal note about the topic and/or their edit. wrp103 (Bill Pringle)  (Talk) 03:50, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

I've been editing for a while. . . but I haven't got a welcome message yet. The-Association 16:40, 15 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Relied on user talk :) PeaceNT 07:29, 16 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I chirped in too. // Fra nkB 12:39, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Vandalism or Our Page Problem

 * Attention: Anthonycfc && The Transhumanist:
 * Using IE6 WP:Wc hits a HTML graphic sequence which immediately destabilizes the browser, and causes it to cycle into 'Home Page'. Duration viewing your pretty page--maybe half a second before the browser throws it's fit. Since the vast majority of computer users aren't people who upgrade regularly, IE6 will be with us for quite a while. This needs fixed. I just reverted vandalism thereon, and it's now behaving. Might want to protect the page for a few days though... It's seeing a fair number of vandalism hits lately. Cheers all! // Fra nkB  12:39, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Recommend against template complexity

 * See also prior at Template_talk:Welcomeg

I would like discuss phasing out usage of graphical variations, such as W-graphical, W-screen, and welcomeg. One of the most critical learning tools a new user has is to edit a page and understand what they see. If this is at the top of a new user's talk page, it makes it unnecessarily difficult to use that talk page. This information is fantastic and should be very obviously linked from a plain and simple note on the talk page -- a note which they might replicate when responding or initiating their own first contact with another user on a project talk page. Pointers to prior discussion appreciated! &there4; here&hellip;&spades; 06:01, 17 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Sometimes you want a "welcome" template to reinforce what is and isn't appropriate for a newly arrived potential "editor warrior". Having a template that lists our key policies makes it harder for people to say "I didn't know you had a [insert here] policy" after getting blocked for making a whole lot of disruptive edits or reverts. --  Netsnipe  ►  07:46, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * I use welcomeg (well, actually welcomeh which automatically inserts heading and signature) all the time and am very strongly in favour of it being kept. Wikipedia is very hard for newcomers to find their way around. This template has all the important links for them. If you don't want a complex template, then simplify wikipedia first! Tyrenius 18:38, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I agree strongly with both of you regarding the justification for welcoming, but welcome does just fine. I still feel the talk page itself should be kept clean and easy to understand when viewed inside the edit box.  Key policies should be prominently linked, as should a welcome page including a nice index and collection of important links.  The #1 reason I've heard that folks do not edit here is that they do not understand what they see in the edit box.  In my opinion, a user should never feel that way on their own talk page.  &there4; here&hellip;&spades; 20:57, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
 * I don't see any problem with having the existing different welcome options, so that editors can choose which they prefer to leave. Tyrenius 23:01, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Ditto. --Chicaneo 01:25, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Hello??
I want to join... Karibear 17:08, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Great! Step 1) Add your name here: Welcoming_committee/members ;).  Step 2) participate in welcoming committee activities. &there4; here&hellip;&spades; 18:36, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Step 3) ? Step 4) PROFIT!!!11! --E poch F ail (talk 19:52, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

is it just me...
or does there seem to be a vast recent influx of new users to Wikipedia? In May/early June I have welcomed at least 2-3 new users a day, and normally I only do so once every week at most. I'm not a committee member, so I am only doing this when I see new users editing pages on my watchlist. What gives? Is it kids getting out of school? Does this happen every June? VanTucky 19:58, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Welcoming Users with No Edits
Hi, I'm new to this so forgive me if I've missed something. Most of the templates provided thank the new user for their contribs, but what happens if they haven't made any, is there a way to welcome them and encourage them to edit? And just going off this, is there a right time to welcome a user (like only after they've editted, if they've been registered for a certain period of time - I noticed that one of the arguments against a bot would be it would just repeat the initial welcome message - etc) Guycalledryan 07:46, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
 * I don't think it would be a good idea if we started welcoming new users who had just come onto Wikipedia to vandalise, we have to see first if the newly registered user themself is on Wikipedia to helpfully edit or just pointlessly vandalise. I'm no expert, but that's my view. SensibleMenace 21:48, 13 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Personally I believe that all users should be welcomed, especially vandals. My experience in dealing with vandals and trolls is that they do not know that rules exist, nor do they know that there are consequences for breaking the rules.  A welcome message (like welcomeg) puts the vandal on notice about the rules and may deter some potential vandals from mischief.  --Chicaneo 19:34, 25 June 2007 (UTC)
 * I think that new vandals probably should have a message posted on their talk page, but not as welcoming as normal welcome messages. They should be more like warnings, but still encouraging the user to stay on Wikipedia and contribute constructively. Also they should not be thanked for their contributions, as you would say in most welcome messages. As for welcoming new users without any contributions, I agree with Guycalledryan that you should wait until you can see what contributions they have made, so you can then welcome them appropriately. Jprulestheworld01 (talk) 16:03, 7 April 2009 (UTC)


 * I've made a personal template for this situation: Template:welcomeforward. @pple 16:53, 13 August 2007 (UTC)
 * In fact, I only replaced "thanks for your contribution" by "look forward to your contribution". I got this idea from the user who welcomed me. @pple 16:56, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

Welcoming users after a first failed attempt at an article.
A situation arises fairly often where a new user makes a first new (good faith, non vandalism, but deficient) article. The article is then almost immediately tagged AfD, which can be very discouraging to someone just starting out. see Please do not bite the newcomers. This situation was brought to my attention while I was patrolling new articles and tagging them. I believe the concern brought to my attention is a valid one, and I propose a template that both 1) welcomes the new user, and 2) very gently brings to light the shortcomings of the recent addition. - super &beta;&epsilon;&epsilon; cat 20:27, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

basic question
While I love this project and it's spirit, wouldn't it be really much simpler to have a tag automatically delivered to all newly registered users? Is this feasible? VanTucky (talk) 22:48, 21 July 2007 (UTC)


 * See the conversations about this in the archives.  Λυδ α cιτγ  03:31, 22 July 2007 (UTC)
 * The proposal of a welcome bot has been rejected by most of members. @pple 03:16, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

WP:OR welcome?
I'm wondering if there is a WP:OR welcome template, similar to the NPOV one and such, welcoming, while alerting them to policy. I couldn't find one on the list (and therefore I improvised), but I am planning on making one, if that is acceptable. -- HAL2008 HAL? talk 14:49, 10 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Of course - go right ahead.  Λυδ α cιτγ  01:16, 11 August 2007 (UTC)
 * I don't think it's necessary to make a welcome template for OR only, since OR is one of the core policies hitherto. Just give the user a notice of his/her OR violation in specific situations rather a general OR welcome (in fact also a warning). @pple 16:50, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

Script
For those interested, I have written a small user script at User:TheFearow/public/newuserlogwelcome.js. It adds a welcome link to the newuserlog, next to the talk page link, for users with no talk page. The script uses my AJAX library to send the welcome without leaving the current page, instead it indicates the progress below the page title/"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" text. It's only thoroughly tested in Firefox, however it should work no problems with most other browsers (except IE, which doesn't allow anything AJAX). Please report to me any bugs/feature requests/config options you would like.

Install Instructions:
 * 1) Edit your monobook.js file (shortcut link), to include the line:
 * importScript('User:TheFearow/public/newuserlogwelcome.js');
 * 1) Add above that line, the following two lines, but (optionally) change the values in between the "'s to suit you. The templates chosen must be self-signing, or they will be left unsigned:
 * var nulwTemplate = "W-screen";
 * var nulwAnonTemplate = "Welcome-anon";
 * 1) Hard reload your browser (see here for instructions)
 * 2) Go to the new user log ([ link]) and start welcoming!

Enjoy! Matt/TheFearow (Talk) (Contribs) (Bot) 23:46, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Encouragement!
The poster of this thread seems in need some support. Please provide a word of encouragement to 64.39.136.55! Thanks. --  Jreferee  (Talk) 05:22, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Category:Welcome templates
Hello all. I've been trying to clean this up - we had 113 when I looked at it yesterday. I've created Category:User-specific Welcome templates and hived off all the user-specific ones. I'm probably going to do the same for project-specific templates, too. I've also merged and redirected a few unused or near-identical welcome templates. Just a heads up, really. Keep up the good work, etc! Neil   ム  09:57, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

ummm...
I know this is gonna sound kinda stupid, but I was never welcomed to wikipedia. Could I possibly get a retroactive welcome? --MKnight9989 14:47, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

User:Radiant!/Everything
I've written this page as a "different" kind of introduction for novice users, a bit like welcome only not so. I would appreciate feedback on its usefulness.  &gt; R a d i a n t &lt;  12:04, 5 September 2007 (UTC)


 * It's quite good, but I would suggest a different setup, like welcomeh, so its colourful, and attracts a users attention. Your Grace Lord Sir Dreamy of Buckland   tm  20:56, 12 October 2007 (UTC)

Harlem Academy
This is a new user who I think needs some help. I believe it is a teacher and her students. They're asking me questions that I don't feel like I can answer. I placed a welcome tag on there page and recommended the adopt-a-user program. Can anyone extend a helping hand to this user? -- En dl ess Dan  20:00, 27 September 2007 (UTC)


 * Yes. If it is a teacher and students, the account should be blocked, as we don't allow role accounts. Your Grace Lord Sir Dreamy of Buckland   tm  20:53, 12 October 2007 (UTC)

Is there an award for this?
I have truly welcomed over 500 users in welcoming sprees. I was just going to say that there should be an award for this. Cheers! -- Pupster21  Talk To Me  12:21, 12 October 2007 (UTC)


 * I have also welcomed a lot of users, and I do not believe that there is an award for it. Your Grace Lord Sir Dreamy of Buckland   tm  20:54, 12 October 2007 (UTC)

Actually, shouldn't something like this welcoming be automatic? EDIT: « ₣ullMetal ₣alcon » 21:11, 16 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Service awards do exist, but you have to award them to yourself. Dar-Ape 17:50, 16 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Ironically enough, I just created an award and was about to ask where I should put it. You can find it here. ~ Bella   Swan  21:51, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

New user log no longer active
Just a friendly head's up, per an MfD discussion, New user log has been marked as historical. The page will be removed from the welcoming templates, etc. If you see any pages or references that need to be updated, please take the initiative. Regards.-- 12 N oo n 2¢ 23:59, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

Need a volunteer
Had a new user ask for an intro at my talk page, but I'm retired. Could someone from the committee drop in and give them a proper hello? The user is here. Thanks, Z iggurat 20:55, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

Satisfying
I just went through the first page of new users, inserting ~ onto every talk page. It was a rather repetitive task, though you'd be amazed how satisfying it was. I also like to think I helped. One new user had been contributing (luckily, only to talk pages) in a foreign language. I added a comment to the end, notifying them of this.


 * I think we can all agree that welcoming new users is a pretty satisfying experience. I just started doing it and have made it a daily task to welcome at least fifty more users. Very satisfying :D. Voyaging (talk) 22:06, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

Major revamp of page
I've recently revamped the welcoming committee page to what I think is a much cleaner and easier to understand layout. I've removed lots of unnecessary information, and added a few useful sentences. I'd really love some feedback. Thanks! Voyaging (talk) 04:55, 21 February 2008 (UTC)


 * I think I have now finished revamping the page. If you guys catch any errors or see anything you'd like to change go ahead. Voyaging (talk) 04:39, 22 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Looks very nice, good work.  ·Add§hore·  T alk /C ont 12:41, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Idea for a bot
What about a bot that would put a welcome message on all user talk pages for users that have existed for more than 24 hours but haven't had anything put on their talk page?user:BassgoonistUser_talk:Bassgoonist/Special:Contributions/Bassgoonist 19:20, 29 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia_talk:Welcoming_committee/Archive_2.  Λυδ α cιτγ  06:01, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Archives for the loss...:p user:BassgoonistUser_talk:Bassgoonist/Special:Contributions/Bassgoonist 16:34, 3 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I can almost 100% guarantee you wont get a welcome bot passed a BRFA  ·Add§hore·  T alk /C ont

Quick Method for Welcoming (Requires Microsoft Gaming Mouse of other mouse with Intellipoint)
I found a way to use Intellipoint's "gaming toggle" feature to quickly and easily welcome users. I use a combination of cut and paste, as well as the tab button. Read up on Intellipoint here. I can't explain fully right now, so will someone else explain further, and the rest provide feedback? —Preceding unsigned comment added by PwnerELITE (talk • contribs) 01:06, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

In need badly
I think the Welcoming Commitee needs to be revised. With all of the new users joining, the user creation log is full of red links. I propose a revision of the active members, to flush out all of the old welcomers. I have tried to make my own squad (see userpage), but it's hopes don't look good, so I am proposing this. The WC is not functioning properly, and something should be done.-- LAA Fan  18:57, 23 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Perhaps a minimum age requirement would be beneficial? I'd suggest 30 days since first edit, at least 25 edits outside article/talk/user/user talk space and 100 mainspace edits? Or is it too harsh? +Hexagon1 (t) 08:23, 24 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I think that's fine, maybe even too easy. My issue is I see tons of red links on the User Creation Log. The list should be of active welcomers.-- LAA Fan  20:20, 24 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, a red link doesn't mean one is inactive... +Hexagon1 (t) 01:56, 25 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes, but there isnt' just one red link, and whenever I click on an existing talk page in the UCL, the user has been warned for vandalising, not welcomed.-- LAA Fan  16:48, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Plans for the future of WC
I think the best that can be done for the Welcoming Committee is to have as many members as possible. Therefore I'm against "flushing out" old welcomers, everyone interested in helping out welcoming newbies should be part of this project, even if they can only help out once a month. Yes, the amount of new members are too much to handle for those of us who are active right now, but that only means that we need to recruit more people to the Welcoming Committee. I also suggest we focus our efforts on the users that have contributed to wikipedia. It's so much easier to leave constructive and focused feedback on a user's talk page when he's actually done something. I do see the need for welcoming users that do not contribute also, to encourage the to be bold and so on, but I propose that our main focus be users that have already reached that level. Norwaystudent (talk) 16:48, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

What happened to this template? This was one of my regulars. Unschool (talk) 08:08, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

No welcome for academics?
There doesn't seem to be a welcome made up for new users who are academics or otherwise notable wikipedians? -Malkinann (talk) 04:24, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

No proper welcome for users who start off doing an error
It is ulikely that a regular welcome banner will be posted on a user talk page where a user warning has already been posted. These users then miss all the pertinent information contained in the many welcome templates. This is especially regrettable since these obviously as a group are the ones who could particularly benefit from this information. Has anybody thought of a scheme to counteract this? __meco (talk) 17:25, 31 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Agree. I mostly add the tag when a new user edits one of my watched pages. About 20% of the time the entry resembles newby-confusion bordering on vandalism. It would be real convenient to have a   tag to use then... Skål - Williamborg (Bill) 00:22, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

There's a discussion at Template talk:Welcometest regarding a proposal to add the option of piping a link in this template to the article being referenced, ie pagename, as with vandalism warning templates. Input welcome. Ka renjc 12:29, 7 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Update - the proposed change to the welcometest template has been made, and users can now use it in the format Article if they wish.  Ka renjc 22:42, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

Foreign language welcome
As one of his first edits, this user has added babel templates (ja, en-1) to his userpage. I think it would make sense to greet him (or her) in japanese language. Does someone know japanese and have some templates to do this? Thanks, &#x2013; b_jonas 22:50, 2 November 2008 (UTC)


 * Usually, I would say, just look at "in other languages" and use the template from there. But I don't see any link for Japanese there.
 * BTW, this particular user Ron doesn't need a welcome template - already is an experienced editor at the Japanese WP. &mdash; Sebastian 22:46, 11 December 2008 (UTC)

Unwelcoming welcomers
This is weird: There are users that welcome new users with welcome, which says "ask me on my talk page", but then childishly refuse to accept any messages on their talk pages. (Example at User talk:Byrdnuts; it should be noted that the welcomer is a prolific account creator, so you would expect to be somewhat more welcoming.) What can be done about this? &mdash; Sebastian 22:59, 11 December 2008 (UTC)

Please help with the ASCB workshop
As you can read on my user page, the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) is hosting a workshop this Tuesday, the 16th, to give their scientists a crash course in editing Wikipedia, especially for creating cell-biology articles. Tim and I are running the workshop, but we could benefit from your help! We'd like to find friendly, online Wikipedians who will greet the newbie scientists and offer to help them with their first articles. It seems like a great way to bring the scientific and Wikipedia communities a little closer.

The workshop will run from 12:30-2:30pm local San Francisco time. Tim and I will be speaking until ~1pm, and the participants won't start their user pages until 12:45pm at the earliest. We'll ask them to add the template ASCB workshop to their user page, which will add them to the category. Then you'll be able to see who's participating and welcome them. Other help with categorization, finding/formatting images and references, etc. would be much appreciated. Proteins (talk) 14:43, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

Caution Gnome alert!
Well sort of, I have been trawling around the welcome/intro pages, making a few changes to make them clearer and more friendly, only a few changes so far - but in case you see me around I don't bite, so if I've been a bit too bold just undo and I'll discuss in talk - if I haven't already. See you around - and do you have any ongoing missions regarding these pages? LeeVJ (talk) 01:19, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

How about a side bar for all help / welcome pages
Finding your way around the help and info pages is a bit bitty, generally they conform to the same style, but different sections have different ways of displaying quiclinks. Somehow I ended up on the German wiki and being able to read a ( very very ) little checked out their help pages, they have a really cool sidebar / navigation tree that let's you see just where you are in the help pages - their missing on a few intro pages of theirs. Here's a link - even if you can't read german you can get the idea, they have some good images we could uses too , the link to their faw pages is http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilfe:FAQ, what do you think ? I haven't looked into how technical it is - but first want to check on if it's a desired feature. LeeVJ (talk) 00:22, 14 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Well we have WP help pages (header bar), would this new sidebar replace that? Could be awkward on Help:Contents for example. But I have no general objections.--Commander Keane (talk) 23:50, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Welcoming guidelines? (Old users do not need to be welcomed again and again)
What are the guidelines for welcoming new users? --I just received a welcoming notice in the Catalan Wikipedia, in which I have never made any contributions, but just browsed a few articles (and that was 2 months ago)!

I believe seasoned users do not need welcome notices, but this is what we have right now, across Wiki prokects. It is a needless waste of resources, with the same information (explaining the basic Wikipedia pilar rules), repeated over and over again. With the SUL, all user accounts are linked, and there should be a way to exclude all linked accounts (besides the home Wiki) from these notices.

In sum, I didn't see any welcoming guidelines, but I would like to see that (1) users with zero contributions do not need to be welcomed, (2) users need to see the welcome notice just once, in their home Wiki, and (3) a common, basic agreement across Wiki projects.

What do others think, or is it just me? --HYC (talk) 18:46, 14 January 2009 (UTC)


 * It is not just you, I have also experienced a unneeded welcome on an obscure Wikipedia language project :-) Perhaps the main problem with your idea is that it is not possible (I don't think) to see which account is the master, and even if you could perhpas a user would like a welcome in projects other than their master (eg their master is en.wp but they speak fluet German so want a welcome at de.wp). Already this porject page advises against leaving a welcome notice for someone with no edits (see here). I don't know how to get a common agreement across Wiki projects.--Commander Keane (talk) 23:50, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

The missing manual in welcome templates
I propose that a link be added to Help:Wikipedia: The Missing Manual in the major welcome templates. The set documents the Wikipedia practices in a much better way, and with less jargon, than the pages that we currently link to.--Ipatrol (talk) 21:31, 11 March 2009 (UTC)

Welcome-anon template is broken
I figured I'd mention this here too. -- 67.98.206.2 (talk) 16:15, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

Excuse me
I'm dissapointed to say that, although I was welcomed by a fairly experienced user upon my first contributions, this "committee" failed, I repeat, FAILED, to give me any cookies or such like. A mere template was placed upon my uninhabited talk page, an impersonal, automated, effort. As a result, I felt unwanted and unappreciated, so was rendered effectively inactive for almost 5 weeks. Only with the awarding of a Barnstar was my desire to contribute rekindled. I demand compensation! It's not hard! Just a small template, a few tildes, and there you go, Lord Spongefrog,  (I am the Czar of all Russias!)  15:06, 8 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Well? Lord Spongefrog,  (I am the Czar of all Russias!)  15:05, 9 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Is anyone even active on this project anymore? Anyone with the ability to welcome newbies can surely leave cookies on a talk page!? Lord Spongefrog,  (I am the Czar of all Russias!)  18:34, 10 September 2009 (UTC)


 * About the lack of responses: It wasn't clear from your post if you were serious. That wasn't helped by the headline "Excuse me"; you may get more responses if you change the headline to something meaningful.
 * About the cookie proposal: I agree with your intention: I, too, find it quite impersonal to greet users with standard templates that look like a manual. (Honestly, how many normal people really enjoy reading manuals?!) However, by the piped link cookies, you are equating WP:Wikilove with cookies, which is the opposite of how I see it! The cookie is just another generic template. There's nothing personal about it - you don't even know if the person likes cookies! I believe, if you really want to express WP:Wikilove, you have to invest a little bit of empathy. Try and understand where the person is coming from, and what they might need. One simple step, for instance, is: Point them to a WikiProject that fits to what they seem to be interested in. Another step would be pointing the newbie to the New Article Wizard - but only those users who created new articles and had problems with that. If you want to be personal, you have to be open to the needs of the other person; there's no cheap way around it. &mdash; Sebastian 04:49, 11 September 2009 (UTC)
 * What? I just wanted a cookie, Lord Spongefrog,  (I am the Czar of all Russias!)  16:19, 11 September 2009 (UTC)