User:The General/Advice to newbies

General Usage

• Don't jump straight into drama - If there's a lot of drama going, don't jump in and give your opinion. What tends to happen is that a new user

jumps in, believing that there advice is the be all and end all of the drama, only to find that there advice isn't appreciated. This can result in massive flameing.

• Don't act as if your better than everyone else - Don't come in believe that you're second only to Kevan, it's not appreciated.
• Don't tell experienced users what to do - They won't listen and you'll get flamed.
• If you need help then just ask - Find me, or another member of Project Welcome and ask for help.
• Don't add helpful sections to group pages - Let them add what they want.

The suggestions page

• Read. The. Rules - In general, people are sick and tired of newbies not reading the rules. If you make a mistake, fine, we'll help, but at least try to read the rules first.

Voting

• Don't insult suggestors - Yes, you will see people doing this, but don't follow their example. They tend to be experienced users who have a decent edit history behind them, if you haven't, yet, contributed much of value then you won't be taken seriously.
• Don't break the template - When voting, don't break the template. There's nothing more annoying than fixing a broken suggestion template, because someone hasn't voted properly.
• Use valid votes - Use the votes which are stated in the rules at the top of the page. Votes such as "I don't like it" won't count when the votes are tallied. Note - There is a difference between the vote and the comment attached to it. The vote is the bit in bold stating either Keep, Kill, Spam, or Dupe. You may say whatever you want in your comment.

Suggesting

• Spend some time voting to get the feel of the place - Don't rush in and make your first suggestion right away, wait until you have a bit of voting experience first.
• Read. The. Rules - Seriously, I know there's a lot of them, but it saves an aweful lot of flaming and annoyance from the voters.
• Read. The. Does and Do not's - Same as above.
• Don't break the template - When suggesting, don't break the template. There's nothing more annoying than fixing a broken suggestion template, because someone couldn't be bothered to follow the template.
• Don't Re every vote - it's annoying.
• Post it on the disscussion page first - Get some feedback before putting it on the main page. If your really do have trouble discussing things, on a wiki, then use The wiki's forum we'll give you some feedback.
• Most of all, think it through - Work out every possibility before posting, if we see you putting some effort it in then we'll be far more inclined to vote Keep.

Disclaimer

This is my opinion and my advice, it is not previewed by Kevan and is not official. Also, if you want to comment then use the talk page.

This may change as I think of more things to add.--The General ^{T Sys U! P! F!} 12:24, 30 May 2006 (BST)