Is it time for a Wiki Genealogist II badge?

Question

Signing the Honor Code is a great way to start at Wikitree.   For many it may be all they want or need.  That is fine.  For others that want to be very active and work on many profiles, it is not enough.  A new user, my own painful experience, needs more information made available in a formal way so that mistakes are not make and they can be more productive.   Supervisors do provide instruction, but it is after the errors are made, not before.

Before I started merging profiles and working on open profiles it would have been better if I understood some basics.  Much of the information exists in the help sections but as a new user it is not easy to find the right section.

Proposal:

To earn a Wiki II badge, it is necessary to

Read all of the articles in Category: Examples

The existing Examples section is not sufficient, the following sections need to be added:

•    Examples for titles of profiles – what happens if special characters are used in profile headings?
•     Example of using Categories – sections on cemeteries, military, links in body of biography etc.
•     Examples for formatting – using <ref>, </ref>,<span>,*, :, ::,==, ===, #, ---- , [[:  and {{ plus the ones I don’t know yet
•    Examples for Merging:  Profiles must be merged into the final ID profile.  Not a step by step process, but in one step.  See  The_multiple_redirects_problem

I see this a minimum list, I am guessing most supervisors have their own list of things they think everyone should know but don’t seem to.  Those should be added to this list and the Examples.  The Wiki II badge would be a way for those who want to learn as much as possible about working on Wikitree to do so in a less painful than by making mistakes along the way.

 

Comments

Note: A new, somewhat related discussion: Is it time to add an Advanced Genealogist level to WikiTree?

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What a relief that other people have had painful experiences from not knowing the basics,,,,,,,I was so eager  and excited and overwhelmed when I started discovering links and connections I had been wondering about for 60 yrs since i was a young child.

I got lost in the Wikittree Rainforest.

I've hesitated to get a mentor because of an ingrained feeling of not wanting to be a bother,,,,but what's starting to happen re duplicates and

making mistakes on a profile and not being able to delete them(like making the subject of a profile Marion Brodie,,,,her 'own' sister etc.

There's one fellow I apologized to just awhile back because somehow my junk had been added to one of his profiles,,,,

Maybe you should give us Newbies a test before we change our guest status,,,

,,,,,,,or state emphatically that the mentors are just hopping up and down in frustrated anticipation waiting for us to call on them.

 Maybe a plaintive little ditty bewailing the boredom and loneliness of these aforementioned mentors might encourage  timid newcomers to come forward and accept a boost up into the wikitree,,,,

I love this site,,,,,and  the patience and helpfulness I've encountered..

Really what this post might be is me going into,,,'Puppy Pose',,,,you've seen it,,,,,when a pup approaches an older dog,,,,flops on it's back to say,,,,,see,,,,I'm defenseless,,,I have much to learn,,,,don't bite me.

Answer 1

These help pages should be organized on a Library link, too. Please see my Libary link request:  http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/32091/proving-lineage-with-documented-proof

Answer 2

I see what you're saying, though I don't think another badge is necessary for it. I think what's really needed is an easy way for someone to work their way through the help pages. The problem is, if there's a lot of text on one page, people have a tendency to skip over it. It's hard to present instructions in a way that will encourage people to read it thoroughly. Most of the info you want people to read already exists somewhere; people just aren't reading all the help pages. Eg. http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Editing_Tips

Perhaps something like http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/How_to_use_WikiTree but for more advanced users? A sort of summary of the help pages, with links to the pages for more in-depth info? I've actually been thinking a page like that specifically for Supervisors would be helpful, since often new Supervisors (and even long-time Supervisors) don't realise they can do something, or don't know how to do it.

Comments

LIanne,

I agree - no badge is needed.

And I think you have the problem solved.  The How to use page is good.  So if a page for advanced users could be put together that would really help.  Just knowing that one page has links and pointers to things like the Editing Tips, would be really nice.

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How about a POC listing?  

Contact ????? fir questions on ??????

1.  Cemetery Categories - Terri Rick

2. Scottish Clans - Terry Wright

3. Military Categories - Michael Lechner  or Trib Triboulet

4. Merging progiles - Philip Smith

5. DAR and SAR - Kitty Smith

6. Location Categories - Lianne Lavoie

7. Technical Assistance - Paul Bech and  Lianne Lavole

Something like that..... I know I have my list of "go to" folks....

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Terry,

Great concept  - perhaps a link or connection to the Project  would be simple and would not need updates -  like :

Merging - Arborist Project

Categories -  Categorization Project

This way mangers will get use to the idea of looking at the project page, can contact the project manger who can either handle or refer to someone within the project and we do not need to worry about changes in management -